The Jewish Mind

Shavout: Enter The 50th Gateway of Essence by Rabbi Avrohom Lipszyc

"When everything is made to be broken, I just want you to know who i am" -Iris, Goo Goo Dolls

Understand what took place at Mount Sinai, giving us, the offspring, that which even our forefathers did not have

What Mordechai tells Esther about her individual destiny

When going head to head with the Evil Inclination, the fight just gets to hard. However, there is a better way!

The world we live in looks and feels like such a dark and chaotic jungle. Why then does G-d call it His garden?

There is nothing to fear but the fear of fear. Do not try to eliminate fear. Rather, be brave and face your fear, accept your fear, and move forward nonetheless.

For a G-d who does not appear to me regularly, can be no G-d of mine.

The Five Books of Moses documented one universal flood, while the Zohar documents a second one, which we are living through today.

Topics explored in this class: *How do we continuously keep a conscious awe of G-d's presence? *What are there so many blessings to say in Judaism? *What do mitzvoit accomplish? *Why is he/she so blessed with abundance, joy, love and health, when I do so much more good than he/she does, and have so little?!

Faith is not an easy way out of knowing and understanding. Rather, we must diligently work on understanding today that which we could only believe yesterday, all the while opening up faith to unprecedented realms of G-d within our life.

Why G-d walks us through sins in order to have us reach the Promised Land?!

Pinchas is awarded for killing two people. Why?

Life is all about the balance between passion and actions

Understanding the deeper dimension of the dialogue between Moses and Korach.

Understanding the mystical secret of the Tallit -Prayer Shawl

Plan B is the Original Plan, only that we have to first go through Plan A, in order to get to the chosen Plan B.

Why did G-d bring us out into the desert in order to give us the Torah?

"Hurt people, hurt people." So, why do we punish others when they do us wrong...

Once upon a time it was our job as parents to protect our children from exposure to indecency. Today, we must empower our children for when they will be exposed to indecency.

What does G-d want, when He commands us to be holy?

Can one learn to have faith in G-d? Can the rational adult thinking mind accept faith? Or, is it time for some inner-child work...

The physical and metaphysical power of keeping kosher is of great magnitude. Learn why.

"Here the son asks, 'what [is this night different...]'" Understanding the mystical journey of the Passover Seder

Does True Creativity Even Exist?

19. Terumah Class "Finding Our Inner-Sanctuary" by Rabbi Avrohom Lipszyc

18. Mishpatim Parsha Class: "G-d and Slavery" by Rabbi Avrohom Lipszyc

17. Yithro Class: "An Unorthodox View Of Religion Vs Spirituality" by Rabbi Avrohom Lipszyc

15. Parsha Bo Class: Why The Darkness? by Rabbi Avrohom Lipszyc

16. B'shalach Parsha Class: When Your Sea Splits by Rabbi Avrohom Lipszyc

Printed Lecture: https://www.dropbox.com/s/3to1z0wxcg7y8ub/14.%20Vaiera%205781%20--Two%20Holy%20Brothers%20Within%20Us.pdf?dl=0

Would G-d appear to you or I?

Link to the written lecture: https://www.dropbox.com/s/g9o05zeqnn6izx4/13.%20Shemos%20--Roots.pdf?dl=0

Yes, it is a long class, but I DOUBLE DARE you to listen to the last piece from 52:50 to the end. I dare you to be able to hear it, argue with it, accept it, and to heal with it! Learn about the one relationship that will make or break every other relationship we will ever have

Link to the printed Lecture: https://www.dropbox.com/s/l20j9h6mqd0wwgq/12.%20Vayechi%20-The%20Mysticism%20of%20You.pdf?dl=0

12. Parsha Zoom Class: Vayechi by Rabbi Avrohom Lipszyc

11. Parsha Class Vayigash 5781 by Rabbi Avrohom Lipszyc

10. Parsha Class: Mikaitz - Chanukah by Rabbi Avrohom Lipszyc

Link to typed out Lecture: https://www.dropbox.com/s/lbc0yv5t1ebirwb/9.%20Vayeishev-Chanukah%20--Daughters%20of%20Zion.pdf?dl=0

9. Parsha Class Vayieshev - Chanukah by Rabbi Avrohom Lipszyc

link to written notes of this week's lecture: https://www.dropbox.com/s/3yl2g7ie07jf2ng/8.%20Vayishlach%205781%20--The%20Peaceful%20Battle.pdf?dl=0

8. Vayislach 5781 by Rabbi Avrohom Lipszyc

An enthralling exploration into the purpose of life's struggles

7. Parshat Vayeitzei 5781 by Rabbi Avrohom Lipszyc

*Brief overview of the Parsha *Insights into the Parsha *Mystical exploration, with practical application

