Rabbi Yogi Robkin is the Director of Outreach at DATA of Plano, a synagogue and center for Jewish Education in Plano, Texas. Rabbi Yogi received his rabbinic ordination from Ner Israel Rabbinical Seminary in Baltimore, Maryland and joined Data in 2006 with the goal of sharing Jewish wisdom to individuals with little to no Judaic background. Rabbi Yogi lives in Plano with his wife Shifra and their five children. Follow him on Facebook.
A version of this article originally appeared in the Texas Jewish Post. Recently, I’ve been thinking of the many moralistic adages and maxims that pepper our daily conversations with family and friends, curious to see how many of them are consistent with Torah thought and values. What I’ve discovered is that while some of the…
A version of this article originally appeared in the Texas Jewish Post. Every new generation seems to offer up its own fresh take on life and living, sometimes building upon the sentiments and belief systems of previous generations and sometimes consciously moving away from them to forge new paths forward. An undeniable spirit pulses through…
A version of this article originally appeared in the Texas Jewish Post. I was only a few blocks away from the home of my my inlaws in Baltimore when I quickly switched from the left to the right lane and just as quickly hit the side of an oncoming vehicle. The evidence at the scene…
A version of this article originally appeared in the Texas Jewish Post. I admit it. I am a “meaning-aholic.” I know that no such word currently exists in Webster’s Dictionary, but I think it’s high time that this word, or a word like it, found its way into the holy grail of English parlance. Ever…
A version of this article originally appeared in the Texas Jewish Post. In my last column, I discussed the revolutionary concept of “change from the top,” the ancient Talmudic principle that long-lasting change only takes shape when forged at a higher place within ourselves. We described the curative functions that mind-shifts have in overcoming lifelong…
A version of this article originally appeared in the Texas Jewish Post. Change is difficult! That much is abundantly clear to all of us. For if there is one thing we humans are, it is creatures of habit, and change is all about disrupting equilibrium. I’ve thought alot about change over the years, what needed…
Editor’s Note: In this series, What the Forward?, we attempt to shed light on confusing Jewish customs, questions and observances. A version of this article originally appeared in the Texas Jewish Post. Q: I know rabbis that are quite obese, and I just don’t get it. I mean, doesn’t the Torah command us to be…
A version of this article originally appeared in the Texas Jewish Post. Our world has changed so drastically in the last 100 years — and the rabbinate, an institution better known for its constancy than its elasticity, has followed suit. The community rav, that learned individual principally appointed to answer the community’s questions about kosher…
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