“Mommy, you’re not listening to me!”

“Of course I am, honey.”

I looked up from my phone, where I was intently looking through recipes. I saw the deep disappointment in my child’s eyes, and in that second, it hit me. I was so caught up in menu-planning for the upcoming holiday that while I was with my child physically, I was really not there.

I thought of a story that I had heard often as a child. The Rebbe Rashab was once leading a farbrengen, a chassidic gathering, and his disciples were waiting impatiently for him to deliver a maamer, a discourse. They half-heartedly sang the customary niggun, melody, that is sung by chassidim before a discourse, thinking only of the upcoming words of inspiration they were sure to hear.

When they finished, instead of the maamer they eagerly waited for, the Rebbe spoke about the importance of being fully present. “If right now you are singing a niggun, that should be the full focus. For wherever a Jew finds himself, he ought to be fully present with thought, speech and action.”

Thoughtstream: Today, I will make it a priority to be present with my children, even for ten minutes at a time.

(Adapted from Sefer Hasichot 5751, vol. 2, pg. 700.)