They are mitzvot we do multiple times a day, throughout the year, or perhaps just once in a lifetime: davening, learning the entire Tanach, paying a shivah call, settling in Eretz Yisrael . . . .
Often we know exactly how to prepare ourselves for success. But other times we may freeze in the face of the new or unknown. And even amid routine practices, on occasion we find ourselves acting by rote, lacking a freshness in our spiritual lives.
To help navigate such moments, Jewish Action asked seasoned teachers and experts for guidance on how to work toward mastery in ten different areas—and in the process, how to become better Jews. Here are their answers.
*Transliterations in the magazine are based on Sephardic pronunciation, unless an author is known to use Ashkenazic pronunciation. Thus, the inconsistencies in transliterations in this section and throughout the magazine are due to authors’ preferences.
How to Prepare a Devar Torah by Berel Wein, as told to Binyamin Ehrenkranz
How to Complete Tanach—and Know It by Zippi Klein As told to Binyamin Ehrenkranz
How to Daven by Zale Newman, as told to Binyamin Ehrenkranz
How to Be an Inspiring Shaliach Tzibbur by Eitan Katz, as told to Binyamin Ehrenkranz
How to Strengthen One’s Emunah by Michel Twerski, as told to Binyamin Ehrenkranz
How to Host Shabbos Guests by Shani Klatzko, as told to Leah Lightman
How to Do Bikkur Cholim by Jason Weiner, as told to Rachel Schwartzberg
How to Pay a Shivah Call by Elchonon Zohn, as told to Binyamin Ehrenkranz
How to Make a Kiddush Hashem at Work by Nechama Carmel, based on an interview with Gary Torgow from Detroit, Michigan