Living Aligned Podcast

Engraved on the Heavenly Throne was an image of a man" These were the opening words of a teaching of Rebbe Nachman on Shabbos Teshuva. He grabbed the arms of his chair and rocked back and forth with great Fear and Awe and said "When is a man a real man, when he sits on his Throne........

If you're apprehensive about eating too much on Shabbos....  Here's a story for you in honor of the Yartzeit of the great Tzadik Reb Pinchas of Koretz, today the 10th of Elul. When one eats in the mode of a Mitzvah, Holy eating, then there is no need for clarification of the food and one can experience Awe of Hashem just through eating!

The great Tzadik Moshe Kobryner was known for his outstanding character trait of AWE of Hashem from a very early age. He's the story of how he attained it and how you too can in these 40 Days of Will!

Recently devastating flooding hit Western Europe as well as China. The news makes relevant more than ever a story about the Chofetz Chaim, through which one can learn the proper Torah response when calamity strikes.

Across the board, all of the great masters teach that the climax of human existence is Love of God. Equally excepted is that to arrive at the summit on must travel via Fear of Hashem. This is the first in a series of podcasts on Love and Fear that will give us the keys to understand the deeper meaning of Matan Torah, the Shema and why Adam chose to eat from the Tree of Knowledge instead of the Tre...

Rebbe Nachman teaches that all suffering is due to a lack of Daas, acquired wisdom. Questions about life surface when we try to push beyond the limitations of what we think we know. WHY is this happening? This is the cry from the heart that doesn't yet understand. Ask questions in order to give birth to higher levels of consciousness, which according to Rebbe Nachman is the essential consolation.

The Gemora teaches, One only learns what the heart desires. The Kabbalist go even further and reveal that desire is a sign that here lies your soul rectification! Great! But what does one do when Tisha B'Av comes and he can't relate to something that he never experienced?

For many it's hard to feel the lose for something we never experienced. Rebbe Nachman gives us an image of how Hashem manifest himself into a building, the Holy Temple. In doing so he explains how it was destroyed and also how we can once again rebuild it!

Our inner void is a true reflection of the reality of Exile. The Maharal teaches that the secret place where Hashem cries is inside the inner chamber of the soul. By feeling that pain one can transmute it into true JOY!

Rebbe Nachman teaches that there are levels of consciousness where the past, present and future merge. In reality time is a product of the imagination. Nevertheless by living in time and experiencing the difficulties of life we can transform our suffering into this expansive consciousness.

Rebbe Nachman once said "If you believe you can mess up, believe you can fix!" But what does he mean? It's easy to mess up and it's hard to fix?! The answer lies in the ancient science of Alchemy and the Man of Faith!

We are witnessing a dangerous and drastic surge in antisemitism, attacks in real life on real people targeted for no other reason than they are Jewish! Everyone needs to ask himself, Instead of Re-Acting to the violence, what is the Godly Response to the present situation? To hear MY PERSON RESPONSE please try to listen to the end!

Just as the encampment of the twelve tribes encircled the Tabernacle, so too Matan Torah Shavuot is always celebrated between Parshas Bamidbar and Naso. The Sfas Emes connects the two with Midrashic imagery of Hashem riding on 12,000 legions of angels aligned with Flags!

The Chazon Ish was once asked, Where was Hashem in the Holocaust? He answered with a parable about a Boy who loved jam and a Bear. The story aligns well with a teaching from Rebbe Nachman that explains why people often stand at a distance from Hashem and how someone with wisdom can overcome the barrier of the Bear and receiving the Torah on Shavuot.

It's hard for the mind to grasp how such a great tragedy happened at such a holy and happy celebration. The Ramchal teaches that knowing the "Way of God" brings elation and helps one elevate unnecessary suffering.  In honor of the 45 Holy Souls and the Yartzeit of the Ramchal, the 26th of Iyar Foundation of Foundations!

In the midst of the mourning over the students of Rebbe Akiva we turn on the music to celebrate LagB'omer?! What's the secret of Rebbe Shimon Bar Yochai and The Joy of Lag B'Omer?!

How does one "clean up" the mess? First, don't shoot the messenger he's really the MESS-ENDER! Then the EGO will resist formulating a QUESTION. Because without a Question you'll never get an Answer........

The Creator wants to connect with you! The problem is that our inner space is full of negative emotional baggage. Life is like a cleaning process. If you want to experience the Joy of Life Consider Cleaning Up Your Room!

The first of the 4 Questions on the Seder Night is really....  If bread is so problematic on Pesach why do we order pizza the minute after we make Havdalah over beer. And if Matzah is so Holy why should we ever eat leavened bread?! The Sfas Emes brings together a collage of ideas from Tzadikim to help us understand the deeper meaning of why we eat Matzah on Pesach and why pizza is so holy!

Your real nature is to achieve Divine connection! If you're not feeling good be open to tweaking things be open to change. Rebbe Nachman said with great conviction "The most important thing is DON'T GIVE UP!"

Normally, when joyfully dancing our pain and sorrow stands aloof on the sidelines. In honor of the Yartzeit of the Holy Tzadik Rebbe Elimelech here's a colorful story that shows us how to catch our depression and bring it into the dance making it the center of our celebration!

It's a great Mitzvah to always be happy says Rebbe Nachman! But what if I'm depressed? There's an idea that in our days the only way back to real joy is through Joking around! This practical daily advice is the Mystical secret of the clowning around of Purim!  L'chaim 🍷

The Tabernacle with all it's components properly in place aligns with Divinity in order to draw down a Divine Presence in the physical world.   But the most important ingredient that we really don't learn about until the very end is Humility.  The magic of the building hinges on the humility of Moshe and his brother Aaron.    Each and every person has the potential of being like the sanctuary.  As...

In the story of The Exchanged Children Rebbe Nachman teaches that often it appears that life's not fair, why is this happening! But the life of a victim is a great option. A moment of clarity can cause a paradigm shift, The Almighty is in charge. All of this had to happen for you to become The Prince.

How in the world does one practice presence in the craziness of a busy life?! Especially in the mists of a world pandemic! The remedy is Shabbos, when everything is ready and the “Table’s Set”.  Master presence through eating and singing. And then begin to draw the headspace of Shabbos into the craziness of the six days of the week.