Thought of
the week.

THOUGHT OF THE WEEk – 05.27.22

By Asher Gottesman

I was part of a very interesting conversation this week, where I could have gone either way. The basic question was: does the cream eventually rise to the top, or do we just think this in order to justify why good things happen to bad people– and the converse, of…

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THOUGHT OF THE WEEK – 05.20.22

By Asher Gottesman

Today (actually, depending on when you are reading this, probably yesterday or the day before) is an auspicious day in the Jewish Calendar, called Lag Baomer. The reason Lag Boamer is such an important, favorable day is that it’s the day the students of the great sage Rabbi Akiva stopped…

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THOUGHT OF THE WEEK – May 13, 2022

By Asher Gottesman

When it comes to ethical boundaries, the obvious ones are pretty clear: don’t transgress against others, don’t steal, don’t kill, etc. Yet, when it comes to transgressions of a lesser level, how do we hold ourselves accountable? When boundaries aren’t as obvious, how do we keep ourselves on the straight…

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THOUGHT OF THE WEEK – May 6, 2022

By Asher Gottesman

Holiness–what exactly is it? Be holy, act in a manner that commands respect and doesn’t demand respect, treat others as you want to be treated; these are all mottos to live by. The most important one for me is the words of the Sage Hillel, “If I’m not for myself,…

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THOUGHT OF THE WEEK – April 29, 2022

By Asher Gottesman

I want to talk about our identity. How we dress, who we spend our time with, how much money we make, what club, community, religion–or even sect of a religion– we belong to, holds such an important value in our society, when in truth, it separates us from who we…

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THOUGHT OF THE WEEK – April 22, 2022

By Asher Gottesman

Envy… jealously… the thought that shiny objects or the lifestyles of the rich and famous will make you happy… “If I only had such and such”. It’s not about begrudging anyone else. I don’t believe this world is a zero-sum game; God is unlimited and provides for all of us…

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THOUGHT OF THE WEEK – April 9, 2022

By Asher Gottesman

I want to talk about guilt vs. shame. I have always understood shame to be ‘I am bad’, and guilt being ‘what I have done is bad or wrong’. When I am bad, I have nowhere to go, I have no way of repenting, because I, myself am useless. However,…

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THOUGHT OF THE WEEK – April 1, 2022

By Asher Gottesman

What is love? My teacher Ted has taught me that life is the journey of falling in love with oneself. I have so often misconstrued what this means, thinking that if I love myself, I must be too egotistical, or I will automatically think I’m better than, or I’ll stop…

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THOUGHT OF THE WEEK – March 25, 2022

By Asher Gottesman

In the Talmud, it states that the sin God hates the most is someone who lends money to his fellows and then charges them interest. Personally, I can think of many worse things, and I’m sure you can as well, so why is this sin so terrible in God’s eyes?…

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THOUGHT OF THE WEEK – March 18, 2022

By Asher Gottesman

This week is the holiday of Purim, which in some ways is similar to Halloween in that we dress up in costumes and wear masks. I believe the reason for the mask and costume, on a superficial level, is that dressing up is fun and the holiday is about fun…

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