From Korban Todah to Bikkurim: Experiential Gratitude in The Torah

From Korban Todah to Bikkurim: Experiential Gratitude in The Torah

This week, we explore the Korban Todah and Bikkurim, exploring how the Torah informs, and invites us into gratitude. Beginning with the thanksgiving offering brought after experiencing salvation, we examine why gratitude in Torah is rarely practiced alone. The Korban Todah required a feast, guests, bread, and community. Torah invites us to connect through our gratitude. From there, we turn to the mitzvah of Bikkurim, the first fruits carried to the Beit HaMikdash with song, ceremony, and a retelling of the Jewish story. The farmer doesn't simply offer fruit; he recounts the journey from exile to redemption, recognizing that every blessing rests upon generations of Divine kindness. Drawing on the Rebbe's teaching, we discover that Bikkurim is about far more than fruit. The Jewish people themselves are called Hashem's first. Every Jew is a form of Bikkurim, belonging before Hashem, and carrying an essential bond with Him that precedes everything else. A conversation about gratitude, memory, belonging, and what it means to live with the awareness that all we have, and ultimately all we are, comes directly from Hashem. I’d love to hear how this episode landed for you, and what you’re taking from it. About Rivky: Rivky Kaplan is a Chabad Shlucha in the mystical city of Tzfat with her husband Rabbi Chaim and is blessed to have her children, and grandchildren, close by. An educator at heart, she teaches both locally and on the international stage, known for her ability to draw audiences into rich, text-based conversations that feel both timeless and deeply personal. Rivky has specialized training in Taharat Hamishpacha and fertility. She is the creative vision behind Otzar HaTaharah, Mikvah Chana's groundbreaking visitor's center. To learn more visit HaTaharah.org [http://hataharah.org] To get in touch, email Rivky at Rivky@hataharah.org [Rivky@hataharah.org] This episode was produced by Rivka Mazal Tauber. She can be reached at Hello@rivkamazal.com [Hello@rivkamazal.com]

Raising Up The Inner Flame

In this class, we explore Parshat Behaalotecha and the deeper message the Menorah illuminates. The seven branches of the Menorah represent seven different paths of serving Hashem, each unique expressions of the Jewish soul that nevertheless face toward one center and work together to spread light outward into the world. The class focuses on Aaron HaKohen as ohev et habriyot u’mekarvan laTorah, someone who loves people and brings them close to Torah, and explores how one brings another Jew closer to Torah through love, trust, and inner integrity rather than compromise or fear. Through the halachic details of preparing and lighting the Menorah, we examine what it means to influence others from a place of holiness, how to remain aligned while helping others grow, and why no person is ever too far away to reignite their inner flame. A conversation about light, leadership, unity, and the sacred responsibility of helping souls burn brighter. A PDF of the class can be found here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_aJA10n7SGWuuIJOBKYI3GSZeLzJFSQU/view/ I’d love to hear how this episode landed for you, and what you’re taking from it. About Rivky: Rivky Kaplan is a Chabad Shlucha in the mystical city of Tzfat with her husband Rabbi Chaim and is blessed to have her children, and grandchildren, close by. An educator at heart, she teaches both locally and on the international stage, known for her ability to draw audiences into rich, text-based conversations that feel both timeless and deeply personal. Rivky has specialized training in Taharat Hamishpacha and fertility. She is the creative vision behind Otzar HaTaharah, Mikvah Chana's groundbreaking visitor's center. To learn more visit HaTaharah.org [http://hataharah.org] To get in touch, email Rivky at Rivky@hataharah.org [Rivky@hataharah.org] This episode was produced by Rivka Mazal Tauber. She can be reached at Hello@rivkamazal.com [Hello@rivkamazal.com]

Marriage Tips from Mount Sinai | Shavuot

In this pre-Shavuot class, we explore “marriage tips from Mount Sinai” — what the relationship between Hashem and Bnei Yisrael teaches about boundaries, trust, and intimacy. Through the boundaries around Har Sinai, the counting of the Omer, and the preparation for Matan Torah, we examine how mitzvot create connection rather than distance, why trust is more transformative than fear, and what it means to show up fully and honestly in relationship. The class also explores the trust embedded within halachic life, the importance of transmitting Yiddishkeit through love and confidence, and the idea that Hashem desires not perfection, but presence. A conversation about Torah as relationship, about becoming vessels for connection, and about preparing ourselves to receive the Torah with openness, dignity, and joy. I’d love to hear how this episode landed for you, and what you’re taking from it. About Rivky: Rivky Kaplan is a Chabad Shlucha in the mystical city of Tzfat with her husband Rabbi Chaim and is blessed to have her children, and grandchildren, close by. An educator at heart, she teaches both locally and on the international stage, known for her ability to draw audiences into rich, text-based conversations that feel both timeless and deeply personal. Rivky has specialized training in Taharat Hamishpacha and fertility. She is the creative vision behind Otzar HaTaharah, Mikvah Chana's groundbreaking visitor's center. To learn more visit HaTaharah.org [http://hataharah.org] To get in touch, email Rivky at Rivky@hataharah.org [Rivky@hataharah.org] This episode was produced by Rivka Mazal Tauber. She can be reached at Hello@rivkamazal.com [Hello@rivkamazal.com]

