Kabbalah for Everyone

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In this thought-provoking class, Rabbi Yisroel Bernath delves into the profound questions surrounding belief in a higher power and the relevance of divine concern in our daily lives. With a focus on the Jewish perspective, Rabbi Bernath explores the increasing trend of young people believing in a higher power despite their disinterest in organized religion. He tackles essential questions: Does the Creator truly care about our actions? Is it possible to communicate with the infinite? Drawing on the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai, Rabbi Bernath illustrates how this monumental event established a direct line of connection between G-d and humanity, highlighting the significance of the commandments and the opportunity for a profound relationship with the Divine.

Key Takeaways:

1. Positive Trend: There is a growing trend among young people to believe in a higher power, indicating a shift towards faith despite a disinterest in organized religion.
2. Essential Questions: Many people grapple with whether the Creator cares about their actions and if it's possible to communicate with an infinite power.
3. Giving of the Torah: The event at Mount Sinai demonstrates G-d's care and communication with humanity, establishing a direct connection through the commandments.
4. Significance of Modesty: The second giving of the Tablets, done discreetly, teaches the value of modesty and the profound nature of private acts of faith.
5. Joyous Celebration: The giving of the Torah was a grand event to signify its importance and arouse a sense of celebration among the Jewish people.

Keywords: G-d, Higher Power, Faith, Judaism, Divine Concern, Torah, Mount Sinai, Commandments, Young People, Belief, Organized Religion, Connection, Communication, Modesty, Celebration.

The School for Sensitive Souls

Do you feel everything deeply? Absorb other people’s emotions? Overthink conversations long after they’re over? Struggle with boundaries, burnout, or feeling like you’re simply “too much”? .

Course begins October 15th.

Learn more and register here

Support the show

Got your own question for Rabbi Bernath? He can be reached at [email protected] or http://www.theloverabbi.com

Single? You can make a profile on www.JMontreal.com and Rabbi Bernath will help you find that special someone.

Donate and support Rabbi Bernath’s work http://www.jewishndg.com/donate

Follow Rabbi Bernath’s YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/user/ybernath

Access Rabbi Bernath's Articles on Relationships https://medium.com/@loverabbi

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Recorded Live on Zoom. Rabbi Bernath's Thursday Morning Kabbalah Discussion.
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Rabbi Yisroel Bernath, named “La Rabbin de Lamour” by the La Presse online daily and “Montreal’s Hipster Rabbi” by VICELAND’s Matty Matheson, is director at Chabad of NDG and the Jewish Chaplain at Concordia University in Montreal.

Cherished for his incredible warmth and non-judgmental personality, this hipster is not your typical rabbi. In 2012, Rabbi Bernath founded the smashing success JMatchmaking International, a network of Jewish dating sites. He has made several dozen matches to date! In addition to being a matchmaker and dating coach, Rabbi Bernath is also the author of three books, and continuously produces engaging content on his many social media & podcast platforms. As a professional voice-over artist, screen-writer, and actor, he has been a part of dozens of productions, including the hit CBC Documentary "Kosher Love".

Got your own question for Rabbi Bernath? He can be reached at [email protected] or http://www.theloverabbi.com

Single? You can make a profile on www.JMontreal.com and Rabbi Bernath will help you find that special someone.

Sign up for Rabbi Bernath’s Kabbalah Podcast  https://anchor.fm/kabbalahforeveryone

Follow Rabbi Bernath’s YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/user/ybernath

The School for Sensitive Souls

Do you feel everything deeply? Absorb other people’s emotions? Overthink conversations long after they’re over? Struggle with boundaries, burnout, or feeling like you’re simply “too much”? .

Course begins October 15th.

Learn more and register here

Support the show

Got your own question for Rabbi Bernath? He can be reached at [email protected] or http://www.theloverabbi.com

Single? You can make a profile on www.JMontreal.com and Rabbi Bernath will help you find that special someone.

