Queens Jewish Link
Connecting the Queens Jewish Community When Mrs. Porter heard a knock at the door of her Baltimore home one evening at suppertime, she...
I like having guests for Shabbos. Especially in the winter. Not just because of the long Friday nights, but also because, unlike in the summer, I don’t spend the entire seudah sitting right under the noisy air conditioner for all the conversations where I’m just nodding along and smiling but also missing all of it and no one has any idea.
Therapy has become a go-to in Western culture; in some circles, its attendance is almost taken for granted. “Millennials are the therapy generation,” printed the Wall Street Journal in 2019. People flock to their therapists in the same manner that they do to their barbers and salon attendants. It’s the chic thing to do for anybody who’s even remotely cosmopolitan. As the demand increases, so does the supply. More and more students are pursuing graduate training in social work, mental health counseling, and related fields. The United States Department of Labor projects that employment will grow 12 percent between 2020-2030 for social workers alone. In Millennial circles, where committed relationships wane, all the attention and emotion that would otherwise be given to a significant other is lavished on therapists and pets.
Scene 1, take 1:
It’s a cold erev Shabbos, a couple of hours before Licht Bentching. Food is just about cooked, the cholent is prepared and the kids have bathed. Your feet and back need a hot shower (or bath if you can manage it). Yes, finally the normal early Shabbos chaos is nearly over. B”H, your spouse is home, and it's finally your turn to escape into hot water bliss. That hot water feels amazing. You can almost feel the stress fade away as you get the water running.
Scene 1, take 1:
It’s a cold erev Shabbos, a couple of hours before licht bentching. Food is just about cooked, the cholent is prepared, and the kids have bathed. Your feet and back need a hot shower (or bath, if you can manage it). Yes, finally the normal early Shabbos chaos is nearly over. Your spouse is home, and it’s finally your turn to escape into hot water bliss. That hot water feels amazing. You can almost feel the stress fade away as you get the water running.
A woman of valor
Who can find?
“Shani, come on. I haven’t got time. You’ll be late to the class.”
I grabbed a brand-new notebook and then I ran a brush through my curly hair, but it still stuck out in all directions. I tucked my button-down uniform shirt into my pleated skirt and ran downstairs.
