Jacob’s ladder reaches up through the worlds to the inwardness of G-d called the Infinite Light. The point of our religion (with its 613 commands) is to bring us up those rungs to meet HaShem there face to face, core to core. That is what our First Commandment asks of us, to behold the simple oneness that Hashem refers to when He says, “I am….” [2], [3] It’s a multi-millennial journey with milestones along the way. Meor v’Shemesh divides the path into three stages based on th

TISHA B’AV 5772 / 2012 Based on R. Tsadok HaKohen Pri Tsadik, Devarim 16 and Resisei Laila, 48 (וביום שני…) Sarah Yehudit Schneider Any person who acquires daat, it is as if he built the Temple in his days. (Brochot 33a) The world came into being when God took a certain [sapphire] stone, which is called the “Foundation Stone”, and cast it into the abyss, and upon that stone God founded the world. It is the center point of the universe and upon it stands the Holy of Holies…Thi

Chanukka, 2012 / 5773 Inspired by R. Tsadok HaKohen, Resisei Laila, 56 and 57 Sarah Yehudit Schneider Hillel says to start with one candle and add another each day until, at the end, there’s eight…Shammai says to start with eight and remove one each day until, at the end, we’re left with one….[TB Shabbat 21b][1] Now, we rule like Hillel, but in the messianic days-to-come we will rule like Shammai [Mikdash HaMelek, Parshat Bereshit 17b; R. Tsadok HaKohen, Chanukka 8] “The era

Hanukkah holds the secret of how to survive exile and how to accomplish the purpose of it. And that brings us to the paradox of “isolation and integration”.

It is customary to eat fruits and drink wine in celebration of TuB’Shvat, the Rosh HaShana of fruit trees. And it is fitting to admire each fruit and speak its praises before you eat it. In that spirit I present a tribute to wine. Of the five fruits indigenous to Israel only grapes can be processed in such a way that their “status” increases. When eaten off the vine the blessing we say is the same as for all fruits. But when turned into wine (or grape juice), an exclusive bl

Pesach 5773 / 2013 Sarah Yehudit Schneider The 12th step in our seder is called Tsafun—meaning hidden or secret. It follows the festive meal and marks the time for “dessert” which, at the seder, means our last portion of matzah, called the Afikoman. Really, the dessert should be the Paschal lamb—the sacrificial centerpiece of our evening’s ritual, but without the Temple there is no way to truly sanctify the lamb’s slaughter so we substitute matzah instead. In the original Pas