Valuable Tips for Shabbos

I was talking to someone who is struggling and she said that she keeps on losing her abstinence on Shabbos. I shared some of my tips and she said that it really helped her.

1) Shabbos is a time of special treats, make sure that your food is special too.
2) If you don't buy enough for others, DO NOT SHARE.
3) If you do not have enough food for yourself you will loose your abstinence.
4) Taking care of yourself is self preservation, not self indulgence.
5) Teach your family that what is in specially identified containers is UNTOUCHABLE!
6) Try to get your family to feel positive about the importance of your program.
7) Buy them nosh and treats so they will not resent the program.

Dessert -OA Style

It is hard to sit there will others are indulging in various desserts, and I am not. I have found that if I leave some of my matzah for dessert and eat it while sipping my herb tea, if is a very good and satisfying dessert.

Shabbos is about Spiritual Not Physical

This Shabbas my Cholent burnt, someone likes to cover the crockpot with a cloth and thought it would cook better like that. Instead it became overcooked and hard.

I was reminded of something that someone said at a meeting. When you work the program you come to understand that Shabbos is not about food, it is about getting closer to Hashem. I was ok with my burnt cholent.

And next week no schmatah on the crock pot.

Shabbos Tips 1

2 ways that people do their cholent on OA

1) Get your own mini crock pot and put all of your measured ingredients in it. Be careful, it tends to be very hot, put a lot of water in it and some aluminum foil balls under the pot to disperse some of the heat.

2) Put you measured ingredients in the net bags for putting herbs in soup and put them in your family's cholent. Be careful when traveling to check that the host family doesn't mind you putting it in. One person was stuck when she found out that the host father would not eat the same Heckser so she could not put her cholent in the crock put. From that time on, she always brings her own crock pot when traveling.