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Repetition Is the Foundation of the Jewish Religion
Zig Ziglar, the 20th-century American author and motivational speaker best remembered for his sharp wit and Southern charm, once noted, “Repetition is the mother of learning and the father of action — which makes it the architect of accomplishment.”
Or, as Malcolm Gladwell put it, “Practice isn’t the thing you do once you’re good; it’s the thing you do that makes you good.”
In our fast-paced world, the concepts of repetition and practice often get a bad rap. We live in an era that glorifies novelty and innovation, pushing us constantly to seek the next big thing. But amid this constant chase for the new, we often overlook the importance of revisiting what we already know — or, more accurately, what we think we know.
The irony is that we set ourselves up for repeated mistakes by neglecting to review and reinforce our knowledge. This tendency to overlook the importance of repetition isn’t just some kind of accidental lapse — it’s a fundamental aspect of human nature, and we ignore it at our peril.
Consider the world of medicine. A 2015 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association reviewed data from nearly 371 million older adults across 17 countries over more than 20 years. The study found that the use of potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) in older patients has become increasingly common.
Critically, the researchers also discovered that nearly 30% of medical errors were due to what the study called “errors of omission”’ — mistakes caused by healthcare professionals forgetting key information or steps in their practice. The study’s conclusions emphasized that regular repetition and practice could have easily prevented these errors.
Bottom line: the adage that practice makes perfect isn’t just a motivational saying or something your teachers annoy you with in school; it’s actually a crucial part of maintaining excellence in any field.
In a groundbreaking 2001 study published in the Journal of Motor Behavior, titled “The Role of Deliberate Practice in the Acquisition of Expert Performance,” K. Anders Ericsson and his colleagues delved into the mechanics of how individuals achieve expertise in sports and other performance-based domains.
The research emphasized that expertise is not merely a product of innate talent but primarily results from deliberate practice — repeated, focused practice sessions specifically designed to improve performance. This type of practice differs from mere repetition; it requires a conscious effort to push beyond current abilities, often under the guidance of a coach or mentor.
The study concluded that this deliberate, repetitive practice is critical in achieving high-performance levels, whether in athletics, music, or other skill-based activities. Ericsson’s work has profoundly impacted our understanding of skill acquisition, challenging the notion that talent alone determines success, and highlighting the vital role of repetition and structured practice in reaching the pinnacle of one’s abilities.
Legendary basketball player Michael Jordan was known for his explosive talent early in his career. Still, he was often criticized for his inconsistent jump shot. Frustrated by his shortcomings, Jordan sought advice from his trusted coach, Tex Winter. Winter told him that the only way he could turn his unique talent into perfection would be to practice the jump shot every day until it became second nature.
So, Jordan dedicated himself to countless hours of repetitive shooting drills, slowly but surely perfecting his form and technique. Day after day, he would shoot hundreds of jump shots in practice, focusing on every minute detail of his form. The relentless repetition eventually transformed his once inconsistent jump shot into one of the most feared weapons in basketball.
In Jewish tradition, the concept of chazara, or reviewing what you’ve learned, is central to mastering Torah study. Learning something once is not enough; proper understanding and retention come through repetition.
Rabbi Yaakov Yisrael Kanievsky — the “Steipler” — who was one of the foremost Torah scholars of the 20th century, emphasized the importance of chazara, telling his students that it only truly begins after a person has gone over the material at least four times. Simply put, according to the Steipler, the first four times you learn something are just to get familiar with the content; it’s only after this initial “review” that the real process of ingraining the knowledge can begin.
Perhaps the source for this idea of chazara is in Parshat Va’etchanan, where we encounter a similar principle at the very dawn of Jewish history. Moses stands before the Israelites, and he repeats the Ten Commandments.
The Ten Commandments, originally stated by God at Mount Sinai forty years earlier, were a fundamental teaching of the Jewish faith, and no doubt they had been baked into the system. But sometimes familiarity breeds ignorance. If you think you know something, you may really not know it at all. Which is why Moses’ decision to repeat such a central tenet of Judaism wasn’t just a matter of formality; it was essential.
