THE REAL PROBLEM WITH ‘SOLA SCRIPTURA’
“God said to Moses: Come to Pharaoh, for I have made his heart and the heart of his servants stubborn so that I can put these signs of Mine in his midst; and so that you may relate them in the ears of your children and your children’s children that I made a mockery of […]
Passion
The Kotzker Rebbe taught: Gold and silver are purified through fire. If we feel no sense of purification or refinement after prayer, it may have lacked heat.
The Artist
“How abundant are Your works, Hashem; with wisdom You made them all, the earth is full of your possessions (Psalm 104:24). The Hebrew word for ‘possessions’ – kinyanecha – can be understood to mean “ways to acquire You”. The world is filled with God’s handiwork, and there are therefore infinite opportunities to sense His presence […]
Yearners
“I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob…” (Exodus 6:3) This seems to be a very straightforward and unambiguous statement being made by God to Moses. There would seem to be no need for any commentary to clear things up. Yet Rashi (R’ Shlomon ben Yitzchak, 11th century France) does comment here. His two […]
Are the lights out?
“…I will bring you out from under the burdens (sivlote) of Egypt…(Exodus 6:6) The Gerrer Rebbe points out that the word “sivlote” doesn’t only mean burdens – it can also imply tolerance. The Hebrew word “savlanute” means patience. He takes the verse to mean that Hashem will deliver us from being tolerant of our situation […]
Silent scream
In the awesome Ana B’Koach prayer we say: May the One who knows our secrets listen to our screams. R’ Tzadok HaKohen of Lublin asks: How can a scream be a secret? He answers: If we beg in our hearts, “I can’t anymore; please help me,” that’s a hidden scream that pierces the heavens and […]
Pharaoh’s hardened heart
This week’s Torah portion covers the first seven of the ten plagues. One of the great problems we come across are repeated references to God hardening Pharaoh’s heart. This seems to fly in the face of the major principle of the Torah that humans are responsible for their actions because we have free will. There […]
Praying for prayer
Someone once asked the Sanzer Rebbe what he did before he prayed. “I pray that I may be able to pray properly!”
How to live with wonder
“…remove your shoes from your feet, for the place upon which you are standing is holy ground.” (Exodus 3:5) How can we feel the holiness of the moments in our lives? The Baal Shem Tov had an incredible spin of this verse that provides a way. The Hebrew word for shoes (na’alecha) also carries the […]
What did I just do?
The power of the Yetzer Hara (Inner Adversary) lies in rushing a person to carry out an action right away, before he stops to consider and wonder about what he is doing. The deed is done and there he stands, deliberating after the fact. – Rabbi Yosef Yozel Hurwitz, the Alter of Novardok