Modern man is driven by self-interest. Corporate America is built upon transactional relationships. Nothing is for nothing. If you want a favor, expect to grant a favor in return. Transactional romantic relationship is one where each gets something out of the relationship and gives something in return. Much like a business relationship, a quid pro
Herded like cattle headed to the slaughter. This is how I felt on the way to an event where hopefully, I will meet my one and only. When I got there, there was not one and not only. There was everybody and nobody. While trying to hide my own shame and despair, everyone corralled in
Use your head to narrow down the possibilities, use your heart to recognize your one and only. The Torah recognizes the schism between the logic of the brain and wisdom of the heart which is deemed preeminent. To illustrate the wisdom of the heart, let’s get to the heart of the matter. Let’s talk in
Mindfulness has today become sacrosanct. This newfound dogma of mindfulness has become an axiomatic self-evident truth. It is neither self-evident nor an absolute truth. When it comes to falling in love, mindfulness is the problem, not the solution. Mindfulness is antithetical to love. Sigmund Freud had a patient who after years of psychoanalysis handed Sigmund
A Roman matron asked Rabbi Yossi ben Halfafta: And how many days did God create his world? He said to her, in six days, as it is written, “for in six days God made the heavens and the earth.” And from that time, what has kept him busy? He said to her, he sits and
The Torah tells us that Adam named all the animals. The Torah tells us that names were changed; Avrom to Avroham, Sari to Sarah, Yaakov to Yisroel. The Torah tells us what the Avos named their children and why. In one case, it was Hashem who selected the name, Yitzchok. Today, it is not until
We live our lives distorting reality, at least to some extent, to the way we want it to be, not the way it is. Nowhere is this more salient, as in shidduchim. Shidduchim has its own protocols – usual and customary practice – which does not change because that’s the way you want it to
Rabbi Yisrael Gans, Rosh Yeshiva of Kol Torah, explains what a reference is permitted to say, is prohibited to say, or is obligated to say. When calling references, Yismach urges you to limit your questions and structure them according to the parameters delineated in this Shiur of Rabbi Yisrael Gans, Rosh Yeshiva of Kol Torah.
A Shadchan is entitled to a fee by Jewish Law. In Shulchan Aruch Choshen Mishpat, Jewish Laws of monetary matters are laid out in a systematic comprehensive manner. In the section on the obligation to pay an agent, such as a real estate agent, the RAMA commented that a shadchan is an agent like a
ANTI-MARRIAGE MANIFESTO The famous 19th century socialist Robert Owen included the family, along with marriage and private property, in his ‘triumvirate of evil’, which, he asserted, has ‘cursed the world ever since the creation of man’. Gloria Steinem, the famous celebrity feminist, once declared, ‘We have to abolish and reform the institution of marriage…By the
