Nina Amir's Thoughts on Spirituality, Judaism, Human Potential, Personal Growth, and Living Fully
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, usually falling near the end of summer. Based on a lunar calendar, the dates of Ramadan vary, moving backwards about ten days each year. This year Ramadan begins on August 11th and continue for 30 days until September 9th. In North America, it begins on August [...]
Have you ever heard the saying, “Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it”? Sometimes the wish is fulfilled in usual ways. You have to be open to seeing the wish fulfilled no matter in what form it appears and to receive it even if it comes in a shape you didn’t [...]
Ahad Ha’Am said, “More than Israel has kept the Sabbath, the Sabbath has kept Israel.” Great wisdom can be found in that statement not just for Jews but for anyone who wants to strengthen their religious or spiritual practice. Indeed, a full day spent in worship can do amazing things for your soul and for [...]
Many religious traditions honor their ancestors. In Judaism, we honor them, but unlike other traditions we don’t make altars to them or pray to them to help us. Indigenous religions spend a lot of time actually praying to the ancestors and trying to connect with them, feeling they are close at hand and always assisting [...]
Judaism has a lovely tradition of lighting candles on Friday night to welcome in the Sabbath. I consider this a spiritual practice that creates sacred space and invites in the Divine Spirit. Thus, the ritual can be used by anyone at any time.
In Exodus 25:8-9, God says, “Build for me a sanctuary (mikdash), and I [...]
Judaism has a prayer that speaks of Divine unity. It also helps Jews remember that God exists not only in the “heavens” but close at hand. This prayer is called the Sh’ma. I’d like to propose that anyone from any religion or spiritual tradition, however, can take the basic premise of this prayer and use [...]
On the right doorpost of almost every Jewish home you will find a small rectangular box positioned on a slight angle. This box serves as a reminder to live by God’s commandments.
Everyone can benefit from a spiritual yellow “post-it” note of some sort to remind them to live a spiritual or religious life, and that’s [...]
Everyone has a mother…or had a mother. We are all born into this world from a mother, but some of us may be orphans, adults whose mother’s have died, or estranged from our mother. Even those of us in these [...]
Many spiritual traditions contain a practice of blessing food prior to eating it. Christians, for example, say grace before a meal. This prayer more often than not thanks God for the food they are about to eat.
Jews say a blessing over a particular type of food–one for bread, one for wine, one for cookies (yes, [...]
It’s easy to get so caught up in our lives that we forget to pray or to connect with God. That’s why some of the major religions suggest set prayer times during the day. While some advocate for long prayer periods, short ones can help us remember God, connect spiritually and provide a great practical [...]
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