“And Yisro rejoiced over all of the good…” One of the revolutionary truths revealed by the Chassidic masters was the notion that with the proper intention, all facets of the human experience can be elevated to the spiritual realm and consecrated as holy service. In his foundational code of Chassidic thought, sefer HaTanya, the first Rebbe of Chabad teaches that at a time when something is troubling us and we are overcome with sadness, it is good to channel this…

“And Yisro, the priest of Midyan, father-in-law of Moshe, heard…” This week’s parsha describes the single most consequential event in world history: the giving of the Torah to the Jewish nation. But before this awesome moment is described, the parsha begins with the seemingly unrelated episode of “Vayishma Yisro”, Yisro’s drawing forth to the Jewish faith. The tzaddikim reveal a deep message hidden in this juxtaposition. In our physical reality, reaching important goals takes time. There is no such thing…

Describing the awesome revelation upon Har Sinai, the Torah states, “And the entire nation saw the sounds, and the fires, and the call of the Shofar.” R’ Shlomo Carlebach perceived a very deep lesson hidden in this verse. Gathered for Matan Torah at the foot of the mountain, six hundred thousand broken ex-slaves became bound to one another in the deepest way and elevated to the most unimaginable heights, assuming the glorious mantle of spiritual royalty as “a kingdom of…