The frightening thing about the struggle between Eisav and Yaakov is its apparently doomed inevitability. While yet in the womb of their mother Rivkah, they already find themselves opposed to one another. They are not only two different personalities, physically, emotionally and intellectually, but they represent two diametrically opposed worldviews. The only question that remains is one of accommodating one another. If the Lord created them so differently, their freedom of choice in life is centered on how they will deal with one another. And in that respect, the question of accommodation – of the relationship between the Jewish people and the broader, more numerous and powerful non-Jewish world - remains alive and relevant until our very day. READ MORE →
Rosh Hashanah marks the beginning of a reflective period in the Jewish calendar year. At one and the same time we look back at the accomplishments and failures of the past year and we also look forward to our lives and hoped for achievements in the coming good year now dawning upon us. The prayers of Rosh Hashanah represent this duality of outlook. They also represent the constants in our... READ MORE →
For the past few decades, I have written two articles every week for distribution in my synagogue and through the Destiny Foundation. One article has always been based upon the teachings and insights that one can derive from understanding and studying the Torah portion of the week that will be heard publicly in the Sabbath services. The other article was based upon my own personal thoughts and... READ MORE →
The culmination of the great month of Tishrei occurs with the commemoration of the holiday of Succot. It provides a joyful relief and release from the intensity of the first two major holidays of the month, Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. While we experience an enjoyable sense of celebration, of commemoration and exalted purpose with these two unmatched high holy days, there is a sense of tension... READ MORE →
For me, the holiday season that we are now in, is a time of mixed emotions. They engender within all of us the understanding that circumstances change in the progress of life and its events. Therefore, I am taking the liberty of sharing some of my holiday memories with you. Nostalgia can be very alluring, but there is also always a modicum of hard-headed realism that memories of the past always... READ MORE →
In our current world that is so heavily influenced by the presence of the Corona pandemic in our midst, we are all aware of and/or participate in the world of zoom learning and classrooms. In this remote world of distant conversation and learning from afar, there are requirements that must be met in to be able to ensure one's ability to participate in a learning experience. The most... READ MORE →
In my younger days, I had great certainty about life, people, events, and the future. Because of this, I had an opinion regarding almost every issue and every human being known to me. However, my years of being a student of great teachers in the yeshiva tempered me in this, as in well many other life matters as they arose. I began to observe that my teachers oftentimes would not express any... READ MORE →
The Hebrew month of Elul has traditionally been the month of intensive reflection and spiritual preparation. It is the month that precedes the holy days of judgment, and time of repentance and forgiveness. It personifies for us the preparations necessary for an individual who was about to go on trial regarding a serious matter, even one of life and death. No rational person would enter such a... READ MORE →
There is no question that the most prevalent and constant feeling during our lifetime is that of frustration. We are frustrated by great and small things, that are often beyond our control and ability to handle. Every day, and sometimes even every hour, we suffer from some frustration – a phone call that refuses to be answered, mail that is misdelivered. There are certain people who are not... READ MORE →
One of the accepted experiences here in Israeli life, and I suspect that it is also the situation in Jewish life generally throughout the world, is the necessity to invest time, money, and the accompanying aggravation into what is euphemistically called “home-improvement”. There are various causes that necessitate the human desire never to leave well enough alone. There is, therefore, an... READ MORE →
