Friday, September 22nd 2023 |
By RABBI TZVI HERSH WEINREB
“FINDERS, KEEPERS, LOSERS, WEEPERS?“
It is a story that deserves to be told. In order to fully appreciate it, some background is necessary, especially for those unfamiliar with the natural disaster that struck the greater New York metropolitan area in 2012.
The disaster was known as Superstorm Sandy. She hit the eastern coast of the United States with unprecedented ferocity. Although...
By RABBI TZVI HERSH WEINREB
“KOHANIM AND KINGS“
Did you ever argue politics with an anarchist? How about theology with an atheistic communist? Well, I’ve done both and have learned a lot in the process.
It all goes back to a bench in Hester Street Park, on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, near the Rabbi Jacob Joseph Yeshiva where I attended high school....
By RABBI TZVI HERSH WEINREB
“HOW AM I DOING?’“
If your child, employee, or colleague asks you that question, you can be sure that he or she is sincere, wishes to learn, and will succeed.
The person who asks, “How am I doing?” is asking for constructive feedback. That person is expressing a need to know whether or not he is doing a good job, and...
By RABBI TZVI HERSH WEINREB
“DISCIPLINE AND SUFFERING”
As a parent, grandparent, and psychologist, I am often considered to be something of an expert on parenting and child-rearing. In that capacity, I have frequently been asked to review or give an opinion about any of the plethora of books on the subject of raising one’s children.
Like in any genre, there are...
By RABBI TZVI HERSH WEINREB
“ANSWERING UNANSWERED PRAYERS“
Did you ever really pray for something you wanted? I mean, really fervently, desperately, pray hard for something that was vitally important to you?
If you did, and I think we all pray this way at moments of urgency, you violated an anonymous piece of wisdom:
“Be careful what...
By RABBI TZVI HERSH WEINREB
“DEVARIM: A SUBLIME AUTOBIOGRAPHY”
There is a biography. And then there is an autobiography.
Our biography is the way others see us. Our autobiography is the way we see ourselves.
Typically, there are sharp differences between the two. Others see us from their own perspectives. Some biographers can be boldly objective, confronting us with facts about ourselves which we did not...
By RABBI TZVI HERSH WEINREB
“THE KISS OF HOPE“
Would you ever imagine that our holy Sages had a lot to say about a kiss? Would we not assume that kisses would be judged unworthy of their consideration?
But such is not the case. They had much to say about kisses.
The significance of the kiss was brought home to me recently when I came across a street...
By RABBI TZVI HERSH WEINREB
“I ACT, THEREFORE, I AM“
Are you feeling depressed? Then dance! Feeling lazy? Work! Angry? Smile! Hostile? Act friendly!
These are not merely glib bits of advice when there is nothing better to say. Rather, they reflect a deep common wisdom that teaches us that our behavior influences our emotions. When we feel down in the dumps, the best thing we can do...
By RABBI TZVI HERSH WEINREB
“DOING IT MY WAY“
Most of us have had occasions in our lives when we acted as supervisors over others. It might have been in our role as parents disciplining our children, it might have been as employers giving instructions to employees, or it might have been any number of other contexts in which we had to tell others what to do.
...By RABBI TZVI HERSH WEINREB
“DISCOVERING OUR MORTALITY“
It was at a house of mourning, and she was saying something that I had heard many times before. In fact, I had said it myself when I was sitting shiva for my own mother.
She is a friend of long-standing, and a member of my former congregation. I hope that I am not being unchivalrous by describing her as late middle-aged. She had...
