Rebbetzin Heller is a senior lecturer at Neve Yerushalayim College in Jerusalem. Amongst her many areas of expertise are the role of women in Judaism and analysis of the lives of women in the Bible. Rebbetzin Heller herself is an example of a woman who has managed to balance her responsibilities as the mother of a large family with her roles as international speaker and author.
Winning friends and influencing people can be very simple - just be a giver. It's instinctive to be drawn to a nediv, a person whose essence is one of non-attachment to the physical bounty he has been blessed with. Who is the prototype of a nediv, and how can we teach ourselves to become one of these elevated people?
Does it sometimes happen that your sense of importance goes to your head? Rebbetzin Heller examines our tendency towards pride and how ego just sweeps us away. How does anger intrinsically connect to an inflated sense of self, and how can we deal with it?
Learning to see the image of God in others will alter how you relate to them, and even with those who appear to be on a lower spiritual level. Recognizing the essential humanity in other people begins by getting more in touch with the seven basic desires you possess.
What makes relationships so satisfying? Is it merely that it mitigates our loneliness, or fulfills our need to talk? Neither, says Rebbetzin Heller. Almost paradoxically, pleasure in a relationship increases in proportion to the amount we give. Learn how this develops your own self-esteem, and how to become a true master of the art.
Anyone who has grappled with loneliness will attest to the veracity of the old adage ‘companionship or death.’ So why do we crave it so desperately, and then, what ultimately makes it work out? Rebbetzin Heller describes how being a good friend is not only helping another bear their burdens, to get things off their chest, or even to help them get married. Hear the deeper soul returns in cultivating true friends.
Wouldn't we all like to love people without strings attached, and to be able to overlook their imperfections and frailties that often get in the way? Can we ever accept people with all their brokenness - and not despite it? In this sensitive but intricate talk, Rebbetzin Heller enumerates 15 ways to connect to and love those closest to us with a full heart.
Man is a confusing combination of Tzelem Elokim and imperfection which seem to be inseparable. How do we figure out which is which? Rebbetzin Heller explores the practical application of 'loving your friend as yourself,' and how we can affect others by speaking in ways which reach the basic needs that all humans respond to.
We rarely perceive ourselves as holy beings, which consequently hinders us seeing others as holy and entitled to greater respect. Rebbetzin Heller picks apart the negative thoughts and speech we use as we respond to those we feel a bit less than perfect. How can we see others as they truly are humans with faults, yet imbued with a Godliness equal to our own?
Lashon Hara is rated with the severity of murder, adultery, and idol worship. How does it possibly relate to the gravity of those transgressions? Where do women stumble, and which is the weak point for men? Learn how to tap into other people's inner dialogue and recognize that it is much less venomous than we give them credit for - as well as neutralize our own hurt feelings when we are wronged.
Do you ever experience embittered people whose lives seem to be one long stream of unhappiness and injustice, with negativity spilling onto everyone and everything they see? Then there are others with the same problems and travails yet appear so wonderfully calm and positive with other people and with God. Their secret is ayin tovah. Having a clear understanding of having a Good Eye will lead you appreciate others, and those significant and precious moments which can add so much to living.