Episodes

  • From Loss to Hope: October 7, Three Years Later — The Jewish Courage to Keep Building | Keynote Address West Island Community Memorial Event

    From Loss to Hope: October 7, Three Years Later — The Jewish Courage to Keep Building | Keynote Address West Island Community Memorial Event
    Oct 15 2026

    Keynote Address by Rabbi Yisroel Bernath | West Island Community Memorial Event | Beth Tikvah, Montreal | October 2026

    Three years after October 7, how do we honour the people we have lost, carry the pain that remains, and still find the courage to hope?

    In this deeply personal and moving keynote address, Rabbi Yisroel Bernath reflects on his journey to Israel just two weeks after the October 7 attacks, arriving with 27 duffel bags of essential supplies and hundreds of handwritten letters from Montreal children. Through unforgettable encounters with grieving families, Israeli soldiers, and ordinary people displaying extraordinary courage, he discovers that hope is not the absence of grief or fear. It is the determination to keep showing up, loving, and building despite them.

    Drawing on the Lubavitcher Rebbe's response to the 1956 Kfar Chabad tragedy and the biblical image of Rachel weeping for her children, Rabbi Bernath explores the uniquely Jewish understanding of resilience: we do not abandon our grief, nor do we allow it to have the final word.

    At its heart, this address asks a profound question: Will the next generation inherit only the story of what was done to the Jewish people, or will they also inherit the story of what we chose to do next?

    A powerful invitation to transform mourning into meaning, isolation into connection, and heartbreak into renewed Jewish life.

    Because now, more than ever, hope matters.

    Key Points

    1. Hope Is Not the Opposite of Grief. We do not move on from those we love. We move forward with them, carrying their memory into the future.

    2. Hope Is Knowing Something Matters More Than Fear. From reservists returning to Israel to families making Aliyah during wartime, courage emerges not from fearlessness but from purpose.

    3. Sometimes Presence Is the Greatest Gift. When words cannot heal someone's pain, a hug, a handwritten letter, or simply saying "I'm here with you" can restore a sense of connection and belonging.

    4. The Jewish Response to Destruction Is Construction. Following the 1956 Kfar Chabad massacre, the Rebbe taught, B'hemshech habinyan tinacheimu, "Through continuing to build, you will be comforted." We answer attempts to destroy Jewish life by creating more Jewish life.

    5. Rachel's Tears Teach Us That Grief and Hope Can Coexist. The prophet Jeremiah first acknowledges Rachel's inconsolable tears before offering G-d's promise: V'yesh tikvah l'achariteich - "There is hope for your future."

    6. We Cannot Change What Happened, but We Can Choose What Happens Next. October 7 is a permanent chapter of Jewish history, but it does not get to write the ending.

    7. Our Greatest Legacy Is What We Build Next. Through mitzvot, Shabbat, Jewish education, kindness, community, and proud Jewish identity, we ensure that future generations inherit not only our trauma but also our resilience.

    "We did not choose October 7. We did not choose what was written on that page. But we can choose what gets written next."- Rabbi Yisroel Bernath

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    The School for Sensitive Souls

    Do you feel everything deeply? Absorb other people’s emotions? Overthink conversations long after they’re over? Struggle with boundaries, burnout, or feeling like you’re simply “too much”? .

    Course begins October 15th.

    Learn more and register here

    Support the show

    Got your own question for Rabbi Bernath? He can be reached at rabbi@jewishndg.com or http://www.theloverabbi.com

    Single? You can make a profile on www.JMontreal.com and Rabbi Bernath will help you find that special someone.

