“If the Lord will not build a house, its builders have toiled at it in vain.”Psalm 127:1 We are at the brink of Sukkot, and all I can think about is the makeshift huts we dwell in every year, these temporary dwellings. We have so many temporary dwellings in life. The womb. Our childhood homes.… Continue reading The House You Build
There is a Facebook page called “Stop Anti-Semitism.” It is one of many pages which track anti-Semitic incidents across the globe with the goal to obliterate anti-Semitism. I am appreciative of organizations such as these, since I believe it is important to stay abreast of the trends and be aware of what is happening. But… Continue reading How do we stop Anti-Semitism?
Why are we still in exile? In general, the casual divisiveness we’ve witnessed in today’s society has led to an increased oversimplification of reality, when the reality is not so black and white. True, there are certain maxims which merit a touch of black-and-whiteness; murder is evil. Stealing is evil. But when it comes to… Continue reading Why are we still in exile?
Originally featured on Arutz Sheva. “Jews have no future in the United States.” I’ve heard this phrase plenty of times. It is true, no doubt. Yet one must analyze thoroughly why this is so. Persecution, economic hardship, lack of Jewish life? Yes and no; it’s deeper than that. The simple answer is this: we weren’t… Continue reading Our Inheritance
Originally featured on Arutz Sheva. Joy! Sounds like a simple term. Perhaps one may think it is connected to happiness, but a more ecstatic form of it. Are we to be happy, no matter what? What if I have to pay taxes, or my bills are skyrocketing? What if I am on lockdown for weeks.… Continue reading What is joy?
Hashem spoke to Moses, saying: ‘When you take a census of the Children of Israel according to their numbers, every man shall give Hashem an atonement for his soul when counting them, so that there will not be a plague among them when counting them…Exodus 30:11-12 Last Friday, in honor of Shabbat, I read the… Continue reading Coronavirus: The King is Coming
Originally featured on Arutz Sheva. On the eighth night of Hannukah, several weeks ago, I married my dear wife, Hinda Leah. The following week, we were hosted at multiple homes in celebration of our wedding. At our last Sheva Brachot, Rabbi Raleigh Resnick, the shliach of the Chabad of the Tri Valley, explained a profound… Continue reading The Wedding
Originally featured on Arutz Sheva. Several months ago, in the wake of the attack on Chabad of Poway, I watched an outpouring of support from different communities, and my fellow Jews taking a strong stand against anti-Semitism with statements like “This won’t stop us” and “They won’t beat us.” While powerful statements like these can… Continue reading We are not Jews without G-d
Originally featured on Arutz Sheva. What would you do if you knew that you could not fail? Most people would come up with extravagant responses like, “I would open up my own business,” “I would find the cure for cancer”, etc. However, most of us don’t pursue these dreams. Why? We are scared of failure.… Continue reading What would you do if you knew you could not fail?
Originally featured on Arutz Sheva. Sometimes, it’s the times in life when we are most uninspired that we must force ourselves to do whatever it is that is so daunting a task. For me, writing often requires inspiration. There are times when I am struck by the lightning bolt of inspiration, and the Divine force… Continue reading The Dance of Life
