Moments of the Heart. Dorice Horenstein

even though we enjoyed our own family’s traditions, we wanted to create more meaningful experiences for our children. We modified our traditions a bit to better fit us so that we could pass them on to our children in more meaningful ways. Slowly, we incorporated more activities, stories, and songs. We even wrote questions which we sent to our guests to contemplate before coming over. We purchased fourteen copies of our favorite Haggadah (a book that tells the story of the Exodus), which our guests use (every two get one, encouraging them to connect and socialize further). Every year we take pictures and later insert them into the books. At the end of the evening, our guests write comments in the book (or send us an email later that we print out and glue on the pages of the Haggadah). Our children already have conversations deciding who will take these Haggadot (plural of Haggadah) once we stop hosting the Passover Seder gatherings in our own home. If that is not passing on the tradition and the excitement to the next generation, I do not know what is.

      I hope this inspires you to create your own tradition, one that future generations will be so glad to receive!

      Is Change Inevitable?

      I recently saw a sign proclaiming “Change is inevitable, growth is optional.” How true is this! In order to make growth meaningful, we often need courage. In the past few weeks, I witnessed several people’s courageous acts. My sister’s behavior during her cancer treatment is the first that comes to my mind. When you think of courage, what comes to mind first? I recall hearing a sermon online from IKAR rabbis where they discussed physical courage vs. moral courage. What do you think is the difference? Most people think of physical courage, such as when people go to war and endanger their life to secure ours. Physical courage can also encompass other ways in which people save their fellow human—we see it in times of catastrophes. Physical courage is most evident when we need people to be leaders, and they step up. Can you think of a biblical figure who showed physical courage? Gideon? Samson? David? Their action are definitely one way of looking at courage.

      What I am thinking about, however, is moral courage—the ability to make changes that will impact you and your family or community, without knowing the results and without seeing the outcome. Consider speaking up when it may not be the most admirable thing to do at that moment, when it sometimes means going against the tide of opinions and actions. We have all seen this in our daily lives and on the news. Can you think of biblical figures who showed us moral courage? Avraham and Moses come readily to mind!

      The word for courage in Hebrew is ometz lev (). Interestingly, the word ometz comes from the same root as in the word “to adopt”— And the word lev means “heart.” So we can look at courage as “adoption of the heart.” What can your heart adopt? Perhaps new behaviors, new ways of looking at things, new opportunities?

      I think moral courage is one of the hardest things we have to face if we want to grow and improve who we are because it inevitably asks us to change and challenge ourselves and to take a new path. Change can be very scary because we do not know what the outcome of the change might be. Not changing, on the other hand, can cause us to be stagnant and, at times, to regress from our abilities, our wishes, and our dreams. It can also lead us to be disappointed, causing us regret and embarrassment.

      Recently, my oldest son showed moral courage in front of my youngest son. While walking in Brooklyn, they witnessed a man, full of rage, banging on a car of an older man and uttering anti-Semitic statements. My oldest son not only feared that the older man would be hurt, but he also could not stand idle by while witnessing anti-Semitism. He told the angry man to cool off and walk away. Things could have turned badly, but God protected them and nothing happened. While I was scared for their safety—I was also moved by my son’s courage!

      I once saw a T-shirt with a sentence I found meaningful: “Look back to learn. Look forward to succeed.” My wish for all of us is to have the courage to do what needs to be done and thus experience positive and welcoming growth! Change is inevitable. Let’s make growth—the product of change—something of which we can be proud!

      Your Personal Lev Moment

      1 1.Is there anything in your life that might need sprucing up—an imaginary injection of newness? Is there a plan you want to revisit, tailor, or tweak a little? Is there anything outside of your comfort zone you want to explore?

      2 2.Who is your hero? Have they shown physical courage or moral courage? Are they alive? Why do you consider this individual your hero? What have they done to be impactful on you? Did their impact influence others besides you? Your family? Your neighborhood? Your community?

      3 3.Can you think of a time or an action that caused change in you or in others?

      4 4.Study a person from the Bible who showed either physical or moral courage. What about this individual drove them to demonstrate courage? What lessons do you glean from them?

      5 5.Imagine you are wearing this T-shirt “Look back to learn. Look forward to succeed.” Can you come up with two tasks you would love to succeed at? What is your plan of action to get you there? Can you begin with a couple of steps toward that direction this week?

      Be a Champion in Your Eyes!

      I marvel at the symbolism and the hidden meaning of the majestic Hebrew letters. All Hebrew letters are believed to have hidden facets of spiritual force within them. The first letter of the Hebrew language is alef (). For now, I want to focus only on this letter—the letter alef. Every Hebrew letter has an equivalent numerical value. Alef’s numerical value is one (and the letter bet is two, gimmel is three, and so on). The Hebrew word for “letter” is the word ot (). The word ot also means “a sign,” implying that Hebrew letters, from alef to tav, have spiritual signs and energy force.

      In the Talmud, it is said that Betzalel, who was tasked with the building of the Tabernacle in the wilderness, knew how to combine certain letters to form a word and thus create a physical manifestation of that word. In this way, he created the objects in the Mishkan (Tabernacle), which is why he was chosen for this holy task (Brachot 55a). What is inside these letters that makes them special?