Rabbi Shmuel Reichman

In order to live a spiritual life, one must escape the physical, completely rejecting their physical nature. Therefore, spiritual systems such as Buddhism prescribe meditation, abstinence, and the suppression of physical desire. In such a system, the ideal is to sit isolated on a mountaintop and meditate on our navel.

The Seder night serves as an opportunity to pass over our mesorah, our tradition and legacy, to the next generation. It's a night when we speak about emunah, the meaning of being a Jew, and our purpose in this world. In order to teach these lessons to our children and ourselves in a deep and lasting way, we must encourage the Seder participants to ask questions, no matter the age or knowledge-level.

There is a fundamentally deeper understanding of a challenge – one that reveals the very core spiritual purpose and effect of a test.

Most spiritual schools of thought are focused wholly on the spiritual; they view the physical world as lowly and dangerous. They therefore claim that the physical should be avoided to the greatest extent possible.

The carpenter was shocked! If only he had known he was building his own house, he would have invested so much more effort.

Amalek rejects Hashem’s connection to this world or any connection between the spiritual and the physical. Essentially, Amalek denies Hashem’s control of this world and the ability for man to uplift himself to the level of the spiritual.

Things are not always as they seem. Each and every person in this world has a story, one much deeper than a surface glance reveals. Similarly, every object and occurrence in the physical world is laced with layers of depth and meaning. We must choose to peer beyond the surface in order to discover these layers.

It seems strange, even ironic, to derive a source for marriage from a case in which a man’s wife dies. However, this is not ironic, nor is it a coincidence; it reflects the deep truth that marriage is eternal.

If the events in this world emanate from the mazalos, how can we reconcile the fact that they foretold that Avraham would not have children? Chazal do not claim that the mazal changed, only that Avraham transcended it. How did this work?

The inability to fully understand the destination of one’s own growth can be compared to a child’s inability to grasp a complex scientific or spiritual concept.

A central question in the story of the mabul is why Hashem specifically chose to destroy the world through a flood. Hashem could have chosen any form of destruction, and yet, He chose water. Why?

Like Adam, each of us has our own unique creation story.

During the first stage of history, Hashem revealed Himself openly, and the world was replete with miracles, prophecy, and clarity. Little effort was required to find Hashem or to connect to that which is higher. This was the time of emes.

As human beings, we uniquely possess free will. We can know for a fact that something is wrong, and yet choose to do it anyway.

While this story is one of extraordinary commitment and loyalty, it is also one of utter foolishness.

When we live holistic lives, tapping into the true meaning of existence, life becomes a song, a magical and immersive experience.

Shana means that which is cyclical and repetitive, representing mindless ritual. However, shana also has another distinct meaning: to learn and to change (shinui, l’shanos). This is because when you add chiddush to shana, i.e., when you infuse newness into the circle, you create spiraling growth.

There may be nothing more enchanting, mystical, and mysterious than the wonder of music. It has the ability to reach the very root of our soul.

The conception of beauty was a fundamental point of contention in the battle between the Jewish People and the Greeks. The Greeks did not believe in using the physical to reflect anything higher; they viewed physical beauty as an end unto itself.

How do we understand and perceive Hashem? Is Hashem within time and space, limited to this world alone, as Pantheists believe? Or is Hashem completely transcendent, beyond time, space, and this physical world, as many of the ancient philosophers believed?

Most people believe that they “have” a soul, some spiritual essence they possess within themselves. However, the deeper Jewish sources reveal a profound spiritual secret: You don’t have a soul, you are a soul.

The purpose of rebuke is simple: Rebuke helps us see where we have gone wrong, clarifying what we must change and improve in order to fulfill our purpose and actualize our true potential.

The lecture questioned the Western model of beauty and love, rejecting the notion of love at first sight. While physical beauty is important, inner beauty, spiritual beauty, is infinitely more powerful.

Everyone is a leader in some capacity. Some will lead their families, while others will lead the world. The scale is irrelevant; the principles remain the same.

The leader is appointed to serve the people. If he fails to do so, he is removed and replaced with someone who better fills the people’s needs. T

Strikingly, Rav Eliyahu Dessler explains that many people never experience a true assertion of their free will due to its immense difficulty. This is why many people do not change.

The feeling of making a great decision leads you to another great decision, and the cycle continues.

In a journey to the self, all that we know is the starting point; the destination remains to be discovered. We don’t know what we’ll find along the journey, the challenges we’ll face, what people will think, or if we will even succeed.

They cannot see your inner world, but they can access it through the outer expressions that you project. The same is true regarding human beings trying to experience Hashem and the spiritual.

Amongst the Yamim Noraim, Succos is an anomaly. Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur are overtly spiritual and transcendent days, with intense rounds of prayer and spiritual elevation. Succos, on the other hand, is grounded in the physical.