Printed fromJewishGardens.com
ב"ה

Our Blog

Do you ever feel empty or hollow inside?

Do you ever feel empty or hollow inside?

As if there is a fire burning inside of you that refuses to be quenched no matter how hard you try?

If so, you’re not alone.

Whilst psychoanalysts have tried so hard to define what lies at the core of a human being with urges such as lust and power, the wisest of all men, King Solomon gives us a profound and simple insight.

‘The soul of Man is the candle of G-d’. Inside us all, at the very core, lies a soul, which works a lot like a candle. Just like a flame is perpetually reaching upwards, so too our soul will never be quenched until it unites with its source above, in G-d.

Now, this might sound like seriously religious stuff, but in reality, our Kabbalists explain, it is surprisingly simple to achieve.

You see, man is created in the image of G-d. But this is only when man is united with his other half-another human being. Be it in marriage or in a deep friendship, when we connect with another, we return to the image of G-d in which we were originally created .sharing.jpg On our own, we are like half of a treasure map, practically useless until it is united with another, only then the map is complete. Now we have completed the image of G-d. Now, finally, our soul’s yearning is finally quenched.

This is why it feels so amazing to be in love.

So the next time you feel empty and without purpose, stop thinking about yourself and try thinking about others. Stop thinking selfish and think selfless. The deeper you connect with your fellow human, the deeper the image of G-d you’ll be forming, and the better you’ll feel on the inside!

Help- I'm falling out of love!

As a rabbi, I'm often approaced by people suffering from boring relationships, simply because they are 'falling out of love'. 'Nothing's wrong, Rabbi!, we just don't feel the magic the same way that we used to feel it.'

A closer look at the Passover story, provides us with the key to solving this malady.

You see, when our ancestors were slaves in Egypt, there was really very little that was special about them. They were steeped in idolatry just as much as the culture in which they lived.

Yet, inexplicably G-d loved them.

He chose them to be His Chosen People. Not because of what they had done but for no good reason. When the Egyptian oppressors were drowning in the Red Sea, the angels complained 'Why are the Jews any better than the Egyptians?!'

This is true love- loving another exactly as they are and not for what they do.

So many people are under the impression that Love is how the other person makes me feel. If I don;t feel special anymore being with my partner, then it might be time to go our seperate ways.

Love in hebrew is Ahava. The root of the word is Hav, which means'give'. According to the Kabbalah, Love is not about taking, but about giving. It is not about how others make you feel, nbut about how you make others feel.

So if you are feeling 'out of love', stop pointing fingers and blaming others and try to give more love. Do a random act of kindness to the person you love. Buy her flowers or cook his favorite dinner. Simply Give.  

The Kaballah assures us that our hearts follow our deeds- once you repeat acts of kindness to another, your heart will follow through with the appropriate emotion and you will begin to feelt hat same old magical feeling all over again.

The power to love is in your hands! 

Do you stay up at night with financial worry and anxiety?

Do you stay up at night with financial worry and anxiety?

Perhaps you can learn a lesson from Moses that might help you.

insomnia.jpgYou see- when the Jewish People were ready to stop being slaves and start becoming a free people, the very first instruction from G-d, through Moses, was that they should go to work to make a living. But it wasn't an instruction to just start working. Moses tells them a great secret: 'its how you work that counts, not how hard you work that matters'

Instead of the active, intensive form of "Six Days a week you shall work', Moses says it in the unusual passive, mild form: 'Six days a week work shall have been done' - work hard, but not with all your soul. Because you're not in this on your own. G-d wants to help. He wants to be your partner. You just need to let him in.

If you work too hard- working like your life depends on it- then you leave no room for G-d to help you succeed. But if you work hard, and with faith, you welcome G-d into your business. Moses assures us that'G-d will bless you in all that you do',He will help you succeed beyond your wildest expectations.

'Where is G-d?' was a question once posed to the saintly Rebbe of Kotzk. 'Where?! you ask. Wherever you let him in!!'

So start working a little less hard, start believing a little more and you'll certainly enjoy the good night's sleep that follows!

Wishing you a Shabbat full of faith and wild success,

Rabbi Dovid and Chana Vigler

DIY: How to make a meaningful Passover Seder

Why celebrate Passover this year if you did it last year and the year before? If we're just commemorating a story that happened 3300 years ago, then why shouldn't we upgrade the Seder and discuss something a little more recent and relevant? 

The Torah reveals to us that Passover is not just a story of the past; it's a model for the present.  

You see,

·'Egypt' means boundaries and limitations, or simply, our struggles.

·Pharoah is our ego, addictions and bad habits that rise over us to and compell us to behave in ways unnatural to our soul.

·Matza is the bread that never rose on their way out of Egypt- it represents a new beginning filled with faith in G-d that everything will turn out right.

This year, I challenge you to reinterpret your Passover Seder.

·Instead of reading it in the past tense, see if you can read it in the present tense.  

·Each time it says Egypt- think of your challenges

·Each time it says Pharoah, think of your bad habits and ego

·Each time it says Matza- think of a renewed commmitment to G-d, filled with humility

 This way, instead of reading an irrelevant story of the past 'we were slaves to Pharoah in Egypt', you'll be reading a story about yourself: 'We are slaves to our egos and bad habits in our struggles' 

Then, listen closely to the Haggdah as it reveals to you the path to becoming a better and more fulfilled person. How to be the person you want to be and break away from the person that youve become.  Try it and experience freedom. And get out of Egypt! 

We would like to invite you and your family to join us for our Gourmet Passover Seders this year. 

 You've got a few weeks to prepare. Please let me know if you would like to discuss this privately.

Wishing you peace from all struggles-

Rabbi Dovid Vigler 

[email protected] 
561-624-2223 

Looking for older posts? See the sidebar for the Archive.