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.
The Special Responsibility of Leaders in Rosh HaShana
These forty days between Rosh Chodesh Elul and Yom Kippur are called days of grace and correspond to the forty days that Moshe spent with HaShem receiving the second Tablets.
Anger Drives the Plot
Every moment is a story, and every story has a motor that propels its forward motion. In the Book of Esther, rage drives each stage of the plot.
The Removal of Chametz
Everyone knows that on Pesach, the removal of all chametz (leavened grains) from our household mirrors the removal of inflated ego states from our personalities.
A Time for Silence, A Time for Speech
Since the genocidal decree would not take effect for close to a year, it did not justify a life-threatening exploit. Yet Mordekhai insisted that Esther go now, unbidden.
Prayer Visioning: Rosh Hashana 5765/2004
Everyone knows that this pre Rosh HaShana period is a time for intensive soul searching. It’s important to seize the moment, for on Rosh Hashana we receive our allocation of spiritual resources for the coming year.
“Pesach is the Conception”
On Pesach eve, the soul of Israel made contact with its body, i.e., the 600,000 families then under Moses’ charge. The Mystical Body of Israel was conceived on seder night.
I Am the First, I Am the Last
The Book of Esther is an historical narrative, that occurred between the years 367 – 357 BCE. Yet there are moments in time that are nearly transparent.
The Secret of Eating at the Seder
Rabbi Tsadok HaKohen says that humanity’s first sin was not Adam and Eve’s eating of forbidden fruit, but rather the way they ate it.
Torah of Souls
PurimBurst 2003. Then the King conferred with His sages, experts in reading the times, for such was the King’s practice, to consult with the masters of law and judgment…