Torah

Parshas Shelach describes a Jew's inability of breaking out from victim - aka Egyptian (*1) Slave Mentality - into survivor - aka Freedom Mentality - when they accepted the report of the spies negatively. This sealed their fate in the desert. In contrast, the Haftara relates Rachav's strength of ...

Lo Sasuru Acharei Eineichem is a Lo Sa'aseh on Hirhur Halev. How could there be a Lo Sa'aseh if Chazal say that a negative Machshava H' doesn't consider a Ma'aseh Aveira? R' Chaim Vital explains that a Chet is a combination of 4 things - Thought in the Brain, thought in the Heart, Speech, and Act...

מצוה שפ״ז שלא נתור אחר מחשבת הלב ;The chinuch compares one who pursues lust to an alcoholic: ; כי התאוה תמשוך הבשר כמשוך ; היין אל שותים. ; How's that for an endorsement of AA. ;The chinuch also writes that there is no malkus for one who violated this lav since its impossible to set a shuirכי מהי...

Picture what the scene must have looked like. ; Moshe tells the Bnei Yisroel everyone that is twenty years old and up should bring a machtzis hashekel to be counted. ; These coins are going to be used for the foundation of the mishkan. ; Do we have a concept of what it means to contribute to the ...

It happens all the time we have a nasty fall and we finally get back up and all of the sudden we act like big tzaddikim. ; In a way, we are acting no different than the maplim. ; The cheit of the meraglim a tremendous yeridah that we are still paying the price for today. ; Yet, what happens. ; Th...

We are are continuing our new weekly Series – “How this ;Parasha ;relates to the Struggler” Have you ever faced a new opportunity or a big challenge? ;Did you ever really want to change but something always seemed to get in the way? ;You may be asking, what is keeping me from taking the steps n...

; Fight isn't ours: ;We are not asked to fight, we are only asked to ;want ;and ;ask ;for His help. ;Give it over to Hashem and pray, "Hashem, I can't, but You can. Take it from me please". ; ; It passes: ;The strong desires and confusion we feel now will pass. In just a short time, we'll alrea...

"Good, I'm patur! But how can I miss out on a mitzvah?" Their attitude was that missing a mitzvah is a deprivation. It is something that I am going to miss, and I do not want that to happen. It is not a question of punishment and it is not a question of blame. It is a sense of lacking something ...

HASHEM said to Moshe saying, “Speak to Aaron and say to him: When you “light-up” the lamps, toward the face of the Menorah shall the seven lamps cast light.” Aaron did so- (Bamidbar 8:1-2)Aaron did so: To teach you the praise of Aaron that he did not change. (Rashi)What’s so great that Aaron lit ...

When I was seven years old I had the privilege of hearing the Chavler Rov, one of the biggest Geonim [geniuses] in the world. He said to my father, imagine that a big Rosh Yeshiva is walking down the street. Suddenly on the other side of the street there is a very beautiful girl standing? Will he...