The Library

According to Kabbala, from midnight and on is considered a time of Rachamim (divine mercy) even though it is still in middle of the night. Yet from midday and on is considered a time of Din (divine judgement), even though the sun is still high in the sky. Although this se...

The Zohar, Shemot 3b , states: We have learned that the Holy One Blessed Be He has no zealousness, except for His zealousness over the holy Brit, for this Brit is the secret of the Sacred Name and the secret of faith. As is written, 'And the people began to commit harlotr...

Let's go back to the ABC's and see what G-d wrote in the Torah about the Yetzer Hara. When Kayin was not willing to sacrifice to G-d as much as Hevel was, G-d turned away from his offering. Kayin felt rejected and so G-d said to him:"Why are you sad? If you will do better...

There is a tremendous amount of spiritual energy out there that Hashem is waiting to give to us, as long as we try. Rabbi Nachman of Breslov would often quote a Zohar that controlling one's desires and passions makes them the channel for beracha, abundance and reward, to ...

The Holy Zohar, Kedoshim We have learnt that it is forbidden for man to gaze at the beauty of a woman lest evil thoughts be aroused in him and lead him to something worse. When R. Shimon went through the town, followed by the Companions, if he saw a beautiful woman he us...

We all know that "lusting" is bad for us, spiritually and physically. It destroys lives and takes the person away from his life's goals. We all know that there's really nothing there, and that it's all a big bubble of hot air that pops in our face. So why should we let th...

Zohar, Bereshit 61b Rabbi Yitzhak was in the presence of Rabbi Shimon. He asked him: Regarding the verse, "And the earth was corrupt before G-d," (Bereshit, 5:11,) if men transgressed, why should the earth be called corrupt? Rabbi Shimon answered him, Because it is w...

It is brought down from the Chassidic Masters: "MiBeSaRI" Echeze Elokah - "And from my flesh, I shall see G-d," (Iyov, 19:26.) - The word "MiBeSaRI" is an acronym for "Mi'Toras Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai" - In other words, from the Torah of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, I shall s...

In honor of Lag Ba'Omer, we will bring some excerpts from the Holy Zohar of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai. (Tanslations taken from www.jewishsexuality.com) Zohar, Bereshit 94a Another began his exposition by referring to the verse, "Unless the L-rd had been my help, my soul w...

Excerpts below taken from an article on www.jewishsexuality.com Our Sages tell us that we were redeemed from Egypt due to the merit of the two mitzvot (commandments) which G-d commanded us to perform on the eve of our departure - the Paschal sacrifice and the brit milah. ...

Today is the Ushpizin of Yosef Hatzadik, and tonight - Hoshana Rabba, is the Ushpizin of David Hamelech. The Zohar in Parshas Lech Lecha, discusses the merits that both Yosef and David had that enabled them to achieve kingdom. Here is what the Zohar writes: The Pasuk stat...

You may find that the Yetzer Hara feels stronger these days than usual. Because it's vacation-time, people are often not learning as much Torah as they usually do. Hashem says "barasi Yetzer Hara, barasi torah tavlin" - "I created the Yetzer Hara, and I created the Torah...

Here is an (approximate) translation of a Zohar that I came across in Parshas VaYerah: Rabbi Yitzchak says. To what is the Yetzer Hara similar? To a band of highway robbers who murder and steal from people. They take a man from their ranks who is a smooth talker, and they...

"Mevakesh" sent us recently the following insight which can help awaken our yearning and hope that Moshiach is indeed very near! This is written in the Zohar in Parshas Balak: "The Divine Spirit (Hashem) will go and return to Moshe Rabenu for 70 days. At the end of the 70...

The Zohar in Parshas Tetzava brings an encounter between R' Shimon Bar Yochai and a old Holy Jew who came out of the desert. R' Shimon asked him why he had been in the desert and he replied that he dwells there the whole year round and learns Torah, explaining that he did...

On our journeys through life, we are often subjected to tests that we could not withstand, and failures that seemed catastrophic and irreversible at the time. We wondered what G-d wanted from us, and why we had to undergo such trials and tribulations. But one day we will ...

Wherever we may be in the world, we can daven for salvation in the honor of Rav Shimon. As the Ariza"l writes, Lag Ba'omer is the day of Rav Shimon's simcha in Heaven. And as the Beis Ahron of Karlin writes: "Just as Hakadosh Baruch Hu is for everyone, so is Rav Shimon fo...

It occurred to me recently, that the over-powering lust that Yehudah felt for Tamar that pushed him to sin, and the lust that Dovid Hamelech felt for Bat Sheva when he took her for a wife; both of these "lustings" ended up becoming the harbingers of Moshiach through Hashe...