16 Lessons

Ein Aya Shabbat that Elevates Not Just the Secular but Even the Foreign
Ein Aya Shabbat 4, 8
It's common knowledge that Shabbat elevates the secular to be holy, but Rav Kook writes that the ideal Shabbat will elevate even concepts which are foreign to Judaism.

The spiritual view A Deeper Take on Shabbat: Why is This Allowed & That Prohibited?
Ein Aya Shabbat 4, 4
This important lecture helps answer the classic question we all ask: Why are certain things allowed on Shabbat and others forbidden? Rav Kook, based on Kabbalistic sources, explains that the 6 days of creation and the Mishkan- the 2 classic "constrictions" (Tzimtzum) of God, are the anti-thesis of Shabbat. Accordingly only and precisely those 39 types of labor which were done to construct the mishkan correspond to the 6 days of creation, from which we want to rise above on Shabbat, to get a taste of the original Shabbat which preceded creation, and the final Shabbat, when all of creation will be like Shabbat. This basic and beautiful idea is clarified here in a very understandable way

The spiritual view Do You Hate Shabbat?
Is your Shabbat an out-of-this-world spiritual experience? Here's how to make it one.

The spiritual view Shabbat Is Shabbat
Powerful story how Shabbos saved two brothers from bankruptcy and certain death.

Various Events Richard Branson and The Ultimate Joy Ride
It's easy to think of life as a trip through a treasure-house of experiences. Climbing Everest. Flying around the world in eighty days, or to the edge of space. The truth is that all the pleasures, all the experiences of this world, are given to us for one reason only: that we might sense to the smallest degree, the taste of life itself. But what is life itself if not our experiences in it?

The spiritual view Why Do We Say Shabbat Shalom?
All right-thinking people in this world want shalom – peace. Why is it that almost since the beginning of time, peace has been elusive and often illusory. Shabbat holds the answer.

Yitro Out Of This World
Why do we say "Pnei Shabbat Nekabela"? What does the Shabbos have to do with the face?

Ein Aya Shabbat Candles- How Can Mothers and the Non-Learned Produce Scholarly Kids?
Ein Aya Shabat Chapter B Paragraph 28
How to build a home of Torah even if you are not a rabbi, through clear priorities and genuine identification.

The spiritual view Shabbat Preparations
Even a person who has many servants should try to prepare personally something for the Sabbath. R' Chisda would mince vegetables; Rabbah and R' Yosef would chop wood. Every person should make them his example, for honoring the Sabbath is a privilege.
