Lessons in Tanya – Chapter 1 (pt4)
with Gil Dekel. ואפילו העובר על איסור קל של דברי סופרים מקרי רשע כדאיתא בפ”ב דיבמות ובפ”ק דנדה “Even if a person transgresses only a very light rabbinical prohibition [one which was forbidden by the sages, but isn’t explicitly mentioned in the Torah], he is considered a Rasha.” Let’s give an example:...
Read MoreLessons in Tanya – Chapter 1 (pt3)
with Gil Dekel. ולהבין כל זה באר היטב וגם להבין מה שאמר איוב [ב"ב פ"א] רבש”ע בראת צדיקי’ בראת רשעי’ כו’ The Alter Rebbe goes on now to explain a few views on what Beinoni is and what he is not. Alter Rebbe says “we’re going to have to understand all that we mentioned above very clearly; and a further thing,...
Read MoreLessons in Tanya – Chapter 1 (pt2)
with Gil Dekel. אך הענין כי הנה מצינו בגמרא ה’ חלוקות. צדיק וטוב לו צדיק ורע לו רשע וטוב לו רשע ורע לו ובינוני. “The matter is as follows. We find in the Gemara five categories [of human beings]. Tzadik ve Tov Lo, Tzadik ve Ra Lo, Rasha ve Tov Lo, Rasha ve Ra Lo, and Beinoni”. ופירשו בגמרא צדיק...
Read MoreLessons in Tanya – Chapter 1 (pt1)
with Gil Dekel. ליקוטי אמרים, ספר של בינונים, פרק א’ תניא בספ”ג דנדה משביעים אותו תהי צדיק ואל תהי רשע In this first ‘Perek’ (chapter) of the Tanya book, we are being referred to the end of the third chapter of the tract page from a different book – the Talmud tract called ‘Niddah’. In the tract of...
Read MoreLessons in Tanya – Sha’ar (title page)
with Gil Dekel. ספר ליקוטי אמרים חלק ראשון הנקרא בשם ספר של בינונים We start with the title page of the Tanya book, which is known by the name the ‘book of Beinonim’, or book of the average person, the intermediate, ‘Sefer Shel Beinonim’; in Hebrew: ספר של בינונים . Traditionally, It is believed to be original work, but...
Read MoreThe Conquest of Darkness: how I released the Three Knots of my past-lives that affected my present life
by Natalie Dekel, MPhil. People seem to carry heavy emotional luggage, some of which has been handed down to them from previous life times, or even inherited from their families. I was fortunate to go through a healing process which taught me how to release negative experiences of the past that I was locked on. Before the healing process, I was attracting events and people that ‘allowed’...
Read MoreThe Grieving Hearts: What do we feel about passing over
by Natalie Dekel (MPhil) We all come to this planet through the miracle of love, and for the purpose of living a loving and manifesting love in all areas of our life. There is nothing that shines brighter than the ‘star of life’, which resides deep in the souls of our hearts. We behold life and see a beauty that shines from within the physical form in which it is ensconced so that we can bask...
Read MoreHow to Trust.
By Aaron (Spirit Guide channelled by Natalie Dekel, with Gil Dekel). Have faith even in the most difficult situations because underneath the mud and the rubble is a core of steel in you. A core of steel that is not bending with the weather or circumstances. It is as strong as the light around you and it will brings you comfort and strength, and let them blossom when the time is...
Read MoreThe Present Has No Regrets.
By ‘Freedom’ (Spirit Guide channelled by Natalie Dekel, with Gil Dekel). Sometimes it takes time to see the light from the woods you are going through… But once you know it is worthwhile, it will make your journey easier. Know that you have two stars in your body around which a universe evolves. One is the head, the other is the heart. By focusing on the space between the...
Read MoreOn Grief.
By the ‘Supreme Light’ (channelled by Natalie Dekel, with Gil Dekel). A tree does not grieve for its leaves when they fall. It lets them fall knowing that it is their time to have freedom, and soon the tree have new leaves. Everything has its time and place. Many people hold on to grief and with it pain, and we wish to help them. Some are very brave by letting their loved one...
Read MoreHow Do I Close My Eyes To See?
By Natalie Dekel. There are so many things in life we need to achieve and so many thoughts we ought to think, that we do not have time to stop and observe what is happening inside us. It takes courage, I found, to look within. It takes practice to look into the dark closets of our minds, and most importantly – it takes adjustment, just like our eyes need to adjust when seeing in the...
Read MoreEmotional Slices of Light.
Photographic installation artist Katayoun Dowlatshahi interviewed by Gil Dekel. Gil Dekel: You are tracing light onto glass using a method called Carbon Photography. How did you develop the idea of ‘light drawings’? [1] Katayoun Dowlatshahi: In 1998 I spent a year as Artist in Residence at Durham Cathedral. It was there that I began a journey investigating the relationship between...
Read MoreExtra Light in the Mind.
Installation artist David Johnson interviewed by Gil Dekel. Gil Dekel: Your work has undergone an interesting evolution over the years. [1] David Johnson: When I was young I used to paint and draw and make mono-prints. I studied architecture originally, but gave that up to go to art school. As soon as I got there I started to do works about the idea of the invisible. The invisible was just...
Read MoreThe Beauty in Temporality.
Watercolour painter Melanie Chan interviewed by Gil Dekel. Gil Dekel: You specialise in watercolour paintings of flowers. What do you see in the flower? [1] Melanie Chan: I see the beauty of nature in flowers, and I am amazed by their perfection and their symmetry. Once I start painting my mind starts to become calmer, as if the flower is encouraging me to be in the moment. I pay...
Read MoreUnfoldment
Mandala painter, Barry Stevens, interviewed by Gil Dekel. Gil Dekel: Mandalas are usually round, or I should say circular around a centre. As such they do not seem to have an up or down, left or right. How do you then ‘plan’ the painting? [1] Barry Stevens: The reference point is the centre. First thing is to find the centre of the paper and then to place the point of the compass ...
Read MoreTurning On the Light Without Choosing Which Way It Will Spread.
The authorial-Self, a ‘Muse’ of poetry, is interviewed by Gil Dekel. Gil Dekel: I am very happy to be able to interview my own ‘Muse’, my own creative self, and ask him about processes of inspiration in writing poetry. [1] I would like to thank you, the authorial-Self, for ‘descending’ from the so-called ‘collective unconsciousness, the spirit world’, and coming over here,...
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