Yom Kippur, the day that Jews fast and repent, can best be defined by the statement of Socrates that an “unexamined life is not worth living.” On Yom Kippur, we embark on a journey of introspection, and by doing so, we confer meaning and purpose to our lives. The essence and greatness of a human …
Who is man? Is he the one who flew an airplane into the Twin Towers? Or is he the one who gave up his life trying to save people? I don’t think this is a mere philosophical musing. How we understand the nature of man affects if we hope or despair about our fate. And …
Last night for the first time in my life I went to a wedding of an older couple probably somewhere in their 50s and it was freaking awesome. It was soooooo different than a typical wedding of a younger couple. First, I feel like for young people to get married they have to get bamboozled. …
I went to the airport and I had to spend some time in the Arrivals section. It was to my surprise a very beautiful experience. I witnessed countless people reunite after what seemed an extended separation. It’s worthwhile on a Sunday afternoon taking a beach chair just to gaze at the drama of love. The …
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 …
I think we spend much of our life battling ourselves. Our lower drives push and pull us in ways that harm us and the people around us. And it hurts – sometimes a lot. In that vein, we all have dreams. We dream that one day we will be the person who is unending in …
I grew up telling myself in my teenage years that I’m going to be so different from my father. Now I’m a father, and in so many ways I’m a spitting image of him. I became what I declared I would never be. I repeat what I think is his mistakes but I also can …
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 …
I have faced various difficulties in my life. Some were just plain difficult. Some were extremely difficult. Some excruciatingly difficult. But nothing has been more painful than when my wife left to LA. For her brother’s wedding. Leaving me with my two kids. Alone. Raising kids by myself as the primary caregiver is the craziest …
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 …