One reason many find prayer so difficult is that the heartfelt moments we have with God are usually occasions of desperate pleas for help. Through personal stories and moving anecdotes, Lisa Aiken explains what it takes to initiate and develop a warm intimate communication with God. How much would it improve the energy of your day to be looking forward to a nourishing recharge along the way?
Bringing Hashem into our lives is unlikely to happen when daily prayers are said by rote. So what is required to have more awareness of His presence, and how can we learn to converse with Him more intimately? Hear the natural responses a person will have who is living closer to Hashem's greatness.
The mitzvah of learning Torah is worth the same as all the other mitzvos combined. So why not learn Torah all the time and leave those who struggle in learning to do all the other mitzvos? Rabbi Lopiansky turns to pertinent halachos from the Rambam to help sensitize us when confronted to choose between learning or doing.
Rabbi Leff delves into the underlying human motivations of giving and taking. Hear when giving becomes taking, and taking disguises itself as giving, and how, through doing uncompromising courageous acts of chesed, our vision can raise us miles above all the petty concerns of our lives.
There are three not so helpful midos that interfere with getting to know more about: ourselves, others, the Torah and Hashem. Rabbi Leff explains the process for overcoming each specific inner barrier, and what practical steps we can take to create warmer, closer relationships.
Greeting someone with a smile has a much greater effect than we realize. We can also have great difficulties with others simply because we have already developed strengths in areas they lack. Join Rabbi Orlowek as he explains how to allow others to excel in their strong areas as you skillfully contribute your developed expertise. A great talk for improving social skills.
The Jewish people don't celebrate past memories. So why sit on the floor mourning a temple destroyed thousands of years ago? Rabbi Tauber paints a picture of how Hashem affects us, and how we affect Him, so to speak. On that traggic day Hashem tossed the responsibility for our relationship into our hands - hoping to evoke how the days deeper beauty can outshine all its heartbreak.
We are probably witnessing the worst anti-Semitism since the 2nd World War. Rebbetzin Weinberg suggests that rather than suffering all the dreary daily world news, we can tap into our wisdom to not only change our interpretation of it but also filter the outcome and consequences of all the worrying events that enter our lives.
What difference can I really make for bringing the geula any closer? Well, says Rabbi Zeldman, even if you feel short of doing anything monumental, the first step is to awaken the feeling that you 'care' about it. After that it's a matter of mixing in your unique abilities to find any worthy contribution that you can make.
Rabbi Zeldman explores the psychological underpinnings of burnout, and where we get the capacity to work harder and harder without burnout. He identifies several ideals and goals that successful Torah learners use to help keep them feeling fresh and motivated. This class is excellent for anyone who feels tired - in any area of life.