Bon Appétit!
We are all aware of the health benefits of eating daily nutritious meals. You may also be aware of the correlation between our mood and the types of food we eat. But did you know that our diet can also affect our character and sensitivity to morality and spirituality?
The origins of the phrase “You are what you eat” is actually sourced in the Torah. In this week’s portion Shmini, we learn about the identifying signs of a kosher animal.
College Dining
In the early 1960s, the global Jewish community was facing a severe crisis. Many Jewish men and women who were going to out-of-town colleges were losing touch with their Judaism and intermarrying. At first the number was three percent, but this number was going up rapidly at an alarming rate.
Rabbi Ephraim Sturm, CEO of National Council of Young Israel at the time, related: “I called together the officers of Young Israel and I said, ‘We have a problem!’ We agonized over it, and we decided to ask a number of Jewish leaders what to do.
Discipline Equals Freedom
In his book Discipline Equals Freedom, Jocko Willink, former Navy SEAL commander, shares a powerful philosophy rooted in the belief that only through rigorous discipline—mental, physical, and spiritual—can one truly experience freedom. He writes not only about conquering fear and weakness, but also about the daily habits, workouts, and mindset shifts required to reach one’s highest potential.
As we prepare to celebrate the festival of Passover, the “season of our freedom,” it is a fitting time to reflect on this idea: the path to freedom begins with self-mastery.
The Fifth Son
In the early seventies, the Jewish Federation of North America decided to launch a campaign. They sought to institute that at every Seder table there should be an empty chair to bring into the Jewish consciousness the awareness that - if not for the holocaust and the loss of our 6 million - there would have been another Jew sitting in that seat.
There is a Bright Future
Two months after his parents and two sisters were brutally murdered in their home by Hamas terrorists during the Oct. 7 massacre at Kibbutz Nahal Oz, Ariel Zohar celebrated his bar mitzvah.
The Tefillin that he placed around his arm and on his head were given to him by his Holocaust-survivor grandfather, who got it from his late father. Despite the charred home, the Tefillin stayed intact and was recovered by first responders.
Forward Thinking
“My first visit to his court lasted almost an entire night,” writes Elie Wiesel, author, Nobel Prize laureate, and famed Holocaust survivor, in his Memoirs regarding how he came to Brooklyn, sometime in the early ’60s, in order to make the acquaintance of the Rebbe, Rabbi M.M. Schneerson.
"Rebbe,’ I asked, ‘how can you believe in G‑d after Auschwitz?’ He looked at me in silence for a long moment, his hands resting on the table. Then he replied, in a soft, barely audible voice, ‘How can you not believe in G‑d after Auschwitz'?”
Passion Vs. Apathy
There is a humorous anecdote told of an English studies teacher who once asked her student, “What's the difference between ignorance & apathy?", to which the disinterested student replies, "I don’t know and I don’t care".
In truth, the two are actually closely linked.
Education & Sharing Day USA
Just a short while ago President Biden signed a proclamation declaring today, April 19, 2024, Education & Sharing Day USA.
Established in 1978 by a joint Congressional resolution, Education & Sharing Day U.S.A. focuses on the very foundation of meaningful education: instructing our youth in the ways of morality and ethics, and teaching them an appreciation for divine inviolable values.
Freedom Redefined
As we usher in the holiday of Passover, the time of our freedom, we also reflect on the meaning of freedom in our own daily lives.
Passover is the festival of freedom from slavery. But it seems surprising to celebrate freedom by eating Matzah and not eating bread! Even more so, only forty nine days after leaving Egypt, the Jewish people received the Torah which includes both many positive Mitzvot and prohibitions. Aren't restrictions the exact opposite of freedom?
The Ultimate Sacrifice
After a daring hostage rescue in Rafah last year, several IDF officers who participated in the mission reflected on their experiences in a powerful media interview.
“Was the risk worth the rescue of two people?” a reporter asked.
Commander D responded without hesitation:
"We don't measure a person's worth in comparison to another. If two soldiers die, it doesn't mean the operation is a failure—it's not a zero-sum game. There's something much greater at play. We accept the responsibility that we may be harmed for something bigger than ourselves. That's who we are."
Commitment
A real commitment also requires sacrifice to a certain extent. Being that we have limited time, resources and energy, when we say yes to one person, client, or job, essentially we are also saying no to someone or something else.
