Good &amp; Evil

Lessons on loyalty and royalty: the journey from pauper to prince

Korach: The Rebel

Lessons on authority and bureaucracy: When to challenge and when to accept?

Moses: The Ultimate Leader

Lessons on humility, trust and communication: how one modest man became the greatest leader of all time.

Jacob and Esau: The Battle between Good and Evil

Lessons on confrontation and peace: how to balance matter and spirit and merge the body and soul

The Spiritual Meaning of the New Moon

Video •MLC TV • 1 Comment

We have always been mystified by the moon — it’s haunting presence shimmering in our night sky. We have studied the moon and its effects on life on earth, we have spent trillions to travel to, land on and explore our lonely lunar sphere …

Sweetening Severities: How to Deal with Difficulties

Get a glimpse at suffering as seen through the eyes of a great mystic.

The Kabbalah of Curses

Weekly Op-Ed • 7 Comments

To understand the deeper meaning of these blessings dressed up in the “garments” of “curses” requires a penetrating look into the forces that lay beneath the surface of existence in general.

The Big Confrontation – Jacob & Esau Meet

Weekly Op-Ed • 1 Comment

Each of us must ask ourselves the question: Is my material life aligned with my spiritual one? Have I integrated what I do with who I am?

Fighting Evil with Good

Shorts • 1 Comment

Let us fight evil with good. Let us create a true revolution.Let us move heaven and earth with our actions. We have been promised that when we do, we will save the universe – literally.

Our Response to Tragedy

Shorts • 0 Comments

The response to a gruesome attack, is to channel all our outrage and fury into a spiritual eruption of building an even stronger holy land, both physically and spiritually.

Where is G-d When I Cry?

Essays •List • 4 Comments

There is such darkness in this world, such unbearable pain, such untold suffering. Where is G-d in all of this?

Unplugged

Weekly Op-Ed • 7 Comments

You have the power to rewire your brain for a more positive outlook on life, making you a happier person who will change the world.

Righteous and Just

Weekly Op-Ed • 8 Comments

Abraham’s mandate is as important today as ever. And his persistence teaches us the power of one individual’s choice, how much it can accomplish.

Possibilities

Weekly Op-Ed • 3 Comments

In Eikev, this week’s Torah portion, we begin to deal with one of life’s biggest questions: “What am I truly capable of achieving”…

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.

Will G-d Strike Me With Lightning?

List • 2 Comments

Seven myths and facts about the ancient mystical Jewish view on the relationship between our choices and their outcomes…

The Pure Ones

Weekly Op-Ed • 9 Comments

The innate purity within children and their effortless connection to the Divine is examined, despite popular scientific theories and thought to the contrary.

When No is Greater than Yes

Weekly Op-Ed • 4 Comments

Avoiding the wrong thing is better than doing the right thing; protecting is better than serving (Samech Vav) as seen in Parshat Naso and the wilderness.

Shavuot: The Twins – Duality & Unity

Weekly Op-Ed • 3 Comments

The concept of duality in matters of body and spirit are examined with respect to the opposing natures of twins Jacob and Esau.

Money and Spirituality (Part 2/5)

Weekly Op-Ed • 1 Comment

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

The Fall and Rise of Nations and Overcoming Fear

Weekly Op-Ed •December 8th, 2016• 3 Comments

Overcoming fear: To face the transitions and battles of life you must fortify your inner life. You must build a strong inner core – a home and family that provides you with the security and confidence to handle any force or enemy from without.

Abraham Today

Weekly Op-Ed • 27 Comments

Interesting to envision how a man who lived over 3700 years ago would react to our world and what he would do to improve our condition.

Yom Kippur: Your Inner Child

Weekly Op-Ed • 14 Comments

Once a year on Yom Kippur, the high priest entered the Holy of Holies. In the same vein, each person should enter his own holy of holies.

What Is A Baal Teshuvah?

Essays • 3 Comments

The baal teshuvah, who frees the sparks of divinity imprisoned in the realm of the forbidden, is examined in contrast with the tzaddik, who has more limited powers.

Five Roots of Trauma Revisited

Using the concepts of The Five Roots of Trauma, this article looks at the five tragic events that took place on the 17th of Tammuz..

Spiritual Auditing: A Letter from the Rebbe

Shorts •Essays • 0 Comments

Spiritual auditing is part of preparing for Yom Kippur. Learn about taking an honest accounting of your deeds before Yom Kippur.

Purim: Middle East Revisited

Perhaps the most intriguing, and definitely the most mysterious, character in the Purim Megilah is King Achashverosh, the Persian leader who ruled the world

Noah: A Tale of Two Floods

Weekly Op-Ed •October 15th, 2015• 0 Comments

G-d promised the human race that another flood would never come again. So we need not fear that the flood of violence and fear swamping our innocent brothers and sisters in Israel will turn into an apocalypse or Armageddon.

A Slumber and a Headache

Revisiting the 42-stationed journey in the desert from the Exodus of Egypt (that marked our birth as a nation) to our entry into the Land of Israel.

Free Agent

Essays • 2 Comments

In the case of the Spies in Parshat Shelach G-d said, “I’m not telling you what to do—do as you see fit.” G-d was opening a new arena of human potential.

The Doorway of Choice

Free choice; good and evil: the deeper significance of the divine voice’s “short stop” at the doorway of the Sanctuary.

Knowledge and Naught

Drinking until one does not know the difference between Haman and Mordechai on Purim is explored in conjunction with the concept of the tzaddik versus the baal teshuvah.

The Fifth Dimension

The laws regarding leavened bread on Passover are much more stringent than those dealing with other foods as this food has significant intrinsic meaning.

An Eye and a Sigh

Stories • 1 Comment

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

Eikev: Blackout

A personal message about the value of reflecting during the period after the 15th of Av when “the power of the sun” begins to weaken.

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?

Remember What Amalek Did to You: Symbols of Wine and Vinegar

A Chassidic discourse on “Remember what Amalek did to you on the road when you were going out of Egypt.” The symbolism of wine and vinegar.

There is Always a Purpose

Transcripts/Sources •Level: Advanced • 0 Comments

Free Choice

The ultimate criterion of “free choice” is not “Is it determined?” but “What determines it?” Every choice is determined by something, be it a rational motive or an intuitive flash of no traceable origin. True choice is when one’s course of action is determined by, and only by, the very quintessence of self.

Does evil come from G-d?

Philosophers and theologians of all ages have asked: Does evil come from G-d? If G-d is the essence of good, can there be evil in His work?

Vayeitzei: Overcoming Fear

Weekly Op-Ed •December 28th, 2014• 4 Comments

Overcoming fear: To face the battles of life you must first fortify your inner life. You must build a strong inner core – a home and family that provides you with the security and confidence to handle any force or enemy from without.

Toldot: Our Response to Tragedy

Weekly Op-Ed •November 20th, 2014• 6 Comments

The Jewish response to a gruesome attack, is to channel all our outrage and fury into a spiritual eruption of building an even stronger Jerusalem, both physically and spiritually.

Chayei Sarah: Can East Meet West?

Weekly Op-Ed •November 13th, 2014• 3 Comments

Abraham surely knew how religious zealotry can breed intolerance, condescension, judgmentalism and prejudices of all sorts — feeding into the ugliest elements of human nature.

On the Non-Existence of Evil

Take a deep look at the non existence of evil. Explore the idea that “Everything that G-d does, He does for good” conception of evil and suffering, as experienced by Rabbi Akiva.

The Soul of Evil