Real Torah for the Real World

The incense – all of me

gavriel — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 06:05:50 +0000

The incense is a gift from the angel of death. It was given to Moshe when he embraced his full humanness. When we embrace all the wonderfully flawed aspects of being a human, we can conquer death. parshat korach ketoret all of me

Rebbe Nachman Torah 6 – ratzo v’shov is like NASCAR

gavriel — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 06:02:18 +0000

Ratzo v’shov – the cycle of life – is like a NASCAR race. Two very different kinds of time. Mastering the balance between the two is essential. And quite possible.

Haviv – a shaliach mitzvah is MORE haviv than one who does it himself

gavriel — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 05:35:48 +0000

Doing the work to get invested in something that I am not naturally committed to – this is the highest level. The ability to make the mitzvah precious to me makes me precious to G-d. Only this movement TOWARD Hashem creates attachment.

Rebbe Nachman Torah 6 – why even bother?

gavriel — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 05:19:34 +0000

Rebbe Nachman is describing what happens at the top of the ladder – silence, shame, the Hidden, realization. But this would be a good time to be realistic about where, exactly, we are holding.

Rebbe Nachman – see, hear, and feel teshuva

gavriel — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 04:53:45 +0000

Rebbe Nachman speaks of the three points of teshuva – seeing, hearing, and heart-ing. Without all of them, it cannot be teshuva. First we have to see, to get a vision of what the new reality will look like. That’s hard enough, but it’s easy compared to the next two stages.

Rav Kook’s Yartzeit – in the middle of the coming of Moshiach

gavriel — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 04:45:25 +0000

Welcome back! We explore Rav Kook’s description of the Birthpangs of Moshiach – we’re right in the middle of it (hopefully closer to the end). Knowing what is happening allows us to stay afloat in such difficult times. Rav Kook’s prescription for how to manage is quite surprising.

A new, expansive place

gavriel — Tue, 04 May 2010 17:54:59 +0000

When we enter into a new ‘world’ – a new era, a new stage of life, we are beset by negative forces – illusion, desire, confusion. The way to move past these elements is to embrace the expansiveness of being a new place.

The towers we build

gavriel — Tue, 04 May 2010 03:58:42 +0000

We build up edifices to our own potency and power, and then hopefully realize it before it is too late. Our brains get wired that way – how (and when) can we rewire them?

Mussar – anger and the fractured ideal

gavriel — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 19:03:20 +0000

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…

Black fire and white fire

gavriel — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 18:52:12 +0000

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…