by Eliyahu Berkowitz | f 19, 2023 | Free Will, Psalms
My best friend, Jack, is a no-nonsense person who isn’t interested in engaging in philosophical or spiritual discussions that he perceives as pretentious or pompous. While I appreciate his straightforwardness, I am always thankful that, for the most part, he...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 16, 2023 | Psalms
By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz My first visit to Israel was in 1978 when I was seventeen years old. As a teen on his first trip away from home, I was cynical and more interested in adventure than in any serious endeavors. I certainly had no interest in investigating my...
by Eliyahu Berkowitz | f 13, 2023 | Psalms
When I first entered Yeshiva (school for Torah study) I engaged in a practice called hitbodedut . Hitbodedut is an aspect of Breslov Hassidut which involves going to a secluded place like a forest and having a dialogue with God. Much of my time in hitbodedut was spent...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 21, 2023 | Humility, Psalms, Repentance
By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz Everyone loves a love story. Unless you happen to be a prophet named Nathan and the love story involves a married woman named Bathsheba being pursued by a man named David who happens to be the king of Israel. This is not a boy-meets-girl...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 19, 2023 | Community, Freedom, God, Happiness and Joy, Holiness, Psalms, Responsibility, Tests and Trials
By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz A long time ago, I worked as a cook in exclusive restaurants in Manhattan. I once got a special order for a lunch party of ten young businessmen celebrating their success. They were all under thirty years old and they had each achieved a...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 14, 2023 | Psalms
By Shira Schechter There is a Hasidic tale about a man who went about the community telling malicious lies about the rabbi. Later, he realized the wrong he had done, and began to feel remorse. He went to the rabbi and begged his forgiveness, saying he would do...
