Sublime

To make a true sea change in American Jewish life, we need to foster an entire generation of Empowered Jews.

I trust the unfolding and I will meet it well.

Once a person establishes himself as a faithful trustee, tithing his or her current income, Hashem will accord them the opportunity of becoming a faithful trustee on the next higher level. In brief, he or she who faithfully gives ten of the hundred that Hashem entrusts them with, will eventually give a hundred of the thousand that Hashem entrusts t

The idea of shlichut, or mission, the sense that everyone is called to this life in order to perform a unique and indispensable task, is deeply embedded in our tradition.

In choosing the phrase tikkun olam, Rabbi Luria was thus bringing together two ideas, one from Jewish law, the other from Jewish prayer, neither of which had the sense that he attached to it.

An Empowered Judaism framework recognizes that demand is strong among the general population and responds to that demand by building communities and institutions that offer direct engagement with Jewish life. Responding to this demand is the real challenge of our time.

They ruled that any Jew who was killed because he or she was Jewish was considered to have performed Kiddush HaShem. The truth underlying this ruling is that every Jew carries the covenant in his or her very existence. Whatever the religious behavior or commitment, a Jew’s existence alone is witness to God and covenant. As long as one Jew is alive,

God asks one individual – eventually a family, a tribe, a collection of tribes, a nation – to serve as an exemplary role-model, to be as it were a living case-study in what it is to live closely and continuously in the presence of God. This is – as Jewish history testifies – a weighty and risk-laden responsibility. Since

“If, however, you want to be able to observe the actual change you inspire in your audiences,” the Rebbe continued, “I suggest that you not speak in abstract terms. Teach your audiences a practical Jewish tradition, and leave them with an action point, even if it’s only one thing,