Psychology & Behavior

Why did Simeon and Levi kill the people of Shechem? Were their actions morally justified? Morally imperative? And why do they serve as the prototype for the law of bar mitzvah, the Jewish boy’s attainment of maturity and responsibility?

What is the key to graciously accepting blessings in life while not growing callous because of them? Rabbi Schneur Zalman offers the answer, through a study of the words of Jacob, the archetypal beneficiary.

Just because 4,000 years ago one of my ancestors had a hip dislocated, I need to forgo a good rump steak?

You can stay in your comfort zone. Or you can learn Jacob’s secret of kotonti.

Jacob when seeing his brother Esau ready to confront him, he prepared for the war in three ways. A timely message on the immediate response Jacob prepared for Esau.

Why would an irrational, irresponsible and legally questionable act serve as the precedent by which to measure reasonability and legal responsibility?

Jacob's declaration -- "I sojourned with Laban, but did not learn from his evil ways" -- should not be understood as a boast but rather as a lament. Jacob is bemoaning the fact that he did not learn to do good the way Laban did evil...

Don’t get caught on a single-minded track just because it’s always worked for you. Be Like Jacob, and think outside the box.

Indeed, in any one individual there can nestle both a resister and an affirmer, at the same time. At one point the resister is dominant; at another, the affirmer.

Sometimes it all seems so hopeless. You can feed a hungry child, yet millions more remain hungry. For every good deed you do, so many evil deeds are committed . . .