The Greatest Decision You Can Make
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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): וְעָשׂוּ לִי מִקְדָּשׁ וְשָׁכַנְתִּי בְּתוֹכָם (And they shall make for Me a Mishkan, and I…

Transforming Nishmah into Na’aseh

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 וְנִשְׁמָע (All that Hashem spoke we will do [na’aseh] and we will hear [nishma]). And…

Does War Exempt Us from Simchah?
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Does War Exempt Us from Simchah?

A Practical Strategy to Survive the Darkness Let’s be honest. No matter who we are or what we do, the war is taking its toll on us, sucking away our vitality. Many of us are sad or depressed. Grief, despair, worry, and sleepless nights are all on the rise. We are either directly suffering from…

Sanctifying the Menorah of Our Face
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Sanctifying the Menorah of Our Face

A ‘How-to’ Guide for Likutei Moharan 21:2 In last week’s article entitled They Found One Sealed Flask of Oil, we discussed the meaning of a rather cryptic statement in the Sifra di’Tzniuta (Zohar ha-Kadosh, Terumah 178a): עַתִּיקָא טָמִיר וסָתִים זְעֵירָא דְּאַנְפִּין אִתְגַּלְיָיא ולָא אִתְגַּלְיָיא (Atika is hidden and sealed; Ze’ir Anpin is reveal and not…

Victory Over the Evil Inclination
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Victory Over the Evil Inclination

Yaakov’s Encounter with the Ministering Angel of Esav After Yaakov Avinu conducted his family and possessions across the river when returning to what would eventually become known as Eretz Yisrael, we read the following in the Torah (Bereshit 32:25): וַיִּוָּתֵר יַעֲקֹב לְבַדּוֹ וַיֵּאָבֵק אִישׁ עִמּוֹ עַד עֲלוֹת הַשָּׁחַר (And Yaakov was left alone, and a…

The Valley of Achor for a Petach Tikvah
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The Valley of Achor for a Petach Tikvah

How One Man’s Sin Led to the Death of 36 Soldiers We are living through the greatest time of trouble experienced by Yaakov in over 75 years (and in certain respects, the most dangerous time that we have ever experienced on a global level), as it is written (Yirmeyahu 30:7): הוֹי כִּי גָדוֹל הַיּוֹם הַהוּא…