The Yom Kippur Mah-Nishtanah On Passover we ask the Four Questions but every year as Yom Kippur rolls around many people ask, ma nishtanah ha shanah hazeh—How will this year be different from all others. In the synagogue, will I constantly be looking at my watch, feeling bored, hungry, and waiting for it to end? If […]
) Believing in Your Future In the past, Jewish farmers would bring their harvest’s first fruits to Jerusalem. They would travel together with other farmers led by oxen whose horns had been coated in gold adorned with olive branches placed on their heads, and flutes musically accompanied the procession; they would travel for only […]
Restoring Dignity Begins with Looking for Lost ‘Objects’ Did you ever notice a watch on a hiking trail or see a jacket on a chair at the theater? Did you keep on walking and ignore it? The Torah addressed these scenarios in a direct way by instructing us to pay attention and stop what we’re […]
A chassid was plagued by constant negative thoughts and couldn’t concentrate due to temptation, fantasy, worry, and anxiety. One night he was so desperate that he went to his Rebbe’s house hoping the Rebbe would impart some wisdom for how to rid himself of these destructive thoughts. He knocked on the front door, but nobody answered. He […]
)A Message from Jewish Mob MomsWe all know the benefit of distancing ourselves from bad influences, especially those who seek to detach us from our Jewish identity. Here are two examples of people who intend to lead Jews astray. The first is of the false prophet.If there should stand a prophet or dreamer who will […]
Our Mezuzah Has Seen It All Having a Mezuzah on a doorpost is an ancient Jewish practice whose source is found in the Torah. And you shall write them on the doorposts of your homes and your gates. (Deut. 11:20) It stands like a watchman every time we pass it when going in or out of […]
An Unusual and Revolting Way to Overcome Fear Imagine a religion whose worship is to go to the bathroom in public in front of an idol? Do you think Jews would be attracted to it? Surprisingly, they were. Your eyes have seen what G-d did at Baal Peor…(Deuteronomy 4:2-3) What was Baal Peor? The Talmud relates two […]
Imagine a huge kiddush in the synagogue after services. There’s everything from Kosher Sushi to kugel, from Cholent to chopped liver. There’s pushing and shoving, especially from the younger crowd, to get to the tables loaded with food. However, when it comes time to attending services in shul, the younger crowd has no problem giving the front […]
Delta Force and You The following incident about the unique training required by the Army’s most elite special forces unit was recorded by Eric Haney in his book Inside Delta Force. I had covered just slightly over thirty miles by now, but still had more than twenty to go. It was getting more and more difficult […]
Great Days, not Dark Days Choni HaMaagal, a Jewish sage who lived two thousand years ago, once passed a man planting a carob tree and asked how long it would take for the tree to bear fruit. When the man responded that it would take 70 years, Choni asked, “are you certain you will live another seventy years?” […]
Israel: The Great Light We Call Home The IDF has fought wars for Israel’s survival since the inception of the State. Syria, Lebanon, Jordon and other Nations who are in close proximity to Israel could have easily chosen to live in peace but chose war. Thousands of years ago Balak, the king of the Moabite nation, […]
To Life!An unpleasant topic we all must deal with is death. Two years ago, I lost my mother and father within three months of one another. No amount of logic soothed my emotions. They were both in their nineties and had led full, active, and productive lives. They were generous and we had a wonderful […]
Good—or Bad and Ugly: How to ArgueOver thirty years ago Sara shared a story with me she heard from one of the marriage counselors who trained her. He was called late at night by a neighbor in an apartment building who heard a couple yelling at one another and it seemed to be getting progressively […]
Master Your Surroundings or They Will Master YouThe time had come for the Israelites to send spies to the Land of Israel to make a reconnaissance mission. Before entering the Land, they needed to know about its inhabitants and terrain. There were twelve spies in all, two of whom (Joshua and Caleb) came back with […]
Turn Yourself into a LeaderLeaders are made, they are not born. They are made by hard effort, which is the price which all of us must pay to achieve any goal that is worthwhile. Vince LombardiHow does one become a leader? Let’s take a look at one of Judaism’s best; Moses. In addition to his many […]
Seizing the Moment of Inspiration Imagine a college freshman away from home for the first time; the feeling of freedom sets in immediately. He can finally party, drink, and do other activities whenever he likes but he isn’t mature in how he uses his new autonomy. After a month or two he begins to see the […]
