Thinkingaboutme.org
9 years of Parasha articles.
A PASSIONATE THOUGHT
A PASSIONATE THOUGHT Parashat Pekudei If you want to be successful at something, you need to be passionate about it. The greater the challenge to be successful, the more passion you need. Take two people. Both from similar backgrounds. Both with similar strengths and weaknesses. Both going through the same motions. Both going for the…
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BE DO HAVE
BE DO HAVE Parashat Vayakhel Life decisions are complex. It is not the surrounding circumstances that make these life decisions complex. It is defining identity that is complex. For many people, the biggest life decision is marriage. Before any life decision one makes, one must know who he is, in order to be certain that…
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A G-D Like I.D.
A G-D Like I.D. Parashat Ki Tisa SOME husbands believe that if they were richer, their wife would respect them more. If they could outsmart people, outdo her siblings or her friend’s husband, then their wife might love them more. There is no greater mistake a husband can make. A woman wants one thing from…
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ATTRACTING OPPOSITES
ATTRACTING OPPOSITES Parashat Tezaveh Kids fight. Lots of kids, lots of fights. Simple math. It’s confusing for one parent to deal with fighting kids. Who is right and who is wrong? The truth is, it does not make a difference. Judging is a complex task, especially if we are talking about your own children. Which…
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A BAD IDEA
A BAD IDEA Parashat Terumah P eople ask me how I manage to come up with an amazing article every week. Here is my secret. I don’t. I come up with an article that is not so great. And then I change it. I tweak it ’til it’s better. And then change it again. Each…
Read MoreA LESSON FROM HELLEN
A LESSON FROM HELLEN Parshat Mishpatim H elen Keller once said, “Hearing loss is a worse misfortune than being blind. When you lose your vision, you lose contact with things; but when you lose your hearing, you lose contact with people.” In the words of our Sages, this is true, to a degree. The Talmud…
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SHOULDN’T SAY SHOULD
SHOULDN’T SAY SHOULD Parshat Yitro A re you able to find humor in life? Do you go a whole day without laughing? Being funny is not a goal in the eyes of the Torah, but laughing things off is. Laughing things off is a skill. You can learn it, once you understand some basic things…
Read MoreCONFIDENCE … THE REAL THING
CONFIDENCE … THE REAL THING Parashat Beshalach I got a phone call from an old friend last week. “Yosef, you have a minute?” I said yes. “Can you tell me how I can build up self confidence in my 6th grade son who is failing in school?” Some things just can’t be done in one…
Read Morespanish BESHALAJ 2014
CONFIANZA … ES LA VERDADERA REALIDAD Recibí una llamada telefónica de un viejo amigo la semana pasada. “Yosef, tienes un minuto?”, le dije que sí. “¿Puedes decirme cómo puedo hacer que mi hijo de sexto grado, que está fallando en la escuela, adquiera confianza en sí mismo?” Hay cosas que no pueden lograrse instantáneamente, no…
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english Bo 2014
A WORDLESS There is one thing you can do to your child that is worse than smacking him in the face. There is one thing that will drive your spouse to distraction, even more than getting into a fight. This one thing is probably the most powerful relationship-tool you have. It can also build…
Read Morespanish Bo 2014
UN PENSAMIENTO SIN PALABRAS Hay una cosa que puedes hacerle a tu hijo peor que darle una bofetada en su cara; hay algo que perturbará a tu esposa más que una pelea. Esta cosa probablemente es la herramienta para las relaciones más poderosa que tienes. También puede construir relaciones, confianza y hacerte ver como una…
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english Vaera 2014
A LETTER FROM G-D Read the next few lines, and then close your eyes for a minute. When your eyes are closed, try to picture a letter in an envelope, handed to you by a stranger. The stranger shows you his ID card. Eliyahu Hanavi. He tells you that in this envelope is a letter…
Read Morespanish Vaera 2014
UNA CARTA DE DI-S Lee las siguientes líneas y luego cierra tus ojos por un minuto. Una vez que ya hayas cerrado tus ojos intenta imaginar que un extraño te está entregando una carta en un sobre. El extraño te muestra su identificación, es Eliahu Hanaví, y te dice que en ese sobre hay…
Read MoreShemot 2013 english
WHAT, THEN HOW Do you know what is the most important thing that G-d gave you, possibly your greatest resource for success? It is something that can get you out of most of life’s problems, something that can bring you the success that you are looking for in life, something that is probably the…
Read MoreShemot 2013 spanish
Qué y después cómo ¿Sabes cuál es el obsequio más importante que Di-s te otorgó y, probablemente, el más grande recurso en tu poder para prosperar? Es algo que te puede sacar de la mayoría de los problemas de la vida, algo que te puede ayudar a lograr el éxito que esperas en tu…
Read MoreVayechi english 2013
ART OF APOLOGY Erev Yom Kippur, I witnessed something very sad. The Jewish Law is that Yom Kippur cleanses only sins between Man and G-d. But if you sinned against a fellow Jew, after Yom Kippur you will still have that sin on your records – unless you ask for forgiveness. You need to…
Read Morevaeiji spanish 2013
El arte de pedir perdón En la víspera de Iom Kipur fui testigo de una escena muy triste. Como es sabido, la Ley judía indica que Iom Kipur limpia sólo los pecados entre la persona y Di-s; pero los cometidos contra el prójimo quedan registrados aun después de Iom Kipur, a menos que uno…
