every Wednesday at 7:30 pm, starting April 27 2022! ![]() Wednesday, April 27 2022 Leave the Past Behind The Case against the Apology Tour You did something wrong. Of that, you’re sure. Does that mean you must forever publicly beat your chest to be accepted in polite society? A closer look at the High Priest’s confession on Yom Kippur tells an empowering story about how we ought to look at our past—and our future. ![]() Wednesday, May 4 2022 When You Love Enough to Care Seeing Another Person for Who They Really Are When you love them, you love them, that’s it. But what happens when you don’t? There’s no love switch, is there? A deep look into the soul of another Jew and what she really wants reveals that yes, indeed there is. ![]() Wednesday, May 11 2022 Do It Because It’s The Right Thing to Do Give Selflessly, Even If You Get Nothing out of It Suppose you accidentally left a twenty-dollar bill outside and only after the fact you realized that someone who really needed it found it and bought lunch. Do you deserve any credit? From an awkwardly placed verse in a discussion about sacrifices we learn that yes, such a donation may just be the most noble of all. ![]() Wednesday, May 18 2022 The Divine Is in the Details Discovering the Majesty of the Minutiae in Judaism Do it this way. Not larger than an ounce, not smaller than the size of your fist. Check for the kosher symbol, and make sure you eat before this time and make Kiddush after that time. Judaism is hyper-detail-oriented, and some find it more devilish than divine. But that’s a simple misunderstanding of just how great a mitzvah really is. ![]() Wednesday, May 25 2022 You’re Feeling Uninspired? Great. Now’s Your Chance Discovering the Spiritual Opportunity of a Human Moment When things are clicking and you’re feeling inspired, well, it’s just great. But here’s the problem: that’s not reality. Life is messy, challenging, and often leaves you exhausted and uninspired. What to do then? It is precisely then that you have a real chance to finally do what G‑d always wanted you—and the entire world—to do. ![]() Wednesday, June 1 2022 The Indomitable Power of Torah Whatever Your Reason, Keep at It. Eventually It’ll Rope You In Conventional wisdom would say that if you’re studying something for the wrong reasons, you shouldn’t study it at all. But that’s not what the Torah says. And that’s because there’s a unique dynamic at play: the Torah is G‑d’s wisdom; eventually, it’ll awaken something inside of you. ![]() Wednesday, June 8 2022 The Case against Passive Parenting You Can’t Control the Result, but You Can Certainly Control the Process In one the Bible’s most rousing stories, a weeping childless woman makes a solemn vow to consecrate her son to G‑d, should she be so blessed. The woman is Chanah, and the son the prophet Samuel. From what would appear to be a dubiously legal move, we learn that parents must do their utmost to guide their children along the proper path. ![]() Wednesday, June 15 2022 Good Is Good, Better Is Better, and Best Is Best Why Jews Spend So Much on Their Religion Jews do Judaism with grandeur. Thousands on an etrog, fine china for Shabbat dinner, and gilded synagogues that match the finest architecture anywhere. But why? Because we understand that when it comes to our relationship with G‑d, only the best will do. Anything less may not be lacking, but it is wanting—and we’ll have none of that. ![]() Wednesday, June 22 2022 You Matter. Yes, Even You G‑d Doesn’t Only Pay Attention to Big Things and Important People “Omnipresent” is a word thrown around as a name for G‑d, which is a fancy way of saying, “He’s everywhere and always paying attention.” It’s a great name: G‑d really is paying attention to everything He created, and He cares very much about what they do—including you. ![]() Wednesday, June 29 2022 Different, Yet Equal “We’re All the Same!” Is Tempting. It’s Also Premature Korach’s rebellion that saw him yelling, “We’re all equal, why do you, Moses, get the fancy title?!” can be mistaken for a romantic everyman’s struggle. In a way, Korach really was on to something, but ultimately, he was mistaken. Walk the tightrope of “different but equal” through the lenses of our nation's first uprising of the proletariat. ![]() Wednesday, July 6 2022 “It’s Not My Thing” Is Not an Excuse When the Hour Demands, Rise to the Occasion We all have our comfort zones. You’re forgiven for wanting to stay there. But remember this: If you do, you will never grow. Worse yet, when someone else needs you, they’ll receive no answer. A curious plot twist in an ancient desert story with clouds of glory and heavenly mann calls us to get uncomfortable and be there for someone else—even if it’s not “your thing.” ![]() Wednesday, July 13 2022 The Making of a Nation Determining the Precise Moment the Jewish Nation Was Born Avraham was the first Jew, right? But wait. What about the events at Mount Sinai, when everyone received the Torah: Wasn’t that the moment of nationhood? Come to think of it, were the Jewish people not born at the Exodus from Egypt? An enthralling roller-coaster ride through the literature explores this important question.
|
ב"ה