Nina Amir's Thoughts on Human Potential, Personal Growth and Practical Spirituality
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 [...]
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 [...]
Today, after writing my most recent Jewish Issues Examiner column, I had to spend some time really considering how much I have allowed myself to become assimilated into secular culture. You see, my column was inspired by a JTA story I read about a Chabad rabbi in Russia trying to bring assimilated Jews there back [...]
As Jews around the world usher in the Sabbath with the candle lighting ritual, they ask God to spread over them “wings of peace…sukkat shalom.” They ask for “Shabbat shalom…Sabbath peace.” While some Jews actually will feel that peace during the 25 hours of this week’s Shabbat, I’m sure the survivors of the earthquake in [...]
As the sun sets, marking the beginning of Shabbat, a day known for “shalom,” peace, I think it’s fitting that President Barak Obama today should have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Not only was this morning the time when Jews in the U.S. were preparing for Shabbat and 25 hours of peace but they [...]
To me, all sins come down to sins against God. If you believe a spark of Divinity exists in all things, then any sin you commit against something or someone constitutes a sin against God. Additionally, other actions are sins against our Creator as well. What might these be? They could be different for different [...]
Feeling joyous on Shabbat constitutes a great mitzvah (commandment or good deed) in Judaism. No matter your circumstances, you must be joyous on Shabbat. Plus, according to Rebbe Nachman, it’s impossible to feel a connection to God unless you can experience joy. Indeed, mitzvot, or commandments, are supposed to connect us to the Divine, and, we [...]
The current economy has many people feeling as if they are constantly falling into an endless financial hole, the unknown territory of joblessness, the fear-filled arena of homelessness, or simply a world of many unknowns and thus, much uncertainty. In our current times, few of us are free of some effects-real or perceived-of the recession, [...]
Passover is over and bread is back in the house! More specifically, on Shabbat, we ate challah! I’m a bread lover, so a Shabbat during Passover week spent eating hard, cold, tasteless matzoh rather than soft, warm-out-of-the-oven, sweet bread just doesn’t seem right. I know, I know… Passover involves eating matzoh, the Bread of Freedom…the Bread [...]
Just when things seem the worst, often they get better. I tend to push for better by focusing my thoughts on the positive, training my mind on being grateful, looking for opportunities in the challenges, taking positive action where possible, and generally doing what I create change. Even when it is hardest to feel good, [...]
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