In Yiddish there is a popular expression, “Mir Ken Nisht Tantzen Oif Tzvei Chasunos,” loosely translated, “we cannot dance at two weddings (simultaneously)”. While we make time for the things that are most essential to us, we are also sacrificing other comforts, luxuries or even important things that may not make it to the top of our to-do list.
An Inverted Reality
Following the miraculous hostage rescue in Rafah over a month ago (as detailed in last week's email), a few of the officers who took part in the mission shared their experiences during an impactful media interview:
“Was the risk worth the rescue of two people?” the reporter asked. Commander D doesn't think for long and answers: "We don't look at in terms of a person being worth the life of another, and if two soldiers die the operation is a failure. It's not a zero-sum game. There is something here that's far bigger in its substance. I won't say that we in the unit are worth less, but we've taken on ourselves the understanding that we're ready to be harmed for something bigger than a single person, that's who we are."
Who Invented AI?
It's hard not to be amazed by the rapid advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) over the past few years. Many people feel a mix of wonder, excitement, and uncertainty about what the future holds. Many experts predict that AI will usher in a golden age of abundance, where goods and services become so affordable that a high standard of living will be accessible to all. Others, however, express concern about AI's potential to disrupt the job market, affecting hundreds of millions of workers worldwide.
The Return of Hostages
At 1:49 a.m. on February 11, 2024, Israeli special forces carried out a complex and perilous hostage rescue operation in Rafah. Israel's elite officers employed their bodies as shields to protect two hostages amidst a flurry of bullets during the dramatic pre-dawn raid that liberated the captives.
The success of the operation relied on a synchronized assault, which involved targeted airstrikes against Hamas terrorist positions. These airstrikes served to divert the attention of the terrorists and eliminate potential threats, thereby enabling the safe extraction of two Jewish hostages, Fernando Simon Marman and Louis Har.
Anatevka
While the name Anatevka is famously known as the village from “Fiddler on the Roof”, in recent years, the modern village of Anatevka was established by Rabbi Moshe Azman, one of the Chabad representative in Kiev, to house refugees attempting to escape the Russian bombing on the eastern border of Ukraine.
Singing Shalom Aleichem in Arabic
Freed Israeli hostage Daniella Gilboa recently shared that during her captivity, she and four fellow hostages learned to recite the traditional Shabbat song Shalom Aleichem in Arabic—out of fear they would be overheard.
Her revelation is one of many stories of faith that emerged from the hostages in Gaza, demonstrating how faith and Jewish observance provided them with strength and resilience in their darkest moments.
A Gift Which Money Can’t Buy
Kivi Bernhard, an international keynote speaker and author of the highly acclaimed "Leopardology: The Hunt For Profit In a Tough Global Economy," received an invitation to deliver the opening address at a prominent Microsoft conference. The event was expected to host hundreds of international figures vital to Microsoft's business, including Bill Gates.
The Big Picture
“Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff”. This popular saying is often used to remind ourselves or others that it isn't worth getting upset or stressed about minor issues.
Effective managers are able to share the vision of their company with their employees and partners so that while each team member may be preoccupied with their specific tasks on a daily basis, they also understand how their work contributes to the success of the business as a whole. This realization motivates each member of the team to carry out even seemingly trivial tasks with the greatest care and at the same time not allow inconsequential challenges to consume them.
Israel: Post October 7
Uvda, described by Variety as “the local equivalent to CBS News' 60 Minutes”, ran a segment that featured United Hatzalah members Avi and Avi who had been celebrating Shabbat and the holiday with their families and community when they first heard the news of the horrific attacks on October 7th. Following the Torah's injunction that saving a life supersedes all other laws, they jumped into their ambulance and started heading south.
Celebrating Life
On Purim we celebrate one of the most joyous times of the year- the holiday of Purim.
It commemorates the (Divinely orchestrated) salvation of the Jewish people in the ancient Persian empire from Haman’s plot “to destroy, kill and annihilate all the Jews, young and old, infants and women, in a single day.” Literally “lots” in ancient Persian, Purim was so named since Haman had thrown lots to determine when he would carry out his diabolical scheme, as recorded in the Megillah (book of Esther).