today i'm so excited because i will bring you along on a typical morning and share with you
how i do my daily prayers to G.od and study Torah as an orthodox sephardic jewish woman i will also
share with you five tips i use to stay connected to G.od through my day as a full-time working mom
if you're new here hi my name is Sara Malka and on my channel i share all facets of my orthodox
Sephardic jewish life as a full-time working mom with small kiddos so don't forget to leave
a big thumbs up to the video and subscribe to our channel let me put on a pretty tichel and let's
jump into it in the morning i wake up about one hour before everyone to have a bit of "me time"
i start my day with a prayer of gratitude to G.od for Him to have given me back my soul to
live another day to fulfill His commandments i sit on my bed and i recite moda ani
i walk from our bedroom quietly all the way to the kitchen trying to make as little noise as possible
for everyone to sleep peacefully at least for an hour or so once i am in the kitchen i will use
the keli (washing cup) which is a cup with two handles and i will wash my hands three times on
each side making sure the water touches all surfaces of my hands we wash our hands following
this ritual because during the night chances are our hands have touched areas of our bodies
which are normally covered and after touching such areas we are required to wash our hands
before reciting the morning blessings and prayers before i wash my hands i make sure
my wrists are completely uncovered so the water touches my hands from the tips of my fingers
to my wrists i pour the water on my hand one at a time and i repeat it three times
then i will do my morning cleaning ritual that includes washing my face brushing my
teeth washing my hands with soap and water then i dress and put on my tichel or head scarf for
me as a married woman i love covering my hair when i wear my head scarf it is like wearing
a crown saying to the world i am the daughter of the King of kings and if you want for me to do a
video on why and how i cover my hair please let me know in the comments below once that i am dressed
i will go once again wash my hands but this time i will say a blessing after i have washed my hands
the blessing is called Netilat Yadayim which means washing of the hands one of the reasons
we wash our hands following this ritual is that G.od gave us another day to serve him
in this way we are similar to the Kohen or priest who is about to serve G.od
in the Holy Temple just as the priests were required to wash their hands before their service
so too we wash our hands before beginning our daily service to G.od then i say the blessing
i make sure i dry my hands completely and then i will go to the living room to pray
for me by praying first i put the priorities of my day in order and recognize that G.od is the
most important and should be addressed first not my phone not my emails G.od when i do that
and start my day with G.od being my number one priority i feel His presence is more intense
and i have a higher awareness that His protection and His guidance are with me all day long
to pray i take my favorite siddur or prayer book and is called Eshet Chayil which means woman valor
in it i have my little sticky notes to find the sections rapidly here is my tip number one to
stay connected with G.od all day long before i even start my prayer i ask G.od to quiet my mind
i take deep breaths and i set a goal for my prayer today my focus will be for my prayer
to be more meaningful my first prayer is called Birkat Hasharar it is a series of or blessing
thanking G.od for everything He is giving me i am thanking G.od as He is the one who made me in His
image who made me free who clothes me who releases me who straightens me what i do to make the prayer
more meaningful and feel less repetitive since we do this prayer every day i try to focus on each
blessing and connect to something i'm grateful for for example if i take a siddur with an english
translation for the blessing baruch ata Ha.shem Elokenu melech HaOlam Hamechin Mitzadei gaver
blessed are you Ha.shem our G.od, King of the universe who provides for the footsteps of man
i will stop and give it more meaning by thanking Ha.shem G.od who always guides my steps every
day with "Hashgacha Pratit" divine providence and always guides me and brings me where i need to be
after my morning blessings i will do Shema
i cover my eyes in a specific manner and i say Shema Israel Has.shem Elokeinu, Ha.shem Echad
which means Hear O israel G.od is our Lord G.od is one i cover my eyes again and recite a small
prayer the basic reason we cover our eyes during the shema is to eliminate distraction during this
essential prayer we recite shema two times a day in the morning prayer called shacharit
and the evening prayer called arvit ( or Ma'ariv) to fulfill our biblical commandment
in addition we recite shema just before retiring at night as well as in the kedusha on shabbat the
shema prayer is the same prayer that we find in our mezuzah or the small scrolls on every
doorpost of our orthodox house i have already made a video about the mezuzah and its significance
