Asseret Yemei Teshuva 5778 Hashem does speak to us. He speaks to us in numerous ways at various times; sometimes quite directly and personally, at times less so. He is not limited in how often he communicates; it is we who are limited in how well we listen and how often we hear. As we grow older, gain experience and become humbler, our hearing improves – at least our hearing of G-ds messages improves provided we practice the art of listening out for them. Hashem speaks though coincidence, He speaks through suffering – Hashem rebukes those he cares about (Mishlei 3:12). S..

FOR YOM KIPPUR 5767 In my Rosh Hashanah essay, Life in Paradox, I wrote about the Katuv Hashelishi that explains paradox: even the paradox of human behavior - including our own. There is almost always a force, sometimes within us and sometimes external to us, that explains why we did things that without recognition of that force, appear absurd even to us. That does not remove from us our own accountability, but it allows for mercy, empathy, understanding. That is the understanding Avraham asks Hashem to apply on the Day of Judgment. In the new Shiur series, Tomer Devorah, Shi..

Character Mastery We are governed by two paralleloperating systems. In Lead By Greatness[1] I refer to them as the defensive operating system and the heroic operating system. The defensive operating system governs our survival instincts working reactively most of the time, especially when we are confronted with physical danger. The heroicoperating system is responsible for the things we do for causes that are bigger than even our own survival or the survival of our families. Whether we do something dramatic like risking our lives to save others..