Nitzotzos: Inspiration to Keep Your Spark Alive with Rav Mordechai Burg

In this shiur, delivered in Ba'er Miriam, Rav Burg explains how Noach failed to help even one person do Teshuva because he didn't daven for them. Davening is a form of imagination. It allows us to see the world as Hashem wants it to be. So too when we daven for someone we are seeing their greatness. People are not inspired by education alone. They need to be taught by a Rebbe who davens for them....

In this shiur, delivered in Tomer Devorah, Rav Burg explains why we praise the Tzaddikim when given the opportunity and why Shem and Yafes did not look at their father when he was uncovered. The way we speak about people and the way we see people has a tremendous impact on them. When we speak/see people negatively we can destroy them. When we see or speak about their beauty we reveal their inner b...

In this shiur, delivered at the Vayichan program in Yeshivat HaKotel, Rav Burg explains how we can possibly dance and be joyful during Simchas Torah this year. Some generations write their Torah in tears while others are meant to fill in those tears with ink. Our generation has the opportunity to write a Sefer Torah for those who could not finish their own.

In this shiur, delivered in Yerushalayim at the Ba'er Miriam Simchas Beis HaShoeva, Rav Burg explains (based on a Sicha from the Shvilei Pinchas) the inner meaning of Succos and how we return the Shechina to this world.

In this shiur, delivered via zoom to the Chizuk Mission, Rav Burg explores the deeper dimension of the Ushpizin in these chaotic times. When the Ushpizin share in our pain then we can know the joy of Succos.

In this shiur, delivered in Tomer Devorah, Rav Burg explains (based on a Torah from the Tzemach Tzedek) how we can make meaningful and lasting change. Only when we recognize that the truest version of ourselves never participated in our Aveiros can we deeply regret our mistakes and make real changes.

In this shiur, delivered in Darchei Binah, Rav Burg explains Reb Zusias five aspects of Teshuva and the inner symmetry of Teshuva. To realign with Hashem we must live wholeheartedly, purposefully, lovingly, oriented towards a meaningful destination and with dignity.

In this shiur, delivered in Tomer Devorah, Rav Burg explains (based on a Sicha from the Lubavitcher Rebbe) how Hashem relates to us through various channels. Miracles overwhelm us. The natural world reveals Hashem but we remain a distinct entity. Only through Torah can we truly become one with Hashem. Through Torah we can learn the will and wisdom Hashem and at the same time contribute to the conv...

In this shiur, delivered in Ba'er Miriam, Rav Burg explains how Moshe Rabbeinu addresses the fears of Klal Yisrael after they heard the Klalos. When we realize that we are a fundamental part of the Klal, that we each make a unique contribution and that no Jew in truth is higher than any other we gain a deep sense of being firmly planted in the ground. Armed with the knowledge that we are safe and...

In this shiur, delivered in the Lubat home in Neve Shamir, Rav Burg explains the inner nature of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. We don't just want Hashem to forgive us so we can have a good year, we want Hashem to restore us to the way things were. On Rosh Hashanah every molecule of creation returns to its source, to its purpose. We return to our mission, to the time when we saw through the veneer...

In this shiur, delivered at Mevaseret Mishmar, Rav Burg explains how Vidui Maaser is the true confession. Only when we know our own greatness can we acknowledge our sins with healthy guilt and not toxic shame.

In this shiur, the first shiur of the year in Tomer Devorah, Rav Burg explores the Machlokes as to when we begin to be obligated in the Mitzvah of Bikkurim. According to the Gemara it is from the time we settle Eretz Yisrael. According to the Sifri it is from when we first enter the land. Based on a Torah from the Lubavitcher Rebbe zt"l, Rav Burg explains the difference between rational and supra...

In this shiur, the first shiur of the year in Ba'er Miriam, Rav Burg explains how Klal Yisrael became a nation on the day that they expressed their frustration with Moshe Rabbeinu for writing a special Sefer Torah for Shevet Levi. When we take personal responsibility for our relationship with Hashem, when we own the mission of Klal Yisrael, we move from being just a family to a nation.

