22nd Birthday

13 of Tishrei/ the 12 of October I turned 22! There are a lot of customs on your Jewish birthday such as giving extra tzedakah to charity, making a farbrengen, davening with more intention, saying tehillim, learning/giving over a maimer or dvar Torah and giving brachos.

My birthday falls on the yartzeit of the 4th Lubavitcher Rebbe- the Rebbe Maharash (Shmuel Schneerson) which is really special so I learned more about him on my birthday.  I also continued with the maimer Ive been learning "mi chamocha" by him that I started with Hindi and am now trying to review/finish it.

The Rebbe Maharash was known for delivering his ideas clearly and vocally, even if they were against what most people were doing or thought in Russia. At only 21 he attended a conference with the Russian government to fight for German translations of Jewish texts for the education of children. He spoke to the government and lobbied to try to stop the progroms and also dedicated his life to the spread of Torah knowledge to all Jews. Whether it was to government officials, or others who wanted to secularize the Jews, he spoke with dignity, clarity, and forcefully. The same characteristics are ascribed to Noa and her four sisters of Zelophchad in Chumash. Their father father passed away with no close male family, so she and her sisters wanted to inherit his land. They expressed their ideas clearly and deliberately to Moshe, who in turn asked Hashem what to do in this situation. Hashem told Moshe that in this case, the women can inherit the land, and that became the law. Because of the way they asked, they reached their goal. Both the Rebbe Maharash and Noa spoke their concerns and thoughts clearly and made a huge difference in their generation and afterwards. I try to learn from both of them and do the same when I'm passionate about my goals.   

I also had a farbrengen at night at Mayanot with all the girls since we are on vacation now and have free time. It was beautiful and really special and thanks everyone at mayanot for coming =) We learned two niggunim too, Litchathiler Ariber, which is by the Rebbe Maharash, and my favourite niggun- niggun hishtatchus by the Tzamech Tzedek. 

The next day we went to Tel Aviv to the art shook that is going on I think just in Tishrei. The art was incredible they had everything from hand made rings, to koleidiscopes, to a glass blower who was making earrings on the spot. Tel Aviv was fun but it was way more humid and hot than Jerusalem so it was a fun trip but I definitely prefer this city.

Here are some pics from the farbrengen =)

Cake that Batsheva and Adina 'surprised' me with =)

healthy food at a farbrengen