On this, the last Shabbat of 2006, many of us are already turning our attention to next year, planning; thinking about what, if any, resolutions we might make for the new year. Knowing that some of our resolutions have appeared on previous years’ lists, we know all too well how easily we can forget or forego our best intentions when other things get in the way. Read more...

If contemporary America were to pick a motto, it might well be “What have you done for me lately?”  Each of us pursues individual happiness as we understand it.  When the agenda of some outside organization intersects our own, we are willing to belong.  But our belonging is usually pretty fragile—we belong on our own terms, for our own interests.  If we’re unhappy with a rabbi’s sermon, we quit the synagogue, if we don’t have time to attend their meetings, we quit the organization. Read more...

An ancient Midrash portrays Alexander of Macedon, conqueror of the known world, standing at the gate of the Garden of Eden.  He demands admission and is told that only the tzaddikim, the righteous, may enter there.  Alexander becomes indignant: no one has treated this monarch with such indifference before!  To try to save face, Alexander insists that at the very least, the angel guarding the gate should offer him something of great worth.  So the angel gives him a human eyeball.   Read more...

Every human being is a mystery that never fully unfolds.  Think, for a moment, about your own depths—how little about you actually makes it to the surface. How many of your desires, fears, quirks, and interests are subterranean, some known to a few, some known only to yourself, and a few hidden even from your own conscious thought. Like an eddy of water that the current passes by, the human soul has unplumbed depths that never fail to astonish, to delight, and to dismay.   Read more...

In Parashat VaYigash, Joseph finally reveals his true identity to his brothers.  He loads them with all sorts of riches from Egypt and tells them to return with their families so they can settle in Egyptand survive the famine under Joseph's supervision. In the midst of their newfound wealth and security, Joseph gives them a strange piece of instruction. "Do not be quarrelsome along the way." Why would Joseph say that?  And why, especially, in the midst of a joyous reunion, amidst unexpected wealth and success? Read more...