Category: Holiday Teachings
The Chinukh of Chanukka
Chanukka 5781 / 2020
This holiday is called Chanukka because it is training (chinukh) and practice for the future redemption. How so?
Chai Elul: A Rosh HaShana Teaching for the Baal Shem Tov’s Birthday
Rosh Hashana (humanity's birthday) is actually a very strange Yom Tov given the debate between Hillel and Shamai about whether it is better to be born...or not.
The Key to Sorting Truth From Lie
The chink that precipitated our Tisha B'Av fiasco was a defect in our ability to distinguish truth from falsehood; a flaw in our listening skills.
The Reward of a Mitzvah
The Zohar is teaching that HaShem (so to speak) looked into Him/Her/Itself and articulated a will for a creation that would revel in the glory of G-d.
The Seder as a Meditation on MATZAH
As we evolve and enlighten in the course of the evening we project a whole string of meanings and transformations onto that matzah.
Turning Noga into Chashmal
Chashmal thus becomes the codeword for embracing paradox by skirting back and forth between opposing perspectives and admitting the truth that’s present in each.
A Short Tribute to Etrog for Tu B’Shvat
The word for etrog (אתרוג) relates to the Hebrew root, רגג, which means, “to long and desire"; etrog corresponds to to the heart area, the center of conscious emotion and desire.
Chanukka: Harbinger of Messianic Gender Shifts to Come
Chanukka references toward the future, R. Luria associates them with Mashiach ben David, when “the woman of valor becomes the crown to her husband.”
Chanukka through the years
Just as eyes are windows to the soul, so the Chanukka lights are windows into the soul of the chag.
Masters of Judgement
Rosh Hashana marks the conception and Pesach marks the birth of Knesset Yisrael, the Mystical Body of Israel, born on the other side of the parted sea.
Black Fire on White Fire: Torah of Atzilut
This Torah of Atzilut was what Adam would have received had he not opted for duality, and what we received at Sinai, but forfeited when we too betrayed its calling.
Fifteen Stages of the Pesach Seder
The Fifteen Stages That Form the Backbone of Our Pesach Ritual and trace the soul’s journey from conception, birth, childhood, maturity and, finally, enlightenment.
Keter – Malchut
The feminine’s teshuva journey is thus the polar opposite of her male counterpart. Whereas the masculine strives for ego-transcendence, the feminine cultivates holy selfhood.
ZOT CHANUKKA: A TRIBUTE TO THE SHEKHINA
The kabbalists read into Chanukka’s eight days, a journey of progressive tikun down through the sefirot from Binah to Malchut, beginning and ending on a feminine note.
Shame is Nothing to Be Ashamed About
Divine perfection, in order for it to be infinite, must include the possibility of perfecting… it’s a paradox.
The Shame Behind Causeless Hatred
Baseless Hatred is what caused our exile, and yet for two thousand years we haven’t managed to fix it. Why?
Converts: Unsung Heroes of the Oral Torah
Shavuot 5778 / 2018
"And you shall know the soul of a convert, because you were strangers in the land of Egypt.”
Symbolic Resonance Permeates the Seder
Pesach 5778 / 2018 We start the seder by pronouncing the fifteen steps that comprise the ritual which marks the birthday of our peoplehood.
From Eden to Purim: Simcha shel Mitzvah
Purim 2018 / 5778 To succeed in our mission we must become connoisseurs of pleasure. That was our failing, and it remains our front of tikun.
All the Creatures Pray for a Fruitful Harvest
Tu B’Shvat 2018. All the trees of the field did not yet exist on the earth, and all the wild plants had not yet sprouted... for there was no human to work the ground.
A Chanukka Meditation from the Zohar
Those who seize this occasion to meditate on the Chanukka lamps will be changed by it, says the Zohar.
The Akeida: A Hero’s Journey
Rosh HaShana 5778 / 2017 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.”