ESSAYS| 2017

ESSAYSss|

3 Steps to Uproot Apathy

By Yehuda Ertel, Pittsburgh, PA

Essays 2017

MyLife Essay Contest 2017 Depression, melancholy, dejection, despondency. We all struggle with it, no matter what you call it, no matter if it is a psychiatric problem or just a simple case of the blues everyone, at some point in their lives grapples with depression in some form or another. It is characterized by a state of heavy-heartedness

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Winners of the 2017 MyLife: Chassidus Applied Essay Contest

Essays 2017

$10,000 First Place Winner Moishe Chakoff, 27, Miami, Florida – Topic: Trees & Maps: How to Stop Being a People Pleaser $3,600 Second Place Winner Shraga Crombi, 35, Edison, New Jersey – Topic: Chassidus as an Eclectic Psychological Approach (Hebrew). English translation. $1,000  Third Place Winner Hadassah Silberstein, 24, Brooklyn, NY – Topic: How to Deal With Difficult People Bonus $1,000 Fourth Place Winner Sara Blau, 26, Brooklyn, NY

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Making Time Count
. . . בעין הזמן – כשאין זמן

By אוריה צור, Beit Shemesh, Israel

Essays 2017

MyLife Essay Contest 2017 הקדמה כולנו מכירים את הסיפור על האדם שבא לרב והתלונן שצפוף לו בבית ואין לו מקום. הרב המליץ בחום להכניס עז הביתה. אחרי כמה ימים שאל הרב את האיש האם נהיה לו יותר נוח, האיש ענה: “המצב קטסטרופלי, העז מתרוצצת ממקום למקום אין לה לנו רגע דל…”. הרב חייך בשביעות רצון וכעבור

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Being of Two Minds: Chassidus and Neuroscience

By Mike Perkins, Columbia, Missouri

Essays 2017

MyLife Essay Contest 2017 Our Dilemma One of the great questions is how we should live our life. No matter how we decide that question, the outcome will be dependent on the choices we make. In fact, the choices we make ultimately are the answer. Each day provides us with a bewildering amount of choices from which

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Hoarding vs. Letting Go

By Vicky O'Brien, Albany NY

Essays 2017

MyLife Essay Contest 2017 Searching for the proper attitude toward acquisition, using lessons from leaving Egypt and Chassidus Depending on the context, hoarding may be either a problem or a necessary resort. We live in a consumeristic society which encourages buying and collecting. Animals, humans included, have hoarding instincts to survive harsh times like winter

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Avoiding Failure

By Mendy Gollub, Longbeach, CA

Essays 2017

MyLife Essay Contest 2017 Nobody likes failure. It’s heartbreaking to really want something and put in effort and still not reach your goal. However, if you look in Chassidus, it lays out there are formula for success. In Chassidus we find instruction for how to properly invest ourself in something in a way that we

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Living with the Times

By Anonymous 

Essays 2017

MyLife Essay Contest 2017 Bereishis “A decent for a greater accent” In the beginning, I didn’t know what it meant that I was Jewish let alone know what Chassidus was. I didn’t know that I had inherited the greatest gift. Growing up in a secular family, this was my reality. Nevertheless, I wouldn’t trade my past for

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Jungle or Garden?

By Talya Portnoy

Essays 2017

MyLife Essay Contest 2017 We are living in a time where man desires an inner peace which will extend into every area of his/her life. People are constantly searching for self-contentment, for tips on overcoming challenging times, and for a purpose in life. A study which was done on college students showed how seventy six

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Who? or What?

By Fraida Glassner, Crown Heights, NY

Essays 2017

MyLife Essay Contest 2017 As a program coordinator and party planner I find that planning a program includes so many details, Pink flowers actually the coral with the green contrast looks way better, what the menu should be? Stuffed chicken or grilled? Lace edging or just keep the rustic vintage look? The color table cloths,

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Achashveirosh in the White House

By Chana Gansburg, Crown Heights, NY

Essays 2017

MyLife Essay Contest 2017 It was in the days of Achashveirosh, the pompous, arrogant, narcissist who ruled over 127 lands, that the Jewish people enjoyed the greatest privilege. They enjoyed religious freedom and freedom to prosper. Their leader and sage sat at the palace gates serving as a top advisor to the monarch, and their

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