during my jewish orthodox sephardic home tour and i will leave the link in the box above and the
description box below after completing my shema i will recite my amida which is also called shemonei
esre the boys and men have an obligation to recite the amidah three times a day as a sephardic woman
with small children working full time i recite the amida only once a day in the morning it is a very
intense moment of communion with G.od we recite this prayer standing and facing toward Jerusalem
every person concentrate on his or her prayer my eyes are looking inside my prayer book to read the
brachot or blessings and alternatively taking a moment to make the blessing more meaningful
to me and relate it to my life that is my tip number two to stay connected to my prayer and G.od
for example in one of the sections of the amidah about the request for healing in that section i
often include a personal prayer in the amidah and pray with all my heart that G.od heals
all the sick people including people that i know friends family the community and beyond during
the amidah many of us sway gently back and forth or side to side for me it is like dancing slowly
to the music of the prayer and it helps me stay focused i say the words of my prayer like a secret
softly enough that only G.od and i can hear them it is very frequent for me to cry during my prayer
when i realize how much G.od has blessed us again and again and how everything is in His control
the amidah takes about seven to ten minutes to be completed and once i have completed my amida
i will take three steps back bowing down as i take leave of the presence of the King of kings
who allowed me to bask closely in His presence during the amidah i finished my morning prayer
with the alenu prayer because i woke up an hour before everyone thank G.od i still have time to
study before the kiddos wake up and here is my third tip to stay connected with G.od every day
i set a time when i know chances are i will be able to focus only on my study for me it is in
the morning before the kiddos are awake i take out my lectern or as they call it in yadish a shtender
i take out my chumash or torah to study the parasha HaShavua or the portion of the
Torah we read for the week every week we read a different parasha or section of the Torah so at
the end of the year we complete the reading of the Torah we complete and celebrate this
marvelous accomplishment with a holiday called Simchat Torah once i have my sefer or holy book
i take my notebook and planner and here is my tip number four i take notes when i study to be able
to refer to them later on and add insights through my day or my week i use a scrapbook/sketchbook
instead of a notebook so i can draw and make tables or graphics to synthesize my learning
i use one black marker and one fine tip black pen this week we are at the parasha
Shelach (some people call it Shelach Lecha) i will write the name of the parasha in my notebook to be
able to refer to it later then i will pray for G.od to open my heart and my mind to be
able to understand and integrate what i will learn today and that i can carry this knowledge with me
i start by reading the Torah then i read the commentaries this commentary is by Rashi the
commentator explained in more details the passage to increase the understanding i take notes in a
way that speaks to me to make it more relatable i will study the Torah for about 15 to 20 minutes
then i take another sefer as i have shared with you in our jewish home tour video every
rosh hashanah we choose one book that we will study throughout the year to better ourselves
i have chosen this year the Sefer Knowing G.od's plan i love this sefer (Holy book) as it really
helps me understand how the world works and what is my purpose in this world i will also study
this Sefer (holy book) for about 15 minutes depending on the time the children give me
at first i thought to myself that to only study 15 minutes per day of Chumash or Torah and 15 minutes
of the other Holy book was so little but with that system thank G.od i have been able to complete
the Torah every year on my own and to finish at least one Sefer or holy book beside all the other
books we learn on Halacha/ jewish laws musar/ self-improvement that we study together as a
family and during classes here is my tip number five to stay connected with G.od
all day long at the end of my study session i will take out my planner and i will write in it
one key word for this parasha (P) and one key word for my other study (S) and i will ponder on
them during my day especially when i'm walking to work through my prayers and learning i make
a conscious decision to better myself in these two realms during the day to hopefully help me
be a better wife a better mother a better friend and a better doctor to my patients
thank you for being here it means the world to me know that in my book you are a unique light
and my world would not be the same without you and if you are still here until the end
please write in the comments " I LOVE MORNING PRAYERS" so i know i was not alone
and if nobody told you today know that YOU ARE LOVED and YOU ARE ENOUGH just the way you are
until next time stay safe stay blessed and don't forget to FRUM IT UP