#Kabbalah

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Jonathan Sacks: The Dimensions of Sin VAYIKRA

Jonathan Sacks: The Dimensions of Sin VAYIKRA Our parsha, which deals with a variety of sacrifices, devotes an extended section to the chattat, the sin offering, as brought by different individuals: first the High Priest (Lev. 4:3-12), then the communit

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Jonathan Sacks : God’s Shadow VAYAKHEL

Jonathan Sacks: God’s Shadow VAYAKHEL In Vayakhel we meet, for the second time, the man who became the symbol of the artist in Judaism, a man by the name of Betzalel. Then Moses said to the Israelites, “Know that the Lord has chosen Betzalel son of Ur

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RAV KOOK ON PARSHAT TETZAVEH: HOW TO ILLUMINATE LIFE

RAV KOOK ON PARSHAT TETZAVEH: HOW TO ILLUMINATE LIFE  RAV KOOK ON PARSHAT TETZAVEH:      HOW TO ILLUMINATE LIFE וְאַתָּ֞ה תְּצַוֶּ֣ה ׀ אֶת־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל וְיִקְח֨וּ אֵלֶ֜יךָ שֶׁ֣מ

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Jonathan Sacks – Building Builders TERUMAH

Jonathan Sacks – Building Builders TERUMAH As soon as we read the opening lines of Terumah we begin the massive shift from the intense drama of the Exodus with its signs and wonders and epic events, to the long, detailed narrative of how the Israeli

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RAV KOOK ON MISHPATIM: THE ISRAELITE WAY OF LIVING LAWFULLY

RAV KOOK ON MISHPATIM: THE ISRAELITE WAY OF LIVING LAWFULLY RAV KOOK ON MISHPATIM: THE ISRAELITE WAY OF LIVING LAWFULLY “וְאֵ֨לֶּה֙ הַמִּשְׁפָּטִ֔ים אֲשֶׁ֥ר תָּשִׂ֖ים לִפְנֵיהֶֽם:-And these are the la

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Jonathan Sacks – God’s Nudge MISHPATIM

Jonathan Sacks – God’s Nudge MISHPATIM First in Yitro there were the Aseret Hadibrot, the “Ten Utterances”, the Ten Commandments, expressed as general principles. Now in Mishpatim come the details. Here is how they begin: If you buy a Hebr

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RAV KOOK ON PARSHAT YITRO: BECOMING A HOLY NATION BY ESTABLISHING A HOLY GOVERNMENT

RAV KOOK ON PARSHAT YITRO: BECOMING A HOLY NATION BY ESTABLISHING A HOLY GOVERNMENT “וְאַתֶּ֧ם תִּֽהְיוּ־לִ֛י מַמְלֶ֥כֶת כֹּֽהֲנִ֖ים וְג֣וֹי קָד֑וֹשׁ” “And you will be a kingdom of priests a

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Jonathan Sacks: The Power of Ruach BESHALLACH

Jonathan Sacks: The Power of Ruach BESHALLACH In September 2010, BBC, Reuters, and other news agencies reported on a sensational scientific discovery. Researchers at the US National Center for Atmospheric Research and the University of Colorado were able

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Jonathan Sacks – The Challenge of Jewish Leadership SHEMOT

Jonathan Sacks – The Challenge of Jewish Leadership SHEMOT I used to say, only half in jest, that the proof that Moses was the greatest of the prophets was that when God asked him to lead the Jewish people, he refused four times: Who am I to lead? T

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Jonathan Sacks – Grandparents VAYECHI

Jonathan Sacks – Grandparents VAYECHI Every Friday night we re-enact one of the most moving scenes in the book of Bereishit. Jacob, reunited with Joseph, is ill. Joseph comes to visit him, bring bringing with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.

