The Shmuz

Recent studies show that in 2004,  there were an estimated 44.5 million adult smokers in the United States, and 70% of them want to quit. Each year, 35% do attempt to stop,  yet only 5% succeed -- clearly change isn't easy. Willpower alone isn't enough. A good program for change alone isn't enough. To make change permanent, we need outside help. Support groups are successful for this very reason.  Weight Watchers reports that people who attend meetings lose  three times as much weight as those who don't. Same program, same motivation. The only difference  is the social component of support.  Our goal as the Chosen Nation is not only to change destructive personal habits, but to change our very natures, our character traits, and our approaches to life -- the type of spouses we are, the type of parents we are, the type of human beings we. Clearly it is a formidable challenge- one that we were given a lifetime to tackle. And  provided we have the motivation, systems and knowledge of how to change, we can accomplish it.   In this second  of a three part series on the mechanisms of change, we focus on  how support systems function and how important they are in making change permanent.
 

Parsha in Depth - Tzav

Heaven's Judgements

Fleeting Glimpses of the Upper Worlds

The Rishonim tell us that nothing is sweeter then revenge. When a person feels he has been wronged, he waits - scheming and dreaming of ways to even up the score.
If this is so instinctive a trait in the human, how can the Torah expect us to eliminate it? And even more significantly, revenge by definition is justified; I am only returning to him what he did to me. Why would the Torah demand that we avoid it?
This Shmuz deals with a different perspective on revenge and offers us a vantage point for dealing with many life situations.

Looking back on a Year Passed

There are certain life lessons that they don't teach you in school. One of them is the importance of maintaining a sense of humor.

 Not only is this one of the key elements for maintaining a sense of balance and joy as we travel through the trials of life, in terms of our relationships with others, a light touch often spells the difference between harmony and strife-love and hate.

Focusing on the adage that "He who laughs, lasts.. .." this Shmuz underscores the power of laughter -- a force that improperly used, can cause much harm, but properly utilized is one of the keys to leading a successful life.

Chumash in Dept - Vayeitzei

I do daven with a minyan. I don't. I do a chesed -- I don't. Does it really matter? Does it really make a difference? Very often we find ourselves thinking what is the big deal? Will my actions really change my life? Will they change my world?

Yet every once in a while, we come across a single action that does change the world-- a shot heard around the world. Our natural assumption is that these types of acts are relegated to singular people, living in highly unusual times and circumstance. Yet, Chazal have a different appreciation of the value of a single act. From their vantage point a single mitzvah, accomplished by an ordinary person, is so important, that it exceeds anything we could ever imagine.

The question is why? What is the big deal? After all said and done, it was only one Mitzvah, it's not like the entire universe: heaven and earth, are dependent upon that one act.

Using HASHEM's answer to, why Nevuchadneser merited becoming one of the most powerful kings in history, as a backdrop, this Shmuz helps us enter Chazal's world view of the impact of even one Mitzvah.