When I was younger, adults did and said things in front of me that they assumed was fine because I wouldn’t understand. Now that I’m older I still remember some of those things and I do understand. They would be mighty embarrassed if they knew.

Golfer: Actually the last line of her post shows very clearly that the previous paragraph was toungue-in-cheek.

I think the-art-of-moi has a very good point. Parents should never allow their teenage children to be in a locked room for a long time that has internet access.

Gamanit: While what you said is true, I assume that access in a locked room is much much much much more dangerous than using the library or even an internet cafe.

This name is already taken: I highly doubt it.

Final point: I don’t see any “burned out kids” from helping at home, am I really that oblivious?

Coming from a large family myself ke”h, I can say there is such a thing as being burned out, and/or a feeling of taken advantage of that never ever leaves the person. Possibly, it would have happened if my family was smaller too, I do not know.

As for being just part of a group, I don’t think that is true. Even in a family of two, parents can show favoritism, and that will cause one child to feel like a nothing.

computer programs give the answer 14

writersoul: Usually when people refuse to speak to relatives for a long time, it’s due to pride. Eventually, the anger disipates and then they can’t make that first move. But when and if they do make that move, even if they feel forced to do so at that time, they will be able to move past their hurt and respond to each other with love. Blood is thicker than water.

Machlokes Kills

In Parshat Korach we read about the terrible machlokes [strife] between Korach and his cronies against Moshe Rabbeinu. The sad result was that the ground opened up and swallowed Korach and his family and a fire came out and consumed his 250 followers. Here we find an anomaly. Normally we know that children are not susceptible to Divine punishment but in this instance the children were the subject of the Divine wrath and were swallowed up by the ground.

Rashi [16/27] is bothered by the fact that children were punished. He answers that the harm of machlokes is so great that even children suffer the consequences.

The question remains – Machlokes Shmachlokes, children are not liable to punishment?! Explains the Holy Maharal in the Gur Aryeh: It is true that children aren’t liable to punishment but here wasn’t a case of punishment. The REALITY of quarrels brings in its wake terrible consequences. When someone eats poison he is not PUNISHED when he dies. The reality of poison is that it kills. Kabbala teaches that machlokes was created on the second day of creation [when Hashem split between the upper and lower waters] together with gehenom. Machlokes IS gehenom. Since the children were present there was no alternative – they had to suffer. The fire of strife burns regardless of whether a person is old enough to be held accountable. I have seen numerous times in my lifetime the dangers of machlokes. Families, shuls, schools – wherever there are Jews there seems to be some machlokes somewhere and it destroys.

I take this a step further. If machlokes is gehenom then shalom and ahava – the opposite of machlokes – is gan eden. There is nothing better. When you meet another Jew there is no greater bracha you can bestow upon them than SHALOM. Shalom is wholeness, a sense of belonging, of being part of everything and everything being a part of you. It is feeling that you are part and parcel of all existence and are critical to its continued functioning. Shalom is the receptacle for all Divine blessings [end of Uktzin].

Posted by; Mevakesh Lev in Mevakeshlev website

I had my handwriting analyzed and it changed my life. When I read the report, it was like ruach hakodesh. Amazingly accurate. And I got to know what I had to work on.

Golfer: thank you

What does the yiddish word latish mean?