Always around the holiday of Shavuot (aka Feast of Weeks), we Jews discuss the concept of Tikkun Olam (lit. “correction of the world”). The prevailing understanding of Tikkun Olam is that the term speaks of the obligation of Jews to pursue social justice, lead an ethical life, and…
A few weeks after the coronavirus started to spread throughout China, South Korea, and parts of Japan, much of Europe and North America derided them for panicking over a new strain of flu. A few weeks later, South America, Russia,…
“In this moment,” writes journalist Anne Helen Petersen on BuzzFeed “the primary tension in America is how, and when, life is going to ‘return to normal.’ But that ‘normal’ was an economy that … was built on a form of…
Heaven, which in Hebrew is called “Gan Eden” (lit. “the Garden of Eden”), is the light of Hochma. The “garden” is Malchut, which is the last Sefira in the process of creation, made to receive the entire bounty of fulfillment that was created. Malchut filled…
If there is one visible element that epitomizes the drastic change in our lifestyles due to the pandemic, it is the massive use of masks. Our new, almost faceless society, opens up a whole new perspective on personal interactions, as…
Indeed, many countries, including those where new cases of the coronavirus are being regularly reported, have started reopening their economies. Why must the economy be reopened, especially considering that a cure for the virus has yet to be found? The…
The coronavirus has revealed humanity’s interconnectedness and interdependence. Accordingly, we would be wise to adjust to this revelation of our connectedness. As experts alert us to future pandemics and problems at global scales, we should hear this message of our…
What haven’t we tried? We’ve had emperors, czars, and kings galore. We’ve had despotism, communism, capitalism, Nazism, socialism, and liberalism. We’ve had monarchy, theocracy, autocracy, and democracy. We’ve had psychiatry, psychology, meditation, and Buddhism. And what did we get out…
People’s pockets already face the impact of the biggest economic shake-up since the Great Depression. The distress is real and tangible and has brought about attempts for a speedy return to routine, back to what we have all known from…
The spiritual lesson of the coronavirus is that in order to live optimal lives, we need to develop different kinds of relationships, ones based on acknowledging our tight interdependence. When we realize how much we depend on each other, we…
Kabbalists divide generations according to the appearance of aspirations for the purpose of creation. In that sense, a new generation began when Abraham the patriarch appeared in ancient Babylon. He made a spiritual revolution and called on his countryfolk to…
Our future actions and dealings need to follow two main basic conditions: That they are essential to our lives, i.e. where life’s essentials are everything that makes our lives comfortable and qualitative. That they cause no harm to other people…