Nach Daily

Why does Judaism feel so different in Israel? In this week’s class on Ma’amar HaDor, we look at the radical shift Rav Kook and the Vilna Gaon demand of our generation. We often think of Judaism as a set of ideas we carry with us, but Rav Kook teaches that it is actually an environment we breathe. In the Diaspora, we live in a "vile atmosphere"—a spiritual graveyard where our institutions are desti...

Are you practicing a religion that feels like a collection of parts, or a unified whole? In this session, we dive deep into Rav Kook’s "Meimor HaDor" to address the "spiritual claustrophobia" of the modern age. When we encounter a Judaism that is reduced to technicalities without a soul, our inner giant feels suffocated. We explore the profound connection between Rav Kook’s national vision and the...

Are you serving Hashem because you have to, or because you want to? In today’s class, we explore the profound transition from a modality of "conquering" and "forcing" ourselves to do Mitzvos, to a state of inner alignment. Just like in a healthy marriage, where we spend time with our spouse not out of a sense of duty, but out of a genuine desire to "hang out," our relationship with the Divine shou...

In this week’s shiur on Rav Kook’s seminal work, Ma’amar HaDor, we dive into one of the most challenging yet comforting concepts in Jewish thought: Yerida Letzorech Aliyah (The Descent for the Sake of Ascent). Summary of Today’s Class: Rav Kook explains that before a higher, holier reality can be built, the old "vessels"—the infrastructures and frameworks of previous generations—must sometimes rot...

In today’s class we continued Rav Kook’s Meimor HaDor and explored how Rav Kook looked beneath the surface of his generation and saw not simply behavior, but potential. Rav Kook teaches that every generation carries the spiritual DNA of its historical hour. Because we were born close to Geulah, we carry Geulah Neshamot — souls that are sensitive, idealistic, and spiritually complex. Rav Kook shows...

In today’s shiur, we explored Rav Kook’s profound process of Aliyat HaDorot — the elevation of the generations — and the rise of collective consciousness. Rav Kook explains that throughout most of history, spiritual greatness was concentrated in a small number of towering individuals: great tzaddikim and erudite souls who stood far above the general population. The broader public, the hamon am, re...

In this shiur, we continued Rav Kook’s Meimor HaDor and explored his deeply compassionate diagnosis of our generation. Rav Kook teaches that this generation is not sinful or rebellious, but rather emotionally flooded — drowning in spiritual pain. The confusion, anger, distancing, and breakdown we see are not signs of moral failure, but of souls overwhelmed by intensity they cannot yet regulate or...

In this shiur, The Subconscious Sickness, we explored Rav Kook’s actual diagnosis of the core problem of our generation. A good diagnosis is half the cure — and Rav Kook offers one of the most penetrating psychological–spiritual readings of modern Jewish life. He explains that a deep subconscious sickness has taken root within the generation, creating a breakdown in language, communication, and a...

In this fifth class on Meimor HaDor, we learned Rav Kook’s radical response to the spiritual vacuum of the modern generation. Instead of tightening rules or relying on behavioral expectations, Rav Kook tells us to show them the light — to reveal the deepest, brightest parts of Torah so the searching soul can finally recognize its home. Rav Kook explains that the confusion and restlessness of the n...

In this fourth shiur on Meimor HaDor, we explored Rav Kook’s profound diagnosis of a generation in transition — a generation standing in a liminal space, suspended between worlds. Rav Kook describes his era, and ours, as strangely high yet deeply confused, overflowing with idealism while also wrestling with emptiness and collapse. As the neshamas of the generation rise, the old spiritual structure...

In this third class on Rav Kook’s Meimor HaDor, we continued exploring his breathtaking reading of our generation — a generation torn between greatness and confusion, light and darkness, trauma and renewal. We began with Rav Kook’s raw validation of the pain of modern Jewish history: the silence, the shame, the collapse of dignity, and the deep psychic wounds carried by both parents and children....

In this second shiur of the My Generation series, we continue exploring Rav Kook’s Meimor HaDor — his lament over the emotional collapse and inner defeat of the generation. Rav Kook describes a world where individuals, families, and communities are wrapped in emotional pain and existential angst, leading to isolation, despair, and even psychosomatic suffering. Yet beneath the surface of this darkn...

