fbpx

A Moment in Time: “Proceed with Caution”

[additional-authors]
August 7, 2025

Dear all,

How do we know for certain when it’s time to make a move?

Are we spontaneous?

Are we strategic?

Do we listen more to our heart or our mind?

Do we miss the opportunity by allowing too much time to lapse?

Do we miss the opportunity by going too fast?

I am reminded of wisdom from my paternal grandfather, Bert Shapiro. He would always say, “Proceed with caution.”

Those words help me to keep my radar attuned whenever I need to make a decision. Yes, we need to move. But we should always move with caution. In that moment in time when we aren’t quite sure what to do, the worst thing is to be frozen.

So proceed. With caution. And keep your eyes toward the future.

With love and shalom,

Rabbi Zach Shapiro

Did you enjoy this article?
You'll love our roundtable.

Editor's Picks

Latest Articles

A Bisl Yom Kippur~ Plenty of Regrets

Yom Kippur is admitting our plentiful regrets and summoning and building our inner determination and drive to be better people, regrets, and all.

Expanding the Soul

There is a struggle within us between constriction and expansion, between despair and vitality. Good humor can be a powerful ally against the constriction that suffering creates.

Making Torah More Accessible

The 402-page book is organized around 36 life lessons related to the Book of Genesis, with thoughtful study questions and dozens of responses from respected sources in Jewish thought.

Avi Nesher Fights the Boycott with a Human Story

Making Israeli films is not easy. Budgets are generally small by American standards, and international financing has become increasingly difficult to secure amid the cultural boycott of Israeli cinema.

Knowing Our History

In this time of introspection and rising adversity, let us resolve as American Jews to write our new chapter by better understanding our history.

My Choice for Essay of the Year

The collective assault against Israel has been so broad and deep it’s been hard finding anyone in the mainstream media who will dare go after the Hamas murderers whose biggest victims are the Palestinians.

More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.