Egypt as a Stage
The Torah describes the Egyptian bondage not as revenge but as a built-in stage in the formation of a people: what is…
Spiritual Breakfast
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- Spiritual Breakfast 242
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Chanukah: The Principle of Adding
Why do the Chanukah candles increase each day rather than decrease? The tradition does not deny decline, but refuses to let it…
“Angels as the Interface of Reality.”
An all-powerful God needs no intermediaries — so why angels? They are needed not by God but by man: they are functional…
From Word to Presence: The Anthropology of Blessing in the Torah
A blessing in the Torah is not a beautiful formula but drawing another person into a space where he can receive more…
The Mystery of an Incomplete Text: The Design of the Oral Torah
The Written Torah does not explain the obvious: how to read an unvocalized text and how to perform the commandments was handed…
Where “We” Begins.
The commandment “love your neighbor as yourself” is not about strong feelings but about a way of relating: widening the boundaries of…
When the Cause Becomes the Cure
Why did Moses have to make an image of a serpent, of all things, to heal those bitten by snakes in the…
Failure or Test?
Obstacles come in two kinds: corrective ones, which show that a direction is wrong, and resistance, which tests the strength of one’s…
A World Standing on Judgment and Mercy
Justice and mercy do not contradict each other but complement each other: King David judged according to the law and then paid…
How Not to Lose Hope When Change Comes Hard.
If you ask yourself why you still have not changed, you have not given up. Everyone makes mistakes; a human being is…
What It Means to Be Humble
Humility before the Almighty is neither yielding to circumstances nor fear of the powerful, but inner agreement that the world was not…
Perfection as a Path, Not a Point
The pain of imperfection is a sign of growth. The Almighty values not flawlessness but an honest striving to improve. A healthy…
