Don’t Read It; Breathe It

For me, the biggest obstacle to inspiration by Chasudus is the thought: “I heard this last year – can’t I hear something new this year?”

The trick is to live with it. When I do I have no such problem.

The essentials of life are the same every day; yet every time I take a deep breath it feels as tough I am breathing for the very first time.

Alive

You know that depressing feeling of getting inspired by the same thing time and time again, only to feel down why you forget it in between?

But maybe that's because it's alive. The idea is alive, so everytime you hear it it's like hearing it for the first time.

Like hugging your child, each time you hug him it feels like you've never done it before.

Is Your Freedom of Choice My Business?

I have a simple question: every person has complete free choice over their actions. So, you have free choice to harm me; I am, hopefully, protected by G-d, which means that you do not have free choice to harm me.

The answer lies in the words Yosef said to his brothers: “you thought for evil but G-d thought for the good”.

They had the free choice to enslave him, yet, Hashem transformed him to a master of the entire world.

You have free choice to harm me, yet, Hashem can always transform that evil to good.

It's All In The Mind?

I used to be a big believer in the mind. After all my mind was feeding me lots of grand ideas about itself. The mind, I taught, is all powerful; No matter how hard a time you are having you can control your mind, and if you have the proper frame of mind you be fine, happy and in control if yourself. After all it's your mind and you can use it as you wish.

Well, as my life moves on, I am beginning to have some doubts. No, don’t get me wrong, I still believe in the mind; the words of the Tanya that the mind is in complete control of the heart still resonate with me. However, I am beginning to feel that the mind must open the door to the heart and settle in their.

I can tell myself all day long that there is a reason for everything and I should be happy, yet it won't have any affect on me unless my heart buys into it. The mind will always remain skeptical at some level, the heart does not.

The mind is a great tool to unlock the heart; but to be in love, despite great distractions, with G-d, Torah, Chasidus, the Chasidic lifestyle, is completely in the hands of the heart.

Perhaps that is why, lately, my favorite and most meaningful prayer is "unite our heart to love and fear your name". I ask Hashem, help me. I'll get my mind involved, but please, give me a hand with my heart; "purify our hearts to serve you in truth".

Sheep

Just by looking at you I can tell that you have Yakov's personality. You are studies, you have a simple life, and your certainty not ambitious. And yet, somehow, just like Yakov, you are probably the most successful person I know.

You are self confident, you stick up for yourself and you could put up a fight when you need to. Most importantly, you have an impact on a wide range of people; from young to old, simple to smart, wealthy to poor.

Your successful because you aren't.

You are not trying to promote yourself - that would leave you frightened, overwhelmed, and limit your potential to the limitations of your personality. Instead you put yourself in the side, humbled by something awesomely greater then yourself. Along with your ego you put your fear and limitations behind you.

Everyone flocks to spend time with you because your ego does not push them away. All of the sudden you're smarter and kinder then you ever were. You don't recognize yourself because it is not yourself. You are limited. What you can achieve by letting go is not.

Sheep, the symbol of humility, was Yakov's chief possession. everything else he had - including his strength came from the limitless potential of humility.

(Leku"s Vol 15 Sicha 4)

Gilad

I hope that we hear good news very soon.
Personally there seems to be a good argument from a Halachik and practical view that trading many for one is not the way to go and forbidden.
Yet, when I saw the news this morning all I can think of is the possibility for him and his family to be able to live again.

To The Children

While learning today’s Tanya, the Alter Rebbe’s letter of condolences to the students of R’ Mendel of Haradok, there were two words that caught my attention. Yes, I read this letter many times but today these are the words that are ringing in my head.

“Vi’tze’eh’tzah’ay’hem Itam” and their children with them. The Alter Rebbe was addressing this letter, about staying connected through “thick ropes of a magnanimous love, and an eternal love, that will not be moved forever”, not only to the Chasidim themselves but to their children as well.

Does He Want Me To Sin?

Don’t hurt me, I hate pain, and I always did.

From a philosophical level the problem with pain is that it distracts. It doesn’t allow the person to live his life and focus on what ever he wishes to do.

Once he is in pain, however, sometimes pain could have the opposite affect. Often pain makes one more aware of oneself, more sensitive to life and to other people. Pain has the potential to lead a person to a more elevated state of being.

The Midrash teaches that some times Hashem creates a trap to lead a person to sin.

Sometimes it feels like Hashem is pushing you toward sin, lining up all the circumstances to make it difficult for you to escape a bad choice.

Sometimes it feels like he pushes an entire generation away from Judaism.

That does not mean he likes the sin. He does not like pain. But sometimes he can’t help but want to give us the opportunity to be the more sensitive person we become after experiencing the separation from him.

He hates sin; yet he desires the state that a person is in once he sinned. Lost, confused, but searching. On the way to an even greater relationship.

(Leku"s vol 5 Lech Licha sicha 1)

Water

He loves water. As soon as he created the world, in the second verse of the Torah we read, ‘and the spirit of G-d hovered over the water’. When the morals of the world collapsed and he decided to do a ‘do-over’ he once again covered the earth with water.

He is comfortable with water. Water is the source of life, when the earth is covered in water the source of the life, G-d, is present in the most powerful way.

But then, surprisingly, he said, no more floods ever again. I want to see the earth. The creation must feel independent and not overwhelmed by G-d. And let the earth be covered with the knowledge of G-d as the water cover the sea. Let the world use its mind to cover itself in the waters of wisdom.

That’s the challenge: walk on the earth but let your mind swim in the water.

(Noach, Vol 30 sicah 1)

The Construction Site

The one word that flashes through my mind every time I pass a construction site is chaos. Everything is a mess, there are things thrown all over, and it looks like everybody is doing their own thing.

I begin to wonder: where in the world is the architect, the guy who is supposed to be in charge of the big picture pulling all the pieces together to create a coherent buildin, Why is he nowhere to be found?

The truth, of course, is that the architect is very much present. When I look carefully I can see, that once in a while everybody involved in this mess refers back to a little book for direction. Yes, they're looking at the blueprint.

