Accessing Your Best Self with Devorah Vale

What does the name Kislev mean? How does the tribe that corresponds with this month reveal more about what the energy of this month is all about. Join me as we learn about the 36 candles that we light on Chanukah and how this relates to the month of Kislev.

How do the 4 elements of earth, water, wind and fire relate to the stories in the first book of the Torah? And what do these stories teach us about our own inner struggles? Discover how Cain kills hi brother because of his 'scarcity mindset, the negative manifestation of earthiness. Learn how Avraham and Sarah demonstrate an abundance or emunah mindset as an antidote.

Rav Chaim Vital who wrote Shaarei Kedusha and lived in the mid 1500's teaches that each of us is composed of the four elements of earth, water, wind and fire. Based on Rabbi Shlomo Buxbaum's book, The Four Elements of an Empowered Life, this series will explore how these elements affect who we are, determine our life's mission and give us the ability to gain greater mastery over ourselves.

Join me as we explore the unique energy of the month of Cheshvan. What should our focus be in this month? What can we learn from its name, its astrological sign and the events that happened during this time period in our Torah? How do we make sure to use this month positively and actualize the resolutions we made in Tishrei when we were on a spiritual high!

Who am I? Where am I going? Why Am I alive? What is my purpose? These are the questions we should ponder before Rosh Hashanah. On this day God judges our thoughts, and the direction we want to go in even when our actions don't line up. God appreciates our intentions and our yearning and our efforts at trying to improve ourselves and return to Him.

Elul is the month of love and connection but also the month in which we prepare for our upcoming court case. on Rosh Hashana. Hashem scrutinizes each one of us individually and as a part of His great nation and asks, :Are you on board and with Me...or are you Indifferent or even Against Me? Human beings crave limits and boundaries much as we may rail against them. Hashem loves Justice and the fact that He judges us highlights the fact that we matter and what we do is important to Him. The fact that there are consequences to our actions or DIN in the world is just another way Hashem reveals His love for us.

How do we approach the month of Elul? It is a time of tremendous closeness to our Creator when He makes Himself available to us. And yet it is a month of preparation for the Yom Hadin, the upcoming day of Judgement. How do we reconcile the love we can access with the trepidation or fear we feel as we approach the Yamim Noraim - these awesome days? Listen and discover the balance. 

In our final class on the topic of tznius we explore how covering our ego and developing our internality can be expressed in the ways that we behave. Sometimes, when we let others go ahead of us and benefit, while 'losing out' ourselves, we gain spiritually in untold ways. In a society that extolls, 'letting it all hang out', remaining modest, private and not sharing everything about ourselves is crucial for setting proper boundaries which Judaism teaches leads us to developing our true essence, our internal selves instead of seeking external recognition at its expense.

In this final class on Ahavas Chinam we explore how we can work to change our negative feelings towards others by zeroing in on their virtues and looking away from their negative qualities. None of us is flawless and when we decide to look away from others weaknesses and instead focus in on a good quality we can reprogram the way we feel.

How does tznius affect your spiritual flexibilty, the way you do chesed and how you accept criticism? When you practice covering your ego you develop internality and you change the way you adapt to situations that are not in your control. Acceptance and developing trust in Hashem is all about tznius. Your level of tznius will also affect the way you react to criticism and how you do kindness for others. Listen and find out why.