Articles in Free Choice
Because I Said So
Because I said so, was a common refrain when I was young. We knew that we were more competent than all adults combined, and we constantly challenged our elders when we were instructed to do something. When the explanation was above our pay grades, their response was often, “Because I …
Do We Have Free Choice
Beshalach: Do We Have Free Choice
If G-d knows what we will choose before we choose it, do we have free choice? In our Torah portion we learn that G-d told our ancestors not to save Mana from one day to the next and to trust Him to provide. Some Jews …
Why Ten Plagues?
This week we are introduced to the ten plagues. Seven plagues appear in our Torah portion and the last three appear in next week’s Torah portion. Have you ever noticed that there are ten plagues, ten commandments, and G-d Created the world with ten utterances? What is the common link?
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The Human Struggle
Life is a long human struggle. Animals don’t struggle. For them, life is simple. They have only one objective. To live and perpetuate their kind. Humans have an entire wrestling match. To be human is to struggle. To be human is to strive for kindness, compassion, devotion, honesty, justice, loyalty, …
Life Journeys
We are all on a journey, the journey of life. Although our journeys are similar in many ways, each journey is unique. Have you ever wondered what makes my journey different from yours? What seminal event occurred in our nascent years that made me embark on a different path from …
Off The Derech
Off the derech means literally off the path. It is a common adage in observant circles to describe people who were once observant but had since taken a different path. It is so common that it has its own acronym in our acronym crazed days, OTD. It is not intended …
Vayera: Too Perfect?
Is “too perfect” a thing? Have you ever worried about being too perfect? Most of us worry that we aren’t perfect enough. But I know of at least one person who worried about being too perfect. Our collective grandfather, Abraham.
The Torah tells us that Abraham recovered from his circumcision in …
Lech Lecha: Anything You Want To Be
“Anything you want to be,” is a phrase parents often say to their children. You don’t need to accept any limitations; they are all artificial. If you put your mind to it, you can be anything you want to be.
Sometimes children misunderstand and think that they can snap their fingers …
