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That’s the kind of struggle we find ourselves in, according to the Tikkun (spiritual repair)ei Zohar. This passage from Tikkunei Zohar 85 throws us right into the middle of such a ...
The Tikkun (spiritual repair)ei Zohar, a central text of Kabbalah, dives right into this, and its answer might surprise you. It speaks of the two chambers of the heart – and asks, ...
The Tikkun (spiritual repair)ei Zohar, a central text of Kabbalah, speaks of just such a phenomenon. It describes those "dark-ones" that cover our eyes, preventing us from truly be...
That’s kind of the world of the Tikkun (spiritual repair)ei Zohar, a mystical text that delves into the deepest secrets of creation and redemption. And sometimes, it all hinges on…...
The Tikkun (spiritual repair)ei Zohar, a later expansion and "repair" of the Zohar itself, dives deep into these mystical sounds, exploring how different combinations of letters an...
It all hinges on the image of a dove and an eagle. The "dove," the Tikkun (spiritual repair)ei Zohar tells us, is prayer itself. More specifically, it represents the Lower Shekhina...
We're going to explore the significance of the Hebrew letter Yod (י) – that tiny little mark that looks like an apostrophe hanging in the air. Why the Yod? What makes it so special...
It might be more true than you think. The Tikkun (spiritual repair)ei Zohar, a profound and expansive companion to the Zohar, unlocks some truly beautiful, and sometimes challengin...
Jewish tradition is full of stories about overcoming impossible odds, and today, we're diving into one of those stories, found within the mystical depths of the Tikkun (spiritual r...
Jewish mysticism, especially the Zohar, often grapples with this feeling when discussing the Shekhinah (the Divine Presence). What exactly is the Shekhinah? It's the divine feminin...
It describes a time when God, so to speak, is "in the darkness," enclothed in tohu and bohu – "chaos and void," and ḥoshekh and tehom – "darkness and abyss." Imagine the universe b...
And they had a very specific solution, deeply rooted in love, connection, and the very structure of the Shm’a, that central Jewish prayer. The Tikkun (spiritual repair)ei Zohar, a ...
"God has made one thing opposite the other" (Ecclesiastes 7:14). The Tanya's sixth chapter maps the dark side of the soul's architecture. Just as the divine soul has ten holy sefir...
"The rank of benoni is attainable by every person," the Tanya declares in chapter fourteen, "and each person should strive after it." This is Rabbi Schneur Zalman's most democratic...
Chapter thirty of the Tanya instructs: "Be humble of spirit before every person" (Avot 4:10)—and it means every person, including the worst person you can imagine. How is this poss...
Rabbi Nachman of Breslov taught that the Torah is not just a text to study. It is a key that unlocks every prayer and opens every closed door. When a person engages deeply with Tor...
Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev opens his commentary on Parshat Vayera (Genesis 18:1) with a puzzle: the Torah says "God appeared to him," using only the pronoun "him" instead of...
God's command to Abraham—"Go forth from your land, your birthplace, and your father's house" (Genesis 12:1)—reads like travel instructions. Rebbe Elimelech of Lizhensk, in his comm...
The opening of Parashat Vayera—"And God appeared to him at the terebinths of Mamre" (Genesis 18:1)—seems straightforward. Abraham is sitting at his tent, and God appears. But Rebbe...
I mean, everything! Think of it as the ultimate hard drive, loaded with every app, every file, every program imaginable – and even the ones unimaginable! According to some of our a...
The verse (Exodus 13:3) states, "and chametz shall not be eaten." The passive phrasing — "shall not be eaten" rather than "you shall not eat" — caught the attention of Rabbi Yoshiy...
Rabbi Yitzchak disagreed with Rabbi Yoshiyah's reading of (Exodus 13:3), "and chametz shall not be eaten." He argued that the passive phrasing was not needed to equate the feeder w...
Rabbi Elazar ben Azaryah, one of the most prominent Tannaitic sages, made a bold claim about why God chose to liberate Israel from Egypt. It was not because of anything the enslave...
(Exodus 13:5) states, "And it shall be, when the Lord brings you to the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Hivvite, and the Jebusite." That is five nations. But J...
