There is a widely held assumption that if one is forbidden to benefit from a certain object, it has no value and therefore is not subject to the laws of ownership. However, probing more deeply we discover ownership is not determined by one’s rights to an object but rather by one’s responsibility for it.

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Unlike other faiths, the Torah does not bifurcate the spiritual and the material, they are fused into one.

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Intimacy is not only about who is in the inner, intimate circle; it is also about who is not. Boundaries create social intimacy  

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Truth and reputation are not always loving siblings. There are times when truthfulness can impair reputation thereby reducing an individual’s future effectiveness. But sometimes we have to listen tour reputation and challenge our inner beings and deeper motivations

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Faithfulness to tradition assures authenticity. Innovation avoids rigidity and fundamentalism. How do we balance the two? 

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To be a nation of learners, as we are, we need first and foremost to be a nation of teachers. Teaching is not just a means of enabling the next generation with the knowledge and skills they need, teaching is also a form of learning by which the teacher can access higher levels of understanding than he would merely as a scholar.

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Time has a diluting effect both on memories and on the impact of events and even materials.

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Wine is a vehicle both of social connection and of connection to Hashem. Dilution of Jewish society through intermarriage dilutes our relationship to Hashem as well.

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Have we paid too high a price for the release of our hostages or is no price too high?

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