A Perfect Book of Psalms

Since my husband and I got married, we have been doing the merge of two homes dance. You know how this goes...I have a crockpot, you have a crockpot... my crockpot is newer... sell the old.I have a couch, you have a couch... your couch is nicer... sell mine.One thing that has been fun is the coming together of our books. Daniel doesn't have too many in his house (not for lack of having books, rather because most at boxed up at his parents' house) but I came with two bookshelves PLUS (not counting the work themed books I keep in my office at work).tehillimLNow I don't know how you organize books (I found out the other night that a friend and her husband do it by color... that's cool) but I do it by subject and author. I have a shelf of "authors I know/am related to," a shelf of old school books I still love, fiction, non-fiction, theatre... and Judaica. My Judaica shelf is exploding. I love collecting, not only interesting books, but also different types of prayerbooks and Torahs (chumashim), etc.I was recently gifted with a BEAUTIFUL book of Tehillim (psalms) to review for a friend in New York. He, Rabbi Chaim Miller, is an AMAZING man in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. Not only is he warm and welcoming in his home but he is knowledgeable and fascinating. I feel pretty confident recommending any new book he comes out with. Rabbi Miller is part of the brains behind Kol Menachem. Here's a little about Kol Menachem from their website:

The critically acclaimed Kol Menachem series represents the very best in English judaica. Our books boast finely crafted bindings, award-winning typography and an unparalleled richness of content.Kol Menachem also believes that the quality of information must be matched by the quality of presentation. The use of stunning graphics, professional fonts, multiple commentaries, background material, diagrams and charts as well as insightful notes ensures a multifaceted and far-reaching learning experience in all our publications.The exceptional lucidity and intellectual rigor of Kol Menachem's presentations are thanks to the skilful pen of our chief editor, Rabbi Chaim Miller. Rabbi Miller's achievement as an international scholar is substantiated by the vast dissemination of his works as well as the acclaim and prestige they have won him amongst his colleagues and in the educational and religious communities in which his works circulate.

The thing about Kol Menachem is, it's not your grandpa's siddur. They look beautiful on your bookshelves but they also draw you deeper into the text once you crack it open. Looking for an easy to read, beautiful chumash (Torah)? Check out their version here.When Rabbi Miller asked me to review his new tehillim, I couldn't say no. I have a soft spot for tehillim. When I can't pray, when I can't find a way to communicate with G!d, I turn to the psalms. Years ago I learned that you "have" a psalm for each year. Many years, I found that "my" psalm was so accurate for what I was going through and what I needed at the time. Here's how you calculate: take your age (32) add one (making it 33) and that is your psalm for the year. Why? When you turn 32, you are going into your 33 year. Anyway, I love psalms. My issue is that my Hebrew is not good enough yet to read in lashon kodesh (the holy language) so I am always looking for options with a GOOD English translation and one that is easy to follow or pop over to the Hebrew when I can.Not only does the new Kol Menachem Tehillim have large print Hebrew AND English but it has something I have never seen in a book of psalms before. At the bottom of the page, just like in a chumash, it offers "Classic Questions" and "Toras Menachem." The Classic Questions offer insights and clarifications just as you would find in a chumash. Points that may seem unclear to an observer are clarified in a familiar place, at the bottom of the page. However, it is the Toras Menachem that is just fascinating. It is based on commentary from the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson. If you read the forward, you learn that this task was not as easy as it sounds. Yes, the Rebbe (as Rabbi Schneerson is referred to) gave many speeches but he did not spend a lot of time on the psalms. Rabbi Miller and his team spent a long time reviewing the Rebbe's discourses, sermons, farbrengens, and other times psalms may have been mentioned. Rabbi Miller took the teachings from the Rebbe and shared these insights in a language we can understand.Like I said earlier, Kol Menachem books are not only interesting and educational but beautiful for your bookshelf. I highly recommend this volume. I know our home is richer for it.The details:Here is information about this volume of tehillim from Kol Menachem:

Tehillim (Book of Psalms) - The Schottenstein Edition Price: $39.99 The luxurious, hand-crafted Schottenstein Edition Tehillim, represents the very peak of English Judaica. World-class typography by an award-winning designer, with gold and red-wine highlights, makes each page of this classic a rich feast for the eyes. An exceptionally lucid, flowing translation, is adorned with fascinating insights culled from over 200 traditional commentaries. A special feature is the Toras Menachem, inspirational commentaries from the late Lubavitcher Rebbe on Tehillim which have never been published before in English. The hand tooled faux-leather cover and luscious cream paper makes this the ideal gift.6 1/2" x 9 1/4", 480 pages, ISBN: 978-1-934152-35-5

To purchase, either click anywhere in the description above or click here - Kol Menachem Tehillim.Here are some sample pages -Tehillimsample_pg39 Tehillimsample_pg38 Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book to review for free.

