“Sometimes the simplest things are the most profound. My job is to bring out in people & what they wouldn’t dare do themselves“
The Four Foundational Harms of a Phone-Based Childhood
In this text, I describe the four foundational harms of the phone-based childhood. These are profound changes to childhood caused by the rapid technological...
FOUR NORMS TO DEAL WITH CELL PHONES ADDICTION
I offer these ideas for reforms, all of which aim to reverse the two big mistakes we've made: overprotecting children in the real world...
How And Why The New York Times Ignored The Holocaust
THE ONLY THING NECESSARY FOR THE TRIUMPH OF EVIL IS FOR POWERFUL MEN TO DO NOTHING
WHEN JEWS WERE OBSESSED TO BE GERMANS...
Many times I...
TEFILA COMPANION
Dear Friends , these are the recordings of some of the most important Tefilot.
The audios were made, mainly, for learning the Tefila, but they...
Clint Eastwood, Shlomi and the Jewish people
November 21st, 2014
Two days ago, as Coty and I were leaving 'Mamila', near the Old City we met Shlomi, a young 'cool' Israeli taxi...
SHABBAT: Having guests and parenting, by Coty Bitton
This Friday you can feel a sense of excitement at our home. My husband told me that this Shabbat we are hosting a group...
TISHA BEAV: What happened on the 9th of Av?
This Wednesday night, July 22, we will begin the fast of Tisha Be'av, the national day of mourning of the Jewish people. Why this...
SHABBAT CHAZON: Does God Reside Only in His Temple?
THE PROBLEM
On the Shabbat before Tisha Be'av we read a special Haftara from the book of Yeshayahu (1:1–27). It is known as "Hazon," from...
The Week of Tisha BeAv: Laws and Customs
From the 17th of Tammuz until the end of the 9th of Av we observe certain restrictions as an expression of mourning for the...
I ❤️ ISRAEL: The Challenge of Fasting in Israel
Yesterday we commemorated the 17th of Tamuz, a fast day that opens a period of mourning that grows in intensity until the 9th of...
I ❤️ ISRAEL: The Farm on the Hill
From the summit of Har Ebal, looking toward Shechem and the surrounding Arab towns, our guide, Israel, pointed just in front of us to...
I ❤️ ISRAEL: Back to the Shomron
My wife Coty and I are here in Israel with our family, celebrating the Bar Mitzva of our grandson Yosef. This past Wednesday, the...
I ❤️ ISRAEL: The Shadow of Peace — and the News
THE AIR OF ISRAEL
I'm in Yerushalayim, in Emek Refaim. Outside there's movement everywhere: cranes and construction all over, streets closed off, traffic squeezed down...
BEHALOTEKHA: More therapy or more responsibilities?
American Jewish journalist Abigail Shrier, in her 2024 book Bad Therapy, does not deny that therapy can help, or even save lives. Her warning...
BEHAALOTEKHA: The anxiety of having it all
Clinical anxiety, and the other kind
There are two kinds of anxiety, and they should not be confused. One is clinical. It has a real...
NASO: Sotah and the Art of Marital Fidelity
The trust between husband and wife is one of the foundations on which a family stands—and infidelity is one of the few things powerful...
NASO: The blessing of the Kohanim
Birkat Kohanim is the blessing that HaShem bestows upon us through the Kohanim. This blessing appears in our Perasha, NASO and consists of three...
A Wedding at Mount Sinai
About 3500 years ago, the people of Israel, in the Sinai Desert, experienced the most important event in human history: a formal alliance —...
Understanding Eruv Tavhsilin
It is permitted to cook on a Jewish holiday (Yom Tob), as we learn from Shemot 12:16: "…No work shall be done on these...
How was Shabuot celebrated in Jerusalem?
רֵאשִׁית, בִּכּוּרֵי אַדְמָתְךָ, תָּבִיא בֵּית ה 'אֱלֹקיך
Shabu’ot, the day in which we celebrate the giving of the Tora to Bnei Israel and the beginning...
All you need to know about Shabuot in one word
Most Jewish communities observe five minhagim (traditions) on Shabu'ot. To remember these customs, we use the Hebrew word אחרית A / CHA /...
My most favorite Mishna
בֶּן זוֹמָא אוֹמֵר: אֵיזֶהוּ חָכָם? הַלּוֹמֵד מִכָּל אָדָם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר מִכָּל מְלַמְּדַי הִשְׂכַּלְתִּי. אֵיזֶהוּ גִבּוֹר? הַכּוֹבֵשׁ אֶת יִצְרוֹ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר טוֹב אֶרֶךְ אַפַּיִם מִגִּבּוֹר וּמשֵׁל בְּרוּחוֹ...
Rabbi Akiva and Jerusalem of Gold (Yerushalayim Shel Zahav)
The most famous song of modern Israel is, without question, Yerushalayim shel Zahav — Jerusalem of Gold — composed in 1967 by Israeli singer...
Summary of Behar-Bechuqotay
Ownership, Responsibility, and the Consequences of Our Choices
🏡 THE LAND IS NOT OURS
The Parashah begins with a revolutionary idea: the land belongs to HaShem.
That...
The Lesser-Known Story of Rabbi Akiva
During these days of the Omer we honor the memory of the sages of the Mishnaic period — that is, the rabbis who survived...
Rabbi Aqiba, the fox, and the fish
Yesterday we explained that in the year 130 of the common era, 60 years after the destruction of the Second Bet haMiqdash, the terrible...
