Rebbe Nachman is showing us in his classic tale the importance of connecting to a righteous spiritual guide. We see that the road to accomplishing any true goal is strewn with… [Read more...]

The 13th Principle of Emuna is our belief that death as we know it today is a passing stage. It is definitely not terminal, for we believe in the resurrection of the dead. This principle is so very important that we allude to it six times in the initial three-benediction section of the Amidah… [Read more...]

Why do we blow the shofar on Rosh Hashanah? What's the connection between the shofar and Moshiach? Our sages provide some eye-opening answers that tell us exactly what's happening… [Read more...]

Everyone of us has an acute problem like a pebble in our shoe that hurts every time we take a step. The evil inclination wants us to think that we have to suffer the pebble forever. Not true! All we have to do is to take off our shoe, get rid of the pebble, and put our shoe on… [Read more...]

The king and queen were childless and they yearned for a son. They summoned a secret tzaddik to pray for them. The tzaddik promised that they would have a son, made exclusively of rare jewels. We are all looking forward to seeing this… [Read more...]

Even though Moshiach (the Messiah) has not yet come, we eagerly anticipate his arrival. The advent of the Messianic era includes the Geula, the full redemption of our people, the ingathering of the exiles to our holy homeland of Israel and the rebuilding of our Holy Temple in Jerusalem. We believe… [Read more...]

Since the Hebrew calendar is according to the lunar months, it is in perfect synchronization with the Zodiac. Each Hebrew month corresponds exactly to the dominant monthly constellation. We are now in the middle of the Hebrew month of Elul, which amazingly corresponds to… [Read more...]

Did you ever wonder why people are willing to exert themselves so much to climb mountains? Your soul wants to do the same thing, but you don't need a Mount Everest to gain a magnificent view of the world and of yourself. In Elul, Hashem is especially close to… [Read more...]

This tale is the key to understanding our own lives. Rebbe Nachman shows us our Divine souls, "the King's son", which is none other than a metaphor for that very part of us that is a spark of the Almighty. Why are we not aware of this? "The son of the maidservant," the body, gets in the way. Who is… [Read more...]

Hashem grants mankind the free will to do good or evil, for there can be no concept of reward and punishment outside the context of free choice. Therefore, there cannot be the slightest coercion in either direction. Simply speaking, it's your… [Read more...]

The Torah tells us that Sarah lived to the age of 127 (Genesis 23:1). Rashi, our foremost biblical commentator explains that they were all equally good years. How could that be true? Few women in history had a more difficult and apparently miserable life that our Matriarch Sarah. Her life was a… [Read more...]

Many people don't know where to begin when the month of Elul rolls around and we must get our preparations for the Day of Judgment on Rosh Hashanah in high gear. If you're one of these folks, don't panic. This inspiring story will show you exactly what you can do, with a big spiritual clout for a… [Read more...]