ESSAYS| 2016

ESSAYSss|

Even in Hell

By Tova Mordechai, Safed, Israel

Essays 2016

MyLife Essay Contest 2016 It was winter 1986. We had newly arrived in Crown Heights from Eretz Yisroel with two infants. The basement we could afford to rent was so cold that the snow seeped under the outside door into the kitchen/dinette and never melted. My husband found a job for a pittance. I was

Read More

The Art of Initiation

By Zalman Goldberg, Brooklyn, NY

Essays 2016

MyLife Essay Contest 2016 One of the oft discussed concepts in Chassidus is the idea of אתערותא דלתתא, an awakening from below, and it’s interplay with אתערותא דלעילא, an awakening from above. These ideas are generally discussed in the context of אתערותא דלתתא   referring to the avoda of the Yidden, and אתערותא דלעילא referring to

Read More

Bitachon and Business Dignity

By Roxanne Hancock, Lost Creek, PA

Essays 2016

MyLife Essay Contest 2016 As of 2016 or Jewish year 5776 in the United States, the phrase “doing business” has practically taken on a certain meaning all of its own.  When teachers, scholars, and mentors talk about “doing business”, it has acquired a strong correlation with what we think are the most educated, top-income occupations

Read More

The Truth About Me

By Bentzion Geisinsky, Bloomfield Hills, MI

Essays 2016

MyLife Essay Contest 2016 Lots of opinions. Lots of perspectives. Which are right? Which should I follow? Oftentimes we read an op-ed in which someone expresses their opinion on a pressing issue in the community. Generally it generates many comments, some of which are purely emotional, but many are truly intellectual and thought provoking. Some

Read More

The Quest for Light

By Machluf Elkaim, Bal Harbour, FL

Essays 2016

MyLife Essay Contest 2016   The Rebbe’s last Maamar (Chassidic discourse) given out to date, Ve’Atah Tetzaveh, can be regarded as the final instructions we were left with in the Rebbe’s physical absence to accomplish the goal of the Rebbe’s entire Nesius (leadership)—bringing Moshiach (the Messiah) NOW! In this essay, we will summarize the main points

Read More

Breaking the Wheel of Time

By Levi Avraham Kesselman, Brooklyn, NY

Essays 2016

MyLife Essay Contest 2016 Chassidus addresses the most fundamental human needs, from the emotional to the psychological and the spiritual, including: finding happiness, inner peace, passion and alleviating anxiety, fear and other impediments.  The objective of this essay is to demonstrate how Chassidus provides, even for a secular person, powerful tools for personal transformation.  A

Read More

Through the Daily Grind

By Shterna Althaus, Sydney, AU

Essays 2016

MyLife Essay Contest 2016 In the daily motions of life, at every age and stage, we often find ourselves pushed to the limit with worry when situations seem to spiral out of control. Whether family, career, school, or medically related , each of us face so many challenges in our daily life. The weight of

Read More

From the Essence Outward

By Avigail Halevy, Brooklyn, NY

Essays 2016

MyLife Essay Contest 2016 In this essay, we will explore how aligning one’s life with one’s essence can be done successfully through the experience of pleasure and unity, based on The Mitteler Rebbe’s Shaar Hayichud and On The Essence of Chassidus by the Lubavitcher Rebbe. We will learn how to fashion new glasses to view

Read More

The Interplay of Good and Bad

By Mendy Simpson, Brooklyn, NY

Essays 2016

MyLife Essay Contest 2016 One of the foundations of Chabad chassidic thought is the idea that we are meant to take this world and elevate it, thereby creating a space within which Hashem can openly dwell. This, of course, is predicated on the assumption that there’s something about this world that needs to be elevated,

Read More

The Subconscious Tzaddik

By Shmuel Chein, Aventura, FL

Essays 2016

MyLife Essay Contest 2016 Who hasn’t experienced the pivotal moment in which one wakes up and decides “I want to change”?  “I am determined to lose weight, get married, rid myself of a harmful habit or be a better servant to my creator.” Perhaps it started with those words. Without the proper perspective and motivation

Read More