VOLUME TWO IS HERE!

At long last, read and re-read 70 MORE of your favorite questions and answers culled from seven years of weekly Ami columns.

Includes over 70 questions and answers covering real-life issues in the areas of Faith & Belief • Emotional Wellbeing • Friends & Community • Family Matters • Kibbud Av Va’Eim • Work & Finances.

Appearing in the pages of Ami Magazine for over seven years, “Ask Rabbi Shais Taub” has gained a wide and dedicated following who return weekly seeking his astute guidance, clarity, inspiration, and deep faith. Rabbi Taub’s trademark style of answering the questioner and not just the question has been praised for its sharp ability to dissect and analyze the readers’ questions as well as its compassion and empathy. Much more than just an advice column, “Ask Rabbi Shais Taub” has become a trusted source for penetrating insights on life, based firmly upon authentic Torah values.

Foreword by RABBI YITZCHOK FRANKFURTER, Publisher of Ami Magazine

The talmidim of the Baal Shem Tov were famously divided as to whether it was their calling to become involved in the mundane problems and issues of their followers. In his Iggeres Hakodesh (22), the Alter Rebbe complained that instead of dealing with questions relating to Torah and the neshamah, he was being inundated with requests for advice and blessings pertaining to physical matters. In the end, even if it was not something they initially wished to do, that is what all the great tzaddikim and rebbeim did—and for a valid reason.

In a letter to a 14-year-old girl, the Lubavitcher Rebbe wrote as follows:
“I received your recent letter and…was somewhat taken aback by the tone… You have surely learned in books of mussar [ethical works] and especially chasidic teachings about the tactics of the yetzer hara to instill a spirit of depression, discouragement and despondency in order to prevent a Jewish person from fulfilling his divine mission… This is exactly what has happened in your case, and I’m surprised that you do not realize it…

“You surely know of the saying of the Baal Shem Tov that a soul comes down to live on this earth for a period of seventy to eighty years for the sole purpose of doing another Jew a single favor materially or spiritually. In other words, it is worthwhile for a Jewish soul to make that tremendous journey and descend from heaven to earth in order to do something once for one fellow Jew.”

I know very few individuals who have done as much for so many of our fellow Jews, particularly in helping them cope with the challenges life has thrown their way, as my esteemed and cherished colleague, Rabbi Shais Taub. The very first time I spoke with Rabbi Taub I recognized his uncanny ability to dissect a person’s emotions and get to the crux of the matter, whereupon I immediately invited him to write an advice column for Ami Magazine. Since then, countless people have gotten to known Rabbi Taub and benefited from his matchless gifts.

Like all true chasidim, Rabbi Shais Taub would rather be teaching Torah and disseminating chasidus. His efforts on behalf of others therefore come at great personal sacrifice, meaning that they are all the more holy.

Of course, anyone who studies Rabbi Taub’s columns closely will realize that he is actually teaching Torah and disseminating chasidus as he advises people how to deal with their challenges. Like apples of gold in settings of silver, there are nuggets of Torah hidden inside his pearls of wisdom.

May he continue to go from strength to strength.

Rabbi Yitzchok Frankfurter, Publisher of Ami Magazine

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Faith and Belief

Do My Efforts Make a Difference?
How Can I Feel Hashem’s Love?
Doing Things for the Right Reasons
Making Sense of Temptation
Wondering If I Lack Faith
When Life Is “Too Good”
Does Worrying Mean That I Don’t Have Enough Emunah?
My Husband Lacks Yiddishe Spirituality
I Feel Torn Between Two Worlds
Why Am I Afraid of Life Itself?
How Do I Determine My Goal in Life?
How Do I Determine My Goal in Life? (Followup)
Finding Meaning in My Role at Home
How Can I Know If the Questions Are Genuine?

Emotional Wellbeing

To Go for Therapy or Not?
Forever Seeking the Perfect Therapist
Teenage Loneliness
Trying to Help My Friend Improve His Middos
A Chasan’s Stresses Before His Wedding
Can Doing Mitzvos Bring Me Joy?
Lowering Standards to Ease Pain
Can Addiction Be Permanently Cured?
Giving Up on Teshuvah
Raised in a House Full of Conflict
Desensitized by Childhood Trauma
Help Me Understand My Depression
Addicted to Anger
Making Sense of Life with OCD
Living with My BPD Diagnosis
Disappointed with My Community

Friends & Community

Trust and Friendships
Relating to Different Jewish Groups
Choosing the Right Shul
Are There Limits to Doing Chesed?
Setting Healthy Boundaries
Will Our Kiruv Work Hurt Our Children?
Dealing with Gossipy Friends
Dealing with a Sensitive Friend
Difficulty Forming Friendships

Family Matters

Feelings of Inferiority on Pesach
Keeping the Peace During Pesach
Worried About a Younger Sister’s Summer Plans
My Sister Is Destroying Our Mother
A Din Torah Is Tearing Apart My Family
Dealing with an Angry Granddaughter
Fun at Family Member’s Expense
Found Shocking Downloads
Hosting Non-Frum Relatives
Relative Wants to Leave Yiddishkeit
My Family Went Off the Derech
When a Sibling Goes Off the Derech
Inviting Irreligious Guest Against Family Wishes

Kibbud Av Va’Eim

My Mother Shares Too Much About Her Life with Me
My Parents’ Marriage Is in Jeopardy
My Mother May Boycott the Wedding
My Mother Cares More About Her Clients Than About Us..
My Parents Can’t Stop Fighting
How Can I Come Closer to My Parents?
I Resent How I Feel Towards My Mother
I Am Still Mourning My Mother
Kaddish for an Absent and Unworthy Father

Work & Finances

Balancing Work and Nourishing My Soul
Can One Be Holy in the Workplace?
What Am I Required to Do to Earn a Living?
Despondent About Parnasah
I’m Jealous of My Husband’s Professional Life
How Much to Tell Children About Our Finances?
Conflicted Over Two Summer Job Offers
My Child Is Worried About Money
My Husband Works for My Father
Dealing with a Toxic Co-Worker
My Sister Wastes Her Money
My Relative Is a Wild Schemer
My Husband Caused a Financial Scandal

The Ami Letters - Vol. 2 (Rabbi Shais Taub)