Business, Work &amp; Money

Bernard Starr, Ph.D., a professor of psychology, criticizes the Harvard Business Review’s endorsement of dirty business practices.

Mega Corporations & Individual Freedom

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Do mega corporations really control our lives? Rabbi Simon Jacobson, author of best-selling Toward a Meaningful Life, talks about how to free your mind.

Is There More to Life Than Your Job?

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Is there more to life than your job? Work is an inevitable part of life. Here’s an open discussion on how to make work more meaningful.

Competition: How Free is the Free Market?

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Does G-d have anything to do with the free market? Is there enough money to go around? How can a person approach business competition in a dignified way?

A Business Proposal

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By the decree of divine providence, man wanders about in his travels to those places where the sparks that are to be extracted by him await their redemption. The Cause of All Causes brings about the many circumstances and pretexts that bring a person to those places where his personal mission in life is to be acted out.

Noah’s Flood

Practical Kabbalah on Noah’s Flood, which commenced on the 17th of Cheshvan in the year 1656 from creation, and ended on Cheshvan 27 of the following year.

A Day in the Life of a Jew

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As Jews, however, we are also guided by a more subtle calendar, a more spiritual clock: the calendar and clock of history. As Jews, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are as central to our concept of morning, noon and evening as the sun’s arc across the sky; Adam, Moses and King David mark our year as prominently as the turning of the seasons; and the twelve sons of Jacob, progenitors of the twelve tribes of Israel, are as basic to our daily schedule as the twelve numerals etched on our clock-face or the twelve spiral-bound pages hanging on our wall.

Vayigash: Can Capitalism Survive without a Soul?

Weekly Op-Ed •December 26th, 2014• 3 Comments

We must balance our economy of consumption with higher values. Let us learn from Joseph how to reclaim our mission statement: What are we? Who are we? What is this company called America?

Shopping: The Spiritual Shopper’s Guide to the Universe

Essays •List • 1 Comment

As we look for that perfect Holiday gift, or just for a good deal in general, let’s bring along some of the following spiritual shopping tools in our totes.

A Business Proposal

I thought that the Rebbe was dispensing business advice, but he must have seen that there is something there, in Siberia, that I must achieve—some part of my mission in life that must be played out in the frozen east.

Did G-d Want Adam and Eve to Eat the Fruit?

Did God want Adam and Eve to eat the fruit from the tree of knowledge? What does this say about the existence of good and evil in the world, and purpose?

The Constructive Statement

Every mitzvah we perform is a testimony as to the essence and purpose of the created existence.

A Matter Of Perspective

There was never enough to eat in Reb Zusha’s home, and his family was beset with all sorts of afflictions and illnesses. Yet the man was forever good-humored and cheerful, and constantly expressing his gratitude to the Almighty for all His kindness.

Growing Old

The Torah considers old age a virtue and a blessing.

The Oath

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The story of an honest man’s unwillingness to swear to the truth, therefore, honoring the Torah.

Need

One who persists in helping others even when he himself is experiencing hardship is truly deserving of G-d’s ear.

Charity

Giving charity is nice and praiseworthy because you have the choice to do otherwise, but G-d expects nothing less–its the just thing to do.

Labor Day

Labor Day in America, which informally marks the beginning of the work and school year, always falls before Rosh Hashana: The world’s birthday…

An Eye and a Sigh

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A story of two devoted neighbors, one living a spiritual life and the other a material one, and their surprising judgments at death.

Life in the River

Thirty-four hundred years after Egyptian slavery, Jewish children are still being forced into the Nile, a material lifestyle.

The Infant Shepherd

Even as a baby, Moses was instrumental in bringing the Children on Israel out of a mindset of materialism and into one of spirituality.

Ki Teitzei: United Or Ununited States ?

Vital life issues about the nature of the universe and our place in it are answered in the opening verse in this week’s Torah portion…

The Labor of Life

A story illustrating the value of hard work.

Publicity

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It’s nice to sound your horn, but remember to save some of you breath for the task at hand.

The Limitations of Space

Story of a wealthy scholarly man who became the disciple of the Maggid of Mezeritch, Rabbi DovBer, & then lost all his wealth which begged the question why?

Charity Wars

A short story on giving charity with joy.

Defining Need

It is easy for one to get caught up with all the things they need and don’t have.

The Information Age

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With the Age of Information comes a new way to attain power- by giving

The Taste of Music

One cannot expect great blessings from G-d if they don’t have a proper vessel to receive it in.

Small Town Riches

One must remain focused on what is important or they can lose sight of why they are working towards their goal.

Vayigash: 2006

As we conclude the calendar year – my 50^th on earth – it’s an appropriate time to examine the past year’s events, and attempt to place them in perspective.

Joseph & Marx – Work & Alienation

Weekly Op-Ed • 2 Comments

Joseph possessed the unique power to integrate spirit and matter in an imperfect world where materialism dominates. Let us learn how this can be achieved.

Work and Play – Yesterday and Today

Work and play- a critical examination of the difference between an American and European approach to the work/life balance, which poses fundamental questions…

The Journey Begins

Weekly Op-Ed • 5 Comments

Creating a mission statement is vital to achieving your purpose. To find it one must look at their personality, opportunities, people, and places.

