I remember the comment as if it were yesterday. As a high school teacher living in Chicago, I had been invited to a school weekend “spirit” event for students and faculty at an area hotel. The facility’s sat on a sprawling property and its layout was unconventional to say the least, which made navigation from one place to another
All paradigms of psychology ultimately deal with a picture of man. Judaism provides a complete and comprehensive vision of man. Psychology and Judaism address common concerns such as well-being, ethical behavior, and the fulfillment of a meaningful life. Additionally, the practice of psychology is based on certain underlying assumptions about what it means to be... Read more »
A challenge for today’s organizational leaders is to find ways to encourage younger constituents to assume meaningful service roles within their organizations. Many factors contribute to the challenge, including the fact that potential lay leaders maintain busy lifestyles, juggling a full (if not extended) workday, together with familial and other responsibilities. When considering how to engage today’s younger generation, it is important to know that its members largely operate by a
In this second NLE Morasha class on spirituality we will address the range of spiritual expressions available to man. First, we will discuss humanity in general and the potential for holiness among the nations of the world. Next, we will explore the unique spiritual path for the Jewish people and how we express our spirituality... Read more »
God created each individual with unique attributes and talents, and the ability to exercise free will in order to reach his potential. During the year we may make mistakes and use our free will to undermine our ability to reach our potential. As we shall see in this two-part series, God therefore gave us the... Read more »
Judaism requires that man “walk in God’s ways” and be like God Himself. What does this mean, and how is this possible? This class will explain that being like God is primarily expressed by doing acts of kindness and improving one’s character traits. We will see that “walking in His ways” results in a unity with... Read more »
Free Will is a complex subject that has been analyzed and battled over by philosophers since time immemorial. The Rambam writes in Hilchot Teshuvah that each person is entrusted with free will so that he can make conscious choices in order to reach his potential. Rabbi Yaakov Weinberg relates that free will is the foundation of... Read more »
If asked to list the concepts with which Judaism is normally associated, we might suggest Sabbath observance, dietary restrictions, the Land of Israel, circumcision, and a variety of other ideals and mitzvot specific to the Jewish religion. There is, however, a concept that is common to many peoples and cultures which occupies a central place... Read more »
This is the second Morasha shiur addressing personal growth in Judaism. In the first class, we saw that the Torah attaches great importance to the idea of personal growth and character refinement, which are fundamental parts of Judaism. In this class, we will explore the specifics of how to go about achieving personal growth. We... Read more »
Many of us look at ourselves and may not see anything special. From a Torah perspective this is incorrect. The Torah views each individual as vitally important and understands that each person’s role in life is completely unique and distinct. This shiur will help to point the way to making this idea real by helping... Read more »