Donate and support Rabbi Bernath’s work http://www.jewishndg.com/donate

Follow Rabbi Bernath’s YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/user/ybernath

Access Rabbi Bernath's Articles on Relationships https://medium.com/@loverabbi

Send us Fan Mail

The School for Sensitive Souls

Do you feel everything deeply? Absorb other people’s emotions? Overthink conversations long after they’re over? Struggle with boundaries, burnout, or feeling like you’re simply “too much”? .

Course begins October 15th.

Learn more and register here

Support the show

Got your own question for Rabbi Bernath? He can be reached at [email protected] or http://www.theloverabbi.com

Single? You can make a profile on www.JMontreal.com and Rabbi Bernath will help you find that special someone.

Donate and support Rabbi Bernath’s work http://www.jewishndg.com/donate

Follow Rabbi Bernath’s YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/user/ybernath

Access Rabbi Bernath's Articles on Relationships https://medium.com/@loverabbi

Send us Fan Mail

In this class Rabbi Yisroel Bernath into the Kabbalistic perspective on emotional growth, focusing specifically on the emotion of love during a special omer period of introspection. Rabbi Bernath explains that contrary to common belief, emotional growth continues throughout one’s life. Love, being essential for both giving and receiving, acts as a foundation for all human interactions and transcends the mere act of feeling. The discussion highlights the complexity of love, showing that it involves multiple aspects such as discipline, compassion, endurance, humility, bonding, and sovereignty, each of which must be balanced to foster healthy relationships and emotional well-being.

Key Takeaways

1. Emotional Examination: The importance of examining one's emotions to achieve emotional freedom and health. This process involves questioning and analyzing one's emotional tendencies and balances.
2. The Complexity of Love: Love is multifaceted, requiring not just the capacity to love others but also discipline to modulate this love, compassion to understand others, endurance to maintain love over time, humility to yield and bond, and sovereignty that respects both parties' dignity.
3. Emotional Growth as a Lifelong Process: Emotional maturity is not static and continues to develop throughout life, unlike the often static perception of intellectual or financial growth.
4. Sevenfold Approach to Each Emotion: In Kabbalah, each emotion is explored through seven subcategories, adding depth to understanding and managing these emotions effectively.

Rabbi Yisroel Bernath, named “La Rabbin de Lamour” by the La Presse online daily and “Montreal’s Hipster Rabbi” by VICELAND’s Matty Matheson, is director at Chabad of NDG and the Jewish Chaplain at Concordia University in Montreal.

Got your own question for Rabbi Bernath? He can be reached at [email protected] or http://www.theloverabbi.com

Single? You can make a profile on www.JMontreal.com and Rabbi Bernath will help you find that special someone.

Donate and support Rabbi Bernath’s work http://www.jewishndg.com/donate

Sign up for Rabbi Bernath's Relationships Podcast https://anchor.fm/the-love.../episodes/Love-Rabbi-QA-ecpnte

Listen to Rabbi Bernath and Aleeza Ben Shalom’s New Podcast Matchmaker, Matchmaker as they handle the toughest questions about dating at https://linktr.ee/matchmakermatchmaker

Follow Rabbi Bernath’s YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/user/ybernath

The School for Sensitive Souls

Do you feel everything deeply? Absorb other people’s emotions? Overthink conversations long after they’re over? Struggle with boundaries, burnout, or feeling like you’re simply “too much”? .

Course begins October 15th.

Learn more and register here

Support the show

Got your own question for Rabbi Bernath? He can be reached at [email protected] or http://www.theloverabbi.com

Single? You can make a profile on www.JMontreal.com and Rabbi Bernath will help you find that special someone.

Donate and support Rabbi Bernath’s work http://www.jewishndg.com/donate

Follow Rabbi Bernath’s YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/user/ybernath

Access Rabbi Bernath's Articles on Relationships https://medium.com/@loverabbi

Send us Fan Mail

The School for Sensitive Souls

Do you feel everything deeply? Absorb other people’s emotions? Overthink conversations long after they’re over? Struggle with boundaries, burnout, or feeling like you’re simply “too much”? .

