Thinkingaboutme.org
9 years of Parasha articles.
SAVE THE MOMENT
Click vayera 2019 expanded for download SAVE THE MOMENT Parashat Vayera In 1974, Cat’s in the Cradle was the hit song of the day, a song that hit the cords of the hearts of many dads. Here are the lyrics – a real tear jerker. If you know the words, sing them again, so you…
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UNDERSTOOD. RESPECTED. LIKED.
click lech lecha 2019 for download UNDERSTOOD. RESPECTED. LIKED. Parashat Lech Lecha R Nissim Karelitz Zt”l was once asked the reason why some marriages are not blessed with tranquility. Is it a budgeting issue? A cultural issue? Technology? A deficiency in communication skills? Conflict of interests, beliefs personalities, levels of religion? Or, maybe all of the above?…
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LEAD LIKE A LION
click noach 2019 for download LEAD LIKE A LION Parashat Noach Alexander the Great once said, I am not afraid of an army of lions led by a sheep; I am afraid of an army of sheep led by a lion. What are the qualities of lion-leadership, and what type of leaders are “sheep” leaders? A lion-hearted…
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A LIFE AT FULL THROTTLE
Click yom kippur 2019 for download A LIFE AT FULL THROTTLE Yom Kippur Are you going through life at the speed limits you set for yourself? Or are you at full throttle? This question has been going through my head over the last two months. And I am so grateful that it has. This is the “charged”…
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A HAPPY ELUL
click ki tavo 2019 for download A HAPPY ELUL Teshuva is a happy thing. If you are doing Teshuva and you are not happy, you are not really cashing in on all your benefits. Happiness is what changes the evil decree of sin. Happiness is what brings upon you G-d’s mercy. This is found in Rabbenu Bachye…
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A CALM ELUL
click ki tetze 2019 for download A CALM ELUL It has been said that one who says Psalm 27 every day in Elul is promised that he will live his full amount of allotted years and days in a good way, and he will overpower all the prosecuting angels against him, and will merit in judgement.(Siddur Arizal)…
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TWO WAYS TO TESHUVA
Click shoftim 2019 final to download TWO WAYS TO TESHUVA Parashat Shoftim I was looking for the switch that could take me – overnight – from summer break mode directly into Elul self-perfection mode. I found it. Yishai Ribo’s new song, called Seder HaAvodah, brought me to Elul mode. The music, enchanting. The words, tear jerking. ואם…
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YOU ARE WHAT YOU SAY
Click Mattot- Masei 2019 for download YOU ARE WHAT YOU SAY Mattot Your speech defines who you are. Like it or not. The Shlah Hakodosh wrote, the very saying Be’ezrat Hashem, Bsiyata Dishmaya, (with the help of Heaven,) before everything that you do, has in it the power to help you, and to make you successful,…
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WHY ME?
click pinhas – mattot 2019 for download WHY ME? Parashat Pinhas In his book, Learned Optimism, Martin Selegman, the forefather of modern-day positive psychology, breaks down positive thinking to 3 P’s. Permanent – Is the problem/offense/issue at hand one that is permanent? Pervasive – Is the problem/offense/issue at hand perceived as bigger than it really is? Personal…
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THE POWER OF DESIRE
click balak pinhas to download THE POWER OF DESIRE Parashat Balak My life’s passion is helping kids from all over the world, of all ages, to improve their reading skills in Hebrew and English. Helping them to focus, to enrich their comprehension, increase speed and to acquire a burning thirst for learning. One of the biggest problems…
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THE POWER OF THE JEWISH NATION
click hukat balak 2019 to download THE POWER OF THE JEWISH NATION Hukat The commentators deal with the puzzling question of why Moshe lost his chance to bring the Jews into Israel, just because he hit a rock. The Torah says, יַ֚עַן לֹא־הֶאֱמַנְתֶּ֣ם בִּ֔י לְהַ֨קְדִּישֵׁ֔נִי לְעֵינֵ֖י בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל לָכֵ֗ן לֹ֤א תָבִ֙יאוּ֙ אֶת־הַקָּהָ֣ל הַזֶּ֔ה אֶל־הָאָ֖רֶץ אֲשֶׁר־נָתַ֥תִּי…
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CONDUCTOR LEADERSHIP
