Day 269: When You Have Been Sinned Against: Your Obligation
When you do something wrong, and you know you've done something wrong, you feel guilt build up inside you. If it's really wrong, you feel really bad, and [at least for me] your mind is persistent in not letting you forget what you did. In this case, you must be persistent in seeking forgiveness. If you apologize sincerely to the person you have wronged 3 times and they do not forgive you, it isn't your fault, it is cruel.
Even when it is difficult, we must try to forgive those who seek our forgiveness. Think back to the beginning of this journey, there is a reason they acted the way they did and you must factor that in as you attempt to forgive them. Try your best!
On a personal note, I've found it hard too to forgive some people but I know that everyone does things they aren't proud of and I'm no better than anyone else. If other's can forgive me, I'd like to forgive others.
Day 270: A Nightly Prayer Before Going to Sleep
Every night after I get in my PJ's and wash up, I lay down to sleep. I put on some lip balm, close my eyes and say the Shema. I don't do the full bedtime Shema (though I used to try harder to) but instead, I say the short version and then I talk to G-d a little bit. I thank Him, ask Him for things, pray that my loved ones will be happy and healthy and safe, and that any of my friends in relationships stay happy with each other or find out what works best for them.
Part of the bedtime Shema is a prayer called Ribono Shel Olam, Master of the Universe. In it, we forgive anyone who has angered us or who has sinned against us. We ask that any sins we have committed before G-d be blotted out in His abundant mercies. We end by praying that our prayer has found favor before G-d.
Now that I've mastered saying my own version of the Shema every night, maybe it's time to go back to trying to say the whole bedtime Shema, even if it's only once or twice a week to start out.
Day 271: Don't Let Your Child Humiliate Another Child
Though I'm still working on living a fully ethical life, one of the things I really took to heart when I learned it in high school, was that humiliating someone is akin to killing them according to Judaism.
And though I'm not yet a parent and probably have oodles of time until I become one, I often think about how, as a teacher, I would handle these situations.
This past week, I went to a school for one of my class' field experiences. I am paired with a second grade teacher at a public school about an hour away from my campus. When I went this week, I came just in time for the school-wide assembly that was used, not only to congratulate the students of the month, but also to teach about being an upstander. At the assembly, this video was used:
Day 272: What the Fifth Commandment Demands of Parents
"The Rabbis understood Jewish law as not only obligating children to honor parents, but also as obliging parents to act in a manner that enables their children to honor them. For example, the Talmud denounces a parent who hits a mature child, understanding that such an act might well provoke the child to strike back, and thereby violate a Torah law (Exodus 21:15; see Mo'ed Kattan 17a)."
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