ב"ה
Lag BaOmer 5769 - May 12, 2009
Seasons
A Carob Tree and a Spring
Seeing a man ploughing and sowing, they exclaimed: "They forsake eternal life and engage in temporal life!" Whatever they cast their eyes upon was immediately incinerated
Seeing a man ploughing and sowing, they exclaimed: "They forsake eternal life and engage in temporal life!" Whatever they cast their eyes upon was immediately incinerated
Attaining Immortality
Is death a reason to mourn, or to celebrate the life of the deceased? That depends on the nature of the person’s life . . .
Is death a reason to mourn, or to celebrate the life of the deceased? That depends on the nature of the person’s life . . .
Living in the Future
It’s my favorite oxymoron: If one indeed lives in the future, it’s not the future anymore, is it? And if one only thinks he’s living in the future, then he's not really living there, is he?
It’s my favorite oxymoron: If one indeed lives in the future, it’s not the future anymore, is it? And if one only thinks he’s living in the future, then he's not really living there, is he?
Chassidic Thought
Is G-d in the Consequences?
A friend says she doesn't believe G‑d "causes" the consequence, because, she says, "we have free will."
A friend says she doesn't believe G‑d "causes" the consequence, because, she says, "we have free will."
Where Are All the “Worlds”?
Kabbalah and Chassidism speak of four worlds. Where are they? Why haven’t they been discovered yet?
Kabbalah and Chassidism speak of four worlds. Where are they? Why haven’t they been discovered yet?
Living
Wisdom at 105
It’s not every day that one is privileged to sit across from a woman whose life has spanned an entire century. At 105 years old, Mrs. Pollack is astonishingly attentive and aware . . .
It’s not every day that one is privileged to sit across from a woman whose life has spanned an entire century. At 105 years old, Mrs. Pollack is astonishingly attentive and aware . . .
Nothing in Common
Many people feel frustrated because they have "nothing in common" with their spouses. But lack of commonality is not an aberration in marriage--it is marriage
Many people feel frustrated because they have "nothing in common" with their spouses. But lack of commonality is not an aberration in marriage--it is marriage
The Jewish Woman
From Harvard to Homemaking
Everyone readily admits that parenting is physically and emotionally demanding. But, intellectually demanding? That's overlooked...
Everyone readily admits that parenting is physically and emotionally demanding. But, intellectually demanding? That's overlooked...
The Other Side of Unforgivable
How can I expect to be forgiven if I have not extended the same grace to others, if I have not demonstrated with my daily behavior that we can treasure our relationships despite their imperfections?
How can I expect to be forgiven if I have not extended the same grace to others, if I have not demonstrated with my daily behavior that we can treasure our relationships despite their imperfections?
Parshah
Behar-Bechukotai - Leviticus 25-27
The Sabbatical and Jubilee years, doing business with G‑d, reward and rebuke, and a system for evaluating value.
The Sabbatical and Jubilee years, doing business with G‑d, reward and rebuke, and a system for evaluating value.
The King, the Peasant and the Nightingale
The king commanded his coachman to halt at the peasant's door. "How are you enjoying my gift?" he inquired of his beloved subject
The king commanded his coachman to halt at the peasant's door. "How are you enjoying my gift?" he inquired of his beloved subject
How to Enjoy Judaism
There is an art in enjoyment. If you want to enjoy exotic food, delicate wine, music, mountains, paintings, poetry - there is a way to go about it...
There is an art in enjoyment. If you want to enjoy exotic food, delicate wine, music, mountains, paintings, poetry - there is a way to go about it...
The Engraved Letters
One’s study of Torah should be as letters that are hewn out of stone, not as letters of ink that are written on paper. What does this mean?
One’s study of Torah should be as letters that are hewn out of stone, not as letters of ink that are written on paper. What does this mean?
Capitalist or Communist?
What is Judaism’s economic system? Is there one? In promoting free enterprise, the Torah is clearly capitalistic. But it is a conditional capitalism, and certainly a compassionate capitalism.
What is Judaism’s economic system? Is there one? In promoting free enterprise, the Torah is clearly capitalistic. But it is a conditional capitalism, and certainly a compassionate capitalism.
The Last Line
A courtroom. A judge reads off the charges. The defendant took his victim, drugged him, called in several of his assistants and methodically, with forethought cut the man's stomach open, removed organs, put in foreign substances...
A courtroom. A judge reads off the charges. The defendant took his victim, drugged him, called in several of his assistants and methodically, with forethought cut the man's stomach open, removed organs, put in foreign substances...
The Fiftieth Year
Mundanity, holiness and beyond—a study of the spiritual significance of the Shemittah and Jubilee cycles.
Mundanity, holiness and beyond—a study of the spiritual significance of the Shemittah and Jubilee cycles.
Chassidism is Divine intelligence, an understanding which shows man how small he is, and how great he can become
— Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak of Lubavitch (Hayom Yom, Iyar 19)
Print Magazine
Due to the limitations of your reality, some of your best friends can enter only incognito.
In fact, the really big ones sometimes sneak in disguised as ugly monsters and vicious enemies. Otherwise, the guards at the gate would never permit them entry.
These are the events optimists call “blessings in disguise.”
Here’...
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