Monthly Archives: September 2010

There are at least two New Year lessons that are universal. One is the importance of letting go, especially of grudges and anger acquired over the last year, an emotional housecleaning called forgiveness. Be sure to include yourself among those … Continue reading →

A mantra, a meditation, a reminder of what’s behind this entire Jewish enterprise. We exist to be loved because the dominant “flavor” of God is love and it must be dynamic and flow in order to flower.  And while there … Continue reading →

As the rhythm and theme of the Jewish year flows from past setbacks, failures and disasters typified by Tisha B’Av to looking forward to Rosh HaShana and the promise of the future, I personally find it a lot “easier” to … Continue reading →

We commonly say that there are seventy faces to the Torah, but it’s also been taught that there are six hundred thousand interpretations of every passage, perhaps of every one of the six hundred thousand letters of the Torah. We … Continue reading →

Here’s a simple idea to celebrate Channukah, at least one of the eight nights: After you light your candle(s), sit quietly and let everything on your mind slip away. When they’re all gone, all that’s left is nothing. Into this … Continue reading →

We seem overwhelmed with disasters. Hurricanes, Famine, Genocide, Wars and Chaos. A surge in oligarchies, economic and social polarization. The problems seem insurmountable. What effect can my individual effort have? With an albeit romanticized legacy of mass marches, protests and … Continue reading →

Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzatto, the Ramchal, the seminal 18th century kaballist, writes in his book, “Derech Hashem, The Way of God”, “…all is overturned when we, as humanity, allow ourselves to be obsessed with greed, focused only on desire. Wisdom … Continue reading →

The Shulchan Aruch has recently been attacked in a Russia lawsuit as a racist book. Obviously, this is very disturbing for any number of reasons. It’s a tough issue because the Shulchan Aruch often is anti-goyim, whether Christian or Moslem. … Continue reading →

We refer to the New Year as Rosh HaShana, the head of the year. There are a number of titles we could give this day, but the Rabbinic Tradition has chosed Rosh. The Kabbalists (The Zohar, Ramchal and many others … Continue reading →