Parsha

Many wealthy people comfort themselves with the fact that they give move charity than the average person.

The leader can never close the gap between himself and the group. If he does, he is no longer what he must be. He must walk a tightrope between the consent he must win and the control he must exert. -Vince Lombardi

Almost always, the reason we are not willing to forgive offenses against us has almost nothing to do with the offense, and everything to do with it being done to us. Once we can internalize this, we can move to a God’s-eye perspective and forgive others more easily.

She began to weep softly as she recalled all the years that she had been happy and proud to be a giver, whereas this year she had nothing at all to give.

It goes without saying that we shouldn’t listen to other people’s secrets, nor should we pollute our ears with vulgar speech, and we shouldn’t allow gentile ballads to defile our souls.

Selichot prayers are attended by optimistic people, people who believe that it's possible to change ourselves and the world around us.

Opportunity dances with those who are ready on the dance floor. -H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

And so Moshe’s ultimate message here, according to Netziv, may be that even if the curses are fulfilled, that is no reason to abandon God.

For the remainder of Elul, as we continue to count down to Rosh Hashana, review your schedule regularly and make a conscious effort to have it reflect your values.

Do you know how to be thankful for what you have and to rejoice in it?

Honor is the reward of virtue. -Marcus Tullius Cicero

No matter our level in avodas Hashem, even the simplest person can be inspired by the largesse of Hashem’s chesed, wherein He cherishes every single good deed and thought of the person.

In today’s world, Israel faces dangers. The turmoil and instability that abounds can be unsettling. Yet, as Jews, we can rejoice as our ancestors throughout history who saw optimism amid the darkness.

A huge white malach came into the courtroom, and Hashem turned to the millions of bad angels and proclaimed, ‘Dismissed!’

In Jewish tradition, noga tends to be ambiguous – it is a great demonstration of superficial beauty with a tendency to obscure what is essential.

Both transgressions - cheating with weights and measures and questioning Providence - have the same root, since they both indicate a lack of emunah in Hashem.

Exactly like Shabbat that arrives every seven days, the shmittah arrives every seven years and is meant to calm, refresh, and restart the entire economy

For the merchant, even honesty is a financial speculation. -Charles Baudelaire

It’s interesting to note here that in the West, the dove of Noach has come to represent peace, although this was neither the promise to Noach nor the sign of the promise.

One of the great challenges of our generation is protecting the gateways of our eyes. This is oh, so important, but it's only the beginning of our work with our eyes.

We too can access the powerful potential of these days – from the 1st of Elul to the 10th of Tishrei – and resolve to work on a specific area: from marriage, education of our children, learning, prayer, and character refinement to the relationship we have with our cell phone.

We falsely attribute to men a determined character -- putting together all their yesterdays -- and averaging them -- we presume we know them. -Henry David Thoreau

The Ishbitzer teaches that everyone comes into this world with Torah in his heart, cloaked in a disguise. We all have some special lesson to impart, some perspective that is uniquely our own, but is the opposite of what is readily apparent in our nature.

A leader is anyone who is on a mission, who empowers others, and who always looks for ways to contribute to the greater good. Leaders are great parents, great teachers, great friends. We are all potential leaders, we are all potential revolutionaries. We can all create change in the world.

The Zera Shimshon beseeches people to study his writings and promises that they will be granted family, life, wealth and honor in that merit.

My single biggest recommendation for this time of year is that people should make a ‘To-Do-Better List’ to have in their Machzor on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

One might think that there's nothing we understand better in the world than ourselves--after all, we spend every waking minute with ourselves. But is this self-understanding really the case?

Patience, listening, concentration, waiting patiently, the capacity to be here and now and not to run ahead, the ability to fully experience the moment – all of these are significantly diminished in the digital age., But Shabbat..

‘There is one small problem,’ Moshe told him. ‘You will not be able to use this currency here.'

If their weapons do not suffice to destroy us, then they will turn to the treachery of falsehood and hateful speech to overcome us.