Days like today...

When crisis strikes in Colorado, Israel or really anywhere in the world, my days look like this:Wake up.Learn there is a crisis.Obsessively check Facebook, Twitter, news outlets, any information I can find online (in the case of the November 2012 Israeli engagement it was an awesome blogger giving blow by blow).Compile information and compare with my team.Obsessively check Facebook, Twitter, news outlets, any information I can find online.Shout information from my office to my bosses office.Obsessively check Facebook, Twitter, news outlets, any information I can find online.Make a recommendation to the CEO to open a fund (or he tells us that we have to).Obsessively check Facebook, Twitter, news outlets, any information I can find online.Write an "ePhil" (electronic philanthropy) to our community.Send said ePhil to team for fact/spell checking.Obsessively check Facebook, Twitter, news outlets, any information I can find online.Send said ePhil upstairs for approval.Get told to add more pictures.Obsessively look at devastating pictures from the tragedy.Add them to ePhil.Resend upstairs for approval.Obsessively check Facebook, Twitter, news outlets, any information I can find online.Nudge hard to get approval so we can send before 5pm.Obsessively check Facebook, Twitter, news outlets, any information I can find online.Get some changes or approval.Send to community.Obsessively check Facebook, Twitter, news outlets, any information I can find online.Post it on Facebook while... obsessively checking Facebook, Twitter, news outlets, any information I can find online.Obsessively check Facebook, Twitter, news outlets, any information I can find online until it is time to go home.Obsessively check Facebook, Twitter, news outlets, any information I can find online at home.Obsessively check Facebook, Twitter, news outlets, any information I can find online from bed before I fall asleep. Wake up.Obsessively check Facebook, Twitter, news outlets, any information I can find online.Write another message from the CEO/ press release to news outlets.Obsessively check Facebook, Twitter, news outlets, any information I can find online. I think you can see where this is going...CO Fires FB pic_TH

Young Me/Old Me

I may be creating a never ending spiral by posting this but... it got me thinking. And frankly as meme's go, this isn't the worst one...A friend from high school wrote a post with the identical title - Young Me/Old Me wherein she referenced another mutual friend from high school who wrote I think I've turned into a wuss.My high school friend, Jason, wrote in I think I've turned into a wuss:

I have been missing the belief that I can do anything.  I have been missing the realization that I was not stuck in a rut.  I have been missing the desire to be creative, be exploratory, be expressive and cling to God with my life in obedience.  I wondered what happened to Young Me who spent hours in the driveway on Mockingbird Drive pretending he was in the NBA.  Young Me played ball until he couldn’t even see the rim.  Young Me also had a back story for all his toys.  Young Me had a spaceship made out of a bush that grew next to two oak trees and had half of a cinder block for the commander’s chair.  Young Me didn’t care what others thought.  Young Me rocked.

My high school friend, Erin, wrote in Young Me/Old Me:

“Aren’t the 30s weird? Like we’ve done all the things we’re supposed to do, gone to school and gotten jobs and started families, and at any moment it could all explode. We could all go back to square one. And it wouldn’t be that bad.”

And

What did your Young Me do that your Old Me doesn’t?Young Me decorated the pages of my journals with paint and crayons.Young Me laughed the loudest and didn’t care.Young Me tossed out unsolicited opinions.Young Me watched movies alone.Young Me went jogging any old time, not concerned about when the last time I went jogging.Young Me painted my favorite quotes on my walls.Young Me hugged everyone.Young Me danced without drinking first.Young Me climbed trees.My Young Me rocked, too. I could probably stand to be a little more like my Young Me.

