honesty Archives - Values & Ethics—Through a Jewish Lens

DECEIVING OURSELVES…

Posted by TTT | Aug 27, 2020 | communication, honesty, life changes |

KI TAYTZAY — “You can run, but you can’t hide”. We all have our demons, the parts of ourselves that we wish were better or wish didn’t exist within us. The best way to deal with them is to acknowledge their reality, confront them, and challenge them. Only then do we stand a chance of working them out of our system. This week’s Torah portion, Ki Taytzay, contains a wonderful mitzvah. We are instructed to return lost objects that we may find lying in the street. Though I may be appreciative of this when I am the owner who...

FACING UP TO CONSEQUENCES…

Posted by TTT | Jul 30, 2020 | courage, honesty, humility, responsibility |

VA-ETCHANAN — We often do not think of the potential consequences before we take action. Hopefully, we stop to think about the impact on our surroundings when we are making big decisions that require a lot of thought. But in the moment when we react quickly or when a decision doesn’t seem as though it has far-reaching implications, it is unlikely that we are running through all possible scenarios in our minds. So what happens when we are later faced with the consequences of those actions? In this week’s Torah portion, we see Moses dealing with the consequences of...

KEEPING YOUR WORD: IT’S EASIER SAID THAN DONE…

Posted by TTT | Jul 16, 2020 | communication, honesty |

MATOT — Words flow around us all day long and sometimes are taken lightly. Promises also can be made easily, but keeping them often is another matter. Adults might make too many promises to children about what they can have in the future, or children make may promises to adults about behaving better, which they are not always able to keep. It is important to check inside ourselves on our ability to fulfill a promise before we make it. Otherwise, our words will have little value and will not be taken seriously by our children. This week’s Torah Parsha...

PURIM—Masks and Identity

Posted by TTT | Mar 9, 2020 | holidays, honesty, self care |

PURIM — From the time we are born, our identities begin to evolve. In certain instances however, our identities become fixed over time, especially as they are formed in relationship to siblings. “She’s the smart one”, we think to ourselves. “He’s the one good at sports”. “She’s the one with the special needs; I’m the perfect one”. We often define ourselves in relation to another sibling, especially if parental expectations solidify those identities. Overstressed parents, who may have a child with problems or special needs, might expect another child to be “perfect” or at least more self-sustaining. Such expectations...

HUMILITY…

Posted by TTT | Feb 6, 2020 | attitude, communication, honesty, humility |

BESHALACH — What gives us our sense of value? Is it our own accomplishments or others recognizing that we’ve achieved success? Is it possible to be humble and self-confident at the same time? We can learn an important message from Moses. In this week’s portion, his authority was challenged by disgruntled members of the Jewish nation. Moses was well aware of his special relationship with God and the responsibility he carried as leader of the nation. Nonetheless, he truly did not view those achievements as reason for arrogance. Moses was a confident leader but a humble man, recognizing that...

Category: honesty

DECEIVING OURSELVES…

FACING UP TO CONSEQUENCES…

KEEPING YOUR WORD: IT’S EASIER SAID THAN DONE…

PURIM—Masks and Identity

HUMILITY…

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