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Discomfort is not harm.
The Discomfort of Learning Is Not a Psychological Crisis Part of the ‘Not Quite What You Meant’ series By: Ezra Nadav Somewhere along the way, we began to confuse learning with comfort. In adult learning environments especially, training rooms, university lecture halls, continuing education seminars, there’s a growing expectation that the space must feel safe.…
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BREAKING: “Good Morning” Officially Cancelled for Being Emotionally Aggressive
Part of the ‘Not Quite What You Meant’ series By: Ezra Nadav In today’s latest installment of “Words That Will End Your Career,” saying “Good morning” has now been deemed a microaggression in certain corners of the internet. Apparently, greeting your coworkers with a cheerful salutation before 9am is now considered a violent imposition of mood, a…
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Dreams and Detours — The Price of Maturity: Part 4
Genesis as the Story of Every Human Life: Part 4 A part of the ‘On Second Thought‘ series By: Ezra Nadav Previously in the Series: In Part 1: Conception and Innocence, we explored the beginning of life, both in the world and in ourselves. Eden is a place of trust, safety, and unearned goodness. But it…
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Covenant and Identity – Becoming a Self: Part 3
Genesis as the Story of Every Human Life: Part 3 A part of the ‘On Second Thought‘ series By: Ezra Nadav Previously in the Series: In Part 1: Conception and Innocence, we began with Eden — a symbol of our earliest beginnings, when we live in unconscious trust, gifted goodness, and untested belonging. It is…
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The Audacity Economy: The New Freeloaders Wear Lip Gloss
Part of the ‘Not Quite What You Meant’ series By: Ezra Nadav There’s a new kind of economy gaining traction—and it’s not built on goods or services, but on ego, aesthetic, and the illusion of mutual benefit. It starts innocently enough. A DM, sprinkled with emojis and compliments:“Hey babe! I’m obsessed with your work!”“Would love…
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Knowledge and Estrangement – The Loss of Innocence: Part 2
Genesis as the Story of Every Human Life: Part 2 A part of the ‘On Second Thought‘ series By: Ezra Nadav Previously in the Series:In Part 1, Conception and Innocence, we explored the Edenic beginnings of human life — a time of unearned goodness, unconscious trust, and belonging without condition. But innocence, however beautiful, is…
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Genesis as the Story of Every Human Life: Part 1
Part 1: In the Beginning: Conception and Innocence A part of the ‘On Second Thought‘ series By: Ezra Nadav Genesis Is Our Story Too: A New Series on Growth, Loss, and Becoming. What if Genesis wasn’t just a story about the world’s beginning, but about your beginning too? What if its pages didn’t just tell…
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It’s Not ‘Offensive,’ It’s a Threat.
A part of the ‘Not Quite What You Meant’ series By: Ezra Nadav We need to start calling it what it is. When someone hangs a Nazi flag in a suburban window, scrawls a swastika on a public bench, or wears a patch glorifying white supremacy, the typical response, especially in polite, progressive circles, is…
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The Kindness You Don’t Remember Giving
You may forget it. They may not. A part of the ‘On Second Though’ series By: Ezra Nadav When I was not yet twelve, I watched my grandfather do something I’ve never forgotten. We were stopped at a McDonald’s just outside of Waco, Texas, one of those roadside moments that usually blends into the background…
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Safe Spaces vs. Courageous Spaces: When Comfort Becomes the Opposite of Inclusion
Part of the ‘Not Quite What You Meant’ series By: Ezra Nadav “This is a safe space.” It’s a phrase that now comes standard with everything from workplace trainings to university classrooms and community groups. A warm-sounding promise. A shield against judgment. A balm for anxiety. But more and more, I find myself asking: safe…
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When Belonging Turns Toxic: On Tribalism, Victimhood, and the Fragility of Community
Part of the ‘Not Quiet What You Meant’ series By: Ezra Nadav We all crave belonging. It’s a fundamental human need, to be seen, to be valued, to find our people. But what happens when the communities we turn to for safety and solidarity begin to turn on us? What happens when identity becomes armour,…
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What I’ve Learned by Attempting to Learn Biblical Hebrew
Why I Now Read Slower, Complain Less, and Love the Torah More From the ‘On Second Thought’ series: By Ezra Nadav Learning Hebrew with dyslexia and an auditory processing disorder has been anything but easy. But it has changed the way I relate to sacred text, to tradition and to myself. When I first set…
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Every Person Deserves Dignity: When Words Overreach Their Meaning
Part of the ‘Not Quite What You Meant’ series By: Ezra Nadav Sometimes I find myself deep in thought about the words and phrases we use—especially in statements meant to affirm, advocate, or express values. I often wonder: Are we really saying what we mean? And does what we’re saying reflect the complexity of the…
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Memory as a Moral Imperative: Choosing Justice Over Vengeance: Part 3
‘For You Were Strangers in the Land of Egypt’ from the ‘On Second Thought’ series By: Ezra Nadav Introduction to Part 3: Memory as Moral Responsibility In Part 2, we explored the Torah’s radical call to love, befriend, and refuse hatred toward the stranger—even when it’s uncomfortable or counter cultural. These commandments push us beyond…
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The Stranger as Neighbour: Love, Friendship, and the Refusal to Hate: Part 2
‘For You Were Strangers in the Land of Egypt’ from the ‘On Second Thought’ series By: Ezra Nadav Recap of Part 1: Recognising the Stranger In Part 1, we explored the foundational Torah commandments that urge us to remember our shared experience of being strangers in Egypt. These verses call us to see and honour…
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Who Is the Stranger? A Modern Reflection: Part 1
‘For You Were Strangers in the Land of Egypt’ from the ‘On Second Thought’ series By: Ezra Nadav Series Summary: Part 1: Who Is the Stranger? A Modern Reflection In this first part of a three-part series, we explore the Torah’s moral urgency around how we treat “the stranger”—a term that appears in at least…
On Second Thought Ezra 