Tu B’Shvat 5771 / 2011
The Tree of Life has as many fruits as there are creatures (and moments) in the world. The Shekhina is its gardener and she daily plucks its ripened yield.
Cheshvan 2010: Turning Stumbling into Dancing
Slowly, day by day, as we move through life, we become more whole, for we are constantly absorbing new lights that were really just estranged pieces of ourselves all along.
What Exactly IS This “Book of Life”
The primary striving of the New Year’s prayers is to be inscribed in the Book of Life. While most interpret this as a plea for health and longevity, this is probably not the Talmud’s prime intent.
Managing Dispute: Tisha B’Av 2010
If it is true that causeless hatred prompted the Temple’s demise and only its opposite can save us…then we have got to find another way to disagree among ourselves.
Shavuot, 5770 (2010) Based on Sod Yesharim (Radziner Rebbe)
Every Jewish soul carries a memory trace of that Sinaic encounter. Somewhere, deep down, our soul remembers that earth-shaking event and the obligations it undertook at the mountain’s base.
Inviting Our Inner Stranger
Pesach Teaching 2010 / 5770. This is the bread of affliction that our fathers ate in the land of Egypt. All who are hungry, let them come and eat.
The Obligation (on Purim) of Inebriation
PurimBurst 2010 / 5770.
One is obligated to drink on Purim until you don’t know the difference between cursing Haman and blessing Mordekhai.
Tu B’Shvat: The New Year for Fruit Trees
Tu B’Shvat is the New Year’s day for fruit trees but it is important to note that this is not their day of judgment—that occurs months later on the holiday of Shavuot.
The 17th of Cheshvan: When the Great Flood Began
HaShem was hoping to bring down the Torah in Noach’s generation. All the pieces were there, including the soul of Moshe Rabbenu.
THE THREE LEVELS OF TESHUVA
Rosh HaShana 5770/2009: There are three levels of teshuva. Each of them is real, but their sticking power varies.
Tisha B’Av 5769 / 2009
In the month of Av, says Sefer Yetzira, the sense of listening is up for tikun. Our test is to not get hypnotized by voices that claim authority but do not embody Torat Emet.
Shavuot 2009 / 5769
Shavuot, the anniversary of the Torah’s revelation, is called the marriage ceremony between the Jewish people and HaShem.
The Inevitable Fall From Grace: Pesach 2009
The sedar is a ritual meditation—a symbolic reenactment of our journey from exile to redemption. The whole point of a ritual is to bring light, fixing and healing into the deepest layers of the soul.
The Power of a Good Eye
PurimBurst 2009. Esther inspired affection in the eyes of all who saw her… (Megillat Esther 2:15). What was the secret of Esther’s extraordinary (even supernatural) grace?
A Short Torah on Eating, 5769 / 2009
Every bit of food has a spark of consciousness that we absorb from eating it.
Chanukka, Greece and Democracy
There is no person or nation that does not have at least a miniscule sliver of holiness. Otherwise it could not exist.
On Rosh HaShana Our Sparks Get Distributed
Our mission is to collect all the sparks connected to our soul. But not all sparks are alike. Some are a pleasure to gather, while others take blood, sweat, and a lot of tears.
Tisha B’Av 5768 / 2008
The spies understood that crossing into the holy land would initiate a new era—now they were princes, but across the border, in the new world, they’d become obsolete.
Shavuot 2008 / 5768
The Torah’s revelation was the most profound manifestation of God that has ever transpired on the planet. Its impact continues to impel their generations to be seekers and servants of God and is certain to do so until the end of time.
Matzah: Bread of Humility
The Ari declares that “on sedar night a conception occurred, and seven days later was the birth.” Yet what is this Kenesset Yisrael that was “conceived” on sedar night and born at the sea?
If Your Enemy is Hungry Give Him Bread
“Let the king and Haman come this day to the wine banquet that I have prepared for him.”
The Shofar’s Power to Awaken Teshuva
One practice to prepare for Rosh HaShana is to create a prayer-vision of the best that could possibly unfold for this new year. Of course this is what we want…or is it?
Slavery, Redemption and Matzah
Thoughts on Slavery, Redemption and Matzah;
Based on teachings by the Freidiker Rebbe of Chabad
The Book of Esther is a Map of Feminine Development
Based on the teachings of R. Isaac Luria as presented in Kabbalistic Writings on the Nature of Masculine and Feminine.
Tu B’Shvat, 5767 / 2007
Although bringing tikun to eating is a practice and awareness that we should bring to every meal, the Tu B’Shvat meal is an especially propitious opportunity to do this work.