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By Dr. Zev Ballen Image credit: paul+photos=moody
Here is a small sample of what Rebbe Nachman said about conversing with Hashem (from: Advice by Rebbe Nachman, translated by Avraham Greenbaum):
* Speech is the vessel with which we receive the flow of blessings. According to the words, so is the blessing. This is the reason why when we pray, we must actually pronounce the words with our lips (Likutey Moharan 34:3)
* Words of holiness - Torah and prayer - are a very high concept. Holy words are theShechinah, the Divine Indwelling, because the kingship of G-d and the truth of His existence is revealed through them. Holy speech is the "breath of Mashiach." (78)
* Words of Torah and prayer have the power to raise up the fallen [holy] sparks and restore and renew all the fallen worlds. The one who speaks them is accounted as if he had created Heaven and Earth and all the worlds afresh. (75)
* Longing and yearning by themselves create only the possibilityof spiritual strength. But the words of your prayers and conversations with G-d draw this spiritual strength into the realm of the actual.The letters of Torah are present throughout the Creation. By expressing your yearning and desire (for Hashem) in words, you invest these letters with strength for good. You give new life and strength to everything, drawing goodness and blessing into all the worlds. (31:8,9)
* When a person speaks to G-d and uses every kind of argument and appeal to "conquer" G-d, then G-d Himself has great joy and pleasure. He Himself sends words to this person's mouth so that he will be able to "conquer" Him. (124)
* It is impossible to convey the true greatness of this method. It is superior to all others. It is the way of serving G-d, and through following it everyone can attain the ultimate good in this world and in the World to Come. There is nothing that cannot be accomplished by prayer and entreaty. (25)
* Even if you find you are unable to express yourself before G-d, even if you can say no more than a single word, this is still good. Even if you can say nothing except "Master of the Universe" it is also good...and very precious in G-d's eyes. (25,100)
May you be inscribed and sealed in the Good Book of Life,
Dr. Zev Ballen
By Dr. Zev Ballen Image credit:Phillip Chitwood
Change is easy after we make a real decision. The difference between a real decision and the "decisions" that most people make is that a real decision is like an incision - it cuts us off from everything that stands in its way.
When someone really decides to stop smoking he is never tempted to smoke again - not because has "decided" that he prefers not to smoke but because he has changed the kind of person he is. Its the difference between: "I don't want to smoke" and "I'm a non-smoker - I'll never smoke again - I'm not even interested."
Faith in G-d is also decision. Once you DECIDE to believe, you completely burn your bridges with sadness, fear and doubt.
May you be inscribed and sealed in the Good Book of Life,
Dr. Zev Ballen
By Dr. Zev Ballen Image credit: John B G
Tracking studies have shown that after migrating from fresh water to the ocean, certain species of Salmon return to the exact spot where they were born to spawn. Ostensibly this homing behavior depends on olfactory memory (smell).
The Jewish soul is also trying to find it's way home during the month of Elul. Teshuva (repentance) means "return." We should never mistake repentance for self-persecution; repentance is simply switching our direction and heading back home to our roots. The process of returning to our spiritual roots fills us with indescribable excitement and extraordinary meaning.
May you be inscribed and sealed in the Book of Good Life,
Dr. Zev Ballen
By Dr. Zev Ballen
Growing up I seemed to be socially well-adjusted. my grades were decent, I played varsity basketball and was a popular kid.
I must have looked happy too - at least that's what my friends wrote in my yearbook.
The truth is that I felt far from true happiness and true friendship. - I put on a smiling 'face' - but the real me was hiding. That's what my therapist told me. She said that I was proficient at 'hiding' myself so that no one could know who I was - including her.
What causes one to live painfully in emotional isolation rather than to share oneself more completely with others? My therapist explained that I had a fear of being rejected by others. She told me that I had a pathological need to exaggerate my 'desirable' qualities so that others would not see the rest of me.
