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Embracing the Mundane: The Ordinary Isn’t Broken — Part I
Ordinary life hasn’t failed—it’s been misjudged. In a culture that treats constant growth as proof of worth, the mundane is often mistaken for stagnation. This essay begins a slow, deliberate exploration of why “enough” became suspect—and what we lose when we forget the value of ordinary, sustaining lives.
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In the Between: Four Movements Toward Becoming
By Ezra Nadav Author’s Preface These four poems emerged over time, each one finding me at a different stage of unlearning. They began as small acts of reflection — scraps of light in long stretches of quiet — and slowly became a conversation between solitude, surrender, and self-return. In the Between traces the cyclical movement…
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Leadership Lessons from the Mishnah: Part I
The Mishnah isn’t just ancient law — it’s a leadership manual hiding in plain sight. In the very first chapter of Tractate Berakhot, the rabbis wrestle with questions that sound strikingly modern: When should you start a project? How do you set deadlines? What happens when instructions conflict? In Part I of this new series,…
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Immediate Gratification vs. Sacred Struggle
Have We Stopped Talking With The Divine Because AI Answers Us Faster? Part of the ‘On Second Thought’ series By: Ezra Nadav This week my Rabbi’s drash got me thinking more deeply. He reminded us that Judaism is not about easy answers but about the wrestling — with the Divine, with text, with ourselves. In…
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Why Resilience and Mental Toughness Matter More Than Positive Thinking
Part of the ‘Not Quiet What You Meant’ series By: Ezra Nadav For years, “positive thinking” has been marketed as the secret to success. From self-help books to Instagram mantras, the message has been consistent: if you just focus on the good, the good will follow. But life is more complicated than a motivational poster,…
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Pogrom by Any Definition
A part of the ‘On Second Thought‘ series By: Ezra Nadav Only in Australia would the firebombing of a synagogue on shabbat with 20 people inside not be classified as an act of terror. But that’s Melbourne, Australia, in 2025. A place where virtue-signalling criminals are permitted to run roughshod over public order, while law-abiding…
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I Am Not What I Know
A part of the ‘On Second Thought‘ series By: Ezra Nadav I’ve spent most of my life gathering knowledge, storing it, curating it, offering it to others in the hope it will matter. In classrooms and consultations, workshops and webinars, I’ve been praised for clarity, for insight, for translating the complex into the digestible. It’s…
On Second Thought Ezra 