Brachos

67: Ruling Yitzros with Ratzon Hashem and Asher Yatzar - יצר הרע ויצר הטוב משעבדים לרצון השם

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Serving Hashem with our Yetzer Tov and Yetzer Hara: What does Hashem want from me in this moment? What is my role here?

"Value your life not according to possessions and enjoyment, but according to good deeds; and again value your actions only according to the relation to that means which you possess and acquire. It is not how much or how little you have that makes you great or small, but how much or how little you are with what you have, how much or how little you utilize what has been lent to you for action in the service of God – that is it which makes you great or small." 

– Rav S.R. Hirsch, Horeb, pg. 46 par. 105. 

Post Shiur Discussions:

P.S 1: “Stop and Think”: Implementing God’s Will in the moment of choice.

P.S. 2: A New Angle on the bracha of Asher Yatzar.

45: Humanity's Connection to Earth: רוקע הארץ על המים - Part 2

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Shoes off feet: where you're at. Shoes on feet: where you're going.

It's the difference between taking yet another step forward, and staying at your madreiga. It's the difference between wearing shoes and going barefoot. It's the different between life and death; love and rejection. Hit the ground running! 

This is the final shiur of the 5775 2014-2015 School Year. I look forward to seeing you in Elul!

40: Our Actions Can Reveal God's Will in the World — Zokeif Kefufim Part IV זוקף כפופים

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#40B P.S. Post Shiur Discussion:

When we pray using the words of the Siddur, our voices join the echoes of the voices of King David and all the prophets and righteous people who spoke those words before us. Also, a brief introduction to Asher Yatzar and Elokai Neshama. אשר יצר - אלקי נשמה.

The purpose of falling is to be held up by Hashem. The purpose of stumbling is to be caught by Hashem. The point of falling is what you do when you fall. The point of stumbling is what you do when you stumble. Remembering God's past kindnesses to you will help you cross the chasm from falling down to being.

39: Thinking Like a Snake vs. Thinking Like a Human — Zokeif Kefufim Part III זוקף כפופים

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True freedom comes from the realization that there is a bigger picture than just what we can see. There is a God, and there is a Divine choice inside of me to choose His Will. In the power of this choice, in breaking through the barrier of the finite, we can never be enslaved again.

#39B P.S. Post Shiur Discussion: It is even greater to do your duty than it is to volunteer. גדול המצווה ועושה משאינו מצווה ועושה.

28: Malbish Arumim Part II מלביש ערומים: The Definition of Chessed

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The Torah is Chessed (kindness) from beginning to end. In this session, we find that God's lovingkindness in clothing Adam and Chava reveals the deeper essence of what Chessed really is about.

"Everything which, when done selfishly for ourselves, is lowering, becomes divinely great when done for others. … Thus the hardship of life, the need for assistance, has become the basis on which everybody, who so wills, can elevate himself to God-like heights." (Rabbi S.R. Hirsch, Commentary on the Torah, Bereishis 3:21)

#28B P.S. (Post-Shiur) Q&A: Practical Approaches to Chessed in Real Life