The following is a guest post from JOU alum, Chava Baars.
Have you ever had that experience when you’re driving, and you arrive at your destination, look around, and have absolutely no recollection of your journey? Sometimes, when I’m getting things done and checking items off my never-ending to-do list, I can arrive at the end of a day with little memory of where I went or what I did.
In Genesis 24:1, the Bible says that Abraham grew old and “he came with his days.” He lived until he was 175 years old, but it doesn’t say he came with his years, decades, or even his 1 ¼ centuries – because Abraham made every day count. He didn’t find meaning in the passing and accomplishment of years, but rather he found meaning in his days.
When the only parts of my life I remember are the tasks ticked them off my list, I lose days and years to oblivion. I also miss out on the connections and encounters I could have experienced along the way, had I been there.
If I want my daily life to have meaning, I need to enjoy the process of working towards my goals. Certainly I hope to accomplish, but I also want to own and take pleasure in the moments of my life.
I remind myself to focus on my surroundings and on the people around me. I remind myself to enjoy the little things I come upon every day – the flavor of my coffee, the beauty in the green tree growing right outside my office window. During a class he gave on happiness, Rabbi Zeldman, an instructor in Positive Psychology and Judaism, gives a challenge: Sit down somewhere quiet and write down everything that you are grateful for. From your family, friends, intelligence and health, to air conditioning, sliced bread, WiFi and chocolate cake.
Remove yourself from the rat race. Slow down and learn to enjoy the process. For one week, take just 5 minutes out of your lunch break to write down what you appreciate, and focus on that through your day. You’ll see how much more joy you will find in your life.
This was a great video produced a few years ago by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs highlighting some of the amazing elements of Israel and how Israel helps make the world a better place. If you want to learn more about Israel’s global contributions, as well as its history, sign up for Israel Inside/Out.
The following is a guest post from JerusalemOnlineU alum, Chava Baars
Have you ever walked into a room, and then stood there for ten minutes trying to remember what it was you wanted?
Sometimes I feel that way in life. I’m getting things done, running errands, accomplishing my daily goals, checking items off that never-ending to-do list. Then I end up somewhere unexpected, and I can’t quite figure out how I got there.
When I’m running from one activity and accomplishment to the next, I often find that yes, I got that done, but the process is lost.
There’s a little, somewhat unpleasant voice inside me that’s saying, “So what? You may have lost your day, but you succeeded in meeting your goals!”
Here’s the problem with that perspective: Life is not always within our control.
Sometimes we make the effort and we see results. And sometimes we make the effort and we don’t. Because there is a Higher Being who controls the outcome of our actions.
I can spend many hours trying to write a blog, but G-d can ensure that it never gets posted. I might get writers block, the computer might crash, or the temperature in Israel might rise to above 105 degrees Fahrenheit, and I have to leave the office because the air conditioning broke and it’s too hot.
If I want my daily life to have meaning, I need to focus on the process of working towards my goals. Of course I hope to accomplish, but I also want to claim every moment of my life, and own future moments.
When I meet a moment of confusion, when I’m standing in a room and I can’t remember why, I need to find my direction. Next time you find yourself getting things done, running errands and accomplishing daily goals, pause and try to claim the moments of your life.
It’s easy to say sometimes that the media is always biased, but one of the important lessons in JerusalemOnlineU’s Israel Inside/Out course is that it’s important to distinguish between bias and objectivity, disagreement and anti-Zionism.
A recent BBC Panorama special on the Gaza flotilla shows that just sometimes, the media has it right.
Praised by the British Jewish media and the UK pro-Israel group, the Zionist Federation, the BBC’s documentary on the flotilla comes to the conclusion that the goal of the flotilla was not humanitarian but political. Presenter Jane Corbin concluded: “The bid to break the naval blockade wasn’t really about bringing aid to Gaza. It was a political move designed to put pressure on Israel and the international community.”
According to the BBC, Turk Cevdet Kiliclar, one of nine activists killed on a Gaza-bound aid mission, was prepared to become a martyr for the Palestinian cause, his wife has said.
