God, Give Me a Sign

What is Kabbalah?

Many pillars of Jewish belief are impossible to comprehend without studying Kabbalah. So why is it so misunderstood?

Mourner’s Kaddish: The Jewish Prayer for the Dead

The Mourner’s Kaddish is one of a number of important prayers said in the merit of the departed.

What Is Jewish Prayer?

Prayer plays an important role in Jewish life. What is it, and what’s the best way to use it?

Praying in a World Gone Mad

The specter of antisemitism is shaping my ongoing dialogue with God.

What Are Psalms and Why Should I Say Them?

With Israel under attack, every prayer matters. Here are the Psalms traditionally recited during times of war.

Three Meditations When Hearing the Shofar

What should you be thinking about as the shofar pierces the air?

Praying on Rosh Hashanah in 3 Easy Steps

Exploring the primary themes of the special Mussaf prayer.

6 Not-So-Obvious Benefits of Prayer

Surprising benefits of prayer that are backed by scientific studies.

Kabbala #1: What Is Kabbala?

Kabbala is the Torah's expression of the way the world works. Removed from its source, it's a lot of rubbish. (First in a series.)

Answered Prayers

If we pray with sincerity, there is no such thing as an unanswered prayer.

Why Pray If God Knows What’s Best?

Exploring the Jewish understanding of prayer.

Gal Gadot’s Favorite Jewish Prayer

The Israeli actress wakes up each morning with a prayer of thanks on her lips.

Gematria: Meaning, Code & Use

Numerology, code, and a deeper meaning of life,

Thank God for the Unanswered Prayers

Sometimes it’s the events that seem so wrong that end up saving us.

When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?

Why do human beings undergo a mini-death every night?

How to Pray For Something You Really Want

Ten steps to a powerful ask.

Rabbi Benjamin Blech

A Rabbi’s Confession: What I Discovered by Not Going to Shul

I prayed and learned Torah at home, but there was no way I could replace the communal aspect that only a synagogue supplies.

Sara Yoheved Rigler

Feeling God’s Presence During Covid-19

Henny Machlis’s recipe for treating the ills of the pandemic.

The Truest Prayers

They're not pretty. They begin when we put down the facade of competence and acknowledge that we can’t manage, we can’t handle, we can’t fix.

Kabbala #2: Perceiving the Infinite

How can we get a glimpse of God? Kabbala reveals how the Infinite interacts with humanity.

Kabbala #3: The Ten Sefirot

A Kabbalistic concept explaining the multiplicity of God's manifestations in the world helps us see how God is truly One.

Kabbala #4: Why 10?

Ten Sefirot are not "ten" by chance -- their number helps us understand the design of the entire world.

Kabbala #5: Prayer, Study and the Ten Sefirot

Prayer lifts us above a fragmented world, where we turn our focus to only One God, whose many attributes make up one cohesive union.

Kabbala #6: The Sefirot and the Divine Plan

God funnels His will through the primary Sefirot of intellect, creating a world where each event and interaction is part of a larger, comprehensible pattern.

Kabbala #7: Chochma: Inspired Intellect

Out of the Ten Sefirot, chochmah, wisdom is the trait which allows creating something out of nothing, for it truly comes from "nowhere."

Kabbala #8: Binah - Processing Wisdom

The second of the Ten Sefirot -- binah – is the womb where raw understanding is developed and processed.

Kabbala #9: Daat - The Bridge Between Idea and Reality

The third of the Ten Sefirot -- daat -- allows flashes of inspiration, once processed, to be brought to fruition.

Kabbala #10: Chesed - The World is Built on Kindness

The fourth of the Ten Sefirot -- chesed -- precedes all others because it is the only one that is unconditional and unmotivated.

Kabbala #11: Gevurah: The Strength of Judgment

The fifth of the Ten Sefirot -- gevurah -- is the second sefira of action and one which brings strict justice into the world.

Kabbala #12: Chesed and Gevurah: The Two Sided Approach

Chesed-kindness and gevurah-strength work in tandem, defining God's interaction with the world as a right/left pull/push phenomenon.

Kabbala #13: The Interplay of Matter and Form

Creation of raw matter is an act of chesed-kindness. Giving form to creation requires the restraint of gevurah-strength.

Kabbala #14: Love and Awe

The sefirot of "action" engender love and fear on our part, the two "wings" which we need to soar up to the heavens.

Kabbala #15: Tiferet: Beautiful Synthesis

Of the Ten Sefirot, tiferet -- which literally means "beauty" or "glory" -- is the most central as it mediates between chesed ("kindness") and gevurah ("strength").

Kabbala #16: Beauty as Mercy

The dynamic of interaction between the three sefirot of "action" can be compared to a courtroom where kindness, chesed, is the defender and judgment gevurah/din the prosecutor.

Kabbala #17: History of Kabbala: Part 1

A mysterious dialogue between Moses and God gives us clues to the "ways of God" -- revelations of a deep mystical knowledge which enriches our understanding of the Torah.

Kabbala #18: Center of the Earth

The sefirot of chesed, gevurah, tiferet -- kindness, strength and beauty -- have an interrelationship that serves as a model for understanding the relationships between the other sefirot.

Kabbala #19: History of Kabbala Part II

The imagery of Kabbalah, which examines God's actions through metaphor, can never lead to the creation of images or the suggestion that the One God exists in fragments.

Kabbala #20: Netzach and Hod: Means to an End

Just like a loving parent may seem cruel when harshly disciplining a child in order to instill good values, the "tactical" sefirot of netzach and hod are often not what they seem.

Kabbala #21: Yesod: The Translator

The sefirah of yesod, "foundation," translates spiritual concepts into actions that unite us with God.

Kabbala #22: Yesod: Foundation

The sefirah of yesod anchors the world to its spiritual bedrock.

Kabbala #23: Malchut: The Kingdom Within

The last sefirah is the most important because God uses it to act through His creation.

Kabbala #24: Keter: The Sefirah that Isn't

Keter manifests itself in the world as inexplicable "will" that goes beyond reason or cause and effect.

Rosh Hashanah at Home: How to Embrace the Opportunity

How to use the Rosh Hashanah prayers to create a meaningful Rosh Hashanah wherever you are this year.

Perfectly Imperfect: The Secret of the Shofar

The path to true acceptance is unlocked by the shofar.

Prayer: Maintaining the Connection

God is waiting for your call.

So You Don't Feel God in Your Life?

I was berating myself, feeling down and useless. Little did I know that God was listening to my pain.

The 48 Ways to Prayer

How Rabbi Noah Weinberg's book shook my stagnation and gave me a path to meaningful prayer.

 

Heal Us: Inspirational Music Video

A song of hope and healing, based on the words from the Silent Amida, because we need a little light during these difficult times.

Why Do Jews Pray Three Times a Day?

One answer lies in the three key moments that can help make or break a basketball player’s spirit.

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