Passover: Experiencing Personal Redemption

One of the hallmark statements of Passover is that on Seder night, everyone should have a personal experience of geulah, of liberation from the bondage of slavery. From a purely physical perspective, after weeks of hard work preparing for Pesach (Passover), scrubbing and cleaning and boiling and shlepping (toting), it is relatively easy to feel freedom by sitting down to the seder (except for serving and cleaning up from the meal!). Intellectually, we can understand the idea that nullifying our physical hametz (leaven) correlates to a cleansing of the soul from theyetzer hara—the evil inclination. However, do we truly experience this cleansing? Do we come out of Pesach with a greater ability to control our lower urges? Do we find a greater ability to perceive Hashem’s (G-d’s) presence while performing our daily activities (increased d’vekut)? The truth is that most of us do not experience such an increased awareness--certainly not a sustained one. So how can we experience geulah—redemption? 

Which Emotion Goes With Knowing "It's All One"

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Previously, we discussed that idea that the recognition of life’s ups and downs as the manifestion of a unity is an aspect of redemption--geulah. We also discussed that in order to access the full spiritual flow of geulah, such knowledge must be accompanied by an emotional experience. Thus the Torah states,“V’yadaata hayom v’hashevotha el l’vavecha ki Hashem hu HaElo-him…--You shall know today and [bring] it to your heart that Hashem is Elo-him.”

The importance of recognizing that all of our experiences are from Hashem and for the good is evidenced by the fact that the “motto” of the Jewish people is the Shma.

Living in the Paradox

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G-d created a pardoxical world. In each and every moment, we exist a paradoxical existence. At one and the same time, we are sentient beings with free choice, and also marionettes controlled by the Puppetier, Hashem, orchestrating His Divine Story.

Creation of Faith: A Little Known Story about Adam, Eve, the Tree, the Sin and Humanity

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Your humble author has composed the following story as a tool to empower a deeper healing process. Although it is consistent with sources within Torah midrashic and kabbalistic tradition, this story is not intended as a scholarly work. 

Want to know a secret? G-d intended to have Adam and Chava (Eve) eat from the Etz HaDa’at Tov V’Ra--the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. His commandment not to eat from it was only temporary.

Baruch P’tarani M’Onsho Zeh

The occasion of my son, Gavriel Nachman’s bar mitzvah rekindled my wonderment about the phrase—“Baruch Ptarani M’Onsho Zeh. In my twenty-four years of working to come to Torah, I have often wondered about this phrase. It seems such a strange way to thank Hashem for the gift of bringing my son to the covenant of mitzvoth. 

Sinat Chinam and the Sages’ Intent (Part 1)

The Bet HaMikdash embodies our ultimate intimate relationship with Hashem. Its destruction represents indescribable distancing from Hashem. In light of Tisha B’Av, I would like to discuss the prime cause of the destruction of the Second Temple, “sinat chinam.”

Sinat Chinam and the Sages’ Intent (Part 2)

In part one of this article, we discussed that, according to proper grammar, the phrase, sinat chinam should be translated as “the hatred of their chen.” Why, then, have our sages promulgated a tradition to translate it as “causeless hatred”? And how does this relate to the destruction and rebuilding of the Bet HaMikdash?

Sinat Chinam and the Sages’ (Co-Conspiracy) Intent, part 3

In parts one and two, we discussed that Adam’s main failure was not acknowledging Hashem as the Creator of Evil. Instead, he took the pain—the experience of Evil—personally and ascribed it to being punished for disobeying. The concepts of disobedience and retribution are true only from the side of Free Choice.

Psychosomatic Torah

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The following is a discussion regarding a question I had about 10 years ago which led to the development of the insights offered here. 

Science vs. Talmud?
Cutting edge, scientific research in mind/body medicine has indicated that the main reason people get pains and illnesses is due to suppression of emotions. As recently as 30 years ago, the medical profession decried the idea of an emotional root to physical symptoms, mockingly labeling such symptoms as “psychosomatic.”

Achieving Paradox Consciousness

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Basic Torah premise: God created the world in order to bestow Good. 

Reviewing from previous articles: Before the sin, Adam and Chava experienced only bliss,

A Practical Application of Paradox Consciousness

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A really crazy thing happened to me at 5AM.

Expertise in Returning to God Through Expanded and Constricted Consciousness

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In light of chodesh Elul—the month especially powerful for tshuvah, I would like to discuss a famous teaching by Rebbe Nachman of Breslov: that there are two types of tshuvah—baki b’ratzo, baki b’shov—literally, expert in running and expert in returning. For our purposes, I would like to interpret this as the type of tshuvah we do from expanded consciousness and the type we do from constricted consciousness.