Identity & Self-Knowledge

To be true to yourself while sitting in your living room is no big feat. That’s what the angels do in heaven, and they get absolutely no credit for that. The trick is to be yourself in someone else’s living room. To remain who you are no matter where you ...

“Do you believe that the Torah is eternal?” asked the Rebbe. “Do you believe that its every word applies to every individual, under all conditions, at all times?”

You need to decide what you are. If you believe yourself to be angel, be prepared for some disappointment. If you think of yourself as a beast, you may well become depressed. Best to know you are human. Stay away from situations you can't handle, and ...

Three things you must know to be an adult: • Don’t fool yourself. • Don’t fool others. • Don’t let others fool you. —and do it all without trying to impress anybody. (Rabbi Shalom DovBer of Lubavitch told this to his son before his bar mitzvah.)

Among the chassidim of Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Lubavitch (the “Tzemach Tzedek,” 1789–1866) was a businessman whose dealings took him to the business centers of the large cities of Russia, as well as to several foreign capitals. As time went by, he ...

Once there was an adolescent camel that would pose questions to its mother incessantly, as all children naturally do. “Mother, why do we have a hump perched on our backs?” Mother replied, “My child, these humps prevent hunger and thirst as we trek ...

I have nothing against religion, but could it be that religious Judaism is a cult? I bumped into an old classmate who has become totally religious. After speaking to her, I felt that she is brainwashed . . .

Consciously or sub-consciously, we all identify as "human." Does that inspire us to strive higher, to be a mentsch? Or does it allow us to relax our standards, recognizing that we're "only human"?

Why do we become a bar mitzvah at adolescence? Because something dramatic happens to our minds at this time: A sort of awakening, a consciousness, a realization that "I exist"

Torah learning for Jewish women has been revolutionized. No longer must women strive to learn as men, but rather women are now revealing and celebrating their own unique ability to learn as women.