Where is the architect, the order, I asked? I'll be able to see him when the building is complete. Until then, if I want to discover some order I must look to those little papers that contain the meaning of it all.

_______________________

The one thought that goes through my mind when I look at the world around me is chaos. Everybody is doing their own thing, each pulling in another direction. Yet I know there is meaning to the mess, I know there is an architect who will emerge when we compleate the construction. Until then I find him in a litle book, I find him in the Torah.

The Rebbe's Biurim to Pirkei Avos

I have spoken at length to my wife about my pet peeve, learning the Biurim of the Rebbe to Pirkei Avos. I love them but I can' sit through another Biur between Mincha and Maariv Shabbas afternoon. I thought at first that I didn't really like them but my wife clarified to me that the truth is that they are just presented so badly. Would we ever think of giving a shiur from Biurim L'Pirush Rashi Al HaTorah? Certainly there are some Sichas which are readily teachable but when you are being religious and going through the cycle for the second and third times it's a little much. And the worst part is that Pirkei Avos has a wealth of lessons that everyone can relate to, it is the second most elucidated book after the Haggadah, why are we closing everyone off from some of the stuff which relates to us so well.

An important lesson from the story of the destruction of the Beis HaMikdash

אמר רבי יוחנן ענוותנותו של רבי זכריה בן אבקולס החריבה את ביתנו ושרפה את היכלנו והגליתנו מארצנו

Rashi translates ענוותנותו as tolerance סבלונותו.

I have to write this in such strong terms because I feel that we are in the same situation as in those days.

We understand all too well how we, the Rabbis, weren't (and aren't) able to protest to a wrong committed against another, but when a minority opinion argues for strict adherence to the letter of the law we follow like sheep.

And like the שיחה from פרשת פנחס where the Rebbe explains, the Rashi that explains the necessity in associating פנחס to his grandfather אהרן, is to stress that sometimes an act seems like an act of tolerance when in reality it is the most heartless thing one can do.

And where does such behaviour begin, by not protesting a public humiliation but making sure one is scrupulous in a religious law.

And there are numerous examples.

I don't mean to diminish the travesty propagated by בר קמצא but there is an entirely overlooked lesson on the same page. And perhaps we would do well if this is the lesson we emphasized when every school and Yeshivah learns this piece.

The Infinity of the Moment

I want the impossible. It's Wednesday 3:41pm, I want to feel the significance of all I do in my entire life in this moment. I want to work on every detail with the motivation that comes from the entire project.

I want the infinite in the finite.

Fortunately it can be done. In fact, it is the point of all of the Torah. The Torah is all about connecting with Hashem's infinite light trough a specific, limited, detailed Mitzvah.

The Torah is not about being spiritual via connecting to the infinite. It's much more revolutionary; it's about shattering the barrier between finite and infinite.

When Moshe spoke to the Jewish people, at the plains of Moab at the bank of the Jordan, he said: "May the L-rd G-d of your fathers make you a thousand times so many more as you are"; a defined blessing, one thousand. "and bless you as he has promised you"; an undefined blessing, for Hashem’s blessing to Abraham was that no man will be able to count his descendants.

Moshe was saying the undefined blessing is not enough; we need defined blessing. Because one thousand is not limiting the infinite blessing, it's bringing the infinite to our finite reality.

(Inspired by Leku"s vol. 19 sicha 4)

Criminal Justice

The Torah states that "a matter shall be established based on two witnesses". If we were to follow this law in this country, there would be no Criminal Justice prosecution; plain and simple. As an overwhelming majorette of crimes are prosecuted without two witnesses.

The Talmud teaches that the court has the prerogative to prosecute crimes that don't reach the bar of evidence provided by the testimony of two witness, if they feel that doing so is necessary to establish law and order. In other words, although the ideal bar of evidence is two witnesses, in the real world we usually don't have that luxury.

In the final analysis, is there a difference between the Torah system and the secular system, in this regard, or are both systems settling for a compromised burden of evidence?

Perhaps we can propose the following. In the absence of two witnesses, says the Torah, we can't be certain that the accused is guilty. Now, even if, to maintain a law abiding and safe society, we have no choice but to put the accused in jail, we must remember that maybe we got it all wrong; the accused may be innocent.

If the court convicts based on one witness that don't have the luxury of going home and going to sleep peacefully knowing that they can rely on the Torah that their judgement was just, as they can if the conviction is based on two witnesses. If they lock someone up for thirty years, they must look back at the case from time to time, rethink the evidence, question the verdict, be willing to overturn the ruling.

And, anyone accused of a crime without the testimony of two witnesses, unlike the recent Supreme court decision, should definitely have the right to have their case reexamined with DNA testing. And, unlike the American law, sometimes a Jury's verdict must be reexamined.

I know this may be an inconvenient way to run a justice system, but, sorry, we cant rely on the Torah for a conviction with only one witness; we can only rely on ourselves, and yes, we do make mistakes.

The New You

Every time you stretch yourself beyond your comfort zone you become a new person. The person you were yesterday could not accomplish this; you, on the other hand, can.

If you're bored with your life, If you are looking for meaning, if you want to do something drastically new, no need to drop it all and make a career change. All you need to do is push yourself a Little more then you are used to; be a little more patient, a little more loving, a little kinder, have just a tiny bit more self control.

You’ll be surprised how challenging it is to go the extra step. You’ll be surprised how transformative a teeny step can feel.

Just try it, and the person looking back at you in the mirror tonight will be a totally new person.

(12 Tamuz 5740)

The Secret of "Kabalat Ol"

You are the kind of guy who, in Yeshivah, would be called a “kabolas Ol’nik”. Your motivated to do the right thing, and to follow Hashem’s instructions as much as possible. Your not in love, or in awe, or overtaken by the beauty of it all.

Some misunderstand you. They pity you; they assume that you put yourself aside for Hashem leaving no room for personal satisfaction and meaning. Some may even suspect that you have a low self esteem; after all you devote yourself to someone other then yourself.

Nothing is farther from the truth. In fact you hold yourself in high regard and you take yourself very seriously. You understand your own significance, your actions acutely make a difference; Hashem does care, really.

