One Value to the Exclusion of all else

A new recruit is asked during an interview what he would consider to be a personal fault. He answered: that I always say the truth. "I don't consider that a fault", the potential boss shared. "I don't care what you think" replied the now less than likely recruit :-) Every value is great but not to the exclusion of everything else... Menachem Mendel Bluming

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Why Kosher?

You go to a doctor to guide you about which foods are healthy for the body. Which ones strengthen you and which weaken you even if they taste good and the effects are not felt immediately, the doctor knows that those sugary unhealthy foods are not building your wellness. How do you know what the nutritional needs of your soul are? Do souls even have nutritional needs? Kosher is that diet. Designed for the Jewish soul by its Maker. It nurtures Jewish sensitivity and faith, happiness and connection. So why kosher? It’s the diet tailor made for your soul by its maker! Enjoy! Rabbi Menachem Mendel Bluming is a rabbi in Potomac, Maryland since 2000
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Menachem Bluming Muses: Your iPhone

The utopian Garden of Eden came crashing down because Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit. What was it about this fruit that they could not withstand?   This is how the Torah describes it in chapter 4 of Genesis: “The tree was good for food and it was a delight to the eyes, and the tree was desirable to make one wise.” Very interesting description for a fruit! So here is my 2021 perspective, after all the Torah is eternal and its message is as pertinent in our time as it was back then. Our very risky fruit is the iPhone... I certainly don’t mean to offend the iPhone whom I love and depend on... I mean all smart phones. They are a delight for our eyes. Our eyes light up when we get a new text, a new email, a new like on a Facebook post etc. They are desirable to us they are exciting and they make us wise, it can be so enjoyable. Yet it can also be dangerous.... G-d turns to Adam and says where are you and he says I was hiding... Yup, his smart phone has started to take o...
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Menachem Bluming Muses: Why Sukkot so soon after Yom Kippur??

Here's a thought: have you ever felt very inspired and uplifted by a great spiritual experience only to have real life wipe out any memory of it rather quickly? A newborn baby, moments after birth, is taken by a midwife and wrapped up in a swaddling cloth. This serves to keep the newborn protected and warm. Having just emerged from the security and nurture of the womb, the baby is particularly vulnerable and sensitive. A good swaddling cloth gives him a sense of protection from the cold and harsh world out here. But swaddling doesn't last long. You rarely see teenagers wrapped up in a cloth with their arms behind their ears. (Though perhaps some should be.) Swaddling is a brief bridging stage between the safety of the womb and the hazards of real life. A well wrapped baby will eventually grow to face life unwrapped. The swaddle cloth just helps him get there. Your soul needs that bridge too. You have emerged from the womb of Yom Kippur a pure and renewed soul. The negativ...
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