Reflections - Torah.org

Baby Stuff

Did you ever watch a little boy acting wild just to draw attention? Attention seeking changes with age. A small child feels no one is paying attention to him or her and so the child will do anything to create excitement. A teenager who develops an unsightly blemish will refuse to go out in public because he or she is convinced "Everyone will laugh at me!" A middle-aged person might not dress to perfection because "no-one ever notices me." Once a person joins the elderly their attitude becomes "I hope no-one notices me"

All of these attitudes demonstrate a lack of self-confidence. If one learns the right way, from teachers who know true values, then one can develop an ability to decide whether something is right or wrong without taking a survey of friends, neighbors and business associates. One will be able to decide whether they are dressed right, spoke effectively at the meeting, or treated any situation in the right fashion. Self confidence means you trust yourself to evaluate your own actions

Today when you start to question your behavior because you fear that it might not meet the approval of your associates evaluate your behavior internally. It might take a minute but it will save you from many mistakes you might otherwise make while trying to get the approval of others.

DID YOU KNOW THAT

Weddings may be performed in synagogues even though many congregations in Diaspora have forbidden conducting ceremonies in synagogues to counter Reform customs which copy Gentile ways?

When wedding ceremonies are held in a synagogue the people must be very careful to respect the sanctity of the place by not engaging in idle chatter, improper speech and by wearing clothing, which is not modest. Eating or smoking cigarettes in the synagogue proper is forbidden. It is forbidden to sit with legs crossed in a synagogue even to place a book on one's leg to make reading easier because it is a sign of haughtiness in G-d's house.

[Source Yalkut Yosef vol 2, Siman 151:8,9]