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Jonathan Sacks – The Space Between VAYIGASH

Jonathan Sacks – The Space Between VAYIGASH “What do porcupines do in winter?” asked Schopenhauer. “How can they stay warm?” If they come too close to one another, they will injure each other. If they stay too far apart, they will freeze. Li

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Jonathan Sacks – Sibling Rivalry MIKKETZ

Jonathan Sacks – Sibling Rivalry MIKKETZ Listen to these words that are among the most fateful and reverberating in all of Jewish history: Joseph recognised his brothers, but they did not recognise him. Gen. 42:8 The Torah is a deep book. We make a

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Jonathan Sacks – Speech Therapy VAYESHEV

Jonathan Sacks – Speech Therapy VAYESHEV From Vayeshev to the end of the book of Bereishit we read the story of Joseph and his brothers. From the very beginning we are plunged into a drama of sibling rivalry that seems destined to end in tragedy. Al

Miscellaneous | Judaism

The Signature Element of Chabad Psychology that Few Understand

The signature metaphor in Tanya to describe all human activity, popping up in some form or another on almost every page, is clothing. Life, according to Tanya, is less about who you are and more about what you wear.

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Jonathan Sacks: The Character of Jacob VAYETSE

Jonathan Sacks: The Character of Jacob VAYETSE What kind of man was Jacob? This is the question that cries out to us in episode after episode of his life. The first time we hear a description of him he is called ish tam: a simple, quiet, plain, straight

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Jonathan Sacks – Why Did Isaac Love Esau? TOLDOT

Jonathan Sacks – Why Did Isaac Love Esau? TOLDOT   Even before they were born, Jacob and Esau struggled in the womb. They were destined, it seems, to be eternal adversaries. Not only were they were different in character and appearance. They al

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Jonathan Sacks – The Binding of Isaac: A New Interpretation

Jonathan Sacks – The Binding of Isaac: A New Interpretation   It is the hardest passage of all, one that seems to defy understanding. Abraham and Sarah have waited years for a child. God has promised them repeatedly that they would have many de

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Jonathan Sacks z”l – We Are What We Remember KI TAVO

Jonathan Sacks z”l – We Are What We Remember KI TAVO One reason religion has survived in the modern world despite four centuries of secularisation is that it answers the three questions every reflective human being will ask at some time in his

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RAV KOOK ON PARSHAT KI TAVO: CREATING A WORLD ‘FLOWING WITH MILK AND HONEY’

RAV KOOK ON PARSHAT KI TAVO: CREATING A WORLD ‘FLOWING WITH MILK AND HONEY’ RAV KOOK ON PARSHAT KI TAVO: CREATING A WORLD ‘FLOWING WITH MILK AND HONEY’ “When you enter the land that the LORD your God is giving you as a heritage, and you possess

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Jonathan Sacks z”l – The Limits of Love KI TEITSE

Jonathan Sacks z”l – The Limits of Love KI TEITSE In a parsha laden with laws, one in particular is full of fascination. Here it is: If a man has two wives, one loved, the other unloved [senuah, literally “hated”], and both the loved an

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Jonathan Sacks z”l – The Greatness of Humility SHOFTIM

Jonathan Sacks z”l – The Greatness of Humility SHOFTIM At a dinner to celebrate the work of a communal leader, the guest speaker paid tribute to his many qualities: his dedication, hard work, and foresight. As he sat down, the leader leaned ov

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RAV KOOK ON PARSHAT RE’EH-HOW TO BE BLESSEDLY HAPPY

RAV KOOK ON PARSHAT RE’EH-HOW TO BE BLESSEDLY HAPPY RAV KOOK ON PARSHAT RE’EH-HOW TO BE BLESSEDLY HAPPY    “Behold- I am placing before you a ברכה-blessing and a קללה-curse. The blessing will come if you obey the directives of YHVH, your E

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HARAV KOOK ON TISHA B’AV: REPAIRING THE WORLD WITH THE POWER OF UNCONDITIONAL LOVE

