The Jewish Armed Resistance
As we explained yesterday, the of assimilation into Hellenic culture began a generation after the death of Alexander the Great (323 BCE). Its empire...
The beginnings of assimilation
When Alexander the Great came to Yerushalayim in 332 BCE, miraculously, he entered the city in peace. The Greek monarch was fascinated with the...
TENTH COMMANDMENT: Three ideas to overcome envy
1. Ostentation.
Envy can not be completely eradicated. But there is something we can do to minimize envy, or at least not to encourage it....
TENTH COMMANDMENT: What Is The Opposite Of Envy?
וראך ושמח בלבו
Yesterday we explored the concept of "evil eye" and explained that the attitudes we have towards others in regards to envy or...
TENTH COMMANDMENT: Positive envy
קנאת סופרים תרבה חכמה בבא בתרא, כא, ע"א
The Envy of the Sages Multiplies Wisdom
The famous Jewish psychoanalyst Erich Fromm (1900-1980) wrote a monumental book...
TENTH COMMANDMENT: Envy and its Three Levels
לא תחמד
The last of the Ten Commandments says, "You shall not covet your neighbor's house: you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his...
TENTH COMMANDMENT: You Shall Not Covet
While the highest ideal of a Yehudi is to develop a character that is immune to the feeling of envy, the reality is that...
NINTH COMMANDMENT: Lie and Don’t Feel Guilty
לא תענה ברעך עד שקר
Following our analysis of the Ninth Commandment, "You shall not bear false witness," we will now see some examples of...
NINTH COMMANDMENT: How to Run Your Business by The Book
לא תענה ברעך עד שקר
The Ninth Commandment, "You Shall Not Bear False Witness" introduces us to a very important subject in Judaism: the value...
NINTH COMMANDMENT: “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor”
לא תענה ברעך עד שקר
The Ninth Commandment says, "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor," which is explained by Jewish tradition as...
Rabbi Isaac Abendana (1640-1699), professor at Cambridge University
Rabbi Abendana was born in Spain. He was the son of Yosef Abendana, a famous banker. He was sent by his parents to the...
SEVENTH COMMANDMENT: Boundaries in Relating to the Opposite Sex
In these past days, we have been learning about Jewish morality in the area of sexuality. Knowing the moral codes of the Tora is...
THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT: Socialization or strategic planning?
We continue with some thoughts about the Seventh Commandment: "You shall not commit adultery". Last Thursday we talked about the difficulties a Jewish person...
THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT. Fidelity, and modern society (Part 1).
In the third part of the Shema Israel we read a basic indication of the moral standards that the Tora demands of a Jewish...
THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT: Yihud, protecting conjugal fidelity
Yesterday we wrote about the seventh commandment: "You shall not commit adultery" and we explained how the Mitsva of Taharat haMishpaha helps to maintain...
THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT: How to Renew Passion in Your Marriage
תניא, היה רבי מאיר אומר מפני מה אמרה תורה נדה לשבעה? מפני שרגיל בה וקץ בה אמרה תורה תהא טמאה שבעה ימים כדי שתהא...
THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT: You shall not commit adultery
לא תנאף
Two months ago, before the start of the month of Elul, we began to study the Ten Commandments (see this ), and we...
Rabbi Hayim Benveniste (1603-1674) and the false Messiah Shabbetai Zevi
In the picture above you can see Balat, the old Jewish quarter
Rabbi Hayim Benveniste was born in Istanbul, Turkey in 1603. At the time the...
MASHIB HARUAH: What would happen if it stopped raining?
In today's modern world, when most of us live in urban areas and not in farms, it is difficult to appreciate the importance of...
ABRAHAM ABINU and HALLOWEEN
Halloween has unmistakable pagan origins, deeply rooted in ancient idol-worshiping practices. And although today its celebration might not be oriented toward idol-worshiping, Halloween still...
