The Mysterious Tenth Test

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.

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.

Re-Examining Our Chanukah Mission

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?

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.

Emerging From The Waters Reborn

This is the deeper meaning of the mabul: Hashem was not destroying the world; he was recreating it. The generation of the Flood had become so corrupted that Hashem decided to start over again with Noach.

Re-Examining Our Chanukah Mission

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?

Re-Examining Our Ideological Battle Against the Greeks

The greatest victory over the Greeks wasn't to simply prove that transcendent Torah exists; it was to reveal that ... even limited human beings can connect to the infinite.

The Relationship That Could Have Been

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

Finding Your Role Within The Cosmic Symphony Of Life

On the one hand, we all believe that we are unique and special. On the other hand, we sometimes struggle to experience our individuality, feeling almost lost in the crowd.

Rosh Hashana: The Three Stages Of Teshuva

At root, all of Klal Yisrael is one, an interconnected self. Each of our individual neshamos are part of a bigger whole, like individual cells that make up a single human body.

Fantasy Or Reality: The Ultimate Challenge

You must limit your endless potential in order to make something real.

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.

Oneg And Nega: The Story Of Eden, Nahar, And Gan (Part II)

In order to achieve this ideal flow, one must perfect all three stages of the process. You must first connect to Eden, which requires going beyond the surface of reality and connecting to the transcendent – to Hashem and His Torah, to the spiritual root of the physical world.

Can You Really Become as Great as Moshe Rabbeinu?

The Rambam says something absolutely shocking. He claims that everyone is capable of becoming a tzaddik like Moshe Rabbeinu. How is this possible? Not all of us are able to become leaders, let alone become the greatest leader in human history. So what does the Rambam mean?

What Do We Really Want?

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.

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.

Filling The Void: The Spiritual Joy Of Wasting Words (Part II)

Destroying the yetzer for transcendence was like destroying a spiritual radio located within our consciousness. Once you destroy the radio, the transmitter and receiver no longer operate.

Time And Its Transcendent Connection To Pesach

On the night of the exodus, Hashem performed makkas bechoros (the plague of the firstborn), devastating Egypt and causing even Pharaoh to panic. Makkas bechoros was unique in that Hashem Himself performed this Makkah (Rashi, Shemos 12:12).

From Last To First: The Story Of The Nesiim (Part I)

Highly successful people do not immediately look at their phones upon waking. Instead of allowing external stimuli to guide their waking thoughts, they replace it with mindful, guided, and goal-oriented thinking, generating proactive momentum to their morning.

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?

Eretz Yisrael: A Place Beyond Place (Part I)

Hashem promised Avraham the land of Israel as a sign of their eternal covenant. There are a number of mitzvos that can only be performed in Eretz Yisrael. Our question, then, is twofold. What is the underlying uniqueness of this special land, and why does Eretz Yisrael possess this unique quality?

Willpower: Generating Momentum For Our Return

Sometimes, Hashem will send us a wake-up call, begging us to wake up from our slumber. When we hear it, we must remind ourselves what time it is.

The Five Stages of Faith

You lost that transcendent connection to oneness so that you could journey through life to rebuild it.

A Reason to Transcend (Part II)

If someone were to ask you to prove that you exist, you would seriously struggle to do so. One’s own existence simply cannot be rationally proven.

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?

What Made Moshe’s Prophecy Unique? (Part I)

Imagine a life beyond the one you currently experience – one with new senses and sensations, new colors added to your field of vision, and new sounds to your range of hearing. What if you had abilities that far surpassed anything you can imagine?

What Compels Us to Speak Lashon Hara?

Once we understand the purpose of speech, we can begin to comprehend just how abhorrent lashon hara truly is. Lashon hara takes the very tool of connection – speech – and uses it to disconnect people from each other.

Sight, But No Vision: The Sin Of The Spies (Part I)

As human beings, we have the remarkable ability to jump to conclusions, assuming that we know the truth of a situation when we, in fact, have completely misjudged it.

Willpower: Generating Momentum For Our Return

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

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.

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