Category: Holiday Teachings
When the People are Ready the Obstacles Dissolve
Tisha B'av 2017.
Enemies are the primary obstacle to quality of life. If they would just disappear, we could finally focus on our soul work instead of getting sidetracked by the need for self-defense. But it's not so simple.
Blessed Be the Makom…Blessed Be the Giver of Torah…
Pesach 5777 / 2017 HaMakom refers to the womblike vacuum produced by the cosmic tsimtsum that hosts the unfolding of creation from Bereshit till the end of time.
When the Body Gives Light to the Soul
Purim, 5777 / 2017 R. Tsadok HaKohen broadens the definition of Oral Torah and it’s not at all surprising that Esther was our trailblazer.
The Two Trees at Eden’s Center
Tu B’Shvat 2017. On New Year’s Day of Fruit Trees we celebrate the two trees that changed the course of history: The Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge.
The Menorah: Secret of Ruach HaKodesh
Chanukka 2016 / 5777 The menorah symbolizes the Oral Torah—the light that we shine back to HaShem.
The Transmutation of Shame though Teshuva
Rosh HaShana 2016 / 5777 There are three categories of tikunim, and every person has some portion of each on their cosmic to-do list.
The Torah of Atzilut: The Torah of Souls
Shavuot 2016 /5776 At Sinai we got the Torah of Atzilut—the Torah of Unanimity, a searing revelation of presence.
A Short Discourse on Freedom
Pesach 2016 /5776 The reward phase of history called the world-to-come is characterized by unfettered freedom.
Topsy-Turvy Gluon Dance: Purim 2016 /5776
Relationship is a dynamic endeavor for it combines two contradictory poles—merging and differentiating—that are both essential to its survival.
“These Lights are Holy…”: An Instruction for Meditation
Chanukka 2015 / 5776 Our simple affirmation now becomes a deep teaching about the practice (and powers) of meditation.
“A Single, Unified Alliance…”
Rosh HaShana 2015 / 5776 The messianic era is a planetary happening. We cannot enjoy our redemption unless we bring the world along.
“HOW MANY FACES HAS THE HOLY ONE…”
Shavuot 5775 / 2015 Elokim is more a pathway than an entity. It meets us where we are but it also reels us in.
Elijah the Peacemaker
Pesach 2015 / 5775 Who is Elijah? What does he have to do with the seder? Why do we recite verses of vengeance when he arrives?
Masters of the Saf: Purim 2015 / 5775
The only thing that will make us happy is to finally become whole, which cannot happen without facing our shadow and processing its unseemly content.
Hillel and Shammai’s Dispute about the Fruit Tree’s New Year
The first of Shevat is the New Year for trees, says the School of Shammai. Beth Hillel disputes this and rules that it falls on the fifteenth of the month.
“…Until there are no stragglers in the marketplace.”
When is the time for lighting Chanukka candles? The earliest time is sunset but one can still fulfill the mitzvah until pedestrians disappear from the street.
Sisera’s Mother Sets the Tone for our Rosh HaShana Shofar
Rosh HaShana, 5775 / 2014
The essential obligation of Rosh HaShana is not to pray all day, or to have a big family meal, but rather, simply, to hear the shofar.
Like it Or Not, We Are In This Together
Shavuot 2014 / 5774 One could depict the whole course of history as the process by which Israel assimilates its Torah into the heart, bones, cells and the spaces of its being.
Plagues by Land…Plagues by Sea
Pesach 2014 / 5774 How deep did the lessons of the plagues absorb into the nerve net of the Egyptians and bring tikun there?
Remember Amalek…Don’t Forget
PurimBurst 2014 Who is this Amalek that three of our 613 mitzvot revolve around him? How do we “remember to eliminate the memory" while also never forgetting it?
A Tribute to Wheat for Tu B’Shvat
It is customary to eat fruits in celebration of Tu B’Shvat, and to admire each fruit and speak its praises before you eat it. A Still Small Voice presents a tribute to wheat.
Chanukka and the Feminine
The deepening union between the Shekhina and HKBH occurs in a very different way on Chanukka than on any other day of the year.
Sweetening the Dinim: Rosh HaShanna
Rosh HaShana 2013. Our Rosh Hashana avoda—its soul-searching, lengthy prayers, and special mitzvot—is all directed toward one mysterious aim called “sweetening the dinim”.
Master of Prayer: Tisha b’Av 2013
During the three weeks our obligation is to decrease simcha. We focus on what is missing, bewail those lacks, and downgrade our devekut. That is what it means to mourn.
Tsafun—Afikoman
Pesach 5773 / 2013 The 12th step in our seder, Tsafun, marks the time for “dessert” which, at the seder, means our last portion of matzah, called the Afikoman.