Thought of
the week.

The antidote to sadness isn’t happiness, it’s joy; it’s finding a way to celebrate the wins amongst the losses and embracing the sunshine amongst the storms. It’s a way to appreciate all the good this world has to offer, even though it’s much easier to focus on the bad. I…

Great leaders have many qualities, but humility is usually not one of them. With rare exceptions, they tend to be ambitious, with a high measure of self-regard. They expect to be obeyed, honored, respected, even feared. They may wear their superiority effortlessly—Eleanor Roosevelt called this “wearing an invisible crown”—but there…

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…

What is the difference between joy and happiness? In the words of J.D. Salinger, “happiness is a solid, joy is the liquid”. Joy is what leads to happiness, and is a feeling that is truly achieved through experiencing adversity.Fleeting happiness comes from stuff, or shiny objects—whether that be toys, or…

If you seek sudden inspiration, then work at it every day for a year or a lifetime. That is how it comes. As a famous golfer is said to have said when asked for the secret of his success: “I was just lucky. But the funny thing is that the…

The Torah shares a wild story of ten men, all of status, humility, and integrity. These men are respected by all as devout and faithful to God, and are chosen to check out the promised land of Israel and report back on their findings. Instead of returning and reporting positively…

One of my favorite parts of Judaism is that it encourages us to question, to doubt, to grapple, to seek, and to find the deeper meaning.  This doesn’t give us permission to not follow the rules, yet it gives us permission to question them. Judaism challenges us to not just…

  I dare say that we all want to know the future, what will be, how it will all turn out, and what our fortune is to be. On the flip side, we all want to know what challenges we may have, etc.  Many times, I have met with people…

R. Schneur Zalman of Liadi’s Tanya said that if we change the way we think, we will change the way we feel.  Cognitive behavioral therapy calls this reframing.  Viktor Frankl, Auschwitz survivor and the founder of Logotherapy describes our ability to reframe as the only true human choice. He states that…

“Sometimes the worst mistakes we make are when we project our feelings onto others” – Rabbi Jonathan Sacks Lately, I have been contemplating the breakdown in society and how radically separated we have all become, and I wonder what I can do to bring us closer together. How can I get…