Think Jewish

We explored Judaism’s perspective on true freedom: living the life we were born to live.   We discussed the age-old practice of forcing people into slavery for failing to repay their debts, and the modern-day phenomenon of prisoners being compelled to work. We learned that Jewish law perspective.   Finally, we discussed brought it all home by exploring how the Jewish view of freedom info...

Check out this Seinfeld clip before watching the lesson https://youtu.be/pp8xP7iC9ys   Judaism’s vision of our mutual responsibility. We first discussed some case studies regarding our responsibility toward others.  We then explored the issue from a Jewish value, legal & mystical perspective.  We discovered that Jewish law considers it a crime to remain silent when someone’s lif...

Every society has its system for dealing with a person who has violated the laws of the country. Judaism as well has the concept of Teshuva, returning from one's wrong ways. What are the differences in the underlying principles and how are they reflected in the legal system?  Recorded Live May 26, 2022 Rabbi Pinchas Adler

Can I use someone's property without their permission? Can I not let my neighbor's washing machine through my apartment, even though they have no other way to get it into theirs? While secular law views its purpose as maintaining social order by protecting individual rights, Jewish law sees its purpose as shaping society by guiding individuals to do what is right. This leads to some surprising law...

Want to walk into the Seder as the wise son? Listen to this class!   Recorded Live April 13, 2022 Rabbi Pinchas Adler

All you need to know for the days before Passover. Recorded Live April 6, 2022 Rabbi Pinchas Adler

The evolution of the humble Matzah. Hand-made was the way to make Matzah since the time of Moses. When Machine made Matzah came around, was it accepted right away? Why would anyone oppose it? Is there any reason to still get handmade today?   Recorded Live March 30, 2022 Rabbi Pinchas Adler

What is of greater importance, deed, or faith? Action or meditation? Well, we really need both. As acts of service to G-d, we learned that mitzvot bridge the divide between finite human beings and the infinite G-d. Mitzvot help us establish a relationship with G-d, and the meditative intent that motivates mitzvah performance is what makes it a meaningful connection. On top of that, we discovered t...

We learned that an essential axiom of the Jewish value system is, “Know G-d in all you do.” It speaks to the notion that everything we do—not only the overtly spiritual and religious—can express G-dliness. To this end, we explored the three most basic activities of daily living and how we can infuse them with meaning. Eat. Sleep. Work. We gave ideas that can infuse meaning into each one of those a...

In this lesson, we uncovered the Jewish secret to overcoming the scattered and unfocused feelings that we often experience. We explored the idea that the world is re-created by G-d every moment, with a fresh and unique creative energy. This means that every moment is invested with a unique purpose and is valuable in its own right, not only as a lead-up to some future moment. At the same time, bein...

What does it mean, just as a soul fills a body, so does G-d fill the world? In this class, we learned ideas we can meditate on, changing how we look at the world, ourselves, and the purpose of everything around us and in our lives. This has numerous positive effects on our day-to-day life. But it requires hard work, as we are seeking not just a spiritual experience. We are seeking a mindset change...

Every person is comprised of a body and a soul, each of which has its unique character and drive: the body is driven by material gain and the soul by spirituality. This means that we all possess an innate spiritual drive that we can come to feel and experience. The problem is that our material drive overpowers our soul. We explored two Jewish meditation practices that aim to help us overcome this...

When you think about meditation, what comes to mind? Do you imagine yourself sitting in a yoga pose with your eyes closed? Do you associate it with certain religions? Is Judaism one of them?  In this class, we explore the authentic tradition of Jewish meditative practice and how can it be used to better our lives and the lives of those around us?   Recorded Live Feb. 2, 2022 Rabbi Pincha...

Why are there so many arguments in understanding the Torah? Who has the real truth? Shouldn't something divine have one truth?   Recorded Live January 26, 2022 Rabbi Pinchas Adler

A class on perspective in a seemingly upside-down world.  Recorded Live Jan. 20, 2022 Rabbi Pinchas Adler

Before the Israelites left Egypt, some chased after gold and some chased after graves - both upon the express command of G - D. Who was right?  Two great lessons. One in living an integrated life and the second in priorities. We also discuss a little about this special day celebrating the Rebbe's leadership. Recorded live Jan. 12, 2022 Rabbi Pinchas Adler

What is the purpose of the ten plagues? To free the Jews? Just skip to the last plague! To show G-d's power? Then why only ten!   Recorded Live Dec. 29, 2021 Rabbi Pinchas Adler

Are Challenges unnecessary obstacles, or are they part of who we are?   Recorded live Dec. 22, 2021 Rabbi Pinchas Adler

What is the real miracle of Chanukah? What can we learn from it? Is Torah just another type of wisdom? How does monotheism change our daily living?   Recorded live December 1, 2021 Rabbi Pinchas Adler

In this fourth and final class, we discuss what should we do when celebrities, politicians, and other public figures seem to be antisemitic? How do we respond? In this class, we learned of a radical new approach.   Recorded Live Nov 17, 2021 Rabbi Pinchas Adler

Antisemitism in the form of anti-Israel sentiment. When is it valid criticism vs anti-Semitism. What can we do about it when it's coming from our own ranks?   Recorded Live Nov. 10, 2021 Rabbi Pinchas Adler

Recorded Live Nov 3, 20201 Rabbi Pinchas Adler Video referenced at the end: https://www.chabad.org/multimedia/video_cdo/aid/5294580/jewish/The-Thugs-Convinced-Me-to-Join-Them-in-Siberia.htm

Recorded live 10/27/21 Rabbi Pinchas Adler

Abraham Is commanded to sacrifice his son. We know G-d did not actually make him do it, but why test him in this manner? What did G-d want? More importantly, what does this story mean to us?    Recorded Live Oct. 20, 2021 Rabbi Pinchas Adler.

Not long ago, we each purchased a Lulav and Etrog set for Sukkos for a tidy sum. A pair of Tefillin is even more costly, and to send a child to a Jewish school, you need to open a savings account. Why must things be this way? Recorded Live Oct 13, 2021 Rabbi Pinchas Adler