The act of Moses reiterating the Ten Commandments was not just about passing down information; it was about ensuring that the core principles of Jewish faith and identity would not be lost because everyone thought to themselves: “But of course we know that!” And it’s worth remembering that something new is revealed with every repetition.
This case was no different. Moses not only repeated the Ten Commandments, he reframed them to resonate with a generation that had not directly experienced the miracles of the Exodus or the revelation at Sinai. He adapted the message to a new context, understanding that the failure to repeat and reinforce these Divine laws would inevitably lead to them being forgotten — something that could jeopardize the future for Jews as a nation.
The lesson here is timeless: Whether in our spiritual lives, our professional endeavors, or our personal relationships, the things we fail to review and practice are the things we are most likely to forget. And what we forget can have serious consequences.
In Jewish tradition, the Shema prayer is recited twice daily, highlighting the importance of repetition in maintaining our connection to faith. This daily ritual is an essential reminder that repetition isn’t just a tool for learning — it’s a safeguard against forgetting.
As we go through life, it’s easy to get caught up in pursuing new experiences and ideas. But we must remember the value of looking back, reviewing, and reinforcing what we’ve already learned. Whether it’s in our careers, our relationships, or our spiritual practices, repetition is not just a safety net — it’s the key to mastery.
The rapper and hip-hop artist, Dwayne Michael Carter — better known as Lil Wayne — says it so well: “Repetition is the father of learning, I repeat, repetition is the father of learning.”
The author is a rabbi in Beverly Hills, California.
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US Clamps Sanctions on Israel-bashing UN Rights Monitor Albanese
Francesca Albanese, UN special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, attends a side event during the Human Rights Council at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, March 26, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
The Trump administration has imposed sweeping sanctions against Francesca Albanese, the United Nations Special Rapporteur for the Occupied Palestinian Territories, citing the UN official’s lengthy record of singling out Israel for condemnation.
In a post on X, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the sanctions under a February executive order targeting those who “prompt International Criminal Court (ICC) action against U.S. and Israeli officials, companies, and executives.” He accused Albanese of waging “political and economic warfare” against both nations and asserted that “such efforts will no longer be tolerated.”
“Today I am imposing sanctions on UN Human Rights Council Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese for her illegitimate and shameful efforts to prompt [International Criminal Court] action against U.S. and Israeli officials, companies, and executives,” Rubio announced on X/Twitter.
“Albanese’s campaign of political and economic warfare against the United States and Israel will no longer be tolerated,” declared the Trump administration’s top foreign affairs official. “We will always stand by our partners in their right to self-defense.”
Rubio concluded: “The United States will continue to take whatever actions we deem necessary to respond to lawfare and protect our sovereignty and that of our allies.”
The decision to impose sanctions on Albanese marks an escalation in the ongoing feud between the White House and the United Nations over Israel. The Trump administration has repeatedly accused the UN and Albanese of unfairly targeting Israel and mischaracterizing the Jewish state’s conduct in Gaza.
Albanese, an Italian lawyer and academic, has held the position of UN special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories since 2022. The position authorizes her to monitor and report on alleged “human rights violations” by Israel against Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza.
Last week, Albanese issued a scathing report accusing companies of helping Israel maintain a so-called “genocide economy.” She called on the companies to cut off economic ties with Israel and warned that they might be guilty of “complicity” in the so-called “genocide” in Gaza.
Critics of Albanese have long accused her of exhibiting an excessive anti-Israel bias, calling into question her fairness and neutrality.
Albanese has an extensive history of using her role at the UN to denigrate Israel and seemingly rationalize Hamas’ attacks on the Jewish state.
In the months following the Palestinian terrorist group’s atrocities across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, Albanese accused the Jewish state of perpetrating a “genocide” against the Palestinian people in revenge for the attacks and circulated a widely derided and heavily disputed report alleging that 186,000 people had been killed in the Gaza war as a result of Israeli actions.