So this makes me start thinking about Erin's young her because ... well I knew her for part of that time. Which then makes me think of young me... How have I changed? How have the 30's changed me? For all intents and purposes, these are the best days of my life! I mean it, truly. I am happier and healthier and fitter and more content with my life today than I was as "young me."Let us compare, shall we:

Young Me
Old Me
Nervous and scared Confident
Shy and awkward Outgoing (can I say confident again?)
Really cared what other people thought of me Can I say confident again?
Unfettered by debt Fiscally aware
Longing for something more Content with my life

 But here's the thing... what both blogs said is true. The 30's are weird. I'm on a precipice of life but I have already lived so much. I have experienced so much but there is a lot to come. Children and adventures, all sorts of things. So... let's do the exercise...

thoughtful taliaWhat did your Young Me do that your Old Me doesn’t?Young Me burned 30 candles in my room while pretending to play guitar without fear that I the music I made was horrid (it was).Young Me sang along to old show tunes records at the top of my lungs. (And by records, I mean REAL vinyl!)Young Me was fearless on the stage when Young Me couldn't be fearless in real life.Young Me kept trying new things (guitar, violin, painting, drawing, dancing, gymnastics, life guarding).Young Me found time to have fun no matter what (with my brother, or my parents, or my friends, or myself).

Young Me did rock. I am proud of who I was. But I am also proud of who I have become. I am SO thankful to Erin and Jason for starting me on this thought path. While my inference may have been slightly different, the thought is the same... don't forget the simple pleasures in life but do stop listening to the little voice in your head that tells you no no no because you are over 30!

Creating A Return On An Investment...

ROI - in business ROI stands for return on investment... And that is exactly what Lynn Schusterman got from the recent ROI Community Summit in Jerusalem, a return on her investment of the future of the Jewish people.From June 10-14, I attended this summit in Jerusalem with 150 other young Jewish innovators. Out of 600 applications, we were selected as connectors and creators, entrepreneurs and catalysts. From the United States, Israel, England, South Africa, Latvia, Brussels, Turkey, and even Uganda, we represented 30 countries. As a community, we descended on Jerusalem to sharpen our skills and pitch new projects or refine old ideas. I instantly connected with the local director of AIPAC in Dallas, an experiential journalist from London, an event promoter from NYC, a guy working to get the Israeli flag and a Torah on the moon, a woman running a speakeasy and kosher, organic, and locally grown restaurant from her Brooklyn home, a leader in the National Young Leadership Cabinet (NYLC) in Atlanta, and a Chabad rabbi. I also got to spend time with Boulder's very own Jonathan Lev, the executive director of the Boulder JCC. All I can say is, "yeah, that happened." Words seem so inadequate to express this experience.We spent five days connecting and creating. Part of the program was the opportunity to present a concept that you want to develop and then crowd-source it to get support, help developing it, and potentially funding. This year 50 ideas were posted to the site IdeaScale and for the first time, the world could vote for them. The top three ideas and their creators had the opportunity to pitch the idea to four celebrity judges. Danna Azrieli - chair of the Azrieli Foundation in Israel. Noa Tishby - actress, producer, model, and non-profit spokeswoman. Yossi Abramowitz - one of the 50 most influential Jews in the world in 2011 & 2012 according to the Jerusalem Post. President and co-founder of the Arava Power Company. Yossi Vardi - an Israeli high-tech entrepreneur.I highly encourage you to go to roisummit2012.ideascale.com and look at what came out of this conference. And yes, I did pitch an idea. One that my co-worker at the Allied Jewish Federation of Colorado, Melissa Scholten-Gutierrez and I have been developing. It is called Tikkun Platoon. This is flash mob philanthropy, where collective identity meets collective responsibility to affect social change.  I hope that with the help of the ROI community, this dream will become a reality soon!The amazing thing about ROI is that it is not just a conference, it's a community. I am now a part of something big, with some 800 ROI'ers across the world, we have access to each other and our talents and microgrant funding for projects. The goal is that through a 1000 ROI'ers, we will reach 1 million people. And it is happening. You may be familiar with G-dcast.com, the weekly parsha videos online or Moshe House? These are both concepts born from ROI. Judging by the brilliance that was posted on IdeaScale, there will be many more.At the end of the day, though, my favorite moment happened on the last day. Lynn Schusterman, who made it possible for me to be at ROI, and I sat together after a morning session and we did our yarn crafts together and chatted. She, knitting a scarf for her grandchildren. I, crocheting a scarf for my friend. We discussed technology and yarn and knitting and the beauty of Colorado. And that is what ROI is about, finding people with similar interests and connecting... Even if there is an age difference.See my ROI profile at http://www.roicommunity.org/users/talia-davis-haykin