The following post is a guest post from JerusalemOnlineU alum, Chaava Baars
With Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, the Days of Awe fast approaching, the Jewish month of Elul (which began two weeks ago) is a time of reflection and growth. The month provides a unique opportunity to look at ourselves, what we’ve accomplished this year, what we hoped to accomplish, and who we want to become in the next year.
Maybe you’re an exception, but the world and I seem to have some problems achieving our “New Year’s Resolutions.” You know how they say that gym memberships skyrocket in January… but they never install more lockers?
Perhaps this problem is connected to something Rabbi Ari Levine talks about in the JerusalemOnlineU.com class Judaism 101- our misperceptions of success.
You see, we construct our goals around faulty ideals of achievement, but our inner, true self (our soul) recognizes they won’t make us happy, and it stalls. Deep down (sometimes subterraneanly) we know this.
Rabbi Levine points out that many of us, consciously or subconsciously, perceive success as the achievement of money, power and fame. Really, true success is always internal, attainable, and constant, with a definition that never changes.
This month, examine the people you admire. If you took away their external accomplishments, would they still be worthy of your esteem?
If not, then perhaps you need new role models.
If yes, pay attention to what they have really accomplished.
I want to build goals for myself that reflect the person I hope to be at the end of this year. And if joining a gym will help me achieve those goals, there will be a locker with my name engraved on it by next Elul.
Find and focus on one goal that is Internal, Attainable, and Constant – that will make you happy and mark you as successful, whether or not you star in a reality show and make millions.
The time period in the Jewish calendar between the fast of Tisha B’Av (the fast of the 9th of Av, where Jews mourn the destruction of the both Temples as well as other tragic events throughout Jewish history that happened on that day) and Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) is a time of teshuva (lit. return, commonly used to mean repentance). According to Jewish tradition these couple of months are specifically meant to be a time of self-introspection and teshuva where we plead with G-d for forgiveness for of our various sins that we have committed over the course of the past year. In order to be forgiven we should think about all the wrongs we committed, and the people we might have hurt or slighted in some way or another. If possible we are encouraged to proactively right our wrongs by seeking true forgiveness from people. If our repentance is sincere and heartfelt then hopefully we will be forgiven.
Not to sound cynical, but unfortunately most of the time when we ask for forgiveness from others our apologies are not really all that heartfelt and sincere. I know unfortunately many of mine weren’t. I am not accusing anybody of being a bad person, all I am saying is that it is very difficult to feel remorse for things that we have said or done, especially if we felt we were in the right. We are human beings after all we have shortcomings and we make mistakes.
I believe the essence of this time is that we can rise up to be greater than who we were yesterday by improving ourselves and how we act towards others. These weeks are meant to be a time of repenting about the past, but also looking towards the future.
As it’s very hard sometimes to put true feeling into repentence, here are five tips for how to forgive others.
5. Forgive Yourself – Often times the first step to forgive others is to forgive yourself.
4. Fake It – Unlike many other faith traditions, Judaism teaches that through actions come feelings. Na’aseh v’Nishma – “We will do and we will listen,” was the response of the Israelites in the Desert when they received the 10 Commandments (Exodus 24:7). The lesson here is that, while we initially may not undertake actions out of true intention, if we do the right thing – even for the wrong reason – eventually, we will end up doing the right thing for the right reason.
3. Be the Better Person – Sometimes our emotions get the better of us, and without meaning to we can get caught up in the moment and take offense from something that someone does to us. Be proactive and seek them out because they might not have the courage to ask you personally for forgiveness.
2. Move Along – Be willing to move past the offense, because if you don’t, it will continue burden you. Ask yourself: “If I did this, would I want to be forgiven? Be compassionate towards others.
1. Acceptance- This is the most difficult one of all and if you can master it you will be a changed person. You must learn to accept others faults and shortcomings. People naturally have faults, but if you can learn how to accept people warts and all, then what people do won’t offend and frustrate you as much and you will be much more forgiving.
The following is a guest post from Barak Taragin
As a Jew I have always been curious as to find out exactly how many of us there are in the world. Our numbers have been rather low for the past couple thousand years due to various persecutions, exterminations and expulsions. As I am sure you all know those three things can take a substantial toll on a population. With this in mind how many Jews does that leave left in this world?
Judaism is known as one of the “Big 5” most commonly known religions are Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Judaism.
