Politics | Opinion

The Unpredictable Consequences of Dodging a Bullet

From the blog of Leonard Grunstein at Jewish Standard

Miscellaneous | Jewish Wisdom

How Much Is G-d Involved in Our Lives?

Our journey has value—not merely as a means to a greater end, but in and of itself.

Miscellaneous | Judaism

Jewish Wisdom: Joseph's Message - Vayigash

It was not enough for Jacob to discover that Joseph was still alive physically. He needed to hear that he was also alive spiritually.

Miscellaneous | Judaism

6 Lessons From Jacob’s Wrestling With the Angel

We also wrestle with spiritual doubts and conflicts.

Miscellaneous | Judaism

Can You Travel Back in Time? Kind Of… - Parshah

One of the most powerful tools we humans possess is the ability to rewrite our own past by reframing the story.

Miscellaneous | Judaism

Moses vs. the Gaslighter - Guest Columnists - Parshah

The people in the desert were being gaslit, and big time.

Miscellaneous | Judaism

Sinai: Were the First Tablets a Mistake? - Guest Columnists - Parshah

Why were the first set of tablets given with such fanfare?

Miscellaneous | Judaism

Torah: What to Tell Yourself When Things Go Wrong

In the meantime, it’s dark, confusing, and difficult. That’s only because the process of getting to a deeper place can give space for negative consequences. But just around the bend is a time, a space that is even deeper and greater, that it will make thi

Miscellaneous | Judaism

A Rift Extending Across History - Chassidic Masters - Parshah

From the rivalry between Leah and Rachel, through the animosity between Joseph and his brothers, the clash between Saul and David, the split between Judah and Israel, to the dual nature of the messianic redemption—a rift and twinship that extends across h

Miscellaneous | Judaism

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks: The Consolations of Mortality

Before any of the deaths are mentioned we read about the strange ritual of the red heifer, which purified people who had been in contact with death – the archetypal source of impurity. That ritual, often deemed incomprehensible, is in fact deeply symbol

"Hence the life-changing idea of Chukkat: we are dust of the earth but there is within us the breath of G‑d. We fail, but we can still achieve greatness. We die, but the best part of us lives on.

The Hasidic master R. Simcha Bunim of Peshischke said we should each have two pockets. In one should be a note saying: “I am but dust and ashes.” In the other should be a note saying: “For my sake was the world created.”16 Life lives in the tension between our physical smallness and our spiritual greatness, the brevity of life and the eternity of the faith by which we live. Defeat, despair and a sense of tragedy are always premature. Life is short, but when we lift our eyes to heaven, we walk tall."