HARAV KOOK ON TISHA B’AV: REPAIRING THE WORLD WITH THE POWER OF UNCONDITIONAL LOVE “If we  destroyed [the second Temple], and the world with us, through needless hatred, we will rebuild [the third Temple] and the world with us, through unconditional

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RAV KOOK ON ISRAEL’S RESPONSIBILITY TO UNITE THE WORLD:PARSHAT MASEI

RAV KOOK ON ISRAEL’S RESPONSIBILITY TO UNITE THE WORLD:PARSHAT MASEI What does Torat HaRav Kook teach us about Parshat Masei’s significance for our day? The Parsha recounts the Children of Israel’s 42 step 40 year journey from the enslavement of Egy

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Jonathan Sacks – The Complexity of Human Rights MATOT-MASEI

Jonathan Sacks – The Complexity of Human Rights MATOT-MASEI The book of Bamidbar comes to a close that is very strange indeed. Earlier in the parsha of Pinchas we read of how the five daughters of Tzelophehad came to Moses with a claim based on just

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Jonathan Sacks z”l – Healing the Trauma of Loss CHUKAT

Jonathan Sacks z”l – Healing the Trauma of Loss CHUKAT It took me two years to recover from the death of my father, of blessed memory. To this day, almost twenty years later, I am not sure why. He did not die suddenly or young. He was well int

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PARSHAT KORACH: RAV KOOK ON the dangers of KORACHISM

PARSHAT KORACH: RAV KOOK ON the dangers of KORACHISM “Now Korach, son of Izhar son of Kohath son of Levi, betook himself, along with Dathan and Abiram sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth—descendants of Reuben—to rise up against Moses, together with

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Jonathan Sacks z”l – Two Kinds of Fear SHELACH LECHA

Jonathan Sacks z”l – Two Kinds of Fear SHELACH LECHA One of the most powerful addresses I ever heard was given by the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, on this week’s parsha: the story of the spies. For me, it was nothing

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Jonathan Sacks z”l – Family Feeling BEHAR-BECHUKOTAI

Jonathan Sacks z”l – Family Feeling BEHAR-BECHUKOTAI I argued in my Covenant and Conversation for parshat Kedoshim that Judaism is more than an ethnicity. It is a call to holiness. In one sense, however, there is an important ethnic dimens

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Jonathan Sacks z”l – The Closeness of God כי תישא Ki Tissa

Jonathan Sacks z”l – The Closeness of God כי תישא Ki Tissa The more I study the Torah, the more conscious I become of the immense mystery of Exodus 33. This is the chapter set in the middle of the Golden Calf narrative (between Exodus ch

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Jonathan Sacks z”l – Inspiration & Perspiration Tetzaveh

Jonathan Sacks z”l – Inspiration & Perspiration Tetzaveh Beethoven rose each morning at dawn and made himself coffee. He was fastidious about this: each cup had to be made with exactly sixty beans, which he counted out each time. He would then

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RAVKOOK ON PARSHAT VAYESHEV: THE DIVINE COINCIDENCES THAT MOVE HISTORY TO ABSOLUTE GOOD

RAVKOOK ON PARSHAT VAYESHEV: THE DIVINE COINCIDENCES THAT MOVE HISTORY TO ABSOLUTE GOOD   “אֵ֣לֶּה ׀ תֹּלְד֣וֹת יַעֲקֹ֗ב יוֹסֵ֞ף-These are the chronicles of Yaakov:Yosef…” (Breishit  37:2) Thus the Torah begi

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RAV KOOK ON PARSHAT VAYERA: PERFECTING THE WORLD DOING RIGHTEOUSNESS AND JUSTICE

RAV KOOK ON PARSHAT VAYERA: PERFECTING THE WORLD DOING RIGHTEOUSNESS AND JUSTICE  וְאַ֨בְרָהָ֔ם הָי֧וֹ יִֽהְיֶ֛ה לְג֥וֹי גָּד֖וֹל וְעָצ֑וּם וְנִ֨בְרְכוּ־ב֔וֹ כֹּ֖ל גּוֹיֵ֥י

