In a foreign and unnerving setting, a hospital ward, there came an extraordinary moment, a shared whisper between two souls, wrapped in the sacred shroud of serenity. This heavenly ballet was enacted on the humble stage of a noisy, strange room. An angelic soul, nestled on the bed, stretched out his little hand towards me….
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From Ruins to Redemption: The Eternal Promise of Tisha B’Av
In a land of long ago, where history was made, A story of destruction and hope shall be relayed. Tisha B’Av, a day of sadness and loss, But through the ashes, a promise arose like a gloss. The reason for this sorrow, a tale to unfold, Began with the Jewish people, in the desert of…
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The sacred song of GOD
Life moves to the divine rhythm of a song called ‘ratzo vashov’, a melody composed of two distinct yet harmonious movements: the running and the returning. This spiritual symphony echoes in every breath, every heartbeat, and the sun’s daily traverse from dawn to dusk. As members of this celestial orchestra, we experience and contribute to…
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Unyielding Light in the Abyss – A Pintele Yid
Life’s path is strewn with jagged stones of hate, a bitter reality the Jewish community has endured all too often. The stain of hatred has appeared in manifold forms, intensity, places, and historical epochs. The depth of these encounters has left an indelible mark on our collective memory, etching the pain of these experiences deep…
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Mount Sinai’s Treasure: A Dream Realized
In a land far away, where miracles unfolded, the Children of Israel stood united, their hearts full of faith and wonder. On the sacred mountain of Sinai, God’s voice rang clear, revealing divine wisdom that would forever shape their lives. Journey with us through this emotional retelling of Shavuot and the Giving of the Torah, as we rediscover the unwavering trust, humility, and love that bind us to our cherished heritage.
Read moreCaught by a Miracle: My Unforgettable Birthday
On my birthday, over a year ago, I experienced an event at the Engedi Waterfall that defies conventional explanation. In a moment that seemed to suspend the laws of time and space, I was the central character in a real-life miracle. A family day turned into a sequence of heart-stopping moments when my daughter, Tiferes, teetered on the edge of a steep drop. How I managed to catch her in time still baffles me; it felt as if I were a tool of divine providence, placed there just in time to prevent a catastrophe. This personal account explores the depth of that day’s emotions and how it eternally changed my understanding of miracles – taking them from the realm of ancient stories to a tangible reality that has become an indelible part of my life.
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My Tears, Our Destiny
In the hollow echo of the hospital’s corridors, I stood alone, my shadow merely a smear against the stark white walls. The usual rhythm of life had faltered; the heartbeat of my world drowned in a silence more deafening than chaos, filling the sterile halls with a brutal punctuation. Facing this terrifying void, I found…
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Embracing the Light – Joy in Lag B’Omer’s Legacy by Mark Baranov
Discover the heartwarming tales of Lag B’Omer, a celebration that honors the wisdom and legacy of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai and Rabbi Akiva. Experience the joy, unity, and cherished traditions of this remarkable holiday as we embrace the light of our sages and rejoice in their everlasting teachings.
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The great escape from Egypt– a story of faith
Once upon a time, in a land by the Nile, A grumpy Pharaoh ruled, never cracking a smile. The children of Israel worked, feeling quite blue, But they hoped that one day, they’d break free and start new. God heard their prayers and sent Moshe their way, To free them from Pharaoh, and bring a…
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An elusive concept
Generosity of spirit – When a human reaches out, without a quantifiable reason to help another and gives of him/herself to comfort or sustain another. This is a Devine attribute and therefore completely foreign to most. But there are some truly inspiring and breathtakingly generous people, who learn from on high and act divinely. They…
Read moreThe time has arrived to get real!
We all get to this point at various times, some more infrequent than others. It’s time to be who I need to be, to feel right with the world and its purpose (naturally, we have no idea what that actually means and yet, it feels real enough). So now I know what needs to be…
Read more18 year old dream
Drifting way out at sea, unable to see the shore, and yet knowing it is there, is a source of reassurance. One-day things will be different, one day everything will become refocused and clarity will be accessible, but until then we hold on to our memories like driftwood to help us weather the storm and…
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Change and endurance
If you are not entirely asleep at the wheel, then you will see change all around you. Your ability to perceive it accelerate with age. What once seemed something that had to be endured, long days, weeks and months disappear before your eyes and you are left wondering what was ultimately achieved. People around you…
Read moreI’m yours
Submission as a word has been perverted, to mean a form of humiliation. Depicting one as being at the mercy of another and conjuring images of wrestlers or people garbed in shiny leather. To submit is to acknowledge that; You lack the superiority and power and are beholden. You have no independent will and that…
Read moreDaddy’s lap
Can I sit on your lap daddy? you know when I’m older you will regret it! The innocence, the intimacy that it implies with the desire to be united by proximity and touch. To be sensitive and understand that there is a need beneath these words that has nothing to do with the question itself….