So the heart of the guy who’s in love with Hashem is drawn to Hashem with great passion, but that same heart is sometimes filled with doubt: does he really care? If I do my own thing for an hour would it make a big difference? Do my choices have meaning?

You don’t have these doubts. You understand the importance of every aspect of your life. You respect yourself. After all you're a “kabolas Ol’nik”.

(Bi'ha'loscha Atere"s)

Listen, He's Talking

Did you ever read an introduction that is more powerful then the actual message? Have you ever enjoyed a forward more then the book?

Well, I have. Perhaps the most powerful verse in the story of the Ten Commandments is the introduction: "and Hashem spoke all these words to say". Beacuse all Jews were present at the giving of the Torah and heard it from Hashem fist hand, the words "to say" can't mean "to say to others" as is their usual meaning. Rather, "to say" means to repeat. When we read a verse in the Torah we are repeating Hashem's words. A Jew, reading a book in her living room in the twenty first century, is experiencing the giving of the Torah; she is repeating the words Hashem is saying at that very moment.

Some times the Torah's massage seems simple and mundane; don't kill, don't steel, don't be jealous. But more powerful then the the commandment is the commander; more powerful then the teaching is the teacher. When I study a verse in Torah here he is, the infinite creator of the world, in all his glory communicating with me.

If I listen carefully I'll hear him.

(Torah Or, Yisro)

Songs of Praise

Nothing is more uplifting then a great song. A song's inspiration does not come from conveying an intellectual idea, nor is it the excitement of hearing something for the first time; as an old song awakens the spirit perhaps even more then a new one. The song's power is it's abilty to allow the soul to express itself.

Therefore, when the sages instituted that we praise Hashem during prayer, they called the verses of praise "verses of Song". For Hashem's praise must be sung. Like my favorite song, it awakenes my heart every time I sing it. Therefore, although I read the same prayer every day, it never failes to refresh my spirit and touch my heart.

Just like my favorite song.

(Torah Ohr, Bishalach)

Teach Me How To Teach

The Zohar tells the following story:

One time the world needed rain, so the students went to their teacher, Rabbi Shimon, and told him about the problem. He said to them: those of you who came for rain as well as those of you who came to hear words of Torah should stay here. He then began to expound on the verse "behold how good and how pleasant is the sitting of brothers together" and miraculously it began to rain.

On Lag Ba'omer 1978 the Rebbe related this story to his students; and asked: weren’t the students very clear about the reason for their coming to him? Did they not state clearly that the world needs rain? So why would he say to them "those of you who came to learn"?

This is a powerful message, says the Rebbe, about a real teacher. He sees within his students more then they can see within themselves. The students may have thought that all they want is rain. But their teacher knew better. He understood that deep down what they really wanted was Torah.

Most teachers address the student who is already seeking wisdom; the exceptional teacher discoverers a yearning for wisdom within every student.

(Lag Baomer 5778)

Pray For Happiness

Happiness. That all I really want. Not pleasure, not comfort, not meaning but happiness. All the pleasure and comfort in the world is worthless all the meaning in the world is not satisfying unless it is enjoyed by a heart that is open, free, and pure of any trace of sadness.

Happiness is a problem. I am taught to expect and demand the best for myself in this world. I deserve everything I want, I invest my effort and I am entitled to the fruit of my labor. I am therefore never happy, for as much as I have, as blessed as I am, I deserve more.

Prayer is an excellent therapy for this problem.

When I stand alone before Hashem I could be honest with myself; I can confront the reality that I am not as good, or as kind, or as patient, or as loving, or as giving as I should be.

I offer praise to Hashem for I realize that everything I have is a gift form him. He is the one who gives me life, sustains every living being, and shines (the sun) upon the earth and its inhabitants (and upon me) with compassion.

I read the prayer carefully, keep thinking about his kindness to me, and I practice appreciating the gifts he gives me.

Then, for the rest of the day, I am happy.

The Salty Paradox

Is salt tasty? On one hand it does not have a taste on it's own, on the other hand it gives taste to other foods, it's the salty paradox. Salt has an important place in Judaism, as seen in the Torah's commandment to salt all the sacrifices offered in the temple, a commandment that is commemorated until this day by the custom of dipping our bread in salt.

To understand the significance of salt we must look at the analogy the Torah uses to describe itself: bread. Just as the bread eaten is digested, becoming part of the human being, so does the Torah learned become completely united with the mind. In fact this is the great advantage of Torah over all other commandments, in the words of the Tanya "the study of Torah creates a great unity like no other, and this unity has no comparison in the physical realm to be like one from every angle". The significance of Torah is it's ability to be understood, therefore if you just read the Torah without understanding, you are missing the point, there is no unity.

For this reason the great sages of the Talmud spent their entire lives debating matters of law concerning simple and mundane objects, what to do if a ox goers a cow, or if two people are holding a garment, for although it does not feel as spiritual as discussing the spiritual worlds, it offers the opportunity too grasp Hashem's wisdom. Having said that, there is a crucial part of Torah that can't be understood, the light of Hashem that is beyond wisdom that is en-clothed within the Torah. This aspect in Torah is especially evident in the Mitzvah to tread the written Torah even without understanding, here the unity is not as great but we connect to the essence of Hashem which is far greater then his wisdom.

While studying Torah there are two important ideas that we must constantly keep in mind, firstly, we must remember that we can only understand a tip of the iceberg of the Torah's true significance most of which is far beyond our understanding. Secondly, Torah is not just a tasteless, spiritually dull, body of law about a physical reality, rather it is a manifestation of Hashem's will and wisdom.

To help us relate to these two messages the Torah says that whenever we bring an offering we should salt it. Salt represents the mystical secrets of the Torah, that physical beings cannot comprehend, it has no taste, it's salt. It however gives taste to the bread, the reavealed part of Torah. Making us aware of the great paradox: in order to achieve unity we must understand; yet we are uniting with a being who is beyond understanding.

(Likutey Totrah, Vayikra)

Freedom To Work Hard

I am trapped. I have a bad habit that takes up too much of my time and energy. It pulls me down, threatening to drown my positive energy. I feel trapped; I wish I were free. Passover therefore is very important to me because it’s the holiday of freedom, spiritual freedom. On the night of Passover G-d redeems us from our own personal powerful Egypt.

