kindness
Following in God’s Footsteps
By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz Kids ask the craziest questions but sometimes they make you think. This is generally what happens when my youngest son learns Torah. He asked me this morning, “What size shoes does God wear?” I took a deep breath...
Turning an Enemy Into a Brother
By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz Joseph and I did not get along and it caused my boss no end of grief. One day, the company hired a new Human Resources manager, a former hippie named Sarah. She smelled of patchouli and her beaded necklaces...
Have Compassion and Empathy Even in the Most Trying Times
By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz Shai was an anomaly in the IDF. The patches on his shoulders had two stripes, making him a captain. But he thought patrols in the desert were a great opportunity to work on his tan, so as soon as our jeep left...
The Miraculous Moment that Changed American and Israeli History
It was 1948. World War II had just ended, and the United States was the most powerful and influential nation on earth. After saving Europe from the Nazis and crippling Japan with two nuclear bombs, the fate of humanity rested largely in...
The Obligation to Pay Wages On Time
Among the many mitzvot (commandments) listed in the Torah portion of Kedoshim (Leviticus 19:1-20:27) is an incongruous commandment telling the Jews to pay wages on time: The wages of a laborer shall not remain with you until morning....
Why Are We Commanded to Be Kind to the Stranger So Many Times?
After centuries of being enslaved and persecuted by the Egyptians, the Torah commands the Jews to treat strangers kindly “for you were strangers in the land of Egypt” (Exodus 22:20). The specific prohibition against abusing strangers is...
