On the homepage of its website, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) writes that it is “an organization of 190 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and…
Wherever you look there is hatred. It’s no longer a matter of international relations, but within countries, societies seem to be splintering into smaller and smaller pieces, and each piece thinks it’s got a monopoly on the truth, making it…
Last week, a water dispute between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan led to armed clashes that resulted in the death of more than 30 people, scores were injured, and more than 10,000 people had to flee from their homes. Those clashes were…
Hatred is everything that doesn’t benefit me. While it is a negative quality, it has a positive aspect because with its help, we can check what we need to change in ourselves. We are surrounded by a humanity, a world…
To an extent, we’re all critical of others. In fact, criticizing others is a treat few can pass up. Regrettably, criticism is actually our own ego adoring itself. Self-righteousness and righteous indignation give us such a sense of superiority that…
“No calamity comes to the world but for Israel.” These poignant words of our sages (Yevamot, 63a) capture the reason for all the tragedies that afflict us. Not only the Talmud warns about the reason for Israel’s blows. The Book…
Our substance or matter is a desire to receive pleasure, and our physical body is nothing more than an animal. We sometimes feel our desires through the physical body, i.e., those for food, sex and family, and sometimes through a…
Over the past 3,500 years, a few hundred books have been written about the spiritual world by great kabbalists who investigated and discovered it. In these books, you will find out how you need to change yourself so that you…
People today seem to care about almost nothing. We are indifferent to entire sectors of society that are suffering, unless something directly impacts us on a personal level. We watch the news, get upset, and grumble, and that’s the extent of…
One sees white where another sees black. One thinks that something is good, and another is certain that it’s bad. Different people, different worlds. How can we collaborate when we are worlds apart, closed inside our shells, and with completely…
The world is full of suffering and we cannot justify murder, theft or any kind of affliction of pain on innocent people, especially children. However, when we start feeling that suffering in our corporeal lives can lead us to some…
Recently in the United States, four people collectively won a little over a billion dollars. It was the third-biggest lottery win in US history, and the prize pool keeps growing. There is a well-known phenomenon where people who suddenly win…