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 days of Moshe Rabbeinu. This group, known collectively as the Erev Rav ('mixed multitude'), is...
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 worship of the golden calf was instigated by a group of converts from Egypt known...
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 consider a rasha (see L.M. 282). He also teaches there the necessity of looking for...
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...
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...
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 mentioned in the original account in Shemot. Breaking into the middle of the story, Moshe...
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...
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...
The Meaning Behind the Miracles of Chanukah Three kinds of intelligence [שֵּׂכֶל, seichel] are capable of illuminating the mind of man. The lowest level corresponds to what each and every one of us is capable of achieving on his own provided that he goes through a normal step by step learning process. Of course, it...
Likutei Moharan 20 and Swords of Iron After Yaakov Avinu left Lavan, he went, as the expression goes, from the frying pan into the fire. His destiny was to come face to face with his brother Esav. Knowing that this was his destiny, he sent messengers to Esav (Bereshit 32:4): וַיִּשְׁלַח יַעֲקֹב מַלְאָכִים לְפָנָיו אֶל־עֵשָׂו...
Orach Chaim 230:5 and the Meaning of Real Emunah We often talk about the importance of having faith [emunah] but do we really understand what it means? Pause for a few moments and ask yourself. Don't just think about an answer, put your understanding into actual words. Speak it aloud, and try to use simple...
We are now in the final countdown to Rosh Hashanah 5784, and thoughts of teshuvah should be constantly in our minds. The question is, what is the essence of teshuvah that we need to be working on and how does it relate to the theme of Rosh Hashanah? Let's begin with Rosh Hashanah. As is...