Reb Shaya Guttman

We explore the writings of the Ramak zt'l on the question of why the Jews have been chosen to suffer so much through all the generations, even when they obviously didn't deserve it. His answer may suprise you. A Happy and Kosher Pesach to all!

This somewhat neglected parshah actually features one of the largest portions of the Zohar in the entire Torah. It is devoted to describing the structure of the upper worlds of Creation and their function. Why do we have to know about this? How does it impact our lives as Jews? Find out now!

Thinking about the connection of the Mishkan, Shabbos, and the Parah Adumah leads to some very profound insights on the essential joy of living, and the potential we have, if we make the right choices, to unify and elevate the entire Creation with the Creator and our own neshamos.

The mitzvah of 'adeloyada' on Purim, to become sufficiently intoxicated so that we don't know the difference between 'Arur Haman' and 'Boruch Mordecai,' is confusing at best! The mitzvos themselves are based on our intellectual capacity, and yet we're told to become completely intoxicated to perform the mitzvah. How is this possible?

How do special clothes makes us holy? How does remembering an historical event help us serve Hashem?

This parshah reveals Hashem's instructions regarding the building of the Mishkan, detailing how the physical world can become a vessel for holiness and a place for the Divine Presence to dwell. It even includes a description of the Cruvim, the angels who look like babies, and whose wings are spread over the Holy Ark.

Find out the true meaning of carrying out justice according to Jewish law, which involves the participation of both the earthly court and the heavenly court to rebalance scales which sometimes span multiple lifetimes.

This fascinating discussion focuses on the Ramak's explanation of why Hashem gave us the Torah, which we connect with the holiday of Tu Bishvat to reach a higher level of appreciation of the connection of Torah to life itself.

In this parshah, we see how difficult it is to get people, especially leaders, to have the courage to admit their failures and change their ideologies accordingly. The attempt of Hamas, for example, to make their defeat look like a victory, simply mirrors Paraoh's inability to allow the Jews to leave Egypt, despite the fact that even his advisers had already accepted the truth.

This parsha begins the series dealing with the enslavement of the Jewish People in Egypt and their ultimate redemption, leading to receiving the Torah on Har Sinai. We attempt to identify the pattern of exile and Geulah, and how it plays out in our own lives.

This parsha begins the series dealing with the saga of Yosef and his brothers. This complicated story is presented with brutal honesty, and demands that we learn important lessons from it that we can apply to our own experience.

This parshah begins with the fascinating account of Yakov's encounter with the angels and the Gates of the Heavens. What can we learn from this about our own role in serving Hashem and appreciating the environments He creates for us? How are we Hashem's angels in this world?

The first posuk of this parsha teaches an important lesson about getting back to our essence, and reaching out to Hashem for personal guidance to have the confidence to follow Him even if it means bucking the majority and making major changes.

How should we look at our development over different periods of our lives? And when we want to evaluate our lives, what is the most important commodity to focus on? What makes the most difference in the final analysis? 

What do we learn about trusting Hashem through this parsha, and how does it relate to how we respond to events like the current war and, in general, planning for the future?

This year, we have to evaluate not only if we have to repent for specific negative actions, but also for the attitudes that resulted in those actions. Because even if it's hard to identify specific acts we did wrong, or even after we have made amends for the specific actions, it may be that the attitudes which caused the actions could themselves be considered on the level of transgressions.

When thinking about how to do teshuvah and correct previous mistakes, we often regret things we have done which, often unintendedly, to cause pain to others. This parsha, which contains many mitzvos, has several chains of mitzvos that show how actions are connected over time, and how we have to be aware of how things follow in the long run, as well as establishing the right attitudes so we avoid w...

In the month of Elul, we prepare for the judgment of Rosh Hashanah. But what is driving our teshuvah? It is out of fear for our own skin, or a true emotional reaction to how G-d reveals Himself to us in life? Rather than worrying about how He judges us, maybe we should consider whether we are serving Him as He deserves!

Why is the same action significantly different depending on whether one was commanded to do it, or does it optionally out of the goodness of his heart? We often think the latter is higher, but in reality it's the opposite. Find out why!