I am not usually given to interpreting prophecy or dealing with messianic and/or apocalyptic visions. However, I have recently been reviewing the book of the prophet Yechezkel and could not help but think that many of the prophecies recorded in the middle section of the book are eerily similar to events that are occurring in our present day Middle Eastern part of the world. The prophet... READ MORE →
There always is an emotional and even physical letdown that people experience immediately after the departure of the glorious holiday-laden month of Tishrei. Here in Israel the daylight hours become shorter, especially with the change of the clock to wintertime. The blessing of the rainy season begins to manifest itself, and it is time for flu shots and other such joys. And since this year of... READ MORE →
It is quite pleasant here in Israel to live in a succah for a week during this time of the year. The intense heat of our summer months has lessened and the rains and chill of our relatively mild winter have yet to arrive. Though the commandments and requirements of Succot are meant to be observed by Jews wherever in the world they may find themselves, it is clear that the holidays of the Jewish... READ MORE →
Yom Kippur is not only the day of holiness and forgiveness of sin – it is also the great day of hope and optimism. To a great extent each of us is born anew on that day. Each one of us has an opportunity to reexamine ourselves. Though we spend much of our prayer time admitting our sins, failures and shortcomings, we do so confident that these errors will be erased in God’s compassion for His... READ MORE →
The advent of the new year always occasions within us the urge to look and plan ahead. I spent some time this past week filling in my calendar for 5774 with commitments made and projects planned for the coming good and blessed new year. Yet there always hovers over us the uncertainty, which is the basic stuff of life itself, of the unknown future that lurks ahead. We are all aware that man... READ MORE →
In matters of faith and religion there always is a struggle between the actualities of life that we physically see and experience and the beliefs that are mostly unable to be seen and proven empirically. To further complicate this matter, one generation’s miracle often turns out to be a different generation’s science. See Mark Twain’s devastating satire of a book “A Connecticut Yankee in... READ MORE →
בענייני אמונה ודת יש תמיד מאבק בין הצדדים המעשיים של החיים, שאנחנו רואים וחווים, לאמונות, שלרוב אי אפשר לראות או להוכיח באופן אמפירי. וכאילו כדי לסבך את העניין עוד יותר, מה שנראה נס לדור אחד, לעתים קרובות נראה לדור הבא... READ MORE →
This summer, as usual, Destiny Foundation conducted its annual weekend retreat at Kibbutz Lavi in the Lower Galilee section of Israel. Being the city dweller that I currently am, I must admit that I rarely leave Jerusalem and thus do not get to see and appreciate the natural beauty and wonders of our wondrous country. But the journey to and from Jerusalem-Lavi-Jerusalem (and by different routes)... READ MORE →
הקיץ ערכה קרן דסטני, כהרגלה, את מפגש סוף השבוע השנתי שלה בקיבוץ לביא שבגליל התחתון. כעירוני, מה שהנני כעת, אני מוכרח להודות שרק לעתים נדירות אני יוצא את ירושלים, ולכן לא יוצא לי להעריך את היופי הטבעי ואת נפלאות ארצנו... READ MORE →
Charisma – the ability to attract others and make them believe in your persona, abilities and charm – is a much sought after commodity in today’s society. In the famous fable regarding the tortoise and the hare, even though the tortoise eventually wins the race, we would still, in the main, wish to be the hare. We love the flash of brilliant insight, the devastating quip, the broad... READ MORE →