The Tichel vs Sheitel Situation

So you may remember... (and by that I mean you better remember :)) the blog I recently wrote about dressing as my friend Mel and wearing her tichel (scarf). If you haven't read it yet, that's ok... read it now. We will wait. I'm Wearing a Tichel!Okay, so my friend Mel had made the choice to only wear tichels after much consideration. Her husband is Sephardi and prefers scarves so that is the way she went... until we attended that wig sale... I walked into the town home to go play with wigs and up pops my friend Mel... but not my married friend Mel... the Mel I met 2 years ago before she got married. I was shocked. She had picked up a wig, carried it around, plopped it on her head and it was like seeing her real hair! I was so excited... and so was she.There is something indescribable about observing a mitzvah but also retaining your identity and personality. Wearing a scarf all day, I felt like I had a beacon on my head. I was proud to wear it but sometimes, I just wanted to blend in a bit more. Scarves have become a bit synonymous with cancer and I wondered if people thought I was a cancer patient. I didn't feel like I could move my head. It was weird. In the wigs I tried on, I could move freely and easily.It's all a choice and like I told Mel, Judaism is a journey, one that I am happy to be on with wonderful friends.Read Mel's post here about her sheitel journey: I'm Only Going To Say This Once

My Friend Mayim

That sounds like she is imaginary but it's not. I am very excited because an article I wrote about Mayim Bialik just went up on Chabad.org. So exciting because I have been A. working on this piece for a while, B. wanting to have an article go live on Chabad for a long time, C. Mayim is amazing and I am so excited to share her awesomeness.  Here's an except. Go read it!

In a sense I had known Mayim Bialik most of my life. I grew up with her as my television best friend when she starred on the TV show, Blossom. I remember being shocked that here was a girl who looked like me, with a ‘Jewy’ name like me, a Jewish kid on television! I thought Blossom was the coolest thing since sliced bread...

Read more here: Mayim Bialik: Actress, neurobiologist, mom, proud Jewish woman

The 3six5 Denver Project

I was kindly asked to be a part of the 3six5 Denver project. It will be a diary of the year 2012, 365 days, 365 bloggers in 365 words.Very cool if you ask me.Here is part of my post for January 2nd. I was excited to post about the beginning of the year.

3six5_photo.jpg.scaled1000It’s January 2.

It’s a new day. A new year.So what are you waiting for?!Okay, well you can’t jump the hour and a half wait at Snooze. (Some things never change, right?)But I’ll take it. Today.Today is the big day. My friend Amanda and I are sitting down to work out a plan for our new business ideas. We spent the hour talking about different ways to bring our pie in the sky ideas to fruition. Maybe they aren’t so pie in the sky... they could actually work! At least that is what everyone keeps telling us.But how do you take an idea, a good idea, and make money off of it?Sweet potato pancakes and apple french toast sure helped the thinking process.Two women, dreaming in Denver, over a niche breakfast... that’s what Colorado is about, right?It’s the land of opportunity. The land where people go to start fresh, to start anew...Read the rest of the post here: January 2, 2012: Talia Hava Davis

And if you are interested in participating, read this: Author Guidelines then email the3six5denver@gmail.comEnjoy your 2012!