    Donate and support Rabbi Bernath’s work http://www.jewishndg.com/donate

    Follow Rabbi Bernath’s YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/user/ybernath

    Access Rabbi Bernath's Articles on Relationships https://medium.com/@loverabbi
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    20 mins
  • What Will Live Because You Lived? | Rabbi Bernath's Sermon for Neilah 2026

    What Will Live Because You Lived? | Rabbi Bernath's Sermon for Neilah 2026
    Sep 23 2026
    As Yom Kippur moves toward Neilah and the gates begin to close, Rabbi Yisroel Bernath asks a question far more important than what we achieved, accumulated, or accomplished:What will live because you lived?We live in a civilization of astonishing progress. We can fly across oceans, carry the world’s knowledge in our pockets, and ask artificial intelligence almost anything. But technology can give us the means to live without necessarily giving us a reason to live. Civilization is what we use; culture, faith, values, and purpose are who we are.Yom Kippur strips away the usual markers of identity, business, food, possessions, titles, accomplishments and leaves us standing before G-d with a more intimate question: Who are you when everything else is removed? And now that you know who you are, who do you want to become?Through the image of King David, whose palace and kingdom disappeared but whose words are still prayed and sung thousands of years later, Rabbi Bernath reframes legacy. Real royalty is not what you possess while you are alive. It is what you plant in other people that remains after you are gone.And then comes the Neilah question: maybe someone is holding on to you. A child. A friend. Someone watching how you survive, how you forgive, how you love, how seriously you take your Judaism. Perhaps years from now, someone will cross a difficulty because of something you quietly planted inside them.Neilah does not demand that we reinvent our entire lives. It asks for one honest decision, one relationship to soften, one resentment to release, one mitzvah to claim, one piece of Judaism to bring home. Something that will still be alive when the inspiration of Yom Kippur is gone.Because perhaps the greatest legacy is that one day someone can say:Because you lived, I knew who I was.Because you lived, I knew what mattered.Because you lived, I knew how to hold on.Key Points- Having more to live with is not the same as having something to live for. Material progress cannot replace spiritual purpose.- The means of life must never become the meaning of life. Career, wealth, homes, and achievement are blessings, but they are tools, not the ultimate purpose.- Yom Kippur asks who you are beneath what you own and achieve. When the external pieces are removed, what remains sacred to you?- Neilah is not G-d shutting us out. It can be understood as G-d shutting out the noise so that, for a few final moments, it is simply you and Him.- A house can be inherited; a home must be built. Faith, character, Jewish identity, and values cannot simply be passed down automatically. Every generation has to rediscover and rebuild them.- Legacy is influence that outlives power. King David’s kingdom disappeared, but his Psalms, faith, and spiritual influence remain alive thousands of years later.- Someone may be holding on to you. The courage, faith, tenderness, or resilience you model may become somebody else’s lifeline.- Neilah does not require ten resolutions. One real commitment that survives tomorrow morning can be more transformative than a dozen promises made in a moment of inspiration.- The purpose of Yom Kippur is not to remain on Yom Kippur. It is to bring something from Yom Kippur into the ordinary Tuesday afternoon when nobody feels inspired.- The deepest question is not “What did I achieve?” but “What became more alive because I was here?” More love, more courage, more Judaism, more forgiveness, more light.Send us Fan MailThe School for Sensitive SoulsDo you feel everything deeply? Absorb other people’s emotions? Overthink conversations long after they’re over? Struggle with boundaries, burnout, or feeling like you’re simply “too much”? .Course begins October 15th.Learn more and register hereSupport the showGot your own question for Rabbi Bernath? He can be reached at rabbi@jewishndg.com or http://www.theloverabbi.comSingle? You can make a profile on www.JMontreal.com and Rabbi Bernath will help you find that special someone.Donate and support Rabbi Bernath’s work http://www.jewishndg.com/donateFollow Rabbi Bernath’s YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/user/ybernathAccess Rabbi Bernath's Articles on Relationships https://medium.com/@loverabbi
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    38 mins
  • Is Someone Doing Your Thinking For You? | Rabbi Bernath's Sermon for Kol Nidrei 2026

    Is Someone Doing Your Thinking For You? | Rabbi Bernath's Sermon for Kol Nidrei 2026
    Sep 22 2026

    In this Kol Nidrei sermon, Rabbi Yisroel Bernath asks a deeply uncomfortable question: Who is doing your thinking for you?

