Torah of the Heart

"In order for one to receive proper Torah instruction, one must also experience it as the vibrant Living Soul that it is. Torah learning that is exclusively academic, placing facts and information into the intellect alone, is not Torah experience. Torah learning that is true is experienced; it is known within the heart, the deepest place of knowing within the human experience.

"When Torah is received within, one ponders its meaning with a sense of familiarity. When one learns Torah in one's heart, one has a feeling that the Torah learned is nothing new, but rather something that one has always known and is now just being able to be put into words or another more familiar form.

"True Torah learning is nothing new; it is merely an awakening of something very, very old that is lying deep within us, waiting to be awakened. The sleeper must awaken. One must cultivate remembering the inner Torah that one already has within. Only when the inner Torah is recognized will the external Torah be understood properly. This is the nature of Living Torah, also known as the Indwelling Presence, the Shekhinah."

-- Ariel bar Tzadok, Walking in the Fire

The 13 Attributes of Mercy - Practical Application for Daily Life

We explain how to apply the 13 Attributes of Mercy, as taught in the Kabbalah of Rabbi Moshe Cordovero, for practical application in daily life.  First we explain the theory of the 13 Attributes and how they are derived, and then indicate their placement on the Etz Chayyim (Tree of Life).  We then introduce the 13 Attributes individually, both in the original Hebrew and in English translation.  We give many tips on how to apply the 13 Attributes in challenging life situations, especially to overcome conflicts with other people.  We finish by doing a simple activation of the 13 Attributes that you can learn to do yourself, and mention that there are many more advanced activations that can be done with the 13 Attributes.