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Truths You Can Use

This is an excerpt from a moving essay by the Chief Rabbi of Great Britain, Lord Jonathan Sacks. “My new year prediction is that tomorrow never knows The beginning of a new year tends to be a time for predictions. Have you peered into the crystal ball, read the runes, consulted the astrologists and listened…

Most evidence suggests that New Years’ resolutions remain just that: resolutions rather than accomplishments. Part of the reason, I think, is that we aim too high. We ask ourselves to do more than is possible. We are like the man who has never worked out, but decides he need to start running ten miles a…

You Spend It On Other People. ;What is the secret of happiness? Religion has explored this question for millennia. So have philosophy and literature. Science recently entered the picture. Since the 1990s, the field of positive psychologyhas focused on individual well-being and satisfaction.What do happy people share in common? What qualities do they display? Does…

Something magical happens in our home on Friday night. The bustle of the week stops. The noise of dinner time fades away. The iPad powers down (at least for a while). What changes everything, however, is the moment we put our hands on our children and say a blessing over them. The blessing is short,…

Today we reach the last day of the ancient Mayan calendar. This fact has prompted to predict the end of the world. These types of predictions are nothing new to people of faith. While we may not agree with them, we can certainly make use of them. They remind us to ask ourselves the question:…

The horrific school shooting in Connecticut has reignited a debate on gun control. Judaism does not have a particular policy prescription or political view. What we do have is an insightful story of cultural transformation. Sword Fights on the Sabbath It emerged in a debate 2000 years ago over a seemingly minute question. The question…

The Bible’s most oft-repeated words are “Do not fear.” Yet, in the wake of the horror in Connecticut, how can we not? Five-and six-year old children were brutally murdered in what most thought was a safe and innocent place. Is it possible now to live without some measure of fear? A Brave New World This…

Franz Kafka tells the story of a little girl who was late arriving home one day. Her mother asked her where she was. The girl said that she saw her friend Ruthie on her way home, and Ruthie’s doll had broken. “Did you help her fix it?” her mother asked. “No,” the girl replied, “I…

A favorite song to accompany brides down the wedding aisle is the Beatles’ “In My Life.” It’s a song about the past meeting the present. It’s a song about how the singer has been formed by all his past experiences in life. Consider the lyrics: “There are places I remember all my life, though some…

I am no film critic, but Daniel Day Lewis’s mastery of Abraham Lincoln inspired me deeply. He captured a man filled not only with political skill and vision, but with a deep spirituality and understanding of the human condition. In every book I read or film I see, I try to find sparks of spiritual…
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