Thinkingaboutme.org
9 years of Parasha articles.
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
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,…
Read More
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.”…
Read More
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…
Read More
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.…
Read More
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…
Read More
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.…
Read More
THE FIRST TIME
click lech lecha 2018 to download THE FIRST TIME Lech Lecha You know, Avraham Avinu, our holy grandfather Avraham Avinu – he prayed to G-d for the first time. You know, thank G-d, you and I have been praying all of our lives. But, did you ever taste the first time? (Shlomo Carlebach) I remember…
Read More
MR. IFONLY
MR. IFONLY Parashat Noah Mr. Ifonly sat down and he sighed, “I could have done more, if only I had tried. If only I had followed my true intent. If only I had done the things that I meant. If only I had done the things that I could. And not simply done the things…
Read More
A HUMBLE NATION
A HUMBLE NATION Parashat Bereshit If you had one message to pass on to your children, one lesson, one virtue, what would it be? The Ramban, one of our people’s greatest rabbis, left one message to his son, and to all of us, in his Iggeret. Humility. And he promises us that any day that…
Read More
KEEPING TO YOUR SCRIPT
click yom kippur 2018 for download KEEPING TO YOUR SCRIPT Yom Kippur One of the biggest problems facing the Orthodox is not being able to feel closeness with G-d. “Rabbi, I want to feel the Yomim Tovim more, I want my Shabbat table to be more spiritual, I want my prayers to have more fire in…
Read More
THE HUMILITY TACTIC
Parashat nitzavim 2018 download THE HUMILITY TACTIC Parashat Nitzavim The clock is ticking. We are in a total lack of control of the time, the judgment, the verdict. All we have for self-defense is Teshuva, Tefillah and Tzeddaka. (Rosh Hashana 16b). Rosh Hashana is coming soon, G-d is going to judge me soon, and some time on…
Read More
G-D’S PROMISE
Click ki tavo 2018 to download G-D’S PROMISE Parashat Ki Tavo In self-help, we are taught that what makes people move, change, become motivated, is from one of two things: either running away from pain, or running towards pleasure. If we would like to discover how this expresses itself in our observance of Judaism, it can translate…
Read More
TESHUVA FOR THE ORTHODOX JEW
Click ki tetze 2018 to download TESHUVA FOR THE ORTHODOX JEW Parashat Ki Tetze Teshuva for the Orthodox Jew is usually more about quality than about quantity. For the Orthodox, Teshuva is more about improving how you do what you do more than it is changing what you do. But Rabbi, my plate is too full! I…
Read More
TO REACH MY SOUL
Click Shoftim 2018 to download TO REACH MY SOUL Parashat Shoftim When we think about Elul, the first thing that comes to mind is Teshuva. When we think about Teshuva, the first thing that comes to mind is, I have no idea how to do this. Every year, when we try to interpret Teshuva to ourselves, we…
Read More