On Second Thought Ezra

Author: On Second Thought Ezra

  • Pip and The Library of Leaves

    Pip and The Library of Leaves

    While the other squirrels fill their homes with food, Pip fills his with books. A quiet tale about warmth, community, and the stories we give each other.

  • In the Between: Four Movements Toward Becoming

    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…

  • Leadership Lessons from the Mishnah: Part I

    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,…

  • Immediate Gratification vs. Sacred Struggle

    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…

  • Born Into Journeys

    Born Into Journeys

    A Drash on My Birth Parsha: Matot–Masei Part of the ‘On Second Thought’ series By: Ezra Nadav On 26 July 1979 (2 Av 5739), I entered the world. In Jewish tradition, every life begins with a portion of Torah: a parsha and haftarah tied to the week we are born. Mine is Matot–Masei, a double…

  • Why Resilience and Mental Toughness Matter More Than Positive Thinking

    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,…

  • Pogrom by Any Definition

    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…

  • The Power to Love: Courage to Know Pain

    The Power to Love: Courage to Know Pain

    A part of the ‘On Second Thought‘ series We often talk about love like it’s easy. Gentle. Healing. But the truth is — to love deeply is to be brave.Because real love doesn’t come without risk.It stretches us. Wounds us. Changes us. In my latest blog, I explore what it means to love not in…

  • I Am Not What I Know

    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…

  • The Compassion Con: Why Appeasing the Abuser Never Leads to Peace

    The Compassion Con: Why Appeasing the Abuser Never Leads to Peace

    Explore how a generation raised to equate self-defence with aggression has become vulnerable to propaganda and radicalisation. This article examines why rational debate cannot undo terror-fueled extremism—and why appeasement is not peace.