On Being Jewish

The street corner was busy. Too busy. There was certainly no place for G‑d in this scene.

There was, though, one mitzvah that my grandpa cherished and upheld as far back as I can remember, and up until he became unable to stand: kiddush...

I settled my mother in at the center, and returned to my hosts’ home in time for the holiday. As I blessed the candles, a wave of gratitude enveloped me...

After the luster of the new relationship wears away, and couples seek to improve their marriage, much of the focus shifts to what is wrong and what needs to change. While it is important to directly address the rough spots in a relationship, and this is usually what motivates couples to seek counseling, there are ways to effect change by bypassing the negative in favor of the positive . . .

One does not decide what happens to him; one decides what he wants to do with what happens to him...

Another season in the National Football League is now underway, but it almost never happened. For months, players were locked out of their jobs, as owners and players failed to reach an agreement. This happened to me as a player, but even worse...

My point is not to regret the necessities of life, nor to cheat us of the relaxing moments that energize us and give us a little respite so we can go back to whatever we are doing, refreshed or relieved or both. It is that the next time we are faced with the opportunity to do something good for somebody else, or for ourselves, let’s think twice about saying or thinking that “I just don’t have enough time.”

On this miserable morning, I stand before G‑d hungry and unwashed, undignified and unadorned, overwhelmed with the memory of countless holocausts unique to the people of His covenant . . .

The entire notion of this wedding was surreal – actually, unthinkable. Over 2,000 people from around the world had flown into Moscow to celebrate a Jewish wedding, aided by the Russian authorities.

This is quality time spent honing my emotions, refocusing my mind, reinvigorating my trust, and readjusting the compass of my life. By the time I’m through, I can feel spirituality pulsating throughout my being...

I stood outside staring at the dollar bill. I wondered why he wanted me to take his money. He could make a donation himself, right?

When my two young sons grew older and less dependent on me, I realized that between work and managing a home, there was a part of me that craved something additional. Something I knew I possessed but felt was not being cultivated sufficiently . . .

As a Jewish son, husband and father, I stand in awe and appreciation of the role the Jewish woman plays in the continuity and story of our people. It was her faith which got us out of Egypt, it was her faith that gave us Purim, it was her faith that gave us the strength of the Jewish family, and it is her that in whose merit we will all dance into the Messianic era...

Optimism is contagious. We achieve the most when we pass on the tools of success to others. We must lead by example . . .

Each sound another timbre, another color, another world. But somehow, they are all one. The players and the instruments, the instruments and the orchestra, the orchestra and the conductor, the conductor and the music, the music and the energy pulsating through the room. How can so many different instruments produce such a seamlessly unified sound?

When I got my haircut, it was an experience. But for Jacob, it was an event. I had a professional cut my hair. He had his family and friends contribute . . .

So many teens are terrified. Terrified of the world they are just getting to know, of the future which seems so out of reach, and most of all, terrified of themselves . . .

Who would ever even consider keeping the money instead of their precious child, G‑d forbid? But when you think about it, we can—often without even realizing it—sacrifice everything, even our child, for some silver . . .

One of the most important Jewish things parents can do for their kids is to foster a feeling of connection to the Jewish People. By helping our kids identify with other Jews early on in their lives, parents radically increase the chances that their kids will want to remain part of the Jewish People when they mature . . .

Three Jews bumping into each other in an international European airport; there had to be some inner meaning behind it all. “Do you want to put on tefillin?” I asked. “No,” he answered. He had a story, though . . .