Course begins October 15th.

Learn more and register here

Support the show

Got your own question for Rabbi Bernath? He can be reached at [email protected] or http://www.theloverabbi.com

Single? You can make a profile on www.JMontreal.com and Rabbi Bernath will help you find that special someone.

Donate and support Rabbi Bernath’s work http://www.jewishndg.com/donate

Follow Rabbi Bernath’s YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/user/ybernath

Access Rabbi Bernath's Articles on Relationships https://medium.com/@loverabbi

Send us Fan Mail

Welcome to our special Passover episode, where we explore the profound layers of the Passover Seder, a ceremony that beautifully encapsulates over three millennia of Jewish history and identity. In this episode, we discuss the fifteen steps of the Seder, from Kiddush to the festive meal, and delve into the powerful narratives and symbols that connect us to our ancestors.

We share a humorous yet insightful exchange between a rabbi and an astrophysics professor, which cleverly illustrates the depth of Talmudic study compared to the simplification of complex ideas. The conversation highlights how Jewish traditions and teachings are much more than historical records; they are vibrant memories passed down through generations, forming a continuous link back to the Exodus from Egypt.

We reflect on how the presence of multiple generations at the Seder table turns these historical events into a vivid collective memory, extending back hundreds of years and forward into future gatherings. This episode also touches on the intriguing absence of certain words in Biblical Hebrew, such as "history," which is replaced with "memory" — a concept deeply ingrained in Jewish culture.

Join us as we discuss how the Passover Seder transcends mere historical recounting, acting instead as a dynamic memory that engages with the past as a living part of our present and future. We conclude with a powerful message on transforming pain into blessing, inspired by the life of Henrietta Szold, who turned personal hardship into a legacy of love and humanitarianism.

Main Takeaways:

1. The Seder as a Link Across Time: The Passover Seder is not just a ritual but a bridge connecting 3,300 years of Jewish history through family stories and traditions passed down through generations.
2. Memory Over History: The episode explores why the Hebrew language prefers the term "memory" over "history," emphasizing personal and collective identity formation through remembered experiences rather than impersonal historical events.
3. Cultural Insights: A look at how the absence of certain words in Hebrew, like "history" and "civility," reflects deeper cultural values, with "memory" (zachor) and "chutzpah" taking prominent roles.
4. Humor and Wisdom: The interaction between the rabbi and the professor serves as a metaphor for the depth and complexity of Jewish teachings and the importance of continual learning and interpretation.
5. Transforming Pain into Blessing: Inspired by Henrietta Szold's story, the episode underscores a fundamental Jewish principle of using personal and historical suffering as a springboard for empathy, community service, and positive action.

Join Rabbi Bernath for Seder http://www.jewishndg.com/seder

Sell Your Chametz  http://www.jewishndg.com/sellchametz

Help the less fortunate for Passover https://ndg.chabadsuite.net/civicrm/contribute/transact?reset=1&id=9

Learn more about Passover https://www.jewishndg.com/holidays/passover/default_cdo/jewish/Passover.htm

The School for Sensitive Souls

Do you feel everything deeply? Absorb other people’s emotions? Overthink conversations long after they’re over? Struggle with boundaries, burnout, or feeling like you’re simply “too much”? .

Course begins October 15th.

Learn more and register here

Support the show

Got your own question for Rabbi Bernath? He can be reached at [email protected] or http://www.theloverabbi.com

Single? You can make a profile on www.JMontreal.com and Rabbi Bernath will help you find that special someone.

Donate and support Rabbi Bernath’s work http://www.jewishndg.com/donate

Follow Rabbi Bernath’s YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/user/ybernath

Access Rabbi Bernath's Articles on Relationships https://medium.com/@loverabbi

Send us Fan Mail

The conversation begins with Rabbi Bernath sharing his experience at the Maine Jewish Museum and the importance of preserving Jewish history. He then discusses the significance of the Passover Seder and the need to reclaim its beauty and meaning. Rabbi Bernath emphasizes the importance of asking questions and engaging in critical and independent thought during the Seder. He encourages listeners to invite others to their Seder and create an environment that fosters meaningful conversation. Rabbi Bernath also discusses the order of events in the Seder and the lessons we can learn from them, such as the importance of immersing ourselves in holiness before addressing our flaws.

