The Sfat Emet understands the words “Lekh Lekha” as a call for constant movement towards spiritual growth and renewal–a fight against habituation and staleness. As we listen to the call of Lekh Lekha, what habituation must we counter? In what aspects of our spiritual lives can we find hitchadshut?
פרשת יתרו What transforms an external encounter with God into internal intimacy? Through notarikon (Jewish letter mysticism), students discover that God’s first word at Sinai, אָנֹכִי, secretly contains the message: “I gave My very soul into this writing.” Drawing on Beer Mayim Chaim and Likutei Moharan, students explore how a single letter (the כ) signals […]
The Mishkan’s wooden planks contain a hidden secret: קרש (plank) is the letters of קשר (bond) rearranged. The Shem MiShmuel uses this to explore the connection between Torah learning (sweet like honey) and mitzvah performance (described as a foundation). Students discover that a complete Jewish life requires three elements: knowledge, action, and the kavvanah that […]
This limmud explores the spiritual danger of being singled out and the remedy the Torah provides. Through an experiential counting ritual, students discover how distinction can lead to forgetting our Source and to separation from the community. The Tiferet Yosef’s teaching on the half-shekel offers a practical tool: embracing incompleteness as a way to stay […]
This limmud is the summary at the end of the first section of Rav Dov Singer’s essay “The Source of Life if With You.” This limmud invites us to focus on the metaphor of place and make connections between our work as educators and HaShem’s work as creator.
This limmud is an excerpt of the introduction to Rav Dov Singer’s essay “The Source of life is with you.” This limmud is intended to introduce the idea of metaphor as a tool educators can use to enrich their inner world. By reframing our work with these metaphors, Rav Dov asserts that we can find […]
Why We Don’t Say Hallel on Purim Rav Hutner reveals that Purim’s “missing” Hallel isn’t missing at all, it’s hidden within the Megillah itself. This limmud explores how the form of our praise must match the essence of the miracle: revealed miracles require revealed Hallel, but hidden miracles demand הלל גנוז Hallel concealed within the […]
This limmud explores the spiritual danger of being singled out and the remedy the Torah provides. Through an experiential counting ritual, students discover how distinction can lead to forgetting our Source and to separation from the community. The Tiferet Yosef’s teaching on the half-shekel offers a practical tool: embracing incompleteness as a way to stay […]
The Sod Yesharim on the Four Sons – סוד ישרים על ארבעה בנים What if you already had everything waiting for you, but couldn’t get there? The Sod Yesharim of Radzyn reads the four sons not as types of children, but as four ways of wrestling with the deepest question of Jewish life: if God […]
