Leuchter

Session 104: Intro to Shmone Esrei Part I — עומדים ברומו של עולם Standing on Top of the World

How do you know you're at the peak? The view from the top is wider and broader than the view down below...

Shmone Esrei is the peak of Tefilla; it is an opportunity to gather every facet of yourself and elevate it to nearness with God and His Benevolence. But how? What is the essence of Tefilla, of Bakasha? What does it feel like to stand at the peak of the world?

Session 103: Does Davening Really Help?

Painful days demand painful questions and real answers. Please listen to this class.

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When innocent children are stabbed to death in the streets of Jerusalem; when people are mowed down in a kosher supermarket in Paris; when every news outlet tries to be “fair” by denying the atrocities of history and of today… How does it help to sit down and say some Tehillim?

When you pray to God that He stop the carnage, and by the time you close your siddur, a charitable man has been cruelly butchered… How can you say that your connection to God is real?

When people are scared, abused, hurting, sick, lonely, depressed, and you want so desperately to heal them, to hold them, to fix things, but you don’t know how… How can you feel that God is listening to you and cares about you?

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How to turn your pain into a bridge to God, and how to feel the pain of others.

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Introduction to Shmone Esrei:

Getting a concept of how to relate to Hashem at the highest level of Neshama, by merging your will with His.

Session 99: Emes VeYatziv — Truth and Stability, Part I: Transitioning from the Mind Space of Shema to Shemone Esrei

“In preparation for the Shemoneh Esrei we focus our minds on the miraculous events of geulas Mitzrayim which were clearly a manifestation of the personal involvement of HaKadosh Baruch Hu Himself in our redemption: 

אני ולא מלאך. אני ולא שרף. אני ולא השליח. אני הוא ולא אחר.”

(—Rav Schwab on Prayer, pg. 379)

“…since the splitting of the Red Sea [in response to the prayers of the Jewish People] revealed that Hashem is interested in what is best for us, its invocation establishes the perfect foundation for prayer. By mentioning our redemption at the Red Sea, we recognize that our needs are, in reality, the personal concern of Hashem.  …And it is this recognition that enables us to approach Hashem and engage Him…regarding our needs.”

(—Tefilla: Creating Dialogue with Hashem, Chapter 1)

 

Session 90: Why is the Sky Blue? How to See Colors - וראיתם ועשיתם

How to make choices that express your true inner desires. How to give concrete expression to internal change and growth. Hashem appreciates small steps. When smallness is bigness; when tiny changes have profound impact. הכל צפוי והרשות נתונה.

Session 88: Change the World! The Importance of Seeing - וראיתם אותו - Part I

p.s.: Bonus Track! Learning from Ruth how to become a vehicle and a channel for holiness and blessing to the world. Yes, you can.

What is Tikkun Olam? Hint: It's not what they've been telling you.

"To change the messages which the world sends us is to change the world itself." (R' Reuvein Leuchter, Teshuva)