Parsha

Based on my historical research of leadership I believe there is what I refer to as the leadership paradox. In essence it claims that we should have more confidence in leaders who possess self-doubt.

To be silent isn't passive. On the contrary, you don't need any strength to talk. The words just roll out of your mouth, no problem. To be silent, though, requires strength. Aharon chooses silence.

We stand everyday as did Nadav and Avihu, searching to elevate our actions into meaning, desperate to 'make a difference," trying to get the heavens into our heads

Events that took place after the sin of Nadav and Avihu elucidate the real issue behind whatever sin or sins they actually committed: They challenged the traditional hierarchy of children following their parents and juniors following their seniors. It is presumably this issue more than any individual sin that the Torah wants to bring to our attention.

When there is cause for celebration our complete focus should be on that celebration.

Rebbetzin Yemima Mizrachi: "We live in a joy-challenged society. Today, joy must be learned. It is precisely joy, which everyone treats lightly, that requires serious consideration on our part."

For an interpretation to qualify as a good drash, it must present an insightful idea that is somehow enhanced by the original text.

Cynical people always try to point out the negative.

27 years ago, on the 4th day of Adar Sheni, Menachem Begin passed away. Here are 3 enduring messages from his legacy.

Because sefer Vayikra is more difficult, we tend to look at it less. But because we look at it less, we also understand it less, which – in turn – keeps it difficult and less appealing. In a nutshell, that is what I call Vayikra Avoidance Syndrome.

“Also, you should know, that this rejection, as painful as it is for you today, upgrades you. It transforms you into people who know how to believe in themselves even when others don’t always believe in them." Encouragement to students applying to HS. Words of wisdom: Believe in Yourself!

So what is melakhah, and how is it different than avodah? And why is that only Moshe sees it that way. Finally, why is blessing something that seems to flow directly out of it?

Moses was stuck outside the Tabernacle with the people who built it. He understood at that moment the message of the Half Shekel, or, my fifty cents. He was not standing as the great Moses or the awesome Moses who could meet with God in Heaven. He stood outside as one of the people who all contributed a Half Shekel, fifty cents. It was at that moment that Moses became the most humble of men. I can almost hear the coins jingling in his pocket.

“The boy from Russia who was not accepted to study physics because he was a Jew is now part of a team that is sending off a spacecraft containing a disk with the entire Hebrew Bible scanned onto it and an Israeli flag.”

It is not enough to assemble one's people in one place. There must be a unifying mission.

The Mishkan we eventually had could have become the place where the Jews connected with Hashem more fully or strongly even than at Sinai, perhaps. After the sin of the Golden Calf, it could never be the place of innocent joy it was meant to be.

"The Lord settles lonely individuals into the House (Psalms 68:7)." His House that "dwells in the heart of each individual" is meant to provide a place for the lonely; those disconnected from themselves

The soul must be saved from panic, for panic can destroy it.

The world is round and the place which may seem like the end may also be only the beginning. -Ivy Baker

All that's gold does not glitter-in truth

Directing us in the right direction like a compass, teachings on the Parshat Ki Tisa from Rabbi Weinberg

Paradoxically, putting on the veil would help Moshe connect with spirituality but when he was actually speaking with God, Moshe would nevertheless remove it.

The notion that we have wings and can fly, but fall to access them is genuinely spot-on.

Moshe was a stutterer and did not look for a leadership role, but he proved that one can lead even without charisma – through the power of faith, prayer, and a sense of mission.

I love and, am energized by, wrapping myself in my Tallit (Prayer Shawl), and tying on my Tefillin (Phylacteries) because of their message. I focused this morning on whether I had the ability to energize them, whether I could wear them as a celebration of my growth, and found myself vibrating with their energy.

The Urim ve-Tumim, introduced in this week's parsha, remind us Hashem never meant the Jewish people to make their way in the world based only on traditions of what we were once told.

To avoid misery, read the 6-steps to misery--and completely side-step these landmines

I can see how much I have and celebrate my plenty by bringing a small slice of heaven to others who have even less.

For most of us, sacred spaces help us to focus, whereas we would otherwise not focus at all. Hence they are worth the opportunity cost they create. But we are well advised to keep that cost in mind. The fact that we are able to focus on God in the synagogue does not mean we should forget God outside!

Long before social media posts and tweets, the Kotzker delivered messages in short, bite-size form. Here are just a few of his gems