I don't know if it's just my little world, but it seems like every conversation the guys are having at cocktail parties comes back to AI.

The truth is that we can't ignore the dramatic transformation taking place right now. And as Jews, it’s worth asking what this moment might be inviting us to pay attention to.

In this week's Torah portion, we read one of the few stories that puts Isaac himself at the center (even the story of the binding of Isaac is a story about Abraham more than it is a story about Isaac).

When I was in Yeshiva, I was quite jealous of a close friend of mine. He seemed to doze off when we studied Talmud, but somehow the entire discussion found its way into his brain. I was working to understand every line. He seemed to have eaten the information for breakfast.

It was a little annoying. :-)

For the first time in over 30 years, we are empty nesters. With our children married or away at school, we are rediscovering what a quiet life looks like.

Well, not exactly. We are blessed with grandchildren, a growing Chabad Center, and plenty of responsibilities, opportunities, and demands on our time. Still, some days it is nice to come home to a quiet house.

P.S. The kids still call. :-)

The Previous Rebbe’s father once told someone in a private audience:

Ever since G‑d told our father Avraham, “Go from your land,” and the Torah then records that “Avram kept travelling southward,” we have the beginning of the mystery of birurim (refining of Divine sparks). By decree of Divine Providence, a person travels to the places where the sparks they must refine await their redemption.

Self = Neshama

Trigger = Animal Soul

There is lots of noise in the world right now. Really more than our nervous systems can handle.  There is the endless push of media, news, social and many other useful and useless media. Add in the negative spin of the media and its varying agendas. Throw in a little antisemitism and you are ripe for a full shut down.