Takeaways

• Preserving Jewish history and heritage is important for small Jewish communities
• The Passover Seder should be a meaningful and engaging experience
• Asking questions and engaging in critical and independent thought is essential during the Seder
• Invite others to the Seder and create an environment that fosters meaningful conversation
• Immerse yourself in holiness and do good deeds, even if you haven't addressed all your flaws

Join Rabbi Bernath for Seder http://www.jewishndg.com/seder

Sell Your Chametz  http://www.jewishndg.com/sellchametz

Help the less fortunate for Passover https://ndg.chabadsuite.net/civicrm/contribute/transact?reset=1&id=9

Learn more about Passover https://www.jewishndg.com/holidays/passover/default_cdo/jewish/Passover.htm

The School for Sensitive Souls

Do you feel everything deeply? Absorb other people’s emotions? Overthink conversations long after they’re over? Struggle with boundaries, burnout, or feeling like you’re simply “too much”? .

Course begins October 15th.

Learn more and register here

Support the show

Got your own question for Rabbi Bernath? He can be reached at [email protected] or http://www.theloverabbi.com

Single? You can make a profile on www.JMontreal.com and Rabbi Bernath will help you find that special someone.

Donate and support Rabbi Bernath’s work http://www.jewishndg.com/donate

Follow Rabbi Bernath’s YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/user/ybernath

Access Rabbi Bernath's Articles on Relationships https://medium.com/@loverabbi

Send us Fan Mail

Rabbi Yisroel Bernath discusses the upcoming solar eclipse and the lessons we can learn from it. He explores the relationship between the sun and the moon, highlighting the dangers of jealousy and the importance of independent and critical thought. He also delves into the significance of the Torah's laws of kashrut (keeping kosher) and how they teach us about our connection to G-d. Rabbi Bernath emphasizes the need for self-reflection, learning from our experiences, and standing up for what is right.

Takeaways

• The solar eclipse serves as a reminder of the power and beauty of nature and the need for self-reflection.
• Jealousy is a destructive emotion that should be avoided at all costs.
• Independent and critical thought is a valuable trait that should be encouraged, especially in the pursuit of knowledge and education.
• The Torah's laws of kashrut teach us about our connection to God and the importance of following commandments.
• We should learn from our experiences and strive to be better individuals, standing up for what is right.

Sound Bites

• "So many arguments in our world, similar to the moon and the sun, two rulers cannot rule over the same space."
• "Our sages specifically encourage envy amongst Torah scholars. It says in the Talmud, the envy of the scholars increases wisdom."
• "The value of independent and critical thought is a powerful and important value that the world desperately needs."

The School for Sensitive Souls

Do you feel everything deeply? Absorb other people’s emotions? Overthink conversations long after they’re over? Struggle with boundaries, burnout, or feeling like you’re simply “too much”? .

Course begins October 15th.

Learn more and register here

Support the show

Got your own question for Rabbi Bernath? He can be reached at [email protected] or http://www.theloverabbi.com

Single? You can make a profile on www.JMontreal.com and Rabbi Bernath will help you find that special someone.

Donate and support Rabbi Bernath’s work http://www.jewishndg.com/donate

Follow Rabbi Bernath’s YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/user/ybernath

Access Rabbi Bernath's Articles on Relationships https://medium.com/@loverabbi

Send us Fan Mail

This episode delves into the profound essence of our existence, inspired by the ancient wisdom of the Ethics of the Fathers: "I have only been created to serve my Master." This episode navigates the purpose of creation and our role within it, guided by the teachings of Kabbalah and the foundational insights of Rabbi Schneur Zalman in Tanya.

