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 [...]
A Short Tribute to Etrog for Tu B’Shvat
The word for etrog (אתרוג) relates to the Hebrew root, רגג, which means, “to long and desire.” For this reason etrog corresponds to to the heart area, the center of conscious emotion and desire.
Chanukka—Harbinger of Messianic Gender Shifts to Come
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.” [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
The Klipah Precedes the Fruit
“If the Torah had not been given, we would still have learned modesty from the cat, industriousness from the ant…” and many important instructions-by-example from the plant kingdom. [TB Eruvin [...]
ZOT CHANUKKA–A TRIBUTE TO THE SHEKHINA
The kabbalists read into Chanukka’s eight days, a journey of progressive tikun down through the sefirot from Binah to Malchut. Curiously, Binah associates with the higher Shekhina called Ima [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]