Sports Dad

Okay, so I've said it here several times, and It's worth saying again, I don't want to push my kids towards a goal so that I can live vicariously through them. That being said, I am not following what I've been preaching. I recently decided that I wanted to get my older son into Hockey. So badly so that I went out buying pint size Hockey Equipment for him - a whole year before he'll be old enough to join our local league. (He also has a Judo Gi that almost fits him, but that's for a different blog). 

My own dad wasn't really much of a Hockey player at all (in fact, the only time I remember him holiding a hockey stick was when he wanted us to put it away), but he was a big ice skater. I was on skates at about 3, and I probably struggled a bit until I was six, but I loved being on the ice, and ultimately this transpired into my own love of Ice Skating, In-Line Skating, and Hockey. But there was never a point at which my Dad said - do this.

I want to get him to start skating. I recently got the local parks pass to get me a discount at the municipal rink (an extra incentive to go more often) and I bought him his first pair of skates. He is super excited about them, and can't wait to go skating. I just need to keep telling myself that I will be okay if he doesn't like it, and that I won't keep pushing him if that's the case. Worst case scenario, the skates will hopefully fit his younger brother in a couple of years.

Everything with a Divine Purpose

As a child, I was taught that everything in life has a divine purpose. This is a concept I touch on a lot in various blog postings, and most recently, I pointed this out when talking about the 'Internet Bans' of some Jewish Communities. Obviously, I attempt to seek out the divinity in everything everyday, and this week was no exception.

Over the past few weeks, a friend of mine was pushing me to join Daf Yomi. The last time I tried, about 8 years ago, I was able to stick with it for several months. I was going to a daily morning class, but after several months, I couldn't get to the class any more, and I gave it up.

Seeing that my life is more complicated and busy, I wanted to find a way to better work it into my schedule as to guarantee that I would finish. How nice, I thought to myself, it would be if I could do the daf on my computer on my commute.

Then, last week, I won an iPod in a contest. I also discovered several Podcasts (here's one, and another) of Daf Yomi classes, and even a site where I can find the text of the Talmud.

While I am a few days behind, I have just started to use my iPod to study Daf Yomi on the train. I am sure Steve Jobs will be pleased to note that even the iPod (and not just the Red one) has a divine purpose.