Rebbe Nachman

From Mishkan to Soul
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From Mishkan to Soul

Why does the Torah forbid building the Mishkan on Shabbat? Explore the deep connection between divine rest and spiritual self-nullification to the Light of the Ein Sof. Uncover the mystical significance of Shabbat and its role in transcending physical creation. Read more to unlock these profound insights.

Blood [is] Money
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Blood [is] Money

The Torah teaches that someone who injures another is responsible for medical expenses (Shemot 21:19). This passage also introduces the phrase "v'rapo y'rapei," which leads to a deeper exploration of the role of doctors and the spiritual implications of healing. What secret do these words come to reveal?

To Sleep Like a Horse

To Sleep Like a Horse

How to Come Out from Under the Control of the Sitra Achra: Imagine a prison, a fairly standard prison – at least standard in the way that many prisons used to be. From sunrise to sunset, the prisoners are forced into hard labor. They don't get much time to rest and they're not allowed to...

The Seven Bows that Changed the Course of the World
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The Seven Bows that Changed the Course of the World

How Come Esav Didn't Do Teshuvah? Ya'akov Avinu had finally extricated himself from Lavan's control. He had crossed the Yarden, entered Eretz Cana'an and was preparing to meet his brother Esav. He sent messengers ahead of himself, whom Rashi tells us, based on Bereshit Rabbah 75:4, were מַלְאָכִים מַמָּשׁ (literally 'angels'), instructing them with these...

Cunning: Skill in Achieving One's Ends by Deceit
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Cunning: Skill in Achieving One's Ends by Deceit

What Was So Wrong With Lavan? It is written (Bereshit 3:1): וְהַנָּחָשׁ הָיָה עָרוּם מִכֹּל חַיַּת הַשָּׂדֶה אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה יְיָ אֱלֹקִים (And the Nachash was more arum than all the animals of the field which Hashem G-d had made). What is the meaning of עָרוּם [arum]? The Bechor Shor says it means that he spoke...

What the Debate Was Really About
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What the Debate Was Really About

The Brothers Ate Eiver Min ha-Chai? When beginning the story of Yosef, the Torah tells us (Bereshit 37:2): וַיָּבֵא יוֹסֵף אֶת־דִּבָּתָם רָעָה אֶל־אֲבִיהֶם (And Yosef brought their defamation to their father). Much has been written about how the brothers defamed Yosef, but what was at the root of their disagreement with him? Rashi lists three...

Is the Goal Just to be Yotzi a Mitzvah?

Is the Goal Just to be Yotzi a Mitzvah?

Regarding the meaning of the words וּלְחֹשְׁבֵי שְׁמוֹ (and for those who thought about His name) from Malachi 3:16, Rav Ashi taught (Berachot 6a): חָשַׁב אָדָם לַעֲשׂוֹת מִצְוָה וְנֶאֱנַס וְלֹא עֲשָׂאָהּ מַעֲלֶה עָלָיו הַכָּתוּב כְּאִילּוּ עֲשָׂאָהּ (If a person thought to do a mitzvah but was prevented against his will, and he didn't do it,...

A Worm, Drippings of a Honeycomb and Men of Faith
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A Worm, Drippings of a Honeycomb and Men of Faith

Rosh Hashanah and Breaking the Power of Imagination: Good things come in threes: three patriarchs (Avraham, Yitzchak and Ya'akov), three mochin [spiritual brains] (chochmah, binah and da'at), three kinds of seichel [intellect] (potential, actualized and acquired), three lower aspects of the Jewish soul (nefesh, ruach and neshamah), three 'garments', i.e. manifestations, of the soul (machshavah...