Tag: spiritual growth
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At the end of Parshat Noach, humanity comes together with one goal: to build a tower that reaches the heavens. They settle in the valley of Shinar and say, “Let’s build a city and a tower with its top in the heavens.”On the surface, it sounds noble — unity, creativity, progress.But then they add a…
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Before Adam and Chava ate from the Tree of Knowledge, they didn’t have a pull toward evil.The yetzer hara was there — but it was outside.It could whisper, but it couldn’t touch them from within. But the moment they ate, everything changed.They didn’t just break a command — they rewired the human condition.The struggle became…
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Before a single flower bloomed or tree grew, the world was already filled with hidden potential—waiting. The grass was beneath the surface. The seeds were in place. But nothing sprouted. Why? Because there was no man to pray for it.Rashi explains that Hashem withheld rain because there was no one to recognize the blessing it…
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After weeks of inner growth from Elul through Yom Kippur, we arrive at Sukkot — when everything spiritual becomes real. On Rosh Hashanah we crowned Hashem as King. On Yom Kippur we were purified. And on Sukkot, we live that connection through emunah — stepping out of our solid homes into Hashem’s shade, trusting His…
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It’s easy to make promises about what we’ll do if we have abundance.“If I win the lottery, I’ll give so much tzedaka. I’ll do endless chesed.” We’ve all said it, at least in our hearts. But here’s the truth: the challenge isn’t in making those promises before the blessing comes—it’s in following through once it…
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Parshat Ki Tavo opens with the mitzvah of bikurim, the first fruits a farmer brings to Yerushalayim. But more than just produce, bikurim is a declaration of bitachon (trust in Hashem). The Sifrei explains that in the farmer’s words— “Arami oved avi, vayered Mitzrayma… We went down to Egypt small in number, became great, were…
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Climbing the Right Mountain We’ve all heard of rock bottom — when a person loses everything and only then realizes it’s time to change. But Parshat Shoftim warns of another danger that’s spoken about far less. When you spend so much time climbing the mountain of success — money, fame, luxury — only to reach…
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A man struggling to make ends meet wants to one day buy his wife a gift. He doesn’t have much, but every night, he empties whatever spare change he has into a jar—nickels, dimes, maybe the occasional dollar. “One day,” he tells himself, “this’ll turn into something special.” Years go by. The jar gets full.…
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We’ve wandered long enough. In this week’s parsha, Moshe begins his final address to Bnei Yisrael.But he’s not speaking to the generation that left Egypt. He’s speaking to their children—the ones who struggled in the desert, grew through challenges, and matured over forty long years. Now, they stand at the threshold of Eretz Yisrael.They’re finally…
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Struggling to Feel Growing up, I always had a hard time connecting to the Three Weeks, the Nine Days, and especially Tisha B’Av. The mourning. The restrictions. The heaviness. I tried to feel something — but couldn’t. Part of it was that I didn’t fully understand what we were mourning. I mean, I grew up…
