PowerON Prayer (Tuesdays at YAYOE)

Handouts:The Book of Vashti | Source Sheet

Wear a sweater — this class will give you the chills. Where is Esther mentioned in the Torah… even before she was born? The spiritual nature of a person lives in the realm of the supernatural, despite being masked by the physical nature of bodily life in this world. And isn’t that what Purim is all about? Happy Purim!Handouts:Where is Esther in the Torah source sheet

Handouts:Baruch Sheim Kevod Malchuso/ Moshe Brings The Secret of the Malachim

Handout:Intro to Baruch Sheim Part 1

Yichud Hasheim via Kabbalas Malchus…However great the variety presented to you both by Nature and by history and by your own life, you have nonetheless grasped the fact, which you must now lay to heart as vital, that all this is the doing of One God, through Whose will everything everywhere has been and is, and Whose will has directed everything that has happened and will happen to you; One God everywhere and in everything. Everything comes from this One God both in heaven and on earth, and everything therefore conforms to one design, is part of one all-wise plan. But above all, the most vital lesson to lay to heart is the this One God is your God, and that you have acknowledged Him in order to live rightly. … for in everything and with everything you have been summoned to the service of the One God. Strive to reach this One, and be one in heart as your God is One.— Rav S.R. Hirsch, Horeb, Ch. 2, “Unity of God"Handouts:112: Yichud Hashem via Kabbalas Malchus Shamayim | Source SheetShema YisraelThe Secret of Yichud

Handouts:Shema as Nishma handout

Handouts:Shema - The Truth Within

Harnessing the power of emotion with will and determination to break through the barrier to the supernatural.Sara Kaufman, who attended this shiur, adds a valuable and moving insight: realizing the lengths to which Hashem goes to hold tight to Menashe and to bring him back to wholeness with Him, evokes a deep feeling of the awesome bond Hashem has made with each of us, in the gift of being part of the Jewish people. A promise of never being abandoned or written off, no matter how far we go astray; a covenant to always hear us and keep a door open for us to come back when our Teshuva is real; a vow to watch each of us personally, whatever it takes. ״הקב״ה נוהג עמהם במדת ישרות בעוה״ז, ונותן להם שכרם משלם לעוה״ב. אמר הקב״ה בני הפכפכים הם סרבנים הם טרחנים הם. לכלותם אי אפשר, להחליפם אי אפשר, להחזירם למצרים אי אפשר. ומה אעשה להם? אייסרם ביסורין וקונסן ברעבון …״ מדרש רות, פתיחתא 3תHandout:Menashe and the Imperative of "Shema!" | Source Sheet

"Who is it that appears to your inner self in all this awakening? It is God, Who is revealed to you by the history of your ancestors, Who in every age and generation is the all mighty, the all-sustaining, judging and guiding providence."...What should you be in this newly awakened world? What should you be in this choir of servants? You also should be a servant. You also should dedicate all your powers unitedly to His service. As His creating word calls forth the sun, and summons the light of the world, so has God's love appointed Israel as the bearer of the light of spirit and life, and as the bearer of the Torah."— Rav S.R. Hirsch, Horeb, par. 628 Handout:Transition from Pesukei DeZimra to Shema

Rabbi S.R. Hirsch, “The Nineteen Letters”, Third Letter:…[God] created an abundance of forces… and then He separated them, so that each had to sustain the other: none was henceforth able to exist and function by itself, but had to be sustained by fellow creatures and , in turn, had to help them exist and function. In this way, everything contributes according to its strength, however much or little, to the existence of the whole; and if it destroys a fellow creature, it robs itself of what it needs for its own existence. Thus … the seed, after germination in the ground, is taken from the earth to become the ripened fruit, so that the earth will have to receive again in order to give again. Thus one immense bond of love, of receiving and giving, unites all beings. None exists by itself and for itself; there is a constant striving of each creature with, through and for the others, on behalf of the whole, and of the whole on behalf of every creature. Everything receives strength and resources not for itself as such, but merely in order to give, to give and thereby to attain fulfillment of the purpose of its existence.“ה stands for love,” say our Sages; “love, sustained and sustaining, characterizes the Creation of the earth.Everything in it whispers to you: “Love”.Handouts:יחיד חי העולמים

The story of progress towards the goal is the story of Jewish history. It’s the story of imperfect people reaching for greater perfection.Let your commitment be expressed in practice.

Handouts:ונמליכך

Handouts:ברוך מרחם על הארץ, ברוך מרחם על הבריותPachad Yitzchak Chanuka Maamar

“You should show by your example, and bear witness by your deeds, that the true son and true daughter of Israel hold nothing higher than God and fulfillment of His Divine Will. And you shall, if it be necessary, willingly seal this testimony with your life, in that, if it must be, you offer it up in order to preserve your loyalty to God and to inspire such loyalty in your brethren. You will achieve more by your death than by your life, for you leave behind to the congregation of Israel an eternal example of faith which will inspire your children and your children’s children to a life of saintliness. "But if you sacrifice yourself to the hallowing of the Holy Name, do not expect a miracle to save you. Leave it in God’s hands. He alone can judge which is more worthwhile: death in the present or the life that might be left to you.” — Rav S.R. Hirsch, Horeb, "Kiddush Hashem"Handouts:Pachad Yitzchak Chanuka Maamar ABaruch Gozer UMekayem | Gevura as Ultimate Chessed

Handout:Baruch Gozer U'Mekayem | Gevurah as Ultimate Chessed

Post Shiur Discussion: Is the Age of the Universe a Principle of Faith in Hashem as the Creator?

P.S. Discussion about the evolution of world languages from Hebrew:

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"Yiras Hashem means, strictly, to see God everywhere and to feel your own littleness in His greatness.” (Horeb, Yirah)“…contemplate the all-conquering omnipotence of God. Here, too, we learn that unshakable trust which enables us to withstand all the vicissitudes of life and even death itself, and which enables all those pervaded with the genuine fear of God to unlearn the fear of human power or natural force, and in its place to acquire the skill of passing calmly and serenely through all the trials that are part of daily living.” (Hirsch Siddur, Gevuros)

HandoutZimra: Pruning and directing growth; joyous song"...[behold] how He, and He alone, is in everything, in the greatest as in the smallest, and the whole universe is enclosed in His greatness, so do you everywhere stand Sinai, let God everywhere reveal Himself to you, in everything great and small. Seek Him everywhere. Everything which has been, which is, which will be -- above all, everything which has happened and will happen to you, refer everywhere and always to God, and think of it as being only from God. So will every creature, even the smallest, every change, even the slightest, every fleeting moment, recall 'God' to you. The omnipotent, holy God will be everywhere present to you in His all-embracing greatness, so that you may be servants to Him and not sin...." (Horeb, Yirah)