Discover your next self
he carefully explains why Rashi asks certain questions, why he chooses one explanation over another, and how every word fits into a larger method. It is not uncommon for the Rebbe to spend 5–10 pages explaining only a few lines of commentary. The result is a deeper appreciation for how much thought and structure can […]
discussed by Rabbeinu Bachya ibn Pekudah, who published many of his teachings in Judeo-Arabic. One of the ideas he teaches is that every soul accepted its mission before entering this world. Life is not an accident. Each person arrives with a purpose and a unique role in revealing goodness. A person’s task is not to […]
Often, it is about healing the patterns that stop you from showing up. The adaptive nervous system learns patterns to help you survive difficult experiences, beginning in childhood. Fight says: “I need to protect myself.” Flight says: “I need to get away from this, I’ll become busy with eating or work.” Freeze says: “I don’t […]
a student of the Baal Shem Tov, teaches that we only have seven types of thoughts. Every thought comes from one of seven emotional qualities. Kabbalah teaches that each quality can be expressed in a healthy way or a misguided way. A misguided expression is called a fallen spark. _______________ Misguided thinking is possible because […]
It means goodness becomes so clear that you feel deeply compelled to make good choices. Your outlook on life and existence becomes more positive because reality is experienced with more revealed goodness. __________________ Leah, the wife of Jacob, helps explain this emotionally. The Torah describes her as feeling hated. A nervous system can interpret sadness, […]
about Chabad Chassidus by teaching them to see Chabad through suspicion before they ever learned it from its own sources. That was not Torah greatness. Torah and ahavas Yisrael are united. Rav Shach z”l was a great Rosh Yeshiva. A person can know a lot of Torah and still fail to represent the greatness of […]
It is the word people use for the Creator of the universe, the One Cause behind all existence. “If everything that exists were dependent on something else for existence, nothing would ever exist.” — Maimonides But the belief is deeper than a title. According to Rabbi Yisrael Baal Shem Tov, the Creator is not a […]
They are a structure for how a human being stands inside reality. The Rambam gives the foundation: Reality has one Creator. The Creator is not physical. He does not change. He alone is worthy of prayer. Torah is true. Prophecy is real. Moshe’s prophecy is unique. Human choices matter. There is justice. The Messiah will […]
They become part of the emotional world your nervous system has to live inside. You did not choose every belief or survival pattern you inherited, but you can choose how you work with them now. By nervous system, I mean the system that helps you think, feel, remember, perceive danger, and respond to life. The […]