By Rabbi Amichai Cohen

Blessings

One of the most powerful expressions of love we can feel from someone is a blessing. It conveys both a deep sentiment as well as a comforting anchor of belief in ourselves, as well as in the entire human race. Can there really be someone who takes the time to bless me? That is a very humbling and heart warming experience.

What is a blessing according to the Torah?

The root of the word beracha ברכה is barech- ברך which can mean 3 things:

1. a knee

2. a pool

3. spelled backward means a vehicle. 

What do these words have to do with a blessing?

High Source

Now proven by physics, we know that all physical vitality comes from a metaphysical and ethereal origin. In Kabbalah we call this "seder hishtalshelus"-order of down-chaining (check out our Live Kabbalah class on this in our Kabbalah Academy). What this basically means is just like within our physical bodies we embody our higher consciousness, within our higher faculties of our mind and heart and...

The Alter Rebbe speaks about the significance of of the traveling of the Tabernacle (Mishkan) in the desert on both a physical and spiritual level. The Alter Rebbe explains that the desert represents the realm of negativity and ego (which is why nothing grows in the desert). The Tabernacle on the other hand is the expression of Godliness and spirituality within the physical and emotional reals of existence.  

“Count [literally, ‘raise’] the head[s] of the sons of Gershon as well.” The phrase “as well” refers back to the command in the previous Torah portion, Bamidbar, to count the sons of Kehos (Numbers 4:2). A later verse (Numbers 4:27) goes on to stipulate that the tasks for which the sons of Gershon were responsible were to be performed at the express direction of Aaron and his sons, the Kohanim (priests). By examining the reason the Gershuni (Gershonites) were singled out to be counted “as well,” together with the reason...

Moshe Reuven Sheradsky Founder of WeDu Inc

As the Sages (early commentaries on spirituality) say, “Happiness breaks all bounds.” The Talmud highlights that happiness allows an individual to have an open mind, while unhappiness closes off the mind from everything and focuses it solely on the one thing that isn’t right. A happy person is a joy to be around, is able to focus on other people besides himself, and is able to accomplish what is in front of them with vitality and strength. A happy person can see opportunities, blessings, ideas and more with full clarity. We all have some idea about the advantages of being happy, yet the question many of us have is, “How do we both obtain and maintain happiness?”.

Here are 3 of the 10 instructions LiveKabbalah has for you to live a happy life:

1.Develop Humility You may be resistant to this claim. You may ask yourself, “Aren’t the things that...

A healthy relationship is based on true and healthy communication and bonding. To authentically bond with someone one requires humility. The Sefirah of bonding is called Yesod and the the Sefirah associated with humility is called hod. Find out here how through the process of bonding we march towards the receiving of the Torah and incorporate a "good name".

By: Rabbi Amichai Cohen

What is freedom? That is a relative question that depends on who you ask. For someone in the middle of Africa who does not have running water, freedom is simply running water. Where as, someone living in the comforts of a western country, would not consider running water freedom. For that person it would be perhaps the ability to pay their bills, go on the vacation of their choice or follow their dreams by attaining higher education and starting a business.

Within the hierarchy of creation, the freedom of the inanimate is to simply be. The freedom of the vegetative is to sprout, grow and flourish. Freedom for the animal kingdom is the ability to move, hunt and procreate. Freedom for a human is to be able to utilize the mind, seek knowledge, and express that knowledge in speech and in writing.  The freedom of the inanimate is vastly different than the freedom that the vegetative requires, and the locomotive needs of the animal is vastly different than...

    According to Kabbalah the creation of the world is not a mere historic event. The notion that the world was “once created” is a fallacy. The Ba’al Shem Tov teaches that to perceive the world as having once been created is a false perception of reality. Creation is in fact a continuous and constant current event. 

The verse says “You shall know today and take it to your heart that YHVH is Elokim in the heavens above and on the land below there is no one but him.” (Devarim 4:39)

The Alter Rebbe asks, in Shaar Hayichud and Emunah (Chapter 1), why is it necessary for the verse to declare a simple fact that no other G-d exists in the heavens above or on the land below? Would we ever think that there is a deity that exists somewhere beneath the earth?

    The Alter Rebbe answers by quoting the verse in Psalms “Forever, O G-d, your word stands firm in the heavens.” (119:89) The Ba’al Shem Tov explains that...