Tag: torah

Worlds, Souls, Divinity–Inspired by the Komarna Rebbe

This is a teaching about prayer as conveyed by the Komarna Rebbe (R. Yitzchak Eisik Safrin, 1806 – 1874). It is only tangentially related to Purim, though it does appear in his commentary on Megillat Esther. Furthermore, since Purim is a most propitious time for prayer, it is an appropriate teaching for the occasion. But mostly, it is a subject I wanted to broach, and this concurrence of commentary and prayer focus provides an opportunity to do so.

Purim High Council Prayer and Meditation Happening for Women

We are Inviting women from around the world to join the actual Jerusalem-based Purim High Council event via zoom.

SHADOWS AND LIGHT–CHANUKKA 5783/2022

There’s an elephant in the room, though I think most readers are unaware of its shadowed presence. It’s the portion of the Chanukka story that occurs after the victorious restoration of the Temple that we celebrate with our chanukiyot.

Video–Sarah, Sarai, Yiska

Sarah is the Matriarch of the Jewish people. Tradition ascribes superiority to her Divine Inspiration over Avraham's.

The Dust of Their Skirmish Reached to the Throne of Glory–Sukkot, 5783

The midrash informs us that the “dust” of Yakov's epic battle with Essav reached to the Throne of Glory, and (to this very day) is the force behind the Jewish people’s subsequent success in peddling, big business, war and Torah study. What does that mean?

Video–Yom Kippur: Leave Your Begging Bowl at the Door

The Sod Yesharim suggests a very powerful practice to get the most out of our highest of holy days, Yom Kippur. (Sod Yesharim is the third Rebbe in the Ishbitz line of chassidut. He wrote in the mid/late 1800's).

Video–Rosh HaShana and the Kabbalistic Mystery of Nesira

You might be surprised to know that Rosh HaShana is not only Day of Judgement and the Day of Remembrance, it is also, says kabbala, the Day of Nesira (surgical uncoupling). This is a short teaching about that profound dimension of Rosh HaShana.

Elul and the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy

The prayer is that HaShem should feel free to choose the speediest path to redemption, and that we should have the depth of vision (of x-ray vision) to see and truly experience (to whole-heartedly embrace) the good of it.

A TEACHING FOR THE FAST OF TAMMUZ

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 the Torah that we received at Sinai, but forfeited when we too betrayed its calling.

Malchut Sh’b’Malchut

To describe the king as “entangled in the tresses” is to assert that there is a level of G-d that is entangled by our conceptions and projections of Him/Her/It.

“This Opposite This” HaShem Made the World

This tug-of-war stripped down to its basics is really about “who eats who?” And, really, the whole drama of geopolitics comes down to exactly that: In the end, whose narrative, whose scripture, whose ideology, whose story of why we are here and where we’re headed and what G d wants from us…whose narrative is going to prevail, and absorb everyone else into its story line. “Who will eat who?”

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.

Sifra, Sefer, Sippur

The Torah, says Sefer Yetzira, is really three in one. There’s the Torah of Bereshit, the Torah of Sinai, and the Torah of souls. Our job, says the Baal Shem Tov, is to unify these three Torot with every word we speak and breath we take.

Shavuot through the years

Shavuot teachings over the years (2008-2016).

Pesach Through the Years

Pesach teachings over the years (2003-present.)

Purim High Council Prayer and Meditation Happening for Women–2

We are Inviting women from around the world to join the actual Jerusalem-based event via zoom (enabled by Shifra Hendrie who has offered her expanded zoom link for the occasion). And… Sharing the nusach/script of the ceremony so you can prepare for the event and, if you are unable to join our Jerusalem ceremony, you can create your own High Council, either on your own or with friends.

Purim High Council Prayer and Meditation Happening for Women

Our Fruit Tree and Vegetable Kingdom Role Models

On Tu B’Shvat we celebrate our generous and magnificent fruit trees that selflessly nourish the world for no other reason than that it’s what they are designed to do. May we honor them back by preserving their habitat, mulching their soil, protecting their pollinators, providing fresh water, repelling their pests and (on their new year’s day) praying for them to enjoy a healthy, lush and fruitful year.

The Chinukh of Chanukka

Since Chanukka and Purim reference toward the future, R. Luria associates them with Mashiach ben David, and the 7th marriage blessing when “the woman of valor becomes the crown to her husband.” R. Luria brings fascinating evidence of the gender shifts that weave through the messianic lineage and narrative.

The Coveted Sukkah of Sodom

"Anyone who fulfills the mitzvah of sukkah in this world, will get a perpetual share (are you ready for this) in the Sukkah of Sodom” [Pesikta d'Rav Kahana].

Chai Elul—A Rosh HaShana Teaching for the Baal Shem Tov’s Birthday

R. Tsadok notes that Rosh Hashana (humanity's birthday) is actually a very strange Yom Tov given the debate between Hillel and Shamai about whether its better to be born...or not.

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 materialize and all the laws that define its parameters…that is the primordial Torah.

Tag: torah

Worlds, Souls, Divinity–Inspired by the Komarna Rebbe

Purim High Council Prayer and Meditation Happening for Women

SHADOWS AND LIGHT–CHANUKKA 5783/2022

Video–Sarah, Sarai, Yiska

The Dust of Their Skirmish Reached to the Throne of Glory–Sukkot, 5783

Video–Yom Kippur: Leave Your Begging Bowl at the Door

Video–Rosh HaShana and the Kabbalistic Mystery of Nesira

Elul and the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy

A TEACHING FOR THE FAST OF TAMMUZ

Malchut Sh’b’Malchut

“This Opposite This” HaShem Made the World

Rosh HaShana Through the Years

Sifra, Sefer, Sippur

Shavuot through the years

Pesach Through the Years

Purim High Council Prayer and Meditation Happening for Women–2

Purim High Council Prayer and Meditation Happening for Women

Our Fruit Tree and Vegetable Kingdom Role Models

The Chinukh of Chanukka

The Coveted Sukkah of Sodom

Chai Elul—A Rosh HaShana Teaching for the Baal Shem Tov’s Birthday

The Reward of a Mitzvah

Pesach Through the Years

A Short Tribute to Etrog for Tu B’Shvat

Chanukka—Harbinger of Messianic Gender Shifts to Come

Rosh Hashana

Cheshvan

Chanukka

Tu B'Shvat

Purim

Shavuot

Tisha B'Av

Elul