Any man who is married knows that a woman does more than just provide companionship. She fundamentally bestows a sense of sanity for the man. Men, by nature, are instinctual, tribalistic, ego-driven, competitive to a fault, aggressive – all of which lead to less than stellar judgment and can push a man to an unhealthy …
Growing up in a Middle Eastern culture, I was exposed to unhealthy views of women. And then growing up in Western culture, which although it bewilderingly professes women’s rights, I was exposed in some ways to even worse views of women. When I became an Orthodox Jew, I was introduced to a whole different way …
It can be a bizarre thing to commemorate Tisha B’av because Jews were exiled from Israel, at a time when Jews are freely living in Israel. It begs the question, why do we need Tisha B’av? The question demonstrates the true tragedy of the exile was not geographic but spiritual. On Tisha B’av, above and …
It is possible that if there is one day that is the most misunderstood in Judaism, it is Yom Kippur. We fast and abstain from the physical not as a philosophy, but as an exercise to help the soul fly. Judaism engages the physical most of the year, but one day we abjure from the …
The pinnacle of wisdom, the highest form of knowledge man can attain, is not the understanding of the heavens or the insight into the mechanics of the earth; not knowledge of the spiritual systems or the scientific world. But rather, man arrives at the pinnacle of wisdom when his is heart full with love for …
Just because you do not feel pain anymore does not mean you are not hurt anymore. That is, out of sight might mean out mind but out of mind does not mean out of heart. The pain you experience never leaves your heart. No experience does. Time does not heal pain, it numbs it. With …
Where loss in life is inevitable, one of the most important concepts we can learn is closure. Closure, that elusive concept we chase when our past won’t leave us, is when you understand why that element of your past has come to an end, when you have no more questions to ask and nothing else …
I saw a status today that said something along the lines of there are three types of people, the ones who define themselves: 1) by what they have 2) what they do and 3) who they are. This was my response: I would argue that there are actually four types of people. The 4th type, …
As a Jew, the Holocaust hangs over our heads as a visceral, perpetual reminder of the vulnerability of our humanity. Just 30 years ago my parents decided to start anew because the mentality of anti-Semitism proliferated and threatened, again. Today, rampant throughout the world, not only in Europe but also America, anti-Semitism, if not in …
It is a beauty of life that our imperfections are what make the beauty in life. Because we are lacking do we have the pleasure of giving and receiving. Because we feel lonely do we experience the love of loving and of being loved. Because we are born flawed do we have the joy of …