Authority

The human psyche is home to two contrasting drives: a striving for freedom, and an impulse to submit to authority. Which should be given priority over the other? Or, to otherwise state the question: in what sort of environment would the Torah prefer to ...

Perfect harmony and full acceptance of a central authority might be the ideal, but ideals are usually the greatest obstacle in getting anything done

I like Shabbat. I like Torah, especially the Kabbalah stuff and Chassidic stories. I feel a strong attachment to the Jewish people. But I'm a non-conformist at heart -- I just can't see myself following all those regulations

"Yesterday, an event took place that had no known precedent in human history: a manned spacecraft approached the moon, orbited it several times, and returned safely to earth. What can we, as Jews, learn from this event?"

"I'm going to tell him everything," insisted the first father. "I want a son," objected father #2, "not a puppet." "I'll tell him everything," said the third father. "But I won't tell him what it means"

The story of Korach and On ben Pelet emphasizes the woman's power to persuade. It also expresses another aspect of womanhood: her ability to see through false appearances and discover the path which is true and good

"Rebbe" said the businessman, "it's a different world here, in America. The neighborhood I live in... our friends... it just won't be right..."

Were we in some kind of enforced boot camp, being punished for some heinous crime? No, we were a group of middle class, suburban women who were here entirely on our own volition.

An overview of traditional Jewish sources on the pros and cons of autocratic rule with a special emphasis given to the opinion of Maimonides.

Moshe spoke to theChildren of Israel's tribal heads, saying: This is what G‑d has commanded... Classic Questions Was this passage said only to the tribal heads? (v. 2) Rashi: [Moshe] honored the leaders by teaching them first, and only later the ...