Daily Jewish Thought

In this special class in honour of his birthday, Rabbi Yisroel Bernath explores one of the most misunderstood human traits: sensitivity. While the world often tells us to toughen up and grow thicker skin, Chassidus teaches that the goal is not to suppress our emotions but to refine them. Drawing from Tanya, Torah Or, Likkutei Torah, and the teachings of the Rebbeim, Rabbi Bernath explains that som...

In this eye-opening session, Rabbi Yisroel Bernath explores one of the most profound and misunderstood topics of all time: What is G-d? Moving beyond simplistic childhood images of a supernatural sky-being, we delve into Jewish, Chassidic, philosophical, and even scientific perspectives on the Divine. Drawing from thinkers like Einstein and the Alter Rebbe, this class gently unpacks a paradoxical...

In this heart-open, mind-stretching class, Rabbi Yisroel Bernath dives headfirst into one of the most profound questions ever asked: Who wrote the Torah and what do we mean by G-d? Sparked by a challenge from Ilana, a thoughtful soul who just "won the raffle" and then handed Rabbi Bernath some of the hardest theological questions he's faced, this class isn't a debate, it’s a br...

This Shabbat  Parshat Beha’alotecha , Rabbi Yisroel Bernath was a Scholar-In-Residence at Beth Tikvah in DDO, Quebec , here is a recording for him preparing his Shabbat morning sermon.  Rabbi Yisroel Bernath connects two contemporary images: the debate over displaying the Ten Commandments in American classrooms and the haunting “blank Tanach” campaign in Israel. Both raise a deeper question: Is To...

Tonight at Congregation TBDJ in Montreal, Rabbi Zolly Claman invited Rabbi Yisroel Bernath to share a unique talk as part of his series on the Characters from the Torah. Rabbi Bernath explored the life of King David through the lens of The Forgiveness Experiment, asking what it really means to forgive without becoming naïve, passive, or unsafe. Moving from Cain and Abel, Isaac and Ishmael, Jacob a...

Why do we read the story of Ruth on Shavuot? Beneath the surface of this beautiful Megillah lies one of the most dramatic stories in all of Tanach, famine, exile, conversion, controversy, loss, courage, and the hidden birth of redemption. In this class, Rabbi Yisroel Bernath explores the deeper story behind Ruth, Naomi, and Boaz through Midrash, Talmud, Zohar, and Kabbalah. Together we’ll uncover...

As we arrive at the final week of Sefirat HaOmer, Rabbi Yisroel Bernath explores the profound and deeply practical world of Malchut , the sefirah of sovereignty, presence, dignity, and embodiment. In Chassidic thought, Malchut is not about domination or ego-driven power, but about becoming a grounded vessel for truth, connection, and Divine presence. Through powerful analogies, relatable stories,...

As we step into the week of Yesod, we move from the inner emotional world into the place where everything becomes real, where feelings turn into connection, and potential becomes relationship. In this class, Rabbi Yisroel Bernath explores Yesod not just as a mystical concept, but as the very foundation of how we bond with others, with ourselves, and with G-d. Drawing on teachings from Kabbalah and...

In a world that rewards being right, being strong, and holding it all together, the Sefirah of Hod invites us into a very different kind of strength. In this heart-open class, Rabbi Yisroel Bernath explores the power of humility, not as weakness, but as the courage to soften, to acknowledge truth, and to release the need to control. Drawing from Kabbalah, Chassidic teachings and real-life experien...

What drives you to keep pushing forward and when does that drive begin to drain you? In this class, Rabbi Yisroel Bernath explores the Sefirah of Netzach , the inner power of endurance, ambition, and resilience. Through a blend of Kabbalah and Chassidic insight and real-life application, we uncover the difference between healthy perseverance and destructive overdrive. This session invites you to r...

How to Love Without Smothering and Set Boundaries Without Wounding Why do our best intentions so often hurt the people we love most? Because love without boundaries can suffocate… and truth without compassion can wound. As we enter the week of Tiferet in Sefirat HaOmer, Rabbi Yisroel Bernath explores the Kabbalistic art of emotional balance, the sacred harmony between Chesed (kindness) and Gevurah...

What if the last days of Pesach aren’t about how the story ends… but about how your story begins? In this deeply practical and soulful class, Rabbi Yisroel Bernath explores the hidden power of the final days of Passover, where we stop remembering freedom and start living toward it . Through the lens of the splitting of the sea, the mysterious idea of Moshiach as a “Caesar,” and the transformative...