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RAV KOOK ON ROSH HASHANA: RENEWING THE POWER OF RENEWAL

RAV KOOK ON ROSH HASHANA: RENEWING THE POWER OF RENEWAL RAV KOOK ON ROSH HASHANA: RENEWING THE POWER OF RENEWAL  We are beginning the 5783’rd year of our human historical experience. Our personal and collective behavior has resulted in a planetary exis

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Jonathan Sacks z”l – To Lead is to Listen Eikev 5781

Jonathan Sacks z”l – To Lead is to Listen Eikev 5781 “If only you would listen to these laws…” (Deut. 7:12). These words with which our parsha begins contain a verb that is a fundamental motif of the book of Devarim. The verb is sh-m-a. It occ

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PARSHAT PINCHAS: RAV KOOK ON HOW TO BE A HOLY ZEALOT.

PARSHAT PINCHAS: RAV KOOK ON HOW TO BE A HOLY ZEALOT. Parshat Pinchas begins by honoring Aaron’s grandson, Pinchas  for his zealous and immediate response to the Israelite male sinning in public view with the Midianite female. “When Pinchas, son of E

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Shavuot: Rav Kook On Why The Creator Spoke To Israel

Shavuot: Rav Kook On Why The Creator Spoke To Israel “Anochi/I Am YHVH Your Elohim Who has taken you out of the narrow land of Egypt, from the house of slavery.”  (Shmot 20:2) Thus begins the most extraordinary moment in world history. The Creator of

Miscellaneous | Judaism

Seven Things People Get Wrong When Learning Kabbalah - …and how to get on the right track

1. Myth: Nobody goes to a Kabbalah class expecting to actually understand anything.

Truth: Kabbalah is about the human mind grasping the ungraspable.

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Jonathan Sacks z”l – Why Do We Sacrifice? Vayikra-5782

Jonathan Sacks z”l – Why Do We Sacrifice? Vayikra-5782 The laws of sacrifices that dominate the early chapters of the Book of Leviticus are among the hardest in the Torah to relate to in the present. It has been almost two thousand years since

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RAV KOOK ON TETZAVEH: HOW TO ILLUMINATE EXISTENCE

RAV KOOK ON TETZAVEH: HOW TO ILLUMINATE EXISTENCE וְאַתָּ֞ה תְּצַוֶּ֣ה ׀ אֶת־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל וְיִקְח֨וּ אֵלֶ֜יךָ שֶׁ֣מֶן זַ֥יִת זָ֛ךְ כָּתִ֖ית לַמָּא֑וֹר

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RAV KOOK’S ILLUMINATED GUIDE TO ENLIGHTENMENT: Step 1- A CALL TO HIGHER CONTEMPLATION

RAV KOOK’S ILLUMINATED GUIDE TO ENLIGHTENMENT: Step 1- A CALL TO HIGHER CONTEMPLATION “Radiant is the world soul, full of splendor and beauty, full of life…. Proudly I ascend to the heights of the world soul That gives life to the universe. How maje

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WHAT RAV KOOK SAYS WE MUST DO IMMEDIATELY TO SAVE THE WORLD: Step 2

WHAT RAV KOOK SAYS WE MUST DO IMMEDIATELY TO SAVE THE WORLD: Step 2 The suffering of human beings and other living species is immense. Disease, war and violence everywhere. We are spoiling and destroying the world. We must stop doing this and devote all o

Miscellaneous | Judaism

Uncertainty, Unknowability, and Free Will in Kabbalah and Quantum Mechanics - Torah & Science

Developments in the physical and biological sciences over the last two millennia have, in the minds of many, challenged the belief systems of the major Western religions. Consequently, many Jews and others longing to understand the nature of reality and the meaning of human existence have been lured away from their faiths in a quest for more ‘objective’ truths.