I' must, however, tell you the truth; this is not my first Passover, and although the Seder is always an enjoyable spiritual experience, it never liberates me, afew days after Passover I always find the same old self within my heart. This year I decided to try to figure out what's the story with the liberation thing. Why isn't it working for me? Where am I doing wrong?

My search led me to the Tanya, chapter 31, which asks a simple question; why did the Jews tell Pharoh that they are leaving for three days and then escape toward the sea? They should have told him clearly that they will never come back, under threat of the death of the first-born, Pharoh would have no choice but to agree. The answer, says the Tanya, is that the Jews escaped because they had to be in escape mode, for they were escaping the evil that exited within their soul. On that night they made ran away from the negativity experiencing freedom that comes from expressing their true selves. However, eventually they had to confront their evil and slowly, through hard work, eradicate it.

That is an important message for me, yes, Passover is a chance to feel free, it’s a time that brings out the part of our soul that is independent, free, and not enslaved to negativity. But Passover night is just an escape, it’s just a taste of what we have to strive for. It shows us how it feels to be free, and proclaims: now that you expirienced the intoxicating spirit of freedom you must work long and hard to achieve it. You are free to work hard.

Sync Your Calendar

Since the beginning of time mankind looked up to the heavens; in awe.

Some cultures were fascinated by the sun. It is strong, powerful, glorious, brilliant and warm; it is everything they strived to be, they craved its power. It is no wonder then that they looked up to the sun to fill the basic need of calculating time, they established a solar calendar.

Other cultures were intrigued by the moon. It is majestic, it illuminates the dark sky and it changes every day of the month; the moons sensitive gentle light would bring comfort to their hearts. Seeking to capture its inspiration and incorporate it into their daily lives they established a lunar calendar.

Hashem’s first commandment to the Jewish people, while they were still slaves in Egypt, was to establish a calendar that synchronizes the sun and the moon. The Jewish calendar is unique in that it incorporates both the solar and lunar cycles, by adding an extra month every three years to bridge the eleven day gap dividing the solar and the lunar years.

The brilliant sun symbolizes the consistent, powerful and illuminating light of Hashem. The moon shining in the dark sky represents the Jewish people, whose job it is to reflect the light of Hashem into a dark world. The Jewish people, therefore, are subject to challenges imposed by the world, at times they shine in all their glory and at times their light is invisible.

The first mitzvah demonstrates the goal of all the following Mitzvot, which is to synchronize the sun and the moon. Every Mitzvah we perform connects the light of Hashem to the Jew in this world, uniting them both, forming one realty where “in the heaven above and on the earth below there is nothing beside him”.

(Mamar Hachodesh Hazeh Lachem, 5716)

Spiritual Freedom

How do we attain spiritual freedom? Start within. But How? We have a very popular topic which everyone wants to cash in on. Including me, bring on the masses. We say true freedom only comes through Torah even the though Torah and Mitzvot can be quite restrictive. We speak about slavery and we mean subjugation to others. We speak about spiritual freedom and we mean... what do we mean? To become observant, I think not. To achieve inner peace, sounds a little too fruity for me and a little too easy to fake. Torah is the key but what about Pesach? Is it the aspect of connecting to a community? Chief Rabbi Sir Jonathon Sacks said, this past Sunday, that the Korban Pesach was a bonding of the family as opposed to Har Sinai which was a community wide event. Though, we became a nation leaving Egypt, I think, not in Egypt. Perhaps that is the story of Leaving Egypt, the one we keep retelling every year. The story of becoming a nation and through that, attaining freedom. And then perhaps, when we speak of personal redemption as being a catalyst to a universal redemption not only the effect, we can really best attain that personal redemption through becoming a community. And that is the secret of unity, in addition to the Yechidah. How do we join the community? That is the Seder. The path to spiritual freedom as we join up in the collective whole and join destinies to become and touch something so great. The divine! Freedom! Inner peace. But how? מה נשתנה. The question is how is this night of Pesach different than last year's night of Pesach? עבדים היינו. Through slavery and hardship. Is antisemitism that what keeps us Jewish? Not really, but it plows the field waiting for the rain. Transform yourself like Avraham and Yaakov, through what? Through Torah. Ben Zoma. The nights. What is so significant about retelling the story of leaving Egypt by night? It's connection is to Tzitzit. Tzitzit is by day. So? They represent the Mitzvot of the Torah. Do they only apply by day? Freedom needs to be consistent through the night for it to be true. Only existing during the day, where it is a badge to be worn for consumption of the public is false. ואחרי כן יצאו ברכוש גדול. What is the purpose of this universe? Shouldn't have they run out of Egypt, who needs the money? What they achieved then was extraction. Which is not what are job is. Everyone will come along, even the רשע. And perhaps that is why עבודת הבירורים is over. Everyone and everything is going to come along for the ride. And this time it is going to be different from the last time. We say there will never be another Har Sinai, no other revelation comparable. Perhaps, according to what Rabbi Sacks explained, that is because this coming revelation will start off as a personal redemption through personal freedom similar to ברכת החמה which is fine to be done individually yet is best with the community.

The Symbol of Liberty

If you had to choose a symbol for freedom what would it be? What item can travel through the generations, reach every country, touch every heart and awaken the feeling of freedom? What can bring the beacon of freedom to the poor Jew living the dark ages as well as to the wealthy Jew living in Muslim Spain?

The Torah makes an odd choice: Matzah, the bread of poverty.

Matzah holds the secret to freedom. The essence of freedom is independence. A slave is a dependent being, both physically and psychologically, while the free man rules his own spirit, defines himself the way he chooses to, refuses to allow external influences to define himself self.

Wealth imposes external definitions that distract from the essence of the human being. It's very difficult to be a millionaire and not define yourself as one. The pauper, on the other hand, does not have the option of defining himself by external things. He has no material possessions, no beautiful home, no option to depend on external substances for self worth. He must look deep inside himself and figure out what his real essence is.

