Solemn Joy, Sweet Sorrow
Tisha B’Av 2018 / 5778 Sarah Yehudit Schneider This year we have an awkward convergence. Tisha B’Av—the day for mourning the woes of our nation—falls on Shabbos—our day of spiritual delight [...]
The Shame Behind Causeless Hatred
A Tisha B’Av Talk and Suggestion for Elul Work Sarah Yehudit Schneider My question is: how can it be, that for two thousand years we’ve known that Baseless Hatred is what caused our exile, [...]
Converts: Unsung Heroes of the Oral Torah
Shavuot 5778 / 2018 Sarah Yehudit Schneider “And you shall know the soul of a convert // because you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” [Ex 23:9] All HaShem’s secrets are buried in the [...]
Symbolic Resonance Permeates the Seder
Pesach 5778 / 2018 Sarah Yehudit Schneider Kadesh. Urchatz We start the seder by pronouncing the fifteen steps that will comprise our evening’s ritual which (among other things) marks the [...]
Pesach Through the Years
Pesach teachings over the years (2003-present.)
The Akeida–A Hero’s Journey
This essay presents Rabbi Dr. Yehuda Gellman’s exploration of the Mei HaShiloach’s teachings on the Akeida that appears in his book “The Fear, the Trembling, and the Fire.” There may be some [...]
When the People are Ready the Obstacles Dissolve
Tisha B’av 5777 / 2017 Sarah Yehudit Schneider [When you come into your Promised Land] HaShem will only uproot the nations before you gradually, little by little. You will not be able to [...]
Turning Wisdom into Oral Torah
Shavuot 5777 / 2017 Sarah Yehudit Schneider If it’s truth then it’s also Torah. [TY RH 3:8] If it’s wisdom then it’s also Torah. [M. Tanchuma, Vayelekh 2] Yet, not exactly, because: [If someone [...]
Blessed Be the Makom…Blessed Be the Giver of Torah…
Pesach 5777 / 2017 Sarah Yehudit Schneider Blessed be the Makom (Place). Blessed be He. Blessed be the one who gave Torah to His people, Israel. Blessed be He. The Torah addresses four children. [...]
The Transmutation of Shame though Teshuva
Rosh HaShana 2016 / 5777 Based on R. Tsadok HaKohen, Tikanat HaShavin 5:10-12, Tsidkat HaTsadik [40] Sarah Yehudit Schneider There are three categories of tikunim, says the Leshem, and every [...]
Meditation #10 – The Obstacle of Strange Fire (part 2 of 2)
A spiritual path asks its adherents to walk their talk. Yet that is easier said than done. Most of us are challenged by the obstacle of Strange Fire. Meditation, and in particular the practice [...]
The Obstacle of Strange Fire — #9
One of the most difficult and subtle challenges of a spiritual path is the matter of “strange fire” which we’ll define as: “taking pleasure from something that violates one’s own [...]
“A Single, Unified Alliance…”
Rosh HaShana 2015 / 5776 Sarah Yehudit Schneider A true story: A woman brings yards of lacy fabric and the sketch of a wedding gown to a seamstress who has nearly two weeks to finish the job. The [...]
Prayer as Meditation — #8
Prayer is called “service of the heart” because it’s challenge (and calling) is to commune with Divinity heart to heart. That happens naturally in spontaneous prayer but with [...]
“HOW MANY FACES HAS THE HOLY ONE…”
Shavuot 5775 / 2015 Sarah Yehudit Schneider תאנא כמה פנים לפנים אית ליה לקודשא בריך הוא. פנים דנהרין. פנים דלא נהרין. פנים עילאין. פנים תתאין. פנים רחיקין. פנים קריבין. פנים דלגו. פנים דלבר. פנים [...]
Meditation and Shabbat — Lesson #6
Our break from work on Shabbat creates an atmosphere of rest that permeates both body and soul. But if we also meditate we harness the principle of resonance to bring the peace of Shabbos into [...]
Sisera’s Mother Sets the Tone for our Rosh HaShana Shofar
Rosh HaShana, 5775 / 2014 Sarah Yehudit Schneider And in the seventh month, on the first day of the month…it is for you a day of teruah(sounding the shofar).[1] : וּבַחֹדֶשׁ הַשְּׁבִיעִי בְּאֶחָד [...]
Like it Or Not, We Are In This Together
Shavuot 2014 / 5774 Sarah Yehudit Schneider The Torah’s revelation at Sinai was the most profound manifestation of God that ever transpired on the planet. An estimated four million people beheld [...]
Remember Amalek…Don’t Forget
PurimBurst 2014 Sarah Yehudit Schneider (1) Remember[1]….(2) to blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under the heavens[2]….(3) Do not forget![2] Who is this Amalek that three of our 613 [...]
Chanukka and the Feminine
by Sarah Yehudit Schneider In Jewish symbology, the masculine archetype conflates with the sun and the feminine with the moon. Based on this equation the Ari maps out a seven-stage sequence from [...]
Sweetening the Dinim – Rosh HaShanna 2013/5774
Sarah Yehudit Schneider Our Rosh Hashana avoda—its soul-searching, lengthy prayers, and special mitzvot—is all directed toward one mysterious aim called “sweetening the dinim”, a holy endeavor [...]
Paradox 7 — The Hashmal Jig
This video teaching, called The Hashmal Jig 1/3, is the seventh installment in our series on Paradox. It introduces the kabbalistic secret of Hashmal—the energy of consciousness generated from [...]
Tsafun—Afikoman
Pesach 5773 / 2013 Sarah Yehudit Schneider The 12th step in our seder is called Tsafun—meaning hidden or secret. It follows the festive meal and marks the time for “dessert” which, at the seder, [...]
Three Levels of Prayer — Rosh HaShanna, 5772 / 2011
by Sarah Yehudit Schneider Eliyahu Dessler teaches that there are three levels of prayer, which can be reformulated as three ways to approach Rosh Hashanna.1 The first level is to cry out to [...]
Shavuot 2011 / 5771
Shavuot 2011 / 5771 Sarah Yehudit Schneider When a person sees 600,000 (or more) Jews gathered in a single place s/he recites the following blessing: Blessed are You, G-d, Sovereign of the [...]