Self-help books are one category of best sellers close to cookbooks.

The Torah – the guide for life – helps a person live a better life.

Recently, the Gallup organization took a poll called the Well-being survey. They asked over 700,000 people in the US to find out what makes a person satisfied. They found that Torah Observant Jews have more happiness & satisfaction with life & Well-being than any other group in America. (Gallup Poll)

A possible reason? Judaism is all about self-improvement. It helps a person attain their potential in life and become their true selves.

How?

A Person’s True Self is their Soul. Pleasing it, you becomes yourself & thus attain Happiness – by Meaning & Purpose found by doing Mitzvot & learning Torah. Thus you reach your potential & attain a place in Heaven.

See our website section for sites on Judaism & Better Living. They are among the Best Judaism Websites. One such site is Simple to Remember. Rabbi Akiva Tatz has a series called Journey to the Self that are enjoyable listening for the English speaker.

Our Happiness Card also Talks about Jewish Happiness.

Women in the Torah are treated differently than men. They don’t have fixed prayers three times a day (only once). They are exempt from positive Torah commandments that are caused by time (like putting on Tephillin, shaking the Lulav, sitting in the Succah, etc.)

Why?

Here is a joke that will answer the question.

There was once a doctor that prescribed aspirin for any ailment a person had. Arthritis – aspirin. Cold – aspirin. Chicken pox – aspirin. A patient asked him – why he does this. He replied “I treat everybody equally – I don’t discriminate!”

Men and women are different, thus they have different laws. Some laws apply to everybody. But other laws take into account differences in people.  Like – there are laws specifically for an Israel, a Levi and a Cohen. Laws for Men and for Women. Laws for Jews and Gentiles (the 7 Noahide Commandments).

Rabbi Akiva Tatz explains in his audio lectures – Journey to the Self – Inspiration and Disappointment” that there are two phases in every experience – One beginning phase of initial high spiritual light and then a second lasting light. It expresses itself at times as two stages where initially a person is given a gift and then the effort stage, where he must make an effort.

It is like a father teaching a young child to walk first he holds the hand of the child and then lets go to allow the child to walk on his own.

Some examples:
– When a person meets his spouse for the first time he is enthralled. After marriage he has to work on himself to make the marriage work.
– When a person does Teshuva (returns to observance of the Torah) it is exhilarating and beautiful. After this phase he must work to become closer to the Creator.
– A person is taught the whole Torah in the womb of the mother then he is struck under above the lip by an angel (thus the indentation) and made to forget it. Then afterwards he must make an effort to learn it.

Thus there are two phases. The initial phase and the second. Men are similar to the first light – women are similar to the second light. A man has laws to keep him in sync with time – like the commandments mentioned above. A woman has a natural clock and are more in-tune with time.

A woman who gives birth to a male child is impure for 7 days. For a female child she is impure for 14 days. Why? because a female has a higher potential for purity than men – thus when she gives birth to a female there is greater potential for impurity. For example if you stretch out a rubber band far in one direction it will snap to the other direction far. If you don’t stretch it it will not snap so far.

Why does a woman have a higher potential of purity? I heard once from a lecture of R. Shimshon Pincus is that a woman is like a “creator.” She is able to “create” children. Thus she is very precious in the eyes of Hash-m. This is one reason why a woman has laws of Tzniut (Modesty). Something that is precious is hidden. Like a bank account – people hide how much they have in their bank account. We put gold and jewelry in a safe. Thus a Bat Yisrael (Daughter of Israel) has laws of Tzniut, because of their preciousness to Hash-m, they are enjoined to wear modest clothing.*

Sarah Immeinu (our Matriarch) had a higher level of prophesy than her husband Avraham.

* For a free Card or Booklet on Jewish Modesty see our Jewish Freebies section

(A Hebrew site on Modesty: כתר מלכות – למען הקדושה והצניעות בהכוונת גדולי ישראל)

The Talmud in Baba Metzia 107b cites that Morning Bread (Pat Shaharit / פת שחרית) nullifies 83 illnesses and has 13 attributes for the daily wellbeing of a person.

There are 83 illnesses that depend upon the gall and [eating] Bread in the morning with salt and [drinking] a container of water – nullifies them.

