Articles in Life Is Beautiful
You Are Good
This week, we read about the vestments worn by the priests and high priests. An elegant tunic, topped by a flowing robe with golden tassels was girded by a majestic sash and adorned by a fashionable apron and a diamond-studded breastplate. A golden forehead plate and a beautiful turban headdress …
Pointers on Hospitality
This week, we read about Abraham’s hospitality, a story that offers many beautiful lessons.
Let me begin by pointing out how profound this Mitzvah is. Abraham was visited by G-d Himself when the angels showed up. Abraham did not know they were angels; to him, they looked like ordinary humans. Yet, …
The First Simchat Torah After the Massacre
Simchat Torah: The Anniversary of the Simchat Torah Massacre
October seventh, 2024, was not the first time Jews suffered a Simchat Torah Massacre. The first Simchat Torah massacre occurred in Fourteenth Century Cracow, and left a lasting impression.
According to multiple accounts, this pogrom occurred during the Simchat Torah festivities. King …
Cancelling Cancel Culture
We are told not to judge a book by its cover, but most of us do. In their inimitable way, our sages tell us, “Don’t look at the cask; look at the wine. Aged casks can be filled with new wine, and new casks can be filled with aged wine” …
The Real You
Michelangelo once said, “I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.”
The essence of every Jew is a beautiful perfect soul. It is unmarred by ego, immaturity, insecurity, obsession, or any other form of human weakness. This beautiful soul, more pristine than the angel in …
Heal Your Fractured Self
We all have two dimensions: the inner wholesome, beautiful self that is a fount of integrity, honesty, determination, and love. Then we have the outer fractured self that is filled with cravings, greed, lust, flightiness, envy, unhealthy competitiveness, bias, anger, resentment, insecurity, etc. The goal is not only to transition …
Giving Is The Secret To Happiness
Giving is the secret to happiness. People who think they can be happy from taking or even receiving quickly learn how wrong they are. Do you think Vladimir Putin will be happier if he takes Ukraine? Well, ask him if taking the Crimea made him happy. If he were happy …
