Silence Is Not An Option… Yet Again – By Marc
I love my community. I love being Jewish. I am proud of my Judaism and I am proud of the state of Israel. I do not think she is without […]
Category Archives: Pirkei Avos
Bitachon in Chaos — By Ben
Whoever thought we’d be here? Almost overnight we’ve been forced into self quarantine with social distancing. Washing our hands until they are chapped. Reported cases are doubling every day (not […]
When to Fight — By Ben
I must have sat staring at my computer for about 20 minutes trying to decide whether to message my friend or not. Of course by friend, I mean someone I […]
Is a Rainbow a Good Thing? — By Ben
A few weeks ago, I was practicing Hebrew with my mom over Facetime (as is our Friday morning ritual). Usually we practice the prayer for healing, or the shema, or […]
Hitler Could Have Saved Six Million Jews — By Ben
As I have pointed out previously, I find it fascinating that almost all of the Torah portion of Balak follows the perspective of the wicked prophet Bilam. I get that […]
Knowing Your Role — By Ben
One of my favorite experiences of my early career was working as a writers apprentice on the TV show Robot Chicken. I had watched the pop culture sketch animation show […]
Up, Down And All Around… The Genius Of Pirkei Avot 1:6 – By Marc
The title of this post is a bit limiting, as the genius of ALL of Pirket Avot is quite evident. The deep and practical knowledge goes so far beyond the […]
Relationships: The Purpose of Creation — By Ben
Pirkei Avos: Charter 1, Mishneh 2 says… שִׁמְעוֹן הַצַּדִּיק הָיָה מִשְּׁיָרֵי כְנֶסֶת הַגְּדוֹלָה. הוּא הָיָה אוֹמֵר, עַל שְׁלשָׁה דְבָרִים הָעוֹלָם עוֹמֵד, עַל הַתּוֹרָה וְעַל הָעֲבוֹדָה וְעַל גְּמִילוּת חֲסָדִים Shimon the […]
Tests and Miracles — By Ben
I have a friend who recently got back from leading a trip to Israel. A tremendously inspirational and committed person, she, like me, is a baal teshuvah. Her dedication to […]
Yom Kippur – The Maybe Mindset — By Ben
Yom Kippur is upon us once again. A looooooooong day of fasting, fretting, apologizing… we all know the drill by now. But in all seriousness, Yom Kippur is a tremendously […]
