Our times are dark not only for the Jewish people but for all of civilization as we know it. Light will prevail, but we shouldn’t rely on miracles. מתן אדם ירחיב לו (משלי יח) The generosity of an individual provides him with expansiveness (Proverbs 18). Vayikra 5775 © Rabbi David Lapin, 2015 What the Midrash Means Series - 1:16 ____________________________ Our times are troubled. They call for innovative strategies to combat dark forces and villainous activity. But our times also call for a different response, one that has served us well for millennia. The Midrash below (Vay..

Vayikra, 1:2 Serving G-d or serving Man?  Often we confuse G-d’s will, Halachah, with the will of the communities in which we live. Religious fashion and style become confused with fundamental Halachik requirement. We do things because they are expected of us. But, expected by whom? Expected by Hashem, by Chazal or Poskim (authentic Rabbinic authority); or expected by a group of self-appointed religious bullies? Do we know enough to know the difference? Are we learning how to discern the differences between Halachah, religious fashion, and religious bullying? It ..

      The Inevitability of Leadership Sin Leaders make mistakes; they sin. This is an inevitable (although not excusable) reality of leadership. Leadership greatness is not defined by the absence of error or sin, it is defined by the way Leaders manage their errors. I am not talking about leaders’ personal lives: in that their sinning is no different from anyone else’s. It is not inevitable that a Governor should engage in prostitution. I am referring to the inevitability of errors of judgment in the day-to-day business of leading organizations and nations. The Pa..

You pray but G-d doesn’t hear – or, if He does hear He doesn’t answer?  Nonsense! He hears and He answers, it is YOU who don’t hear!  There is an art to hearing Hashem’s voice, and in this Insight I’ll show you how.  It is not about prophecy.  It is about being in touch, understanding His ‘language’, and removing the clatter of our own egoistic noise so that we can hear the very still sound of His voice.  How do you do this?  The answer is embedded in the first word of the Parsha, the name not only of the Parsha but of the third ..