Do you want to make the world a better place? Try reading Harry Potter. — No, it’s not magic. According to the Journal of Applied Social Psychology, there’s more to J.K. Rowling’s wildly successful series than just a good story. The tale of a tyrannized orphan who discovers extraordinary magical abilities is an epic metaphor. The attempt by pure-blooded wizards to purge the magical world…

What can we do following the massacre? What should we do? Perhaps a better question is: what should we not do? Here are a three suggestions: First, don’t start debating gun control… not yet. Yes, we need to have that conversation, but not while we mourn. Common sense demands that we make it harder to get guns…

The abortion debate exposes all that is wrong with modern-day politics Predictably, the recent Supreme leak portending the imminent reversal of Roe v. Wade has sparked rallies, threats, and predictions that life as we know it will soon come to an end. Cooler heads are unlikely to prevail. It’s easy to understand why abortion rights advocates are passionate about preserving the…

The answer to this question teaches as much about joy as about sorrow My dog died. My daughter got engaged. Ukrainian children were brutally murdered in Mariupol. I passed my college physics exam. An earthquake leaves thousands homeless. “Time in a Bottle” comes on the radio. My best friend has leukemia. My wife gave birth to twins. Another senseless terror attack takes innocent…

Feeling too good about yourself might be your biggest handicap. — Take a ride in a glass elevator of success, from ground level to rooftop in a single ride. How do you feel? If you’re like most people, you feel — no surprise here — like you’re on top of the world. In fact, your ascension may leave you feeling secure…

8 ways to shift your mindset and create a more fulfilling life. — Are you in hot pursuit of happiness? If so, there’s a good chance you will never catch it. A 1978 study by Brickman, Coates and Janoff-Bulman offered a revolutionary perspective that led to decades of research. One remarkable discovery was that lottery winners are not significantly happier one year after…

Let the brushstrokes of creation evoke the masterpiece you can create from your own life — As it does every year, the Festival of Passover summons every Jew not merely to remember but to reexperience their long and checkered history: 210 years as slaves in a foreign land. The dramatic reversal of the exodus from Egypt. Four decades wandering through the wilderness. Nine centuries of construction…

Resolve the paradox of choosing your own master — “This year we are here, next year in Jerusalem! This year we are slaves, next year — free people!” With this aspirational refrain, the Passover Haggadah summons us to commence our annual reexperiencing of the Jewish nation’s exodus from Egypt. …

Reflect on the responsibilities of freedom to escape tyranny of the mind After generations of slavery and oppression, amidst miracles unprecedented and unrepeated, the Children of Israel marched forth out of Egypt and into the wilderness as a free people for the first time in their collective memory. Fifty days later they stood together at Sinai to accept upon themselves the yoke…