Printed fromChabadUCLA.com
ב"ה

Vayeitzei 5765 - November 19, 2004

Gangs of Angels

A famous saying by Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov goes: "The physical life of a Jew is a spiritual thing." Sounds great, but what does it mean?
Parshah
Vayetze in a Nutshell
Jacob rests on his way to Charan and dreams of a ladder with angels ascending and descending. Laban tricks Jacob into marrying his daughter Leah. A week later, Jacob also marries Rachel. He works for Laban for 14 years, then escapes with his wives and children.
Due Date

I am constricted, I am uncomfortable, I am in pain. I am in exile from my body, my emotions and my true state of being. I am anxious and annoyed and annoying. I am actually experiencing galut for the first time
The Night Belongs to Jacob

When evening falls, we sense the mortality of the human condition; we realize that daylight and warmth don't last forever. The morning's optimism and the afternoon's momentum give way to the night's brooding despair. Enter Jacob with his gift of Truth...
Story
Selfless to a Fault

A chassidic businessman came to my grandfather. This was a man who always kept Gates of Light and The Gate of Faith in his breast pocket, and was fluent in both.
What Is the Meaning of the ‘Evil Eye’?

The “evil eye,” ayin hara in Hebrew, is the harmful negative energy that is created when one looks at something with envy or ill feeling.
The physical life of a Jew is a spiritual thing
— Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov (founder of chassidism, 1698-1760)
Print Magazine

It’s G-d’s world. Everything He gives is good, the sweetest good.

But it is often a good far too great for us to understand. We imagine it is not good, because that’s the only way to make sense of it with our small minds.

Yet the truth is, He gives us all the good we can handle. If we could take more, He would g...