The Eternal Conversation

The best things any of us can give our children are values to live by, ideals to aspire to, an identity so that they know who they are, and a religious and moral heritage to guide them through the wilderness of time

So how do you hand your values on? By showing your children what you love.

Rabbi Moshe Alshich, the sixteenth-century scholar, asked in his commentary to the Shema, “How do we ‘teach these things’ to our children? How can we be sure that they will learn?” His reply? The answer lies in the verse two lines earlier: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your might.” What we love, they will love

Halakha, Jewish law, is about translating the highest of ideals into the simplest of acts.

Keep your distance from those who seek honour. Be respectful, but none of us is called on to be a looking glass for those in love with themselves.

Don’t hand others a victory over your own emotional state. Forgive, or if you can’t forgive, ignore.

God forgives our failures as soon as we acknowledge them as failures – and that spares us from the self-deception of trying to see them as successes.

Always seek out the friendship of those who are strong where you are weak. None of us has all the virtues. Even a Moses needed an Aaron.

“Why did God do this?” is the wrong question. The right one is: “How shall I live my life differently because this has happened?” That is how to deal with crisis. Wrestle with it, refusing to let it go until it blesses you, until you emerge stronger, better, or wiser than you were before. To be a Jew is not to accept defeat. That is the meaning of faith.

never to let grief, or suffering, or sadness have the last word.

God does not save us from ourselves. God teaches us how to save ourselves from ourselves

Antisemitism is a projection, and is caused not by Jews but by internal conflicts in the societies that give rise to it. ... Antisemitism is a deadly doctrine. It endangers Jews. But it also ultimately destroys antisemitic societies themselves. The reason should be obvious. When you blame others and define yourself as a victim, you abdicate responsibility for solving your own problems.

There is a margin of mystery we must respect.

Faith becomes real when it becomes prayer.

When faith suppresses questions, it dies. When it accepts superficial answers, it begins to wither. Faith is not opposed to doubt. What it is opposed to is the shallow certainty that what we understand is all there is.

To be a Jew is to be a blessing to others. That is what God told Abraham in the first words He spoke to him, words that four thousand years ago set Jewish history into motion. “Through you,” He said, “all the families on earth will be blessed.” To be a Jew is not to ask for a blessing. It is to be a blessing