Insights into Rabbi Ashlag's Kabbalah podcast

Rabbi Yehudah Lev Ashlag teaches: The basis of a person’s nature, called the ego, expresses itself primarily through two main vehicles— the mind and the heart. The mind desires a rational basis for everything we do, a desire for control over our lives; the heart looks for pleasure, both sensual and emotional. This ego, although a vital part of our nature prevents us having access to the deep...

Rabbi Ashlag wrote on Israel’s independence. He pointed out that being given our independence is not equivalent to actually receiving it, as in spirituality, giving and receiving can be widely separated in time. Our receiving our independence in actual practice depends on our leaving the state of selfish egoism and coming to the love of our fellow man in both our private and communal lives....

In the external unchanging pattern of counting the days between Pesach and Shavuot there is an extremely rich inner reality. Each day pertains to a different Sephirah , a vessel for the light of God. How may we experience this richness? Rabbi Ashlag the great commentator on the Zohar explains the inner meaning of these days and shows how the fulfillment of the mitzvah of counting these days provid...

Listen to a live class given by Yedidah Cohen on the inner meaning of the Seder night using texts from the the Talmud, the Zohar, and  the teachings of Rabbi Yehudah Lev Ashlag. In this class we learn how the great light of redemption comes int o the world at this time and how the elements of the Seder provide the correct vessel with which to receive this great light. Class about 35 minutes

The energy of exile and redemption comes around again as we approach Passover. But are we simply re-enacting an historical event? According to the Kabbalah to the extent we can experience an inner exile we can likewise come to an inner redemption. A teaching from the Haggadah of Rabbi Yehudah Lev Ashlag, Vzot l’Yehudah. photo credit:

The essence of Purim is its light. The Sages teach us that it is on the festival of Purim when the Jews were saved from total destruction that the light of redemption shines out the strongest. We connect with this light by reading the Megillah , the book of Esther, having a festive meal and giving presents of food to our friends and gifts to the poor. Celebrating also means finding the elements of...

The Sages have taught that when the month of Adar comes in we increase our joy. But we must have a basis for this. A person cannot feel happy without a reason. Senseless happiness feels foolish and silly. The Sages are referring to the happiness of holiness, the happiness of being in unity with the Creator. However to feel the presence of the Creator in our lives we need to first feel how empty ou...

There is a general principle in the Kabbalah that no light may be attained without its appropriate vessel. So although it is true that we are surrounded by the infinite light of God at all times, we cannot sense God’s light if we do not have the appropriate vessel. What is the appropriate vessel though which we may come to appreciate the soul, that part of God within us? How can we relate to...

Tu b’Shvat , the New Year for Trees, is not just a day which marks the year for tithes, but has spiritual significance. This was first revealed by the Kabbalists of the town of Safed in the northern Galilee. They instituted a “Seder” in which the table is spread with many fruits, and we appreciate the bounty God gives us. We  also look at the inner  meaning  of the...

Rabbi Ashlag poses everybody’s question… what is the purpose of my life? But he gives an unexpected answer. To understand what he is saying we first need to know what the word “life” actually means in the Kabbalah . The Torah itself is called the Torah of life. But whether or not we actually experience it as such depends very much on our reasons for studying itand on our relation...

What is a Kabbalist? Safed where I live is known as the city of Kabbalah. People of all types and backgrounds come looking for “Kabbalah”. Some stay a few hours, other a few  days, and some, not a few end up spending their lives here. What is it they are looking for? What is the real meaning of Kabbalah? In this talk we explore the meaning of the Kabbalah or as it’s also kno...

No one can or should remain untouched by the tragic events at Newtown Connecticut. Some people in their grief and anguish ask ” But why did God allow this to happen?” It is hard to feel the love of God in such times and to have faith in His Name that He is Good and does Good to all. The holy Rabbi of Pieczetsna, Rabbi Kalonymus Kalman Shapira, taught his community during  the last...

