What Is?

Rethinking Everything we Know About Our Universe

Lesson 5: What is Consciousness?

With Rabbi Ari Sollish

Recorded Live at The Torah Center ATL on Wednesday, March 4, 2025

All injustice and strife, and even personal unhappiness, can be traced to selfishness. Yet self-esteem is essential for a healthy psyche and a productive life. To navigate this paradox, we first need to unravel the mystery of self-awareness: Where does our sense of self come from?

Kabbalah Café

Know Your Soul - Part 2

“Snow White & The Seven Sins”

With Rabbi Ari Sollish

Recorded live at The Torah Center ATL on Sunday, October 6, 2024

Snow White may tell the tale of a wicked queen driven by vanity and jealousy, but Kabbalah spins another drama altogether.

In Kabbalah, "snow white" is a reference to Divine chesed (kindness), one of the original energies that spawned creation. Yet, the mystics remind us that this was not the only energy employed -- G-d also unfurled His power of gevurah (strictness). In fact, in the architecture of creation gevurah preceded chesed.

All of this begs the question: why would a good and kind G-d prefer gevurah to chesed?

In this session of Kabbalah Café we take a deeper look at the energies of chesed and gevurah. We discover where they come from, what makes them tick, and how they influence us and all of creation. In the process, we learn the secret to personal growth, and gain a profound appreciation for tough love.

Kabbalah Café

Know Your Soul - Part 5

“How to Cure Spiritual Apathy”

With Rabbi Ari Sollish

Recorded live at The Torah Center ATL on Sunday, October 27, 2024

We've all experienced moments when our heart has felt like stone -- unmoved, uninspired. Times when we knew we should feel something, times when we even felt we should feel something, but we still didn't. Because despite our best intentions and efforts, sometimes, our heart simply does not respond the way we'd like.

The Kabbalists call this condition "timtum halev," spiritual and emotional apathy. Which is a great way to describe the problem. But what's the solution?

The answer, my friends, is found in a mysterious passage of Zohar, the mystical Book of Radiance -- a passage that likens the human body to firewood.

In this session of Kabbalah Café we study Zohar and discover the Kabbalistic path for moving from spiritual apathy toward spiritual sensitivity.

Kabbalah Café

Know Your Soul - Part 6

“Break In Case of Emergency”

With Rabbi Ari Sollish

Recorded live at The Torah Center ATL on Sunday, November 3, 2024

The mystics reveal what lies under the hood of the human being. Inside the body lies the soul. Inside the soul lies ten soul powers. And inside the ten soul powers lies the "ahava mesuteres" -- the core energy and light of the soul.

Ahava mesuteres literally translates as "hidden love" of G-d. The mystics explain that it's not so much that the soul's core love is hidden, but that it's protected and firewalled from nefarious influences. Which means that the soul's innermost fire forever burns, no matter what is thrown its way.

In this session of Kabbalah Café we dig deep and discover the core essence of our being. We explore the mysterious hidden love we all possess, and find out why, so often, we only access this gift in case of emergency.

Kabbalah Café

Know Your Soul - Part 8

“Eternal Life”

With Rabbi Ari Sollish

Recorded live at The Torah Center ATL on Sunday, November 17, 2024

In the beginning, human beings were designed to live forever. G-d told Adam that he would live eternally, unless he did one crazy and reckless thing -- eating from the Tree of Knowledge. We know how the story ended: Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, and mortality was born.

Why were humans originally slated to live forever? How did eating the forbidden fruit -- fruit! -- change that? And what is the appeal of eternal life anyway?

In this session of Kabbalah Café we explore the promise of eternal life and gain mystical insight into the nature of spirit, matter, and the ultimate destiny of humanity.

Kabbalah Café

Know Your Soul - Part 7

“The G-d Particle”

With Rabbi Ari Sollish

Recorded live at The Torah Center ATL on Sunday, November 10, 2024

The G-d particle is real. No, I'm not talking about the Higgs boson -- that's a completely different class. :) What I'm talking about is the actual G-d particle, the "piece" of G-d that supports and sustains all of existence, without which nothing would be.

See, it's easy to take existence for granted. Things are because they are, we might believe. But in the world of Kabbalah, nothing just is. Things are made, animated, and constantly sustained -- intentionally. Which means that the G-d particle is not a one-off phenomenon; it is the ongoing truth of our reality.

In this session of Kabbalah Café we dive deep inside the making of the universe and discover the implication of the G-d particle in our lives.

Kabbalah Café

Know Your Soul - Part 9

“The Soul of Desire”

With Rabbi Ari Sollish

Recorded live at The Torah Center ATL on Sunday, November 24, 2024

In exploring the contours of the soul, Kabbalah teaches that there are several tiers of soul powers. Some powers are functional, some are emotional, and some are intellectual. And then, towering above the cognitive faculties of the soul, lies ratzon -- desire.

Ratzon is the most powerful part of the soul. It operates by brute force, pushes the other soul powers away, and dominates -- literally -- by sheer will.

Where does ratzon get its force from? Why is it so much stronger than the other soul powers? And how can we harness its force for good?

In this session of Kabbalah Café we study mystical teachings on ratzon and discover hidden truths about our own abilities.

Kabbalah Café

Know Your Soul - Part 3

“Kelipah, Kelipah Everywhere!”

With Rabbi Ari Sollish

Recorded live at The Torah Center ATL on Sunday, October 13, 2024

Reality, say the mystics, is divided into three categories: the good, the bad, and the neutral. These latter two realms are called "kelipah."

What, exactly is kelipah? Why does it contain two dimensions? And what should our approach be when encountering kelipah?

In this session of Kabbalah Café we explore the Kabbalistic mystery of kelipah, and learn why it holds the secret of our very purpose of being.

Decoding the Talmud - Lesson 5

How the Talmud Thinks: A Unique Method of Logic—and Why It Matters

With Rabbi Ari Sollish

Recorded Live at The Torah Center ATL on Wednesday, February 26, 2025

Understand the Babylonian Talmud’s rigorous mode of legal reasoning, how it balances dueling principles to arrive at clear legal boundaries, and how its elegant logic fuels deeper learning.

What Is?

Rethinking Everything we Know About Our Universe

Lesson 4: Why Does Evil Exist?

With Rabbi Ari Sollish

Recorded Live at The Torah Center ATL on Wednesday, February 25, 2025

Why do bad things happen to good people? The question has been asked—and answered—for thousands of years. But even if we understood the purpose of evil, would this make it more palatable and acceptable? Would it aid us in our efforts to defeat evil?