by Rabbi David Levin | Aug 14, 2018 | Blessings, Chesbon HaNefesh
In the Torah, Moses sets out a choice for us this past week. Blessings and curses. It is a deceptively easy binary choice. Given good stuff or bad stuff as alternatives, it seems like a no-brainer. I opt for the good stuff! But it’s really not so simple. For what...
by Rabbi David Levin | Aug 3, 2018 | Blessings, Chesbon HaNefesh, Teaching
This week in Parashah Eikev, Moses teaches and shares his Ethical Will. He admonishes us to live a full life and to do that we need to remember and embrace the precepts that have brought us to this time and place, the edge of the Promised Land. Moses’ is concerned...
by Rabbi David Levin | Jul 24, 2018 | Chesbon HaNefesh, General, Teaching
In going through my dad’s things, I came across an old Pepsi soda can from the 1960s. It had clay surrounding it. Old dried and yellowed bands of once clear tape were barely keeping the brittle shards together. The clay was painted faded hues of what was once...
by Rabbi David Levin | Jul 17, 2018 | Blessings, Chesbon HaNefesh
As we begin the last book of the Torah, Moses confronts this question in Parshat Devarim. Even the title begs the question. Devarim, what are the words and things? What is the story we will tell to those we hope will carry it in their hearts after we are gone? For...
by Rabbi David Levin | Jul 10, 2018 | Blessings, General
Your loved ones are your legacy. That is an important message I learned from last week’s Torah Portion Pinchas. We must consciously remember those closest to us, especially even when our work, our mission, or our very essence might have us focus on everyone else....