We’ve all been to a Seder. We know the songs, the matzah, the wine… and somehow, we still walk out the same person. But what if the Seder was never meant to be a ritual you attend, but a process you go through ? In this class, Rabbi Yisroel Bernath uncovers the Seder as a 15-step journey of real transformation. A map for getting unstuck, from old habits, inner resistance, fear, and emotional bagga...

Download Rabbi Bernath's Haggadah HERE https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/98kilqi70z1cpqcn47jo0/Rabbi-Yisroel-s-Passover-Haggadah-Version-6B.pdf?rlkey=2gbd5i1u1fx0787fochlrpj6b&dl=0 Most people prepare for the Seder like they’re hosting a dinner. The food is ready. The table is set. The Haggadah is in place. But the Seder was never meant to be something you run. It’s something you enter. In t...

There’s something about this time of year… As we prepare for Pesach, cleaning, cooking, setting the table… we’re also being invited into something deeper. Not just a historical remembrance… but a personal awakening. Because the real question of the Seder isn’t “What happened then?” It’s “Am I free now?” In this special pre-Passover episode, Rabbi Yisroel Bernath shares an exclusive preview from th...

What if the line in the Haggadah isn’t history… but a diagnosis? “If G-d hadn’t taken us out of Egypt, we would still be there.” Not physically. Psychologically. Spiritually. Emotionally. In this heart-open Kabbalah class, Rabbi Bernath unpacks the deeper meaning of Egypt, not as a place, but as a mindset. An inner voice that says, “This is just who I am.” A life shaped by patterns we stopped ques...

In this deeply real and liberating class, Rabbi Yisroel Bernath explores a striking idea from Parshat Vayikra: the Torah doesn’t say if a leader will fail, it says when. Why? Because growth, leadership, love, and even spirituality all require stepping into a messy, imperfect world. Through the lens of Kabbalah and Chassidus, you weren’t created to be perfect, you were created to transform imperfec...

Did life turn out the way you imagined it would? Most of us quietly carry two versions of our lives, the ideal one we dreamed about and the messy, imperfect one we actually live. In this Wednesday morning Kabbalah class, Rabbi Yisroel Bernath explores a powerful insight from Parshat Vayakhel–Pekudei and Chassidic teachings: why the Torah repeats the story of the Mishkan twice, and what that reveal...

Why did Moses smash the tablets and why were the broken pieces placed in the Holy of Holies alongside the whole ones? In this heart-open class, Rabbi Yisroel Bernath explores one of the most powerful and surprising teachings in Torah: that brokenness is not the opposite of holiness, it can be its doorway. Drawing on the story of the Golden Calf, the teachings of the Talmud, Midrash, and the Lubavi...

This wasn’t just another Shabbat. This was the kind of Shabbat that reminds you history isn’t something we read, it’s something we walk into. At Chabad NDG in Montreal, a Persian-themed Shabbat table became something deeper: a meeting point between ancient Persia and modern Iran. Between the story of Haman and the voices of real Iranian activists fighting for freedom today. Between fear… and coura...

The Megillah opens with one of the most extravagant, unnecessary parties in history and somehow, it’s there to teach us how to live. In this class, Rabbi Yisroel Bernath discusses a powerful insight from the Rebbe: even a foolish king understood something many of us forget, that life is not meant to be lived halfway. Through the lens of Achashverosh’s over-the-top feast, we explore what it means t...

Parshat Terumah introduces the Ark, Judaism’s holiest object and reveals a radical truth about the human soul. The Ark wasn’t one solid piece. It was gold on the inside, wood in the middle, gold on the outside . In this class, Rabbi Yisroel Bernath explores how the Ark becomes a map of the inner life: A core that is pure and untouchable. A middle that feels messy, emotional, contradictory and an o...

In this morning’s class, Rabbi Yisroel Bernath explored one of the Torah’s most psychologically honest teachings: what to do when our emotions and our values don’t align. Through the mitzvah of helping an enemy’s fallen donkey, we uncovered Judaism’s middle path, neither repressing emotions nor surrendering to them. Drawing from halacha, Kabbalah, and Chassidus, the class reframed emotional maturi...

Why would a powerful, respected spiritual leader abandon comfort, status, and certainty to join a nation of former slaves in the desert? In this morning’s class, Rabbi Yisroel Bernath explores the story of Jethro—not as ancient history, but as a living mirror. Through a surprising Talmudic question, we uncover what Jethro really heard that compelled him to move from observer to participant. This c...

You don’t often see a book launch feel like a collective exhale. This recording is from the Montreal launch of The Forgiveness Experiment, featuring the author Rabbi Yisroel Bernath in conversation with Ilana Zackon. Ilana Zackon, an award-winning actor, writer, and filmmaker. Together, they dive into the heart of the book: why forgiveness matters, how it changes us, and what it means to live with...