Anger, says Rav Kook, is really understandable, though not excusable.  By understanding what it is, we can understand how we are supposed to respond to it when it comes…

To a certain extent, we expert our words – ‘our black fire’ – to have effect.  But there is a certain point at which we invert our perspective and our expectations, and we understand that it is in fact not about us at all. Then we start to let the ‘us’ dissolve, and then…

We continue in our wide view of how personality and interaction actually function by looking at a variety of traits that make up a situation.  Today we explore tikkun and tochachah, which fit quite well with our recent work on anger and love.  We have learned that ‘anger=time to connect’, but how do we connect?  [...]

The penitent metzorah receives 7 sprinkles of blood – why seven?  Someone who has been in contact with a dead body need be sprinkled only one time, but on two separate days.  What is unique about the metzorah?

New class!  What is kavod?  What does it mean to pursue it or be pursued by it?  Heavy-respect-honor-glory.  Honor of G-d and honor of man.  Giving and receiving kavod.  rebbe nachman torah 6 4 12 10

Alan Morinis was here this Shabbat, and we talked a lot about practice and mussar.  So we are reexamining our Monday class in that light, trying to build in more practice to keep it real.  Today we talked about love of G-d.  Rav Kook says it is inherent and inevitable.  Not everyone thinks so.  rav [...]

In this class, we discuss one of the most esoteric of Rebbe Nachman’s concepts – the column of souls wherein each of us occupies a space that is unique but completely related to the one above and below.  When we move, the one above us moves in a certain way.  Very deep stuff.