Monthly Archives: May 2013

                    וְכָל מַעֲשֵׂהוּ בֶּאֱמוּנָה      And all of His acts are with Emunah (faith/faithfulness)             (Shabbat/Festival morning liturgy)               … Continue reading →

A number of readers who have enjoyed the articles recently appearing on this blog have said to me, “It’s all well and good to try to make all moments, not just those engaged in ritual, holy.  But how, Rabbi, do … Continue reading →

Every worthwhile goal is both approachable and unreachable.  Ponder that for a moment and apply it to your goals. Our paradigmatic goal in Judaism, and probably all spiritual traditions, is to as closely as possible join ourselves with The Creator. … Continue reading →

This is another of the series of Mussar workshops I assist with.  It’s especially timely as we look forward to Shavuot.  Frankly, without the belief that the Torah is, literally, infinitely more than a tribal history and set of rules, I … Continue reading →

The period between Pesach and Shavuot makes everyone into an expert on the Sefirot. While these terms are too often casually and facilely tossed about, this system certainly can be useful to organize a program of analysis and refinement of … Continue reading →

Yom Yerushalayim (the holy day in 1967 that Jerusalem was liberated from Jordanian occupation and returned to Jewish sovereignty for the first time in almost 2,000 years) should be celebrated across the entire religious spectrum with, at least, a full reading … Continue reading →

Much is written in psychological and psychiatric literature about the dangers of over-intellectualizing.  It short-circuits our other ways of processing information, it blocks and masks our emotions and instincts.  All too often, it is trapped in the superficial, only accepting … Continue reading →

With less than two weeks until Shavuot, when we celebrate and re-experience receiving the Torah, the question becomes how do we approach Torah.  Rather than merely commemorating an ancient event, revering an ancient curiosity that seems so out of date, … Continue reading →