how to eat when you have to

Devar Torah for Friday Night - VaYigash Did brothers go to Egypt because there was a famine and they needed food or because it was G-ds plan to make peace between brothers and Josef ? Yes and yes. Did Jews stay in Egypt for 400 years because it made economic sense at the time or because it was G-ds plan and part of his promise to Abraham? Yes and yes. Did Jews become enslaved as a result of assimilation or because it was G-ds plan and a necessary part of Jewish education for generations to come? Yes and yes. But what was the point in the scripture that signified the beginning of enslavement? Our Sages tell us it's "Ve-Yahazu Bah" at the end of this week's Torah Portion. The Jews acquired the choicest  land in Egypt and took hold of it. Did they take hold of the land or did the land take hold of them? Yes and yes. Did we come to US because it made economical sense or because it was part of G-ds plan for our growth and development? Yes and yes. Are we living i...

Scarlett : As God is my witness, as God is my witness they're not going to lick me. I'm going to live through this and when it's all over, I'll never be hungry again. No, nor any of my folk. If I have to lie, steal, cheat or kill. As God is my witness, I'll never be hungry again.               “Gone with the wind” (1939) As God is our witness, we did not go hungry again. In 2011, every third American is obese. In 2008 I was obese too. Now, after losing 50 pounds, I want to help others to do what I did. And people do ask all the time: “How did you do it?” And I always answer: “Gradually...” What else can I say? I don’t represent the 50-billion weight loss industry. I have nothing to sell. I have no easy answers.  What I do have is a story. And it starts with Victor Frankl. Victor Frankl was a Holocaust survivor and the founder of Logotherapy , the “ Third Viennese School of Psychotherapy”.  In h...

Dear Wurzweiler Office of Admissions, Please join me on a special ride. We are going to go back in time in search of life experiences. The journey of this kind is nothing new, and the older we get the more often we find time to go back in time. We go back to re-live the experiences and make sense of it all. First Stop: Two weeks ago. Midtown Kollel .             We finished learning the fifth chapter of Talmud tractate “Sanhedrin” that deals with Jewish approach to judging capital cases. I gave a short talk summarizing the most interesting parts of the chapter. What touched me the most was a note about Rabbi Yochanan, who lived 120 years and spent first 40 years “ Be Pragmatia ” - doing commerce, next 40 years - learning and the last 40 years – teaching…  Soon I’ll be 40 too, and it keeps me wondering: how did he pull it off? Can I do the same?            ...

                        Almost no one puts in the work to create or invent                                                                         Seth Godin, “Linchpin” For the last 10 years of my life I was putting myself in the same challenging situation: I would get a Software Developer job and would try to keep it for a while. It’s not very hard for me to get a job, because I interview well. Keeping a job is not hard either, because I’m a fast study and I welcome feedback. But it’s very hard for me to contain m...

A couple of weeks ago we started learning Gemarah "Taanit" with Shalom. I love it. On the third page there is a discussion of 4 seasonal additions to the prayer, that mention Dew, Wind, Clouds and Rain. And it says that one has to beg for rain only, because other three will be there anyways. I thought of a metaphoric way to interpret it: Dew is a metaphor for your daily livelihood, a slow and steady progress you make in your endeavors (the mannah was covered with the layer of dew). Wind is a metaphor for changes, moving and shaking, excitement and unexpectedness. Clouds are a metaphor for the comforts of life. (Ananei ha Kavod , the clouds of glory followed the Jews in the desert and provided the shade. Not a necessity, but very nice-to-have) And Rain is the metaphor for Torah. So here's what I learned: you will get your livelihood, your unexpected changes and your little comforts anyways. Don't worry about them too much. Don't ask for more. ...

