Women's Experience

Rise

What a crazy week it’s been.  Everyone is coping differently, but I find many are feeling quite similar. Missing appointments, loosing important items and not being able to focus has been a common complaint.

With that introduction, I wanted to share one meaningful mindset shift I experienced this week.

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Blog

A letter from Ellyn Hutt

My dear friends,

I, along with the rest of the Jewish people everywhere, am in shock and reeling in pain and grief over what has happened and what is happening in the Land of Israel. There really aren’t words to convey or describe the difficulty of the situation. Thank you to those who have contacted me and our family, wanting to know if we are safe and hoping we’re okay

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Sparks of Torah

To Save A World

The creation slowly but surely degenerated into pandemonium. The morality of the generations deteriorated and respect for others declined as well, as minor robbery became the norm. It seems to resemble the United States of 2023 which also apparently in sliding into an abyss of social and economic decay. Noach couldn’t save the world but he did have merit to save himself and his family.

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Blog

With tear-filled eyes turned to Heaven

In utter dismay and grief, we add our expression of sorrow and solidarity with the all of the Jewish People in this bitter moment of pain and turmoil.

Just as our uplifting holiday season was reaching its crescendo, the news came crashing down upon us that we had been stricken with the worst single day of brutality and loss since the holocaust.

We are heartbroken and overcome with concern for the men, women and children taken captive, for the recovery of the thousands of wounded, for the bereaved families of hundreds of murdered loved ones, and for the welfare of the valiant soldiers of the IDF. May the Almighty shower us all with compassion, healing, consolation and a speedy end to this sorrow.

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Sparks of Torah

Externally Internal

Man is made of different shades. Certain actions we enjoy doing while others run against our grain. The Torah in its all-encompassing manner addresses the entire gamut of our being. Meshech Chochmah explains that certain mitzvos although aligned with our basic pattern of behavior further assist us in enhancing our conduct and elevating us to a higher plateau in serving Hashem.

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Jewish Humor

A cure for anything

An engineer who was unemployed for a long time decided to open a medical clinic. He puts a sign outside the clinic: “A cure for your ailment guaranteed at $500; we’ll pay you $1,000 if we fail.”

A Doctor thinks this is a good opportunity to earn $1,000 and goes to his clinic.

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Sparks of Torah

Changing The Landscape

We are in the midst of preparing for the holiest day of the year, Yom Kippur. From Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur, known as the 10 Days of Repentance, we are intensely engaged in rectifying our deeds and this process will culminate on Yom Kippur, especially the last service, Neilah.

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Jewish Humor

The Dance

One day, a young man asks a girl to go to a dance. She agrees, and he decides to rent a suit.
The rental has a long line, so he waits and waits, and finally he gets his suit.
Then, the young man decides to buy flowers, so he goes to the flower shop. The flower shop has a long line, so he waits and waits, until he finally buys flowers.

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Recipes

Sharing our Stories Through Food: Potato Leek Soup

As we finish Rosh Hashasha, I get to thinking about succos and one of my favorite things. I love sitting in the chill autumn air, with the family, in a beautifully decorated sukkah. Every year my mother would make this delicious potato leek soup and it was the perfect thing to warm us up on the chilly nights. I loved it so much that it was the soup I requested to have on my Bat Mitzvah. However, due to it being spring and us being inside, it was not the same. This soup will never taste as good as it does when we are all enjoying it together in the sukkah.

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Jewish Humor

Tashlich in 2023

Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, starts this evening. Unlike January 1st, which is filled with merrymaking and parties, Rosh Hashanah is a time for introspection, and purifying one’s soul, In conjunction with this is the custom of Tashlich, where people take crumbs and throw them into a river or other body of water to symbolize throwing away one’s sins and starting the new year fresh.
However, times have changed…

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Sparks of Torah

The Day We Didn’t Blow

Certainly, one of the highlights of Rosh Hashanah is blowing the shofar. We are familiar with the 100 blasts that must be made in a specific way and everyone is always present for this event. And if someone can’t come to shul then arrangements are made so that they will hear the shofar. However, this year we won’t hear the shofar on the first day, Shabbos because the Sages were concerned that perhaps the shofar might be carried and that would be a desecration of Shabbos.

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