Living Torah Archives

We have a promise from G-d Almighty that one who comes to be purified receives the assistance he needs to be able to do so.

Maimonides rules that every Torah teaching, even a legal ruling, is intended “to set our hearts straight and rectify our character traits.”

After achieving excellence as a Talmudic scholar, Rabbi Zeira fasted in order to forget the Babylonian Talmud before he began to study the Jerusalem Talmud. How could he have prayed to forget a portion of the Holy Torah? The answer: Before one proceeds to an entirely new level of service, he must let go of his current frame of reference. For example: As the soul ascends the ladder of heavenly realms, it must forget the experiences of the lower realm, so the memory will not “hold it back” from fully receiving higher revelations.