Posts by Asher Gottesman

Lately, COVID has really started to get to me. In truth, the challenges I’ve experienced have left me both restless, and sleepless. I used to meditate quite a bit. Yet, as of late, I have forgotten to–or more so– have elected not to. Today though, I decided that ‘enough is enough’ with the negative thoughts,…

This week, I had one of the greatest joys happen for me. My eldest daughter gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. Holding this child gives me greater joy than I could ever possibly imagine. For me, the struggle lies in combating the fear of my responsibility toward this child. I do not know if…

I am super grateful that jealousy has never been an issue for me. I define jealousy as, “I want what you have, which in turn, means that I don’t want you to have it”. I believe that God is unlimited– truly infinite– so it is not a zero-sum game to me; there is plenty to…

Today is Thanksgiving: a day of gratitude, and a day of thanks for all of the gifts we have, and that we continue to receive. For those who do not have, those who are hungry, those with sick children, relatives, and family– all those who are suffering– what do they do today? I read this…

A few weeks ago, Rabbi Jonathan Sachs passed away. For years, I have religiously read his thoughts, and listened to his speeches; his command of the room, choice of language, and most important to me– his ability to speak to all human beings across all faiths, made him a person I have always looked up…

At my son’s bar mitzvah, I told my father that I struggled with Judaism, and therefore, did not want to be a devout religious man like he was; I also told him that I did not want to not be like him, just in case he was right. Little did I know that he would…

In my personal opinion, God is either everything, or God is nothing. However, at least in my life, I have been known to pick and choose when I have faith, and when I do not. Instead of praying for God’s will for me, I pray for wealth, success, recognition, and for all the various materialistic…

I have been struggling with a question this week, and especially with the upcoming election, it has been playing very loudly for me: How do I act, when my personal interests are not aligned with the greater good? For example, as a Jew, do I vote with my allegiance to Israel, do I vote with…

The basis for my thought this week is approximately 4,300 years old– yet, I feel that it is just as relevant and poignant today, as it was back then. In fact, this is a repeat of a thought of mine from 2 years ago, however, it is so important, and crucial to me, that I…

Lately, I have been grappling with the concept of difficult conversations. I want to make sure that I don’t hurt anyone, therefore how do I go about honoring myself, and honoring you at the same time? It is so much easier when the stakes are low. I can tell you that you look amazing in…