Nitzotzos: Inspiration to Keep Your Spark Alive with Rav Mordechai Burg

In this week's Parsha shiur, delivered at the final NCSY Kollel Mishmar of the summer, Rav Burg analyzes the first pasuk in Parshas Reeh. The lessons explored include:

1. The fate of the many lies in the hands of the individual

2. The world will be a bracha or a klala depending on what we choose.

3. To be a human being means to be someone who exercises conscious free will. Choose your highest self.

4. Choice always happens in the now. If you want to know how you ended up at your destination simply look at the choices you made consistently over time.

NCSY Kollel ran a program called Great Debates. In this debate, featuring Rav Yosef Hirschel vs Rav Burg, the topic debated was should a Rebbe know what his talmid is doing on a Saturday night. Rav Hirschel argued the affirmative and Rav Burg argued the negative. At its core the issue being debated was, what is the role of a Rebbe.

In this shiur, delivered at NCSY Kollel Mishmar, Rav Burg told over an exceptional story of Chesed in Beit Shemesh involving a family that is struggling with a rare genetic disease. With Chesed like this happening in our community how is it that Mashiach hasn't come yet?

In this shiur, delivered at NCSY Michlelet, Rav Burg explores the bracha of V'haarev Na. Only through finding the sweetness of Torah can we ensure transmission of the Jewish mission to the next generation.

In this shiur, delivered at NCSY Kollel on Tisha B'Av, Rav Burg explains how we are all very busy trying to tap into our own loss on Tisha B'Av but what about feeling Hashem's Pain for His loss. It's His house that was destroyed and only through feeling the pain of another will we merit to rebuild the Beis HaMikdash.

In this shiur, delivered at NCSY Michlelet to both TJJ and Michlelet girls, Rav Burg explains how each one of the five tragedies that occurred on Tisha B'Av further our destruction until we are completely annihilated. But, at the point of complete annihilation, we discover that we have not been destroyed we have been planted and we are in the process of growing.

In this shiur, delivered in NCSY Kollel at Mishmar, Rav Burg explains (based on a sicha from the Lubavitcher Rebbe) why Hashem allowed Klal to make the totally free choice to send Meraglim to spy out Eretz Canaan. We are naturally pulled to do a Mitzvah but when given an option we are totally free to do as we please. In this way we can truly invite Hashem into our lives.

Chazal teach us that anyone who mourns the destruction of the Beis HaMikdash will merit to see it in it's state of Simcha. In this shiur, delivered to the Nshei of Neve Shamir, Rav Burg explores the vulnerability of Aveilus - the physical loss and the geographical disorientation, and how only through a true mourning process can we come to discover the completion that exists within our state of incompleteness.

In this shiur, delivered at NCSY Kollel Mishmar, Rav Burg (quoting from Rav Lopiansky shlit"a) explains why the last battle that Moshe Rabbeinu fought was specifically with Midyan and Bilaam. Why was this a condition for Moshe to move on to the next world? Furthermore, what was the significance of the Tzitz in the battle with Midyan?

Are we serving Hashem or serving ourselves? Do we learn Torah in order to pervert the Torah or to do Hashem's will in this world?