The deeper teachings of the Torah reveal to us that the weekly Torah reading is connected to the unique energetic properties of that week. Every Torah portion, and thus every week, radiates with a particular quality, a distinct energy that, when understood and received, can bring tremendous guidance and assistance to every facet of our lives.

Delving into the weekly Torah reading and uncovering its overarching theme allows us to apply the power available on that week in our practical life.

We can learn how to harness the Ko'ach, power, of each unique Torah reading to expand consciousness, overcome challenges, gain control of our lives, and come to learn how to serve Hashem, self and others more mindfully, productively and effectively.

Weaving together the various facets of Torah interpretation, from the most esoteric (Kabbalah) and mystical (Chassidus) to the straightforward literal meaning (Peshat), this book is a multi-dimensional tapestry of practical, allegorical, philosophical, and mystical ideas and implications.

In the world of Process everything is moving towards a brighter future, whereas, in the world of Presence the redemptive future is already present in the now.

In process reality, the self and world are broken, and we mightily and ambitiously strive to improve and to better.

In presence reality, all is now, everything is 'perfect', and there is 'nowhere' to progress, certainly, there is no reason to fight or strive.

Yet, both paradigms are real and this book explores the path of process and the pathless path of presence in unison and how we can hold these dialectical states of consciousness simultaneously:

Duality and Unity,

Becoming and Being,

Brokenness and Wholeness,

Action and Rest,

Motion and Stillness,

Striving and Satisfaction,

Lack and Fullness,

Wanting and Having,

Vulnerability and Strength,

Compassion and Contentment.

Each month of the year radiates with distinct qualities and unique

opportunities for growth and spiritual illumination.

Kislev is the final month of the fall.

Throughout this month, daylight progressively shortens, and the temperatures drop.

Towards the end of the month, at the darkest hour, the winter solstice arrives and we begin the celebration of Chanukah.

We commemorate the miracle of a small jug of oil that burned for eight nights, and as we celebrate, daylight expands.

In the month of Kislev-despite the darkness, or perhaps because of it-we have the ability to tap into the

Ohr HaGanuz, the hidden light of hope that rekindles our dreams and aspirations.

Each month of the year radiates with a distinct quality and provides
unique opportunities for personal growth and spiritual illumination.

As Adar concludes the monthly cycle of the year, as well as the solar phenomena
of winter, it is an appropriate month to think about our essential identity,
before moving out to meet the world come spring.

This month we strive to create a healthy relationship with holy humor,
unbounded joy and a general sense of lightness of being.
Through the work of Adar we transform negative, crippling doubt
and uncertainties into radical wonderment and openness.

In every generation a person must regard oneself as having gone out of Mitzrayim / Egypt. This means that when recalling the Exodus, which occurred thousands of years ago, we also need to envision ourselves as being taken out of Mitzrayim and freed from enslavement.

'Mitzrayim' represents all Meitzarim / constrictions and limitations in our lives, whether material, emotional, intellectual or spiritual. 'Enslavement', in this context, represents a state of seeming entrapment in those constrictions, giving rise to doubt and a lack of clarity, focus, authenticity, direction or purpose in one's life. Just as every generation has its own unique forms of constriction and its own challenges, each person has their own struggles to overcome and limits to transcend.

On the night of Pesach, we are given freedom from all our constrictions and enslavements, and imbued with a measure of true spiritual and material expansiveness transcending all limitations. In

Each month of the year radiates with distinct qualities and unique opportunities for growth and spiritual illumination.

Nisan is the first month of the year and the first month of the spring. Spring brings with it a feeling that there is life again. As the world wakes up from its winter slumber, we too feel renewed, awakened and filled with a sense of renewal.

Spring represents a time of plenty, abundance, sunshine, hope, and possibility. Redemption, on whatever level, feels palpable and accessible. In spring, the world is redeemed from the cold winter, the flower is redeemed from the tree, the grass from the earth, and we too feel that redemption is possible.

A whole complex of ideas, including newness, redemption, going out of Egypt, and being freed from slavery, is intricately bound with the idea of Aviv / spring. With the onset of winter, everything that had seemed so lively in the summer now seems lifeless and hopeless. Then spring arrives and everything comes alive; there is a rebirth of hope and possibility. This is the secret of Yetzias Mitzrayim / the Going Out of Egypt. We, along with the earth, are literally freed from all our constriction and lifelessness with the arrival of spring.

