An inspiring and practical teaching on Tisha B’Av by Sarah Yehudit Schneider

A Rosh HaShana Teaching Inspired by the Igeret HaTeshuvah of R. Shneur Zalman of Liadi (excerpted below) You might be surprised to hear that addiction is as old as humanity itself…literally. The midrash picks up subtleties that are invisible to most readers. In the Genesis story it notes a glaring Freudian slip with grave significance. After Adam and Chava’s eating from the forbidden tree, the following conversation ensues between Adam and HaShem: And the HaShem called to Ada

Excerpt From A Shockingly Relevant Teaching About Purim From Years Back. Sarah Yehudit Schneider Below is a Purim teaching from some years back that addresses our multi-millennial battle with Amalek and what might be at least one point of all that. It’s a glimpse into the bigger picture that makes it a little easier to stretch and hold the horror of the present. It was written at another time, in another context, so its a little more dispassionate than if it were to be writte

Zohar on the Mystery of Echo and the “Three Cries” as a Model of Trauma What’s presented here, is a direct translation of the Zohar (appearing in bold) along with an elaborated commentary which explores the implications and applications of the text in regards to trauma. The complete Zoharic text, without commentary, appears in Hebrew and English at the end. This is a longer teaching that what usually appears on this site. A PDF version is available for your convenience. Speec

Chanukka 5784 / 2023 Sarah Yehudit Schneider בחנוכה ובפורים מזכירין בתפלה בימי [מתתיהו…או מרדכי ואסתר], מה שלא מצינו במועדים שלא יזכירו יציאת מצרים על ידי משה ואהרן. והטעם דשם היה מפורש שהנס היה מהשם יתברך שצוה למשה ואהרן להוציא את בני ישראל ממצרים מה שאין כן כאן שעשו ישראל מעצמם. ובימי מרדכי היה על כל פנים נביאים אחרונים מה שאין כן בחנוכת חשמונאים שכבר פסקה נבואה מישראל רק הם מעצמם נתעוררו לקדש שם שמים ואף שהיה גם כן מהשם יתברך שנתן להם כח ואומץ הלב. ואחר כך עשה להם הנס לנצח

The month of Shevat brings tools to address gluttony (לעיטה), a trait that is closely related to envy which is a frequent precursor to sinat chinam (baseless hatred). HaShem is the master of timing. As the war enters its phase-2 and we settle a bit more into normalcy, there’s the danger of settling back into our bad habits as well. It’s going to take a conscious commitment to preserve the precious upsurge of national unity that has been our strength for these difficult months