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Art & Music

The artist’s genius lies in the ability to bypass the externals and perceive the essence. This too is the goal of a mitzvah.

Music might be the closest physical representation of the spiritual. And, as they say, art is the biggest lie relating the greatest truth. From pop to classical to a simple lullaby hummed by a mother, music is the universal language of heart. From post-modern to pre-Renaissance to surrealism, art frames life in a whole new light. Are these things G-dly, holy, or profane? Isn’t there some commandment against images? And what about music – is music spiritually sound?

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Vayeishev: Didgeridoo

Weekly Op-Ed •December 10th, 2009• 2 Comments

A didgeridoo, also known as a didge, is considered to be the world’s oldest wind instrument. Jewish spiritual connection to the didgeridoo…

Viewing Life Like an Artist

Transcripts/Sources • 1 Comment

Do you need help with viewing life like an artist? This letter offers spiritual instructions for viewing life like an artist in order to overcome depression.

Historic Jewish Personalities in Movies

Transcripts/Sources •Level: Advanced • 0 Comments

Miriam’s Song

Essays • 0 Comments

Learn the spiritual meaning of Miriam’s Song, at the Exodus from Egypt. Based on an address by the Lubavitcher Rebbe.

Walls

Essays • 0 Comments

Since the destruction of the Temple and our exile from the Holy Land, these venues of connection (mitzvos) with G-d have been closed to us.

Olympic Thoughts

Essays • 1 Comment

Sports are all consuming in today’s society, but what can we learn from this about reality and illusion?

Finding Purpose in the Pursuit of a Hobby

Questions & Answers • 0 Comments

Pursuit of a hobby can be an act of selflessness — when the soul of the pursuit is in sync.

Simchat-Torah: From Chickens to Vegetables

Essays • 0 Comments

As we move right along from fauna to flora, from swirling chickens before Yom Kippur to thrusting shrubs on Sukkot, the holidays have an organic nature…

The Soul of Music

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A conversation between a best-selling rabbi and the acclaimed musician Peter Himmelman about the true soul of music. Soul, music, and Judaism converged.

Art, Religion & Democracy

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In a democracy, whose responsibility is it not to offend the community with art? Can art, religion and democracy ever agree on freedom of expression?

The Art of Deception

Shorts • 0 Comments

Jewish mystical thought: The artist is a master of deception. What is our world? A product of the art of deception.

Entertainment

Transcripts/Sources • 1 Comment

Meaningful, spiritual entertainment stimulates the human spirit to grow. How to know the difference between empty entertainment and spiritual entertainment.

Slichos Song by Phillip Namanworth

Shorts • 0 Comments

Rosh Hashanah — head of the Year. The control center of our hearts and minds is open to rebuilding.

Sing

Weekly Op-Ed • 17 Comments

After the parting of the Red Sea, the Israelites sing together as recorded in Parshat Beshalach. It reveals the power of song as spiritual transportation.

The Liberating Power of Dance

Shorts • 2 Comments

Dance manifests our natural internal movement. When we freeze up, we muzzle and shackle our inner spirit. When we break out into an unbridled dance, with our hands waving free and our bodies unchained, our inherent inner rhythm is liberated and comes gushing forth.