The Miracles Of Jewish History: Survival
We have spent most of our history as oppressed people. For almost two thousand years, we were scattered across the world; in over one hundred countries. Despite all this, we survived and continue to identify with our people and heritage.
Charity, Justice, And Morality
The failure to observe the agricultural laws such as tithes, challah, and the Sabbatical year reflects an unbridled acquisitive drive and a failure to care for the poor and needy. G-d provides the antidote to this disease of greed through the laws of charity.
Tu B’Shvat 5785: Celebrating Productivity And Resilience
The Jewish people possess unique resilience. While all nations experience decline, Jews are distinguished by their ability to recover and rebuild. Unlike other civilizations that fade after their historical peaks, the Jewish people have consistently risen after setbacks.
Culpability Should Be On Hamas! Not Israel!
It is critical to understand that Israel did not seek out this conflict... The objective has always been clear: a stable, peaceful region where Israelis and Palestinians can live side by side, with dignity and security.
Works In Progress
Wisdom is not conceptualized here in any form of abstract internal intellect. Everything revolves around active listening, relevant and organized speech, and intellectual humility.
How The World Connects Us To Our Creator
The universe is impressive on two levels: the macro and the micro. Its sheer size, even of the relatively small amount we know, is massive. Within just our planet, the number and diversity of creations and creatures are incredible.
A Brief History Of The World
While the commentaries analyze each miracle on its own, the overall thrust of the presentation seems to be that G-d showed an added level of care for the continual functioning of the Temple.
Hamas: The Essence Of Darkness In The World
The entirety of the Gaza population, under Hamas’s rule, has become part of this deadly philosophy. One cannot ignore the reality that Hamas, as the governing body, has indoctrinated its people with a worldview that is grounded in violence.
How The Past Inspires Faith In The Future
The very experience the Avot lacked, their descendants had. The Jewish people in Egypt had the history of Hashem’s interactions with the Avot to build upon. He had fulfilled His promise to give the Avot the land of Israel, and they had successfully inhabited it.
I Fear We Are Losing Our Way
In Israel, elections are held on a national level with voters casting ballots for political parties rather than for individual candidates. This system, while effective in ensuring that political parties gain power based on their collective support, undermines individual representation.
How The Torah Strengthens Our Faith And Feelings
The Torah’s claim about the revelation at Har Sinai also reinforces our belief in Hashem (in addition to our faith in the Torah’s Divine origin). The claim that an entire nation (as opposed to a limited group) consisting of millions of people (as opposed to a small group) is hard to fabricate, as people would wonder why they had not heard about it from their own ancestors.
Asara B’Tevet 5785: The Significance Of Siege
Physical and political sieges are the results of spiritual separation. They are a continuation of the ancient pre-Churban siege and are due to and reflective of Hashem’s separation from us.
Understanding The Debate On Charedim Joining The Army
Serving in the IDF can provide personal development opportunities for charedi men. Many who have enlisted report a newfound appreciation for civic duty and a broader understanding of Israeli society.
G-d In Our Hearts And Minds
Because G-d-consciousness is central to the Torah, it commands us to create and interact with objects that remind us of Him.
Gratitude
Today, amid the suffering caused by the war, we can sometimes feel callous if we take our minds off those most affected. However, a lesson of Chanukah is that there remains space for gratitude, even in the face of ongoing grief.
Our G-d
Hashem equated His relationship with us to that of a father with his son. Though Hashem created all human beings in His image, He chose us as His children (Avot 3:14). All humans resemble G-d; we, the Jewish people, have a personal relationship with Him.
Confronting Vulnerability
Rabbi Elazar’s frank realization that from the time we are born we are destined to die frames the entirety of the Mishna. This knowledge is meant to instill our awareness of G-d and His judgment, informing our religious decision-making.
Fast Track To Destruction
Desire, Maimonides notes, will interfere with a person’s mission in life to strive for knowledge and pristine character. This will automatically negatively impact his well-being in this world.
Our Impressionable Children
We all know that sibling relationships reenact themselves when in the presence of parents. Even when we are older and married, we slip back to the times that we were children.
Our Foundational Relationship
It is not only our land and our money that belong to Hashem; everything was created by Him and thus belongs to Him. This is why we are prohibited from benefiting from the world before we recite berachot, which recognize Hashem as Creator (Ber. 35a).
Protecting Ourselves
Rabbeinu Yonah (Avot 1:1) adds that siyagim are essential not just because they protect us from sin but also because their enactment expresses our commitment to and concern about avoiding sin.
Maintaining Charitable Morale
The more that Jews around the world internalize that their continued support is a fulfillment of this mitzvah, each small act is imbued with meaning.
Learning While Young, Teaching While Old
As we know from educational psychology, it is not just cognitive ability that impacts learning. Emotional and motivational factors are essential as well.
Showing Our Values
If we see mitzvot as a burden, we are missing the point and cannot forge a meaningful relationship with Hashem.
Emotional Hijacking
If we want to assist a friend in need, we must know how emotions impact not just ourselves, but other people. When someone else is emotionally hijacked, our well-intentioned methods can potentially exacerbate the situation.
True Life
Torah learning and mitzvah fulfillment are life's purpose and essential content. Though we need food and water to survive, mitzvah observance and Torah learning are why we are here and what give our lives meaning. A life without Torah learning is not an authentic life.
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.
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