Most parents are in the habit of rewarding children with material things like candies. Although for small children such rewards are necessary in teaching them proper behavior etc., it is still wise if we try to reward children with things of greater spiritual value. Then they learn to appreciate spiritual matters, give importance to that and not feel they need to comfort themselves or reward themselves with materialism, even as they grow older. What we see in western society is that even adults feel they deserve a treat, or chocolates, or extra cake etc.

Every person sometimes has doubts in faith. We are only human: this is normal . 

But, there is a person who uses doubts to seek his creator and turn his eyes and heart to the heavens, and then his faith grows stronger.

And there is a man who takes advantage of doubts to justify his distance from  God and focuses on his heart's desires and personal desires, and the more time passes, the less he believes.

Yesterday I drove by a sign that said “recycling and redemption” and I thought to myself: we are all “recycled souls” (from a previous incarnation) and we are on the way to redemption.  And truthfully that is what life is all about: correcting our past lives (tikunim) and preparing for redemption.

In life we learn from others. The people who shape our lives the most when we are young are our parents.  We learn in two ways from our parents, and in both cases we need to appreciate them and be grateful.

Chanukah, the holiday of lights.  Hidden within those Chanukah lights is the special “ohr hagenuz”, the light with which the Almighty created the world.  And it is this light which is hidden for the future, when the reasons for all the suffering of exile will become revealed.  But even now, as we watch the flickering of the Chanukah lights, we can connect to our souls: we can reveal light deep within ourselves and light up our own inner darkness.  The lights of

Before Moshiach comes, we are taught in Torah, that there is a war of Gog and Magog. There are many different facets to this and many ways the Rabbonim have interpreted this war to be.  It is not an actual physical war between nations.

The elections have certainly been in tune with this year’s overall vibe….throwing everyone into chaos!  But, as the saying goes, “It’s not over til it’s over.”  For some reason, nobody that I know can accept Biden and Harris as their presidents.  We still believe Trump will win, will play his ‘trump card” and come out victorious.

So many people today are suffering from anxiety and even depression.   This pandemic has brought out tremendous insecurity and fear.  But within all anxiety, there are hidden layers. It is very important to identify what your true anxieties are. For example, many people are worried about making a living because of the pandemic. This is, of course , a valid concern.  But what in particular are you worried about?

We are now entering the Hebrew month of Mar Cheshvan. Every month has a particular sense associated with it. The sense of the month of Cheshvan is the sense of smell.  We are taught in Torah that Moshiach will judge with his sense of smell. Chassidus explains the sense of smell is sensitivity to the soul: to sense how others feel and what help they need. we all should cultivate within ourselves this aspect of being more sensitive to others and to what they are going through and find ways to help them. This in itself will help to bring Moshiach as it increases love and unity. 

We are a society shaped by the information that the news feeds us. And this is very dangerous. The news subtly tries to shape our views and force their opinions upon us. The problem is that many people are wishy washy these days and do not see reality. So they accept whatever the news says. The believe whatever is written on line. They stopped thinking or analyzing .  When Donald Trump coined the phrase “fake news”, he was right