Click Behaalotcha- Shelah 2019 to download CONDUCTOR LEADERSHIP Parashat Behaalotcha My mother sent me a speech given by a music conductor. This is what the conductor told his audience. “At the age of 45, I had already been conducting for more than 20 years, and suddenly, I was struck by this fascinating insight: the conductor of…
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The Self Help Addict
Click Naso- post Shavuot 2019 for download The Self Help Addict Parashat Naso There is an obvious question regarding Birkat Kohanim. If G-d wants to bless the people, why does He need to do so through the kohanim? Why does He need messengers? How could it be that a Gadol HaDor who is a Yisrael needs to…
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YETZER HARA LEMONADE
click Kabalat HaTorah 2019 to download YETZER HARA LEMONADE Erev Shavuot One of the greatest gifts G-d gave you in life is your Yetzer Hara. The Midrash teaches us, :”וַיַּרְא אֱלֹקים אֶת כָּל אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה וְהִנֵּה טוֹב מְאֹד”- And G-d saw all that He made, and it was very good. ‘וְהִנֵּה טוֹב’- זה ‘היצר הטוב’. ‘וְהִנֵּה טוֹב…
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A CONNECTION TO G-D
click sefirat haomer 2019 for download A CONNECTION TO G-D One of the amazing things that happened to me in Miami was a conversation I had on the way to the airport with the Uber driver, an African American. “Are you a Rabbi?” I try to be. I try to help people get closer to their…
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BIRDFATE
BIRDFATE At the end of a thirteen-year cave life, R’ Shimon Bar Yochai sat at the entrance to what had been his “home”. He saw a hunter who was setting up a bird trap. The hunter scattered some seeds, so that birds would be attracted to the trap, going for the bait. R Shimon noticed…
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THE WORLD’S GREATEST ARTIST
click emor 2019 to download THE WORLD’S GREATEST ARTIST Sefirat Haomer I heard the most beautiful idea from my neighbor, Dan Gordon, one of the best landscapers in Jerusalem and a Shemitta specialist. This idea is an idea that one can meditate on for hours. Chana praised G-d, saying: אֵין קָדוֹשׁ כַּה’ כִּי אֵין בִּלְתֶּךָ, וְאֵין צוּר…
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MIRROR, MIRROR ON THE WALL
click sefirat haomer 2019 for download MIRROR, MIRROR ON THE WALL Sefirat Haomer King Solomon’s famous life mantra seems a little strange. כַּ֭מַּיִם הַפָּנִ֣ים לַפָּנִ֑ים כֵּ֤ן לֵֽב־הָ֝אָדָ֗ם לָאָדָֽם As water reflects one’s face, so too, the heart of one man reflects the heart of another. (Mishlei 27; 19) If someone is not being nice to…
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THE POWER TO IGNORE
Click vayakhel 2019 to download THE POWER TO IGNORE Parashat Vayakhel King Solomon taught מְתוּקָה֙ שְׁנַ֣ת הָעֹבֵ֔ד אִם־מְעַ֥ט וְאִם־הַרְבֵּ֖ה יֹאכֵ֑ל וְהַשָּׂבָע֙ לֶֽעָשִׁ֔יר אֵינֶ֛נּוּ מַנִּ֥יחַֽ ל֖וֹ לִישֽׁוֹן׃ The sleep of a laboring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much; but the satiety of the rich will not let him sleep. A poor man does not lose…
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ANTICIPATION THERAPY
click ki tisa 2019 for download ANTICIPATION THERAPY Parashat Ki Tisa Happiness is something that will help us in so many life areas. The Arizal was quoted as saying that sadness is what ruins a person’s Parnassah. And when a person brings happiness into his life, he brings Parnassah. This is hinted at in the end letters…
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G-d’s Encrypted Messages
Click Tezaveh 2018 for pdf download G-d’s Encrypted Messages Parashat Tezaveh One of the most interesting items in the garments of the Kohen Gadol was the Urim Vetumim. What exactly was the Urim Vetumim? There was a parchment between the garment that held the Choshen, and the Choshen with the array of twelve stones. This parchment that…
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UNLIMITED POWER
Click YITRO 2019 for download UNLIMITED POWER Parashat Yitro The greatest sin a parent can be guilty of is not making a child aware of the power he possesses. There is no power in the world that can cure like saying the blessing Asher Yatzar after using the WC. The Seder Hayom (time of Arizal) wrote that…
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KEEP CLIMBING
click beshalach 2019 to print KEEP CLIMBING Parashat Beshalach R’ Abraham J Twerski – “People often ask me, ‘Is it true that you’ve written over fifty books? How did you find time, with your busy schedule, to write so many books?’ I tell them that I did not really write fifty books. I wrote one book, in…
