Thursday, March 25, 2010

The Pesach Seder-What Takes So Long?

8 comments:

  1. doesn't this video capture an important running theme in yiddishkeit? Someone can be doing a mitva in a sort of "ho-hum-ish" wayand theyr still connecting to Hashem on some level and getting schar. but then if they stop for a second to think why theyr doing it- just for a second, it doesnt take too much work but makes a world of a difference, they can become really EXCITED! and it changes the whooole experience!!! I just heard a similar idea at a shiur given by Rabbi Wallerstein, who says that lots of times kids these days dont feel at all compelled to sit through the seder, (or, on abigger scale even stay frum, chas v'shalom) cuz they really have no reason to- they see their parents who are tired an wary from all that pesach/ shabbos/ other mitzva... work, rushing through the seder, taking every shortcut possible so they can finally go to sleep. If the kid doesnt feel that joy of yom tov for him/herself, what reason do they have to do these things themselves??
    So with that said i think this year we should alltry to make my seder as exciting and fun and interactive as can possibly be- (think finger puppets, maakos masks and rubber frogs if thats what it would take to capture the audience!!)
    I hope you all have a beautiful and uplifting yom tov!

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  2. hey shnooky! i was at that shiur to!!!!!!! I agree with Rabbi Wallerstein, that the schools often dont teach us in a way that make us excited about being jewish. machshava can make all the differencein having another boring sader or a sader full of depth, fun, and meaning. their is so much joy that can be found!!! also i agree..finger puppets sound like a great idea :) i actually have a friend that was telling me all about them.... and rabbi wallerstein seems to be pretty into them as well.

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  3. c. clique:
    It looks like you have a lot of pain from schools. although I was also hurt in the system, and definitely learned not to agree w/ everything that i learn there, I must admit that SOME teachers really taught me timeless lessons when it came to yomim tovim, that exceeded what I was able to pick up from at home alone.
    which brings me back to what I was really referring to in my last comment. I was implying that there is a need for a feeling of joy to be conveyed FROM AT HOME when yom tov comes around- it may seem like an unnecessary thing, but just putting on the music while cleaning or taking 30 SECONDS- LITERALLY to dance around the kitchen table singing yom tov songs with a younger sibling or kid can do SO MUCH MORE than all the maamarei chazal memorized in 20 years of school- and you'll be setting the tone for what that child will do i'H in HIS own house!!! tizki l'mitzvos :)))

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  4. those finger puppets really do sound like a cute idea..lol

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  5. and i agree with what u have written :)

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  6. Hi,
    I'm a bubby and my granddaughter recently taught me how to surf and blog. I like to keep up with the times and have been following this blog for a while. I must tell you that part of my "joi de vivre" comes from being raised by parents who both are holocaust survivors and have suffered and lost much. They could have had every possible excuse in the book to be weary and bitter. Nevertheless, they CHOSE to raise us with simcha. I myself have gone through several major challenges but my mom's constant message still resonates within my very core "do something every day to make yourself happy. Don't rely on everyone else to deliver simcha on a silver platter." Dear coffee clique -while it's convenient to blame schools (and I agree that there are plenty of robotic teachers who transmit robotic Torah) I think that if you accustom yourself to reviewing the brachos in your life in great detail - every single day, you will be able to feel and even transmit simcha regardless of the curve balls that life inevitably brings. It is my fervent hope that every jew will come to understand the power of simcha in serving Hashem.

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  7. -happy bubby: what does it mean to
    do something every day that will make yourself happy? till what extent, and through what means?

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  8. Hi luv613,
    There is no one answer to your question. First you have to really get to know yourself. I love music, painting, socializing with good friends, reading, dancing, walking..the list goes on and on. But depending on the day different things might work. The idea here isn't too over indulge and become self obsessed (that ultimately brings to the opposite of simcha)but rather to create a balance with a keen awareness of all the good in your life. (If you're really stumped take a visit to sloan kettering...for speedy inspiration. Hatzlacha!

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