The action comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits Washington, where he has received a warm reception from the Trump administration. Netanyahu has been meeting with US officials to discuss next steps in the ongoing Gaza military operation.
Gideon Sa’ar, Minister of Foreign Affairs for Israel, commended the Rubio announcement with his own post on X/Twitter, exclaiming: “A clear message. Time for the UN to pay attention!”
The post US Clamps Sanctions on Israel-bashing UN Rights Monitor Albanese first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Hardball: Trump Administration Reports Harvard to Accreditor Over Antisemitism Allegations
US President Donald Trump speaks during a Cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, July 8, 2025. Photo: Kevin Lamarque via Reuters Connect.
The Trump administration escalated its showdown against Harvard University on Wednesday, reporting the institution to its accreditor for alleged civil rights violations resulting from its weak response to reports of antisemitic bullying, discrimination, and harassment following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 massacre across southern Israel.
The US Department of Education (DOE) announced the action on Wednesday. Citing Harvard’s admitted failure to treat antisemitism as seriously as it treated others forms of hatred in the past, the DOE called on the New England Commission of Higher Education to review and, potentially, revoke its accreditation — a designation which qualifies Harvard for federal funding and attests to the quality of the educational services its provides.
“Accrediting bodies play a significant role in preserving academic integrity and a campus culture conducive to truth seeking and learning,” said Secretary of Education Linda McMahon. “Part of that is ensuring students are safe on campus and abiding by federal laws that guarantee educational opportunities to all students. By allowing anti-Semitic harassment and discrimination to persist unchecked on its campus, Harvard University has failed in its obligation to students, educators, and American taxpayers.”
The DOE, McMahon added, “expects the New England Commission of Higher Education to enforce its policies and practices, and to keep the Department fully informed of its efforts to ensure that Harvard is in compliance with federal law and accreditor standards.”
As previously reported by The Algemeiner, Harvard’s Presidential Task Force on Combating Antisemitism has acknowledged that the university administration’s handling of campus antisemitism fell well below its obligations under both Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and its own nondiscrimination policies.
In a 300-plus-page report, the task force compiled a comprehensive record of antisemitic incidents on Harvard’s campus in recent years — from the Harvard Palestine Solidarity Committee’s endorsement of the Oct. 7 terrorist atrocities to an anti-Zionist faculty group’s sharing an antisemitic cartoon depicting Jews as murderers of people of color. The report identified Harvard’s past refusal to afford Jews the same protections against discrimination enjoyed by other minority groups as a key source of its problem.
Coming several weeks after President Donald Trump ordered the freeze of $2.26 billion in federal research grants and contracts for Harvard, the task force report found it was “clear” that antisemitism and anti-Israel bias have been fomented, practiced, and tolerated not only at Harvard but also within academia more widely.”
The university is now suing the federal government over the funding halt.
President Trump has spoken scathingly of Harvard, calling it, for example, an “Anti-Semitic, Far Left Institute … with students being accepted from all over the world that want to rip our Country apart” in an April post to his Truth Social platform.
In recent weeks, however, both Trump and McMahon had commended Harvard’s constructive response in negotiations over reforms the administration has asked it to implement as a precondition for restoring federal funds. The requested reforms include hiring more conservative faculty, shuttering diversity, equity, and inclusion [DEI] programs, and slashing the size of administrative offices tangential to the university’s central educational mission.
The administration has since changed its tone in the wake of a report by The Harvard Crimson that interim Harvard President Alan Garber has said “behind closed doors” that he has no intention of doing anything that would make Harvard more palatable to conservatives.
Earlier this month, the Trump administration’s Joint Task Force to Combat Antisemitism issued Harvard a formal “notice of violation” of civil rights law. Charging that Harvard willfully exposed Jewish students to a flood of racist and antisemitic abuse both in and outside of the classroom, it threatened to strip whatever remains of Harvard’s federal funding.