Rabbi Yoshiyah tackled a question about the scope of the commandment of first fruits, bikkurim. (Deuteronomy 26:2) commands, "Then you shall take of all the fruits of the earth." R...
The verse (Exodus 13:7) commands, "Matzoth shall be eaten the seven days, and chametz shall not be seen unto you." A straightforward reading suggests these two rules — eat matzah, ...
"and chametz shall not be seen unto you, and se'or shall not be seen unto you": chametz is likened to se'or, and se'or to chametz. Just as the one may not be seen, so, the other. J...
The Torah's prohibition against possessing chametz during Passover seems absolute. But the rabbis of the Mekhilta identified important exceptions based on two principles: domain an...
The Torah prohibits chametz in two locations during Passover: in your houses and in your boundaries. But a careful reader might wonder whether these two prohibitions share the same...
(Ibid. 16) "And it shall be as a sign upon your hand, etc.": In four places, the mitzvah of tefillin (leather phylacteries worn during prayer) is mentioned: (Exodus 13:1-10) "Sanct...
The Hebrew word "nacham" appears in the Exodus narrative, and the Mekhilta pauses to clarify its meaning. While "nacham" can mean "to comfort" or "to regret" in other contexts, her...
(Ibid.) "And chamushim did the children of Israel go up from the land of Egypt": "chamushim" indicates "armed," as in (Joshua 1:14) "Then you shall cross over chamushim" (in contex...
In what lies in the other ark it is written (Exodus 20) "I am the L–rd your G–d," and of Joseph it is written (Genesis 50:19) "Am I in the place of G–d?" In what lies in this ark i...
Now the nations will clang to us like a bell, saying: Now if these (Jews), who were under their thumb, they let go and they left, why should we send to Aram Naharayim and to Aram T...
Four "harnessed" with joy: Abraham—(Genesis 22:3) "And Abraham rose early in the morning (for the binding of Isaac), and he saddled his ass." Now did he not have many servants?—(He...
The Mekhilta observes that the nations surrounding Israel relied on one consistent tool to guide their decisions: divination. The evidence runs through multiple books of the Torah ...
At that time, Israel were like a dove fleeing the hawk and seeking refuge in the cleft of the rock, where the serpent hissed. If she enters within—the serpent; if she goes out—the ...
The Mekhilta records an astonishing claim: God split the Red Sea not because of anything the Israelites had done, but because of a promise He had made to their forefather Abraham c...
Rabbi Eliezer HaModai preserved one of the most extraordinary statements God ever made about the people of Israel. When Moses cried out at the Red Sea, God responded: "Why do you c...
The Mekhilta reveals a pattern in God's use of wind as an instrument of judgment — a pattern that connects the destruction of Egypt at the Red Sea to two earlier catastrophes in hu...
An analogy: A dove, fleeing a hawk, enters a king's palace, whereupon the king opens the eastern window for her, whence she escapes. The hawk, following, the king closes all the wi...
The Mekhilta offers a vivid and unsettling analogy for divine power over the nations. Picture a man holding eggs in his hand. He tilts his hand just slightly, barely a movement, an...
R. Eliezer Hamodai says: "And the dew layer ascended": (homiletically) there arose the prayers of our forefathers who were buried in the earth, on the face of the ground. "and, beh...
Rabbi Elazar Hamodai expanded the promise of Sabbath observance far beyond three festivals. Where Rabbi Yehoshua linked Shabbat (the Sabbath) to Pesach (Passover), Shavuot, and Suc...
Rabbi Eliezer Hamodai calculated exactly how long the manna lasted after the death of Moses: seventy days. Not a rough estimate — a precise count, worked out from the calendar itse...
Rabbi Elazar Hamodai reveals a chilling detail about Amalek's attack. The Israelites were protected by the Clouds of Glory — miraculous formations that surrounded the camp on all s...
Amalek's attack on Israel was not a matter of geography or convenience. Rabbi Yehudah teaches that Amalek actually bypassed five other nations to reach the Israelites. He had to cr...
Rabbi Eliezer Hamodai offered a different interpretation of why Moses told Joshua to "go out" and fight Amalek—and his version cuts deeper. According to Rabbi Eliezer, Moses challe...
