Who doesn't get knocked down every so often - financially, physically, emotionally or spiritually? Life is full of setbacks but there's no law that we have to stay down. In this encouraging podcast, we learn how to fly back on our feet.
We have no idea what we're accomplishing on Seder night. Our sages tell us that it's Hashem's favorite night of the year. The entire Passover Seder is about gratitude. There's an individual message for everyone in the family as well as our guests. No one is left out.
Rebbe Nachman teaches that being happy always is a tremendous mitzvah. Therefore, each of us must make every effort to avoid sadness and depression at all costs. What's more, the core cause of all illness is a breakdown of one's joy. Passover is a fantastic opportunity to recover our joy, and therefore our health.
The most important of Rebbe Nachman's teachings is about hitbodedut, personal prayer, one's intimate private conversations with the Creator. Discourse 25 of Part II deals with this vital subject. We learn that each of us has the priceless birthright of our own personal relationship with Him. This is an asset greater than anything, which only a fortunate few take advantage of.
The Pascal sacrifice, the Tenth and final plague and the Exodus of Egypt are the subjects of this lesson, the third of our "Story of Passover" series. The events took place 3,337 years ago in the Hebrew year of 2448 (1312 BCE), and it's a story of emuna that continues on to this very day.
Could you believe that a brilliant investment banker would be gullible enough to sell his twenty million-dollar mansion in Beverly Hills for a mere thousendth of its value? Listen to today's podcast, which exposes the sly methods of the Yetzer Hara, the evil inclination, who is capable of getting any unsuspecting person to sell his or her priceless soul for a pittance...
We do a great job in guarding our homes on Passover from chametz. But what about our hearts? Shouldn't we be guarding them against all kinds of non-kosher emotions like hate and jealousy?
In our concluding lesson of Torah 55, we learn a beautiful upward spiral. The more we enhance emuna, the better we pray. The better we pray, the closer we get to Hashem. The closer we get to Hashem, the more we become purified. That way, even a person outside the Land of Israel can attain the aspect of the Land of Israel, which is a special holiness.
Welcome to part 2 of our "Story of Passover" series. In this lesson, we learn how the Almighty chose Moses as the leader of Israel. He sends Moses on a fateful mission to Egypt. There, Moses has a series of dramatic confrontations with Pharaoh, which culminate in the Ten Plagues.
Today's podcast shows how to convert one of the most dreaded tasks of the year into something sweet and enjoyable that we can do with a song in our heart. If you guessed that we're talking about cleaning for Passover, you're right…
How do we overcome evil when all the odds are against us? Rebbe Nachman teaches us all about the cogent spiritual weapons at our disposal, especially prayer and the merit of our holy patriarchs.
Welcome to our 4-part series on the story of Passover. This series of lessons aspires to give us a deeper understanding and appreciation of the Passover holiday. The more the story of Passover becomes alive in our hearts, the more meaningful our observance and celebration of the holiday, especially Seder night. Our first lesson presents the series of events that led up to Passover, and specifically, how the Israelites became slaves in Egypt.
99% of movies, TV and Modern Society will tell you that its much better to be a macho than a meek person. We all know what Macho's are like – tough guys on the surface, a lot of bravado and all-too-often tyrannical. Girls ooh and ahh at the Macho, but the ones who marry one end up miserable...
Megilat Esther, the Scroll of Esther that tells the Purim story, seems like a rapid series of events that happened within a year. Actually, though, the Purim story transpires the events of 13 years. It begins when Achashverosh ascended to the throne of Persia in 3392 (369 BCE) to the time when the Jews overcame their enemies and celebrated the first Purim in 3405 (356 BCE). So too, the decades of significant events that lead to the full redemption of our people, will also come together to form t...
Here's an important Purim-week lesson and practical message about Jewish unity. "The Toothpick Test" is something that anyone can do, especially at the family Purim table. We cordially invite Prime Minister Netanyahu and opposition leaders Gantz and Lapid to join us in this test.
In prayer, we must direct our voices exclusively toward the Almighty. When we do, we correct three different voices that mislead us down errant paths. Such directed prayer has the power of a ritual sacrifice in the Holy Temple... Download the Learning-aid chart for this lesson
Today's lesson concludes the Book of Psalms. How do we know when body and soul are in healthy synchronization? With every breath a person takes, he or she revitalizes the body. The soul praises Hashem with every breath…
Mordechai wasn't politically correct, but he saved the Jewish People from annihilation. There's nothing new under the sun. We see this with our own eyes how the battle between the liberal Jewish establishment's political correctness and the seemingly antiquated Torah sages that took place in Mordechai's time back in ancient Persia is still taking place right now in the USA and in Israel.
The Miser wanted to rid himself of his wife in the worst way. He couldn't divorce her, because then, he'd have to pay her a large sum of money. He asked the local rabbi what to do...
Here's a delightful parable I heard from the renown Novardoker Maggid, Rabbi Yankel'e Galinski, of saintly and blessed memory, about a group of drunkards. This is something to keep in mind not only while preparing for Purim and Passover, but all year long.
Abraham compared himself to dust and ashes. This was not mere humility, but advice to his offspring until the end of time.
When a person begins to pay attention to every blessing, his or her entire outlook changes dramatically for the better. By observing and acknowledging each Divine gift, one no longer takes them for granted. Suddenly, he or she discovers a new joy in life.
At times like this, when we are all walking around with hearts that are shattered into smithereens, we face a major challenge to our emuna. The evil inclination yells in our ears, "How can Hashem allow something so cruel, so barbaric and so sadistic as the murder of Shiri Bibas and her two angelic red-headed sons, 4-year-old Ariel and 3-year-old Kfir? Why do such unspeakable atrocities happen to such pure, good and innocent people? Let's get some answers and try to make sense of the insanity tha...
Rebbe Nachman explains that once the tzaddik's eyes are strengthened, he is able to perceive Hashem's justice. He becomes aware that whatever seemed unfair and unjust was simply a magnificent expression of Divine love.
The most important thing a person must remember in this turbulent world is that he or she is not alone. That's not all. To avoid disappointment, a person must realize that there is no one on earth to depend on but Hashem. As King David says, Hashem alone is my lot in life and I'm never alone.
Rebbe Nachman explains that our only right to the Land of Israel is when we connect to its holiness. Yet, how can it be holy if the Divine Presence is in exile? By virtue of our holy matriarchs and patriarchs – and in their merit – the Divine Presence is with us. So, without a connection to our forefathers, the land is contested, and the evil gain the upper hand.
King David tells us that without Hashem, he would have been bipolar. When he's high in the sky, Hashem is there. But when he's about to crash land at the bottom of an abyss, Hashem is there too to catch him. We learn that we're never alone and that there's no need to be afraid.
What do we need a Holy Temple for? Here's a 3-minute message from the holiest place on earth.
Everyone yearns to have money. Yet, why is money so difficult to obtain? And, if people care about their money, why do they lose it so easily? Once we learn what we need to do to guard our money, our lives become much more pleasant.
"The Holy One, blessed be He, showed David the destruction both of the first Temple and of the second Temple" (Tractate Gittin 57b). David, in his holy spirit of prophecy, laments the destruction of our Holy Temple even before its time. He implores us not to forget Jerusalem ever, not even for a moment.