As The Candles Gutter Out

Today is the last day of Chanukah. Last night we lit our last candles of this holiday.With all the hype that led up to Chanukah, it's hard to imagine that it is over. I can't image what it feels like for Christians who have (I feel) an even bigger build up to their holiday and then only one night and one day Xmas.With all this holiday spirit and war on Xmas talk... what are we, as Jews to feel when we look at our lit chanukiah?Our chanukiah brings light into the world. We are obligated to light it in a window or so it can be seen from the street. Why? Well it came from a time when we could not do that. When we were forced to hide who we were for fear of persecution or death. Since we no longer live in that fear, since we have the freedom to worship as we want here, we show the world that we are Jews by lighting our menorot in the window. So the menorah, or chanukiah, is like a symbol of our freedom, right? A shining (literally) example of our right to worship. Our Chanukah lights shout from our homes "WE ARE JEWS!"Well, we aren't always about shouting... shouting isn't always the right reaction, correct? Sometimes an outward symbol also teaches us something internally. So we light these candles every night and we gather as families. In my family, at least, we tell stories of Chanukahs past. We sing the same songs that my father sung with his parents (laughing in the same spots at our terrible voices). The candles burn with the warmth of family and love and history and tradition. They are lit in a safe space, for them (on tin foil to make sure they don't burn down the house, says my father and to keep wax off the furniture, says my moms), and a safe space for us. A space where you can be you and you will be loved and accepted and held in the warm arms of generations gone before.But that's how I feel communally and with my family, what about me... personally... what does the chanukiah bring into MY life? So the word Chanukah come from the Hebrew verb - חנך - chanach meaning 'to dedicate.' Funny that this time of year falls within proximity to the secular new year, which is a time for resolutions... or rededicating yourself to ideals and efforts.So as I watched the candles gutter out last night for the last time this year, I thought to myself... to what shall I rededicate myself this year? Well, dear readers, here is my list.

Talia Hava's Chanukah Rededication List:

  1. Blogging. I will be better about blogging more regularly, really.
    1. Subhead - Writing in general. I would really love to publish more work.
  2. Photography. My camera and I have had a chilly relationship lately. I plan on warming that up soon!
  3. Me. I get bogged down in all the work and other stuff that I forget about me. That means exercising and doing things I enjoy (see numbers 1 & 2 above).
  4. Volunteering and philanthropic work. I miss it. When I was in school, in my sorority, that was a focus. Let's get back out and help people!
  5. Sticking to a budget. I'm trying, I really am... but numbers isn't my strong suit!
  6. Dating. A very wise rebbetzin once told me, "Talia, if you want to get married you have to make dating your full time job." Ugh, but you were right! Here goes...
  7. Learn how to crochet. Seriously! I've learned twice and I keep forgetting!
  8. Start an Etsy store with my friend Amanda, fill it with our art, my photography, her knitting, and other goodies, and sell lots of fun stuff!
  9. STUDY MORE TORAH AND HALACHA! Very key. I miss the regular learning I was doing in Israel. Gotta get going again!

Well, those are mine... what does your rededication list look like? May you all have nothing but Mazal, Bracha, Hatzlacha, Briut, v'Shalom for the (secular) new year! (Definition: luck, blessing, success, health, and peace)

The Pride of a Daughter

I am so very proud of my family. Now, we may be crazy but I am still very proud of my whole family.But this post is about my father. My father, my tatti, my abbasama, is a very special guy. He was always pretty slow to anger. Never hit us, rarely spanked us, and I was only grounded once... when I was 5... and I walked to the next-door neighbor's house without telling them... and she couldn't see me in the peephole because I was too little... I was "lost" for about 15 minutes.All of my parents are extraordinary but my pops, he's pretty incredible. His logic and gentle Aikedo way of raising my brother and I has shaped us into who we are today. He is grammatically stringent (like his father) but never mean. Patient to a fault and an incredible snuggler.However, something happened recently that made my little girl emotions well up and pride spill out in my tears.He sent me a pdf of his book to proof.It is both awe and awww inspiring.As I read the stories contained within his book, I was drawn back to times with my father. Special moments, dinner tables, synagogue events where the Ya'ir, the mythical rabbi (who I believe was my father in a previous fictional life), made appearances. His stories taught us the real meanings of holidays and observances. Of how they look to those on the outside looking in and those of us on the inside looking deeper. His lessons enabled me to teach and share our historical traditions with friends in ways that they could understand.One of the most exciting parts of seeing my father's stories in print is that I know I will be able to share this with my children and grandchildren, on and on, forever. All of our decedents will know of these stories.  They will know of the gentle way of their great great grandfather... and that excites me. We have been researching our family tree and the lack of information makes me sad. I have been pushing my father to document his memories for years because I don't want that to disappear. This book will be the manifestation of just one twig of our collective history. Reading his voice will always be something that I will have.I owe a lot to my tatti, my dad. The lifelong supporter, the unabashed lovebug, the passionate and compassionate father who instilled in me a passion for alliteration and abhorrence at ending a sentence with a preposition.SO stay posted. Keep checking back because I will post a link when the book is available. I hope you and yours will enjoy these stories as much as my brother and I did.