Running the Miami Half Marathon this past January as part of Chai Lifeline’s Team Lifeline was a uniquely special experience. Most races are about personal goals, finishing, improving a time, or setting a new personal record.  But, this race was different. Every runner on Team Lifeline was running for something far bigger than ourselves.  We were running to support and give strength to children and families facing challenges no one should have to face alone.  And somewhere ar

I have the most beautiful memories of Pesach from my childhood. The smell of my Bubby’s kitchen. The beautifully set Seder table. The quiet maneuvering among cousins to see who would sit next to whom. Some of my most cherished childhood memories are from Pesach. Each year we would go to my Bubby and Zaide’s house. I remember the excitement and anticipation as the holiday approached. All of my cousins, aunts, and uncles would gather together.  Without exaggeration, those were

This week, after years of mystery and speculation, the identity of the street artist known as Banksy was finally revealed. Identified as Robin Gunningham, a man in his early 50s from Bristol, England, he is an unlikely success story. Known for some high-profile art stunts, including partially shredding his best known work “Girl with Balloon” during an auction in 2018, Banksy’s works are some of the most expensive to come out of England this century. (“Girl with Balloon” sold

For years, Tim Ferriss has been one of the most influential voices in the modern self-improvement movement. His bestselling book “The 4-Hour Workweek” helped launch an entire culture built around optimization: productivity hacks, performance routines, morning rituals, and the constant pursuit of becoming better. Ferriss built a career studying elite performers and asking a simple question: What habits make extraordinary people successful? His podcast has featured world-class

R’ Shlomo Freifeld, the renowned founder of  the Shor Yoshuv Yeshiva, once shared a story about the day his life changed.      I think back in my own experience to when I finally began to make something of my life, and I can identify the day. In those days I was in yeshivah surrounded by a group of brilliant near-geniuses. These were my friends, my associates, my role models, and I tried to pattern myself after them. And then one day, I sat down in a room by myself, put my he

“Whatever you’re thinking, it’s probably worse.” That is how Auggie Pullman introduces his face to the reader in Wonder.   Auggie Pullman, a fictional ten-year-old boy, is just like anyone you know.  He sees what you see, hears what you hear, eats ice cream, rides his bike, plays ball, and has a great sense of humor.  But the moment older people look at him they avert their eyes, and little kids get scared and start screaming or saying something nasty and hurtful.  Auggie, it

Before beginning to train for a marathon, I met my running coach at a local Dunkin Donuts for some advice and guidance.  As he sat down, he placed two hundred dollars in cash on the table and said, “Here, this is for you.”  I must say it was a pretty strange sight to to watch so much cash slide across the table toward me.  Curious as to the direction this was going, I listened as my coach explained that we were about to play a game.  The cash represented my overall wellbeing,

At first, I was convinced my driver was drunk. I couldn’t understand why he was driving so strangely, why the car felt off, and why everything seemed just a bit… wrong. I wondered if it was me, jet lag after a long flight, and my head not quite on straight. Something was deeply disorienting. And then I remembered: I was in London where they drive on the other side of the car and the other side of the street! I had traveled to London for just a few hours to attend the wedding

Communities aren’t defined only by what they offer, but by how they make people feel. Long before a derasha is heard, a class is taught, or a program begins, something far more subtle happens: a first impression is formed. A look, a smile, or a moment of acknowledgment can determine whether someone feels they belong or whether they quietly slip back out the door. Strengthening Jewish life often leads us to focus on programming, education, and inspiration. Yet one of the most

Since the opening of Esti’s Playground, I often find myself walking past it, drawn in by the unmistakable sounds of children laughing, playing, and simply being children. For me, there is something deeply moving about those sounds, something that makes me pause and take it in. This is not just any playground. It is a meaningful and sacred space. A place where children can explore and play, where values can be learned, where families gather, and where community is alive. At th

In two weeks, my family and I will be in Miami with Chai Lifeline, and I will, iy”H, be running the Miami Half Marathon. For us it’s not just a race or a trip. Being with Chai Lifeline is deeply personal and the staff and the families have been part of our lives. As I train for this race, I’m constantly reminded that marathon training has a way of teaching life lessons whether you ask for them or not. Some of them are obvious. Small, consistent steps really do turn into miles

When I look back at my high school years, now a long time ago, I can’t necessarily pinpoint any single fact I learned or skill I mastered. The details blur with time. What remains vivid, however, are the teachers. I remember the ones who got me: the educators who saw past report cards and schedules and recognized a young person still figuring out who they were and who they might become. Those teachers didn’t just teach subjects, they shaped my trajectory. They made school a p

A recent New York Times essay by psychologist Angela Duckworth argues something counterintuitive but deeply resonant: willpower doesn’t work nearly as well as we think. The most disciplined people, the research suggests, don’t succeed because they are better at resisting temptation in the moment. They succeed because they arrange their lives to avoid temptation altogether. While this insight feels modern, backed by psychology, neuroscience, and data, the Torah taught it thous

This past summer, my daughters came home from camp singing a song I had never heard before. This was not unusual; children often come home from camp with new melodies that stitch themselves into the soundtrack of family life.  What was different this time, however, was what they were singing. The words stopped me in my tracks. For obvious Halachic reasons of Kol Isha, I had never listened to Mimi Pearlman’s song, “Karov Hashem.” But as my daughters sang it softly around the h

A few years ago, I met with a group of teenagers who had stayed in Boca for the summer. This was a different Boca than the one we know today, with fewer programs, fewer constructive outlets, and far more empty hours. The boys had spent their summer doing things they shouldn’t have done. Their parents were concerned and wanted us to speak with them, not to punish, but to understand. So we asked them a simple question: Why? Their answer was disarming in its honesty. “Rabbi,

One of the most inspirational and impactful stories I have read is in a short, easy-to-read book called “The Fred Factor,” by Mark Sanborn. Fred is the ordinary-looking postal carrier with a small moustache who once delivered mail to Sanborn’s house in the Washington Park area of Denver. But Fred is no ordinary U.S. Postal Service worker. According to Sanborn, he is the kind of worker who exemplifies everything that is “right” with customer service and is a role model for an

Televised sports these days have a new kind of scoreboard, one that doesn’t just tell you the score, but tells you the chances of success....

When my wife Arielle and I were first married, she was working as a nurse at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York City.  One of the things she...

Before Rabbi Shlomo Riskin was the Chief Rabbi of Efrat and before he founded the Lincoln Square Synagogue, he was a Talmud teacher at...

A few years ago, when I had the privilege of addressing a group of teenagers in our community,  I began by asking them to write down...