Specialness & Commonality

We seek specialness. Everything else just is, and as such, is unworthy of our energy or attention. But is that how we really are? Or is there another, perhaps deeper, self that thrives on routine and regularity?

Korach's argument is the ultimate in political correctness. "The entire community is holy," he challenges Moses and Aaron. "Why do you exalt yourselves over the congregation of G-d?" The very same argument could be used against Jews in general. "Who do ...

A personal account of the Lubavitcher Rebbe's attitude towards Feminism

I have always felt that the essence of spirituality is that, underneath it all, we are all one. Isn't it absurd to characterize a soul as "Jewish"? Why put souls in boxes?

The idea of inequality is distasteful to us. So we reject everything about it, everything it ostensibly resembles, everything it reminds us of. Including the most beautiful, gratifying and enlightening thing we have: our relationships with each other

Who are you? "I'm a lawyer." "I'm a motor mechanic." "I'm a rabbi." "I'm a sanitation engineer." Is this who you are, or what you do? In modern day society, there has been a turn away from defining a person by his profession. True, some vocations enjoy ...

Has the deliberate, laudable avoidance of focusing on others' weaknesses also led to a reluctance to focus on others' strengths -- for fear that it will hurt the self esteem of those who don't have those particular talents or strengths?

I thought of you today, Randy. It has been a while since I thought of you, and about how quickly you entered and exited our life. It’s dreary and rainy today, and it made me think about how I used to see you shuffling with your walker up the street, past ...

Unlike our everyday environment, the sukkah doesn’t tell us any lies. It reflects reality as it actually is: fluid, unpredictable and always new.

Is it just me, or does life feel like a marathon? And the ribbon is nowhere in sight...