The People Around You are Shaping You | Parshat Bamidbar

The Torah cares deeply about who and what surrounds us.  In this class, we explore why Parashat Bamidbar is always read before Shavuot and what the arrangement of the tribes around the Mishkan teaches about human influence. We explore a Sicha of the Lubavitcher Rebbe that examines the progression from simply being near conflict to becoming internally shaped by it, and eventually participating in it ourselves. Yet alongside the challenges, we uncover a deeper truth: positive influence is even more powerful than negative influence: Torah, closeness to holiness, and communities built around peace have the ability to transform people from the inside out. A PDF of the sicha can be found here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hCTIs49BRD0JtiIlWY5YDjdpL9WNnmM5/view?usp=sharing [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hCTIs49BRD0JtiIlWY5YDjdpL9WNnmM5/view?usp=sharing] This class allows the Project Likkutei Sichos cycle, which is currently in its 7 years as it works towards completing the 39 volumes of the Rebbe’s Likkutei Sichos. You can learn more about the project and see additional resources (including english/hebrew translation) for learning the Sicha in this class here: https://projectlikkuteisichos.org/chelek-27-kedoshim-sicha-1/ [https://projectlikkuteisichos.org/chelek-27-kedoshim-sicha-1/]  I’d love to hear how this episode landed for you, and what you’re taking from it. About Rivky: Rivky Kaplan is a Chabad Shlucha in the mystical city of Tzfat with her husband Rabbi Chaim and is blessed to have her children, and grandchildren, close by. An educator at heart, she teaches both locally and on the international stage, known for her ability to draw audiences into rich, text-based conversations that feel both timeless and deeply personal. Rivky has specialized training in Taharat Hamishpacha and fertility. She is the creative vision behind Otzar HaTaharah, Mikvah Chana's groundbreaking visitor's center. To learn more visit HaTaharah.org [http://hataharah.org] To get in touch, email Rivky at Rivky@hataharah.org [Rivky@hataharah.org] This episode was produced by Rivka Mazal Tauber. She can be reached at Hello@rivkamazal.com [Hello@rivkamazal.com]

What Will We Eat? The Power of a Real Question | Parshat Behar

In Parshat Behar, the Torah asks: "What will we eat in the seventh year?" This Sicha challenges the assumption that this is a question of doubt, and instead, through Rashi and Parshat Bo, reframes it as a wise question. We explore Shmita as the Avodah of releasing control, the deeper meaning of the blessing of the sixth year, and the parallel to our own moment in history: the “sixth year,” a sixth millennium, marked by both exertion and effort, yet still, we continue to trust the promise the unfolding redemption. A conversation about what it means to ask, to trust, and to keep going:  even when we don’t yet see how it will be sustained. A PDF of the sicha can be found here: A PDF of the sicha can be found by clicking here. [⁠https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MYRdD9x3NBur_klUd_aALhmJy4qdrPky/view?usp=sharing⁠] This class allows the Project Likkutei Sichos cycle, which is currently in its 7 years as it works towards completing the 39 volumes of the Rebbe’s Likkutei Sichos. You can learn more about the project and see additional resources (including english/hebrew translation) for learning the Sicha in this class here. [ ⁠https://projectlikkuteisichos.org/chelek-27-behar-sicha-2/⁠ ] I’d love to hear how this episode landed for you, and what you’re taking from it. About Rivky: Rivky Kaplan is a Chabad Shlucha in the mystical city of Tzfat with her husband Rabbi Chaim and is blessed to have her children, and grandchildren, close by. An educator at heart, she teaches both locally and on the international stage, known for her ability to draw audiences into rich, text-based conversations that feel both timeless and deeply personal. Rivky has specialized training in Taharat Hamishpacha and fertility. She is the creative vision behind Otzar HaTaharah, Mikvah Chana's groundbreaking visitor's center. To learn more visit HaTaharah.org [http://hataharah.org] To get in touch, email Rivky at Rivky@hataharah.org [Rivky@hataharah.org] This episode was produced by Rivka Mazal Tauber. She can be reached at Hello@rivkamazal.com [Hello@rivkamazal.com]