In every field and profession, there are the good guys, the bad guys and the mediocre guys. Rabbinics and Jewish education are no different. Our sages were very aware that not every rabbi will be the right fit for every person or frankly even qualified for the job. So they empowered we the people with […]
As 2021 comes to a close, there’s a lot of talk about what a difficult year it’s been. And it has been a difficult year in a lot of ways. A year filled with pain, disappointment and loss. Yet there have been many positive things that have happened this year, both on an individual and […]
Turn away from evil, do good, seek peace and pursue it. ס֣וּר מֵ֭רָע וַעֲשֵׂה־ט֑וֹב בַּקֵּ֖שׁ שָׁל֣וֹם וְרָדְפֵֽהוּ׃ I always understood the verse from Psalms in a simple way: remove yourself from bad behaviors, busy yourself with good ones, seek peace, and pursue it. It seems pretty straight forward. Recently, under the guise of our Tikun […]
For the past few months, I’ve been writing a weekly article for Jew in the City, celebrating amazing people who shine a positive light on Orthodox Judaism. But this week, I’m going to celebrate myself. I’m reflecting on a memory that surfaced strongly for me earlier this year, when I turned the big 5-0. Don’t […]
Do you also feel that the world is simply coming apart at the seams? That humanity is crash-landing into oblivion on the backs of emptiness, instant-gratification, confusion, craziness, anger, and hatred? I was reading something the other day that made me think. “Love,” writes Rav Kook, “must permeate our hearts through and through. A love […]
Watching the horror in that holy alley of death and hearing the harrowing details of how it happened – there is a glaring lesson for ME, and I’m sharing in case you relate to it too… There is no way we can understand and know why this tragedy happened – we have no nevuah – […]
