To Know That We Don’t Know Anything
The Secret Kavanah of Brit Milah (Part 2) In last week’s article entitled Revealing a Tefach and Covering a Tefach, we began to explore a little bit of the hidden meaning of the mitzvah of brit milah. Guided by Likutei Moharan 63, we learned … Continued
Revealing a Tefach and Covering a Tefach
The Secret Kavanah of Brit Milah (Part 1) We accept the mitzvah of brit milah without question. Even some of the outwardly less-observant members of our nation, for example, those who desecrate the kedushah of Shabbat without even the slightest … Continued
The Real Meaning of Chevlei Mashiach
How Machloket Not for the Sake of Heaven Serves a Higher Purpose In last few articles from The Shoemaker Report we have taken the time to explain teachings from the Zohar ha-Kadosh and from the Vilna Gaon that state unequivocally … Continued
The Beautiful Maiden or the Evil Maidservant
The Secret of the Erev Rav (Part 3) In the past two issues of The Shoemaker Report, we examined the origins and characteristics of the souls of the converts who accompanied the Jewish People when they left Egypt in the … Continued
How to Blot Out the Memory of Amalek
The Secret of the Erev Rav (Part 2) In last week’s article, The Erev Rav Also Went Up With Them, we learned a number of important points related to the Erev Rav and their relationship to B’nei Yisrael. First, the … Continued
The Erev Rav Also Went Up With Them
The Secret of the Erev Rav (Part 1) R’ Yirmeyah ben Elazar taught (Eruvin 18b): כָּל אוֹתָן הַשָּׁנִים שֶׁהָיָה אָדָם הָרִאשׁוֹן בְּנִידּוּי הוֹלִיד רוּחִין וְשֵׁידִין וְלִילִין שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר ״וַיְחִי אָדָם שְׁלֹשִׁים וּמְאַת שָׁנָה וַיּוֹלֶד בִּדְמוּתוֹ כְּצַלְמוֹ״ מִכְּלָל דְּעַד הָאִידָּנָא לָאו כְּצַלְמוֹ … Continued
I’m Black, but Beautiful
How the Mishkan Was Built In what is perhaps his most well-known lesson in Likutei Moharan, R’ Nachman of Breslov explains the importance of looking for, and finding (!), the good points in every Jew, even in someone we might … Continued
The Greatest Decision You Can Make
Building the Mishkan: from Descent to Ascent In the beginning of Parashat Terumah, Hashem tells Moshe Rabbeinu to instruct B’nei Yisrael to bring donations of various materials in order to construct a sanctuary for Him to dwell in (Shemot 25:8): … Continued
Transforming Nishmah into Na’aseh
White Fire and Black Fire and the Mitzvah of Writing a Sefer Torah With hearts filled with emunah, B’nei Yisrael declared their willingness to accept all of the Torah even before they heard it (Shemot 24:7): כֹּל אֲשֶׁר־דִּבֶּר יְיָ נַעֲשֶׂה … Continued
Preserving Free Will at Matan Torah
Likutei Moharan 190 and Moshe’s Extra Day In Parashat Yitro, we read the account of Matan Torah, the Giving of the Torah. In Parashat Va’etchanan which relates what took place forty years later, Moshe Rabbeinu adds some details that weren’t … Continued