The Secret to Immortality
When G-d said to Abraham “Go to yourself-- Lech Lecha” what was He actually asking Abraham to do? This command seems to be contradicted by the remainder of the statement: “...from your country, from your birthplace and from your father’s home.” Are these not the fundamental elements that make up a person’s sense of self? My nation, my birthplace and family together create the context for my identity and establish the vital ground for my sense of self. In addition, they represent citizenship, property rights, and inheritance, all essential sources of personal security.
What G-d is actually saying to Abraham is, “Go to yourself and leave yourself,” bidding him to seek himself and at the same time abandon everything that establishes and confirms selfhood. The very order of the statement verifies this, as it is not in chronological order. A person first leaves his father’s home, then his birthplace and then finally the country’s borders, not the...
When is it time to part ways?
These past weeks Israel seems to be in the grip of a wave of terror: stabbings, shootings, firebombs, and riots, leaving us wondering whether there is anything left of the ‘peace process’; seems more like pieces….
People often say, you don’t make peace with your friends, you make peace with enemies and you have to be willing to sit and dialogue with even your most bitter enemy.
True, but you have to start with an enemy who wants to make peace, and for that matter, which is willing to talk. So maybe it’s time to let go; maybe there is no peace partner and we need to part ways, build fences, and leave attempts at any rapprochement for another day.
And yet, are we really at the point where we must walk away from any hope of peace with our Arab cousins, many of whom I am sure want peace as much as we do?
How do you...
Are You Ready for the Ultimate Pleasure?
The generations following the sin of Adam and Eve proceeded upon a path of moral degeneration. Cain, in a jealous rage, impulsively killed his brother Abel. In the next generation, Tuvel- Kain perfected the crime of Cain through manufacturing weapons. Then, Lemach boasted to his wives of committing pre-meditative murder. Idolatry flourished during the time of Enosh. Organized crime was established by a group of hoodlums called “The sons of Elohim.” Sexual perversion was rampant in Noah’s generation.
Torah tradition teaches that there are three cardinal sins that a person should choose death rather than be forced to commit. They are: murder, idolatry, and sexual perversion. These offenses are the ultimate denial of G-d’s love and the values that make life worth living. They are a complete violation of living within the context of G- d’s oneness and love and therefore cut humanity off from the source and ground of life. In a span...
What went wrong?
Thirteen years old; Bar Mitzvah age; boys with their entire lives ahead of them. One must have recently celebrated his Bar Mitzvah. He was riding his bicycle on a beautiful Monday afternoon, because, that’s what thirteen year olds do. Life is not so complicated….
On Monday afternoon this Jewish Bar Mitzvah boy riding his bike met another thirteen year old having fun, which should be part of a normal day for a thirteen year old; Two boys getting together to have some fun on a Monday afternoon. Only the second boy, a thirteen year old Arab from East Jerusalem wasn’t riding a bike, he was carrying a knife. And he used it, along with his fifteen year old cousin to repeatedly stab the Jewish Bar Mitzvah boy on his bicycle. The Jewish boy, who remains in critical condition, is fighting for his life as of this writing.
What is going on? How are thirteen year old boys becoming murders? Yet...
Created in the image of love
The power to be who you are
In the very opening sentences of the Torah (Bible) we are told that the first human being was created in G-d's own image. And what was that image? The first human being was actually a man and a woman — a single entity that included the two sexes. "And G-d created man in His own image, in the image of G-d created He him; male and female created He them" (Genesis 1:27).
In this union of male and female, in this oneness of opposites, the first human being reflected the image of G-d — a oneness that includes otherness and yet remains one.
This is a very important concept. A lone individual does not reflect the image of G-d; an individual in unity with another individual does. So until an individual makes a space to include another, and allows that other to do the same, we do not have the...
He was a tough kid, with obvious ‘stuff’ going on inside; always getting into fights, spending a fair amount of time in the hallway, and always with that sad, lost look.
Many years ago, when I was first exploring the world of education and teaching, I decided to try my hand at different types of teaching to see who and what I would most enjoy teaching, and what really spoke to me. Formal and informal, in schools and summer camps, for a few years I taught just about every type of audience I could find, with an eye towards discovering the type of teaching I truly loved and could spend the rest of my life with . One year, I took a job teaching first graders; to see what it would be like.
As part of that experience, I underwent a one day seminar designed to train young inexperienced teachers how to look for tell-tale signs of abuse at home …....
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Why is life so difficult?
Making Peace with Our Battle
In this week's portion, Jacob asks for peace and relaxation but G-d had another plan.
"Jacob settled (down) in the land of his father's dwellings, in the Land of Caanan"
~~Genesis (37:1)
The commentary Rashi explains:
"Jacob wanted to settle down in tranquility but then the ordeal of his son Joseph (sale into slavery) fell upon him. The righteous seek to dwell in tranquility but G-d says 'Is it not enough for the righteous what has been prepared for them (reward) in the World to Come that they need to seek tranquillity also in this world!'"
Why is life so difficult?
Some people turn to G-d and religion, hoping to find refuge from all the turbulence of life, from doubt, from inner conflicts and mental turmoil. They want instant inner peace, spiritual contentment, and tranquillity for their troubled souls.
According to Kabbalah, that is not the purpose of life on earth. In fact, it is just the...
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Many years ago, I recall sitting with a newly married couple in their late thirties, who were struggling with making their marriage work after many years on the NY singles scene. Sitting with them, before I could start the conversation on a more positive note, the husband began to describe why he was upset with his wife and what she was doing wrong in his eyes. Every minute his wife would interrupt him to express what she felt her husband was doing wrong from her perspective. After a few minutes I tried to get them to speak with one another with an eye towards eventually getting them to share what each felt they themselves needed to work on, instead of directing their comments to me. But try as I might ,they would not speak with each other nor even look at each other which was obviously (though I am by no means a professionally trained therapist...
