Balak – When Perspective Threatens Identity
Why Balak was so threatened by the Jewish message.
Category Archives: Bitachon
From Oedipus to Terminator: Why the Torah Says You Shouldn’t Outsmart the Future
Oedipus, Terminator, Harry Potter — all show how trying to outsmart the future backfires. Shoftim says the same: “Be tamim with Hashem.” The real freedom isn’t knowing tomorrow — it’s trusting today.
Man Plans, God Laughs: Life is a Joke – Are You in on It?
The person who runs away from a prophecy ends up running right into it. It’s probably the most cliché plot device in all of storytelling. Oedipus Rex. Return of the […]
Money, Drugs, and Trust in God — By Ben
Bitachon, best translated as trusting in God, is a Jewish philosophy that has changed my life. To keep focus on the attribute, I regularly return to the classical Jewish work […]
Bitachon in the Sukkah — By Ben
The Chovos HaLevavos starts out Shaar Habitchon’s introduction with the following idea, “If someone places trust in any entity other than Hashem, Hashem withdraws His Providence from upon him and […]
10 Levels of Bitachon — By Ben
It was New Years eve of 2019 that my brother gave me, as a belated Chanukah present, Chovos HaLevavos (in English – Duties of the Heart). I had asked him […]
Shoftim – The War for Happiness — By Ben
Chodesh Tov everyone! As of today, we start the big push towards the High Holidays. Can you believe it? Seems like only yesterday I was nervously wondering whether I should […]
Missing The Target and Beyond — By Ben
I love SodaStream. I discovered club soda/seltzer/carbonated water during my waiting tables days, running through the kitchen and banquet halls of a massive Asian restaurant. Over the years, I went […]
Bitachon – What Allows Us To Trust? — By Ben
Continuing along in my exploration of bitachon, or trust in God, I realized that many of us are probably plagued by trust issues. We have problems trusting significant others, the […]
Praise with Bitachon — By Ben
One of the opportunities the pandemic has afforded me is that though I can’t go to shul anymore, I can take my time when praying at home. This has been […]
Six Degrees Of Kosher Bacon 