Rabbi Noah Weinberg zt"l was the dean and founder of Aish HaTorah International. Over the last 40 years, his visionary educational programs have brought hundreds of thousands of Jews closer to their heritage.
In the future, the simple of the simplest can be the ones sitting in the front row with the Avos, while the learned of the learned will wonder why they are sitting way in the back. How does hearing God's messages hold the key for a box seat, and how can we block out all the static in the world to achieve it?
The fear of God is all-encompassing. Even though one is a scholar, deals well with others, and lives a good life, Heaven will still be critical when this core midah falls short. In this session, Rav Noah discusses the first level of fearing God, which is 'doing the right thing because of society's pressure'. We may think we are above this, but Rav Noah has us laughing at ourselves by revealing the foibles of human thinking.
What is freedom? Rav Naoh challenges the usual definitions by forcing us to consider the following: can you picture yourself enslaved on all sides by a hostile world? Now, can you picture yourself breaking free of those shackles - to live in ways you've dreamed about, but never thought possible?
Pesach is the time of our quintessential experience of freedom. Indeed, we proclaim at the Seder that we are still slaves, and we hope to be freed by next year. Do we really know what we’re talking about as we lift the matzah? Rav Noah exhorts us to think about what we’re doing as we’re doing it, and gives a powerful message to take into your Pesach Seder.
Understanding what blocked Pharoah from getting God's message of “Let My people go,” may offer us a valuable clue to understand what’s preventing us also from hearing His messages each and every day.
The Jewish Exodus from Egypt left its mark on civilization as the paradigm of emancipation. One of the Haggadah's central focus is to feel the feeling of walking out of bondage towards freedom. This talk will stretch your definition of freedom, and hopefully help to break a few shackles you may not be aware of.
24,000 students of Rabbi Akiva died during the 33 days between Pesach and Lag b'Omer. During this mourning period we attempt to correct the reason for their deaths. Hear the significance of their passing during the period of counting the Omer towards Kaballas HaTorah. Learn why honoring the Torah has more importance than just accepting it.
We count the Omer by ticking off each day that we enter to keep track of how close to Shavuos we are. Rav Noah maps out the idea of doing cheshbon hanefesh (taking a personal account) of who we are, what we’ve done, and specifically what state we'd like to be in on Shavuos night to accept more Torah influence into our lives.
What can God really expect from a generation light years away from the great spiritual heights we had reached in the past? Rav Noah demolishes every excuse with one powerful point - God, Who controls all powers and abilities, is surely backing us up to break out of exile. How come we hesitant taking the next step?