The Baal Shem Tov, the founder of the Hassidic movement, explained that ‘the world is a mirror’– the defects we see in others are a reflection of our own.   When Moses sent spies on a reconnaissance mission to Israel, they returned with an evil report about the land...

      “If you want a picture of the future; imagine a boot stamping on a human face – forever.” (George Orwell, 1984, chapter 3) Our rabbis worried about the effects of hatred. They attributed the destruction of the Second Temple to the internal battles of the Jewish community....

In my previous article, I wrote about the necessity for a renewed and broadened focus on moral education in Jewish communities. In a discussion about the post on the Lookjed Online Discussion Group, Rabbi Dr Barry Kislowicz argued convincingly that we need to define the goals of moral education before...

This is an approved summary of a shiur given by Rabbi Moshe Taragin. When facing the horror of Islamic terrorism, our response must not be merely tactical in order to defend ourselves; rather, a religious response is required. When Islamic fundamentalists speak in the name of religion, they both distort...

‘Thanks,” “Toda” or even “Thank you very much” are as common place in our public thoroughfare as cell-phones and Waze. And yet, while the phrase is said when acceptable and warranted ad-hoc, how many of us actually feel a deep sense of gratitude to someone else? How many will actually...

Since starting Jewishethicalwisdom.com, I have grappled with the question of why the Orthodox community doesn’t live up to its calling to be an ethical exemplar to the world. In doing so, I’ve taken pains to point out that there are many outstanding ethical features in the Orthodox community, some of...

In this article, Rabbi Johnny Solomon grapples with the question: 'Is it better to tell a dying person that the end is near or is it better that he is unaware of his imminent death?'

In this article, Rabbi Micha Berger asks: How do we balance compassion for others with a healthy sense of self?

In this article, Rabbi Knopf asks whether Jewish commitment, when approached in the wrong way, can actually have a negative impact on our character.

In this article, originally published on the Torah Musings website, I use social science literature and Torah sources to suggest why many Jews are more punctilious about mitzvot between man and God than they are with interpersonal mitzvot.