Articles tagged with: Prayer
Yisro: Prophecy and Torah
The Prophetic Chain
Do you believe in prophecy? G-d is infinite, we are infinitesimal. Does He really deign to talk us?
This was the big question that Jews faced when they approached Mount Sinai. They knew Moses was a man of G-d and believed that G-d listened to him, but they were …
Naso: The Priestly Blessings of Growth
Three Parts
A while back, someone in my congregation noticed that the Kohen, during the priestly blessings, repeated the cantor’s errors, when echoing his intonations. He inquired with the Kohen, who replied that he hadn’t noticed. He explained that when offering the blessing he tries to empty his mind and make …
Tzav: From the Bottom Up
The Mirror
Before the priests entered the Temple they performed ablutions at the Laver.[1] We too perform ablutions before prayer though it is not at a special laver; it is at the regular sink. The idea behind washing our hands is to wash away the negative emotions that cloud our minds …
Shemot: A Day Is Born
Baby De-Light
In their darkest hour, a time of deep despair, a baby boy named Moses was born to Yocheved and Amram, the leaders of a suffering nation. It took only a glance to notice that this baby was special. A good baby. But aren’t all babies good? Yes, but this …
Yitro: The Freedom App
The Freedom App
Writing an essay has never been more difficult. In the past you could seclud yourself in a corner with pen and paper and let your mind flow. Now we sit at computers connected to the internet. The strain of concentration wears the brain and we are tempted constantly …
Beshalach: Prayer – The Interface Of Love
An Age Old Question
Prayer is the oddest phenomenon. Human beings plead with G-d, who already knows what they want, who already considered and rejected their request before they ever made it and who made this decision for the very best reasons. And yet we ask an unchanging G-d to reconsider …
Vaysihlach: Rewrite Your Script
Where Do You Fish?
Are you plagued by internal scripts that are injurious to your well-being? Many of us suffer from scripts that hurt us, but from which we powerless to depart. It can be a parent or sibling whom we really love or a colleague or employer whose company we …
Rosh Hashanah: Making A Tzimmes of Tzimmes
Head or Hair?
Rosh Hashanah is not just the first day of the year, it is the head of the year. A head serves two purposes: It is a platform for hair, as in a beautiful head of hair, and a housing apparatus for the brain.
The head is the seat of …
