by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 1, 2024 | Free Will, Proverbs
One of the fundamental principles of Biblical faith is that God has granted free will to human beings. Without free will, all our actions are meaningless. There is no basis for reward or punishment. In the absence of free will, there is neither piety nor wickedness....
by Rabbi Pesach Wolicki | f 15, 2024 | Proverbs
King Solomon charges us to acknowledge God in all of our ways. The literal meaning of the Hebrew word, translated here as acknowledge, is “know.” Meaning, “In all your ways know Him.” This is the most striking word in this verse. The verse does...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 14, 2024 | Faith, Proverbs
What does it really mean to trust in the Lord? How do we actualize the lesson of this verse? What is it calling on us to do? Trust “in” or Trust “to” The beginning of this verse calls on us to “trust in the Lord.” As always, the precise Hebrew contains a nuance that...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 15, 2023 | Faith, Fear of God, Proverbs, Va'eira
By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz “Fear of God is the beginning of knowledge and understanding.” There are several sources for this piece of wisdom. King Solomon, the wisest of the wise, said it in Proverb (1:7). Solomon clearly learned this important maxim from...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 29, 2022 | Community, God, Happiness and Joy, Hebrew Language, Proverbs, Temple, Tests and Trials
The better hours of my adolescence were spent at Grateful Dead concerts. I made great friends and had a great time. But the main draw was, of course, the music. Tuned to the tempo of a heartbeat, the music was meant for slow dancing, swaying for hours. I loved...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 27, 2022 | Korach, Marriage and Relationships, Proverbs
Who are you? This question seems deceptively simple, answered with a quick look at your driver’s license. But it is, in fact, a deeply complex question, one that we spend our entire lives answering and re-answering. A person’s identity is the sum total of all his...
