Our sages have a concept of "zealous hate." They say that the zealot is willing to have one of his own eyes gouged out, just as long as the person he hates has both of his eyes gouged out. The description sounds graphic and the concept is ghastly. I always thought of this as a figurative metaphor,… [Read more...]

The Seder night is when we tell the story of our Exodus from Egypt. The Zohar and the Gemara laud the amazing attributes of this mitzvah. It strengthens emuna and solidifies the family. In addition, it enhances one's inner joy, especially when we tell of the Exodus as if we were… [Read more...]

We all want to succeed but success requires concentrated effort. We define our goal and then focus on it. First, let's learn how to avoid the pitfalls along your road to success. Second, here's how to maximize your ability to be a top achiever in your chosen… [Read more...]

Emuna-filled negotiations mean that the businessperson believes in all the Torah's laws of commerce. Such a person will never swindle or shortchange a client or customer. They won't charge for hours they didn't work or for services they didn't provide. What's more, they'll never lack what they… [Read more...]

When we view current events through eyes of emuna, we see the same phenomenal patterns evident in both the Ukraine and in Israel. We learn why nations and individuals win and lose wars. We also learn what true power is and that Moshiach is fast on the… [Read more...]

To paraphrase the tire manufacturers, "where the rubber meets the road" is the nit and grit of life. This world is no picnic. The test of our "spiritual tires" is how well we hold up under the challenging conditions of real life. Today's lesson shows how to avoid negative emotions and to maintain a… [Read more...]

The Chassidic Movement began in the Ukraine with the holy Baal Shem Tov (1698-1760). Many of the Chassidic Masters came from the Ukraine, such as the Maggid of Mezeritch, Rebbe Nachman of Breslev and many more. Ukrainian Jews have a very rich folklore that teaches us life's true values. This story… [Read more...]

The Hebrew term for washing hands in the prescribed ritual manner is netillas yada'im. It seems like an insignificant mitzva, but the exact opposite is true. There is an amazing connection between netillas yada'im and Purim. What's more, this mitzva is very conducive for strengthening emuna and… [Read more...]

Avraham Bell didn't let his second-class status as a black boy in the segregated U.S. South of the sixties to extinguish his dreams. He excelled as an athlete and as a musician. He was an honor student at Ohio State and went on to do an MBA at Arizona. An exquisite artist, he now pours his passion… [Read more...]

Basing our diet on whole and natural foods is vital, since eating properly is in fact 80% of conditioning, where the remaining 20% depend on exercise. What's more, fad diets, extremes and stringencies have nothing to do with healthy eating. By rethinking your eating, you'll be rebooting your… [Read more...]