Passover is the time of year to throw off our individual enslavements and emancipate ourselves to achieve the desires of our authentic self -our soul In the West and especially in the USA people pride themselves on being free. Indeed it is freedom that America would like to export to…
Watch-out Deceit, Goodness is the New Normal
Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt, is the new bestseller by Michael Lewis. It shows in minute detail how investors investors have been consistently ripped off by big Wall Street banks. The crux of the issues is that brokers is that the incentives of investors and brokers are not aligned….
The benefits of hanging out with people twice my age
It is not often that I feel so inspired by a group of people that I feel uncomfortable with the fact that I am not more like them. Yet this is what happened this week in Boulder, Colorado. Late last year Dr Harry Moody, former Director of Academic Affairs for…
The Importance of Self Expression
With all the killings of demonstrators from the Ukraine to Egypt to Syria recently my son asked me why people risk their lives to protest against a dictator at risk of their own lives. Is it anger? Resentment? Frustration? The answer is all of the above. However, underlying all the…
Opposition to Female Participation Fear-Based Not Halachic
The debate regarding the role of women in Jewish religious ritual has intensified over the last couple of months. Two Modern Orthodox schools in New York City have now made it their policy to allow female student to don the Teffillin (phylacteries usually only worn by men) if they wish…
The Futile Pursuit of Happiness
The founding fathers of the United States believed that each human is endowed with an unalienable right to pursue happiness. What is not clear, however, is what happiness actually means. What does it mean to be happy? Does it mean that we should be in a jolly mood? Can a…
Heaven on Earth or Heaven and Hell?
Heaven and hell looms large in many religions. There are some who live their lives for an afterlife where each of their actions are dictated by a concern about whether it will lead them to heaven rather than hell. According to psychologists, the desire to go to a posthumous heaven…
Geopolitical Wisdom from How God Dealt with Pharaoh
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants the U.S. to keep the sanctions on Iran and potentially even increase them. It seems that President Obama and the international community disagree. I would argue that Netanyahu has the Bible on his side to back up his point of view. Here is why….
Is “Senior” a Dirty Word?
As Baby Boomers start to retire en masse, market research has shown that they object to being called seniors. This is understandable in a culture that places a lot of value on youth and seems not to have the same respect for the elderly. In a culture based on biblical…
Limmud Loses Credibility, Caves to Unfair Rabbinic Pressure
This past week in England, the Limmud conference, which describes itself as ‘dedicated to Jewish learning in all its variety, ‘ disinvited and cancelled the sessions of a representative of the London branch of the Kabbalah Center. The last time I wrote anything even remotely positive about the Kabbalah Center,…