G-d is the source of everything, and the greatest opportunity for human beings is to connect to the source and fulfill G-d's commandments to make the mundane into the holy and the worldly into the heavenly. Just as G-d is the creator, He created humans so that we have the ability to reach out to the source and perfect ourselves in His image. This is the ultimate good that G-d gives to humanity: the capacity to connect with and be close to the creator through our own choices and actions.
June 1, 2024
Don't Be So Humble; You're Not That Great
G-d is the source of everything, and the greatest opportunity for human beings is to connect to the source and fulfill G-d's commandments to make the mundane into the holy and the worldly into the heavenly. Just as G-d is the creator, He created humans so that we have the ability to reach out to the source and perfect ourselves in His image. This is the ultimate good that G-d gives to humanity: the capacity to connect with and be close to the creator through our own choices and actions.
January 7, 2024
My Supernova
Years ago, there was a time when I rebelled against religion, Judaism, and G-d. It was my version of running to the Supernova Music Festival, where I could dance and party to the music under the desert sky. I was young, and probably like many others, went through a stage when I wanted to express my freedom and independence.
On October 7, of the almost 1,200 people massacred that day, 364 were at the music festival. No one can say why anyone lost their lives, were brutally tortured and raped, or were abducted by these radical Islamic terrorists that day—it was pure evil—but like me missing Rosh Hashanah years ago, people at Supernova were also misplaced from the holy Shabbat services and the singing and dancing with the Torahs for the holiday. This is a kind of Jewish tragedy.
My Supernova
September 27, 2023
Bringing the Community Together this Sukkot
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Bringing the Community Together this Sukkot
September 24, 2023
Checklist for Yom Kippur
Please see my new article in The Times of Israel called "A More Important Checklist for Yom Kippur."
(Credit Photo: Pixabay via https://www.pexels.com/photo/person-marking-check-on-opened-book-416322/)
Checklist for Yom Kippur
September 17, 2023
Rosh Hashanah Reflections
Rosh Hashanah Reflections
July 2, 2023
When Politics Gets Personal
(Credit Photo: John Hain via https://pixabay.com/illustrations/fingerprinting-blaming-division-2203448/)
When Politics Gets Personal
June 18, 2023
Looking Beyond the Superficial
We are all much more than our physical manifestations in this world, and looks can definitely be deceiving. The most important thing in dealing with ourselves and others is to look beyond the superficial and see each person for who they really are, and G-d’s holy spirit has an outsized role in realizing the potential of who we can be.
(Credit Photo: Activedia via https://pixabay.com/photos/spiritualism-awakening-meditation-4552237/)
Looking Beyond the Superficial
May 21, 2023
Some Shabbos Chuckles
People never fail to amaze me in both their potential as well as in their idiosyncrasies. But the last number of weeks have really brought home that while we Jews share many commonalities, there are also quite a few quirky differences, and many of these are worth sharing.
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Some Shabbos Chuckles
April 16, 2023
Kosher in Body and Soul
The essence of keeping kosher is not that we just keep the dietary kosher laws and eat only that which G-d commanded is permissible to us, but more so that we feed our spiritual soul with G-d’s manifestation to us and ultimately that we live kosher lives through His wisdom and the performance of good deeds.
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Kosher in Body and Soul
November 20, 2022
Mutual and Eternal Love
Like Abraham, we are tested to do "what is right and just," and history is our witness.
For "we are dust and will return to dust," but our souls will rise to heaven and be reunited with our everlasting, loving Father.
(Also, please remember to listen to the Jewish music video as you read the poetry.)
Mutual and Eternal Love
November 6, 2022
Monsters and Humans
Ultimately, the litmus test is whether there is a human in that being. If there is that spark of G-d, that soul, that inner conscience weighing right and wrong, that fear and love of G-d and his creations driving decision-making, then there is still hope for that person as well as for mankind.However, if we are dealing with those who are sadistic animals in human form, then we must be as soldiers of Hashem, taking a firm stand and decisive action, because true evil does not remain dormant for long.
(Source Photo: Aneesh Ans; https://www.pexels.com/photo/painted-face-of-person-portrait-photo-1211966/)
Monsters and Humans
September 24, 2022
The Hypocrisy of False Repentance
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
The Hypocrisy of False Repentance
September 4, 2022
Finding Truth in a Topsy-Turvy World
In terms of seeing the world and life clearly, you have a choice of how to live. You can choose to endlessly chase meaningless material things and the next physical high, or you can live your life with a deeper understanding that this world is just a corridor to the future world, where the “breath of life” from G-d returns to Him for everlasting revelation and reckoning.
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Finding Truth in a Topsy-Turvy World
September 2, 2022
August 12, 2022
What Are You Refusing To See?
The Torah was given in 1,312 BCE, before most of the discoveries of the world, modern science, and tools like telescopes and microscopes. Yet, the Torah tells us secrets of the world and science long before they were known.
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
What Are You Refusing To See?
July 30, 2022
Never Truly Alone
Alone, in the quiet.
There is pain, suffering, and loss.
Anxiety and depression.
But wait, there is also faith.
Never Truly Alone
June 4, 2022
Testing Our Faith
In short, I think it’s healthy for us as human beings to ask questions, even the most difficult questions of why. We need to make sense of our world and the context in which we live. Questions like: Why do good people at times experience horrible loss and suffering? Why do atheists and sinners often seem to excel and succeed (my wife says, perhaps they sold their soul to the devil!)?While asking why to search for G-d and try to understand His ways is human, at the same time, we as mere mortal human beings can not ever fully know G-d’s ways or His plan for us. In short, Mendel, the Chabad rabbi, said today, don’t get fixated on the why. Instead focus on what you can do to make the world better. Actions speak louder than words.
Testing Our Faith
May 21, 2022
Measuring Success Like G-d
Never more than today are we living lives of total excess. This week, we saw a Mercedes-Benz 1995 car sell for a record-breaking $142 million. Last month in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, authorities seized a Russian oligarch’s $793 million mega yacht. And this last year, Morgan Stanley predicted that Elon Musk may eventually become the world’s first trillionaire.In a world where marketing, sales, advertising, branding, and the media all seek to convince us that life is essentially about “things,” self-satisfaction, the next high, and happiness, we can easily forget how transient and valueless all that really is. Inside each of us though there is a deeper, true voice that seeks a life of real meaning, purpose and immortality, where faith, compassion, giving, and self-sacrifice is the true measure of our character and the ultimate gauge of life success.
Measuring Success Like G-d
February 4, 2022
Stop The Excuses
As they say, "adapt or die."
Of course, you can change when you stop:
- Procrastinating
- Being lazy
- Accepting the status quo
- Making excuses
Take control of your life: change yourself before life bites back at you (and maybe hard).
We've got to slay our own demons not only outside, but inside. ;-)
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Stop The Excuses
January 16, 2022
A Trust Beyond Faith
When we have faith in G-d, it generally means that we believe that He created us and that He is the Master of the Universe. However, faith does not necessarily imply trust. Trust in G-d means that we believe that He not only created us, but that He sustains us and that there is Divine Providence in this world. When we trust in G-d, we believe that G-d is close to us and has a personal relationship with each and every one of us, and actually to everything in the world.We all need to leave our egos at the door! No matter how strong or smart that we think we are, even the little grass above us (or above our graves) is greater than us. Certainly, G-d Almighty who is our creator and our sustainer, all-knowing and all-powerful, He is over us and watches over us in better times as well as those that are perhaps more challenging, but always we trust, for the good!
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
A Trust Beyond Faith