by Rabbi David Levin | Mar 15, 2020 | General
by Rabbi David Levin | Feb 14, 2020 | Blessings, Teaching
It’s National Be Nice to In-Laws weekend! There is a wonderful commercial on the airways. The “Good Hands” insurance folks have Tina Fey driving with her mother-in-law, aka Mayhem, portrayed by Dean Winters. It is a caricature of the tensions intrinsic in this...
by Rabbi David Levin | Dec 5, 2019 | Chesbon HaNefesh, General
Do I walk through the open door? Finding oneself and charting a new course is at the heart of Vayeitzei This week’s Parshah Vayetze begins with Jacob’s dream. Running for his life from a vengeful Esau, Jacob flees toward a Haran. Exhausted, he stops to sleep. Here he...
by Rabbi David Levin | Nov 28, 2019 | Blessings, General
So, it turns out that maybe mine is not the only family described as dysfunctional. Family dynamics have always been difficult. Toldot shares unique stories of the tensions that can exist, based on things like sibling rivalries, deception, favoritism, and...
by Rabbi David Levin | Nov 20, 2019 | Chesbon HaNefesh, General, Teaching
“And the life of Sarah was 100 years and twenty years and seven years, the years of the life of Sarah”. It would be easier to say she died at the age of 127. But we would miss an important message. The text seems to ask us to examine Sarah’s life, not...