On the festival of freedom we drink four cups of wine, recline, display our finest gold and silver, we do all this, and more, to try to experience the blessings of freedom and abundance. Yet we must keep our eyes on the bread of poverty, we must understand that to be free we must look not to possessions but to our true essence. Only then does our wealth serve us not the other way around.

Understand this and you've got the gift of freedom, freedom that you can never loose, freedom that no one can take away from you.

(Gevuros Hashem)

Why Chasidus Adores Purim

Yeah, I know, we all love Purim. It has something for everyone: costumes, wine, food baskets, parties, what's there not to like? But if Purim has one true fan, it's Chasidus.

All year long, Chasidus waits for Purim to come and share its story, to tell the awesome tale of a time when Hashem decides to hide his face, "and I, on that day, conceal shall I conceal my continence." For Purim is the embodiment of Chasidus's central point, and a reinforcement of its most fundamental message.

You see, if Chasidus has one central point, it's this: there is nothing else beside Hashem, the world and its natural laws are but expressions of his greatness.

How can we experience this truth? There must be some event in our long history that can exemplify this truth.

Let’s take a look at Passover. It tells a fascinating story, it tells of Hashem's descent into Egypt, smashing the laws of nature on behalf of his beloved people. Nothing gets in his way, he strikes Egypt with ten plagues and splits the sea, Hashem descends on a mountain amidst pillars of smoke and Manna falls from heaven. Gone is the illusion of an all powerful nature; gone is the illusion that what we can measure, predict, and test in a lab, is all powerful.

That’s a very important message, we must know, that occasionally, Hashem chooses to break the laws of nature. But, it does not teach us that nature itself is an expression of Hashem's will. It doesn't teach us that Hashem does not have to shatter nature in order to find expression. So who will teach us to look beneath the surface and discover that nature is but a garment he chooses to wear?

No one can tell it better then Purim. With no G-dly intervention, no lightning coming down from heaven, nothing unnatural, we see G-d's hand every step of the way. We discover the essence of G-d, the "I", that chooses to "conceal my continence". We discover that he is very much present even where his name is nowhere to be found. We learn to see beneath the masks.

I am fortunate to be a student of Chasudus, lucky to drink of its wellsprings. Yes, it captured my imagination ; I'm in love with Purim

Pure Gold

"You shall make a Menorah of pure gold... its tongs (to remove the used wicks) and its scoops (to remove the ashes) shall be made of pure gold".

I close my eyes and think of purity. I see myself standing at the head of the Shabbat dinner table, a cup of wine in my hand, on the table three candles are burning. I look at the peaceful flames and think of their significance, one for me, one for my wife, one for my little daughter.

The words of the Kidush prayer express the occasion perfectly: "and you have given us your holy Shabbat with love and goodwill".

If I can put my finger on holiness in this world, here it is. It’s a Menorah made of pure gold spreading spiritual light.

And then, it happens to the best of us, I sometimes have one of those days. Everything is going wrong, I'm inpatient, I'm stuck in traffic with a smashing headache. I'm struggling to honor my commitment to G-d, to my family, to my job, and to the people in my life. I look around me, and the brilliant light of a pure Menorah is nowhere to be found.

But the torah teaches an important lesson: you may not be constructing a Menorah, you are, however, creating its tongs and scoops. Which, as an integral part of creating a home for G-d on this world, are just as significant. They too must be made of pure gold.

Compassion, Free The Love

Compassion. In some ways it’s the most powerful of human emotions. It expresses itself in the lowest places, and extends the farthest from yourself. And It is rooted on high, deep within the human soul.

You love what speaks to you, what you relate to. You don’t love everybody and everything, you respond to the people that touch your heart in a special way.

But compassion can reach anybody.

You know a guy for years, you never liked him, have nothing in common, never saw any good within him. One day, out of the blue, tragedy strikes. All of the sudden you can’t work, your eyes are looking at the computer screen, but your mind is pulled by the sting in your heart. Your drawn to the guy’s home.

Its reach is far, it touches people whom you never meet, whose language you don’t understand, but your compassionate heart finds a way to communicate.

And It is rooted on high, deep within the human soul.

That’s why compassion has the magic that triggers love. After the tragedy hits that fellow, all of the sudden you begin to see how wonderful this guy is. The love, as if awakened from a deep sleep, begins to burn in your heart. The person you always knew of, but never cared enough to get to know, turns out to be a precious soul, your lucky to know him.

But you knew this person all along, where was the love? It was imprisoned beneath the coarseness of your heart, waiting patiently for a powerful force from deep within yourself, to free it. Compassion smashes the hardened exterior, allowing the flame of love to burst to freedom.

This is the Chasidic interpretation of the verse “to Jacob (compassion) who redeemed Abraham (love)”

Understanding Oneness

It is impossible to understand Hashem’s oneness. Oneness means there is nothing besides for the one, understanding means there is a mind grasping something else. If there is a mind there is no oneness.

The G-dly soul, however, is another story altogether. It can declare “Hashem is our G-d Hashem is one”, because it is not a separate existence, its part of Hashem’s oneness.

That is why the G-dly soul says “our G-d” refereeing to its fellow G-dly souls. The animal soul is excluded because it can’t identify with the oneness. The best it can appreciate is “blessed is the glory of G-d forever”, it can appreciate the ray of G-d that breathes life into the world and into its very being.

Oneness? You got to be it to believe it.

Terumah, Ateres

The Nature Of Atzilut

Read the kabalistic descriptions of Atzilut and you will find conflicting reports. On one hand we read that the first attribute, the attribute of wisdom, is new, It never existed prior to the world of Atzilut. In Kabalistic terminology its Yesh Meayin - something from nothing. On the other hand we read that the attributes of Atzilut are merely revelations of the concealed. Meaning that the ten attributes aren’t new, they are just a concrete manifestation of something that existed earlier.

So what is Atzilut? Is it just a revelation of Hashem, or is it a new creation?

Will power is undefined, it can desire anything. When a person desires a specific thing, say wisdom, that specific will is closely connected to the general will, as they are both will. Eventually when the person exercises his mind and develops wisdom, the wisdom is completely new, it never existed, previously there was a will for wisdom, but no wisdom.