“Failure to institute adequate changes immediately will result in the loss of all federal financial resources and continue to affect Harvard’s relationship with the federal government,” wrote the federal officials comprising the multiagency Task Force. “Harvard may of course continue to operate free of federal privileges, and perhaps such an opportunity will spur a commitment to excellence that will help Harvard thrive once again.”
In Wednesday’s announcement, US Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Harvard’s conduct “forfeits the legitimacy that accreditation is designed to uphold.”
“HHS and Department of Education will actively hold Harvard accountable through sustained oversight until it restores public trust and ensures a campus free of discrimination,” he said.
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.
The post Hardball: Trump Administration Reports Harvard to Accreditor Over Antisemitism Allegations first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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IDF Strikes Hezbollah Sites in South Lebanon as Terror Group Pushes to Rebuild Amid US Disarmament Talks
IDF operating in southern Lebanon. Photo: IDF Spokesperson
Israeli forces uncovered and destroyed Hezbollah weapons caches in southern Lebanon on Wednesday, as a new report indicated that despite ongoing U.S.-led efforts to secure a disarmament deal, the Iran-backed group is making repeated, largely concealed attempts to rebuild its military presence in the area.
Troops carried out several operations targeting Hezbollah infrastructure in southern Lebanon on Wednesday morning, destroying weapons depots, explosives and multibarrel launchers concealed in forested terrain, the IDF said, in violation of the November ceasefire, which requires Hezbollah to withdraw its forces 20 miles from the Israeli border.
A new report released this week by the Alma Research and Education Center found that Hezbollah is focused on rebuilding in three areas: operational deployment, weapons acquisition, and financial recovery.
“Hezbollah didn’t give up its resistance narrative and motivation,” Alma’s director, Lt. Col. (Res.) Sarit Zehavi, told The Algemeiner.
“It wants to rebuild its capabilities and infrastructures, whether it’s the villages that will be used as human shields or the military infrastructure in South Lebanon and in Lebanon in general.”
According to Zehavi, Hezbollah is attempting to return Radwan fighters to positions south of the Litani River as part of a wider plan to restore its elite forces to operational readiness. The IDF on Monday killed Radwan commander Ali Abd al-Hassan Haidar in a targeted strike. The action came hours after US Special Envoy for Syria Thomas Barrack met with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri in Beirut to discuss a long-term deal that would include an Israeli withdrawal and complete disarmament of Hezbollah.
Barrack described the Lebanese response to the proposal as positive. Later, he issued a blunt warning to Hezbollah in response to a vow by the terror group’s leader, Naim Qassem, not to lay down its arms. “If they mess with us anywhere in the world, they will have a serious problem with us,” Barrack said in an interview with Lebanese news network LBCI. “They don’t want that.”
Zehavi said it was premature to predict the outcome of the diplomatic efforts. She warned that the challenge of disarming Hezbollah remains enormous and emphasized that the Lebanese Armed Forces have not demonstrated the capability or willingness to confront the group.
“It’s too soon to be optimistic or pessimistic,” she said, noting that no firm commitments have emerged from the Beirut talks.
Hezbollah’s efforts to smuggle and manufacture weapons have been complicated by both Israeli strikes and the regional realignment over recent months. While Israeli strikes have disrupted many supply routes, according to Zehavi, Syrian authorities have intercepted far more Hezbollah-bound weapons than the Lebanese Army, which claims to have uncovered 500 arms caches but has provided no evidence.
The financial front marks the third aspect of Hezbollah’s rebuilding effort. Last week, the group halted cash payments to Shiite civilians whose homes were damaged in the war, citing liquidity problems. Zehavi attributed the shortfall to disruptions in Iran’s funding networks — an outcome of the 12-day war against the regime in Tehran — and said the constraints would likely hamper Hezbollah’s ability to compensate its base and sustain operations.
“I hope they will continue to have problems with the cash flow, that way it will be very difficult for them to recover,” she said.
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