At the end of the prayers in the synagogue today, we all said a prayer for the welfare of the people in Ukraine. The mood of many people here in Israel is of somberness. I personally work with a guy in Ukraine, and he told me all the gun stores have been completely emptied because …
At the beginning of the 20th century, Christians comprised 20% of the population in the Middle East. Today, they comprise 4% of the population. That’s actually the definition of ethnic cleansing. And to be totally transparent, Israel is actually guilty of committing ethnic cleansing at one point in its history. In 2005 the Israeli Government …
When you scan the news, there are certain recurring themes: the gyrations of the stock market, covid policy debate, midterm elections, etc. Tucked away in the top corner of the page is news about the possible invasion of Ukraine by Russia. Combining this fact with the lackluster response by Western Governments to counter Russian military …
This past week we read the Torah portion of the giving of the 10 commandments. When you look at some of the commandments, they seem simplistic and elementary. Some of the most primitive civilizations enacted these laws (e.g. do not murder). So the question is, what moral innovation do the 10 commandments teach? Each commandment …
Facebook has this feature called memories which shows me my previous posts, some dating back many years when I was altogether in a different stage of my life. At times it’s a heartwarming trip down memory lane. At other times . . . Oh. My. Goodness. Some of what I wrote was outright outrageous; some …
I raised money for a dear friend of mine who was getting married and had no support. Here is what I wrote to the people who contributed. I wanted to thank everybody for their kindness in helping my friend with his wedding. I feel my belief and love for G-d taken to whole new heights …
Usually, for lunch, I eat 2 yogurts with crackers. I don’t like the time I need to invest in preparing/eating, and not to mention the encumbered feeling of the digestion process, and I wouldn’t mind shedding some pounds. So I keep my lunch simple. But compliments to my wife, she made me today a cuisine …
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 …