Author Archives: Harry Zeitlin

Rebbe Nachman of Breslov’s famous saying, מצווה גדולה להיות בשמחה (Mitzva gedola l’hyot b’simcha), “It’s a big mitzva to be happy”, is not necessarily an halachic opinion, but good life advice.  However, (ושמחת בחגך (דברים ט״ז י״ד (V’Samachta b’Chagecha, Devarim 16:14), … Continue reading →

When we observe the moon, we know its light is reflected of, and thus less bright than, the sun.  Every month we watch it fade each night for more than two weeks before it begins to return to its former not-so-bright brightness. … Continue reading →

This morning I said my yearly goodbye to תחנון, Tachanun, literally asking for חן (Chen), “grace”, a psalm I recite most weekdays immediately after the Amida, the standing thrice-daily prayer that is the central feature of תפילה (Tefilla), prayer. Along with … Continue reading →

This world is not an easy place. I suspect that thinking, spiritually oriented people have always searched for ways to transcend everyday reality, but I also am pretty sure that certain periods in history have been more challenging to people … Continue reading →

There are no reruns or do-overs in life, and it’s always exponentially harder to repair the damage than it was to cause it. Time, for us, moves only in a forward direction and it’s next to impossible to put the … Continue reading →

The famous dictum in the Talmud (Megilla 7b), מיחייב איניש לבסומי בפוריא עד דלא ידע בין ארור המן לברוך מרדכי (M’Chayiv inish l’besumi b’Puriah ad d’lo yada beyn Arur Haman l’Baruch Mordechai), a person is obligated to sweeten himself (often interpreted … Continue reading →

“Paradigm Shift” has become a very popular phrase. Originally coined by Thomas Kuhn in The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (1962), it means a completely new way to understand reality, based on new data (rather than theories) which forces the shift. For example, consider Galileo’s proof … Continue reading →

 רַבִּי נְחוּנְיָא בֶּן הַקָּנָה הָיָה מִתְפַּלֵּל בִּכְנִיסָתוֹ לְבֵית הַמִּדְרָשׁ וּבִיצִיאָתוֹ תְּפִלָּה קְצָרָה. אָמְרוּ לוֹ, מַה מָּקוֹם לִתְפִלָּה זוֹ. אָמַר לָהֶם, בִּכְנִיסָתִי אֲנִי מִתְפַּלֵּל שֶׁלֹּא תֶאֱרַע תַּקָלָה עַל יָדִי, וּבִיצִיאָתִי אֲנִי נוֹתֵן הוֹדָיָה עַל חֶלְקִי–משנה ברכות ד:ב Rabbi Nehunia ben HaKana … Continue reading →

Perhaps it’s an “age thing” or maybe it just has to do with how long, regardless of age, you’ve spent engaged with Torah as a serious pursuit. I guess it’s natural when you first encounter the power of Torah to … Continue reading →

Perhaps it’s that most human trait of all, certainty in the righteous truth and justice of our opinions, that leads directly to inhuman hell. A beautiful talk by Rabbi Shlomo Riskin on Parshat Yitro emphasizes the ultimate value Judaism places on … Continue reading →