Author Archives: Yitzhak Sasson

There are many reasons why blessings are made before (and after in some cases) enjoying or receiving benefit from food, drink, smells, etc., and one of them is gratitude. It is a known challenge to maintain any degree of freshness or mindfulness with actions that are continually repeated, and blessings are no exception. Blessings areContinue reading “An expression of gratitude.”

It is not surprising that the pinnacle of gratitude is found in the Torah and it’s also not surprising that it comes from one of the Patriarchs. (At least, in my opinion.) In the book of Genesis, Yaakov prepared for a potentially hostile meeting with his brother, Esav. He sent ahead to Esav huge flocksContinue reading “The pinnacle of gratitude.”

In the exceedingly popular book Garden of Emuna, Rav Shalom Arush breaks down emunah (the belief in God) into three levels: Basic Level : The firm belief that everything comes from God. Intermediate Level : That everything God does is for the best. Upper Level : Everything that God does is done with a specificContinue reading “Hindsight is 2020.”

Sephardi selihot starts with Ashrei (Psalm 145) followed by Ben Adam, a short piyut calling on man to rise from their spiritual slumber and seek forgiveness. Immediately after Ben Adam selihot continues with a very poignant question, “How can we complain?” It’s a good question. In Rav Arush’s book, the Garden of Gratitude, he writesContinue reading “How can we complain?”

The opposite of gratitude is ingratitude and ingrates are complainers. Complainers essentially find fault with their world and the world around them. Their cup is always half full — at best. I believe we were created prone to peace. Why? It’s seems evident that behaviors, attitudes and beliefs can be easily rubbed off from oneContinue reading “No room for complainers.”

Our lives are filled with mundane tasks that we often do by rote. Morning routines like showering, teeth brushing, getting dressed, etc., as well as household chores are usually executed without much thought or concentration. What would happen if we approached them with a totally new mindset? Imagine approaching tasks as opportunities to increase happinessContinue reading “Seize the moment.”

We are often labeled and identify ourselves by what we are. Rarely do we ponder about what we are not — or why we are not something or someone different. To appreciate the introduction it important to believe that God is very active in our lives and guides us in a direction that is forContinue reading “The other side of the coin.”

There are many ways to expand the horizons of your current knowledge level. Online learning via MOOCs (massive open online courses), Udemy and other education platforms are hugely popular. YouTube has a plethora of educational channels and on a more primitive level there are books, public speaking, conversation and more. Sometimes we learn something thatContinue reading “TIA & the World of Possibilities.”

The modern mobile phone has opened doors to global communication and given access to a rapidly doubling virtual global library. However, it also has the ability to steal time better than the smoothest burglar. As one with Luddite leanings I believe the mobile phone should used with a discerning discretion most of the time andContinue reading “The importance of daily downtime.”

I once read that moviegoers are more deeply affected by the death of a single character than the death of thousands or millions in a single catastrophic event. It’s possible this phenomena applies to real life as well. On September 11, 2001 over 2900 people died terrible deaths but the images of people falling toContinue reading “Can you relate?”