Do you have a habit that you find increasingly difficult to break? Or is there a good habit that you wish to incorporate into your daily routines but you can't seem to make it stick?Very often we resolve to stop a certain obsessive behavior - overeating, biting our nails, being attached to our phone etc., or to begin a new commitment - spending more time with family, going to the gym, starting a new project etc. Armed with determination and enthusiasm, we set out on our way with gusto and a...

Some dance to remember, some dance to forget… Despite the sentiment, in most areas of life most of us would like to be less forgetful and more retentive. But how? What causes us to forget things? And what is the secret to remembering? Please join Rabbi Jacobson in this, well, memorable workshop as he shares his experiences as a “chozer” (remembering hours upon hours of the Rebbe’s talks) and discover the five secrets to a better memory: Absorb, Listen, Be Humble, Concentrate and Review....

Truthfulness Responsibility Understanding Security Tenacity How important is trust in our lives and relationships? Do we appreciate the crucial role it plays? Are we aware of the impact trust has -- for good and for bad -- on virtually every decision we make? Trust is the heartbeat of our existence, a beacon that guides our decisions and relationships. It’s a pivotal force, often underestimated, yet it shapes every aspect of our lives. Like the sturdy foundations supporting a...

As we journey through life, two essential elements guide us: love and individuality. These core values nourish our growth and well-being. Love completes us, while individuality allows us to be true to ourselves. However, can these two intricate needs coexist without contradiction? As individuals, our primary focus leans towards self-preservation and ensuring our unique needs are met, and that we aren’t mistreated or compromised. Love, conversely, calls for empathy, sensitivity, and unselfish...

The root of many problems and disagreements in life is arrogance. But what exactly is arrogance? And how do you deal with it; both with your own personal arrogance and with the arrogance of others? Ostensibly, we think of arrogance as a result of an overinflated ego. Take a gifted individual who is endowed with unique qualities and virtues. Instead of humbly recognizing them as a blessing to share, the person feels superior to others, resulting in a pompous, condescending attitude. Or...

Were you ever in a situation where you wished a miracle would happen in your life? Someone close to you may have been ill or suffering in some way, or you may have experienced a setback, or faced a difficult predicament. You really hoped and prayed for a miracle to happen.All of us at some point will have moments when we wish for a miracle to save us from a seemingly helpless and hopeless circumstance. But here's the question: is there even such a thing as a miracle? Or is it simply wishful...

Can you find joy in difficult times? Is it possible to find happiness during dark days? Joy and happiness are critical for a healthy life. We all know what it feels like when we're happy, when we're joyous and celebrating; experiencing the joy not just externally but also internally. Inner joy creates a state of peace and calm, a sense of belonging and serenity: life just feels right.But it's one thing to experience joy in good times, when things are going well. What about when things are not...

What is intelligence? Human beings are considered to be the most intelligent of creatures; we value the mind, education, smart people... But as is often the case, we use a word without defining the axioms and assumptions that define the concept behind that word?What exactly is intelligence? Is it IQ - the intelligent quotient , or is it EQ - the emotional quotient? Intellectual intelligence vs. emotional intelligence. Book smart vs. street smart. Knowledge vs. common sense. Facts vs....

With the current war raging in Israel, the big question returns. Why is it that this region - more than anywhere else in the entire world - has had so many battles and fought so many wars over the last three millennia? From the beginning of Biblical times with the war over the land of Canaan and the land of Israel, to the wars waged by the Assyrians, Babylonians and the Romans (just to name a few), to the rise of the major religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam battling over control of...

What do Jews really think of gentiles? With Jews in the news yet again, dominating headlines as they so often do -- the war in Israel, rising antisemitism -- all the big timeless questions rise to the surface: Why is the world so obsessed with Jews? What are the roots of antisemitism? Why are Jews hated so much by some people, and respected by others? But a question that's less often asked is the other way around: what do Jews really think about non-Jews? Ostensibly, one would...

One of our greatest enemies is a silent enemy. It's called fear. Its power lies not in aggression, not in violence and not in sheer fire power. Its power lies in its inconspicuous and insidious ability to paralyze us; to hold us back and prevent us from moving forward.What effect does fear have on your life? And what can we do to counter it? Being that it's not an overt enemy you really can't measure its consequences in a tangible way. But how many decisions do we not make, how many moves do...

I was looking at aerial images of Gaza before and after October 7th. The sheer destruction, the tragedy, the shattered lives and losses that are all so senseless and such a waste. And I thought to myself, what is the root of it all? Why? Who needed this devastation?How could Hamas subject their own people to such utter ruin and destruction?The answer is one simple word: hatred. It all began with the tremendous potent power of hatred. Atrocities perpetrated against innocent men, women and...

