spirituality
Terumah – Receving Torah, Receiving God
Why is the story of the revelation at Sinai placed immediately before the command to build a Tabernacle for Hashem’s presence? Why is the center of the Tabernacle the place that houses the Ark of the Covenant and the Torah that is within it? Why does the Midrash introduce the command of building the Tabernacle…
Read MoreMiketz – Wake Up Call
Why do the brothers only start speaking about their guilt in regards to the sale of Yosef when they have been released from incarceration? Why don’t they think of it at the beginning? What is the depth of the idea that Yosef is telling them when he says, “Do this and live?” What does it…
Read MoreShoftim – Quiet Protection
What is the concept of the prohibition against extending one’s borders into that of one’s fellow? How does that apply to the spiritual borders that define a person’s purpose in the world? How does that apply to the personal relationship one has with Hashem? Find out in this week’s parsha podcast. Running time: 24:11
Read MoreSpirituality
Spirituality is not a “thing,” not an object that can be identified as something one possesses. It is a process, a growth experience. Ironically, when someone thinks he has achieved spirituality, he has probably lost it. One has it only as long as one is striving for it. Because we can never quite achieve perfection,…
Read MoreVaera – Lesson of the frogs
Why were the first two plagues the only ones the magicians could replicate? Is there a significant difference between Moshe’s miracle of the frogs, as opposed to the magicians’? Why did the plague begin in the water? Why didn’t Moshe just make frogs on the land? What is the understanding of the word “צפרדע” –…
Read MoreThe thirteenth tribe
In Parshas Vayechi, the Torah describes the bracha that Yakov Avinu gave to Yosef’s sons Efraim and Menashe. There are two important points that require explanation. The first is that Yakov says that the Jewish people will always bless their children by saying that Hashem should cause them to be like Efraim and Menashe. What…
Read MoreRe'eh – Understanding idolatry
Why is it so essential to uproot idolatry as a prerequisite to fulfilling the Torah? Why do our sage say that one who denies the validity of idolatry is considered as if he has fulfilled the entire Torah? What is the significance of the mountain in spiritual practice? Why were the blessings and curses placed…
Read MoreSensing Kedusha – part two
In a previous post, I spoke about the idea of sensing the holiness of Eretz Yisrael, and quoted the story I heard about the Rizhiner. In it, the rebbe implied to his chossid that the lack of sensitivity to the holiness of Eretz Yisrael was due to a certain lack of spirituality akin to a…
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