Monthly Archives: September 2015

I often mention Rabbi Shloime Twerski zt”l in my writing and in my teaching. Unfortunately, there is very little Torah that he wrote down in his lifetime that survives. This is an article I first saw in the Intermountain Jewish … Continue reading →

Meaning much more than it’s simple translation, a righteous man, especially in some expressions of chassidut the Tzadik is elevated to almost super-human status, endowed with the ability to intercede between a simple Jew and God. His is often conflated with Mashiach, who, … Continue reading →

Although I don’t recommend it to others, I usually daven solo. Mooting my increasing distractibility, I’m also able to go at my own pace and focus on words and sections that grab me. Given the sheer volume of tefillot, selichot and … Continue reading →

Although there’s nothing wrong with feeling good, Jewish tradition has always placed a much higher value on doing good than feeling good. Who wouldn’t like to receive reward after reward for every mitzvah and good deed we perform? That we … Continue reading →

We usually sing שיר המעלות, Shir HaMa’alot, just before we bench, recite ברכת המזון, Birkat HaMazon (The Blessing After the Meal) on Shabbat, Chaggim and other special days. It’s easy to lose the meaning in the melody as the energy of the meal … Continue reading →

“In a street of the blind, a one-eyed man is considered filled with light” (Bereishit Rabba 30:9), (בשוק סמייא צווחין לעווירא סגי נהור (בראשית רבה ל:ט. Placing myself at the top of this list, I believe that at this late … Continue reading →

We spend a lot of time thinking about God on Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur. Perhaps the major theme of Rosh HaShanah, and one of the three major sections of the Musaf Amida, is Malchiyot, coronating God as King. Who/What … Continue reading →

Everything that happens to us, individually and collectively, happens for a reason. Rather, an entire array of reasons, each contributing a shade here, a subtlety there. The challenge for us is that they don’t arrive with labels to identify these … Continue reading →

I hate playing “My religion is better than your religion”, but I find it tragically depressing when compassion, an admirable quality indeed, is presented by much of the liberal denominations as Judaism’s ultimate goal. I find it equally distressing when … Continue reading →

Albert Einstein was a brilliant theoretical physicist and mathematician, but that doesn’t deify his every pronouncement. His too-often repeated statement that “insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result” is refuted by the common wisdom, … Continue reading →