The Blogs: Love Deeper, Forgive Faster

When I was young, I just felt bad for myself on my father’s yahrtzeit day.

When the kids were young, I didn’t have time to really think much at all.

Nowadays, when life is quieter, and amid all the gifts Hashem has bestowed on us, I just feel so achingly sorry for him; for all the things he never got to do, experience, and enjoy.

It’s almost unbearable.

Today, on my father’s 59th yahrtzeit, I will not ask anyone to study Torah or recite prayers on his behalf.

Rather, I encourage people, and especially parents of young children, to honor his memory by shutting things down for a few moments.

Ask your children how their day went — and really listen. Tell your children how much you love them, and how much they mean to you. Love deeper, forgive faster, and reach out for help if there is something deep inside you that is robbing you of the ability to connect with your loved ones in a meaningful way.

May that be a zechus/merit for the neshama/soul of my father, Shlomo Ben Yakov Moshe HaLevy.

PS. In my father’s memory, I’m giving an Instagram Live at 8:30 pm Eastern tonight, Monday, April 2, on “Single and Step-Parenting — Words of Encouragement and Advice.”