Thought of
the week.

Power of thought—or, the power over thoughts—has the ability to turn a bad situation into a good one. We truly don’t have control over our circumstances, yet we do have ultimate control over how we respond. I was speaking with a friend last night who told me about a year…

I received a text this week from someone I love who is very important to me. Based upon the nature of the text, I immediately came to the conclusion that this person was upset with me, disappointed in me, and didn’t like me. All sorts of negative stories were circulating…

In the Jewish faith, it’s truly fascinating to ponder why God chose to give the tablets to the Jewish people in the desert at Sinai. Why not wait until the Jews reached the homeland? Why did this happen in such an isolated space? Rabbi Jonathan Sacks offers a beautiful explanation;…

How can we come to see the similarities instead of the differences? How do we figure out a way to understand that we are all seeking the same thing — safety and connection — and that it’s possible for us to coexist and find similarities, even if we really are…

It’s so important that we take time to pause, reflect, decompress, and give our minds and souls time to rejuvenate. Especially today with cellphones and social media, we are always so connected, and we are all being constantly stimulated and distracted. My teacher Ted taught me that it takes 20…

The greatest gift a teacher can give me is two-fold; first is saying, “I don’t know, let me see if I can find an answer”, second is to admit when they were wrong and say, “I’m sorry, I made a mistake”, and a close third is sharing their own humanity.…

I have suffered with anxiety for most of my life, which has been both a blessing and a curse. It’s a blessing because anxiety motivates me and gets me going. It’s a curse because it can be debilitating, and provides me with a skewed perspective as my defenses are down.…

This past week has been the celebration of Passover, and an overall personal lesson I have chosen to take from this holiday is the importance of timing. The scholars suggest that it was very difficult for God to split the sea. We could spend days discussing what difficult means when…

This is the season of freedom. Next week, the Jewish people celebrate Passover, a holiday commemorating the exodus from Egypt. The Commandments serve to teach our youth about “our” exodus from Egypt and—dare I say— our exodus from self, which is the basis of freedom. I say “our” in quotes…

I visited my friend Rabbi Yitzy this week and the first thing he asked me was how my son Nate is doing. I haven’t seen the Rabbi in a month, and he’s only met my son once, yet he remembered who he was. This made me feel so sad for…