Thinkingaboutme.org
9 years of Parasha articles.
THE ART OF WEARING TZITZIT
click shlach 2021 final for download THE ART OF WEARING TZITZIT Parashat Shelach The Maggid from Dubno would tell the following story. A man walking in the forest noticed a small house that seemed vacant, but there was a voice of an old man, crying, inside. He hurried over to the house to make sure…
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THE ART OF LIVING THE PERFECT LIFE
Click Bhaalotcha 2021 to download THE ART OF LIVING THE PERFECT LIFE Parashat Behaalotcha The worst part of you is the perfect part of you. The perfect part of you causes you to procrastinate; it shields you from reaching your best, and it takes out the playfulness and enjoyment from anything and…
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THE ART OF LIVING TORAH
Click naso 2021 for download THE ART OF LIVING TORAH Parashat Naso After reaccepting the Torah anew on Shavuot, we are to relearn the Torah as if G-d is speaking to us in 2021, relating it to what we are presently going through and accept the 613, with 2021 vision. Just this week, I received…
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THE ART OF TWO-WAY RELATIONSHIPS
Click shavuoth 2021 for download THE ART OF TWO-WAY RELATIONSHIPS Shavuot The time is perfect for Mashiach to come. Israel cannot put together a government, and after four rounds of voting, no one here in Israel has the energy to vote a fifth time. The government is a joke. אין בן דוד בא עד…
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THE ART OF DEPENDENCE
click behar behukotay 2021 for download THE ART OF DEPENDENCE Behar Behukotay Sometimes we think that we go out of our way for other people. We give our money, our time, our energy, for other people. But in reality, the one who receives the most when giving is the giver. These last two weeks, I…
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THE ART OF BECOMING THE BEST VERSION OF YOURSELF
Click acharei mot kedoshim 2021 for download THE ART OF BECOMING THE BEST VERSION OF YOURSELF Parashat Aharei Mot/ Kedoshim Parashat Acharei Mot, opens with the discussion of how Nadab and Avihu died while inappropriately entering the Mishkan, and how Aharon and all future Kohanim Gedolim are to serve on Yom Kippur in the…
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THE ART OF OVERCOMING THE BEAST WITHIN
click tazriah metzorah 2021 for download THE ART OF OVERCOMING THE BEAST WITHIN Parashat Tazriah / Metzorah It has been said, that when you pray, you are talking to G-d, and when you learn Torah, G-d is talking to you. I would like to add to that. When you are praying, you are contemplating how…
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THE ART OF FAITH
Click vayikra 2021 to download THE ART OF FAITH “Why do we drink four cups of wine on the Seder Night?” is a question to which most people have only one answer. The answer most people know is that the cups are correspondent to the four terms of redemption G-d promised Moshe. והוצאתי והצלתי וגאלתי…
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THE ART OF FIGHTING YOUR YETZER HARA
Click vayakhel pekudei 2021 to download THE ART OF FIGHTING YOUR YETZER HARA Parashat Vayakhel Pekudei/ Passover Each year before Passover, there are so many things about Chametz I have a hard time understanding. Our Rabbis teach that the Chametz is what prevents us from serving G-d. (Berachot 17a) The Zohar writes in numerous places…
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THE ART OF PATIENCE
Click ki tisa 2021 to download THE ART OF PATIENCE The episode of the Golden Calf is one of the hardest episodes to understand, when reading the text as is, without the help from the Oral Torah and commentaries. Only after learning the story in depth, can we understand Aharon’s behavior; we can understand that…
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THE ART OF RECONNECTING
Click tezaveh 2021 to download THE ART OF RECONNECTING Tezaveh / Purim One of the hardest parts to understand in the Megillah story is the three day fast implemented by Mordechai and Esther. The days of the fast were the fourteenth, fifteenth and sixteenth days of Nissan, which would coincide with eating Matzah on the night…
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THE ART OF FUTURISTIC THINKING
Click terumah 2021 for download THE ART OF FUTURISTIC THINKING Parashat Terumah/Zachor One of the most important skills to survive Covidland is the ability to see past the insanity, the uncertain and the unknown. As Benny Friedman’s new beautiful song plays in the background as I write, Who can ever make sense of tomorrow, when…
