By Shuva Israel Media Team
March 17th, 2026
NEW YORK — In a sun-drenched hall this afternoon, as the late winter chill of Adar began its slow retreat before the promised warmth of Nisan, the Rabbi delivered a shiur that was less a lecture and more a map of the human spirit. Speaking to an audience of English-speaking professionals, students, and seekers, he challenged the room to consider a fundamental question: Is our search for “redemption” a quest for a real solution, or merely a temporary reprieve from our problems?
The Two Paths of Problem Solving
The Rabbi opened with a linguistic and spiritual distinction. There are two ways to solve a problem, he explained. The first is to go to the root, to perform the “surgery” of the soul, and fix the issue at its source. The second is to simply rearrange our circumstances so the problem no longer bothers us.
“The problem still exists,” the Rabbi warned, his voice echoing the urgency of the upcoming Passover holiday. “It is just no longer in your field of vision. But true Geulah—true redemption—requires the courage to dig deeper.”
This duality, he noted, is mirrored in the concept of Teshuva (repentance). He contrasted the story of Elazar ben Dordia, who achieved a total, earth-shattering transformation in a single moment, with the approach of the Baal Shem Tov. The Baal Shem Tov called his academy the “House of the Returners,” suggesting that Teshuva is a constant, daily refinement—a marathon rather than a sprint.
The Five Gateways: Protecting the Interior
A central theme of the afternoon was the “Gateways to the Soul”—the five senses. Drawing from the Zohar, the Rabbi described the soul’s journey before it enters the world, being shown the “Seven Canopies” of heaven. The soul knows what is possible; it remembers the heights.
However, once the soul enters the physical world, it becomes vulnerable to the “clippot”—the shells or layers of negativity—that we build through our senses.
“What you see, what you eat, and most importantly, what you hear, creates the architecture of your internal world,” the Rabbi said. He spent significant time on the concept of Shemi’ah (hearing). In the digital age, where we are bombarded by noise, the act of listening has become a spiritual battleground.
The Voice Within the Sin
In one of the most nuanced segments of the shiur, the Rabbi delved into a verse from the Torah: “V’nefesh ki techeta v’sham’ah kol” (If a soul shall sin and hear a voice).
He presented two conflicting yet complementary views:
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The Or HaChaim: Suggests that the “hearing” is the catalyst for the sin. By sitting in rooms where gossip or negativity is spoken, we inadvertently “hear” ourselves into a state of spiritual decline.
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Rabbi Yaakov Abuhatzeira: Offers a more hopeful interpretation. He suggests that even within the sin, the soul “hears a voice”—an internal alarm, a whisper of the divine reminding us that we are better than our current actions.
“Every person has that internal voice,” the Rabbi remarked. “The tragedy is not just the sin itself; it is the numbing of the ears so that we can no longer hear the soul crying out for us to stop.”
The Menorah and the Thief
The Rabbi recounted the haunting story of Yosef Meshita, a man who had strayed so far from his heritage that he agreed to enter the Holy Temple on behalf of the Roman invaders to loot its treasures. He emerged carrying the Golden Menorah.
Yet, when the Romans told him to go back in, something had changed. The physical contact with the Menorah—the symbol of the Jewish soul—had reawakened him. He refused to re-enter, eventually sacrificing his life rather than desecrating the Temple again.
“Even a person who has sold his soul to the highest bidder can be reclaimed by a single touch of the light,” the Rabbi said. “The Menorah is the soul. You can never truly lose it; you can only lose your connection to it.”
Charity as a Frequency of Redemption
As the shiur concluded, the Rabbi turned to the practical: Kimcha D’Pischa, the ancient custom of providing flour and food for the poor before Passover.
He shared a story of King Solomon, who, while in exile, was hosted by two different men. One was wealthy but mocked Solomon’s fall from grace while serving him a feast. The other was poor but spoke words of comfort and hope while sharing a meager meal. Solomon concluded that a “dry crust with peace” is better than a “house full of feasting with strife.”
Charity, the Rabbi argued, is not just a financial transaction. It is a “frequency.” In the month of Nisan, the Jewish heart is naturally more open. By giving, we align ourselves with the “Redemption Frequency,” signaling to the Heavens that we are ready to be redeemed because we have taken the initiative to redeem others from their suffering.
A New World, A New Perspective
Closing the session, the Rabbi left his audience with a sobering but empowering thought: The world has changed. The old ways of thinking, speaking, and interacting are no longer sufficient.
“To live as we did before is to live in a state of pain,” he said. “The world is calling for a Bedikat Chametz—a search for leaven—not just in our kitchens, but in our character. This Nisan, let us not just change our calendars. Let us change our ears, our eyes, and our hearts.”
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