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Jonathan Sacks z”l – To Lead is to Listen Eikev 5781

Jonathan Sacks z”l – To Lead is to Listen Eikev 5781 “If only you would listen to these laws…” (Deut. 7:12). These words with which our parsha begins contain a verb that is a fundamental motif of the book of Devarim. The verb is sh-m-a

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Jonathan Sacks z”l – Vision and Details Mishpatim 5781

Jonathan Sacks z”l – Vision and Details Mishpatim 5781 Rabbi Sacks zt’’l had prepared a full year of Covenant & Conversation for 5781, based on his book Lessons in Leadership. The Office of Rabbi Sacks will continue to distribute these we

Miscellaneous | Judaism

3D Kabbalah #5: The Art of Balance - 3D Kabbalah: How G-d Creates the World

God's names are expressions of one single Entity, reflecting Him and how He interacts with the reality He creates.

Advice & Self-Help | Kabbalah

Kabbala | Definition, Beliefs, & Facts | Britannica

Kabbala, esoteric Jewish mysticism as it appeared in the 12th and following centuries. Kabbala has always been essentially an oral tradition in that initiation into its doctrines and practices is conducted by a personal guide to avoid the dangers inherent

Advice & Self-Help | Kabbalah

What Is Kabbalah? - The Soul of Judaism - Essentials

If this is a secret wisdom, why are we teaching it?

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Jonathan Sacks z"l - Light in Dark Times Vayetse 5781

Jonathan Sacks z”l – Light in Dark Times Vayetse 5781 What is it that made Jacob – not Abraham or Isaac or Moses – the true father of the Jewish people? We are called the “congregation of Jacob,” “the Children of Israel.” Jacob/Isr

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Jonathan Sacks z”l – Communication Matters Toldot 5781

Jonathan Sacks z”l – Communication Matters Toldot 5781 The Netziv (Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin, 1816–1893, dean of the yeshiva in Volozhin) made the astute observation that Isaac and Rebecca seem to suffer from a lack of communication. He note

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UNPACKED - Watch-Kabbalah: Secret Jewish Mysticism Goes Mainstream

UNPACKED – Watch-Kabbalah: Secret Jewish Mysticism Goes Mainstream The study of Kabbalah — Jewish mystical texts — used to be limited just to certain men. In recent years, though, Kabbalah has gone merely a fascination of esotericism to mainstre

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Jonathan Sacks - The Courage not to Conform Lech Lecha 5781

Jonathan Sacks – The Courage not to Conform Lech Lecha 5781   Leaders lead. That does not mean to say that they do not follow. But what they follow is different from what most people follow. They don’t conform for the sake of conforming. They

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Jonathan Sacks - The Hidden Meaning of the Bilam Story

Jonathan Sacks – The Hidden Meaning of the Bilam Story Many questions have rightly been asked about the story of Balak and Bilam and the would-be curses that turned into blessings. Was Bilam a true man of God, or was he a fraud, a magician, a sorcer

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Rabbi Itzchak Marmorstein - RAV KOOK ON SHAVUOT- Festival of the Weeks

Rabbi Itzchak Marmorstein – RAV KOOK ON SHAVUOT- Festival of the Weeks ואנו באים לחוג את חג השבועות, יום אשר עמדנו בקומה הרוחנית הגמורה שלנו We are celebrating the Festival of the Weeks-the day

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Jonathan Sacks - The Ethic of HolinessJ

Jonathan Sacks – The Ethic of Holiness Kedoshim contains the two great love commands of the Torah. The first is, “Love your neighbour as yourself. I am the Lord” (Lev. 19:18). Rabbi Akiva called this “the great principle of the Torah.” Th

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Jonathan Sacks - Words That Heal Tazria-Metzora 5780

Jonathan Sacks – Words That Heal Tazria-Metzora 5780 At the risk of disclosing a spoiler, I would like to begin this week’s Covenant & Conversation by discussing the 2019 film A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. Tom Hanks plays the beloved Ame

Advice & Self-Help | Advice & Self-Help

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