Learning from Henny (17-Minute Mommy Peptalk)

Learning from Henny (17-Minute Mommy Peptalk)

How the Henny Machlis biography Emuna with Love and Chicken Soup by Sara Yocheved Rigler has been changing me.

10 comments

  1. This is the most life changing book i ever read. It has tranformed how i relate to HaShem, and through this how i relate to those around me. I tell everyone i know they must read this book, so it made me smile a lot to see you writing an article about it too!

  2. Beautiful. Yes, I am working on being more patient when interrupted. It is not only that just ONE person is so valuable, but also that just ONE MOMENT is valuable. Pass it by . . . and you’ve missed it. Take the moment, take the opportunity.

  3. Great!where can i buy it in israel (and all the books in english like the one about the lubavutcher rebbe you once recommended)

    • this is available at all religious bookstores with english books. the rebbe book I bought at steimatzkys, and the one about the rebbe and women I bought at dabree sheer

  4. Hi Jenny,
    Hearing this talk triggered a question in my mind that I am always asking myself, and now I am asking you since you mentioned how you now frequently go about your day thinking “what would Henny do?”
    In our tradition we look to stories of tzaddikim for inspiration and role modelling for how we can grow, but when i hear/read stories of tzaddikim it just makes me feel confused and frustrated at my lowliness, because I am me, not them, and if i just try to copy their avoda, then it’s like i’m trying to be them and not me. When you hear about someone’s Avodas Hashem, and you feel connected or inspired by it, but at the same time it feels too high for your level and you’ll burn out trying to copy them? Or maybe it’s not even part of your soul’s job in this world and though it’s a beautiful thing for them, it may not be for you? So what i’m wondering is how to make that kind of inspiration you’re motivating yourself with (“what would henny do?) a healthy motivator?

    • I will tell you the truth, that I have to be really careful when reading this book to not feel disempowered. Henny was on such a higher level than me in so many ways, and it could easily make me feel badly about myself. But I still think there’s a lot to learn from henny and other great women like her, though it is a struggle to be empowered and grow from their example and not just feel bad.

    • There’s also the line, reach for the moon because at least you’ll end off with a handful of stars.
      Strive for really high, because at least your worst will never be that bad. Stop trying to think what your tafkid and their tafkid is. Just be inspired and try to instill that inspiration in your day to day life, even if it’s very watered down.

  5. Shalom everyone. This is by far the best and most life changing book I have read in my entire life. I am a baalat tshuva/plus Giur msafek and I made Aliyah in my thirties alone plus got married late and blessed with a few kids in a row. I feel that this book is an answer to my most tearful tfilot. Tfilot for guidance, modelling, example and hope. Tfilot for becoming the mother I never had. Tfilot for learning Hebrew from scratch and attaching myself to HaShem from scratch. This book about Henny Machlis encourages to put up a smile again and again, to search for a real connection to HaShem again and again, to become a fighter for Love, family and achdut (oneness) within Am Israel. I always wished and prayed to find a home like hers to volunteer in and to be influenced and imbued by – I feel like having read this book gives me a constant feeling of having her close by and an opportunity of following in her steps..
    Very enriching and always a good feeling to read and be inspired by the book over and over again. Yasher koach !!

  6. Thank you! So inspiring. Thank you Chana Jenny for being so real, and honest.

  7. I have never been more changed by a book before. I have read it cover to cover 2 times already, and I plan to start it again! Almost every area of my life has been affected, and I think of her choices while I am making my own. The biggest impact has been within the realm of prayer. I am s grateful!!

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