According to Kabbalah and Chassidus, the two primary emotions of the human are Love and Fear. And being as such, it is fair to say that Love and Fear are the primary emotional needs of the human. Yet, while most people are nodding in agreement concerning the human need for the experiencing love --in both, the giving and the receiving--, nevertheless, with very few exceptions, most are vehemently nodding their head in disagreement, concerning the human need of experiencing fear. Well, for starters, the emotion of fear received a bad rap in recent history. Franklin D. Roosevelt, elected as the 32nd President of the United States of America, in the times of the Great Depression, in his inaugural speech, paraphrased  Henry David Thoreau, “Nothing is so much to be feared as fear”), by saying, “So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is … fear itself.” A little more research as to the origination of this quote will take us to the great sixteenth century French writer Michel de Montaigne, who wrote, “The thing of which I have most fear is fear,” after which, in the seventeenth century, the English writer, Francis Bacon, wrote in his 1623 book De Augmentis Scientiarum: “Nil terribile nisi ipse timor,” or “Nothing is terrible except fear itself.” Moreover, as the ancient wisdom of Martial Arts made its way to the shores of America, many taught and perceived a severely perverse notion of the maturity in one facing his inner-fears, with an immature slogan of, “No Fear!” as if this was a desired ideal for the perfection of humanity. This is not true at all. Rather, one would best embrace, “There is nothing to fear but the fear of fear!” Fear, in itself, is a divine emotion, deeply embedded within the human being precisely because (-Genesis 1:27), “And G-d created man in His image; in the image of G-d He created him.” However, as has been the history of human intervention into the course of nature, mankind has oft set themselves to remove what they understand to be but an unnecessary unpleasant component, only to realize that by doing so, they have upset the greater balance of the ecosystem, the biology system or the human psyche system. So, I say, “Give fear a chance!” In this lecture, based primarily on a maamor the Rebbe delivered, on this Shabbat in 1953, we are going to explore the divinity of the emotion of fear, as it serves to the human’s healthy state of mind

To live life is to live with the greatest conundrum of all, and to embrace the two antithetical working psyches in every breath that we take. And yet, so many have mastered it. And the gift of its mastery is not necessarily wealth, power or fame. Rather, it is but sheer true contentment. When every part of us feels acknowledged, validated, respected, safe and nurtured, what we feel is sheer true contentment. And no amount of power or pleasure in the world can buy that or even sustain that. In this lecture, we are going to explore the antithetical dualism that exists within us from the angel of our mechanical living and our passionate living. Yes, many clinch the challenge of this dualism by working all week, while enjoying the weekends, working for months, while enjoying vacation weeks, and by fulfilling our duties, and then enjoying our hobbies. For those of us who have abused our passions, transforming them into obsessions and even addictions, for those of us who pay the price with debilitating depression, and even the High-End Addicts, who successfully maintain their duties, therapy lies in, “Go back to the essentials,” such as morning showers, brushing teeth, and making beds. Yes, the road back is through working the Mechanical Life. And for those for us who have succumbed to the squareness of the essentials, killing our passion, dreams and adventurous side, living completely in rote, our therapy is to take a vacation, an excursion, and to find a hobby we do only because we enjoy doing it. Here we are going to explore whether we can consummate our innate antithetical dualism, rather than feed them separately, and we are going to explore this by first exploring the spiritual source to this dualism. This lecture is based primarily on a maamor the Rebbe delivered, on this Shabbat in 1969, exploring the life of Sarah, as summed up with the verse (-Genesis 32:11), “And the life of Sarah was one hundred years and twenty years and seven years; [these were] the years of the life of Sarah.”

5. Parsha Chaya Sarah Class: "Matchmaker, Matchmaker, Make Me a Match..." by Rabbi Avrohom Lipszyc

Stephen Covey in his bestselling book, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, defines the fifth habit as, “Seek first to understand, then to be understood.” Seeking real understanding affirms the other person and what they have to say. That's what they want. That's what we all want --to be understood, valued and affirmed. John F. Kennedy, in his Inaugural Address, delivered on January 20, 1961, said, “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” That’s what we all want, to be part of a greater whole, in which what we give is magnified in that which we will receive in turn. There is no true spirituality, I believe, in which one only seeks to understand, but not to be equally understood, and in which one seeks only to do, but not to have done for them as well. As a matter-a-fact, I will suggest that only doing and giving, in a relationship, without being willing to receive, is maybe the worst form of being passive-aggressive in a relationship, because love, caring and commitment is created in the giving, and not in the receiving. Thus, by only understanding and giving, without allowing for the other to understand and to give, is to only allow for your own feelings in a relationship, without allowing for, nor making any room for the other’s feeling. Thus, in a spiritual relationship, it must be a two-way relationship, in which each are both, giving and receiving, help from each other. This lecture is based primarily on a maamor the Rebbe delivered, on this Shabbat in 1969, exploring the spiritual depth of the verse (-Psalms 111:8), “Steadfast forever, made in truth and uprightness,” according to the interpretation of the holy Zohar.

*Brief overview of the Parsha *Insights into the Parsha *Mystical exploration, with practical application