Hi, Hope you’re having a great day. … Before I get to Purim? Nobel Prizes were awarded at the end of 2011. And, as usual, the question was raised. How many Jews? The answer? Five out of thirteen! And as usual, another question was raised. What percentage of the world’s population is Jewish? The answer? [...]

Hi, Hope you’re having a great day. … Some things are so unlikely to be a topic for a Torah Minute. And getting a haircut it right up there! But last week’s visit to the barber was different. As I was having my haircut? A fellow walks in and takes a seat. I said good [...]

Hi, Hope you’re having a great day. … I recently had one of those “remember the miracle of Israel” moments. And I wanted to share it with you. Friends of mine went toIsraelfor a very special event. Their son Yaakov was being inducted into the Israeli Army. They told me how proud they were. And how moving [...]

Hi, “Toulous, France”. There is probably no Jew in the world that doesn’t recognize it. And we all share the pain of the French Jewish community. We can’t imagine how Chava Sandler can go on with life. How she can survive the murder of her husband and two sons, ages 3 and 6. And we [...]

Hi, Hope you’re having a great day. … Jewish tradition says we need to give people the benefit of the doubt. We need to judge them favorably. And I blew it! Big time! What happened? I was in synagogue for the evening prayers. We were about to begin the Amida, the silent prayer said while [...]

Hi – Hope you’re having a great day! … It’s not one of my favorite places to be. The Sprint phone store. But I was having trouble with my phone and needed to exchange it. And as I was sitting and waiting for my name to be called? I started thinking about all those electronic [...]

Hi, Hope you’re having a great day. It’s almost Chanukah! And there’s still time to make your most meaningful one. … We’ve all heard the story. The Greeks tried to destroy Judaism.  And impose Greek culture on the Jews. Torah scrolls were burned.  And Torah study became a capital offense. Observance of Shabbat and Kosher [...]

Hi, Hope you’re having a great day. I wanted to share something from last week’s Lunch, Learn & Mitzva. We spoke about gossip and how bad Jewish tradition considers it. And we spoke about tools to help us improve. One tool I mentioned? Going out of our way to use our words for good things. [...]

Hi, Hope you’re having a great day. … A couple took their eight year old daughter to a trendy restaurant. Hanging on the walls were sports and Hollywood memorabilia. And there was a picture of Clark Kent changing into Superman. Mom says to Dad, “Look at her.  She’s clueless.  She doesn’t know who Superman was.” [...]

Hi, I recently saw something I wanted to share. “When one door of happiness closes, another opens. But sometimes we look so long at the closed door? That we don’t see the one that has opened.” … I think it’s a great approach to life. And a very Jewish approach. But when someone says something [...]