New Eyes

HaShem has been doing some amazing things in my life. I've found some wonderful teachings. Rabbi Akiva Tatz is an awesome teacher. I don't know much about his background, but he has such a depth of knowledge, I'm fascinated by his insight. http://youtu.be/S8SnnXjp7Y4  This isn't the best video quality, but if you just listen to it, as I did, you will be fascinated by what he has to say.

I have such a hyper sensitivity right now. To what I hear and to what I see... I think it should be this way always. I am not interested in fiction or listening to silly stories on tape. I want only the truth.

This is a cool video about kosher animals. It's taped at the Jerusalem Zoo.

http://youtu.be/yATzOvbP-T8

Rabbi Twerski is a great counselor. http://youtu.be/hdj9MBZBLGU

Back to the beginning

I want my children to have a better understanding of Kashrus (Yiddish for the laws of Kosher). So I've decided to color code my kitchen for educational purposes.

I am also simplifying our life so that we can focus on improving our lives. I want us to focus more on Torah and HaShem.

I have been learning so many things from Rabbi Ashlag. Sin is a very pagan concept. Measure for Measure is a true concept. We are never separate from our Creator. Our connection is just limited by our choices. Our Creator gives to us in order for us to return the favor. Our will to receive for self alone is what keeps us from fulfilling our purpose. We need to change our perception to receive in order to bestow. If we are given a gift for no reason, this doesn't mean as much as when we earn something. If our very breath has been given to us by the Creator and that breath is a part of Him, how can we be sinners? How can we be evil and wretched when we are His Children? We have been given choices and it is our job to make choices that will change the mundane to holy.

When we choose to evaluate our lives and change the poor decisions we make into good decisions, we will be that much closer to our Tikkun.

I'm excited about the challenge to bring the mundane to holy.

Mikvah

14 Sivan 5771, I did it! I am so happy. Another wish come true. I have closed one chapter and opened another. I wish I could shout it from the mountain top. It was a truly wonderful experience. Baruch HaShem!

The Secret to Child Education

This came from Rav Laitman

Children will always want to be like adults. So if we want them to behave differently, we should first learn to do it ourselves

From the very first days of a child's life, we try to teach them the art of communication. We want children to "play beautifully," so we organize holidays and birthdays for them. We are concerned how to maximize their free time, and we spend considerable resources on educational games and training manuals for them. We are pleased when other adults can appreciate our children's intelligence and good manners. But we often forget that almost every day while children are at school they have to take the exam "for survival" among their peers.

Adults are always ready to meet children halfway, forgive and pity them, whereas in their relationships they have to fight with "fire and sword" for their rights: demand and give in, attack and defend, get used to their peers hostility towards them. And in spite of how much effort we spend to create an oasis for the child's happiness and prosperity, his real life happens outside our house.

There, in the big world, a child immediately has to learn to play according to different rules. He can see that the success and prosperity are earned with a lie, intrigues and brute force. But we ourselves have written these rules. Without taking notice of it, we accustom children to a policy of double standards. Every parent has roughly the same thoughts: "I am ready to do everything for my children to do well. And not just do well, but better than others."

With this "better than others" thinking we are slowly but consistently sawing the bough we sit on. At first children will subconsciously and then consciously adopt the rules of the game. The world is divided into "us" and "them" and if "they" stand in the way of our interests, they immediately become an ‘outlaw'. Outside of "our" law. Needless to say, we can see disastrous results of such an outlook in everyday life.

Is there an alternative? Kabbalah argues that yes, it exists, and by this way the interests of all will be taken into account. This means that regardless of affiliation to a certain group of people on social, national, religious and other grounds, every person is guaranteed respect for his vital interests. This will become not only the letter of the law, written in the constitution, but also inner aspiration of most people.

This is possible provided that everyone without exception follows the rule "anything that you hate, do not do to your friend". Simply by adhering to this rule, life would literally change, for the better, right before our eyes.

And children? Children will always want to be like adults. If we, the adults, begin to behave in another way, children will immediately imitate us. In kindergartens, schools and in the street, new games will appear in which children will learn from each other to live in a world of good. Therefore, the best that we can do for our children is to start with educating ourselves.

Kabbalah

I am having such a great time learning Kabbalah. It has opened my eyes to so many things. I wish I could explain it in a nutshell.

