Just Do It
“Just Do It” is not only a clever Nike marketing slogan, it's a way of life.
We may find ourselves at times inspired to launch a new business, take on a new project, spend more time with our family, or reconnect more with our Jewish identity. However, after the initial excitement wears off, it may become challenging to keep focused on attaining our goals.
The Game Plan
When an individual, business, organization or community is faced with a challenge, there are often a variety of ways to respond to the issue. One group may easily give up when the problem seems insurmountable. A second group may choose to compromise their values and quality in order to avoid a greater potential loss. A third group may try to aggressively oppose and resist the challenge. And yet a fourth group may passively sit back and hope things will work out on its own.
A Hostage Mother’s Wish
On Thursday, January 30, 2025, while freed hostage Agam Berger was being flown with her parents in a helicopter en route to Rabin Medical Center, she held up a sign on a dry-erase board that read, "I chose a path of faith, and I returned through a path of faith."
Agam was kidnapped on October 7th during the brutal surprise Hamas attack at the Nahal Oz base alongside her friends Liri Albag, Karina Ariev, Daniela Gilboa, and Naama Levy. Her friends, who were miraculously released last week, shared that despite enduring 14 months in captivity, Agam remained steadfast in her faith. She consistently observed Shabbat, refrained from eating non-Kosher food despite hunger, recited blessings before meals, and even risked further abuse by refusing to cook for her captors on Shabbat.
It's a Beautiful World
On the evening of January 17th, 1951- 10th Shevat, 5711, a diverse crowd of a few hundred people which included holocaust survivors, refugees from Stalinist Russia and American-born young students, all gathered at the headquarters of the Chabad Lubavitch movement, 770 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, NY, in anticipation of a monumental event that was about to occur.
Song of the Soul
In a moving video clip from early October, a young man named Yehuda Becher can be seen singing a soul-stirring song he composed to the prayer “My G-d, the soul that You have placed before me, it is pure.” Tragically, just a few days later, Yehuda was murdered by terrorists at the Nova Music Festival, along with over 1200 of our beloved brothers and sisters, during the Simchat Torah October 7th massacre.
Optimism
Once, a disciple of the Rebbe Rashab, Rabbi Sholom Dovber Schneerson (1860-1920), despairingly came to the Rebbe to receive his blessing and guidance after experiencing a devastating loss to his once successful business.
The Rebbe Rashab listened and then said: “One of the wondrous attractions in Vienna is a great big wheel (the Wiener Riesenrad, constructed in Vienna in 1887, one of the oldest extant Ferris Wheels in the world)
Post Oct. 7 Miracles
A young boy comes home from Hebrew school, excited to share with his parents what he learned about the Exodus from Egypt.
He begins, "Mom, Dad, you won’t believe this! The Jews were running away from Pharaoh, and they got stuck at the Red Sea! But then Moses called in the Israeli engineers, and they built a huge bridge overnight so everyone could cross safely. Then, when Pharaoh’s army chased them, Moses radioed the Israeli Air Force, and they bombed the bridge, causing the Egyptians to drown!”
Harnessing Our Inner Passion
During Chanukah 2020, in Tyumen, Siberia, a special ice Menorah was built in honor of the holiday which served as a beacon for the local Jewish population. The Menorah was erected by the local Chabad emissary, Rabbi Yerachmiel Gorelick. The menorah generated considerable publicity in the town and was also featured on a prominent Israeli television show, which described how the Menorah was built and featured the lighting of the first light of Chanukah on the ice menorah.
Nature is a Series of Miracles
A comedian once shared a great perspective he learned during his travels:
"I was on an airplane recently, and the flight attendant announced that there was high-speed internet on the airplane. It worked great, and we were all enjoying the service. But shortly afterward, it broke down, and an announcement was made on the loudspeaker to apologize. Just then, the person sitting next to me made a face and expressed his profound disappointment with the airline.
Man Plans…
There is a well known Yiddish expression, “Der Mentsch Tracht Un Gott Lacht (man plans and G-d laughs)”. While this lesson has always been relevant, over these past two years it has been felt even more profoundly.
