Refinement & Elevation of Sparks

The spiritual ripple effect of using our material means to give tzedaka.

Ever wonder what you're doing here? Here's some simple, Kabbalistic wisdom that explains a lot.

What is the objective of Torah: the benefit of man or a divine purpose?

The first time G-d speaks to man in the book of Genesis, it is to give him one commandment: A list of trees from which he can and cannot eat. From Adam and Eve to Isaac and Jacob, all the way through the Prophets and beyond, Judaism is rife with links bet...

Since Biblical times, our people seem to have had an almost obsessive love affair with food. This lecture opens by demonstrating how food has played such a central role in our sacred tradition; even defined our religious experiences since the very beginni...

The parsha of Terumah contains 96 verses and the mnemonic are the words Ya’av (shovel) and Solu. Explore the coded message in the mnemonic and its connection to the general themes of the Parshah.

The performance of a mitzvah with a physical object “rescues” and elevates the sparks of holiness contained therein. Nevertheless, since the sparks had been initially trapped in pure physicality, they are susceptible to setback and require special protect...

Why did G‑d create this physical universe? What role does it play in G‑d’s plan? In this fourth of a six-part series on core Jewish beliefs, we discuss why G‑d desires this lowly and crass world, and how the material can ultimately become more G‑dly than ...

“Sarah died . . . and Abraham came to eulogize Sarah and to cry over her.” (Genesis 23:2) The word “to cry” is written with a small letter “kaf.” What is the meaning of this small letter?