In my last blog, I wrote about the extreme positions that surround many conversations about religion and God. I noted the obvious dangers inherent in such extreme positions, which humanity has witnessed in devastating effect, from the insane massacre of innocents by religious fundamentalists who believe that they are acting...

Over the last six months that I've been blogging for the Huffington Post, I have written about a variety of subjects - primarily about how to find spirituality in our every day activities. Most of these blogs receive a small amount of comments, but occasionally, when I include the topic...

In the Talmud - the encyclopedic compilation of Jewish moral and ethical debate - can be found this beautiful and mysterious sentence:

Every blade of grass has its angel that bends over it and whispers, 'Grow, grow.'

For some, this sentence presents several obstacles to understanding its message. First, based...

You may have seen the recent installment of advertisements for HSBC bank. Titled "Different Values," these new ads feature three pictures of the same object with three different captions. The most compelling of these ads features the picture of a lost wallet lying open on the sidewalk, with the captions...

Recently I met with a young man who was struggling at his job. A mutual friend recommended that I speak with him to see if I could provide any guidance. The young man told me that he dreaded getting up every morning to go to work, and that he came...

We live in extraordinarily complex and confusing times, and many of us are feeling overwhelmed by the challenges of our lives and the difficulty in navigating a world in which so much seems to be out of our control. We may have become resigned to the belief that the best...

I recently attended a music concert, and sitting next to me was a man I had met briefly before, but had never spoken to at length. I turned toward him and said,
"Hi. How's life?"
"How's life?" he answered. "What kind of question is that? How do you...

Last week I wrote about three possible responses to suffering, and soon received several comments noting that I did not include classic religious responses from the perspective of faith. Most deep religious traditions tell us that suffering comes from a mistaken belief that we are separate and purposeless, and from...

As a Rabbi, I've found that the most troubling spiritual question for most people is: "Why is life so difficult?" They want to understand why bad things happen -- especially to good people -- why things can't always be easy and comfortable and why we suffer. This question of suffering...

If you, like me, grew up in the 1960's, were a bit of a nerd, dreamed of a brighter future, and loved science fiction, you were a Star Trek fan. If so, you may remember an episode titled "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield". The story features two antagonists, one...

This is a follow up to last week's message about answering the call to service.

According to the Bible, the call to service began with one man, who was the first to hear and respond. This man was living comfortably with his family in the city of Charan - in...

This is a commencement address that I recently delivered to a graduating class of Rabbis from Rabbinical Seminaries International (RSI). I hope that its call to service resonates for you.

Congratulations on your ordinations as Rabbis! You are about to enter a path that will take will take you in...

A man recently came into my office for a job interview. As we were talking, I noticed that he was distracted by one of the framed items hanging near my desk, so I turned to see what he was looking at.

"Is that a Rabbinic Certificate?" he asked. "Are you...

I'm a big fan of "Seinfeld". Although the show is famously "about nothing", many of the episodes explore basic existential issues that most of us struggle with. My favorite episode is titled "The Opposite", which begins with George's painful - and obvious - realization that his life is not working....

I recently had the great pleasure and privilege of interviewing Martin Rutte and Vince Brewerton; two people who are at the forefront of a cultural development that offers the potential for powerful personal and societal transformation. Martin is the Chair of the Board at the Centre for Spirituality and the...

There was once a philosophy professor who opened each class by reminding his students that the test of any truth is whether it is paradoxical. In other words, it must be internally self-contradictory in order to be true. This is a difficult concept to grasp, so one of his students...

One of my favorite books is a collection of NewYorker magazine cartoons, and my favorite cartoon shows a man sitting at a table across from a young woman. The man is dapperly dressed, with swept-back hair and a confident smile. He leans toward the woman, and in the first frame...

This is Part 2 of a two-part exploration of EVERYTHING.

Last week, I posed the question:
How is it that there is a non-physical component to our physical being that is unrestrained by the limitations of space, time, and matter; that allows us to be self-aware, and to...

This is Part 1 of a two-part article:

Let's journey back approximately 13.7 billion years, to the Beginning of Everything - the moment in time when time itself began:

All that is and ever will be - all space, time, and matter - is contained within an infinitely...

I love reading New Yorker cartoons. With one picture and a short caption, many of these cartoons lightly capture existential truths that would require entire books to unfold. Last week's issue featured a cartoon that showed a depressed man lying on a psychiatrist's sofa, staring aimlessly at the ceiling. The...