Read MoreVayigash english 2013
HACHAM OVADIA’S SECRET MEMORY TECHNIQUE What is the earliest memory you have of your life? I’ll bet that the first memory you have from your childhood has to do with some emotion. Some kids not letting you play with their blocks. Or getting upset that it rained on Purim, and your Purim costume got…
Read MoreVaiagash spanish 2013
La técnica secreta del Rav Ovadia para optimizar su memoria ¿Cuál es el primer recuerdo que conservas de tu vida? Apuesto que la primera memoria de tu infancia se trata de algo sentimental; de niños que no te dieron lugar a jugar con los bloques o de haberte enojado porque llovió en Purim y…
Read Moreenglish MIKETZ 2013
A PITIFUL THOUGHT In a talk that I had recently with a teenager, I asked him how he spends his spare time. When he answered “being bored”, we took the topic farther. I asked him how he would feel if he discovered that he would be bored for the rest of his life. 24/7. …
Read Morespanish MIKETZ 2013
Lamentables pensamientos En una conversación que recientemente tuve con un adolescente, le pregunté cómo pasa su tiempo libre. Su respuesta “aburriéndome”, me instó a seguir más allá. Le pregunté cómo se sentiría si habría de descubrir que terminaría aburrido por el resto de su vida. Él se tomó un minuto y medio para considerar la…
Read MoreVAYESHEV 2013 english
AN UNSETTLING THOUGHT Life can be extremely frustrating. Or, if you wish, extremely fascinating. Depends on how positively you perceive things. As a coach, I do not waste time watching movies, and not only for religious reasons. I watch real-life movies. If one wastes his time watching those fake films, he misses out on…
Read MoreVAIESHEV 2013 SPANISH
Disfrutando de la película – Un inquietante pensamiento La vida puede ser muy frustrante o, si así lo deseas, algo muy fascinante. Todo depende de cuán positivamente percibas las cosas. En mi rol de “coach”, no pierdo tiempo viendo películas, aunque no fuere sólo por motivos religiosos. Pues yo miro películas de la vida…
Read Moreenglish VAYISHLACH 2013
THE HAPPIEST MAN I KNOW There is an old Swedish saying, “Those who wish to sing always find a song.” Happiness is like wanting to sing. Once you wish to be happy, you will find something to be happy about. Happiness is more an active decision than a state of being. You do not…
Read Morespanish vaishlaj 2013
La persona más feliz que conozco Existe un antiguo dicho sueco: “aquel que desea cantar, siempre encuentra una canción”. La felicidad es como querer cantar; si deseas estar feliz entonces encontrarás un motivo para estarlo. La felicidad es más bien una decisión activa que un estado de humor. Uno no necesita esperar que las…
Read Moreenglish VAYETZE 2013
SULAM TO SUCCESS Yaakov had a dream. A ladder. Two feet standing sturdily on the ground, with the top touching the sky. Angels climbing up and down. There are different interpretations of this dream. One of them is that the angels were going up and down in Yaakov עולים ויורדים בו ביעקב ולא בסולם.…
Read Morespanish VAIETZE 2013
La escalera del éxito Iacov soñó con una escalera; una escalera con el pie firme en la tierra y la cabeza tocando el cielo. Los ángeles subían y bajaban por esta escalera. Hay varias interpretaciones para este sueño; una de ellas es que los ángeles subían y bajaban dentro de Iacov (עולים ויורדים בו…
Read Moreenglish TOLDOT 2013
WORDS FROM MY HEART Imagine how your life would be if you had a behavior technique that would make you the greatest negotiator you know. Imagine how great it would be if you had in your hands a way to smooth out all the rocky relationships you have with the people it is hard…
Read Moretoldot spanish 2013
Directo del corazón Imagínate cómo se vería tu día con una técnica de conducta que te convierte en el mejor negociador que conoces. Imagínate cuán maravilloso sería si encontrarías una forma de alisar…
Read MoreCHAYE SARA / english 2013
PACKING IT WITH THOUGHTFULNESS Imagine what your life would be like if I were to give you a tool that made people think of you in the most positive and desirable way – something that would make them think “that person is worth caring for and helping. That person knows how to appreciate…” –…
Read MoreParashat Jaie Sara | Versión española
Empaquetar con consideración Imagínate cómo te verías a ti mismo si te brindaría una herramienta para hacer que la gente piense sobre ti de una forma positiva y deseable. Algo que con la mínima mención de tu nombre ya los haga pensar que eres una persona digna de su interés y apoyo y que…
Read Morevayera 2013
THE GREATNESS OF A MENTOR – THE GREAT LOSS IN LOSING ONE This week’s parasha opens with our Forefather Avraham, sitting at the entrance of his tent. At the age 99, he is in tremendous pain, three days after his Brit Milah. G-d does not want Avraham to exert himself taking in guests while…
Read Morespanish Vaierá 2013
La grandeza de un maestro – y la enorme pérdida de no tenerlo más La Parashá de esta semana comienza con nuestro Patriarca Abraham sentado en la entrada de su carpa, a los 99 años, con tremendos dolores del tercer día a su Berit Milá. Di-s no desea que Abraham tenga que esforzarse recibiendo…
Read Moreenglish lech lecha 2013
AVRAHAM’S SHIELD / YOUR SHIELD The first blessing in the Amidah is called Avot. Every word is a gem; concentration here is a must, three times a day, each day of your life. G-d of Avraham, Yitzhak and Yaakov. The G-d Who is great, mighty and awesome, supreme G-d, Who bestows beneficent kindness…
Read Morespanish Lej Leja 2013
El Escudo de Abraham – Tu Escudo La primera bendición de la amidá se llama “Avot”. Cada una de sus palabras es una joya y la concentración e intención son un requerimiento obligatorio; tres veces al día, cada día de nuestras vidas. “Di-s de Abraham, Itzjak y Iacov. Di-s grandioso, poderoso y temible, Di-s…
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