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Parshat Vayera: Raising Outstanding Children

"And they shall keep the ways of Hashem" (Bereishit 18:19).

Rebbe Nachman of Breslov teaches that by virtue of emuna, the complete and steadfast faith in Hashem, a person merits children (Sichos HaRan, 34). At a superficial glance, Rebbe Nachman's teaching seems odd. After all, the entire world has children; yet few have attained true emuna. Rebbe Nachman's intent must therefore be much deeper than what appears on the surface, as we will explain:

When the Torah states, "And they shall keep the ways of Hashem" the Torah is testifying that Avraham's (Abraham) offspring will guard and observe Hashem's commandments.

Continue reading here at BreslovWorld.

Parshas Shoftim: The Gift of Self-Evaluation

This weeks's portion of Chassidic Pearls can be found here at Breslov World's exquisite site in English. A wonderful new month of Elul to everyone and a meaningful, holy, and restful Shabbat. Let's all pray for good tidings soon, amen.

Here's what Jeff Cohen from Texas writes about Chassidic Pearls:

Dear Rav Lazer,

I guess you could describe me and my family as Conservative Jews, but my wife and I are getting stronger all the time, mainly because of the joy and beauty we see in Rebbe Nachman's teachings, which thanks to your website and your CDs, we can relate to on our own level. One problem we had was our Shabbat table. With our 4 children (8, 10, 12, 15) it was quite a free for all. After I heard your Delight of Shabbat CD, I promised myself that this is an area that I have to improve on. I wanted to uplift the level of conversatIon at the table, but I really didn't know what to say, so I started printing out your weekly Chassidic Pearls. My wife and children have been spellbound by your parables. The great thing is that after I tell the parable and the moral, the whole family starts a discussion about it, and each of the kids voices an opinion. It's really great! Instead of talking about the baseball scores, they're talking about the weekly Torah portion! Maybe Torah-talk is normal for orthodox families, but for the Cohens in Texas this is a miracle. I have one small request - the computer printouts just don't seem to be fitting for a fancy Shabbat table (My wife prepares a beautiful spread, best dishes, linen tablecloth, silver cups, etc). Would it be possible for you to turn Chassidic Pearls into book form? Thanks for everything you do, and may Hashem give you strength. Sincerely, Jeff

Jeff's letter is really gratifying and ever so timely, as we'll soon see...

Parshat Shemini: Eating in Holiness

Vayikra 11:44 – "You shall sanctify yourselves and you shall be holy, for I am holy; you shall not contaminate yourselves."

The Torah concludes its elaboration on the forbidden foods at the end of this week's portion by commanding us to be holy. The juxtaposition of the two ordnances, "you shall sanctify yourselves" and "you shall not contaminate yourselves" indicates that eating foods that are permitted by Torah is a precondition for holiness.

Holiness in our eating is not only what we eat, but how and how much we eat.

Rebbe Nachman of Breslev explains (Likutei Moharan I:60), that one's intellect is reflected in one's countenance. The more a person possesses true wisdom, the more his or her face is illuminated. But, when one's eating is not in holiness, one loses the facial illumination, and falls into an intellectual and spiritual slumber. In other words, as Rebbe Nachman states specifically elsewhere (Ibid. 263), when a person overeats, he or she loses their human aura, their intellectual and spiritual acumen, and resemble an animal instead.

How can this be? How does eating the additional hot dog or donut literally knock a person down the rungs of the spiritual ladder from the rank of human to the rank of animal? With Hashem's compassionate guidance, the following parable will help us understand:

Parshas Vayera: Raising Outstanding Children

"And they shall keep the ways of Hashem"  (Bereishit 18:19).

Rebbe Nachman of Breslov teaches that by virtue of emuna, the complete and steadfast faith in Hashem, a person merits children (Sichos HaRan, 34). At a superficial glance, Rebbe Nachman's teaching seems odd. After all, the entire world has children; yet few have attained true emuna. Rebbe Nachman's intent must therefore be much deeper than what appears on the surface, as follows:

Parshas Kedoshim: Every Jew's Special Quality

"And you shall love your neighbor as yourself" (Vayikra 19:21).

At a superficial glance, the Torah's commandment that we love our neighbor as we love ourselves seems peculiar and virtually impossible. How can a Jew from Yemen be expected to love a Jew from Belgium, when the two have so completely different customs, mentalities, and attitudes? How can a "Chossid" love a "Litvak" when the two have been arguing for centuries already about the proper way to serve Hashem? How can a religious Jew love a secular Jew when the two differ on so many basic issues?