The Power of Quiet Confidence Imagine someone walked up to you and yelled, “That’s the ugliest shirt I’ve ever seen!” But… you’re not wearing a shirt. You’re wearing a jacket. You’d probably laugh it off. Why?Because you know it’s not true.It doesn’t land. It doesn’t stick. It doesn’t even enter your system. But what if…
Korach’s claim sounded holy: “Ki kol ha’edah kulam kedoshim — The entire nation is holy!” And he wasn’t wrong. Every Jew stood at Har Sinai. We all carry a divine spark.But Korach twisted that truth. Instead of using holiness to serve, he used it to seize. He couldn’t accept that someone else had the role…
The Mouth That Destroys, The Mouth That Rebuilds Not long ago, we all felt it.The silence. The distance. The ache of being apart.During the Covid lockdowns, even Pesach seders were held in empty rooms. Shabbos meals with no guests.Some of us were lucky to have family.But too many were completely alone — no one to…
It starts with who—and what—you surround yourself with. Every morning, I get to live what feels like the dream. I head to shul a bit early for Shacharit. And I don’t rush out. After davening, I stay. I do Shnayim Mikra, say some Tehillim, whisper a few extra tefilot, and then sit down to learn—with…
Parshat Tetzaveh is unique—it is the only parsha from Moshe Rabbeinu’s birth until Eikev where his name is absent. Instead, Hashem addresses him with “V’ata”—“And you.” The Baal HaTurim explains that this omission fulfills Moshe’s own words in Ki Tisa: “Mecheini na misifrecha”—”Erase me now from Your book.” After the sin of the Golden Calf,…
What if I told you that everything you’ve ever wanted to achieve is possible—but only if you stop looking for shortcuts? Years ago, I had a dream that felt completely impossible: I wanted to learn the entire Torah. I’m talking about Tanach, Mishnah, Talmud Bavli and Yerushalmi, Rambam, Midrash, Shulchan Aruch—the whole thing. It seemed…
In Parshat Yitro, just before Matan Torah, the Torah describes Bnei Yisrael’s encampment at Har Sinai: “וַיִּחַן שָׁם יִשְׂרָאֵל נֶגֶד הָהָר” – “And Israel encamped there opposite the mountain.” (Shemot 19:2) Rashi famously points out the unusual singular form of “וַיִּחַן” (they encamped), rather than the expected plural, explaining that Bnei Yisrael were united “כְּאִישׁ…
Shalom (Peace) is one of Hashem’s names. We conclude our tefillah with a bracha for Shalom and the word Shalom is the final word of the powerful Birkat Kohanim. Rabbi Yehoshua Ben Levi says in Gemara Taanit Yerushalmi that the whole idea why the Chachamim Set up Eruvei Chatzeirot is for Darchei Shalom, to promote…
The Blame Game: A Habit from Childhood When I was a kid, if I stubbed my toe or dropped something, the first thing I’d do was look around for the closest person to blame. It was almost automatic. Maybe you can relate—it’s the instinct to believe we’re perfect and any mishap couldn’t possibly be our…