Making the Grade
December 23, 1999
A story is told of a man who came to his rabbi complaining of depression. His life lately seemed like an endless string of failures, disappointments and missed opportunities.
Rabbi Ed Feinstein
19 Years Ago: Ask Yourself God’s Questions
September 9, 1999
When we arrive in heaven, the Talmudic sages wondered, what will God ask of us?
Sit Right Down and Write Yourself a Letter
July 29, 1999
Write a letter. Address it to those you love — your spouse, your children and grandchild, your friends, your community. Put into this letter what life has taught you: What you learned from childhood, from growing up, from your education. What you learned from marriage and raising children. What you have learned from work, from your triumphs and successes in the world, from your failures and disappointments. What you have learned from the death of loved ones, and the path of mourning and grief. What has life taught you? What is the meaning, the lesson, the wisdom of your life? What is your message?
The Golem in Our Midst
April 29, 1999
The great rabbi of 16th-century Prague, Rabbi Yehuda Loew, received word of a coming blood libel, an attack on his community.
When You Haven’t Got a Prayer
March 18, 1999
They sat like any other family in the noisy restaurant, trading conversation, stories, tales of the day past. But when the waiter brought their meal, something remarkable happened: The conversation stopped, hands were extended and grasped to form a circle around the table, eyes closed, and a quiet prayer was whispered.
On Living with Tension
February 25, 1999
Once, a stranger approached Hillel and Shammai, the great sages of the first century, with a request: \”Teach me the Torah while I stand on one foot.\”
The Laws of Life
February 11, 1999
Among those who left Egypt, there were two — Berel and Shmerel. As slaves, these two had grown so accustomed to looking down at the ground, they could no longer lift their eyes.
‘Very’ Difficult Choices
November 19, 1998
The word \”m\’od,\” which means \”very\” or \”much,\” is a very common biblical word.
A Life is a Terrible Thing to Waste
November 12, 1998
Every textbook of religion will tell you that death is the great catalyst of spirituality. Religion, it is argued, comes to answer the problem of death. But, if that is so, where is the tractate of Talmud that deals with death? Talmud Shabbat details the laws of Sabbath, Ketubot describes marriage law, Baba Metzia treats torts and litigation, but there\’s no volume on death.
Living in the Here and Now
September 17, 1998
There is a difference between love of tradition and an obsessive habit of looking backward.
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