Essays
The Determined Chooser: Choice vs Determinism
How much control do we really have over our actions? So can man be held accountable for his behavior? Is the good we do truly to our credit? Is the evil our fault? Isn’t it all a matter of genes and environment? A discussion of choice vs determinism.
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The Soul of Evil
When you learn this secret about the soul of evil, no evil will ever defeat you. When you learn this secret, you and your people will be free. Read Kabbalistic secrets to overcoming forces of evil.
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Light That Dispels Darkness: Why Do Good and Evil Exist?
We all struggle to fathom how a good and righteous G-d could allow so much suffering and could permit such atrocities in the world. An obvious question inevitably arises: Why did G-d create evil, and how can we reconcile it with His goodness? In other words, why do good and evil exist?
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An Omnipotent G-d versus Free Will
Man does not intrinsically possess the capacity to freely determine his actions; rather, freedom of choice has been granted to man by an omnipotent G-d. “If G-d knows what I’m going to do, how could I have chosen?” is more a difficulty of our time-contexted perception than a true logical paradox.
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On Faith and Trust
The key to the secret of faith is the connection to the eternal. Everything in life around us is mortal, temporary – impermanent. Everything erodes, ages. Change is the only constant. This is true even when life is going well; how much more so under duress, which shakes the very foundations of our beings. The only way we can transcend change – and especially the ever-shifting center of gravity resulting from the painful scars of oppression – is by connecting to the eternal, something that is not subject to the mortality and variations around us.
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Do We Need Faith?
Do we need faith? We must learn to cultivate our natural faith. When you set yourself free, you will realize that your faith is much closer to the surface than you had imagined.This is an excerpt from “Toward a Meaningful Life” by Rabbi Simon Jacobson.
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The Conquest of Time: The Second Passover
The eternal significance of the “Second Passover” is that there are no missed opportunities, that it is never too late to rectify a past failing. Even one whose compromised spiritual state (his “ritual impurity”), or his alienation from his people and G-d (his being “on a distant road”), have prevented him from fulfilling a certain aspect of his mission in life, there is always a second chance.
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Love: A Paradox
The most famous of Rabbi Akiva’s teachings is the saying: “ ‘Love your fellow as yourself’—this is a fundamental principle in Torah.” How was it that his disciples were deficient in this area? Find out from this translated discussion by the Lubavitcher Rebbe.
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A Wedding In Two Movements: Kiddushin and Nisuin
Kiddushin and nisuin are two distinct phases in the Jewish marriage process. This article explores the spiritual dimensions of kiddushin and nisuin.
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An Unclouded Harvest: Lessons of Achitofel
Achitofel was one of the greatest sages of his generation. Yet all his life he followed the route of giving precedence to his reason over his piety—a path which brought him much grief. Therein lies the deeper significance of the three pieces of advice he offers to his children before his passing: he is warning them not to repeat his error of placing wisdom before piety, as this pertains to the three “crowns” of human aspiration.
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