I am so proud to say that I don’t watch movies!!

Popa, you are justifying impulsive behavior.

If a child has a father who is critical and overbearing he has two options. The easy, shallow way is to ‘let it all out’ on G-d and throw everything back in His ‘face’.

But, a child who looks for truth, understands that his father’s imperfections reflect nothing on the Father of all people.

The only way I can make this statement with such conviction is because I have a father that would cause many shallow people to go off the derech if they were his children. Still, i have the fiercest love for Hashem – possibly because of my circumstances- because i recognize that while the love i receive from my human father is conditional, all I have from Hashem is UNCONDITIONAL LOVE!!! How could i possibly sin intentionally if i feel like that??

If an important purpose of the story was to raise an awareness of abuse in our community, than I really think it was a mistake to keep the wife in the relationship. I’m sure there are women in abusive marriages who, like Gila in the story, are not strong enough to get out. And when they read this story, it made them believe that their husbands will change and they should just stick it out.

I’m sorry to say but most people with abusive tendencies DO NOT CHANGE or if they do, it takes many long years. It is an exception for someone to make a complete abrupt turnaround. I sincerely hope that no women take an example from Gila. If you are in an abusive relationship GET OUTTTTT! DON’T WORRY ABOUT THE KIDS! DON’T WORRY ABOUT ANYTHING! JUST GET OUT!

I am no great tzaddik nor is my story famous, but something happened to me just the other day which made a very deep impression on myself:

I woke up in the morning and it was pouring rain outside. Now, I have this weird thing that if it’s raining when I go to work, it puts me in a bad mood. I don’t care so much if it rains before or after, but I don’t like to walk to and from my car in the rain.

That said, I was not so pleased to see the rain coming down hard. (Don’t worry, I’m WORKING on my appreciation for rain!!)

Anyways, I said in my head, “Hashem, please make it stop raining by the time i want to leave the house! Please, pleaseeeeeee!!!!”

In the meantime, I davened and ate breakfast. Just as I was about to step out of my house, i saw that the SUN WAS OUT! I was stunned! I was not really expecting Hashem to make the rain stop for me. But the truth is, that He really cared. And He really wants me to be happy!

And then I stopped short with a realization: Something so petty, so unimportant, so not crucial. And G-d listened to my prayers.

The next time I spoke to Hashem, I spoke with a lot more faith, a lot more belief, and I made sure to also ask for things that really mattered.

And of course, He listened.

When I was a kid this was one of my favorite songs! I feel so validated that other people exist that like it! Nowadays hardly anyone’s heard of Yigal Calek…. 🙂

Like the threatening clouds that are starting to form

And the darkness and tension of today’s thunderstorm

I feel trapped in the heat and so ready to burst

Like I’m falling from the sky, and falling head-first.

Can I catch myself now? Before it’s too late?

Before I spew words of anger, of bitterness and hate?

Will I be the one to erupt in a flood?

That will drench, perhaps drown everyone that i could?

Or will I conquer my own self with a strong-sounding boom

Like the thunder that seems to be shaking my room

Or will I light up the world with a moment-long streak

And with my pain, go and heal others feeling bleak

There are so many ways to take hardship and strain

Without pounding it heavily on everyone’s window pane

And the strength that it takes to overcome one’s own being

So yes, sometimes that silver lining has but nothing to do

With whether your situation has all but improved

That light’s just a reflection of what you carry within

YOUR strength and the way that YOU fight and YOU win.

I use the Crest whitestrips pro effects and it works unbelievably! I just use it for a couple days before a wedding or event and it turns my teeth white! And it lasts for a while… If you use it every day it will definitely do the job.