Here's a great video course on it: http://www.enterthezohar.com

Here's what www.kabbalah.info says:

10 Myths About Kabbalah

 

Myth #1: Kabbalah is a religion.
Fact: Kabbalah is a science - the physics of the overall reality. It is a wisdom that reveals the comprehensive reality that is normally hidden from our senses.

Myth #2: Kabbalah is connected to red strings and holy water.
Fact: There is no connection. Red strings, holy water and other products are a lucrative commercial invention created in the past two decades.
Myth #3: Kabbalah is reserved for a minority of persons and only men over 40 years of age are allowed to learn it.
Fact: During the exile Kabbalah was only studied by a few select individuals. However, since the time of the Ari (the 16th century), it is available to all.

Myth #4: Kabbalah deals with magic.
Fact: Kabbalah does not deal with magic or any other sorcery; rather, it deals with a pragmatic investigation of reality.

Myth #5: Kabbalah is a sect.
Fact: Kabbalah is a wisdom and a science open to every person without any restrictions.                                      

Myth #6: Kabbalah is related to “New Age” and is a trend - a passing phenomenon.
Fact: Kabbalah is humanity’s oldest wisdom. Its beginnings were approximately 5,000 years ago.

Myth #7: Kabbalah is related to tarot cards, astrology and numerology.
Fact: Tarot cards, astrology and numerology, in their mystical practice, have been mistakenly associated with Kabbalah.

Myth #8: There are amulets in Kabbalah.
Fact: In our world, there are no physical objects that bear any spiritual contents. Amulets can only help a person as a psychological support.

Myth #9: Kabbalah involves meditation.
Fact: Kabbalah does not involve meditation. Meditation is another element that was connected to the word “Kabbalah” amid its confusion in the last few centuries by non-Kabbalists.

Myth #10: One needs to have studied the Torah and Talmud prior to approaching Kabbalah books.
Fact: Without Kabbalah, one cannot understand the spiritual meaning of these texts, and is stuck with thinking that they refer to physical events and actions.

Torah study at the Temple

Vayishlach / וַיִּשְׁלַח

בראשית / Bereishit / Bereishis / Genesis 32:4-36:43

I went to the local reform temple today for study. I enjoyed the lesson very much. We read a verse and discussed it. It was just an open discussion about this portion of scripture. I got to thinking about our battle with perfectionism. Where does this come from?  We know we mess up. We're not perfect. We can't be. God gave us the freedom to choose right from wrong and we're going to make the wrong choice sometimes. So why do so many of us struggle with trying to do the impossible?

Just something to think about...

I believe... (Tennants of Jewish Faith)

13 Principles of Faith:

1. I believe with perfect faith that the Creator, Blessed be His Name, is the Creator and Guide of everything that has been created; He alone has made, does make, and will make all things.
2. I believe with perfect faith that the Creator, Blessed be His Name, is One, and that there is no unity in any manner like His, and that He alone is our God, who was, and is, and will be.
3. I believe with perfect faith that the Creator, Blessed be His Name, has no body, and that He is free from all the properties of matter, and that there can be no (physical) comparison to Him whatsoever.
4. I believe with perfect faith that the Creator, Blessed be His Name, is the first and the last.
5. I believe with perfect faith that to the Creator, Blessed be His Name, and to Him alone, it is right to pray, and that it is not right to pray to any being besides Him.
6. I believe with perfect faith that all the words of the prophets are true.
7. I believe with perfect faith that the prophecy of Moses our teacher, peace be upon him, was true, and that he was the chief of the prophets, both those who preceded him and those who followed him.
8. I believe with perfect faith that the entire Torah that is now in our possession is the same that was given to Moses our teacher, peace be upon him.
9. I believe with perfect faith that this Torah will not be exchanged, and that there will never be any other Torah from the Creator, Blessed be His Name.
10. I believe with perfect faith that the Creator, Blessed be His Name, knows all the deeds of human beings and all their thoughts, as it is written, "Who fashioned the hearts of them all, Who comprehends all their actions" (Psalms 33:15).
11. I believe with perfect faith that the Creator, Blessed be His Name, rewards those who keep His commandments and punishes those that transgress them.
12. I believe with perfect faith in the coming of the Messiah; and even though he may tarry, nonetheless, I wait every day for his coming.
13. I believe with perfect faith that there will be a revival of the dead at the time when it shall please the Creator, Blessed be His name, and His mention shall be exalted for ever and ever.

-Maimonides