“Civility,” he adds, “itself may be seen as part of hessed: it does indeed require kindnesses toward our fellow citizens, including the ones who are strangers, and even when it is hard.”

Greatness is a life turned outward, so that other people’s suffering matters to you more than your own. The mark of greatness is the combination of strength and gentleness that is among the most healing forces in human life.

The God of Israel is the God who loves us and cares for us as a parent loves for and cares for a child.

God does not see as people do. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (I Sam. 16:7).

Happiness is something you can feel alone, but joy, in Tanakh, is something you share with others.

Malicious gossip, lashon hara, undermines relationships, erodes the social bond, and damages trust. It deserves to be exposed and shamed.

that if we change the way we think, we will change the way we feel.

These are where the kehilla lives most powerfully: on Shabbat when we lay aside our private devices and desires and come together as a community; and the synagogue, where community has its home.

Sometimes the greatest have the least self-confidence, because they know how immense is the responsibility and how small they feel in relation to it. Courage does not mean having no fear. It means having fear but overcoming it. If that is true of physical courage it is no less true of moral and spiritual courage.