“Teshuva (repentance), tefilah (prayer), and tzedakah (charity) annul (even the most) severe decree.” —-From the Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur prayers The Talmud teaches: “Tzedaka saves from death.” When we need an incredible influx of life force — because we are facing impending physical death or impending spiritual death, the act …
The magic formula to true and lasting happiness. And you shall be happy in all that the Lord your G-d has given you (Deut. 26:11) Many people have a wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification, but through fidelity to a worthy purpose. — Hellen Keller …
Building the Kingdom of Consciousness The Kabbalah teaches, “There is no king without a nation.” This point requires deep exploration especially on Rosh Hashanna when we acknowledge G-d as our King. It may make sense that, in the human world, a king is dependent on having subjects who acknowledge his …
When we read the Torah, some of its laws disturb our moral sensitivities. When this happens we must remind ourselves of the purpose of the Torah. Not all the laws of Torah represent its ideals. Some of them may even seem to contradict the very ideal that they are serving …
“Thou shalt not harden thy heart, nor shut thy hand from your needy brother; surely open thy hand to him.” — Deut. 15:7-8 The Talmud teaches: “Tzedaka [commonly translated as charity] saves from death.” When we need an incredible influx of life force — because we are facing …
The Joys of a Commandment-Driven Life The Torah recounts how, before Moses came down from Mt. Sinai with the first set of the tablets of the Ten Commandments, G-d told him that the Jewish people have created an idol — a golden calf. But Moses wasn’t alarmed; he was determined …
And in the wilderness where you have seen how that the LORD your G-d carried you as a man does bear his son in all the way that you went until you came into this place —– Deuteronomy 1:31 Even though I walk in the valley of the shadow of death, …
On Tisha B’Av, a day fraught with tragedy throughout Jewish history, we have many reasons to cry. On the surface, we cry over the destruction of the Temple, which was destroyed twice on this day. For most people it is difficult to really feel the pain over the destruction of the …
“Behold you have sinned against G-d. And you your sin will find you.” ~~ Numbers 32:23 When the Jewish people received the commandments from G-d at Mt. Sinai they understood the difference between freedom from oppression and freedom to expression. When they left Egypt the Jewish people were only freed from Egyptian slavery but only when …
G-d is like a great coach who’s training you for the Olympics. He sets up a training ground filled with obstacles. That is His gift to you. He is really creating opportunities for you to jump higher. He also knows that the higher you need to jump, the harder you …