Music for Focus

I have a couple playlists published on Spotify that I've been curating (and constantly updating) with "Work Sounds" music that I enjoy listening to when I need to focus.

I have eclectic taste, so these lists are a mix of music genres including ambient, world (Celtic, Middle Eastern, etc.), electronica, chant, baroque, 20th century minimalism and more. I recently updated the playlists with artist recommendations made by fellow Lifehackers.

FOCUS MIX RADIO

This is my master list of music for focus. I call it "Radio" because the playlist is huge and will continue to grow indefinitely (at over a day's worth of music right now). Whenever I find (or someone recommends) a new artist that fits this playlist, I add some of the artists music to this playlist. Because of the size of this playlist, it's not one you want to make available offline (for paid users), but it's great if you're online. Also, I think it is nice resource to discover artists who make music that is good for listening when you need to focus.

FOCUS MIX SOUNDTRACK

This is basically an abridged version of the Focus Mix Radio better suited for offline availability. Right now it consists of a few tracks from each of the artists on the Focus Mix Radio. It's currently about 5 hours worth of music, but I'm in the process of paring it down to about half that length.

If you have any recommendations of artists you like to listen to, let me know and I'll check it out!

A rabbi on being angry with God

150 years before the holocaust, Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev taught that God can be found even in anger.

On Yom Kippur, a tailor sought forgiveness from the great rabbi for having talked disrespectfully to God. The tailor told him:

“I declared to God: you wish for me to repent of my sins, but I have committed only minor offenses. But you O LORD have committed grievous sins: You have taken babies from their mothers and mothers from their babies. Let’s call it even: if you will forgive me, I will forgive you."

Said the Rabbi, “Why did you let God off so easily? With that argument, you could have forced him to redeem all of Israel.”

(Adapted from documentary on Hasidism in America, and The Genesis of Justice by Alan M. Dershowitz)