Thursday, November 20, 2014

How Do We Respond to Such a Tragedy?

Dear Friends,

We are deeply shaken by the terrorist attack in Har Nof. We mourn those who were killed and we pray for the speedy recovery of the wounded.

How do we respond to such a tragedy?

By allowing it to change us for the better.

By insisting that it does.

I updated two articles on this topic:

Who Caused This Crisis?

How to Respond Effectively to a Tragedy or Crisis

This Tuesday night, November 25th, at 8:30pm, in New York City, God willing I will be giving a class at the West Side Institutional Synagogue, 120 West 76th Street. The synagogue is between Amsterdam and Columbus. The class is entitled: "Unshakable Faith: What It Is, What It's Not and How to Build It." The class will be based on articles from this blog.

The rest of this post is about the Jewish month of Kislev, as it relates to The Chazak Plan: A 12 Month Journey to Spiritual Strength.

Rosh Chodesh Kislev begins this Motzai Shabbat (Saturday night), November 22nd and lasts for one day.

The theme we will focus on for Kislev is gratitude.

During this month we celebrate the festival of Chanukah, which commemorates the miracle of the oil, the victory of the Maccabees over the Greeks and the rededication of the Second Temple. A key message of the festival is expressing gratitude to God for the miracles He performs on our behalf.

Each day, preferably at the beginning of the day, spend time feeling grateful for the blessings your Creator gave you. Thank Him for His many gifts, for the bright side/silver lining of your difficulties, and for signs of His help amidst your challenges. In addition, express appreciation when someone does something beneficial for you.

The readings for this month focus on Chanukah and related themes. Additional discussion on gratitude is covered in the beginning of the article, 6 Tools to Enhance Your Mood.

Readings for the month:

Clarity + Purity + Joy = Transcendence

Abraham + Isaac + Jacob = You

Have a Shabbat Shalom,

Yaakov

Please forward this post to at least one person you think may benefit from it. 

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