Accessing Your Best Self with Devorah Vale

How can we be commanded to love Hashem? In this class we explore loving Hashem with both our hearts - the yetzer tov and the yetzer hara. The yetzer tov is called good but the yetzer hara is called 'very good'. Love grows when we give, when we are grateful and when we learn G-d's Torah. The soul longs for closeness and to be in a loving relationship with its Creator. 

How do the 4 elements of earth, water, wind and fire interact with Taiva, the need to control our desires? In this new series we will examine how impulse control is a key feature of Jewish life and becoming a successful and elevated human being.

In this series of classes we will go through the Shema Prayer and try to understand its meaning more clearly and in depth. The Shema is the Jewish Pledge of Allegiance to God. It is our mission statement and rallying cry. We wake up every morning and go to sleep at night with this prayer on our lips. It is the prayer we say before we die. Join me as we learn more about the centrality of this prayer and Jewish belief.

 Practicing bitachon and achieving tranquility of the soul is a constant skill that needs to be reinforced. When the sea split, says Rabbeinu Bachye, it split step by step and not all at once. It was an ongoing challenge much like the pandemic we find ourselves in. It is only knowing that Hashem is walking with us through the waters with each step that we can reach the other side with our connection to G-d deepened along the way

In this episode we explore the idea of yissurim me'ahava. How can a loving G'd cause me so much pain and suffering? In order to understand this, we need to identify primarily as souls who are in this world against their will and will leave this world against their will. A look into the Ramchal and Mesillas Yesharim will help us crystallize this idea. 

The month of Teves is one of three sad months in the Jewish year. With a fast day on the 10th that commemorate all the atrocities of that month, it is a dark time both physically and spiritually. And yet, Teves has the holiday of Channukah in it. The light of Channukah spills over into this month teaching us to find the light in the darkness, hope in the midst of challenge and pain. 

In this episode we discuss the qualities of good leadership as seen through Yehuda, Dovid HaMelech and the eventual Mashiach! We are called Yehudim because gratitude and admitting our mistakes are 2 hallmarks of the greatness of the Jewish people. L'hodot means to thank and to admit. These are crucial traits for leadership.  

In this class we discuss the tremendous potential of the fire element to reach higher in our personal growth and leadership abilities. From the story of Channukah,and great figures like Yosef and Yehuda we learn about the power of great leaders who fuse fearlessness and humility and awe of God to channel their fire in a constructive way.

The element of wind is intellect, thought, and speech and how we use it. In its lower form, it is used for gossip, idle talk, and mindless banter. In its elevated form, it is the pursuit of truth, spiritual understanding and the intellectual honesty to stay faithful to your values and beliefs based on the Torah. Yaakov Avinu, known for representing Torah truths stands as a counterforce to those great intellects who built the Tower of Bavel, intent on getting rid of Godliness, morality and conscience, much like the Greeks of yesteryear and the modern day tyrants of today in all its forms. Moral relativism and other 'isms' are the battle we continue to wage since the time of Avraham Avinu, 

In this episode we discuss that water represents emotion. Water also represents the human need for pleasure. The question is how to use the pleasures of the world in a positive way towards deeper connection with G-d and relationships with the people in our lives. Water can nourish or destroy. The generation of Noach teaches us what can happen when pleasures lead to destruction. Yitzchak and Rifka come to teach us how to harness the power of water and be master over our pleasures.