Read moreI do
A promise to love is on the surface a fallacy, a pun, an impossible claim and its utterance is only dwarfed by the simplicity of the individual believing it. It makes no rational sense to say it or believe the person who is saying it. After all, it is based on the known of today…
Read moreOur Constant Companion
A feeling of guilt that’s felt (in varying degrees) is a constant companion, a calling inside you. It whispers that you ought to be doing something noble with the failure to achieve some mysterious goal leaving you feeling sad and depressed. Depending on the volume of this voice inside, you can resort to various activities…
Read moreWhat should we pray for?
During our prayers, when we reach that point of standing face to face, as it were, with our Creator what do most have in mind? The short answer is their needs. We can couch our prayers and supplications so that they sound noble but ultimately, we have our hand out. As we should, of course, because we are…
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Want to become a fortune-teller? – Just look at history!
Every day is an opportunity to be a better version of yourself, you can just fill in the blanks and call it a day, or reevaluate often to avoid having blanks to deal with. Mark Baranov trying to learn from history, to avoid repeating it.
Read moreSublimely perfect
It’s been a path of many twists, of seeming triumphs and defeats. It’s been a journey of many tales, of countless memories and lofty trails. It’s been a wondrous adventure, with superhuman feats abound. But mostly it’s been sublimely perfect, to share it all with you my love. You are the very best of people,…
Read moreWe owe our parents nothing!
When people bring a baby into this world, they have desires, dreams and aspirations for this child. Naturally, “in good health” is primary however, we also want them to be so many other things. The question is why? It should not be our role, to live vicariously through our children, to enjoy the successes of…
Read moreMaking waves
Drop a pebble in still water and watch the ripples spread. Gradually the ripples subside and the stillness resumes. What is left is the memory of the ripples and the motion of the water. You try to recreate the magic of those perfect ripples by casting another pebble only to find a different outcome, ripples…
Read moreMove or die
In life stagnation and mediocrity is tantamount to death. No one can tread water indefinitely, you either drown from exhaustion or swim to salvation. We are all guilty of coasting at times. Life is good, simple, uneventful and predictable. But is that really a life? For one to know that he is living, there must be;…
Read moreI want my children home
Imagine each person’s soul as a child of a father. The father sends out his children (against their will) into this dark and troublesome world on specific missions. Each mission is sacred and instrumental in the continuation of creation itself, but still, the father is longing for the speedy return of his children all the…
Read moreTrue to mans purpose
Morality and empathy are the building blocks of civilization. By removing or diluting them the foundations of humanity are compromised which starts a process of dehumanization and ultimately leads to the reversal of the hierarchy of living creatures, where man is no longer at the top. The reason man is on top is because he…
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Reformed Jew or gentile in trappings
Reformed Jew or gentile in trappings? I was recently asked by a gentile (non-Jew) “why can’t all of us (he meant orthodox Jews) just accept these other Jews and their desire to pray at the Kotel, whichever way they want?”… On the face of it, the question posed is fair and is hard to argue…
Read moreYouth
youth is a disease, whose only cure is time.
Read moreBeing in the moment
Enjoy every last letter of every word, sentence and paragraph of this fantastic chapter of your life. Don’t rush past any details in an attempt to get to the next chapter.
Read moreDecisions
Every decision which we make revolves around our balance. The balance between; what we need and want, who we are and want to be, who we impact and who we don’t, what we desire and repel, whom we love and whom we can’t. The scary thing is that this balance is inherent and requires little…
Read moreNumerical values
There are so many numerical values which apply to an individual their; Smiles, Laughs, IQ, BMI, BAS Close friends So why are we so fixated on the only numbers that don’t matter?
Read moreTo exist vs To live
To exist is to question, to live is to believe.
Read moreSensory palette
Our sensory palette is directly proportional to the range of love and despair which we have experienced. Any colour which doesn’t resonate emotion, by its inclusion or exclusion, is wasted energy and devoid of purpose.
