What Would You Hold Onto – At Any Price?
The show, Pawn Stars, is a runaway hit on the History Channel. It tells the story of three generations of the Harrison family and their Las Vegas pawnshop.
What Does It Mean to Be a Man in Full?
One day, I may give a sermon titled: "Everything I Need to Know I Learned from a Pagan Philosopher." This is thanks to the book, The Art of Living ,1 by Sharon Lebell.
Practice Positive Pessimism and Partner with God
Most of us have grown up with the power of positive thinking. We've been warned about negative outlooks and what popular psychologists call "catastrophizing." To have a successful outcome when facing a problem, we're told that we need to avoid the bad and focus on the good.
Joseph the Educator
In this week's Torah portion, Mikeitz, Joseph, now the viceroy of Egypt, receives a visit from his brothers who seek relief from the famine in Canaan.
Leadership and Letting Go
Can you say chutzpah? How about arrogance? Or is ignorance a more appropriate word for people behaving badly?
In Place of God? In God’s Place?
After a natural calamity or terrorist attack an understandable question presents itself: Where is God in all this?
How Moses Found His Voice – and How We Can, Too
Our fifth and final book begins by stating, “These are the words that Moses addressed to all Israel on the other side of the Jordan” (Deut. 1:1). The Hebrew name for Deuteronomy, D’varim, literally means “words,” and this framing sets the entire book apart from the rest of the Torah.
What Torah Requires of Us
If we had to choose only one Torah portion to summarize the entire Torah, which would it be? We'd have to consider >Parashat Va-et’chanan a strong contender; in it, we find a compilation of Torah’s “greatest hits,” both in law and narrative.
“Revelation is Progressive”: Our Responsibility to Live in Pursuit of Holiness
In this week’s portion, Parashat Eikev, Moses’s great sermon continues with powerful rhetorical impact by reinforcing the theology on Divine reward and punishment.
Finding Inspiration in the Jewish Women Who Came Before Us
To celebrate the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage in the United States this year, Rabbi Carole Balin, Ph.D., is sharing eight chapters of an "alternative Book of Numbers” designed to tell the stories of Jewish women who combined civic engagement with Jewish values in a 40-year