I get a great kick watching my children watch the world. They are blessed with the eyes of wonder. My baby looks at each object as if he’s never seen it before. He is so surprised by it. He can sit there and look at his hand for the longest …
All things are mortal, but the Jew; all other forces pass, but he remains. What is the secret of his immortality? ~ Mark Twain When G-d said to Abraham “Go to yourself–Lech Lecha” what was He actually asking Abraham to do? This command seems to be contradicted by the remainder …
What is it about a person that truly is attractive? Kabbalah says it‘s God. A beautiful man or woman is a channel for God‘s beauty in the world, just as a kind man or woman is a channel for God‘s kindness in the world. The only thing about a painting …
Adam and Eve were living a carefree life in the Garden of Eden. They had only one restriction. G-d commanded them not to eat of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Bad. However, forbidden fruits tend to seem more tasty to people. In addition, having a seductive snake around …
I find the contrast of Sukkot next to Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur amazing. We just spent 10 heavy days, from Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur, immersed in intensive introspection, probing the depth of our souls to uncover our flaws and confront our mistakes, expressing heartfelt remorse for our wrongdoings …
Yom Kippur is all about love and forgiveness. It’s about how we are always inseparably close to G-d. On Yom Kippur we get a glimpse of ourselves, our choices and our relationship to G-d from another perspective–G-d’s perspective. This is the transformational power of Yom Kippur that makes it into …
Rosh Hashana although referred to a day of judgment is actually an annual review. The English definition of “judgment” is not quite indicative of the true feel for the day because the theme of Rosh Hashanah is God’s compassionate manifestation of Avinu Malkeinu— “our Father, our King.” Perhaps it would …
I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse: therefore choose life that you may live, you and your seed. [Deut. 30:19] If God is absolutely good, why did He create a world that …
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 sovereignty. The last Emperor of …
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 Money can’t buy you happiness, but …