What is Hisbonenus / meditative contemplation? And how is it actually practiced?

The illustrious first Rebbe of Chabad, the Alter Rebbe, aimed for the deepest teachings of the Torah and Chassidus to be internalized and deeply contemplated.

Hisbonenus, the process of focused contemplation, begins by training your mind to dwell, for example, on the unity of Hashem, for extended periods. This practice engages the entire spectrum of your intellect-your Chochmah (wisdom or spark of intuition), Binah (analysis and understanding), and Da'as (knowledge and integration).

As you progress, your thoughts will naturally stir your heart and emotions. When your mind contemplates lofty concepts such as the unity of the Creator with all of Creation, emotions of profound love for Hashem and a deep sense of wonder will arise. These emotions become more refined and subtle as you delve deeper, eventually leading to Ayin (transparency of self) and Deveikus ('conscious' unity with the Divine).

When the mind reaches its full potential for concentration and contemplation, it may 'implode' from exhaustion, so to speak, leading to a state of Ayin. This phenomenon shows that we don't have to circumvent or invalidate the intellect to transcend it. Rather, we can use the mind itself as a bridge to the Beyond.

Achieving 'intellectual exhaustion' allows us to transition into a state of Ayin- consciousness and mystical union more easily than trying to leap over the mind or stop thinking entirely. This advanced stage of Hisbonenus involves moving from Binah (understanding) back to Chochmah (supra-rational wisdom), and beyond.

Through our perception of sound and vibration we internalize the world around us. What we hear, and how we process that hearing, has a profound impact on how we experience life. What we hear can empower us or harm us. A defining human capacity is to harness the power sound -- through speech, dialogue, and song, and through listening to others. Hearing is primary dimension of our existence. In fact, as a fetus our ears were the first fully operating sensory organs to develop.

This book will guide you in methods of utilizing the power of sound and vibration to heal and maintain mental, emotional and spiritual health, to fine-tune your Midos and even to guide you into deeper levels of Deveikus / conscious unity with Hashem. The vibratory patterns of the Aleph-Beis are particularly useful portals into our deeper conscious selves. Through chanting and deep listening, we can use the letters and sounds to shift our very mindset, to induce us into a state of presence and spiritual elevation.

Through the restoration of authentic Torah practices, Rav Pinson sheds new light onto these historical treasures and brings them into today's modern setting, providing us with real tools to transform our lives and connect with the Creator.

A Mikvah is a pool of water used for the purpose of ritual immersion; a place where one moves from a state of Tumah; impurity, blockage and death-- to a place of Teharah; purity, fluidity and life.

In SECRETS OF THE MIKVAH, Rav Pinson delves into the transformative powers of the Mikvah with his trademark all-encompassing perspective that ranges from the literal, Pshat observation and Halachic implications of the texts, to the allegorical, the philosophical, and finally, to the deep secrets of the Mikvah as revealed by Kabbalah and Chassidus.

This insightful and inspirational text demonstrates how immersion in a Mikvah can be a transformative
and life-altering practice, and includes various Kavanos--deep intentions--for all people, through
various stages of life, that empower and enrich the immersion experience.

Each month of the year radiates with a distinct quality and provides
unique opportunities for growth and personal transformation.

Elul, as the final month of the spring/summer season is connected to endings.
Elul gives us the strength to be able to finish strong, to end well.
Elul also serves as a month of preparation for the New Year/Rosh Hashanah.
We inhale our past year, ending with wisdom and we also then gain the wisdom
to begin anew and exhale a positive year into being.

The mental, emotional and spiritual objective of this month is introspection
and the reclaiming of our inner purity and wholeness.

Each month of the year radiates with a distinct quality
and provides unique opportunities for personal growth and illumination.

Shevat falls decidedly in the winter season, yet it also signals the first stirrings
of spring and new life. The midpoint of the month, Tu b'Shevat, is a day we
celebrate as the New Year of the Trees, which represents the awakening
of the sap that has lain dormant all winter.

The mental, emotional, and spiritual objective of this month is
to create healthy relationships with our physical appetites --
and most specifically with food.