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. That vision and all the myriad ways it could [...]
Shavuot through the years
Shavuot teachings over the years (2008-2016).
The Seder as a Meditation on MATZAH
The matzah itself is a neutral object. It is simple flat bread that sits at the center of the table and doesn’t talk or move and yet, even still, it goes through changes. As we evolve and [...]
Chanukka through the years
Just as eyes are windows to the soul, so the Chanukka lights are windows into the soul of the chag.
Rosh HaShana Through the Years
A bounty of teachings on how to prepare for Rosh HaShana and how to direct one's intentions on the day itself. Teachings about teshuva, prayer and shofar.
Black Fire on White Fire–Torah of Atzilut
This Torah of Atzilut was what Adam would have received had he not opted for duality, preferring Knowledge of Good and Evil over the Tree of Life’s non-dual Knowledge-of-the-Holy-One. It is also [...]
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 [...]
A Chanukka Meditation from the Zohar
This Chanukka teaching is dedicated to Yaku, daughter of Heltcha: “Thank you for sharing your light with this world. May blessings of love and healing always be with you on your journeys.” …Karin [...]
The Torah of Atzilut — The Torah of Souls
Shavuot 2016 /5776 Sarah Yehudit Schneider The Torah revealed at Sinai (on Shavuot) is not the one in our study halls today. Those Tablets shattered when Moshe, witnessing the Golden Calf, cast [...]
A (Short) Discourse on Freedom
Pesach 2016 /5776 Sarah Yehudit Schneider “The reward phase of history called the world-to-come is characterized by unfettered freedom. Liberty (דרור) is its hallmark. Freedom emanates [...]
Topsy-Turvy Gluon Dance ~~ Purim 2016 /5776
A Model for Ahavat Yisrael Sarah Yehudit Schneider כִּי הָמָן בֶּן-הַמְּדָתָא הָאֲגָגִי צֹרֵר [צורר] כָּל-הַיְּהוּדִים חָשַׁב עַל-הַיְּהוּדִים לְאַבְּדָם וְהִפִּיל פּוּר הוּא הַגּוֹרָל לְהֻמָּם [...]
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 [...]
“These Lights are Holy…”: An Instruction for Meditatioin
Chanukka (2015 / 5776) Sarah Yehudit Schneider Based on teachings by R. Tsadok HaKohen[1] and R. Yitzchak Ginsburgh[2] …הַנֵּרוֹת הַלָּלוּ קֹדֶשׁ הֵם. וְאֵין לָנוּ רְשׁוּת לְהִשְׁתַּמֵּשׁ [...]
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 [...]
Textual Study as Meditation — #7
Textual Study as Meditation alternates study with meditation in a way that dissolves their boundaries and eventually fuses them. It is the best of both worlds.
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 [...]
Kabbalistic Underpinnings of Speaking Truth to Lie — Meditation #5
This FIFTH video teaching on Jewish meditation explains how meditation, and in particular the practice called Speaking Truth to Lie, is a powerful agent of Tikun Olam (mending the world). This [...]
Master of Prayer — Tisha b’Av, 5773 / 2013
“Everything that the Merciful One does is good.”[1] That means everything, without exception. Our job is to find that good…and proclaim it. From this perspective complaints with providence expose [...]
Dewdrops of Light–Shavuot 5773 / 2013
When HaShem revealed the Torah at Sinai, the Israelites died at every word. Their souls flew from their bodies and Hashem revived them with the dew that He will use to resurrect the dead. [MR [...]
Shavuot 5772 / 2012 (Inspired by Meor v’Shemesh)
Jacob’s ladder reaches up through the worlds to the inwardness of G-d called the Infinite Light. The point of our religion (with its 613 commands) is to bring us up those rungs to meet HaShem [...]
Tisha b’Av, 5771 / 2011
Tisha B’Av 5771 / 2011 Sarah Yehudit Schneider We are about to observe our one-thousand-nine-hundred-and-forty-first (1,941st ) Tisha b’Av fast. That amounts to a lot of hope…and a lot of [...]
Prayer Before Study
אבי, אדוני, דודי We (I) enter into this study in order to draw close to you – for the sake of holy service and the fulfillment Your will for us (me) and for all of Israel and for this entire [...]
Studying Prayerfully
This essay can also be viewed in pdf format. This essay was published in Bread and Fire: Jewish Women Find God in the Everyday, Rivkah Slonim (editor), (Urim Publications, Jerusalem), p. 75-79, [...]
Textual Study As Meditation
This article can be viewed in adobe pdf format. This essay was published in Meditation from the Heart of Judaism, edited by Avram Davis and can be purchased at amazon.com by Sarah Yehudit (Susie) [...]