Listeners are invited to reflect on the divine desire for a "dwelling place in the lower worlds," exploring how this mission shapes our actions and intentions. Through the performance of the 613 Mitzvot, we bind every facet of our lives to the divine, transforming the mundane into a home for G‑d. This spiritual journey is not just about adhering to commandments but infusing them with love and awe, lighting up the physical world with the essence of spirituality.

Rabbi Bernath unpacks the concept of G‑d's "desire" — beyond logic, urging us to fulfill His will simply because it is His wish, thereby transcending the limitations of our understanding and ego. The podcast emphasizes the dual purpose of our soul's descent: to refine the world and ourselves for a higher divine revelation, and to achieve personal elevation through the struggle and longing for the divine.

The ultimate message is clear: our greatest mission and the most profound purpose of creation is to make this world a dwelling place for G‑d, transforming it with our deeds and intentions. Rabbi Bernath encourages us to navigate life's journey with this sacred task in mind, reminding us that in fulfilling this divine desire, we connect most intimately with the essence of G‑d, achieving the true purpose of our existence.

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Download this little book and pray. These are prayers Jews have said for centuries in times of distress: https://jewishndg.com/media/pdf/1248/PQoG12484159.pdf

The School for Sensitive Souls

Do you feel everything deeply? Absorb other people’s emotions? Overthink conversations long after they’re over? Struggle with boundaries, burnout, or feeling like you’re simply “too much”? .

Course begins October 15th.

Learn more and register here

Support the show

Got your own question for Rabbi Bernath? He can be reached at [email protected] or http://www.theloverabbi.com

Single? You can make a profile on www.JMontreal.com and Rabbi Bernath will help you find that special someone.

Donate and support Rabbi Bernath’s work http://www.jewishndg.com/donate

Follow Rabbi Bernath’s YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/user/ybernath

Access Rabbi Bernath's Articles on Relationships https://medium.com/@loverabbi

Send us Fan Mail

In the story of the seventh plague, hail, Pharaoh finally admits he was wrong after seeing hail mixed with fire from the sky—a strange and powerful miracle. This moment shows us that even someone as stubborn and self-centered as Pharaoh can have a moment of realization. The mix of fire and ice in the hail represents Pharaoh's personality: cold and unfeeling towards others but fiery and passionate about his own needs.

The reason the plague was hail is significant too. Egypt didn't depend on rain because of the Nile River, so they never looked up and depended on something higher than themselves. This is like Pharaoh's narcissism, where he only depended on himself and never considered a higher power or the needs of others.

However, Pharaoh's realization was short-lived, teaching us that overcoming deep-seated selfishness requires more than just a moment of clarity. It needs a fundamental change in how one views themselves and their place in the world.

Takeaways:

1. Self-reflection is crucial: Even the most stubborn person can have moments of clarity. It's important to reflect on our actions and consider their impact on others.
2. Empathy over ego: The story teaches the importance of caring for others, not just ourselves. Being aware of others' feelings and needs helps us grow as individuals.
3. The role of humility: Recognizing a higher power or something greater than ourselves can help combat selfishness. It's a reminder that we're not the center of the universe.
4. Change takes time: True change in character and perspective is not instantaneous; it requires continuous effort and humility.

By learning from Pharaoh's mistake, we're reminded to stay empathetic, humble, and open to change, ensuring we don't fall into the trap of self-obsession.

The School for Sensitive Souls

Do you feel everything deeply? Absorb other people’s emotions? Overthink conversations long after they’re over? Struggle with boundaries, burnout, or feeling like you’re simply “too much”? .

Course begins October 15th.

Learn more and register here

Support the show

Got your own question for Rabbi Bernath? He can be reached at [email protected] or http://www.theloverabbi.com

Single? You can make a profile on www.JMontreal.com and Rabbi Bernath will help you find that special someone.

Donate and support Rabbi Bernath’s work http://www.jewishndg.com/donate

Follow Rabbi Bernath’s YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/user/ybernath

Access Rabbi Bernath's Articles on Relationships https://medium.com/@loverabbi