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THE ART OF MEANING
click mishpatim 2021 for download THE ART OF MEANING Parashat Mishpatim Feb. 10, in 2020, I boarded a United flight, Ben Gurion- Newark, and the two Israelis sitting next to me came on the plane with KN95 masks and gloves. The first thing they did was wipe down the handles, tray and screen of their…
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THE ART OF CHARACTER IMPROVEMENT
Click YITRO 2021 for download THE ART OF CHARACTER IMPROVEMENT It’s amazing the advancements in bio-technology in a recent Korean invention: brain implants, a nano chip, the size of a grain of salt, can be inserted in our brain to change our mood via a smartphone. Imagine being able to change our own mood,…
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THE ART OF VULNERABILITY
click BESHALACH 2021 for download THE ART OF VULNERABILITY Parashat Beshalach The only way to become an amazing writer is through writing. The only way to become an amazing speaker is by speaking. The only way to become a great cook is by cooking. The only way to become amazing at sports is by…
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THE ART OF HOLDING BACK THE BARK
click Bo 2021 for download THE ART OF HOLDING BACK THE BARK Parashat Bo The best investment in a volatile place like Covidland is saying Perek Shira each day. Perek Shira, a compilation of praise from the elements of creation, is one of the most amazing segulot, with the greatest perks. A promise of longevity,…
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THE ART OF LEARNING LESSONS
Click vaera 2021 for download THE ART OF LEARNING LESSONS Parashat Vaera The most important of all the lessons of history, is that men do not learn very much from the lessons of history. Covid, as well, has a lesson for everyone. According to YouGov, a research and data analytics firm, only 8 percent of…
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THE ART OF BEING A PLAYER
Click shemot 2021 for download THE ART OF BEING A PLAYER The greatest danger ahead of us in 2021 is not a split U.S.A. It is unprecedented Global Fear, Frustration, and Failure. The F3 emotional pandemic is worse than the pandemic itself. People are afraid that normal life will never come back; they are frustrated…
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THE ART OF FOCUSING
click vayechi 2020 for download THE ART OF FOCUSING Parashat Vayechi As we see the light in the end of the Covidland tunnel, looking back at the dark parts of 2020, people lost a lot. Loved ones, income, clients, career, motivation, spirituality of loved ones… an endless list. Entering 2021, we have a choice. We…
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The Art of J.O.M.O.
Click vayigash 2020 for download The Art of J.O.M.O. Sometimes I wonder if I am the only person in Israel who is not planning a trip to Dubai. I was brought up in a culture that feeds the FOMO fear. Fear of missing out. If you could go somewhere cool, why not? If you could…
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THE ART OF BUILDING TRUST
Click miketz 2020 for download THE ART OF BUILDING TRUST Parashat Miketz Covidland is a place where fear, doubt, insecurity are rampant. People trust less political leaders, governments, news, leaders of medicine, disease experts, the FDA. The invention of the vaccine is only half the solution. The other half of the solution is to invent…
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THE ART OF SPIRITUAL COMEBACK
Click vayeshev 2020 for download THE ART OF SPIRITUAL COMEBACK Parashat Vayeshev Covid has taken a toll on the spirituality of the system. During Covid, 30 percent of Yeshiva students in Israel did not return to Yeshiva. Some, because they dropped out. Some, because they didn’t fit in, to begin with. Some, because they were…
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THE ART OF SOCIAL DISTANCING
Click Vayishlach 2020 for download THE ART OF SOCIAL DISTANCING Parashat Vayishlach Mental health in Covidland is essential. Even if the Covid numbers are fake news, the emotional damage is not. People have fallen into problematic behaviors such as drinking, smoking, overeating, hyper-focusing on the news, poor sleeping patterns, helplessness, hopelessness, lack of motivation to…
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READY TO MAKE ALIYAH?