The infinite light of Hashem can be compared to the will power, Atzilit can be compared to actual wisdom, and in between the two is what we call "the ten attributes that are hidden within their emanator" where there is a desire for ten attributes, yet there is only will. So, on one hand, yes, Atzilut is a revelation of the concealed, after all, it’s only the actualization of the previous will for wisdom. Yet, on the other hand it can be called a new reality for the wisdom is new.

This leads to the next drastic difference between Atzilut, which is considered a G-dly world, and the world of Briah, creation. The world of creation’s existence is dependent on the G-dly light, it’s source, concealing itself. For the moment we would get a glimpse of the creative light we would cease to see an independent creation. By contrast, Atzilut’s existence, as a G-dly world, is dependent on a revelation of it’s source. For it’s Hashem’s will for wisdom, that takes the limited, defined, specific attribute of wisdom and imbues it with the undefined limitless light of the creator.

Parshas Mishpatim, Ateres

Indirect damage revisited

Your 3rd point that the one who burned the document isn't damaging it's the borrower who's damaging is a powerful point. How could Ravah disagree with that?

Tiger mauls Teenager

3 teenagers taunted a tiger in the S. Fransisco zoo about a year ago. The tiger jumped out of his 'thing' and killed one of the teenagers. Is the zoo liable?

In Rambam hilchos Nizkei Momon 2:19 says someone who taunts a dog and gets bitten the owner is pattur, for whoever does something out of the ordinary, and because of that the thing does something out of the ordinary back, pattur.

So the zoo would be pattur, no?

Moshe And The Sea

A great revelation of G-dly-ness took place at the splitting of the Sea of reeds. “A maidservant, At the sea, saw that which even the greatest of prophets could not see”. The sea represents the hidden spiritual worlds, and the splitting of the sea was a physical embodiment of a spiritual splitting of all concealments.

The sea split before Moshe hand, for only Moshe had the spiritual capacity to be the conduit for this revelation. Batya, Pharoh’s daughter, named him Moshe for “from the water I have drawn him”. He was a transplant from the sea of the concealed worlds. He therefore could not speak eloquently, for expression was the antithesis of his naturel habitat, the concealed worlds.

While studying this Chasidic interpretation this past Shabbos morning, we came up with an interesting idea.

After witnessing the splitting of the sea the torah declares “they believed in G-d and in Moshe his servant”. Why is this the first time that the Jews believed in Moses? Didn’t he perform the ten plagues in Egypt, miraculously freeing them from slavery?

Perhaps we can say that up until that point, although they have seen Moshe’s performance, they did not see his essence. The nation could not understand where he was coming from. When the sea split and all of the hidden worlds were torn open, the Jews were finally able to recognize Moshe for what he really was: drawn from the waters of the concealed worlds.

Torah Or - Bi'sha'lach

Power of Strength

In Chapter 3 of Shaar Hayichud, after acknowledging that the G-dly light that is our source of existence is hidden from us, the Alter Rebbe asks why aren’t the created beings nullified to the light of Hashem that creates them, as the ray of the sun is nullified to the sun when its still in its source. In chapter 4 he answers that we aren’t nullified because Hashem has a “power of strength” that conceals his creative light.

I always wondered how the answer explains anything, after all, even in the question the Alter Rebbe acknowledges that we can’s see the source, and yet he asks why aren’t we nullified. Well the answer is we don’t see the source, don’t we know that already?

Here is what I came up with. The alter Rebbe understood that we can’t see, know or understand our source. His question was, why don’t we fell that we have a source, albeit not knowing exactly what that source is. The answer is that the “power of strength” conceals not only the creator, but the feeling that we are created, thus leaving us to feel as if we exist by default.

This satisfied me some what. The problem is that yesterday I was talking about the “Igeres Hakodesh” number 20 that says that only the essence of Hashem, who himself always existed, can create a creation that feels as if it always exists (independently). According to my theory, that is the function of “the power of strength” not the essence of G-d.

As I write I am thinking about the words of the “Igeres Hakodesh” that the “light” creates with the power of Hashem’s essence. Well, the light can be refereeing to the light of the “power of strength”.

Does any of this make sense?

The Fire in the Rock

You want some fire. You can get some from an existing flame burning a coal, or you can create it from new by hitting a stone against a hard surface. Each method has its advantages, and Chasidus loves to use this as a parable for life’s deepest secrets.

The fire on the coal is easily accessible with no hard work necessary. On the other hand sooner or later the fire will extinguish. Moreover, if you throw the coal into a challenging environment, such as a body of water, the fire is gone. You hold a stone in your hand, its cold. Soak in water for a year, and you didn’t diminish it’s fire producing potential in the slightest.

Look at the stone carefully; does the fire exist within it? Not if you are looking for fire as we know it. But within the stone there sure is fire, in a more powerful way, fire as it is in its source, the essence of fire. The fire in the stone is too lofty to be felt but it has its advantage, it cant be challenged it will always exist.

G-dly light can be compared to a flame, majestic, bright, hot, visible. It’s inspiring to appreciate, it’s easy to get, and easy to loose. Then there is the essence of G-d, very much present everywhere, like the fire in the stone you can’t eliminate it from ant creation. Its presence is, however, sublime. It is only accessible with great effort, as with the spark bursting out of the stone being impacted with great force.

The Jew who is challenged with a bloody war against his evil inclination, who must hit the animal within himself with great force before he can see a spark of G-dliness, is reaching the essence of G-d. The essence of G-d which exist everywhere, even within a stone. In the words of the kabalists “when we subdue the ‘other side’, we reveal the light of G-d which is everywhere”.

Basi li'gani 5729

I exist! Or, I exist?

There are those that argue; for Hashem to create the world he had to remove Himself from it. So what's the result?
I exist. So if Hashem wants me to do something I must go along with it. He's quite powerful you know. So I'll make sure it's kosher, I'll make a bracha but hey, let me enjoy it.
And why should i do what Hashem wants? Well because he's powerful. If I follow Him I'll get the real good stuff and I don't even want to think about what he'll do to me if I don't follow Him. Because again at the end of the day I exist, so it's really about me.
And why should I deal with someone else who's a nobody sinful rat. Shouldn't I rather study or do some grand Mitzvah to get more reward? Why else do I do anything?