This blog is gradually turning into collection of speaking points, speech drafts etc. So be it. This is an overview of a personalized weight loss program for a friend of mine. Mostly speaking points. What do you want? So you think you want to lose weight? Good for you! Because this answers the very first question we are going to ask every week. Have an answer every week. Think hard about what you really want - every week. The answer may change overtime. The answer SHOULD change eventually because eventually you are going to get what you want. And then you should find something else you want as badly as you want to lose weight - now. One week you might want to lose weight, one week you might want to learn to run fast, one week you might want to squat 500lbs, one week you might want to kick and punch like Bruce Lee. It's all good. But whatever you choose, stick with it for a while. All the specific results in a particular sport, all the side effects of weight loss are just a...

A draft for TM speech #10 Do you ever feel cheated, deflated and deprived at the end of your day? When you went through the motions, did your job, got tired , but did not accomplish anything truly great? Do you ever feel like saying : "What? That's it??? THAT was my day??? Oh ,no! NO no no no no no no!!!" I have to do SOMETHING about this! " My day is almost over, I need to decide something important. I know! I'm going to decide who is going to be the Next American Idol! My day is almost over, and I want to find a purpose in my life. I know! I'll google it! What a beautiful blog post! And another! What? This Blogger has a book??? I'm buying it! Where was I? Oh yes! My day is almost over! Nonsense! All I need is a little boost of energy, a cup of coffe, a couple of scoops of ice cream, and this black and white European film, a glass of wine, and then just like Mark Zukerberg, I'm going to burn the midnight oil and build the next Facebook! ( falls as...

It's a draft of TM speech #9 Number 9... Number 9... Number 9... Fellow ToastMasters! It took me 9 speeches to realize I only have one speech to give. I was talking about cooking, negotiations, technology, motivation, weight loss, growth mindset, but I was just beating around the bush. This is the speech I wanted to give forever.  This is the city where I need to tell my story. In a speech number 9 I am supposed to persuade my audience. Well I must be suicidal, because I'm trying to convince a bunch of new yorkers in a middle of New York to stop being efficient. But hey, all I have is 5 minutes of your time and an urge to tell a story so I'd better get to it. First, we'll go back in time to see what's wrong with efficiency. Then we'll try to find some alternatives for it, and finally, I'll show you how the decision to stop being efficient changed my life. Nimrod was leading a high profile real estate development project in ancient Babylonia. He motivat...

A draft for a contest speech In 1971 Walt Disney opened the doors of Disney World Magic Kingdom in Orlando, Florida. A year later I was born. When I was 6 years old my father brought me the news: We are going to Disney World!  A place of Futuristic Technology, Magic and Movies. A place where Mikey Mouse can be spotted in the wild. A place where a dreamer like you would feel at home. But first we have to run away from Soviet Russia, get to America and make a lot of money. This journey would be long and hard, but it would be worth it. Mrs. Contest Chair, Most Gracious Judges and Lovely Audience. I had NO IDEA how long my journey would be. It took 11 years to run away from Soviet Russia, another 11 years to get to America and another 11 years to make a lot of money, but last week I finally made it! I was there! I was in Disney World! And today I'm going to share  The How, The WOW and the Vow  of Disney World with you. How to go to Disney World. Step One: Find a Crazy...

I am redoing my previous post, to make it speech worthy. A teacher asks a class to tell about their objects of worship. Other kids are telling about stone Buddhas and wooden Jesuses, and this cute but chubby boy sais: we have a metal object of worship. Every morning my mother stands on it and says "Oh My God!" Mr Toastmasters, fellow Toastmasters and welcome Guests, Please raise your hand if you know someone who made new year resolutions related to diet, exercise or weight loss... Great! I think I found my audience! I was thinking about weight loss forever. I remember sitting down in elementary school , grabbing my tiny belly with my tiny hands and proclaiming to myself: this gotta go! 30 years later, my self-image did not change a bit: I still see myself as cute but chubby. I still think about weight loss. By the way, I lost some weight in the last two weeks. 2 1/2 pounds. According to Mayo Clinic , this is the healthy way to lose weight: 1-2 lbs per week. I'm just sho...