Anyone who has ever been wronged is likely to interpret Joseph’s actions as superhuman. And the truth is, he was a trailblazer in the field of compassion, forgiveness and good will. That means that as his decedents we have all inherited the capacity to follow his technique. We’re all human…

“You light up my life.” “You brighten the room”. “Those words shed some light” “I had a lightbulb moment” “There’s light at the end of the tunnel” Light is often used as a metaphor for clarity, goodness, positivity, understanding and awareness. …

When in her fifties Dr. Edith Eger decided to visit Auschwitz, she got a lot of pushback from loved ones who thought it would be a bad idea. They were worried that as a survivor, going back to that hellhole would be too traumatizing. Dr. Eger knew otherwise. As a…

The Rabbis’ Conference in NY is always a great family reunion. I spent a lot of time with my brothers and brothers-in-law. While there are quite a few of us, the ones from China and Odessa attracted the most attention. You’re familiar with the Odessa story and the ever-exasperating circumstances…

They say there are two people who fail in life: Those who don’t have plans and those who rigidly stick to their plans. In this week’s Torah portion, G-d gave Abraham a directive to help him flex his spontaneity muscle. That very same directive was a calling to all of…

Trigger” is a big word in pop psychology. In fact, the word alone is triggering for some people. …

Have you ever heard a parent tell their crying child to “use your words”? What the parent doesn’t get is that the child’s cry is expressing so much more than the words can say. Most often, the crying child doesn’t have the words to express what he is feeling. (It’s not…

Repentance, Prayer and Charity…themes that sound very Jewish but are actually quite unJewish. They are rather familiar words, especially at this time of year as we head into the season of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, but the Rebbe explains how they actually miss the point! Teshuva, Tefilla and Tzedakah…

The passing of Queen Elizabeth was a conversation at our dinner table last night, and I was amused by Moshe (our 6 year old)’s reflection. He listened as we talked about who becomes the next King, and the fact that Queen Elizabeth II had reigned for 70 years, and he…