And then there are those who say Hashem never really left the world. He's just pretending. So here I am, nothing. Absolutely nothing. There is only Hashem. So why should I enjoy the food? And reward? Me studying instead of helping the 'rat'? Who am I?

The Ohr

Do we actually exist and if we do am I who I am?

In reality we are a part of Hashem. Picture the suns rays (if that's at all possible). Now that ray starts out in the sun or better yet that ray starts out as the sun. In reality we are a part of Hashem. We're like the suns rays when it is the sun and that's why it really make no sense that we don't recognize it. Because if I am the Sun how can I feel like a ray?

‘Teeeee-each me how to think’

‘you teach the world / how to live / how to give / and how to believe’, so surely it shouldn't be a big deal for you to teach me how to think.

Send me back to Yeshiva with a Talmud, notebook and pencil. Ask me to open any page, to read any opinion and to write down what I think. Do I agree or disagree? How would I explain the opinion to a skeptic? If all my money were dependant on this case, how would I convince a judge that this opinion is the just one?

After I am done writing ask me to do the same for the opposing argument. When my hands get tired of writing, allow me to debate these opinions with my fellow students. Let my spend all morning advocating one opinion and all afternoon advocating the opposite opinion. Please just make me do it.

By the end of the year, I may know fewer pages of Talmud, I may not read every last “acharon” but I’ll know how to think.

Rogotchover

He can't find the Rambam. The Rogotchover is pacing back and forth. Browses a few pages in the Rambam on his desk. Continues pacing. Turns a few more pages and his face lights up! He found the Rambam! He excitedly lifts the sefer, gives it a kiss "Ah Rebbe, Zolst leben biz a hundert un tzvansik"!

Was I good? II

When something leads to bad it is bad. That's the way we (should) make decisions. And that's because our Yetzer Harah can come to us in a saints robe. Which would mean if I did something and it lead to bad then it came from my Yetzer Harah.

But wait, maybe when I did something good and it didn't lead to good, it didn't come from the Yetzer Harah it is the Yetzer Harah (Nefesh Habahamis). Because I did it to escape or the like, and that is just one of those things the Neha"b does (for good or for bad).

The Indirect Damage

Rabbah says: if someone burns his friend’s document, thus preventing his friend from being able to collect a debt, he is Patur (not obligated to pay). [The Talmud then goes on to quote the opinion of Ravah who disagrees, saying that he would be obligated to pay.]

If I were called upon to advocate on behalf of Rabbah position, I would put forth three points.

I. Although the defendant is Patur, he is still obligated to pay by the “heavenly court”, the court can therefore use indirect means to try to force him to pay. Such as to deny him the right to take an oath in any court until he pays up his moral obligation. Since the defendant damage was indirect, it follows that the court can only obligate him indirectly.

II. All agree that even if someone gives false information to his fellow thus causing monitory lose, the court can not obligate him to pay. Thus we have a precedent for being Patur if the damage was indirect.

III. The strongest point: the defendant did not damage the plaintiff. The guilty party is the borrower who lied, refused to acknowledge that he owes the money to the plaintiff. The defendant would have caused no damage without the borrower’s primary and leading role.

Baba Kama 98

Was I good?

I listened to a class online on Tzimtzum shelo kepshuto for an hour and a half, I spoke about it with someone for about an hour and then I thought about it for a while. I didn't daven properly afterwards. It must have come from the Nefesh habahamis. Because if it doesn't lead to doing more good then I really only did it for myself. So it didn't come from the yetzer harah it was my Nefesh habahamis for the neha"b is the soul in me that does things for myself.

The Holy and the Headache

When I was in the second grade, my teacher would not accept a headache for an excuse for anything. If anyone would claim to have a headache he would respond: "headache? I'll tell you what a headache is. A story is told, in the book of prophets, of a boy who was at work in the field with his father. The boy complained, he said: my head my head. Dad sent the complaining boy home to his mom, the boy laid down and died."

[Miraculously the child was revived by the prophet Elisha, who was the one who originally granted the parents a blessing for a child.]

Looking at the story carefully, you will notice that the child never said anything about his head hurting. He just cried: my head, my head. Dad knew something was wrong without his boy mentioning pain, because a healthy person does not feel his head, if you do, then something is terribly wrong.

The soul is the body's source of life. A healthy body stays out of the way, it's completely nullified to the soul's energy. If, however, a limb feels itself, if the limb does not submit to the soul's energy, it will be paralyzed. The same is true with regard to the vitality of the universe. When the recipient is transparent, allowing the spirit of Hashem to shine forth, then it is healthy and holy. Holy for it is transparent, allowing Hashem's energy to express itself.

In general I could divide my life into two. Moments when I am energized, I accomplish, give to others, allow the Torah and it's teachings to flow right through me, enjoy interacting with others. Then there are moments, that I am sluggish, Sad, lifeless, self absorbed. Not allowing room for any life to circulate.

I get to make the choice at every moment, what kind of moment do I want? Do I want to be full of life? Or do I want a headache.

Riding the Waves of Financial Worries

You're drowning. You're drowning in a never ending current of frightening thoughts, worrying whether you'll be able to take care of your family and provide for your loved ones. Even when you find the time to visit the park with you’re family you're mind is wondering, even while opening a prayer book in the synagogue, the torrents of worry catch up with you. You have nowhere to hide.

Financial worries can be as destructive as the biblical flood. In fact, just like all of the Torah, every detail of the Torah’s description of the flood is relevant to the spiritual journey of a Jew. The flood is the financial worries that threaten to drown us all; the protective Ark is the words of Torah and prayer. Just as the floods water lifted the ark to great heights, the financial worries actually lift the prayer and study to a higher plane.

Spiritual sustenance is necessary not merely to satisfy your yearning soul, or to intellectually entertain by broadening the horizon of human experience. It’s the secret to survival in a challenging world. The spiritual haven is most appreciated when you realize that it is your protective shelter.

