The nigun Azamer Beshvachin (I Will Sing in Praises) is based on the following poem by Kabbalist Isaac Luria (the ARI): To enter into the gates Of the orchard of apples, which are sacred. We shall now prepare for her a new…
One of my students brought me a list of 7 tips for an easier life, asking me to give my response to them, so here it goes… 1) The ability to wait is the best ability one can master. If it…
There is a parable about a sage who used to carry water in two pots, one of which was cracked. Every day he brought the cracked pot home filled only halfway with water. One day, the pot itself said: “I’m…
We need to pray for everything and turn solely to the Creator, the upper force of love and bestowal, because that force is the source of everything that happens to us. There is nothing that does not come directly from…
There is a parable about a strong wind blowing at a tree, bending and almost breaking it. The tree told the wind: “You’re going to break me.” The wind answered: “No, I will make you stronger, your roots will grow…
If we are kind, we become like the Creator, the upper force of love and bestowal that acts out of total kindness toward creation. It will then be better and easier for us both in this world and in the…
Being rewarded with the secrets of the Torah means discovering and seeing the extent to which all the details in reality—all the souls—are interconnected, what is the connection between them, and what connection they require. Based on the Daily Kabbalah…
There is a joke about a man asking God: “Lord, what is the best way to make You laugh?” God answers: “Tell me about your plans.” So stands the question: Why do our plans make God laugh? It is because…
What is happiness, and should we focus on making others happy, or ourselves first? This reminds me of a well-known parable about an old man who fished every day by the river. One day, he caught a goldfish that promised…
When I feel hated, I look at why I caused such a reaction. In other words, I think about why I triggered it. If I find the reason, then I need to correct myself. “Correcting myself” means improving myself so…
I do not think that I have faced “true fear,” but I have experienced fear of death and fear of failure. They are not what I would call the highest or most primal forms of fear. When it comes to…
Scientists have discovered that when people spend significant time together, their brain activity can become remarkably similar—sometimes nearly identical. In such cases, the two brains begin to function in synchrony. For example, after two weeks of watching the same movies, reading the…