(For this blog I am drawing on Michael Lewis, in the Undoing Project, his book on Daniel Kahneman – pp. 181-211). Last week, I dealt with cognitive biases and hence the need to follow a methodical approach in decision making. This week, I want to discuss another aspect of Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky’s research:... Read more »
As the number of infections grew, the Israeli government felt their only recourse was a near-total shutdown. For the first time in the peacetime history of the country, schools were closed. The Chadarim responded in various ways to the closure; however, there was no choice for the girls in Bais Yakov. With class sizes sometimes... Read more »
One of the books that made an enormous impact on me is Thinking Fast and Slow, by former Israeli Nobel prize winner, Daniel Kahneman (I am on my fourth reading). Kahneman shows how most of our decisions are made intuitively or with little or no processing, relying on experience and presumptions we have built up... Read more »
As many of you remember, I spent Shabbos on October 23-24th at Hackensack Hospital. I underwent emergency back surgery on Shabbos morning. What follows is one of the many exciting encounters I had over Shabbos. Shawn, the nurse on call on Shabbos, was an amiable and helpful fellow; however, it was a bit strange when he... Read more »
Do you know how much your time is worth? If you have that clarity, then you’re on your way to finding ‘work-work’ balance. Work-work balance is the art (or science) of effectively prioritizing all your responsibilities, with the clarity of the value of your time. The theory, if you get it right, will rocket power... Read more »
A story from before Covid-19 – a look into our past. When I am not a rabbi in Passaic, I moonlight by teaching at Landers College for Women in New York. The school is just a few short blocks from the famous Central Park. The Park attracts over 42 million visitors annually. The Park affords... Read more »
Imagine I would have told you on Purim that (almost) every Shul in the world by Pesach would be shut closed? What would you have said? Imagine I told you that by Pesach, you would walk to the local grocery and not be allowed in because there are too many people inside, and they have... Read more »
Three Essential Prerequisites First — Definition of Yissurim The Hebrew word yissurim deals with the classical theological and philosophical issue — “Why do bad things happen to good people?” and “Why do good things happen to bad people?”While yissurim is often translated as “suffering,” if we examine a verse in the Torah containing the word... Read more »
Please see this picture in the New York Times before continuing. A train that went careening over the end of elevated tracks in the Netherlands on Monday was left teetering about 30 feet above the ground. But no one was injured or killed in the accident — thanks to a sculpture of a whale’s tail... Read more »
In the kiruv world, we have so misused and dumbed down the “leadership” word that it is now virtually meaningless. It is an extra adjective that we slap onto programs when we want them to sound good. We call students who are recruiters “leaders.” We call Israel trips, summits and other events as leadership events,... Read more »
