Blessings for the New Year

I sit here, literally on the brink of the new year, and I am overwhelmed by a consciousness of greatness in this coming year.

I did an experiment last week. I had these wonderful insights into Teshuva and Tefilla that I wanted to share with the women with whom I am in contact. I have a strong desire to provide an easy way for us to come together for Torah learning, for raising our internal awareness of the Greatness and Excellence that resides in each and every one of us... although it tends to be smothered by our daily grind.

I have been expanding my knowlege and growth through various teleconference seminars, both free and paid, and suddenly I realized how easy it would be for the women I intend to serve to learn in this way - it's on the phone, it's in the evening, AND it's recorded for listening at one's liesure!

As an experiment, I put together this tefilla workshop as a paid program - with the following goals:
1. Guage people's interest/commitment levels
2. Make some money (;-)
and
3. Raise some ~$100 to donate to Chai Lifeline through sponsoring my friend Estee's team in the Marathon.

Well, this is what I learned:
I got some interest, but not much commitment.

The problem is, that I still want to raise money for the cause I committed to, and I want to share the workshop that I prepared with eveyrone who is interested in hearing it! With Hashem's help, I was given a new inspiration!

Ok, ready?
I am going to restart the program - combining the first two classes together on Thursday night.
Everyone is welcome to join! If you are even remotely interested in the topic, go ahead and sign up!
(Obviously, you want to ignore anything about the cost of the class!)
However, you can still help me raise money for Chai Lifeline by indicating in the submission form that would like to be involved in this important Mitzvah.

I look forward to sharing inspirational moments with each of you in the year to come!

Many blessings to each of you, and may you merit to fulfill the promise that Hashem gave to Avraham to be a source of blessings to those around you!

Shana Tova uMetuka!
Love,
Ayelet

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT! Women's Tefilla Workshop for the High Holy Days starts tonight!

How many Challot are baking in your oven? Is your Stuffed (or Unstuffed!) Cabbage steaming on the stove? Have you bought the kids new clothes, maybe you've had time to buy something new for yourself!
But what is the state of your Neshama???
Do you wish you had some time to mentally and spiritually prepare for the tefillot this year?

You CAN! With trememdous gratitude to Hashem, and thanks to technology and the internet, I can offer you, my busy sisters (aunts, mothers, daughters...), a way to realistically learn, process and rise up to the Yamim Noraim 5769!

My gift to you as we begin this New Year is a 4 part workshop beginning TONIGHT! But you don't have time to leave your house! You still have cooking, cleaning and shopping to do! You still have last minute things to take care of before you leave work/school for the better part of a month!

Go to www.wholebodybeauty.com/source.html right now to register!

NO WORRIES! This workshop is all over the phone! And if you can't join us for the live calls - you will get an mp3 recording emailed to you the next day! You can listen to it streaming on your computer, or you can download it and put on your iPod, mp3 player, or burn it to a disc and listen while your running errands, washing dishes, doing laundry, bathing the kids...

PLUS, you will also get a transcription of every call emailed to you, so if you don't get to listen before Yom Tov, you can print out the transcript and read it over the Chag!

And here's the best part!
What are the three things that can retract a Gezaira Rah? Teshuva, Tefilla and Tzedaka, right? So the classes themselves will help give you new insight into Teshuva and Tefilla - and I'm going to help you with the Tzedaka part too!
The cost of the workshop is only $36, and 10% of that will be going to sponsor the Team Lifeline Marathon, for Chai Lifeline. More information can be found at http://www.teamlifeline.org/mypage.php?myid=55261!

So: You're learning, your gaining insight into your purpose and your tefillot and teshuva will inevitably be raised to a higher level - AND your giving Tzedaka to an extremely worthy cause that unfortunately touches each of our lives in one way or another.

So are you ready to register??
Just click on the link below for all the information! But hurry! The first class is tonight and you need to be registered in order to receive the audio recordings in the morning!

http://www.wholebodybeauty.com/source.html

With blessings of a sweet and wonderful New Year in which all your dreams and desires come to fruition!
Love,
~Ayelet

Four Days in the Holy Land: part 1

Although I have been back from my trip for almost a week now, I am finally finding the time to post on my blog, so here are my reflections from my trip... thanks for sojourning with me!

Written 9am (Israel time) Tuesday 9/16

I arrived in Israel on Sunday afternoon 9/14 for a four day trip. My purpose: recon

• Mission: Pre-Aliyah Pilot Trip


• Reconnect with the Land --- check


• Cry like a baby at the Kotel ---- check


• Meet and connect with other people in my field --- check


• Find a neighborhood to move to in which we will feel welcome, but not feel like we’ve just transplanted our American lifestyle to a different country ---- working…!

Yesterday I walked all over Yerushalayim. I started out in Arnona (southeast of the center of town), my SIL’s lovely apartment, walked all the way to the center of town, bought minutes for my pay-as-you-go Israeli cell phone, bought a fresh carrot-orange juice, and kept walking. I got on a bus at the Shuk (market) to get to Givaat Shaul. Those of you who were in Michlelet Mevaseret Yerushalayim (my post-high school yeshiva in Israel) in it’s first 3 years will appreciate this! The Nefesh B’Nefesh office is in Beit Ofer!! So I got off the bus at the Angel’s bakery and walked the rest of the way – and as I contemplated my reflection in the store windows, I had to wonder who that married woman was, because I was certainly 18 again! It was such a pleasure!

Then I kept walking! I walked down to Ramat Beit Hakerem, near Shaarei Tzedeck hospital, to meet with a dear friend of mine named Michal Schonbrun. Michal is that main proponent of teach the Fertility Awareness Method (aka: FAM – a way of becoming completely aware of how a woman’s body works and what those cycles really mean!). She is also beginning a workshop for religious women on intimacy, and I can’t wait to hear more about how that goes! I’m so impressed with Michal! It was so wonderful to reconnect with her. (Her website is _____) And look out for her name in one of my upcoming newsletters!

After that, I decided I was done with walking for the day! I took a cab back to Arnona, and a bus back into Mercaz Hair (Center of Town) to meet up with another friend of mine, Hadassah, and her friend. We ate greasy, delicious burgers at Burger’s Bar and talked about communities in the Shomron, in the Gush, what to ask when I go out to see neighborhoods, and we talked about our visions for the future: mine to start a Family Health Center, Coralee’s to fly in a hot air balloon, and Hadassah claims it’s to go to DisneyWorld, but I know there are more exciting things in your future, Hadassah!

Plan for today:

Going out to Kochav Yaakov this morning. It’s a settlement north of Jerusalem. Then coming back through Jerusalem to the gush to visit my friend Shoshi in Neve Daniel and my SIL in Efrat and see some of the neighborhoods in the Gush.
I’ll keep you posted!!

Love, Ayelet