Torah Learning with Ari

How do the concepts of Heaven and Earth correspond to the human being that is composed of soul and body? What is behind the Midrash’s statement that because Moshe ‘lent his ear’ to hear what the Torah said, therefore the Heaven and Earth were silenced when Moshe spoke? What are the boundaries that Hashem set…

We explore a Midrash that explains the first pesukim of chapter 27 that we have been learning for the last few weeks, and it does so in the context of the days between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur which have a special relationship to Bitachon and trust in a good judgment. CLICK HERE for the…

Why did Hashem make the day of reckoning for the world to be on the day of Adam’s creation? How was the decree of Adam after his sin reflective of Hashem’s mercy? What does the Shofar represent and what is the meaning of the root Sh-F-R – ‘beautify’ – as it applies to the Shofar…

We continue studying the final passuk in Tehillim ch 27 which speaks of strengthening our confidence in Hashem, and we discover that when we try our best to strengthen our Bitachon, Hashem responds by strengthening us in return. CLICK HERE to listen to the audio Running time: 22:03

What is the concept of the blessing we make before and after studying Torah? What is the difference between Torah study and the study of all other intellectual pursuits? What is the secret of the Queen bee and how does it relate to Torah study? How do we merit blessings in our lives? How do…

We explore the last passuk of L’Dovid Hashem Ori which speaks of how we are to ‘hope to Hashem, strengthen our hearts, and hope to Hashem.’ In understanding this we speak about a few points – among them: that prayer and Bitachon go hand in hand, as the prayer reinforces my belief that all my…

Why do the concepts of Rain, Livelihood and Resurrection of the dead all have the word ‘opening’ used in their contexts? What do these three things have in common? Why do we mention that Hashem brings rain in the context of the second bracha of Shemoneh Esrei, which speaks of Him bringing the dead to…

We continue our study in Tehillim chapter 27 passuk 3 – the very chapter we are reading now during Elul – L’dovid Hashem Ori. Dovid Hamelech refers to ‘this’ that he trusts in, despite the enemy encampments that surround him. ‘This’ refers to the Torah, to the light and guidance of Hashem, and His promise…

What is the lesson we are to learn from ‘what happened to Miriam’ when we left Egypt? Why does negative speech cause the Divine Presence to leave us, Heaven forbid? How does focusing on the positive have the opposite effect – bringing Hashem into our lives, and bringing about salvation and Siyata Dishmaya? Why were…

We study together ch. 26 passuk 1 which speaks of Dovid Hamelech’s conviction of his straightness and confidence in Hashem. We study a few angles of this, but one of them is the importance of having Bitachon in Hashem specifically as regards our relationship with Hashem, and making sure we focus this powerful tool on…