In this first shiur of the *My Generation* series, we begin exploring Rav Kook’s *Meimor HaDor*, found in *Ikvei HaTzon*. We discuss the historical context in which Rav Kook was writing and how he saw light emerging from darkness — even in the spiritual confusion of his generation. Together we learn the prologue to *Ikvei HaTzon*, uncovering why Rav Kook chose this name, and begin the essay with i...

For Those Struggling | Rav Kook on Teshuva and the Yamim Noraim by Rabbi Shaya Sussman, LCSW

YouTube Description In this shiur on Orot HaTeshuva, Rav Kook teaches that the healthiest state of the soul is teshuva. Teshuva is not about becoming someone new—it’s about peeling back the extra, external layers and returning to who we already are at our core. We’ll explore: How teshuva is the most natural expression of the soul Why the parts of ourselves that feel broken aren’t our true essence...

In this shiur, we explore Rav Kook’s profound teaching that true teshuva begins with self-knowledge. 🌱 We need to have a sense of self in order to draw close to Hashem. When we bypass our personalities and souls, we fall into false teshuva. Remember: at our core, we are truly a neshama. Every person has a Nekudah Tova — a unique point of goodness that cannot be lost. By discovering our true self,...

What does Rav Kook really think about nationalism? Is secular Zionism just an empty vessel—or part of the Divine plan? In this shiur, we explore Rav Kook’s bold and nuanced vision: how nationalism without Hashem becomes distorted and dangerous, but religion without a national container becomes self-absorbed and disconnected from reality. Rav Kook challenges both camps and offers a powerful third p...

At the Nach Daily book launch, Shaya Sussman shared a personal and powerful message about failure, redemption, and the deep relevance of Navi in our lives. From failing through school—and even getting a 32 in Navi—to launching a sefer that brings Navi to life, Shaya reminded us that second chances aren’t the exception; they’re the rule. This is the story of Am Yisrael: We were in our land. We lost...

Hashem created the world with light and vessels—a delicate balance between spiritual ideals and the structures that hold them. But what happens when that balance is lost? In this shiur, we explore how Hashem’s pristine light descends into the mire and muck of this world—enclothed in form, even in darkness—not by accident, but by design. The vessel may look broken, the light may seem hidden, but th...

What do we do when life feels upside down—when nothing is k’seder, and the world within and around us feels like it's unraveling? In this experiential shiur, we explore Rebbe Nachman’s teaching in Likutei Moharan Tinyana 82 on the battle between k’seder (order) and shelo k’seder (disorder), and how that inner war mirrors the emotional and spiritual chaos so many of us feel today. We then turn to L...

In this shiur, we explore Daniel Chapter 2—the vision of the great statue representing the empires of history, shattered by a humble stone—and ask: What does this prophecy teach us about today’s war, the role of Am Yisrael, and the unfolding of redemption in our time? Drawing on Rav Kook’s Orot HaMilchama, we dive into the spiritual psychology of war—not as chaos alone, but as a deep awakening of...

From the series: The Road Less Traveled – A Healing Journey Toward Eretz Yisrael and Ourselves In the wake of October 7th, something ancient stirred in the collective soul of Am Yisrael—fear, grief, longing, awakening. Galut and Geulah are no longer abstract ideas. They are personal. They are embodied. They live inside our nervous systems and conversations. In this first class, we explore how the...

What happens when our highest spiritual ideals descend into the messiness of real life? In this shiur, we explore Rav Kook’s profound teaching on the tension between the soul of nationalism—its pure, redemptive vision—and the body that carries it: flawed systems, politics, and human limitation. Drawing from the opening of Zeronim: Nishmas HaLe'umiyut v’Gufah, we unpack the mystical process of ligh...

In this week’s Rav Kook shiur, we journeyed into a radically trusting approach to chinuch—one that sees the child not as a problem to be fixed, but as a soul already whole. Drawing from Zeronim, Orot HaKodesh (Chochmas HaKodesh II), and the War of Worldviews, we explored how manipulative parenting—even when masked as guidance—can distort the deeper mission of education: to honor the divine spark w...

In this inspiring shiur, we explore Rav Kook’s fearless vision of chinuch—an education that uplifts, expands, and trusts the soul of every Jewish child. Rather than shrinking from the world in fear, Rav Kook teaches that we must raise broad souls who can face complexity with emunah, curiosity, and rooted strength. 🔹 Rav Kook (Shmoneh Kevatzim 2:126) writes that a truly expansive soul should study...