Good & Evil
One lights candles, while the other tries to snuff them out.
People are afraid of good and evil. As a matter of fact, people are often more afraid of good than they are of evil. Good compels you to be good, but evil doesn’t compel you to be anything. You may deny evil, or even ignore it; but you cannot be indifferent to good. We like to believe that there are no absolutes. But just because we like to believe doesn’t mean those beliefs are true. Absolutes can be broken down into actions: a good deed (charity) is absolute good; an evil act (hate) is absolute evil. Do more good deeds than evil and the world becomes good. Absolutely.
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.
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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.
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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.
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An Eye and a Sigh
A story of two devoted neighbors, one living a spiritual life and the other a material one, and their surprising judgments at death.
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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.
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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?
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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.
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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.
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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?
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