So how do these religions rank in comparison with each other?
In a study done in 2005 by Adherents.com, Judaism was listed as one of the smaller religions in the world coming in at number 12 with roughly around 14 million Jews coming right behind religions such as Juche and Spiritism.
This pales in comparison with the other members of the “Big 5” or rather “Big 4 and Small 1.”
Christianity- 2.1 billion
Islam- 1.5 billion
Hinduism- 900 million
Buddhism- 376 million
These 4 religions combined take up roughly around 74% of the worlds population equaling around 5 billion people. Now compare that to Judaism’s measly .22% of the worlds population.
But for some reason even though Judaism is such a small percentage of the population, Jews get a tremendous amount of press.
So where do these famed .22% of the worlds population reside? Lets take a look at the top 10 countries and regions where Jews are today.
Israel – 5.4 million
United States – 5.3 million
Europe – 1.5 million
France – 490,000
Canada – 375,000
United Kingdom – 300,000
Russia – 225,000
Argentina – 185,000
Germany – 120,000
10. Australia – 105,000
(Source: 2007 Study done by The American Jewish Yearbook)
Over time Israel’s numbers continue to increase as more and more people make aliyah (lit. going up – commonly used to mean move to Israel). With that in mind only time will tell about what the future has in store for this nation of the few and the scattered.
The following is a guest post from Chava Baars, a former JerusalemOnlineUniversity.com student.
I’ve been in Israel for two months now, staying in different areas of Jerusalem. They’ve been two amazing months.
And I’ve realized that I complain a lot.
It’s hot in the day, it’s cold at night, too many steps, expensive dry cleaning, the market doesn’t carry the yogurt I want, I haven’t got a car, it’s hot, the bus is too hot, the bus takes too long, it’s hot…
I’m not sure why I feel the need to express these thoughts – somehow I feel better knowing that others agree with my negative assessments. It’s a temporary relief though.
I did a highly non-clinical and uncontrolled non-scientific evaluation of my thoughts, and I’ve found that the more I complain, the more I focus on the negative. This might seem obvious, but when I’m complaining, I really do feel like it helps. Until 5 minutes later, when I’ve found something else to complain about.
In Positive Psychology and Judaism, Tal Ben-Shahar quotes Professor Ed Diener: “It appears that the way people perceive the world is much more important to happiness than objective circumstances.” As Rabbi Yitz Greenman put it, we’re not happy because everything’s going great. I won’t be any happier if the bus takes less time, or the temperature cools down, I’ll just find something else to complain about.
It’s like those nights, when you (or me) are up at two in the morning, and you’re hungry, so you eat some leftover cake, and then sit in bed feeling nauseous. At the time, eating cake at 2 AM felt like a great idea, and it tasted really good. Afterwards, not so much.
Just like the 2 AM cake, when we complain, we don’t feel better. Next time you catch yourself thinking an unproductive negative thought, immediately say “NEXT” and think of something positive.
It’s hot outside? In Maryland it’s hot AND humid. Beat that.
When many people think about Jewish tradition and lessons from Jewish wisdom, they often think about the Sabbath, keeping kosher, lighting Channukah candles or celebrating Jewish holidays. Sometimes they think about the differences between Reform, Conservative, and Orthodox Judaism and Jewish ritual. But, how often do people think about the vast treasury of Jewish wisdom and what Judaism can teach us about love and relationships?
One of the most important lessons Judaism teaches about love and affection is that words matter. “Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me,” is not Jewish wisdom. As JOU instructor Lori Palatnick has written, “kind, encouraging words can build a person’s self-esteem, help him or her to grow and give them the impetus they need to do great, significant things with their lives. The choice regarding how we speak about or to someone is ours.”
In fact, Judaism employs a wide definition of love, both among people and between man and G-d. Regarding the former, the Torah states, “Love your neighbor like yourself” (Leviticus 19:18). As for the latter, one is commanded to love G-d “with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your might” (Deuteronomy 6:5)
Love between husband and wife is essential in Jewish tradition. “See life with the wife you love” (Ecclesiastes 9:9). The biblical book Song of Songs is considered a romantically phrased metaphor of love between God and his people, but in its plain reading, reads like a love song.
