Spiritual Tools for an Outrageous World

Dear Friends,Why was Moshe selected to get the Torah on the top of Mount Sinai and not you or me? The question itself is kind of mind blowing, it isn’t mine, it’s Reb Shlomo Carlebach’s. The answer takes us to the depths of what it means every time we immerse ourselves in deep learning. The post Why Did Moshe Get the Torah? first appeared on Spiritual Tools for an Outrageous World. The post Why Di...

Dear Friends,Speech creates reality.  Our Sages teach that Hashem spoke the world into being.  Reb Shlomo Carlebach  said it’s even deeper than that.  Hashem actually sang the world into existence.  In this week’s talk we look into the power of speech, how to tie your shoes according to the Torah, what the first Divine directive was, and further adventures of the letter Beis inside the letter Pay...

For most of us, waiting is the hardest part. And yet when we look at our lives, so much of it is filled with waiting.  Or is it?  Sometimes, maybe even often, we confuse waiting with living.  During this time of the year, between Passover and receiving the Torah, we have a special mitzvah not just to count the days until we get to our destination, but to actually bless the waiting!  How do we do t...

Dear Friends,There is so much going on!!  We are in the awesome holy month of Nissan, which marks the beginning of the universe and the dedication of the Holy Tabernacle which was a microcosm of the universe.  It is also the month that the Jews leave Egypt.  In this talk we explore a number of ideas — including the interrelationship of freedom and forgiveness, the souls of Noach and Moshe, and the...

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Dear Friends,What does it mean to unify the Name Yud kay with Vav kay?  What does it mean that every Parsha in the book of Shemos/Exodus starts with the letter vav except the final one which starts with the letter aleph?  How is the first word of the Torah — Breisheet — a microcosm of human history?  How do we go about revealing the hidden?  Lots and lots of ideas in this week’s talk! The post Uni...

Somewhere between the hidden and the revealed, between the great salvations of Purim and Pesach, between yesterday and tomorrow, lie our lives.  The post Basic Faith – Wheaties for the Soul first appeared on Spiritual Tools for an Outrageous World. The post Basic Faith – Wheaties for the Soul first appeared on Spiritual Tools for an Outrageous World. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more...

Since Purim is all about things flipping over for the good, I thought it would be cool to look at the word Purim in At Bash to see what new levels we can uncover.  Lots of interesting concepts, including an explanation of the philosophy of the At Bash system itself. The post Purim in “At Bash” – Through the Looking Glass first appeared on Spiritual Tools for an Outrageous World. The post Purim in...

One of the most remarkable passages in the Torah is when Mordecai turns to Queen Esther and says, rest assured that Hashem is going to save the Jewish people — the only question is are you going to be part of it?  (4:13)  Using this passage as a springboard we look into the parameters of free choice and how Mordecai’s words still echo in our lives today. The post Does Free Choice Exist? – Purim 20...

Tons of ideas in the this one relating to Purim, happiness, purity, hiddeness, acceptance of Torah, gematria, pregnancy, bris mila, butterflies, and hope.  Nothing compares to Purim!!!!The post Purim – Holiday of Secrets first appeared on Spiritual Tools for an Outrageous World. The post Purim – Holiday of Secrets first appeared on Spiritual Tools for an Outrageous World. Hosted on Acast. See acas...

Dear Friends,“Who is G-d?  What is G-d?”  This week’s talk begins with that question and evolves from there!  Join us for a free wheeling tour through ideas ranging from basic beliefs to the giving of the Torah to achieving harmony in a world where all of us are given certain desires in our hearts and then told not to act upon them!  What sense does that make?  A lot actually, as we explore the ro...

Dear Friends,When we received the Torah at Mount Sinai, Hashem looked at the pureness of our hearts and asked, who will guarantee that our hearts will remain like this always?  We said that “we” would guarantee it.  But the Gemara teaches (Avodah Zarah 5a) that that was the wrong answer!  We should have said “Hashem, You guarantee that we stay this way!”  Contained here is a fundamental lesson abo...

Dear Friends,Our Holy tradition teaches that Hashem created the world with the letters of the aleph-bais.  With this in mind, our Sages teach in the Talmud (Shabbos 104) that there is a system called A”t B”ash where we reimagine words by exchanging the last letter of the alphabet for the first letter, the second to last letter of the alphabet for the second letter and so on.  More than just “playi...

