Bittul (Self Abnegation; Selflessness)

Pharaoh’s loss of free choice

From the rivalry between Leah and Rachel, through the animosity between Joseph and his brothers, the clash between Saul and David, the split between Judah and Israel, to the dual nature of the messianic redemption—a rift and twinship that extends across ...

On the essence of shamash, the "servant candle" of the Chanukah menorah

I would describe myself as a Chassidic feminist. The two terms are not mutually exclusive, though their combination is not without tension...

Everyone can become a “mother.” What comes naturally to the female half of creation can be learned and assimilated by all, and not only in giving birth to children but in every one of life’s endeavors.

The Rabbi found it hard to believe that Anschel Moses might be a thief. Perhaps he had merely borrowed the money...

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 ...

After all journeys are consummated, after all quests are realized, there remains one frontier which few have penetrated and fewer still have conquered

Which is loftier--spirit or matter? the soul or the body? The teachings of Rabbi Schneur Zalman, founder of Chabad chassidism, extol the first over the second, and then second over the first, offering a unique and life-altering vision of reality

On whose initiative were the Spies sent? The way the story is told in Numbers 13, it was by Divine command. But when Moses recounts these events 40 years later, he tells the people of Israe it was their idea. The contradiction descibes a watershed in the ...