BARBARA'S TCHATZKAHS

I often think about waking up in a world without my parents; being no one's daughter anymore. And being no one's partner since my marriage ended 10 years ago. Yes, I do have my beloved children. But, it would be a very lonely existence without Hashem. There is so much division in the world today. I hope that world leader's, particularly Obama - think very hard about whether their actions are TRULY fostering "estrangement or oneness." My kudos to Ms. Rigler for a terrific article. Waking Up to a World without God's Presence by Sara Yoheved Rigler How different is the world we live in! When the Temple was destroyed, the dogged illusion of Divine absence settled over our world like a perpetual fog. In this world where Divine hiddenness has replaced Divine revelation, we grope for proofs of God's existence, like fish debating about the existence of water. We are relegated to "believing" when once we simply knew. We struggle, through pra...

By Tzvi Freeman Answer: There isn't anything after life, because life never ends. It just goes higher and higher. The soul is liberated from the body and returns closer to her source than ever before. The Torah assumes this in its language many times -- describing Abraham's death, for example, as going to rest with his fathers and similar phrases. The Talmud discusses the experiences of several people who made the trip there and back. Classic Jewish works such as Maavor Yabok describe the process of entering the higher world of life as a reflection of the soul's experiences while within the body: If the soul has become entrenched in material pleasures, she experiences the pain of ripping herself away from them so that she can experience the infinitely higher pleasure of basking in G-dly light. If she is soiled and injured by acts that sundered her from her true self while below, then she must be cleansed and healed. On the other hand, the good deeds and wisdom she has gai...

ENGAGE YOUR BRAIN I get these emails from the Chabad every day. I read them but, this one really struck me because of the question it asks "What was Balaam thinking?" How many times has someone we know, a family member or something we see on the news made us say "what the heck were they THINKING?" The answer is - they weren't thinking, they were reacting. Hashem however is pro-acting. Hashem being thought itself and giving us the power of cognition hopes we do think. But so often we don't. And to those friends of mine who tell me I think too much - I say thinking brings me closer to Hashem and to making the best choice for my children and those I care about. Engage your brain. THE SHOWDOWN By Lazer Gurkow --------------- They stood arrayed against each other; the best either nation had to offer. On one side stood Moses, who will be remembered as the greatest prophet of all time. On the other side was Balaam, the far-famed soothsayer, whose curses were regar...