Hanukkah is the state of a miraculous spiritual transition from exile to redemption. Before we can experience spiritual redemption, we must first feel and recognize our state of spiritual exile. Exile is the state of being disconnected from spirituality, the…
Childbirth is inherently a painful process. Nature made it so, as it is written, “In pain you will give birth.” This pain, however, is not limited to the physical act of bringing a child into the world—it also represents the…
In response to the Buddhist saying, “Never interfere in someone else’s suffering. A person must grow tired of himself and drink the cup of poison allotted to him,” I wholeheartedly agree. This is beautifully said. If you try to pull…
You can only help someone who is ready to be helped. When a person is suffering, their perception of the world is clouded by their pain, rendering them deaf and blind to anything beyond it. In such a state, no…
Kabbalist Yehuda Ashlag, the most renowned Kabbalist of our times who received the name “Baal HaSulam” from his monumental “Sulam” (“Ladder”) commentary on The Book of Zohar, provides the following definition of the wisdom of Kabbalah: This wisdom is no more…
In the 1960s, various experiments of Martin Seligman showed how dogs conditioned to associate a sound with an unavoidable electric shock stopped trying to escape, even when presented with an easy way out—a very low fence that they could easily…
One of my students brought me this question, mentioning how scientists have often asked people who know they are about to die this very question: “What would you change in your life?” At such a point, when many people reflect…
The spiritual meaning of Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights, is that it represents a crucial pause in the inner battle for becoming as loving, giving, and united to one another through such qualities as the laws of nature themselves—a “rest…
One of my students read me the following excerpt from 15th Century diplomat and author Niccolò Machiavelli, in order to clarify aspects of human nature and leadership. If you are chosen as king, and the crown turns out to be big, then…
One of my students raised this question via the following quote by Stanislaw Jerzy Lec: “If an animal were to kill intentionally, it would have been a human act.” In other words, animals kill instinctively for the sake of fulfilling…
Moses’ journey is first and foremost a lesson in devotion to the Creator’s will. He led the people of Israel as commanded, fulfilling every directive with unwavering faith. Yet, as they reached the border of the Land of Israel, the…
One of my students recently read to me a quote by Anton Chekhov and asked my opinion on it, since he believed that its ideas held similarity to ideas in the wisdom of Kabbalah. “I was no more than 26…