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Striving to Serve
click bo 2019 to download Striving to Serve Parashat Bo So many Mitzvot are Zecher Leyitziat Mizrayim. Kiddush, Sukkot, Pesach, Tefillin, Bechor, Petter Chamor, Kriat Shema, etc. The list of reminders doesn’t end. Why do we keep reminding ourselves of the Exodus from Mitzrayim? And why is it so important? The Sifri writes why so many Mitzvot…
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AN INVISIBLE STAR
AN INVISIBLE STAR Parashat Shemot In 1973, in the summer, I was sitting, on my porch, on vacation, in Miami Beach. Looking up, at the beautiful sky, so many beautiful stars, and Hashem gave me an idea for a song. That the reason why we do not see some of the stars, is because we…
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THE ETERNAL INTERNAL CONFLICT
click vayechi 2018- 2019 to download THE ETERNAL INTERNAL CONFLICT Parashat Vayechi When you think of all your inner conflicts and put them out there on paper, you will notice how many there are. Should I stay later at the party, or should I get up early to pray like a mentsch? Should I protect my best…
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NEVER, EVER, ALONE
click vayigash 2018 to download NEVER, EVER, ALONE Parashat Vayigash vayigash 2018Yaakov was afraid of going down to Egypt. וַיֹּ֕אמֶר אָנֹכִ֥י הָאֵ֖ל אֱלֹהֵ֣י אָבִ֑יךָ אַל־תִּירָא֙ מֵרְדָ֣ה מִצְרַ֔יְמָה כִּֽי־לְג֥וֹי גָּד֖וֹל אֲשִֽׂימְךָ֥ שָֽׁם: And G-d said, I am the G-d of your father. Do not fear to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great…
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DOOMED TO ORDINARINESS
Click MIKETZ 2018 to download DOOMED TO ORDINARINESS Parashat Miketz The same changes that even the greatest Tzaddikim cannot achieve during the moments of Neilah on Yom Kippur, any simple Jew can achieve with the power of a prayer and a tear that he sheds next to the candles of the eighth day of Chanukah. (Rebbe from…
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LEADERSHIP WAZE
Click vayeshev 2018 for download LEADERSHIP WAZE Parashat Vayeshev Most people think that the qualities necessary to become a leader are virtues such as honesty, integrity, the ability to be committed and passionate, communication skills, decision-making capabilities, accountability, delegation, creativity, etc. etc. Those are all important, but they are not the key virtue. According to President Eisenhower,…
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UNENTITLEMENT
Click vayishlach 2018 to download UNENTITLEMENT Parashat Vayishlach An interesting question occurred to R Yitzhak Zilberstien. A certain philanthropist made a speech about how he made his money. “All my advisors told me not to lose a certain amount of money because of Shabbat, but I lost the money anyway. In that merit, I am rich today.”…
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Swimming in Silence
Click vayetze 2018 to download Swimming in Silence Parashat Vayetze Rachel acquired the skill of silence, so that even when her father was giving her shower gifts to Leah, she kept quiet. Therefore, her descendants all mastered silence. Binyamin knew that the tribes sold his only brother as a slave. And he kept his mouth shut. This…
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BIG-PICTURE THINKING
Click toldot 2018 to download BIG-PICTURE THINKING Parashat Toldot Life coaching is simply asking a bunch of not simple questions. In life, if you just focus on the smallest details, you never get the big picture right. The job of the life coach is to bring about bigger picture thinking, and to get the big picture right.…
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A LITTLE LOST
click chaye sarah 2018 for download A LITTLE LOST Parashat Chaye Sarah The greatest cause for “midlife crisis” is the belief that you are supposed to be in control. There is no greater haughtiness than the belief that you have your whole life mapped out for you. Life is full of crises, because we are all a…
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THE METHOD TO GREATNESS
Click VAYERA 2018 to download THE METHOD TO GREATNESS Parashat Vayera The most confusing thing about humility is the misconception that humility means to be submissive, passive, shattered emotionally, bashful…But it’s the exact opposite! The Jews who made the most notable changes to our nation were those who were most noted for their humility. Avraham Avinu.…
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