Finding Faith Amidst the California Fires
In the face of life's adversities, moments of profound clarity can emerge, reminding us of the deeper purpose of our existence. For Joshua Kotler and his wife, Emily, such a moment arose amidst the devastation of the California wildfires that destroyed their Altadena home.
As the fire consumed their house perched atop a mountain, the Kotlers escaped with their two young daughters, taking only the bare essentials. When they returned to the charred remains, they discovered a single item untouched by the flames: a menorah passed down from Joshua's grandmother, a Holocaust survivor.
The Digital Revolution
The digital revolution in the mid-twentieth century spurred the emergence of the information age.
The technological advances of the last few decades have radically changed the way we communicate, work, shop, and receive our education just to name a few.
It's all in the head
There is an anecdote told of a prisoner in a Russian labor camp. His task, for twenty-five grueling years, involved turning a heavy wheel fixed to a wall. He assumed perhaps he was milling grain, or pumping water that irrigated many fields. In his mind's eye he saw the plentiful crops and the sacks of milled grain feeding thousands of people. However, upon his impending release, he requested to see the apparatus behind the prison wall. To his dismay, the wheel served no purpose. The man collapsed in a faint, absolutely devastated. His years of toil felt utterly futile.
A Lasting Legacy
We live in a world that is constantly changing. What was trendy and fashionable in earlier generations is often considered old-fashion today. What is considered “accepted” in today’s society may have been off-limits just a few decades ago. Many of the large corporations and empires that were around a century ago are no longer in existent and many new innovative startups have taken their place.
At the same time, there are certain individuals, ideas, and revolutions who/which have left a lasting legacy and continue to make a a positive impact on society even thousands of years later. What is their secret?
What is the Secret to Jewish Immortality?
In his famous essay "Concerning the Jews," published in 1898, Mark Twain presents his profound wonder about the Jewish people:
"The Jews constitute only 1% of the human race... It suggests a nebulous, dim puff of stardust lost in the blaze of the Milky Way. Properly, the Jew ought hardly to be heard of; but he is heard of, has always been heard of... His contributions to the world's list of great names are way out of proportion to the weakness of his numbers.
Beyond Ivy League Dreams: Nurturing Jewish Identity
You may have heard the anecdote of three mothers sitting in a park, debating when life truly begins.
The first says, “Life begins at conception.”
The second counters, “No, life begins at birth.”
The Jewish mother shakes her head and says, “You're both wrong—life begins when the child gets their college degree.”
Personal Responsibility
A man once shared with me the secret behind a happy marriage.
He said "You should share responsibilities with due love and respect each other. Then absolutely there will be no problems."
"In my house, I take decisions on bigger issues whereas my wife decides on smaller issues. We do not interfere in each other's decisions".
I asked him, "Give me some examples".
Harvard’s Menorah
On December 13, 2023, a Menorah lighting celebration took place in front of Harvard’s Widener Library. Rabbi Hirschy Zarchi, the Director of the Harvard Chabad, addressed a gathering of students and faculty.
During his speech, Rabbi Zarchi recounted a significant moment in the history of the Menorah lighting tradition at Harvard.
A Light from the U.S. Capitol to Ukraine’s Presidential Bunker
U.S. House and Senate leaders recently gathered on Capitol Hill for a Chanukah menorah lighting, showcasing a special display of unity. Leading the ceremony were House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, House Speaker Mike Johnson, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and Rabbi Levi Shemtov of Chabad of Washington, D.C.
A Lesson from Scooter Braun
At a recent StandWithUs Dinner, entrepreneur and record executive Scooter Braun shared a lesson he had learned from his grandparents, survivors of Auschwitz and Dachau: “Never to be afraid again.”
He turned to his three young children, aged 5-8, seated in the audience, and asked, “What do I teach you?”
Without hesitation, his children shouted in unison, “Ich bin a Yiddish Keend” (i.e., I am a Jewish child).