http://example.org/ Recent content on Getting Torah Right Hugo -- gohugo.io en-us http://example.org/docs/1-honesty/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://example.org/docs/1-honesty/ Honesty: confronting “Torah” crime Feel free to disagree, but I think dishonesty is a problem. Of course, we all permit ourselves to lie from time to time. The Gemara even expects it במסכת ובפוריא ובאושפיזא (Bava Metziya 23b) and כלה נאה וחסודה (Kesuvos 16b), and permits swearing falsely to escape criminals (נודרין להרגין ולחרמין ולמוכסין שהיא תרומה אע"פ שאינו תרומה - Nedarim 27b). But those are specific cases which bring harm to no one. http://example.org/docs/2-planning-ahead/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://example.org/docs/2-planning-ahead/ Planning ahead: chaos is dumb The incomparable Mesilas Yesharim had strong thoughts about looking ahead and carefully considering your options. One who goes through his life without introspection about whether his path is good or bad is like a blind man walking along the edge of a river whose vulnerability is great. He is more likely to face catastrophe than salvation. (פרק ב) I see a need for a man to measure and weigh his paths each day in the way of great men of business who constantly organize their investments so they should not fail. http://example.org/docs/3-growing-up/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://example.org/docs/3-growing-up/ Growing up: taking responsibility for your Torah decisions It’s your life. You’re in charge and you’re the one who, one way or the other, will be judged for your choices. Your parents and teachers are always going to be important influences for you, but you’re the one making the decisions. Not for nothing does a father thank God for his bar mitzva bochor’s new independence with the words: ברוך שפטרני מעונשו של זה. http://example.org/docs/4-financial-responsibility/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://example.org/docs/4-financial-responsibility/ Holding back: taking responsibly for your financial decisions Over the course of just a generation or two, a long-standing traditional way of thinking has been all but lost from Jewish life. It wasn’t something we had to consciously learn, it was obvious. But regular exposure to nusach ha’tefila and Torah sources certainly helped reinforce the mindset. I’m talking about financial responsibility which, ultimately, means believing that I am the only person who’s responsible for my financial well being. http://example.org/docs/5-fitting-in/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://example.org/docs/5-fitting-in/ Fitting in: finding your place A Jewish community - representing the Jewish nation as a whole - is expected to be an inspiration and guide to its members and to anyone it encounters. It’s not enough to quietly and privately observe God’s Torah: the Jewish people’s example must elevate the entire world (Yeshaya 49:6). We must live lives of morality and justice whose wisdom enlightens and warms all around us (Devarim 4:6). http://example.org/docs/6-hashem/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://example.org/docs/6-hashem/ God: treating Him with respect Why did I leave a chapter about God until the end? It hardly seems respectful. Well would you have read this far had I started everything off with that topic? That’s what I thought. But we really can’t delay it any longer. All this talk of responsibility, morality, Torah, and mitzvos…we can’t let that distract us from the source of it all: the One Who created and sustains us.