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RICH FRIEND/ POOR FRIEND PARASHAT EKEV I coach two friends. A rich friend, and a poor friend. In the process of coaching the two, I stumbled on a great book, Rich Dad / Poor Dad, that teaches the difference between the beliefs and behaviors of the rich and poor. In the book, the terms Rich…

ELIJA -PROPHET OF THE BRIT   Parashat Pinhas  It is common for a Rabbi to find himself tight-roping a fine line. Standing up for what’s important, without stepping on people’s toes. Values and principles are no less important than people’s feelings, causing somewhat of a paradox. Sometimes, the job of the Rabbi is to put…

   POWER OF THE OPTIMISTIC EYE Parashat Balak Why is thinking positive so important? Because negative thinking can destroy. Bilaam, the wicked sorcerer, was hired by the nations of the world to put an end to the Jews. His power was nothing more than the power to curse. Bilaam, the most negative person on earth,…

WHEN G-D KNOCKS Parashat Hukat Opportunities knock gently on our doors. If we are not listening closely, we don’t take advantage of the opportunity, and it slips away. Temptations in life don’t knock. They lean on the doorbell and are hard to ignore. People who succeed in life are good at noticing the gentle knocking…

 G-D’S CALCULATOR Parashat Korah   Korah and his followers filed a complaint against Moshe and Aharon. “The whole nation is holy, and why should you be raised, self-importantly, from amongst G-d’s community?” Korah wanted to be just as holy as Moshe and Aharon. Despite Korah’s high position, Korah wanted the highest level of holiness; being…

THE GOOD WIFE Parashat Korah The beginning   of this week’s parasha lists the people that Korach convinced to join his battle against Moshe.  Datan, Aviram and On Ben Pelet. Our rabbis point out that On B.P. was not mentioned in the pesukim amongst those who were punished along with Korach. The Talmud in Sanhedrin tells…

THE CHILD I PRAYED FOR Parashat Shlach  Josh,  a yeshiva student I was coaching, whose parents gotten divorced, feared getting married and staying married. The high rate of divorce of children whose parents got divorced frightened him. Throughout the coaching process, he made a graph of percentages, to depict the chance he had for entering…

THE STICKIEST SUBJECT Parashat Shlach  Avoiding  gossip is the stickiest commandment to keep. The stickiest subjects of gossip are shidduchim, job and school interviews, and the like. In such cases, it is justified to relay negative information about a third party, to let them know what they are getting into. But not always. You cannot…

TRAVELS OF LIFE Parashat Behaalotcha    All traveling can be broken down to three components. Departure from point A. Arrival at point B. And the way of travel. The how – walking, driving, flying, etc. With whom – friend, stranger, family, etc. And with what – suitcase, comp., credit card, smart phone, teffillin, etc. There…

COUNTING ON YOU Parashat Bamidbar  Parashat Bamidbar  begins with the census and the flags. The census was taken of male Jews from age twenty and up, of those eligible for the army. Two concepts are difficult to understand. If the Jews did not have any plans to go to war, what was the purpose of…

80/ 20 Parashat Bamidbar  The book  of Bamidbar is referred to as the Book of Numbers, because that is how it begins: taking the census of the Jewish people in the desert from the age 20 and up, the age from which males were eligible for the army. Each tribe was counted separately –  from…