It's taken years for me to realize that instead of urging me find my hypothetical 'real self,' my therapist should have been telling me to get married already.
When I found my wife, I found myself.
It was only through marriage that Hashem took away my 'fears of rejection' and taught me how to feel loved and accepted for who I am. That's why the Torah prescribes early marriage - before twenty if possible.
What does the Torah mean when it says that 'Abraham was one?'
It means that he didn't have friends apart from those souls (the converts) that he and Sarah brought close to Hashem. Otherwise, Abraham was one with Hashem.
I wondered how Avraham could be close with Sarah if he was always with Hashem?
Aside for the commandment to have children, what is the purpose of getting married if one is supposed to be with Hashem? Doesn't the considerable time that I spend with my wife take away from fulfilling my main purpose of being close with Hashem?
The answer is no.
Our sages say that there is no better way to come close to Hashem in this world than through marriage. Our sages used to call their wives 'shechina' which is a reference to Hashem's Divine presence. For a man, Hashem dwells in his wife.
Sometime after his wife passed away, Reb Aryeh Levine got into a cab. The driver asked him where his home was. The tzaddik answered that since his wife passed away he no longer had a home - he just had a house.
Before I was married, I thought that there was something wrong with me because I didn't have a deep and meaningful relationship with someone. According to my therapist I was missing something. I lacked 'depth.' So we spent years searching for my 'depth' and my 'real self.'
But It was through marriage - not therapy - that I found my depth and my true completed self. It has been through marriage and not therapy that I have shed my emotional isolation, shyness and feelings of insecurity.
Hashem invests a special power to complete a person in the marital relationship that one cannot find anywhere else.
It's true that before I was married I was far from true happiness - that I put on a happy 'face' for the world to see.
But not for the reasons that my therapist pontificated.
I was not isolated due to some theoretical flaw in my personality. Continue here...
Blessings for a great week and a great month of Elul,
Dr. Zev Ballen
By Dr. Zev Ballen Image Credit: JB Photography 2010
What is it? The Torah says that it's your marriage.
As we begin to count down the last 30 days of the year, it might be a good time to ask yourself: What would be a compelling reason to once again give your absolute all to your relationship? Do you really believe as most of the world does that you are your past, that biography is destiny? This is not our way! When you know that your partner loves you unconditionally it makes your life extraordinary. Your life will skyrocket to a whole new meaning.
With Blessings Always,
Dr. Zev Ballen
By Dr. Zev Ballen Image Credit: DashaPolon
This is a public service sponsored by BreslevIsrael.co.il
Here's How You can Join (even during the call):
Today: 10am - 11am, Israel time. To request access to the call please contact: yehuditbell@yahoo.com.
Today: 7- 8pm, Israel time. To request access to the call please contact: nehamajulie@hotmail.com.
I hope to speak with you soon!
With Blessings,
Dr. Zev
By Dr. Zev Ballen Image credit: CarlosBravo
With Hashem's Loving Kindness, we will be broadcasting live today, Wednesday at 5:00pm Israel time from the Chut Shel Chesed Yeshiva, 13 Shmuel Hanavi Street, Jerusalem in the main Sanctuary. Everyone is welcome, both men and women.
This week's lesson is entitled, "Living With Passion" as always, it is open to the public - both men and women are welcome.
You can see it right here. The broadcast, as well as our lessons posted from now on - are Mac and iPod compatible. If you tune in too early to the live broadcast link, you'll be sent to the main page of the Breslev Israel website, so try to tune in on time as follows:
10:AM in NY, 7:00 AM in LA and the West Coast, 8:00 AM Denver, 9:00 AM in Mexico and Central Daylight, 3:00 PM in the UK, and 5:00 PM Israel time. If you are not able to watch the lesson live, we will, G-d willing be posting a link to it soon. If you can't see the broadcast, you might need to download a new version of Flash Media player which you can do here. We hope you enjoy the broadcast.
Wishing You Blessings Always,
Dr. Zev Ballen