Rabbi Ashlag teaches us that a human being is considered as a small world. The elements of the Bible stories are to be found within each one of us. So inside each of us we have the element of the Children of Israel and the element of Pharoah. We have the element of Jacob and the element of Esau. Similarly for Chanukah we have within ourselves the element of the Greeks and the Maccabee within us. W...

Rabbi Baruch  Shalom Ashlag,  in a letter written to a friend around the time of Chanukah asks the question,  “What is a miracle? and in his answer we find that the Chanukah lights don’t just spread physical light but they point the way for our own personal miracle too. Spiritual exile and the miracle of spiritual redemption is the message of Chanukah in our own lives.

When Man was first created in the Garden of Eden, his senses and feelings gave him accurate information about the world he was living in. Once Adam and Eve ate from the Tree of knowledge this direct perception of the world became replaced by the need to use knowledge and thought instead. How can we come once more to rely on our feelings and determine directly what is good and what is bad?  An...

The psalmist says, “What is man that you should remember him? ” However he continues, “Yet you have made him just less than the Divine!” Where do these two very opposite views of Man’s worth come from?   How do we feel about ourselves and where do these very paradoxical feelings originate from?

Hurricane Sandy hit the coast of America this week. The Zohar discusses Man’s relationship with nature and the forces of Creation, and we learn how the consciousness of the human being is a prime factor in influencing the behavior of natural forces. Keep safe. we’re thinking of you…. (Inspired  by  a talk  given by Rabbi Avraham Mordecai Gottlieb)

The souls exist in different states simultaneously.  At the same time that we are going through the ups and downs of this world, we already exist in complete perfection in the infinite. Where did that perfection come from? and what difference does this knowledge make to me in my life now? If my perfection is already assured how and in what way do I choose my path? From the teachings of Rabbi...

“And God called the light “day” and the darkness “night”.” Why did He do that? What does this mean for me? These are questions that the great Kabbalist Rabbi Baruch Shalom Ashlag asks. His answer takes us to the Purpose of Creation, the process of Creation, and the role these play in  our own individual lives.  

The children of Israel were given three gifts to protect them through the travails of the wilderness. Manna from heaven, Miriam’s well and the clouds of Glory. The clouds of Glory have the same essence of that of Aaron the priest, the Sephirah of  Chesed ,loving-kindness, and this is the same light we attract to ourselves when we sit in the Succah . The shade provided by the Succah is t...

The psalmist calls out to God from the depths of his heart.  We too access those depths on Yom Kippur . The Zohar explores the meaning of depth and teaches how Return and  Forgiveness  were given as a gift by God before even Man was created.

We are now in the days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur when the theme of Teshuvah reaches its height. Teshuvah is a God-given gift to us calling us back, showing us the way home. Often translated as repentance it really means “returning to our inner selves”. By the Sages, the term Teshuvah not only describes a state of mind of regret when we wish make amends, but it is also also u...

The language of the Kabbalah penetrates more deeply into our prayers and customs than we are normally aware of. This is certainly the case with Rosh HaShanah, the Jewish New Year. In this talk we take a look at many of the terms and symbols associated with this festival, and discover a day of joy, blessing and confidence. Furthermore it is the day on which the Jewish people, in blowing the shofar,...

Many of us wonder why we are here at all? Why did the soul, so perfect and pure, come into this troubled and difficult existence, into this temporal body, which is destined to die, and into a conflict with our ego which is an integral and God-given part of us also. What did the soul have to gain? In a remarkable letter written by Rabbi Yehudah Lev Ashlag we learn that the sojourn of the soul in th...

All year round we are like a spring, stretched out of shape. Just imagine what a relief it would be if we could let go of all the tensions and pressures that are pulling us out of our natural state of being and come back to who we really are. That is the opportunity we have in the month of Elul. Our soul, which is our true Self is out of its natural environment when in this dense egoistical world....