March/April reading and doing too much – again

Diamonds are formed under high pressure, giving them their unique brilliance and radiance.

Similarly, human beings are subjected to pressures and difficulties that form who we are.

We grow stronger, smarter, and more resilient when we conquer these challenges.

Whenever you’re feeling the burden of life on your shoulders, remember that you have the capacity to shine like a diamond.

Well obviously I have been doing WAY too much and reaching the outer edge of my limits as a human being, BUT… I have finished my Master’s thesis and I’m very happy with it. The Mussar Omer program materials are complete and so far (this is week 3 of 7) has been extraordinarily well received. We’ve done two interview podcasts and two webinars. I really like that I’m getting to do this. Seriously, there is no amount of work that would be too much for that sacred community that gives me so much. I took my Hebrew final exam. I cleaned up my desk and I’m good as new.

Our Passover seder was a success as well… in that it happened and it’s over. It was very chaotic with 33 people. Someday we will have a meaningful seder… when the kids grow up a little more. We had it in the middle of the holiday, which I found disrespectful in all sorts of ways, but made it easier in that I didn’t read the entire Haggadah. It is loads of work to set up all the tables and the kitchen and serve so many people dinner and I did not really get to talk to anyone that night, but I feel good and my sweet girl enjoyed it.

What’s next for me? I am enjoying a full week and a half of no classes before I begin again. I’m doing a puzzle app on my phone. I’m hanging with my family. I’m catching up on a scrapbook. I’m going to read!

I have two more 8-week summer classes for my Masters: “The Book of Samuel” will be May/June and “Modern Jewish Thought” will be July/August. And I will be taking the third and final Hebrew preparatory class for rabbinical school so I’m caught up to begin with their Hebrew A course in the fall. I’m looking forward to only attending one school soon!

My thesis entailed reading about 20 books and loads of articles… I’ve listed some here but I give up on a full reading report for March and April! The whole project was very interesting to me and I enjoyed all the books.

• The Earth Is the Lord’s: The Inner World of the Jew in Eastern Europe by Abraham Joshua Heschel
• The Legacy: Teachings for Life from the Great Lithuanian Rabbis by Berel Wein
• Lithuanian Yeshivas of the Nineteenth Century: Creating a Tradition of Learning by Shaul Stampfer
• Hasidic Tales of the Holocaust by Yaffa Eliach
• Sharing the Burden: Rabbi Simcha Zissel Ziv and the Path of Musar by Geoffrey Claussen
• Strive for Truth by Rav Dessler
• Wrestling with God: Jewish Theological Responses During and After the Holocaust by Steven Katz
• Rabbi Israel Salanter and the Mussar Movement: Seeking the Torah of Truth by Emmanual Etkes
• Between Berlin and Slobodka: Jewish Transition Figures from Eastern Europe by Hillel Goldberg
• The Fire Within by Hillel Goldberg
• Illuminating the Generations by Hillel Goldberg
• Choosing Not to Choose: Based on the Va’adim of HaRav Yechiel Yitzchok Perr by David Jemal
• The Life and Ideals of Rabbi Elchonon Bunim Wasserman of Baranovich by Aaron Sorasky
• Reb Yisrael Salanter: The Story of Rabbi Yisrael Lipkin by Yaacov Shulman
• The Musar Movement and Lithuanian Jewry by R. Elijah Schochet
• Rav Yeruchom: The Light of the Torah World by Rav M. M. Plato
• The Alter of Novardok: The Life of Rav Yosef Yoizel Horowitz and His Worldwide Impact by Rabbi Shlomo Weintraub
• Novarodok: A Movement That Lived in Struggle and Its Unique Approach to the Problem of Man by Meir Levin

I read one book for fun: The Love Scribe by Amy Meyerson — I have to say I don’t remember a thing about it!