Lift Someone — And Be Lifted Yourself There are two mitzvos that at first glance seem simple but, upon reflection, reveal something profound. The first involves a person seeing a lost animal wandering, the second is when a person sees a large animal that has fallen on the road. In both cases we are told […]

Restoring Dignity Begins with Looking for Lost ‘Objects’ Did you ever notice a watch on a hiking trail or see a jacket on a chair at the theater? Did you keep on walking and ignore it? The Torah addressed these scenarios in a direct way by instructing us to pay attention and stop what we’re […]

Name a mitzvah that most people never do. Clue: It has to do with birds. When you find the nest of a kosher bird, you take the eggs but send the mother away first. Although the Torah almost never mentions the reward for any given mitzvah, here is one notable exception, and the reward is […]

When you go out to war against your enemies… (Deut. 21:10)This week’s Parsha begins with various laws concerning warfare. However, our sages tell us that the opening verse hints at another type of war; the war we have with our internal selves. In Judaism it’s called the Yetzer Hara (the evil inclination), our internal negative […]

We no longer can identify who the biological decendants of the ancient Egyptians are and therefore the commandment in the verse below no longer applies. Nonetheless, its underlying lessons are as applicable as ever.]…Do not despise the Egyptian, for you were a stranger in his land. (Deuteronomy 23:8)In addition to enslaving the Jews for over two […]

[Note: We no longer can identify who the biological decedents of the ancient Egyptians are and therefore the commandment in this verse below no longer applies. Nonetheless, its underlying lessons are as applicable as ever.] …Do not despise the Egyptian, for you were a stranger in his land.(Deuteronomy 23:8) The Egyptians had enslaved Jews for […]

In 2012 the wonderful book The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg was a trailblazer in explaining how habits that we might not even realize we have can dictate our lives. Habits emerge without our permission and are so powerful because they create neurological cravings, […]

When you will go out to war against your enemies… (Deut. 21:10) This week’s portion begins with various laws concerning warfare. However, our sages tell us that the opening verse hints at another type of war; the war we have with our internal selves. In Judaism it’s called the Yetzer Hara (the evil inclination), the […]