Free Will to Surrender to God

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....

Echoes of Liberty: The Message of the Shofar

by Rabbi Yaakov Wolff | f 14, 2023 | Free Will, Freedom, Pinchas, Rosh Hashana

When I was ten years old, we took a drive from New Jersey to Baltimore. Along the way, we made a short stop in Philadelphia where we decided to explore Independence Hall, the US Mint, and, finally, the Liberty Bell. As we approached the iconic, cracked bell, I...

Do We Control Our Fate?

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...

The Heart of the Matter: Free Will and the Story of Pharaoh

by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 19, 2023 | Free Will, God, Va'eira

By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz People are complicated but God has us figured out, as the prophet Jeremiah said: Most devious is the heart; It is perverse—who can fathom it? I Hashem probe the heart, Search the mind— To repay every man according to his ways, With the proper...

Why Does God Test You?

by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 17, 2022 | Eikev, Free Will, God, Tests and Trials

I worked for a short period of time as an English teacher in an Israeli high school. I was not very good at it. I identified more with the students in the ongoing battle between the students and the school. One time, the head of the school forced me to give the kids...

Understanding the Healing Process for a “Leper”

by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 8, 2022 | Community, Free Will, Metzorah, Temple

The healing process for tzaraat (a spiritual malady frequently mistranslated as leprosy) requires a series of sacrifices in the Temple. Two live birds are brought to the priest. Springwater is placed in an earthenware vessel, over which one of the birds (traditionally...