How Mitzvot Help Us
According to the Rambam, mitzvot contribute not only to our spiritual development but also to our personal growth.
Our Mama Rachels Keep Crying: The Added Meaning of Rachel’s Cries This Year
In these difficult times, we, too, turn to Rachel Imeinu and her contemporary namesakes, the two Rachel Goldberg mothers, and ask them all to keep crying on our behalf.
For Our Own Good
Though we fulfill mitzvot for Hashem’s sake, He does not need our fulfillment, and it does not help or contribute to His existence in any way.
The Power of Moments
When people use visualization to think about their future selves, they are able to make better long-term choices in the present. The results are stronger when the conjured image is related to a specific goal and the image is vivid and realistic.
To Appreciate The Entire Life Of An Individual
This ability to show respect for the entire life and accomplishments of an individual is essential if we want our children to have respect for our history and our past leaders.
Completely Committed
Practically, denial of the mitzvah means that one will never come to fulfill it. Even tzaddikim make mistakes from time to time, but because they recognize their sin as such, they eventually repent and repair their ways.
Greet Everyone
While being cordial to everyone is important, Rabbi Mathia ben Harash closes with advice as to who it is best to associate with over longer periods of time. It is better to be a tail unto lions, and not a head unto foxes.
Pain Of Separation
What emerges from these Acharonim, especially Magen Avraham, is that the regular proximity to one’s spouse, even if physical contact is prohibited, is comforting, and losing that proximity is discomforting – and this discomfort might be sufficient to exempt a person from sukkah!
Aftermath Of Battle
For soldiers and other personnel returning from combat zones, exposure to the scenes of war can also lead to post-traumatic stress symptoms, even if these personnel were never in a life-threatening situation themselves.
Finding The Balance
We are taught in Judaism to temper each of these areas and to walk the middle road. To create a balance between these two seemingly opposing forces. Too much materialism is no good. Too much spiritualism also misses the mark.
The Essence Of Mitzvot
Mitzvot call upon us to recognize our dependency upon Hashem and subjugate our will to His.
Studying Abroad
If we want to learn effectively, we need to relocate ourselves to a better learning environment. Knowing how to choose the right environment to learn and avoiding distraction is known in educational psychology as self-regulated learning.
The Source And Centrality Of Mitzvah Observance
Like our forefather Avraham, our national and communal origins are also rooted in our mitzvah observance. We transitioned from a family to a people in Mitzrayim, which we entered as a family of seventy and exited as millions.
The Fourth Crown
Managing a good reputation is an essential value, particularly for a spiritual leader. Maintaining a good name enables the values he or she embodies to be respected and internalized.
Our Mission
Our life includes more than just fulfilling mitzvot. We also have goals we aim to achieve.
We Got It
We are not only able to help ourselves, we are also responsible for doing so. Though many assist us throughout our lives, in the end, we are responsible for ourselves.
Learning Relationships
By honoring our teachers, we learn through the interpersonal social dynamics how to revere G-d as well.
Judging Without Understanding
There is no question in my mind that we as a nation have improved in becoming more sensitized to the plight of our Jewish impoverished and in general to providing chesed, kindness, to people in need... But there is something more that is wholly missing!
Rashi: Explaining Or Contradicting?
How can we reconcile the fact that the pasuk says that the mitzvos are both tov and yashar are in Hashem’s eyes while Rashi says that yashar refers to the way man views the mitzvos?
Why Perform Mitzvos? Centrist Orthodoxy and Chabad Perspectives (Part II)
Halakhic man’s goal is to bring G-d down into this world by first understanding the blueprint He created for this world – the Torah, and its practical expression through halacha – and then striving to align this world with that ideal system.
Doing What We Can
Hashem taught Moshe and us this lesson through the construction of the Mishkan and the giving of the luchot. When Hashem told Moshe to assemble the Mishkan, Moshe protested that it was too heavy for him to lift. Hashem told Moshe to do what he could: Make it look like you are trying to erect it.
The Culture Code
Noted marriage therapist Dr. John Gottman also contends that each marriage has perpetual, unsolvable problems. The goal is not to resolve those conflicts but to know how to relate to those conflicts in healthy ways.
A Soldier’s Return To Home Life
Sometimes the soldier and his family are most bothered by the worry that their difficulty adjusting is not normal and reflects severe psychological distress.
Why Perform Mitzvos? Centrist Orthodoxy and Chabad Perspectives (Part I)
Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachman said: When Hashem created the world, He desired to have a dirah b'tachtonim, a place for Him to reside below the way He had above.
How Struggles Inspire Growth
On the most basic level, challenges inspire reflection and appreciation. The need to work hard to regain something lost or return to a previous position deepens our appreciation for what we had and where we were beforehand.
Advocates And Accusers
If left to our own merit, the rabbis presumed that divine justice would demand punishment.
The Great Sound That Did Not Yasaf
Because the great sound that did not falter was simultaneously a great sound that would never be repeated, no navi sheker could ever produce evidence that could rival Sinai.
How To Find Consolation This Year
Suffering may be painful, but when we realize that Hashem is behind it, the month truly becomes Menachem Av.
Tisha B’Av 5784: The Root And Message Of Jewish Suffering
All of our nation’s suffering is rooted in the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash. More precisely, our suffering is rooted in what the destruction reflects – distance between us and Hashem.
Prioritizing Learning
Learning how to politely say no to opportunities that take us away from our top priorities and goals is essential for fulfillment and success. Moreover, once we neglect studying Torah, writes Arvei Nachal, we will lose motivation to study, leading to even more idleness.
Headlines
Latest News Stories
Recommended Today
Sponsored Posts
