A New Way of Counting!
Rivki D. Rosenwald Esq., CLC, SDS
49 ,48, 47, 46, 45…. yes, I’m counting down the days till I have to stuff myself again….
You may be saying you don’t actually have to! And trust me, I said the same exact thing before Pesach started. But that’s not how it went down. So why delude myself into thinking I’ll have better self-control on Shevuoth.
After all, Pesach’s highlights are matzah and potato starch, and the damage was still significant. So how can I even begin to imagine I’ll be more successful on Shevuoth, which is billed as the holiday of cheesecake and perogen?!
Yes, everyone is counting up these days to highlight receiving the Torah on Shevuoth or moving up a level of keddushah. But I’m counting down the days of self-control till I have none left!
My plan is that I’m going to be walking, exercising, and dieting over the next 6 weeks hoping to slim down. And it should work -that is, as long as I don’t walk to the kitchen, the pantry, or the eateries in town!
If I wind up in any of those locations I can’t be responsible for my actions.
What is it about these holidays that makes us eat so much? Well, let me see…. we wake up, we eat a little something with our coffee, then we go to pray- then we eat- then we pray, then we snack, then we pray, and then we eat until we bench, after which we eat a little cake with our tea and go to sleep!
On top of that we are pretty sedentary. We don’t work- unless chewing is work. We don’t exercise- unless chewing is exercise. And we don’t get out to shop, unless choosing what to eat is shopping.
So, now you tell me, how exactly do we avoid the eating?
I’m guessing you might say join more tehillim groups. And guess what – that’s a great idea right there!
In fact, I’m going to order that box that you give out to everyone to share up tehilim. That way when people come over, rather than offering them a piece of cake, I can offer a tehilim section.
Then besides praying for each other and those in need, we can add on a prayer for the preservation of our waistlines.
Yes, this time of year is called sphira. And it is a time of counting. I know, as I said, I’m certainly counting. And trust me you can count on me- to mess up, and to eat more than I mean to during sphira. Yet, I’m still hoping that we can count on some nice weather to get me out walking and exercising. So that I’ll be in shape for the next onslaught of food on Shevuoth that I already know is too good, and too much.
Still, as I lament the eating, I cannot fail to mention that the food does greatly enhance our recognition and appreciation of God’s bountiful gifts.
Now, if we can just figure out how to encourage Gd to let us count down on the scale while we count up on the calories -wow! That would be a gift almost as fantastic as the one we are about to celebrate – the gift of the Torah!
Well, they do say there are many secrets hidden in the Torah. Who knows, maybe this year we’ll unearth that secret!
Rivki Rosenwald is a certified relationship counselor, and career and life coach. She can be contacted at 917-705-2004 or rivki@rosenwalds.com