Last night I was invited to be a part of A Night for the Family at Pepperdine University. It was a memorable evening in more ways than one. (Read about it here: A Night for Family.)
I was asked to speak before a crowd that had just enjoyed seeing the life of Corrie ten Boom performed.
One [...]
Posts Tagged ‘podcasts’
Jewish Lessons in Parenting
PJC Chanukah Party 2009 Address
As part of the festivities of our Chanukah Party on the beach, I addressed the attended with a speech on Chanukah and this week’s parsha, Miketz.
It was an addendum to my Shabbos drasha, which I hope to publish shortly.
Enjoy the class. Audio is below.
All audio classes are available by clicking podcasts on the top of this [...]
Mesillas Yesharim 11/22/09
Today’s class was another really informative and relevent topic.
We learned about fear, worry and anxiety.
With anxiety affecting tons of us it was interesting to find sources bemoaning the difficulty of dealing with anxiety as well as its debilitating nature.
Very enjoyable class, as always.
Audio is below.
All audio classes are available by clicking podcasts on the top of [...]
Prayer in Judaism | Connections 11/2/09
Prayer is something so basic to all faiths and religions. Jewish ideas of prayer are decidedly different from other cultures. It is very important to learn about the Jewish approach to prayer.
I began the class by announcing that this was a topic I longed to discuss for a very long time. I finally felt that [...]
Truth and Faith | Connections 10/26/09
Two words with very different meanings were discussed tonight.
Truth on the one hand and faith on the other.
In Judaism these are really two phases of life’s various challenges. Our discussion ranged from Abraham to smokers to ferrets.
It was quite an adventure and I invite you listen.
All audio classes are available by clicking podcasts on the top [...]
The Miracle of Tests and Ordeals | Connections 10/19/09
At Connections this week we learned a lot about ourselves.
We began with a quote from Messilas Yesharim. The purpose of life is to perform mitzvos, to serve and to be tested. To be tested is the purpose of life?
We then discussed ordeals and tests in a traditional and more novel way. You will enjoy the approach. You [...]
Mesillas Yesharim 10/18/09
After a Holiday break, the Mesillas Yesharim class returned today. Today’s class was a bit shortened due to the extra long Rosh Chodesh prayers.
What was short on time was long on content. The end of the Seventh Chapter of Mesillas Yesharim contains what I find to be the most profound insight in the entire text.
We [...]
Physical Reward For Spiritual Deeds | Connections 9/14/09
This week we learned about the actual nature of the judgment of Rosh Hashana.
Using a unique approach from Rav Dessler, we resolved a difficult contradiction in Jewish philosophy and enjoyed great questions and insight from all the attendees.
This was our final class in the Preparing for Rosh Hashana Series.
All audio classes are available by clicking podcasts [...]
Rosh Hashana: Beginning of all Beginnings | Connections 8/31/09
As we continue our journey through Elul, marching towards Rosh Hashana, Connections returned the Pacific Jewish Center.
Our approach was that if we are “preparing” for Rosh Hashana, we need to understand just what Rosh Hashana means. What is a succesful Rosh Hashana and how do we get there?
We analyzed one angle of Rosh Hashana that [...]
Mesillas Yesharim 08/30/09
This week we completed Chapter 6 of Mesillas Yesharim.
We began with a great discussion about Truth. We talked about how people fall into two categories. There are those who choose what they do and base their decision on what they believe to be the “truth” and there are others who merely follow the path in [...]
Mesillas Yesharim 08/16/09
I returned to Venice after a short Summer break and today we resumed our Mesillas Yesharim class.
Highlights today included a very interesting insight from Maimonides regarding laziness and the “Golden Path”. My father told me that in the Shmona Prakim, Maimonides gives a very surprising opposite to laziness.
