Insights

Do you ever feel that you still haven’t figured out what you’ll do “when you grow up”?

Using Torah law (to which, we are told, G-d conforms) as our criterion, what would G-d's obligations toward us be when we labor to fulfill the purpose towards which He placed us in the world?

Humility. Devotion. Toil. Divine assistance. Practicality. The five steps necessary for anyone who wishes to approach the Torah.

We can appreciate the connection between a mentor and a friend. But why is the lesson of judging people favorably taught in the same sentence?

In the immortal words of the famous first century sage Hillel: "If I am not for myself, then who will be for me?..." In other words: I need to look after myself; who else should? So where's the problem with selfishness? For that, we need to consider the rest of Hillel's statement...

The ability to communicate is central to human function. Why then would the sages suggest that silence is a value worth pursuing? Isn't silence the absence of speech?