The Exception We All Think We Are Nobel Prize-winning psychologist Daniel Kahneman once observed, “The confidence people have in their beliefs is not a measure of the quality of evidence but of the coherence of the story the mind has managed to construct.” We often convince ourselves that our reasoning is sound simply because the story we...
The Vision Beyond the Ruins One of the most remarkable moments in the Talmud (Makot 24) describes Rabban Gamliel, Rabbi Elazar ben Azaryah, Rabbi Yehoshua and Rabbi Akiva making their way to Jerusalem after the destruction of the Second Temple. As they reached Mount Scopus and saw the devastation before them, they tore their garments...
What Comes First? One of the most common regrets people express later in life is that they worked too hard and did not spend enough time with family and friends. It is easy to understand how it happens. Work feels urgent. Emails need answering. Meetings are scheduled. Deadlines loom. Meanwhile, the people closest to us...
What Are We Really Inheriting? There is a famous Patek Philippe advertisement “You never actually own a Patek Philippe. You merely look after it for the next generation.” Ironically, as far as the taxman is concerned, you do own the watch. Recent discussions surrounding inheritance tax have caused many families to rethink their financial planning and what they...
The Blessing Test We tend to think that life’s greatest tests come from not having enough. Poverty, illness and uncertainty can all challenge a person’s faith and resilience. But what if having plenty can be just as great a test? In his book Enlightenment Now, Steven Pinker observes that in much of the developed world,...
When Disagreement Is a Blessing Most of us see disagreement as something to avoid. We assume that if two people are arguing, one of them must be wrong. Yet Pirkei Avot offers a different perspective: “Every dispute that is for the sake of Heaven will endure. But one that is not for the sake of Heaven...
THE STRENGTH AND WEAKNESS OF THE HEART There is something dangerous about wandering without direction. Anyone who has ever gone window shopping knows the feeling. You say you are just looking around – you have no particular plan, no clear intention, no de ned purpose. And somehow, before long, you are drawn towards things you never came...
Making Every Stop Count People are planning their summer holidays. Students are looking forward to a gap year of travel. Others are preparing to settle into a new university. Life itself is a journey, filled with different stages, destinations, and experiences. But wherever we travel, physically or emotionally, how grounded are we in each stop...
I feel so sentenced by your words. I feel so judged and sent away. Before I go, I’ve got to know— is that what you mean to say? Words are windows, or they’re walls; they sentence us, or set us free. When I speak and when I hear, let the love-light shine through me. These...
Medics have coined the term “itch-scratch cycle”—a self-perpetuating loop in which skin irritation (the itch) leads to scratching. Scratching provides temporary relief by triggering pain signals that override the itch, but it also releases chemicals that increase inflammation. This, in turn, damages the skin barrier, leading to even greater irritation and stronger itching. Rabbi Elimelech...
