Shoftim
Humble righteousness is the difference between being a judge and being judgmental.
Appointing judges and officers to uphold the law is critical to making this world a Divine home. There is wrong and right and the righteous of every generation shall apply the right principles to guide the people down the right path. The dark arts and the dark hearts are not for the people of light. The laws of kings are followed by the laws of the cities of refuge. Law and order is especially essential in times of war: peace is always the first option; do not destroy indiscriminately; do not cut down anything productive. Conclude with communal responsibility, especially in no-man’s-land.
The Bottom Line
A Chassidic story demonstrating the entire point of Chabad Chassidism: not to renounce and denigrate the material world, but rather to elevate it by infusing it with an awareness of the divine.
Read More
My Father’s Siddur
It didn’t take long before she found her father’s siddur under layers and layers of dust, and after she cleaned it off, she held it close to her heart.
Read More
Unanimous Verdict
What is the Torah’s position on the contentious issue of the death penalty?
Read More
Olympic Thoughts
Sports are all consuming in today’s society, but what can we learn from this about reality and illusion?
Read More
Shoftim: Katrina And Gaza
Rabbi Jacobson’s answer to a question about the link between the Israeli evacuation from Gaza with the catastrophic devastation of by Hurricane Katrina.
Read More
Shoftim: Elul Whispers
Elul is the month of love and compassion. As we enter the month we ask how we understand this in light of the reality around us filled with terror and war?
Read More
Are You Concerned About the Future?
Spiritual perspective: The economy is just the latest of challenges facing us all. Many people have been laid off from work, many are suffering deep financial losses.
Read More
Are You Concerned About the Future?
Spiritual perspective: The economy is just the latest of challenges facing us all. Many people have been laid off from work, many are suffering deep financial losses.
Read More
A True Relationship
In this month of Elul we have the opportunity to create, mend and renew relationships. May we use the month well, and may we all be blessed with experiencing “I am to my beloved and my beloved to me.”
Read More
An Open Letter to the Muslim World
With atrocities being perpetrated by Muslims in the name of Allah — mass beheadings, rapes and murders of women and children, the killings of thousands of innocent people — why do we not hear any voice of protest from any of you?
Read More