Money and Spirituality (Part 2/5)

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Part II of a discussion on money and spirituality including class struggles and wealth as the foundation of the material world.

Mindful Multitasking

Theme: Essential Life Skills
Effective multitasking is not doing two things at once. It is focusing on several singular tasks in quick succession from each other.

What to Do When You Make a Mistake

Theme: Use Your Weaknesses for Growth
These two methods, developed by the Kabbalists, will revolutionize the way that you handle making mistakes.

Money and Spirituality (Part 1/5)

Weekly Op-Ed • 4 Comments

Part I of a discussion on money and spirituality including a look at different economic systems.

Money Talks. Do We Listen?

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The Creator of the market did not create us to make money. The Creator of the market created us to make a difference. Money is a bankable way to do that.

3 Inspirational Thoughts to Start Your Day Right

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Any job you do, even if it is an motivation-deadening cubicle hell, can and should be a vehicle for who you are.

Labor Day

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Am I working only to survive or only for profit? Does my work have any higher purpose?

What Leadership Is (And Is Not)

Shorts •Essays •List • 4 Comments

By discovering what a leader is not, we can come to understand what a leader is. What leadership is…

Enough Water for All

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Perspective and insight by Rabbi Meir of Premishlan as to how G-d runs the world and our misguided perception as to how we think the world is run.

Ki Tovo: To You My Heart Speaks

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The month of Elul is a month of love and compassion. In this time how does prayer help us to face and respond to pain and suffering?

An Ode To The Amateur

Weekly Op-Ed • 6 Comments

In a world inundated by “professionals,” “experts” and “sophisticated” gadgets we can sure use a little dose of amateurism…

Trust and Self-Interest

Weekly Op-Ed • 16 Comments

Perhaps our current economic meltdown is an unprecedented opportunity to give us all pause to think about the meaning of trust. And to learn the most vital lesson of all: The foundation of all trust is trust in G-d.

Do You Know How to Interface?

Discover the secret of how to create harmony in your life: Connect different and conflicting forces by discovering their inner unifying field of energy.

Do You Live to Work or Work to Live?

Who are you? What is your true identity? Peer into your own heart and soul and discover who you really are and what defines you.

Ebola, ISIS and Other Global Plagues

Learn lessons from the Great Flood to the modern-day deluges flooding our lives and better understand the key to regaining control of your circumstances.

Tyrannical Boss

“My boss is a tyrant. No matter what I do I can’t please him. How can I keep my cool at work?”

Always Busy

“I feel that I have to be busy all the time. How can I slow down?”

Schadenfreude: Unemployed & Jealous

“How can I stop being jealous of other people’s jobs?”

Embarrassed By Supervisor

Rabbi Jacobson advises a viewer on how to move ahead at an internship where her supervisor is embarrassing her in front of other superiors.

Family Fight Over Inheritance

“My siblings are tearing our family apart by their fight over an inheritance.”

Talking Money With Kids

How and when should you talk about money with your children? Rabbi Jacobson offers a spiritually-sound answer.

The Only Thing That Lives On Forever

It’s not your accomplishments at work. It’s not your house or bank account. It’s the impact of what you gave to the world.

Expand Your Passions to Improve Your Life

The things you are passionate about drive your life.

Why Do We Procrastinate?

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Please join Rabbi Jacobson as he dissects the anatomy of procrastination, and gets to its core soul and root causes.

Vice Advice Series Part Five: Envy

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Learn new tools to help you redirect and harness jealousy for a greater benefit.

The Kabbalah of Technology: Getting Comfortable With the Invisible

Discover hidden dimensions in technology, which will give you a fresh glimpse into hidden dimensions of your psyche and of the cosmos.

AI and the Future of the Human Race: Will Machines Enhance or Replace Us?

Discover that the real power of AI is not its technology, but its capacity to reveal new dimensions in the human spirit.

How To Study

Video •MLC TV • 3 Comments

Study is not merely acquiring data and information; it is integrating methodology with skills. How one studies is how one listens, absorbs, and broadens one’s horizons. Study is far more than scholarship. It is about building relationships.

Happiness in Life Without Money

Theme: Happiness in Life
Can we learn how to free ourselves of this attachment and be happy people independent of our monetary worth?

Does My Job Define Me?

Your work is only what you do, not who you are. It is time to learn how to discover your true identity and discover the difference between form and function, means and ends, and how to strengthen your character and assert who you are — your true inner self.

Money Talks. Who Translates?

Can you be happy without money? Does money guarantee happiness? The power money wields over us is undeniable. What does this power teach us about ourselves? We all need money to live, but is our dependency on money simply about necessity, or is it deeper than that?

How to be More Productive: Step 1: Atzilus; Vision

Please join Rabbi Jacobson in a unique 4-part series, in which he deciphers these four steps and applies them to help you reach your goals. This week’s program begins with Step 1: Atzilus. It addresses the first necessary step: Having a vision. Before building anything you need a clear and crystallized vision of what you want to achieve.

Should You Retire?

With a touch of humor, this short talk by best-selling author and counselor-to-thousands Rabbi Simon Jacobson, cuts to the core of why retirement might look attractive, but isn’t always the healthiest choice. You never retire from life. Your whole life is valuable — from birth to old age.

Does Your Job Define Your Identity? You and Your Work