Back to back inspirational videos by Rabbi Kalmus that helps bring the focus on emunah (faith) instead of relying on nature (nurture not nature, spirituality not philosophy). Also the source of new ideas that “pop” up and why things are growing and changing so rapidly and a story about Albert Einstein.
Newsletter – Rabbi Kalmus’s organization, Tzion Breslov Project, also started a newsletter that comes out before Shabbat – you can sign up for that free here as well:
Rabbi Mendel Kessin – Shares a unique perspective about Eisav (Jacob’s twin brother) and how he was originally supposed to be one of the Avot (Forefathers) and even be responsible to bringing forth the six of the twelve tribes. He had the spiritual potential to actually do this but due to his sins this never manifested and Jacob ended up being the father of the twelve tribes. Haven’t heard this part of the story before and how it affects us today.
Rabbi Yitzchak Breitowitz – Nice Q&A session with Rabbi Breitowitz on many different topics including: kaddish, ghosts, the lost tribes, and the talmud. The Torah proofs and Jewish thoughts and philosophy on these topics are fascinating. Feel free to use the time stamps posted below to listen to specific questions and answers
Question Time Stamps:
00:00 WHY DO WE SAY KADDISH?
04:28 COULD YOU PLEASE DESCRIBE THE KABBALISTIC MIDDAH OF MALCHUS?
09:20 WHEN DID SOULS BECOME “JEWISH” SOULS? 17:11 DOES ANYONE SAY THAT THE JEWISH TRANSFORMATION HAPPENED AT MT. SINAI?
18:24 WHY DO WE STAND WITH FEET TOGETHER IN THE AMIDAH?
20:13 WHY ARE THERE VERY FEW LEVITES?
24:07 IF HASHEM CREATED TESHUVA FOR ALL PEOPLE, HOW CAN ELISHA BEN AVUYA SAY THE ACHER COULDN’T DO TESHUVA? AND HOW DO WE MAKE TESHUVA FOR “DEAD AND GONE” SITUATIONS?
29:34 HOW COME WE DON’T KNOW WHERE THE LOST TRIBES ARE TODAY?
35:48 IF SOMEONE IS TRAVELING AND THEY ARE LOOKING FOR A SHUL, HOW DO I KNOW IT’S A KOSHER MINYAN (E.G. IF IT WERE REFORM OR CONSERVATIVE)?
43:10 WHAT DOES THE RAMBAM MEAN WHEN HE SAYS WE SHOULDN’T DO MITZVOS FOR THE SAKE OF REWARD?
48:00 WHEN DOES IT BECOME APPROPRIATE TO STUDY KABBALAH?
58:08 HOW DOES ONE KNOW WHICH VOICES TO LISTEN TO INSIDE ONESELF?
1:04:16 WHAT IS THE TORAH’S PERSPECTIVE ON GHOSTS?
1:06:00 HOW DO YOU EXPLAIN LEARNING GEMARA TO KIDS?
1:14:45 ARE WOMEN ALLOWED TO LEARN GEMARA?
1:20:53 ARE THERE MAKHLOSIM BETWEEN THE TALMUD YERUSHALMI? WHY IS THE TALMUD BAVLI MORE WIDESPREAD IF THE YERUSHALMI WAS WRITTEN IN A HOLIER PLACE?
1:30:58 WHY IS THERE NOT MORE OF A PUSH TO LEARN MACHSHAVA IN YESHIVA?
1:35:30 HOW WOULD THE RAV DESCRIBE THE FUNDAMENTAL DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A JEW AND A NON-JEW TO SOMEONE WHO HAS NO IDEA ABOUT JUDAISM?
1:39:15 HOW DO WE RELATE TO AVODA ZARA REFERENCES OR IMAGES IN LITERATURE?
1:42:45 WHY DO SOME SECTS OF JUDAISM NOT LEARN ON CERTAIN DAYS (NON-JEWISH HOLIDAYS)?
Rabbi Moshe Pinto Shlita – Shares with us the underlying reason why Jews attract such wealth and success – the spiritual underpinnings of why that is. Also, what happens when we lose great wealth such as in the time of the Egyptian slavery – when we lose our standing and spirituality. And finally how we attain material and spiritual wealth by doing our part and relying on Hashem.
Rabbi Alon Anava – Shares about how to deal with life on life’s terms without suffering and how to change your perspective to improve life’s outlook in general. A good dose of an attitude of gratitude is the overall theme of the video combined with a focus on the journey instead of destination thinking. I really enjoyed and felt empowered by this class.
Rabbi Trugman – Double feature of two videos by Rabbi Trugman revealing deep Chassidic and Kabbalah based secrets in an easy to understand way. I learned a lot from both these videos and they there are parts for both beginners and more advanced listeners. Perfect for before Shabbat!
Rabbi David Yisrael Kalmus – Shares about how reliance on nature and secular thought instead of on Hashem is the cause of all our suffering up until this very day. The story about Adam and Eve and the eating of the tree being the eating of nature and secular thought was the source of this suffering we experience today. The Rabbi explains the analogy of when we are an adult and we get a small cut on our hand it heals after a short period of time but when we get a cut as a baby we may have a scar for the rest of our life. This is the same as Adam and Eve’s original sin lasting as long as it has. Listen to the video to hear the entire back story.
Newsletter – Rabbi Kalmus’s organization, Tzion Breslov Project, also started a newsletter that comes out before Shabbat – you can sign up for that free here as well:
Rabbi Yosef Mizrachi – Shares about how Jewish Law views suicide and its implications. We learn from the story of young Jews who were captured by the Romans and were about to be sent to Rome to be abused by their captors and they asked a Tanna (a Rabbi leader of that generation) whether they will still have a share in the World to come if they commit suicide instead of be being abused by their captors and he replied yes. We deduce from this that in other cases Jewish law forbids suicide since life is given by Hashem and only He can take it from us. To see exceptions to this law (and there are quite a few) please view the video.
Rabbi Zamir Cohen – Pefect pre-Shabbat video. This class is a great summation of Shabbat and both a practical and spiritual guide on how to view Shabbat. Packed with information and how and why of Shabbat for both the observant and non-observant audience. A real video treasure.
Personal Thoughts – The examples Rabbi Cohen gives are exactly how I viewed Shabbat both before and at the beginning of my religious observance. It all looked like a lot of restrictions and boring(ness) and how could I get through a whole day of this. But both learning about and then slowly taking on new things slowly it became less of a burden and more of a delight until finally it became the absolute highlight of my week every week, never a burden, and something I could not live without. The process of becoming Shomer Shabbat and celebrating Shabbat (instead of just enduring it) created a constant and regular life changing spiritual experience. The advice that was given to me at the beginning was do one thing (light Shabbat candles, go to shul, learn) and do less of one thing work wise (don’t write or write less, don’t turn on any lights or do it less times, don’t open the phone or reduce) started a process that continues even today. Shabbat Shalom!
If you are interested in more videos from this Rabbi please visit his website: https://www.hidabroot.com/