The Baal Shem Tov, or Besht —  the founder of Chasidism — 
met the soul of the Messiah during an ascent to heaven. 
The Besht asked him, "When will the Master come?" 
The Messiah answered, "When your wellsprings break forth to the outside!" 
(from a letter written by the Besht to his brother-in-law about one of his soul ascents) 

Divrei Torah and Teachings 

The previous generations mastered the keys to unlock all the gates of the worlds above. But the time has come to smash the locks!

Who says, I will sin and then atone...

One who says, I will sin and I will return, I will sin and I will return
there is not enough in his hand to do t'shuvah...

Ramak: "Love your fellow species like yourself"

Moshe Cordovero on the need to extend human ethical principles to animals and other lviing creatures.

God's "body"

Heikhalot Rabbati on seeing the cosmos as the body of God.

The Torah's Only "Inalienable Right": for the Land

Reb Duvid's Tikkun article on the intersection of human rights and ecology. How can human rights become part of ecology? "Human Rights and Ecology" breaks new theological ground, and includes a section on the Bedouin.

Liberation and the Land

"An Earth Covenant Perspective on Human Rights" taught at the first Rabbis for Human Rights Conference in NYC.

Vashti is Shekhinah

The Izhbitzer rebbe on Vashti the queen.

Longer meditations on Pri Etz Hadar

Imagine a Jewish practice which has the purpose of restoring all the species and creatures, and all the sparks they contain, to the fullness of blessing.

Chanukah v. Purim: Awakening from Above

The dreidel v. the grogger.

The Existential Dreidel

Rebbe Nachman's explanation for why we spin the Dreidel. Those letters on the Dreidel mean something completely different than you thought. Mind-blowing...

Redemption In Darkness

Some reflections on the meaning of Chanukah.

Rambam and the Earth

Maimonides' Guide is the foundation for any Jewish ecotheology.
from The Encyclopedia of Religion and Nature

Building the Body of Shekhinah

Redemption means achieving equality between the feminine and masculine divine principles, so teaches the Or Hame'ir.

Ein Banu Ma'asim

We have no deeds in us, neither good nor bad: A vort on Avinu Malkeinu.

An Offering In God's Image

On Shavuot, when we celebrate receiving the Torah, we also celebrate the offering of the first fruits in the Temple, the bikurim. The offering was a supremely humble gesture. Yet without the small, perhaps wrinkled fruit of the bikurim, there could be no offering...

Sparks of Pesach

The Besh"t on the Pesach sacrifice and raising the holy sparks.

The Mystery of Charoset

There's one important symbol that we don't explain or mention even once in the Passover seder: the charoset. Why?

Unlocking the Haggadah

The Beit Midrash Ruach v'Lev session on "Unlocking the Mysteries of the Haggadah"

Blessing for the first Tu Bish'vat Seder

From the first published seder, based on the Kabbalah of the four worlds. The seder calls on us to bring blessing to all creation.

Tu Bish'vat wisdom

Three teachings about how holy eating brings blessing to all life and all creatures, submitted by Jacob Fine.

What the mute world is saying

In this world, what is further below branches off from a higher place...

With your lips

Study and prayer are done with the lips and breath, not the eyes...

Dominion

Dominion in the Bible is not the anti-environmental concept that both environmentalists and anthropocentrists would imagine...

Maidi's Torah

Maidi Katz's Torah: on women's obligation to daven.

The Power to Heal - a story of the Neshkizer rebbe

This story about Rabbi Mordechai Shapiro of Neshkiz comes from Magid Yitzhak Buxbaum.

A Sukkot Embrace

Embrace is hinted at in the sukkah, just as a person embraces her child in love, encircling her with her arms, and sheltering her with her head...




 

Mini Menu

~
Who says, I will sin and then atone... ~
Ramak: "Love your fellow species like yourself" ~
God's "body" ~
The Torah's Only "Inalienable Right": for the Land ~
Liberation and the Land ~
Vashti is Shekhinah ~
Longer meditations on Pri Etz Hadar ~
Chanukah v. Purim: Awakening from Above ~
The Existential Dreidel ~
Redemption In Darkness ~
Rambam and the Earth ~
Building the Body of Shekhinah ~
Ein Banu Ma'asim ~
An Offering In God's Image ~
Sparks of Pesach ~
The Mystery of Charoset ~
Unlocking the Haggadah ~
Blessing for the first Tu Bish'vat Seder ~
Tu Bish'vat wisdom ~
What the mute world is saying ~
With your lips ~
Dominion ~
Maidi's Torah ~
~
The Power to Heal - a story of the Neshkizer rebbe ~
A Sukkot Embrace ~
Design in progress © Rabbi David Mevorach Seidenberg 2006, 2007