From Last to First: The Story of the Nesi’im
The most obvious form of chesed is giving money, but this is far from ideal. Short-term monetary gifts do not usually solve a long-term struggle with poverty; the person will therefore remain dependent and poor.
The Five Stages of Torah
Only when there is silence, and the complete absence of ego, can the truth be heard, understood, and accepted. The Torah is the absolute and whole truth and can therefore only be given when there is absolutely nothing else competing against it.
The Five Spiritual Stages of the Creative Process
If the Torah does, in fact, require organization, why specifically divide it into five parts?
Jewish Leadership: When Leaders Are Human
The Beis HaMikdash is the point where the spiritual heavens kiss the physical earth…this is where the infinite and spiritual meet the finite and physical.
The Five Stages of Faith
You lost that transcendent connection to oneness so that you could journey through life to rebuild it.
When Selfish Becomes Selfless
Everyone wants to contribute something significant to the world; to play a meaningful part in the cosmic symphony we call life. This desire is an inherent part of being human.
What is the Deeper Purpose of Shavuos?
We do not simply remember what once occurred, we relive the experience as we tap back into the power of kabbalas haTorah.
Deepening Our Understanding of Sefiras HaOmer and Shavuos
Words can injure and inspire. Words can bless or curse. Words can create new moral facts, such as when we make a promise.
Sefiras HaOmer: Achieving The Impossible
How do we, as physical and limited beings, transcend our finite dimensions? How do we relate to the abstract, to the infinite, to the spiritual?
What Compels Us To Speak Lashon Hara?
Another equally problematic motivation for speaking lashon hara is the desire to feel good about oneself. We all desire to feel important, significant, and worthy of respect.
Lashon Hara:The Ultimate Corruption Of Speech
Do you ever wonder what people really think about you? Whether they think you’re brilliant, caring, and fun; or lazy, self-centered, and boring? The truth is that you’ll never know; people only talk about you openly when you’re not in the room.
The Most Misunderstood Sin In Jewish History
When you do something – even something good – without being commanded, all you are reflecting is yourself. It is your personal form of avodah, self-contained, limited, and disconnected from Hashem.
Time And Its Transcendent Connection To Pesach
Makkas bechoros was unique in that Hashem Himself performed this Makkah (Rashi, Shemot 12:12). The Ramban explains that all the principles of hashgacha pratis were displayed through these events. We were clearly then on an immensely high spiritual level.
Inspiring Insights for Your Seder Night
Nothing in the physical world is objectively good or evil, rather, everything has the potential to be used for either good or evil. The choice is solely up to you!
Transcending Ego To Connect With The Infinite
As human beings, we are naturally resistant to external instruction or direction, preferring to do things only when we want to do them.
The Beis HaMikdash: A Place Of Connection
We all yearn for connection: to ourselves, to other people, and, of course, to Hashem. But connection is difficult; it requires time, patience, and constant effort. Genuine communication takes a lifetime to achieve.
Yearning For Connection: The Secret Of The Mouth
What happens when you don’t eat? You become faint. What happens if you continue without food? You will pass out. And if you still don’t eat, your soul will leave your body and you will die. Eating maintains the connection between your soul and your body; it is what keeps you alive.
Purim: Our Existential Battle Against Amalek
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.
Haman And Today’s Battle Against Amalek
Torah is not simply a guide to living a life of truth; it is the blueprint and DNA of this physical world.
Fantasy Or Reality: The Ultimate Challenge
When you wake up each morning, the day holds infinite potential. You have the time to do anything, go anywhere, meet anyone, etc. But that’s only potential, for in reality, you haven’t done anything yet, and in reality, you can’t do everything, only something.
Shabbos: A Taste Of The World To Come
When we consider whether or not someone is an observant Jew, we usually ask whether he or she is shomer Shabbos. Why is this the defining feature of religious observance? What makes Shabbos a root mitzvah, why is its punishment so severe, and why do we see it as the measuring stick for all of Torah observance? What is the secret of Shabbos?
A Tzaddik Falls Seven Times And Rises
Most of humanity lies somewhere along the middle of the spectrum. Our point of free will is located in the decision sphere of whether or not to gossip, to hit snooze, to give charity, to smile, to eat right, etc. These are the battles of inches; sometimes we win, and sometimes we lose.
Flying To Falling: The Raging Battle Within Us All
Cheit ha’egel, the sin of the golden calf, is perhaps the most infamous event in the Torah, a sin compared to the original sin of Adam HaRishon and one that has repercussions throughout Jewish history. Yet, what is most striking about this sin is not the act itself but its timing.
Why Strive For Greatness? (Part II)
Had Hashem created us in Olam Haba, the goodness we would have received would have been free, unearned. This is the type of perfection that malachim enjoy. However, this is not the ultimate enjoyment.
Why Strive For Greatness?
Hashem was internally good, but He was not actively expressing this goodness by giving or doing good unto others. Hashem chose to express His capacity for doing good unto others by creating man, upon whom Hashem would bestow the ultimate goodness.
From Loneliness To Oneness: The Endless Expansion Of Self
The Torah describes the voluntary gifts that the Jewish people donate toward the building of the Mishkan, the place where Hashem was most potently manifest in the physical world. The emphasis of these donations is their voluntary nature – Hashem commands Moshe to collect from Klal Yisrael whatever their hearts inspire them to give.
Chesed, Din, And Tiferes: The Guiding Principles Of Reality
How can it be that Hashem made a mistake – that He originally wanted to create the world with din but then changed His mind?
Ideals Lost And Found
The first stage is a gift, a spiritual high. It’s there to help you experience the goal, the destination. It’s a taste of what you can and hopefully will ultimately accomplish, but it’s not real. It’s given as a gift and is therefore an illusion.
Yosef And The Battle For True Beauty
Before Adam sinned, he looked nothing like you or I do today... The Midrash says that he wore kosnos ohr (skin of light). When you looked at Adam, you didn’t see his body but saw Adam himself, i.e., his neshama.
Chanukah And The Eternal Battle For Light
Spiritual debate has been a recurring phenomenon since the beginning of time. Chanukah is when we tap into the spiritual debate between the Jews and the Greeks, as the Greeks specifically attempted to destroy our spiritual way of life.
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