The Familiar and Predictable Pattern We Seem to Forget In1927, Meshech Chochma¸ one of the original Torah commentaries in the modern era was published. In this piece, the familiar cycle of Jews excelling in their host country and then the ensuing persecution is explained. It is remarkable—if not prophetic—that, years before the Holocaust, this commentary used […]
)A Radical Solution for Intergenerational Poverty Imagine the following two scenarios: (1) You decide to sell land that had been in your family for generations and sometime later you realize it was a major immense mistake. Your family falls into poverty, which leads to a downward social and economic spiral, one which can lead to what […]
Imagine going back in time and being given the task of convincing the Virginia House of Burgesses to pass a resolution that would enable Virginian troops to enter the Revolutionary War; George Washington and Thomas Jefferson are there to hear your speech. How would you articulate the magnitude of the concept of freedom? Patrick Henry […]
Rethinking Holy Karl Duncker, one of the pioneers of Gestalt psychology, conceived a challenge to demonstrate the need for unconventional thinking. In a room with a table pushed against the wall is a box of thumbtacks, matches, and a candle. Subjects were asked to attach the candle to the wall and have it lit. Many […]
Self-Imposed SlaveryWhat would you do if you lost your life’s savings? About 18 years ago, thousands of people had to face this tragedy. In her book Lost and Found, Geneen Roth describes the intense pain of finding out that all her life’s savings were lost to Bernie Madoff but what she gained was priceless.Before the […]
Freedom is not Enough If you had lived in communist Russia in 1922, you would have endured great oppression. What words of encouragement might a community Rabbi have imparted? How could he talk about freedom on Passover when people’s basic human rights were being denied? R’ Moshe Feinstein was in this situation over 100 years […]
Ever since October 7th, our world has been forever altered but long before that the winds of change have been blowing. In one generation, snail mail turned into email, rotary phones turned into cell phones, and Blackberry turned into an iPhone. There’s uncertainty concerning politics, gender, marriage, support for Israel and many other issues that […]
Rabbi O’s Weekly Parsha: Metzora Internal Freedom Social media has made it commonplace for people to post negative and condemning remarks about people with whom they disagree. This and other types of malicious behavior are considered major offenses in Judaism. There’s not a whole lot we can do about it today but in ancient times, a person who […]
Creating PossibilitiesThis week’s Parsha discusses the harmful effects of lashon hara, senseless negative speech. People who don’t take speech seriously, talk about others without regard for their feelings or the potential damage it can cause. King Solomon wrote, Life and death are in the hands of the tongue. One explanation is that negative talk has the ability to destroy […]
Preying vs. Praying This week’s Parsha ends with a detailed discussion concerning the specifics for determining whether a fish, animal, or even insect is kosher. The exact names of the kosher birds are listed and in addition we are taught what characteristics a bird requires to be fit for Jewish consumption. Birds of prey […]
Why Civilizations Die In the book, The Watchman’s Rattle: Thinking our way out of extinction, Rebecca Costa delivers a fascinating account of how civilizations die. Their problems become too complex. Societies reach what she calls a cognitive threshold. They simply can’t chart a path from the present to the future. The example she gives is the […]
Someone once summarized all Jewish holidays: they tried to kill us, we won, let’s eat, and this seems to be the case in the Purim story. A plan (between King Achashverosh and his advisor Haman) was made to annihilate the Jews, the plan was thwarted, Jews defeated their enemies, and since then we have made […]
Lessons from Dunkin Donuts And they brought the Mishkan (Tabernacle) to Moses… When all the parts of the Mishkan (Tabernacle) had been made, they were brought to Moses, who actually stood the walls up and erected the Mishkan. Rashi quoting the Midrash explains that due to the massive weight of the materials, none of the people were able to raise it up, so […]
Choosing a Day of FreedomThere is an interesting idea discussed in the laws of how to write a Torah scroll. The one who writes it must have in mind specifically that he is writing it for the purpose of a Torah scroll. If he was just practicing his script writing or felt like writing biblical […]