click Vayetze 2020 to download READY TO MAKE ALIYAH? Parashat Vayetze To move to Israel, to make Aliyah or not to, is presently a hot topic. “I’m not ready; I can’t live in an apartment, and I can’t afford to buy a house. No Amazon Prime, no Costco… Can’t we just create America,…
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THE ART OF PATIENCE
click toldot 2020 for download THE ART OF PATIENCE Parashat Toldot Republicans want things to stay the way they were. (GOP – Great Old Party) The Democrats want change; they want to rethink what is considered moral. The Democrats’ claim against the Republicans is that the Founding Fathers were not that moral. It was…
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THE ART OF BEING CALM AND CHEERFUL
Click Chaye sara 2020 for download THE ART OF BEING CALM AND CHEERFUL Parashat Chaye Sarah I can’t believe I am writing this. But if just one reader, or one reader’s child thinks this helps me feel better, it’s well worth it. Lately, I have not been feeling calm, present, cheerful. I decided to turn…
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THE FEAR OF G-D BAROMETER
Click vayera 2020 for download THE FEAR OF G-D BAROMETER Parashat Vayera When the Torah introduces the test of Akeidat Yitzhak, it tells us וְהָ֣אֱלֹקים נִסָּ֖ה אֶת־אַבְרָהָ֑ם And Elokim tested Avraham. Wait a second! Wasn’t this just as much a test for Yitzhak as it was for Avraham? After all, Yitzhak was 37 years old,…
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FRAME IT!
click lech lecha 2020 for download FRAME IT! Parashat Lech Lecha I will never forget how, when my late great-grandfather Will reached his 100th birthday, he received a happy birthday letter from President Clinton. He framed it. The card wasn’t so important, but the person who gave the card was important. The president of the…
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YOU ARE NOT EXCUSED
click noach 2020 for download YOU ARE NOT EXCUSED Parashat Noach After the flood, Noah first attempted to send the raven to verify that the land had dried up, but the raven refused to go on this mission. He had two claims. “Your Master hates me, and you hate me! Your master hates me, for…
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THE ART OF ASSERTIVENESS
Click bereshit 2020 for download THE ART OF ASSERTIVENESS Parashat Bereshit After Adam ate from the Forbidden Fruit and transgressed G-d’s only command, G-d approached him in the most unusual way. Adam, ashamed of not heeding G-d’s command, embarrassed now that he realized that he was in the undress, was hiding. G-d asks Adam, with…
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THE POWER OF BEING PRESENT
THE POWER OF BEING PRESENT According to Judaism, you do not need to do something, get something, or have something, to become happy. To be happy, according to Judaism, you need to undo things, like anger, jealousy, damaged pride or damaged relationships. To undo helplessness, hopelessness, doubt, all-or-nothing thinking, expectations or “should” thoughts. To stay…
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THE POWER TO BE HAPPY
click sukkot 2020 c for download THE POWER TO BE HAPPY Rabbi Yosef Farhi Built into Judaism is a life-long workshop that prepares us to become superhuman beings. From nursery to nursing home, Judaism teaches us patience and trains us to delay self-gratification. It teaches you to wait 6 hours between meat and milk, to…
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FATHERLY FORGIVENESS
click yom kippur 2020to download FATHERLY FORGIVENESS Yom Kippur The words of our prayers are precise. There is not one bit of redundancy or random usage of words. The Great Assembly revealed to us with their Torah knowledge and prophecy, the code we use to dial G-d, the prayers as we have them in our…
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Rosh Hashana
click rosh hashana 2020 for download NEVER READY ENOUGH Rosh Hashana Rosh Hashana has three seemingly unrelated main themes. 1. It is a day of crowning G-d as King, negating, completely, that there is any “independent” force, such as “nature”. Malchuyot. 2. It is a day of judgement, a day of renewal of the world.…
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THE PROCRASTINATION PLUNGE
click nitzavim 2020 b for download THE PROCRASTINATION PLUNGE Nitzavim Vayelech A 60-year-old man is cleaning out his drawer. He notices a note from the shoemaker, dated 20 years back. He never got around to picking the shoes up, and he had completely forgotten about them. He decides to add some spice to life, to…
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