Ruth SchapiraMar 213 minJudaism's Hack for Your Truest Nature Our sages were always trying to find the shortest ways to describe complicated concepts. While there are 48 Ways to Wisdom (elucidated in...
Ruth SchapiraAug 24, 20213 minMountain of Mitzvot? Not! Our tradition tells us that the sole purpose of Torah is for us to refine our character, and the way toward that end is through action,...
Ruth SchapiraMay 25, 20212 minAccepting Missteps How tolerant are we of our own mistakes? Do we forgive others more easily than we forgive ourselves? Should we hold ourselves in contempt...
Ruth SchapiraMay 11, 20212 minYour Light of WisdomOur days are rather filled "up" with day-to-day undertakings, and sometimes we barely get in all the activities we schedule. So where and...
Ruth SchapiraApr 15, 20212 minThe Spiritual Steps of the OmerThis year, I am involving myself more personally and seriously than ever before in the counting of the Omer, the period of time between...
Ruth SchapiraMar 22, 20213 minPassover: The Inner Message of FreedomHebrew is full of secrets, embedded with layers and layers of meaning, woven from the thread of reality as Judaism sees it. I happened on...
Ruth SchapiraMar 3, 20213 minThe Jewish Meaning of HappinessHappy. It's often a response [I just want them to be happy] to the question "What do you want for your children?" Being happy is what our...
Ruth SchapiraJan 15, 20212 minYour soul is speaking, are you listening? Aren't I the only one here? What's this business about me, a soul and all this spirituality stuff? There's a lot of talk about soul (not...
Ruth SchapiraOct 20, 20203 minAdd your light to the darknessIn the times of Noah, there was total lawlessness in the world. Just 10 generations (according to tradition) after Adam, the world is in...
Ruth SchapiraOct 7, 20202 minsharing my Jewish journey with you(Posted originally on “Reclaiming Judaism”) This blog has become an intimate part of my life. I began writing it in 2011 as part of a...
Ruth SchapiraSep 29, 20202 minA corona Yom KippurIf you would have asked me what words come to mind when I think about Yom Kippur, the word joy would never have made the top ten list....
Ruth SchapiraAug 26, 20204 minThe True Jewish Meaning of LoveThis is a new experience for me, responding to a reader request! After reading a post on Gratitude, I was asked to write about Love....
Ruth SchapiraAug 19, 20204 minElul: The vanity of individualism“..the more enamored we are of our selves, the more fixed we are in our own ‘realities’, limiting the possibilities of our awareness.”...
Ruth SchapiraJul 22, 20203 minWhat is a mitzvah, really?Mitzvah. Good deed? Commandment? You might be most familiar with the word mitzvah as it appears in Bar or Bat Mitzvah which is usually...
Ruth SchapiraDec 11, 20193 minDo we own our Jewish history?I read something from an unlikely source that struck my deepest core as a Jew, and came to a full stop at a passage from the first...
Ruth SchapiraJan 25, 20183 minThe one summer I chose IsraelAt different times in my life, Jewish educators would often prompt seminar audiences to describe and prioritize their Jewish identity....
Ruth SchapiraDec 20, 20163 minWhat I Learned About Leadership From An Evangelical MinisterHere’s what I learned about engaging lay people from an Evangelical minister during a holiday dinner party: a faith community’s goals...
Ruth SchapiraSep 7, 20162 minMarketing Jewish Education for Now and LaterSales. Marketing. Branding. Social Media Presence. Analytics. SEO. ROI. Just a few short years ago, terms like these were absent from...
Ruth SchapiraAug 11, 20162 minFrom Jewish Camp to Home: Five Easy Things to DoHow can your Jewish community maximize campers’ experiences when they arrive home? Summer camp is exhilarating for our Jewish teens. For...
Ruth SchapiraJan 12, 20163 minNine Unexpected Ways That Jewish Culture Fascinates AsiansWhat if we took our New Year Celebration to the streets? What are we, as Jews, missing? Clearly something, since others, especially...