Tefillah

So this week my wife and I both decided to take on things regarding tefillah. I decided I'd try to daven every shmoneh esrai from a siddur. Of course, I know the words by heart after having said them so many times over the years, but there is just something that gets added when you read them out of a siddur. You obviously pay more attention to what you're saying and you can have more kavannah about the actual meaning of the words. This is certainly no guarantee for a better tefillah experience, but it's definitely a step in the right direction.
I've found that if you aren't looking in a siddur during davening it is very easy to get distracted. If your eyes are open you can catch a glimpse of something that grabs your attention, or if your eyes are closed your mind easily wanders off. So often your focus is where your eyes are, so you might as well be looking at what you're supposed to be focused on.

Learn

I got a chavrusa a little while ago for learning daf yomi and it turns out that he had gone to a shiur for two and a half cycles. As he puts it, "I listened to daf yomi for many years."
A lot of people will go to shiurim and not pay any attention to what is being said or learned. They will go through the motions without internalizing anything. I think it's very important to learn in order to learn, not just to go to a shiur to get through it. Of course, there is something to be said to one who gets himself up in order to go to a shiur, but that can't be the ultimate goal. When you listen to a shiur or learn a gemara and actually understand it there is a much greater enjoyment in the learning. That's the satisfaction and pleasure that can be seen in the faces of gedolei torah.

Smile

I am re-reading "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" and I read something yesterday which fit somewhat into what I heard at seudah shelishit on shabbos regarding the churban ha'bais. Stephen Covey says that there are usually 3 categories of things that transpire in our lives: things within our control, things in others' control, and things that can't be controlled. We can get by in these different situations respectively by: changing our way of approaching circumstances, changing our way of influencing others, and smiling.
Today, my wife and I had to go somewhere that we didn't really want to go but we didn't really have a choice either. It's one of those circumstances that was just out of our control. Sometimes it's good to know that all you can do is suffer through it and smile.

Taking it For Granted

So sorry that it has taken me until tonight to do the blog this week. We were busy motzash"k and couldn't get online. Then we forgot Sunday and just remembered tonight. Anyway, on with the blog:
Yael and I just recently moved into our new apartment and it's been quite a process. We didn't have internet so whenever we needed to go online we would either go to my parents' house or the Coffee Bean down the block. [For those of you who don't know what Coffee Bean is: #1, it's like Starbucks but better and all Kosher; #2, I feel sorry for you! I digress...] We finally got it all hooked up tonight and it brings to mind the famous words of Spiderman, "With great power comes great responsibility."
Along with many other things, the internet is a tremendous tool but only if used properly: at the right times, for the right reasons, and in moderation. It's so easy to go online and get lost in surfing the web reading pointless articles and playing stupid games. Try not to take technology for granted. It's a tool: a "means", not an "end".

Daf Yomi

This past week I started learning daf yomi. I had begun in yeshiva but went on a hiatus during my time at YU since it was not feasible, but now that YU's over and all of the wedding hype has mostly died down (aside from the fact that we just got our online proofs this past Friday) I have picked it up again.
I originally planned on starting when the cycle reached Makos since I've already covered most of that mesechta but that started the day of the wedding which left no time for extra learning since we had to immediately pack up and move across the country. So now I'm beginning with Shavuous and hope to keep it up for a lot longer than I did last time around.
I think it's a very good way to keep myself on some sort of learning regiment after leaving the arba koslei bais medrash. It is a simple schedule to follow and there are so many resources out there to help you stay on top of the learning. If you need help you can always find a shiur to go to and the online resources are tremendous as well.