According to Rabbi Nilton Bonder (The Kabbalah of Money, The Kabbalah of Envy, The Kabbalah of Food) the Jews have learned through adversity how to find meaning in everything by reframing it. He defines this quality as "Yiddishe Kop," which is "that unique capacity to turn the tables and checkmate your opponent when you're up against the wall, to reject conventional thinking that keeps you stuck in a losing position and reframe yourself as a master of options that you simply hadn't thought of before."

Using colorful illustrative material from Jewish stories, lore, and humor, Rabbi Bonder explores four realms of reality: Information (the apparent realm of what is apparent), Understanding (the hidden realm of what is apparent), Wisdom (the apparent realm of what is hidden), and Reverence (the hidden realm of what is hidden). In order to discern the presence of the invisible in the visible universe, we must move beyond consensus thinking and repetitive behaviors. The challenge is to open up to questions, similarities, paradoxes, inversions, and different brands of logic. Then through the process of commitment, we are able to learn from mistakes and our ignorance. Fools can teach us; so can absurd happenings.

Rabbi Bonder's Hasidic stories enable us to experience the joy of seeing beyond appearances to the hidden reality of the Universe. Yiddishe Kop is a wonderful primer on fostering the art of intuition and creative problem-solving.