Read moreKudos
The modern office often promotes an open planned environment for a higher level of accountability and productivity. But what it also achieves, is a beehive of politics and competition. The main interchange is kudos. The sense of respect and overwhelming adoration that most humans crave. A mixture of egos and agenda are thrown together into…
Read moreInsomniac blundering
When the sun comes out from beneath the heavy clouds and reflects the earlier precipitation, I think of rebirth and the many varied possibilities that the universe is presenting to us. We can choose to see it as such and make use of the faculties and abilities which we have been blessed with, or just…
Read moreIs life just a string of sound bites?
A sound bite is an interesting concept, readily used by broadcasting types to describe a snapshot of content with the highlights or poignant fact. This is obviously not a modern concept. Samuel Langhorne Clemens had a very similar concept “a minimum of sound to a maximum of sense” which he published at the beginning of…
Read morePower of Blood
In this age of political correctness and vigilance, it is risky and almost taboo to revel in the magnificence of blood and its fruits. An acute observer like you, will upon occasion, see this phenomenon. A mother walking down the street or sitting in a cafe with her children. Being aware and discerning, you know…
Read moreThank GOD, I saved a life last night
Last night was a glimpse into GOD’s world that we stumble around in, usually without realising any nuance. After spending a relaxing Shabbat with friends we attended a birthday party where we were introduced to a recent arrival, we proceeded to find intersection from various places. A particular name was mentioned, whom I did not…
Read moreGaining enlightenment
If true enlightenment comes through silence. Then the sounds of life mostly, repress wisdom.#markbaranov
Read moreLife long lesson
A life long lesson of a man is to realise that he has no control. The sum total of that realisation is that he must still go through its paces.#markbaranov
Read moreWithout fear
The stillness of the morning just prior to daybreak is palpable. Those precious moments when clarity feels within reach and your thoughts are succinct. Now you know what to ask for, without fear and yet, mostly these opportunities are squandered by the premature heralding of the sun. #markbaranov
Read moreVariance of love
Love and in-love are two separate yet intertwined precepts. Being in love is a vapour, an almost spiritual experience which cannot be grasped or quantified and yet it’s presence or lack of, is amply felt. Love, on the other hand, is a tangible thing, almost solid, it’s represented as building blocks allowing individuals to grow…
Read morePrinted words
The printed word is hardly ever the definitive truth. At best it’s the writers take on a subject but commonly it’s the writers desire to be published, despite the collateral damage caused by their words. When a reader aligns with that word without understanding the motivation of the writer, he/she becomes an unsuspecting collaborator and…
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Post Truth
The Oxford dictionary has just recorded the word of the year 2016, to our vocabulary; “Post-Truth” Defining it as;-relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief. Without diving in and trying to do mental contortions to understand the subtlety of…
Read moreObligated by GOD to establish our society based on social justice
The tragedy is that Israel is not abiding by its own moral, cultural and religious obligations. It is a national obligation to protect its citizens from harm. If elements are identified within or without which impede on the security of its citizens, then it MUST intervene and resolve the threat. If a foreign nation attacks, then the solution is clearly defined because the threat is contained and can…
Read moreMy one and only
In every single little way, I’m enamored every day, By the way you hold your course, Amidst the turmoil strength you source, Although our journey may be trying, Your commitment is undying, You are my best friend every day, In every single little way.
Read moreWorthwhile pursuits
A simple test to determine the value of an endeavour is to to access the measure of time. Time is fleeting when you are engaged with building and immersed in worthwhile pursuits. The opposite is a waste of time.
Read moreMy little angel
I thank GOD every day for the blessing of fatherhood. Every child that I have been blessed with, has continued my education about the meaning of life. The simple truth is that we are all, eternal students of life and how to be better beings.
Read moreMothers day
On Mother’s Day, we celebrate the person who carried us in her womb and gave birth to us. That in itself would have been enough for a lifetime of thanks. But a mother is defined not by the birth which is finite but by the love, care, sacrifice and devotion that she shows for the…
Read moreChange
Nothing much has changed since we were small children. We used to catch a bus to school to learn what it means to be free, now we travel by plane for work to figure out how, not to be slaves.
Read moreA night at the…
Ding ding, the tiny counter bell rings as the German backpackers step in from the chill of the mountain air. They overheard a conversation about this place in the lobby of their hostel and not having time or desire to wander in the cold they thought, this is us for the night. The setting is…
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