Here is my latest article in Jewish Home LA. It was an inspiring evening that is hard to capture in a short article. Share in Torah is definitely an endeavor worthy of support.

Good Shabbos!

My story, The Return, is in this week’s Inyan. I’d love some feedback!

Here is my latest Jewish Home article, about an evening of inspiration we had here in Los Angeles. It’s a link, so I apologize to those subscribers who don’t have Internet.

Good Shabbos!

Here is my latest article in The Jewish Home, about Chaverim.

Also, heads up: my next story in Inyan is scheduled for January 6th.

Have a wonderful Shabbos!

I am clearly not succeeding in finding more time to post. Or more time to write, for that matter. I used to think that when my kids got older I’d be able to get more writing done. But now that I have teenagers, they keep needing to use my computer to type up their essays for school. And not only that, they actually want me to help them with those essays! And they don’t go to sleep early either.

So as I was contemplating success, or lack thereof, Hashem sent me an amazing shiur by Rav Moshe Weinberger just on that subject. You can listen to it at yutorah.org here. I found it very inspiring. Who is called “ish matzliach,” a successful person, in the Torah? Yosef Hatzaddik. But if we think about, his life was just the opposite of success — hated by his brothers, thrown into a pit, sold into slavery, unjustly imprisoned. Yet, by Hashem’s standards, he was successful.

I don’t want to give away the point of the shiur. But I’d like to wish everyone much success!

There is a lot to be said about Chanuka. Having spent over two years researching Chanuka history for a novel I’m working on, I’ve come to the conclusion that not much has changed since then. Sure, the details of everyday life are very different. In this generation, we are blessed with technological advances that allow us to buy ground flour and ground meat and to travel across the world in a day. Though that might not have helped the Makabis to prepare pure olive oil sooner — according to one opinion, they had to wait seven days in order to purify themselves before squeezing the olives. So even with all the modern technology we still need miracles. But I digress.

The battles of Chanuka are still taking place, within our minds and our hearts. Because Chanuka was much more than a military victory. It was a victory of Torah over Hellenism which took place deep inside the Jews living at that time. Once the Beis Hamikdash was rededicated many former Hellenists returned to Judaism wholeheartedly. Then again, many didn’t.

Since Chanuka, Hellenism has morphed into various philosophies and took on many disguises, but it is alive and well. As it should be — when utilized correctly, within the tents of Shem, in service of the Torah, it could enhance our avodas Hashem. But when human logic is valued above holiness and faith then it becomes an end in itself rather than a means of connection to Hashem and to the purpose of our existence. But anyway, I shouldn’t be giving away the theme of my novel ;).

Happy Chanuka!

yehudislitvak.com

Here is my latest article in the Jewish Home LA — interview with Mrs. Fasman, former principal of my girls’ school and an amazing and inspiring person.

Also, a reminder — the first installment of my Chanuka story is in this week’s Inyan.

I am trying out something new for this mailing list — hope it works. Let me know if you have any trouble reading these posts by email. And if you’re not yet on my list — please subscribe! Use the link at the top of the page.

Hi everyone,

Sorry I haven’t been around — still busy talking to my kids, and helping them with homework which is more intense than last year. Meanwhile, Inyan is printing my Chanuka story in two parts, starting November 25th. (It’s the same story that didn’t fit last year, for those of you who have seen it.)

I now have nine stories set in the times of the second Beis Hamikdash, and I’m thinking about a book. I have a couple more story ideas that could go into the book. But I’m curious to hear from my readers — what would you like to see covered in a book about the second Beis Hamikdash? Any particular time or event, or aspect of the avodah? How long would you like this book to be? Would you like me to include historical notes on what actually happened? Anything else you’d like to tell me as I work on the book?

Thank you and looking forward to hearing from you!

Yehudis

yehudislitvak.com

Here is a short article on Rabbi Paysach Krohn’s talk here in LA on the subject of Jewish unity. Good Shabbos!

Just popping in to say hello and reassure everyone that I haven’t disappeared off the face of the earth. It’s just been really really busy! And if you ask me where most of my time goes — a question I asked myself recently — it turns out that I spend a lot of time talking to my children. It’s not planned or scheduled or anything. It’s just that, well, my kids always have something to talk to me about, whether a school project, a social situation, or just some deep philosophical issues they’re thinking about. That seems to run in the family — when I was their age I also used to think about deep philosophical questions. I don’t think I’ve grown out of it, either.

I homeschool my younger kids, and that certainly takes up a lot of time. We have a lot of fun exploring different subjects, learning new things, experimenting, and I love watching them grow and develop their unique personalities and interests. I’ve also been spending a lot of time driving, between schools and different homeschooling activities. And I’ve been dealing with some issues in our homeschooling group, which I would very much like to see growing and thriving.

So in the big scheme of things, I haven’t found much time to write (other than long emails to our homeschooling group), and I haven’t made much money in the past few weeks, but I feel that I’m investing in something much more precious and long-lasting. All that time spent with my children shapes them as people and as Jews, and they grow so fast that there is never enough time to invest into them in order to make a lasting impact. Because everybody can try to change the world, but we have the most influence in our own homes.

But not to worry, I have three stories coming up in Inyan, IY”H — will keep you posted.

Here is my article about Hakhel, in this week’s Jewish Home LA.

Good Shabbos, and have a wonderful Sukkos and a sweet, happy, healthy year!

yehudislitvak.com