Monthly Archives: March 2012

We’ve already entered the month of Nissan, with Pesach less than two week away.  One of the lesser-talked-about facts about Nissan is that we refrain from saying Tachanun, a very powerful and evocative cry for Divine help which follows that … Continue reading →

The Meor Eynayim (Menachem Nachum of Chernobyl, a first generation chassidic master) explores the very beginning of Parshat Vayikra.  It begins ויקרא אל משה, Viyikra El Moshe, And He called to Moshe, both without explicitly specifying who called to Moshe and … Continue reading →

I put a lot of thought and energy explaining that Halacha, religious law, isn’t arbitrary, that it’s directed to stimulate growth both in each individual and in the world at large.  And for the most part, that is true.  But, … Continue reading →

While trying to slog through yet another, let me say well-intentioned, book on New Age consciousness, I was struck with the reason I can never get beyond the first few chapters with my eyes open.  There is an underlying assumption, … Continue reading →

Once we step into Purim, a few days from now, I’ll feel pulled into a whirlpool with Pesach arriving before I know it.  Yesterday, Shabbat Zachor, was a good day to reflect, to recalibrate goals and to examine strategies.  It’s … Continue reading →

I remember when “Jewish Intellectual” was a curse, usually from the right.  Today the curse has transformed to “Jewish/Israeli Bully”, this time from the left.  It seems like you can’t win for losing.  And recent performances of the Israeli government … Continue reading →

It’s pretty well understood among those who have taught and studied Kabbalah, the mystic side of our tradition, that a major imbalance in the world, and one which must be corrected in order for the world to enter a new … Continue reading →

A common and well-discussed theme of Purim is the hidden miracle.  We are not saved through any obvious miracle, but rather through a series of events which develop in consensual reality–it’s only the chain of them which, when seen in … Continue reading →