book is about the heart: our collective hearts and our individual heart. Rabbi Hillel Hazaken said, “To the place that my heart takes me, that is where my legs lead me” (Talmud Bavili, Sukkah, 53a). Our heart has a tremendous influence on how we view life, how we act, and how we build relationships. In the Bible, the word heart—or in Hebrew, lev (
Our heart is crucial to our existence. To stay sharp we need our brain, but without the heart pumping the blood, our brain may not function.
During biblical times, our heart was considered the seat of the intellect, and, through time and history, the heart has gained another dimension—the seat of emotions. The receiving of the Torah on Mount Sinai was a monumental event in history that forever changed the human relationship with God. Imagine Moses’s anticipation of the changes to come for the Jewish people. Up to this point in the Bible, we based our relationship with God through our ancestors’ connection to God. At the moment of receiving the Torah at Mount Sinai, we stand and declare: “WE will do, and WE will listen” or “Na’aseh v’nishma” (Exodus 24:7). We took the responsibility upon ourselves to be partners with God—partners in making this world a better place. This moment of establishing a deeper relationship with God is so monumental in the Bible that we now celebrate this event through the holiday of Shavuot, known in the non-Jewish world as the holiday of Pentecost. To be full partners with God, we need to engage our hearts.
The last letter in the Torah is “lamed” in the word Yisrael (Israel). The first letter in the Torah is “bet” in the word beresheet, meaning “in the beginning.” If you put these two letters together, the word lev is formed. How beautiful to think that the entirety of the Torah—the stories, the morals, and the miracles—all fit inside the collective heart of the Jewish people!
As I was thinking about the development of our relationship with God in the Torah, the central prayer in Judaism, the V’ahavta, came to mind: “You shall love your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (Deuteronomy 6:4). There is so much symbolism in the heart, the life-sustaining force of all bodies.
The human heart has four chambers, which to me represent four different types of relationships we experience—hence the four chambers in this book!
The first chamber represents our relationship with ourselves. How do we view ourselves and how do we become the best humans we are capable of being? I selected this chamber as the first for this book because the relationship we have with our own self is the foundational block for all that follows. If we do not love ourselves (I do not mean in a narcissistic way, but in the deep sense of internal appreciation), can we expect others to love us? This chamber serves as a self-check of your character. It is about acknowledging who you are and making the effort to act, feel, and be your best. Do you know you are a champion, a one-of-a-kind human? Do you have an appreciation of the person you are today? This chamber will provide you with tools to live a life of content that only you can.
The second chamber represents our relationship to other people: It is about our relationships with friends, colleagues, children, spouse, partner, family, and even strangers. How do we bring out the best in ourselves when relating to others? How do we bring out the best in them? How do we create a healthy and sustainable relationship? How do we overcome being too judgmental? How do you truly love others?
The third chamber represents our relationship to God. Some of us call this higher power simply “God,” while others use names such as “The Creator” or “Nature” or “The Source of all Beings.” Without getting into the religiosity of the matter or each person’s level of observance, how do we perceive our being in relationship to something bigger than us? Do we remain true to ourselves at all times and represent our values as human beings operating under a higher sovereignty, even when doing so might be challenging? This chamber is about love, commitment, and seeking guidance from a higher power. It is about the concept of faith. How would you define faith within the context of your life?
I view faith as believing in something without proof, without being able to see it. A “leap of faith” is exactly that—leaping into the unknown. When we go to bed at night, we have faith that the night will end and morning will arrive as it has every other day. When we say “See you at five,” we make an assumption that we will arrive at the desired location at five o’clock. There are many things in life we believe in, even without proof. The third chamber is all about feeling that faith and trusting that some things are not meant to be seen but, nonetheless, they still exist. For me, that faith is a belief in God.
As a Jewish person, I have chosen the fourth chamber to represent those events in our life that define us, such as the birth of our children, a marriage, a Bar Mitzvah, and even graduation. In addition, I also include here our relationship as Jews to Jewish life events, Israel, and being part of the Jewish people. How do these events cultivate our actions moving forward and how do they define us? How do we cultivate a love and connection to the “Jewish tribe”? How do we continue to foster a connection with Israel in modern times when anti-Semitism and criticism of the Jewish homeland is prevalent in many corners of the world?
Within each of the four chambers of this book, you will find several entries. You have read how I transformed my uplifting videos, created for my sister (and, really, for everyone), into many of the entries within these pages. The topic of each entry is relevant to the specific chambers that form Moments of the Heart.
I first introduce the topic as it relates to Jewish thought and practice. I utilize my Hebrew knowledge to dig deep and explore the concept further. Sometimes I use a word play and explain the root of a Hebrew word. At the end of each entry, I offer a Lev Moment opportunity where I give you tools (in the form of questions and suggested actions) to further explore your own experiences and thoughts. This is your opportunity to reflect on the entry in a deep and meaningful way to you and journal your responses if you feel this would benefit you. In this section you will also have the opportunity to practice new actions. Learning by doing has proven itself useful endless times. These Lev Moments are an invitation for spiritual growth. Exploring the Lev Moments in a pace that is suitable to you may benefit you in seeing and witnessing your spiritual growth.
Below are questions to consider relating to each of the four chambers.
Chamber One—Relationship to Self
How do we take care of ourselves? How do we guard our spirit so we remain kind and grateful? What are some of the ways you love yourself? For me, it is about the small act of giving or of some kindness I can do for others that makes me feel good about myself and therefore causes me to like myself more.
Chamber Two—Relationships with Others
How do you cultivate these relationships? In the age of cell phones, internet, texting, Facebook posting, may I dare suggest the small act of picking up the telephone and calling a person to see how they are doing? I think our society is bombarded with so much amazing technology that we may, at times, forget to reach out on a human level and talk voice-to-voice with another person or meet for a coffee face-to-face.
Chamber Three—Relationship with God
Do you believe there is a source of energy/influence/goodness that is beyond human interaction? Do you have a name for it? Is it Creator? Or is it God? What is your relationship with this entity? Do you pray? Do you feel that God listens to you? Do you feel
