Last year’s Thanksgiving post deserves a second helping. And if you need more reasons to thank G-d for your rejection letters, check out a story by Nina Badzin here.
Thanksgiving is upon us here in the U.S., and this is a wonderful opportunity to reflect upon gratitude, whether you celebrate the holiday or not. I’m a big fan of Rabbi Zelig Pliskin and also of Rabbi Shalom Arush, and I’m going to combine their approaches for this writing exercise appropriate to the Thanksgiving season and year-round. This exercise is useful whether you’re Jewish or not–please don’t get turned off to it just because it was inspired by a couple of rabbis.
Rejection is just about the hardest thing to cope with when you decide you’re going to become a writer, but it’s something that you need to learn to accept graciously. When that rejection letter first comes, you are often overwhelmed by feelings of resentment, anger, and frustration. You might lash out, calling the editors idiots or saying that the publisher doesn’t know what good writing is. You…
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Rebecca Klempner 
Thanks so much, Rebecca!
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My pleasure. Happy Thanksgiving and a lichtige Chanukah!
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Wasn’t sure whether to respond here or on the original post; still poignant either way. I really do believe that sometimes rejection is the best thing that can happen to you. When my last traditional office job let me go, it was hard– it was the first time I’d ever been fired, and it wasn’t even for my performance, but for financial reasons (I was also the newest hire). Losing my job when I hadn’t even done anything wrong felt unfair and shameful, but as a result I finally got the kick in the pants to try doing what I really wanted to do: write. Now I’m thankful for that horrible position, because without it I wouldn’t have managed to start supporting myself doing what I love.
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Thanks for sharing your story!
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