You see, before the flood the ark will sometimes feel confining. Even while praying and studying part of you lured toward the attractive world. When the world is flooded you realize that the ark is a source of peace, having spent time within it’s protective walls, having captured it’s tranquility, you can then bring it’s peacefulness along wherever you go.

Conventional wisdom leads a person to think that "I need to work extremely hard until I have enough money to buy piece of mind", that doesn't work. As the Ethics of Our Fathers teach: "one who adds money adds worry". The opposite is true, first you must find your ark, the protective and comforting words of Torah and prayer, only then can you be sure that when you have money it won’t rob you of your most important possession: piece of mind.

(Torah Or, Noach)

The Letter “Hey”

Tough you could barley hear its sound and its voice is soft, the Hebrew letter Hey is powerful. Hey represents expression. When it came time for Avrom and Saray to have children, to give birth to an expression of their souls, Hashem added a Hey to their names. To quote the Midrash: “Avram can’t give birth, Avraham can. Saray can’t give birth, Sarah can”.

A few generations later, of Yakov’s four wives only Rachel, the only matriarch without the letter Hey in her name, was barren. What did Rachel do? She told her husband “Here is my maidservant Bilhah, marry her, and I too will be built from her”. Bilhah had two “Hey’s” in her name, Rachel felt that she “will be built” from Bilhuh’s double Hey.

Rachel had a harder time expressing herself then her sister Leah, for Laeh represents taught while Rachel represents speech. Leah had the easier job of expressing her idea’s in her own mind, Rachel had to find the words reach others.

When Rachel finally overcame her spiritual challenge and gave birth, her child was a master of expression. Joseph alone was able to articulate and express holiness to the Egyptians. Only He could find the words to bring the “outsider” into the family.

Ateres - Vayechi

“He placed His spirit within her”

Imagine a teacher and a student, most likely their relationship will not last a lifetime. The teacher and student may loose interest in each other. They will move on to other experiences and relationships.

What can the teacher do to maintain the connection? The kabbalists have a formula: The Teacher gives the student a spirit from within himself; the spirit pulls the student back to the teacher, who is then awakened by his own spirit to share even more of his spirit with the student.

They explain: the teacher should give part of his essence to the student. The teacher’s spirit which is now within the student yearns to reunite with the teacher who is its source. The spirit will continuously pull the student back to the teacher to hear more, because that is were the spirit is comfortable.

Ten years down the line when he’s pulled back to his teacher, who has since lost interest in teaching this student, he begins to talk and the teacher is awakened at once. The student’s words move him to once again be interested in sharing his great wisdom.

How did the teacher regain his interest? It can’t be because of the student, for the teacher is by now very removed from the student. The secret is that the teacher was inspired by his own spirit, the spirit that he left within the student. He hears himself in the student’s voice, and he is awakened to open up and share even more.

And so the cycle continues, teacher gives the student a spirit, the spirit pulls the student back to the teacher, who is then awakened by his own spirit to share even more of his spirit to the student.

And the cycle continues

[In kabalistic terminology: Z”a gives of itself to Malchut. The spirit of Z”a within Malchut draws Malchut back to Z”a, and awakens Z”a to share even more of itself with Malchut]

(Vayigash, Ateres.)

G-d's Essence

Firstly, Thank you for extending the invitation to contribute to this blog. Secondly, Menachem has urged me to post even if ideas are not polished. Together with that comes the real possibility that it might not be correct or even somewhat blasphemous. Please help me by responding and if there is a source that I am touching upon please quote it for me.


What is opposite of G-d and his Essence?
Non-existence of a Creator is not a possibility and therefore can’t be an opposite. Evil as well is not an option as it is a part of G-d just like every other creation. Rather, G-dly Revelation can be said to be the opposite of G-d’s Essence.
What does this mean to us? Well this explains why specifically mankind is able to achieve the purpose of creation. Angels receive too much G-dly Revelation to be able to draw down G-d’s Essence. Only in this lowest of worlds where G-d’s existence is not readily apparent can we Humans draw down G-d’s Essence.
But why is Essence and Revelation mutually exclusive?
Because by definition Revelation (Giluy) is Light (Or). What is being revealed is only one aspect of G-dliness just like visible light which is only a small slice of the whole spectrum of light.
But that was just trading languages and words. An example perhaps, when one looks into a bright light and then turns away one can’t see as well in the darkness. So not only does looking into the light not help your vision but actually hinders you from experiencing anything else. Revelation has this same effect perhaps.

Chavakuk and the Alter Rebbe

613 commandments is a large number to remember. Chavakuk the prophet was nice enough to narrow it down to one. He said, just believe, everything else will fall into place.

In the words of the Talmud: “613 Mitzvahs were given to the Israelites, Chavakuk came and placed them on one, ‘a righteous man will leave by his belief’”. Quite an accomplishment, we need only focus on the belief, and that will support all the rest of the commandments.

The Alter Rebbe, surprisingly, says never mind the belief, Chavakuk was talking about the joy that is the by-product of belief. The foundation and support of all 613 commandments, of the Jewish lifestyle, is the joy that comes from the belief that Hashem is always with us. We are always connected, never lonely.

Often you may see people whose belief doesn’t lead them to acting on all 613 commandments. I doubt you can find someone who feels the thrill of being with G-d, whose not actively pursuing all the 613 ways of hanging out with Hashem.

It’s not about belief, it’s about how happy and energetic your belief makes you.

(Tanya chapter 33)

Using our brains brings to purposeful living.

To be focused and to live purposefully, we must think. Think till we know everything we could know. We live our lives on crumbs of knowledge. So we're flaky. We do things randomly and regret them 3 seconds later.

Therefore we should think. For instance when we study Torah and we understand to the best of our ability, our G-dly soul comes out in its full potential and we become a man of purpose.

I look into the eyes of Zalman Moshe Yitzchaki, in the pictures. The first time I saw him I saw a Russian peasant, a wild man. When I looked again I saw in his eyes purpose. He lived on purpose and everything he did was on purpose. I think that comes through thorough thinking.

This is my understanding why in the beginning of chapter 4 of Tanya the Alter Rebbe says to be able to understand as much as your capable of understanding in Torah, as an explanation for thought not intellect.