Here is a link to the page in the Talmud that speaks of it and tells you the 13 attributes of morning bread:

Thirteen Attributes of Morning Bread

I believe  in another place in the Talmud it mentions eating dates for good health as well. (see Ketuvot 10b)

It is also a Mitzvah written in shulchan aruch :שולחן ערוך אורח חיים – חלק ב’ סימן קנה ב

Sorry – to those who thought cereal and milk was the Jewish Breakfast of Champions. 🙂

* Apparently 28 to 56 grams of whole wheat bread should be consumed within 4 – 9 minutes any time during the meal and should be eaten before midday.

*(bile comes from the liver. It is stored in the gallbladder until the food being digested (at this point called chyme) enters the first part of the small intestine)

Before Going to Sleep it is a Mitzvah to Recite the Shema Yisrael (found in Siddurim / Jewish prayer books … and also on our site) and one or three adjoining paragraphs. Some people sing it to their children like a Jewish Lullaby. It prevents bad dreams and is good for protection from harm and much more.

Some also say “Hamalach HaGoel …” (“The Angel that redeems me from all bad should bless the children…”) the verse from Genesis / Bereishit  (48:16) that speaks about the Angels that protected our Forefather Yaakov which is also good for protection from harm.

There are many nice melodies for the recital of Shema, Torah Tziva (the first Torah verse to teach one’s children -“The Torah was commanded to us by Moshe  / Moses, it is a heritage of the people of Yaakov / Jacob.”  ( Deut. / Devarim 33:4) –  and Hamalach. Accompany these with Jewish Stories and your children will enjoy a more pleasant bedtime.

It only takes 5 to 10 minutes and is a wonderful way to say goodnight and develop a more meaningful relationship with children.

There still time to say the Blessing / Bracha on the trees now, in the Jewish month of Iyar, according to Rav Ovadia Yosef. The proper time for this blessing, that is said once a year, is in Nissan, the month that Passover falls. But according to some Rabbis one can even say it this month, to not miss out on this beautiful blessing.

How:
Find one (a) or two (s) fruit trees blossoming with flowers that have not sprouted fruit yet.
Stand in front of them and say blessing.

Here is a link for the blessing and to find the fruit trees

Blessing on Trees

At times a person gets disenchanted with life because they lose appreciation for daily kindness from above. Thus the Torah enjoins us to say the proper blessing on things we may take for granted, like on food, aromas, Mitzvas, the moon (once a month), on trees (once a year) and on the sun (once every 28 years).

I Love Learning Talmud.

It makes you feel life.

Inside is Halacha / Jewish Law, Philosophy, and Aggada / Stories.

Yesterday I was reading a book called Tales of the Gemara : Shabbos. (A Great series of books for Jewish Children Bedtime Stories)

It told of five creatures that are afraid of creatures smaller than them.

the Lion, the Elephant, the scorpion, …

In tractate Berachot, it teaches us what we would learn from cats had the Torah – not been given.

In Tractate Baba Kama – daf 60a – it even gives two reasons why dogs laugh and one why they cry.

Ohr Somayach, a Jewish outreach Yeshiva in Jerusalem, hosts a beautiful seminar yearly with highly respected, inspirational and intellectual Rabbis. This year is no exception. You can book online.

Their Day-long Conferences, very reasonably priced, will be held :

New York – (Apr 21, 13),
Baltimore (Apr 22, 13),
Toronto (Apr 23, 13)
Chicago (Apr 24, 13)
and Los Angeles (Apr 29, 13)

the link : Ohr Somayach Yom Iyun / Day of Learning/

Having a clean and clear working area helps you to concentrate better when learning or working.

All these knickknacks, gadgets, & small items are collected and stored away in drawers – there may be hundreds – what do you do with them?

Here is one solution:

Put a plastic table cloth on table or floor.
Take all your drawers with similar items and spill them onto table cloth.
Take Zip-Lock bags. Put similar items together in a bag.
Label Bag with a Permanent Marker.

Put similar bags back in designated drawers.

Now you don’t have to search through thousands of little things – just search for the right bag.

King Solomon instituted that all the People should wash their hands before eating Bread. How?

Using a large washing cup, pour water three times on entire right hand (with wrist) and three times on entire left hand.

Say Bracha on Washing. Dry hands. Say Bracha on bread and eat.

Washing hands is also hygienic – it prevents many common germs and bacteria from entering system.

Being Green Means Reducing waste and to Recycle. It is relatively easy. Just throw the paper in the recycling bin instead of the trash. So Easy.

Now being Green is in Style.

Apparently there is a concept of after trying old systems and seeing their faults we eventually reach closer to truth. When You recycle you accomplish the Mitzva of “Bal Tashchit” – not to waste.