9. Vayeishev 5777: Listen Darkness My Old Friend ~Celebrating the energy of Chanukah

Darkness manifests itself in the human experience in a very personal way within him and around him. From the moment that Adam and Eve ate from the Tree of Knowledge, they have internalized evil, darkness and temptation within the human being. No more would some outer creature, such as the serpent, be the one to arouse within the human thoughts of temptations. Rather, from then on, the voice of temptation arise from within us. So too, the dark emotions of insecurity, fear and jealousy are not imposed upon us, but are aroused from within us. And these dark emotions and desires within us attract into our lives dark and challenging situations that we need to deal with, whether they be of the relationship, financial, or health nature. Chanukah was the story of the Jewish people engaging, rising up to, and transforming the darkness into an unprecedented Divine Light. Ultimately, this is the reason why G-d had in His original plan that Adam and Eve would sin, and experience darkness, for the original plan was for the unprecedented Divine Light of second chances, which is all about bringing the ultimate Essence Light, which can only come out of darkness. As you always experience with The Jewish Mind forum, first we will dive into the mystical spiritual teachings, and from there we will extrapolate the practical actions that will transform our practical daily life experience. --------------- Here is a link to the written notes of this lecture, which will be available until December 30, 2016, after which you can email [email protected] to request them: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/4614078/9.%20Vayeishev%205777%20-Listen%20Darkness%20My%20Old%20Friend%20-Celebrating%20the%20Energy%20of%20Chanukah.pdf