Six Things to Clarify
Posted in Questions in the Bible on May 23rd, 2011
There are six things that one must clarify: Who am I? Where am I? Where did I come from? Where am I going? Who put me here? Why?
Tag Archive 'faith'
Never Too Late
Posted in Uncategorized on May 18th, 2011
Never give up. It’s never too late. Apparent irreversible damage is also reversible. Even when it’s all over it’s not over. Life goes on. Maybe it will be through messianic genetic engineering. But however it be, we believe that the dead will come back to life. Regarding our present world order, Rebbe Nachman said that [...]
The Heart and Mind of Dealing with Enemies
Posted in Uncategorized on May 16th, 2011
There are three ways to deal with enemies: surrender, fight, or make peace by neutralizing the root of their animosity.
The Ba’al Shem Tov told it as a story. Once a king called one of his officers and sent him on a secret mission, saying: I desire to test the loyalty of my subjects. Dress yourself as a king and go from state to state throughout my dominion; try your hardest to persuade and win over the people to rebel against me and accept you as king.
Close to God
Posted in Uncategorized on May 10th, 2011
The sign of having done a good deed is feeling close to God. Feeling far, estranged from God is the sign of having done something wrong. The 11th of the 13 Principles of Faith outlined by Maimonides is faith in reward and punishment. There is the reward and punishment of the future, in the World [...]
Freedom of Speech
Posted in Uncategorized on Apr 14th, 2011
In Hebrew, the word for Passover, Pesach (פסח), reads Peh Sach (פה סח), “a talking mouth.” Pesach celebrates freedom, first and foremost – freedom of speech.
Not a Body
Posted in Uncategorized on Apr 7th, 2011
One of our basic tenets of faith in God, in the words of Maimonides: “He is not a body and not a power in a body.” God is both omnipresent and omnipotent. Maimonides explains that if He were corporal (“a body”) He could not be omnipresent (in heavens above and earth below simultaneously and uniformly), [...]
Bittersweet is the Sweetest
Posted in Elisha's Skepticism on Mar 9th, 2011
The Ba’al Shem Tov taught that Amalek (עמלק, 240), Israel’s archenemy, is equal to “doubt” (ספק). No doubt that he is the original skeptic. Amalek = doubt = “bitter” (מר). As we saw previously, a sick soul “puts bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.” For Amalek, there’s nothing sweeter than to doubt. Some people [...]
Elisha’s Chaotic Sleep
Posted in Elisha's Skepticism on Mar 9th, 2011
Elisha Ben Avuya was dubbed Acher, “other,” because he left the side of Torah (the side of faith) and went to the “other side” (the side of heresy). In sleep one turns from side to side. The more uncomfortable one is the more one turns sides, seeking rest on the other side. As things become [...]
Accepting our Mental Limitations
Posted in Uncategorized on Mar 3rd, 2011
Don’t weaken your mind by trying too hard to understand things that are above your ability to comprehend. Our minds are limited, they function within a finite domain, a finite universe. As we mature and use our minds as best we can our mental universe expands, and the expansion factor grows, accelerates. But the universe [...]
What, How and Why
Posted in Tweets from the year 5771 on Feb 24th, 2011
Three great questions: What? How? Why? What‘s out there (or in here), how did it get there, and why was it put there? Science is good at what. Not so good at how. But why is totally beyond it. In Kabbalah, what is wisdom, how is understanding, and why is knowledge. Sometimes understanding is identified [...]