The Big Event THIS THURSDAY!

The Big Event THIS THURSDAY!

Is there something that you hate about your personality? Do you hate how you are so lazy or so disorganized or so impatient or so anxious?

Well, that could all change starting this Thursday…

The days between the 25th of Adar (this Thursday, March 31, ’11) and Shavuot are called the 72 days of Chesed or Kindness. These are THE MOST POWERFUL days of the year to get rid of your most stubborn and irritating character traits. During these days, Jewish mysticism teaches that if you put in even the most teensy and microscopic effort to change, God will carry you on eagle’s wings so that you can (nearly) effortlessly become the kind of person and mom you have always dreamed of being.

Last year I had a really remarkable and miraculous experience as a result of the 72 days of Kindness. I was pregnant last year, and the whole pregnancy I was terrified that I would experience the same postpartum emotional difficulties that had driven me crazy after every birth since my second child was born. I had tried so many zillions of things to feel better postpartum, and while changing my diet and homeopathy had helped somewhat, nothing had really managed to fully do away with my intractable postpartum nuttiness.

But last year, Rabbi Aryeh Nivin promised us students that if we make a small effort every day, then he would sign on the dotted line that we would be different people by the time Shavuot rolled around. So last Adar, even though I was 99% certain that I was a hopeless case, I decided that on the off chance it would work, I would dedicate 5 minutes a day to a joyful, fantastic postpartum period.

For one week of the 72 days, for example, I spent 5 minutes a day visualizing myself feeling so relaxed and coping fantastically after the birth, and another week I read Sara Yosef’s book about positive thinking for 5 minutes a day, and another week I read Garden of Emuna for 5 minutes a day and focused on the fact that God can make anything happen.

And the truth is that….it worked. I don’t have any other explanation for the fact that my baby is 9 months old today, and the postpartum nuttiness never showed up to rain on my parade.* Thank you God!!!

And I really hope that all of you moms will also take advantage of the tremendous spiritual potential of the 72 Days of Kindness, starting this Thursday. To get started, I highly recommend you watch this short introductory video I made last year about the 72 Days of Chesed…(fast forward to 24 seconds to skip the intro about the Omer)

*It really moves me to think of my daughter’s name, Tsofia BatTzion, in the context of my miraculous postpartum period. We named her Tsofia BatTzion since she was born on the 17 of Tammuz, one of the darkest days of the Jewish calendar. And the week she was born my teacher, Rabbanit Yemima Mizrachi, said that when “Eshet Chayil” is “Tsofia Halichot Baita” or literally “Overseeing the functioning of her home,” it means that the Woman of Valour tries every morning to think positively about what will happen that day in her home. Therefore, Tsofia BatTzion meant to me “Cheer up! Have Hope, Jewish woman! Things are dark now but they are going to be OK! And today, looking back, I feel like the blessing of Tsofia’s name came true…

Photo courtesy of Flickr.com user Joe Lanman

5 comments

  1. BS”D

    BARUJ BARUJ HASHEM!!! Toda raba Jana, at mamash javera shelanu veozeret lanu beahava hagedola, afilu et nashim, kamoni, she garim rajok rajok miArtzenu HaKedosha!!!
    Iamim HaKedoshim ihiu bishbilenu besimja ubeshalom!!!
    Berajot veKol Tuv!!!

  2. Wow! Simply amazing and so inspiring. If only I’d known this years and several babies ago.

  3. This is so fabulous. Thank you for telling me about this – I didn’t know. Thank you also for sharing your personal story. It’s quite inspiring. You are doing such a great service to the Jewish Ima world!

  4. Thank you for this!! I’m so excited and already working towards a goal (and see results already!)

  5. Thank you! I really needed that push to get focussed and set a goal. Just being able to do this is an accomplishment, and I seem to be getting divine help all along the way.

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