Ethics

Succoth is the season for joy. How do I repay someone who helped me strengthen my faith and made me happier? What's it worth, a million dollars? A billion dollars? There's a big difference between repaying a material favor and repaying a spiritual favor. This time of year is especially conducive to pondering the spiritual side of our lives...

"It was only a joke!" These are the famous last words of the malicious individuals who laugh and joke at the expense of others. Hashem reads a person's heart and knows exactly what his or her intent was. While exploring Rebbe Nachman's famous tale, "The Humble King," we learn an important lesson about Elul and self-evaluation as we prepare for Rosh Hashanah.

I don't know how to express my concern for my beloved country that is now the victim of unprecedented intramural hate and discord, so I invented Old Charlie. He's the type of leader we need, especially now.

99% of movies, TV and Modern Society will tell you that its much better to be a macho than a meek person. We all know what Macho's are like – tough guys on the surface, a lot of bravado and all-too-often tyrannical. Girls ooh and ahh at the Macho, but the ones who marry one end up miserable...

Is your money kosher for Passover? Is it kosher at all? Kosher money carries a big blessing and goes a long way...

Love is like atomic power. The positive aspects of love can illuminate the world but its negative aspects can destroy the world. In today's lesson on Chapter Four of "Orchus Tzaddikim" (The Ways of the Righteous), we learn an important lesson for life. There are seven main types of love. Each has a misplaced application as well as a positive one. We also learn important holistic health advice when learning the proper way to love ourselves.

Chutzpa is the Hebrew word for audacity. When we activate our chutzpa in the right place, we gird ourselves in strength and are able to take a bold stand against evil. On the other hand, chutzpa in the wrong place sends a person into a self-destruct mode. Today's lesson on Chapter Four of Orchus Tzaddikim - Ways of the Righteous - teaches us to differentiate between "holy chutzpa" and the unholy type.

Would you do whatever you want behind closed doors if you knew that no one would see you or catch you in the act? Would you allow your spouse to see your computer's or smartphone's surfing history? There's a healthy type of shame that indicates to emuna and spiritual intelligence. This is the subject of today's lesson on the "Gate of Shame", the third chapter of the classic "Ways of the Righteous."

Arrogance is the first "gate," or chapter, of the classic ethics book "Ways of the Righteous," which we learn in today's lesson. The author addresses this character trait first because it's the root of many additional character flaws. In fact, it's the most damaging of negative character traits. Learning how to avoid it is therefore the foundation of character refinement.

"The Ways of the Righteous" is one of Judaim's prime guidebooks to character refinement and improvement. We humans have the bodies of mammals but the souls of angels. The more we strive to refine character, the more our souls can channel our bodies in the upright path. This wonderful book teaches how to do just that. Today's lesson introduces us to the art and challenge of improving our character.

Today’s Emuna Hour lesson introduces us to the six main types of verbal abusers: the common fools, the scoffers, the highbrows, the archivists, the investigators and the detractors. We learn to recognize them and how to guard ourselves from them.

Fitness trainers have an expression: “Get it right!” Any exercise, from simple breathing to the most complex routine, must be done in the best possible form to ensure optimal performance, gain and benefit to the body. Just as doing exercise is a workout for the body, doing mitzvas is a workout for the soul, making the soul strong and healthy. In that respect, good spiritual form is important for fulfilling a mitzva, so when it comes to observing the Torah, we have to "get it right" too.