The tremors and upheavals of 2023 are meant to lead to a new birth, to a new world. So as we enter this new year of 2024, what shape will this renewal take? What will this new world look like? An added, exhilarating element to this metamorphosis is that we - every single one of us - are very much active participants and partners in writing the script of this birth and renewal. Our actions and behavior will help define the unfolding drama, the  narrative and choreography of our future life. So...

As the curtain comes down on the year of 2023, we can headline it as the year of disruption. So many of our expected "norms" have been upended..In fact, the disruptions really began earlier in this millennium in so many different ways; in technology, in commerce, in politics, in geopolitical shifts etc. And of course, Covid. As we look back at the last two decades and connect the dots we can discern a developing pattern of accelerating disruptions.And indeed in this past year we are witness...

How much of your personality has been shaped by others? By our parents - our genes and our DNA. By our environment, our homes, our families, our schooling, our education, our value systems and our social influences. The question is how much of your existing identity is really you and how much has been defined by others? Have you found your own voice, your unique purpose? Or have you never discovered it, or perhaps lost it along the way?This question is acutely amplified when faced with...

Is there anything in life that is indestructible? We are mere mortals, finite creatures in a physical world where everything in existence seems to be impermanent. Things erode, deteriorate, and ultimately age and perish. That inner search for eternity, for immorality - is that just a fantasy or is it indeed possible? Chanukah teaches us the secret to immortality, the indestructible power of light that turns the finite infinite and the ordinary extraordinary. Please join Rabbi Simon...

With war being waged in Gaza, military strategists are obviously seeking and employing all types of methods and ways to fight this war. Every war has its distinct  personality and unique challenges and therefore requires a customized solution. This war is no different. Dealing with a hostage situation, savage terrorists, who wantonly use civilians as shields,  poses particular difficulties, as we all know.And frankly the war is not just in Gaza. This war is also in the media; the war over our...

We all hate war. (Well let's qualify that. There are some people who for one reason or another historically, as well as today, are predisposed to aggression, violence and upheaval. But civil people generally despise war and everything it stands for. Healthy people inherently want a calm and peaceful existence.)So why would any decent person go to war? Why would a moral country deploy their citizens to fight? Why would anyone put themselves in harm's way? Who in their right mind would want to...

There are rare moments in our lives when we are provided with an unprecedented opportunity, a wake up call. Those moments where a paradigm shift occurs that can affect us on an individual level, on a collective level or on a global level. Certain events shake us to our core and open us up to these quantum leaps.And at that moment your actions, your choices, your decisions can change everything. We are now living in such a time.The events that happened on October 7, the atrocities perpetrated,...

With the recent alarming rise of antisemitism in wake of the atrocities perpetrated on October 7th by Hamas, it's well worthwhile to dig deeper into the nature of Jew hatred, what exactly antisemitism is. What are the roots of this abhorrence and where does it stem from? Why is it that throughout history Jews were consistently singled out more than any other minority? With acts of hatred, discrimination, expulsions and genocide. From a scientific point of view we cannot associate antisemitism...

I call on heaven and earth as witnesses today that I have offered you life or death, blessings or curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants will live! Deuteronomy 30:19Does it make any sense that a healthy person would choose death over life? Would any sane person choose destruction over survival?And yet we see - amplified in the latest atrocities going on in Israel - that there exists a perverse culture of death, of martyrdom. Where death is celebrated. Where death is the ultimate...

While Israel is at war with its enemies, following the atrocities that took place on October 7th, there is another war raging all over the world. This is the war over truth, a propaganda war filled with misinformation, disinformation, lies and myth. This war is being fought in the media, on campuses, with protests and videos aimed to manipulate and pull at our heart strings - all vying for control over our minds. And this information war is only amplified by modern technology, incessantly...

With the latest brutal atrocities perpetrated in Israel - the horrific sights and descriptions of things that most of us couldn't imagine in our darkest dreams - the words "absolute evil," "pure, unadulterated evil", have become the way many are describing these massacres. Not simply killing which is total evil in itself, but the sheer savage ways and extreme forms of cruelty and sadism with which these heinous crimes were committed, defies any word in our human language. Absolute evil...

We - and every decent person in this world - are shocked by the heartwrenching events and the tragic war taking place in Israel. How can a decent human being not be horrified by the brutal atrocities perpetrated against innocent civilians; men, women, children, elderly murdered in cold blood, abused, degraded, tortured and taken hostage in the most inhumane way. We are united and devastated in pain and confusion.How could this happen? Why did God allow it? How should we react to this? What...

Are you a happy person? Do you feel happy right now? As human beings, we all have times that we're happy and times that happiness eludes us. But overall, what is your natural inclination?Are some people just born happier than others? Is happiness inherent or acquired? And more importantly, are there things we can do - tools we can learn, methods we can implement - to bring more happiness and joy into our lives, to become more upbeat and optimistic? Or are we simply hard wired a certain way,...