By Rabbi Yerachmiel Shapiro I’ve always wondered why the first “request” blessing in the Amidah meditation is the prayer asking Hashem for wisdom. There are so many things we could ask for, why are wisdom and insight the first things we ask for every time we pray? David Kowarski, one of my most interesting congregants, often sends me texts letting…
By Rabbi Yerachmiel Shapiro Two neighbors were fighting over a financial dispute. They couldn’t reach an agreement, so they took their case to the local rabbi. The rabbi heard the first litigant’s case, nodded his head and said, “You’re right.” The second litigant then stated his case. The rabbi heard him out, nodded again and said, “You’re also right.” The…
“I was taught a month ago,To bide my time and take it slow.But then I learned just yesterday,To rush and never waste the day.Well I’m convinced the whole day long,That all I learn is always wrong.”– Phish (Character Zero) I learned two lessons this year that at first glance seem completely contradictory. Early in the year, it occurred to me…
We are within the period between Yom HaShoah, Yom HaZikaron, and Yom Haatzmaut, during which we commemorate the Holocaust, remember those who died fighting for Israel, and the birth of the State of Israel. It is a time of reflection and gladness, of mourning and joy. It is a time during which we look back, but it also is a…