In this shiur, delivered in Mevaseret at the first Mishmar of the year, Rav Burg speaks about Teshuva not as an accounting of our sins but as crying out for a relationship with Hashem. However, in order to do so, we must remove our garments of captivity - a surface orientated way of seeing the world. Only when we live focused on the essence can we connect to Hashem on an essential level.

In this short shiur, based on a Torah from the Shvilei Pinchas, Rav Burg explains the inner connection between Yaakov Avinu and the Beis HaMikdash. Through our Torah and Teffilah, we turn our Shuls and Yeshivas into the building blocks of the third Beis HaMikdash.

In this shiur, delivered at the final Mishmar of NCSY Kollel, Rav Burg explains (based on a Torah from the Lubavitcher Rebbe zt"l) the inner nature of Golus. Once we understand that Hashem has only turned away from us in order to deepen our relationship we can develop our resilience as we journey through the last moments of this painful exile.

In this shiur, delivered worldwide On Tisha B'Av to the Chizzuk Mission, Rav Burg explores the relationship between Shlomo HaMelech, Yirmiyahu and Moshe Rabbeinu. While Shlomo HaMelech and Moshe Rabbeinu were on the 49th level of understanding, through mourning the loss of the Beis HaMikdash Yirmiyahu reveals to us the fiftieth dimension and thus the building of the Beis HaMikdash.

In this shiur, delivered on Tisha B'Av in NCSY Kollel, Rav Burg explains the nature of walls. Walls ought designed to protect our dignity. But when we live with a scarcity mentality, a mentality of fear, we build walls that imprison us from ourselves and from others. When we build healthy walls that protect our dignity and invite each other in, then we will merit to rebuild the walls of Yerushalay...

In this shiur, delivered in NCSY Kollel (Mishmar), Rav Burg explains how Torah transformed Moshe Rabbeinu's ability to speak. Specifically before Tisha B'Av we must learn the Torah of seventy languages so that we can discover Godliness in exile.

In this shiur, delivered at Mishmar in NCSY Kollel, Rav Burg explains how the final story of Sefer Bamidbar is the climax of the story of how brothers and sisters make peace. The entire Torah can be seen as a story of avoiding the hard conversations and the strife that follows. If we are going to bring Mashiach we need to put our real feelings on the table and create real peace.

In this shiur, delivered on NCSY Kollel during Mishmar, Rav Burg explains how Hashem calls out to us through our desires. When we know our desires we know our mission and our talents but will we say Naar Anochi and run away from our mission or will we step up to the task and actualize our potential?

In this shiur, delivered in Neve Shamir, Rav Burg explains the inner dimension of the five events that occurred on Shiva Asar B'Tammuz and how each event is another stage in the destruction of the Beis HaMikdash. When we understand each stage of destruction, we also understand how we can rebuild.

In this shiur, delivered in NCSY Michlelet, Rav Burg explains why of all people, it is Bilaam HaRasha who transmits the prophecy about the coming of Mashiach. Only when we bring Hashem into the lowest dimensions of our world, when the world is completely transformed into a Dirah B'Tachtonim will we merit the coming of Mashiach.

In this shiur, delivered to NCSY Kollel for the first Mishmar of the summer, Rav Burg explains how we can make meaning and lasting changes in our lives. When we change our core belief system we change our focus and our narratives which leads to new emotions and new actions.

In this shiur, delivered in the Feder home in Lawrence, Rav Burg discusses (based on a Torah from the Nesivos Shalom and from the Kedushas Levi) the inner connection between the Omer and Bris Milah and why we don't make a shehecheyanu on the Mitzvah of the Omer. While seeing Hashem in the miraculous can jump start a relationship we have only learned about Hashem, we have not yet built a relati...