Inspiration Faith & Prayer Health & Wellness Entertainment Love & Family
Newsletters Special Offers

Truths You Can Use

On Tuesday Oprah Winfrey made headlines. She did not give away cars or a cruise. She did not even land an interview with the First Lady or President Obama. Rather, she shared a seemingly innocuous message on her Twitter account. She revealed that she loves “that SURFACE (referring to Microsoft’s new Surface tablet) Have bought…

An episode of The Simpsons inspired this article. The entire Simpson family is seated around the dinner table. Bart is asked to say grace. He offers the following words: “Dear God, we paid for all this stuff ourselves, so thanks for nothing.” Bart’s words capture what so many often feel. We’re entitled to what we…

As tension rises once again in Israel, I share with you a most powerful story. It is told by Nobel Peace Prize winner and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel. A Tour Guide It begins with Wiesel describing a visit he made in to Saragossa, Spain. Saragossa was a center of Jewish life around the year 1000 C.E. When…

“Who is strong? One who conquers his own impulses.”  Ethics of the Sages, 4:1 David Petraeus was hailed as the greatest soldier of his generation. His abrupt resignation as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency has led to more questions than answers. How could someone renowned for his discipline make such an impulsive choice?  Can…

This past Friday we observed Veterans Day at my congregation. Several dozen veterans were joined by our youth choir, which sang America the Beautiful in gratitude and tribute. The past, present and future inspired one another. Also inspiring was a famous sermon we discussed. In 1945 a Jewish chaplain named Roland Gittelsohn accompanied a Marine…

Whatever our politics, the end of a two year campaign brings relief. Many of us probably empathize with the four-year old who became a Youtube sensation when she tearfully moaned that she was “tired of Bronco Bamma and Mitt Romney.” As President Obama said in his victory speech, we have a long road ahead of…

Simple Wisdom: The meditation teacher Jon Kabat-Zinn suggests, “Try reminding yourself from time to time: This is it. What happens next, what you choose to do, has to come out of your understanding of this moment.” The future doesn’t just happen. Two people can witness the same event, yet respond in vastly different ways. Consider…

The eternal question of religion is why do bad things happen to good people. Hundreds of thousands of volumes have addressed the questions. We still yearn for a satisfying answer. The horrific and highly-visible impact of Hurricane Sandy raises this question anew. How can we come to grips with thousands of homeless families, a couple…

David Wolpe tells the story of advice given to a student beginning advanced study Talmud. (The Talmud is a series of discussions by the leading rabbinic sages between 100-500 C.E.) If you happen to fall asleep during class and are called upon by the teacher to explain the lesson, he said, you can always rely…

We have elections coming up in a week and a half. Why should we vote? Think about it: You are one person. Will your particular vote change the election? Even in times when elections seem close, they are rarely are. A recent piece in the New York Times tells us, “The odds that your vote…
archives most recent
search this blog
More from Beliefnet and our partners