In this Special podcast for Tisha b’av, Dr. Malamet explores various explanations for why there is suffering, and God’s silent role in each. He also explores the idea of the covenant between Jews and God, that if you do good, you get good. If you receive or experience bad things, you must have done something wrong – but is that truly the case?
In a democratic society, calling out Ye’s latest rant is as reasonable as any other justified critique of a public figure. But we need to remember that there are serious problems that face Jews everywhere that won’t be solved by a tsunami of backlash on Twitter against celebrities who would not even be subjects for conversation if they were not celebrities.
Life invariably shows us how fragile we really are and Sukkot is about literally shifting perspectives and encountering that fragility. Sukkot asks us to consider the real meaning of security and to cherish our beloved all the more.
How do shofar sounds connect to the lives we all lead? Because music is a language. This Rosh Hashana let the music take you on a journey through the ups and downs of life and set your intentions for the new year.
This week’s instalment of the Living Jewishly Podcasts is an episode of What’s in Your Toolbox?, a podcast about mental health. In this episode, Bobby K sits down with “Wacky Jackie” G., a fellow alumni of the Mood Disorder Association of Ontario’s Laughing Like Crazy program, to discuss the power of comedy, creativity, and connection.
Happiness is like a destination that is seemingly not too far away and yet arriving is much harder than you thought it would be. The cultural pressure to be happy has grown exponentially. Books; tapes, life coaches, university courses.Perhaps we should look at happiness as a gentle aspiration, a fluid goal, rather than a strict mandate to be complied with
If you are “pro-choice,” meaning you believe that women have the right, under all circumstances, to choose abortion as an option for an unwanted pregnancy; or if you are “pro-life”, asserting that ending a fetal life at any stage after conception, for any reason, is akin to murder, then Jewish law is going to disappoint you both.
In Jewish terms, one of the most important questions we can ask ourselves is “what do I worship?” Faced with this challenge, many people will find themselves hard-pressed to think of an answer. Read more to ask yourself the important questions and discover what you worship.
As Jews around the world prepare for the annual Shavuot festival marking the giving of the Torah at Mt. Sinai, for many of our brothers and sisters, involvement in Judaism is an endeavour that takes place on a distant planet, one which they have neither the inclination nor the inspiration to visit.
We can all think about walking the walk which, as always, begins with those who are closest to us, and then radiates outwards. But perhaps we are doing too much thinking and not enough doing. Read more in Dr. Elliot Malamet’s latest blog about the importance of mutual respect and repairing the world.