To understand the nature of the Purim miracle is to understand life itself.  In this week’s talk we look into it, while first beginning with an appreciation of what it means that historically the events of Purim transpired during the holiday of Passover. The post Understanding The Miracle of Purim first appeared on Spiritual Tools for an Outrageous World. The post Understanding The Miracle of Puri...

Dear Friends,How many wings does an angel have?  This may sound like the most esoteric of questions, but the Torah actually tells us the answer — and even better how many they have today (hint – two fewer).  We also discuss the story of Yoseph and how he prepared for his fateful encounter with his brother before he was sold. The post How Many Wings Does an Angel Have? first appeared on Spiritual T...

Dear Friends,In this week’s talk, we explore a wide array of ideas associated with Hanukah, from it being historically the last holiday to be added to the Jewish calendar, to the fact that it must be celebrated in a person’s home, to it’s yearly connection to the story of Joseph, the amazing story of a little known Jewish hero, and beyond. The post Hanukah – An Overview first appeared on Spiritual...

Dear Friends,This week’s Torah portion is unique in the Torah in that there are no “breaks”  — no white spaces within it.  It is no coincidence that this portion also contains the account of Yakov, Jacob our forefather, running for his life, finding his soulmate, entering into the business world and raising a family.  If you think you don’t have any time in your schedule to do anything — then this...

Dear Friends,We are living through a time often called the “age of information”.  Ironically, the barrage coming at us can often obscure that which is most essential to keep in the forefront of our consciousness.  In other words, sometimes the more we know the less we end up knowing!  In this week’s talk we pull the lens way back to observe the overall pattern that informs not only our personal li...

Dear Friends, In our quest to become closer with Hashem, and attaching ourselves to Him through the mitzvahs, we must be careful not to turn our spirituality into a straight jacket.  In this week's talk, we discuss some strategies on how to avoid this very common trap. The post Making Sure Reverence Doesn’t Become a Straightjacket first appeared on Spiritual Tools for an Outrageous World . Ho...

Dear Friends,Think good and it will be good!  Most of our lives are spent either thinking about what’s already happened or worrying about what hasn’t happened yet.   Meanwhile, the only thing that’s actually is going on — the right now of it all — gets buried turning us into bystanders in our lives.  How can we strip away the distractions and zero in on the now?  In this week’s talk we discuss som...

Dear Friends,What did Avraham know that Noach didn’t?  Also, we compare the first two great couples Adam and Eve and Avraham and Sarah to see what the numerical differences in their names teaches us about their similiarities and differences.  We also explore something that has puzzled me for a long time — namely, how we make sense of the Kabbalistic tradition that the generation of the flood is re...

On the one hand, G-d is everywhere.  And yet, on perhaps an even deeper level, G-d charges us with awesome responsibility of revealing His oneness!  The ark Noah built had precise measurements.  The Hebrew word for measurements is “Middos” — a word more commonly understood as character traits.  In this week's talk, we discuss how… The post The Perfect Construct – Noah’s Ark and...

Dear Friends,The question is, if we know that whatever is going on in the Torah portion of the week is going on in the world — why aren’t we reading the portion of Bereisheet which deals with creation of the world on Rosh Hashana? The post The Real Beginning first appeared on Spiritual Tools for an Outrageous World. The post The Real Beginning first appeared on Spiritual Tools for an Outrageous Wo...

Dear Friends,What can be said about the holiest day of the year?   Here are some thoughts to get us ready for the day.  Wishing all of you the sweetest sweetest year! The post Yom Kippur 2009 first appeared on Spiritual Tools for an Outrageous World. The post Yom Kippur 2009 first appeared on Spiritual Tools for an Outrageous World. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Did you know that according to the Beis Yaakov (The second Ishbitzer Rebbe), deep down, every person believes they created themselves? If Rosh Hashanah is all about making Hashem King, how can I succeed if I’ve carved out a realm separate from G-d? Happy New Year! The post Liberating the Fortress – Rosh Hashanah 2009 first appeared on Spiritual Tools for an Outrageous World. The post Liberating th...