Last week, my son shared some thoughts that he had heard from Reb Dovid Cohen, the Rosh Yeshiva of Chevron. They resonated deeply with me—especially because they overlapped with things I’ve been thinking about lately.

We learn from a young age that the world is called olam because it is  he’elem—it...

Hi friends,

A couple of weeks ago, I sent out a newsletter about the frustration we feel when we act, think, or feel in ways that contradict the values we know to be true. I explained that we shouldn’t be surprised—or even all that disappointed—when jealousy, anxiety, pettiness, or any number of un...

I’m sure everyone reading this has heard the saying that the longest distance in the world is between the head and the heart. And yet somehow, it never ceases to amaze us when we act in ways that contradict what we know to be true.

For example, we know Hashem runs the world. We know it as surely ...

This week, I had the tremendous brochah of welcoming a new baby granddaughter into my family (simchos by all of Klal Yisrael!). As I held this gorgeous, pink-cheeked baby in my arms and looked into her cloudy newborn eyes, a strange (and maybe slightly weird) thought popped into my head:
“Hey, baby...

A gutten vinter! There is something so comforting about settling back into routine after a long Yom Tov season. I’m enjoying these days before the schedule gets stale and I find myself longing for another break. I’m working on a couple of new courses that I’m excited about, but for this week’s new...

Hi friends. 

Many years ago, I heard a thought from Rabbi Frand that resonated deeply, and I want to pass it along in case someone else needs to hear it. To me, it feels particularly appropriate right now.

We are entering a very serious time of year. If you were properly taught, you know that in j...

I have been fascinated with psychology for as long as I can remember. Whether the goal is self help, or just self awareness; discovering the reasons people do what they do is endlessly interesting to me. (I'll confess, I often find the way people's minds and emotions work to be more interesting th...

Something I’m noticing more and more as I get older: Optimism isn’t a character trait (although it is certainly true that certain people are more naturally aligned to that state of mind than others). Optimism- at least my way of understanding it- is nothing less than a superpower.

In my mind, opt...

There’s always been a certain vagueness, for me, around the avodah of the Three Weeks. Especially after a year—or two—when sadness and tragedy seem to ebb and flow on a regular basis throughout the months, the beginning of the Three Weeks can feel almost anticlimactic. There’s a sense of, “Been th...

In the last installment of On My Mind, we were talking about the fact that the Nefesh Habihamis (there were no better spelling suggestions, so I’m sticking with that wonky looking one) is the stronger force, but the Nefesh Elokis is the smarter one. This explains something that has always bothered...

Have you ever noticed that the pull toward your nefesh ha’bihamis, the animalistic, instinctive side of you, seems to be so much stronger than the pull to follow your nefesh elokis? It seems to require an incredible amount of willpower and self control not to eat the thing, or watch the thing or s...

Ready for a short, powerful idea that I just heard in a daily Tanya series which I’m currently learning (more about that later)? As we all know, sefarim constantly speak of the importance of not just doing the right thing, but of experiencing a real, felt relationship with Hashem. 

As we also ...