Shortly before I got married, I remember riding in an Uber and the driver was sharing his wisdom about women and marriage. He said many things to me. One of the things that made an impression on me was about women and apologizing. In a somewhat of an irritated voice, he said that I shouldn’t …
Life is a series of battles and not a war. I think this is one of the most important things to know about life or just serving G-d in general. If life is a war, then if you fall just once you are permanently defeated. Hope is lost and the will to continue dissipates and …
I had a friend who posted this today: “Why do people always give God credit for all their hard work?” I think it’s an important question and here is my response: Hey ______, That’s a very deep question. Just to clarify your question, people don’t give credit to G-d for their effort; they give credit …
For me, the greatest love story is the story of Yaacov and Rachel. It’s on my mind because this is the Torah portion of the week. When you read the story, you get a feel for how much Yaacov loved Rachel. It was a love so deep he was willing to give his life for …
Can you teach someone to understand you? I thought about this for many years and after all this time – I think the answer is no – I don’t believe you can. It doesn’t mean someone can’t come to understand you. But it does mean you can’t teach them to. No matter what you say …
One of the most beautiful things about life is meeting people. I met a guy tonight and asked him what brought him to Israel. He said all his life he was an agnostic – he didn’t believe in anything at all. Back in February, for the first time in his life, he fell in love …
In light of everything going on in the world, I’ve been thinking a lot about the jarring dissonance and incompatibility of a cruel world and a loving G-d. The topic is mind-boggling because it defies understanding. On the one hand, part of existence is incomprehensibly hellish and heartless. Yet, on the other hand, life is …
The greatest journey one can embark on is when you crack open a book; all the more so with beginning the Torah. The Torah contains within it a whirlwind of ideas and insights, hopes and aspirations. It is in essence the story of what it means to be human. In that sense, going through the …
The next 7 days is Sukkah, a time where Jews literally move out of their houses and make a hut-like structure their homes. The thrust of Sukkah is a time to work on being happy. And we do that by living in a flimsy, highly vulnerable, fragile structure, providing only the barest protection from the …
I’ve been thinking a lot about what I wanted to personally work on this upcoming year; I have plenty of personal work but nothing really moved me. But I ended up stumbling upon some family videos, some dating 10-20 years ago. I thought it would have been nice to watch a time that is bygone. …