Donate To Keep The Lights On

Only God Can Judge Me

By / Devarim, Torah Portion

The Dvar/article below is also available as a Podcast, simply click any of the following options: Apple, Spotify, Bandcamp, Soundcloud,  &/or Youtube. _____________________________________________________________ Tisha B’av is the most somber day in the Jewish calendar. It’s sobering to think that thousands of years ago, we were on top of the world: in the Promised Land, with our Beit HaMikdash (Holy Temple), fully connected to the Divine. And then how quickly– in just three weeks– that connection was destroyed. When you really consider a loss like that, no matter how ephemeral it may be in the bigger picture, its weight can feel unbearable.  The Biur Halacha explains that Devarim is always read on the Shabbat prior to Tisha B’av so that Moshe’s tochacha (admonition or reproof) to the Jews will coincide with the Tisha B’Av period. It’s important to understand the cyclical nature of …

Only God Can Judge Me Continue Reading

Don’t Play No Games That I Can’t Win

By / Matot-Massei, Torah Portion

The Dvar/article below is also available as a Podcast, simply click any of the following options: Apple, Spotify, Bandcamp, Soundcloud,  &/or Youtube. _____________________________________________________________ The majority of us have the best of intentions, but life sometimes gets in the way. Even when we fully promise and believe that we are going to help a friend out, there are times that, in the end, it doesn’t work out how we had hoped. It’s these promises said with such love and enthusiasm that give us hope and make us feel that we aren’t alone. The flip side is when empty promises leave us feeling misled, helpless, or stranded. People shouldn’t commit to things they don’t actually have time for. Language is powerful. Indeed, as we covered three parshiot ago in Chukat, we learn from Hashem that words create worlds. In the beginning, Hashem spoke …

Don’t Play No Games That I Can’t Win Continue Reading

How To Levitate After Every Fall

By / Pinchas, Torah Portion

The Dvar/article below is also available as a Podcast, simply click any of the following options: Spotify, Bandcamp, Soundcloud,  &/or Youtube. _____________________________________________________________ There’s one kind of religious thought, which now feels antiquated, that teaches that a person should never fall into sin and that only in the purest state can they reach unification with the Divine and all the blessings that come with it. Rebbe Nachman of Breslov was controversial in his time and had many that railed against him because he shined a light on the profound spiritual elevation one can reach because of our fallen moments. We see throughout the Torah, and especially through the Temple sacrifices, that in a moment of sin, we have an opportunity to draw close to Hashem. This is why when the Temple was destroyed, the Rabbis instituted the daily tefillah (prayer), so that …

How To Levitate After Every Fall Continue Reading

Scroll to Top