Have You Ever Found Yourself Repeating The Same Mistakes?

Have you ever found yourself repeating the same mistakes, wondering why you end up in familiar pitfalls? There's a story about a woman who wrote her life in five chapters:

1. I walk down the street, fall into a hole, and feel lost.

2. I walk down the same street, see the hole, but still fall in.

3. I walk down the same street, see the hole, fall in, but acknowledge it's my fault and get out quickly.

4. I walk down the same street, see the hole, and walk around it.

5. I choose a different street.

This narrative reflects our journey toward change. Recognizing our patterns empowers us to choose a new path, leading to growth and fulfillment.

This week, I encourage you to identify the "holes" in your life and consider taking a different street. Embrace the courage to change, and watch new possibilities unfold.

Moshe Gersht

True strength isn’t about never pausing – it’s about knowing when to. Even the strongest hearts get tired, and even the fiercest lion knows when to rest in the shade.

Shabbos is that sacred stillness, a weekly moment to stop and exhale, a chance to lay down what we’ve been carrying. It reminds us that rest is not optional; it is holy. In the calm shade of Shabbos, we can pause, breathe deep, and find the strength to rise again ready for whatever comes next.

Inspired by the teachings of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks (1948-2020)

A Higher Purpose

A higher purpose sets your priorities for how you choose to act in the world daily. For example, a higher purpose may simply be “I will be compassionate.” It doesn’t need to be more complicated than that.

So... why not choose compassion?  It's a powerful attribute

Look Up! Geminid Meteors Reach Peak Season ☄️

As Earth plows through the dusty trail of extinct comet 3200 Phaethon each December, the sky ignites with one of the year’s most reliable celestial fireworks: the Geminid Meteor Shower, peaking December 13th and 14th with up to 120 multicolored meteors per hour under dark skies. Unlike most showers born from icy comets, the Geminids spring from a rocky “asteroid” that behaves like a comet, hurling bright, slow-moving fireballs that often glow yellow, green, or red. Radiating from the constellation Gemini near the bright stars Castor and Pollux, this celestial spectacle rewards patient observers bundled against the cold, offering a dazzling reminder that even dead worlds can paint the night with fleeting beauty.

Where in the world will you be viewing the Geminid meteors from? Share your location below. 👇🏼

Learn more: https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/everything-you-need-to-know-geminid-meteor-shower/

How To Deal With Difficult People

Be Curious, Not Furious

Skillfully engaging in the practice “be curious, not furious” means to feel and act with a sense of greater safety instead of scanning for threats. It means to feel more satisfied instead of focusing on what is lacking or needed.

The Law of Emptiness

Every single thing is empty, including myself. Everything is part of this emptiness; everything is subject to the law of emptiness. Everything is changing and manifesting, including myself, so we are inherently living while letting go.

It’s okay if you’re not okay. You are not weak for feeling lost or tired – you’re human. What matters is that even when you fall apart, there’s something deep inside telling you to try again tomorrow. That’s real strength.

Not all progress is visible, and not all growth is loud. Sometimes the most profound transformation happens in the quietest moments, when you're simply holding on, breathing through, and choosing to hope one more time.

But know this: your resilience is being noticed, and your patience will be rewarded. What feels invisible now is quietly preparing tomorrow’s breakthroughs. Keep going, even when the road feels endless; because every small act of holding on is carrying you closer to the place where everything begins to make sense.

Inspired by the teachings of Rabbi Efrem Goldberg

“And you shall leave a space between each herd” (Genesis 32:17)
“A distance within sight, so as to satisfy the eye of that wicked man” (Rashi).

A person’s eyes serve as the messengers of the mind. Their role is to determine whether, upon seeing something, one connects it immediately to higher understanding—recognizing what Hashem wants from him—and thus lives with the awareness expressed by Yaakov Avinu: “I have everything.”

Such a person lives fully within his own reality, recognizing that whatever happens around him is part of his personal story. He does not fix his eyes on what others have - what kind of family, how much money, or how much someone else is serving Hashem. He looks only at himself, his situation, and understands that his task in this misleading world is uniquely his own.

Esav’s eye is the exact opposite. Even when he has abundant silver and gold, he is never satisfied. Yaakov tried to appease him regarding the blessings by sending a generous gift, and therefore he instructed the messengers to keep visual distance between each herd so Esav would see an abundance and perhaps be calmed.

When they finally met, Esav said, “I have plenty,” expressing pride and self-importance. Everything Esav seeks is simply more - more satisfaction, more indulgence, more fulfillment of desires. His gaze is always hungry.

Our task is to confront the Esav within ourselves and fight him with everything we have. “Yaakov was an ish tam - a wholesome man.” Through simple sincerity—taking Rebbe Nachman’s practical advice of hitbodedut, joy, dancing, prayer, and the straightforward practices he taught—we can overcome that inner Esav and become included in the wholesome path of Yaakov.

May Hashem help us in all we do.