    We live in an age overflowing with information but increasingly short on reflection. Algorithms, social media, political tribes, influencers, institutions, AI—and even our own wounds—can quietly hand us conclusions that we eventually mistake for our own beliefs.

    Beginning with Abraham smashing the idols of his father’s shop, Rabbi Bernath traces a distinctly Jewish tradition of questioning inherited assumptions, wrestling with ideas, and refusing to live on borrowed convictions. Judaism does not fear questions; it demands that we take responsibility for what we believe.

    But the sermon turns inward. Some of the most powerful voices controlling us are not coming from our phones. They come from old pain: “I’m not lovable.” “Nobody stays.” “I’ll never trust again.” “This is just who I am.” Sometimes we have repeated an old wound for so long that we mistake it for truth.

    Yom Kippur offers twenty-five hours of sacred silence—a chance to shut down the noise and hear our own soul again. Teshuvah, Rabbi Bernath explains, is not merely repentance. It is return: returning to the self beneath the algorithms, fear, shame, inherited assumptions, and expectations of others.

    And when G-d asks the ancient question Ayeka, Where are you?, perhaps the answer we hope to give is Hineni. I am here. Awake. Thinking. Choosing. Returning.

    Key Points

    • Information is not the same as thinking. Having unlimited access to facts and opinions can actually make it easier to outsource our judgment.
    • Abraham models intellectual courage. The Jewish story begins with someone willing to ask whether what everyone around him believes is actually true.
    • Algorithms often give us confirmation, not wisdom. Modern technology can surround us with increasingly sophisticated versions of what we already want to believe.
    • AI can give you an answer, but it cannot take responsibility for your answer. Discernment, conscience, and accountability cannot be outsourced.
    • True critical thinking requires humility. Judaism preserves disagreements because the process of questioning, listening, and wrestling matters.
    • Some of our deepest “beliefs” about ourselves may actually be old wounds. Fear, shame, rejection, and trauma can become conclusions we mistake for permanent truths.
    • Yom Kippur interrupts unconscious living. The confession of bivli daat challenges us to stop reacting, repeating, and condemning without awareness.
    • The goal is not endless doubt. It is “strong convictions with a humble ego”: to believe deeply while remaining capable of listening, learning, admitting error, and changing.
    • Teshuvah means coming home to yourself. Not the self created by your failures, pain, group, or algorithm—but the soul beneath the noise.
    • The ultimate Yom Kippur question is Ayeka: Where are you? Can you stand before G-d awake, present, responsible, and able to say: Hineni. I am here.

    Send us Fan Mail

    The School for Sensitive Souls

    Do you feel everything deeply? Absorb other people’s emotions? Overthink conversations long after they’re over? Struggle with boundaries, burnout, or feeling like you’re simply “too much”? .

    Course begins October 15th.

    Learn more and register here

    Support the show

    Got your own question for Rabbi Bernath? He can be reached at rabbi@jewishndg.com or http://www.theloverabbi.com

    Single? You can make a profile on www.JMontreal.com and Rabbi Bernath will help you find that special someone.

    Donate and support Rabbi Bernath’s work http://www.jewishndg.com/donate

    Follow Rabbi Bernath’s YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/user/ybernath

    Access Rabbi Bernath's Articles on Relationships https://medium.com/@loverabbi
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    45 mins
  • The Secret Israel Knows About Happiness | Rabbi Bernath's Sermon for Shabbat Shuva 2026

    The Secret Israel Knows About Happiness | Rabbi Bernath's Sermon for Shabbat Shuva 2026
    Sep 20 2026

    In this Shabbat Shuva sermon, delivered by Rabbi Yisroel Bernath at Chabad NDG in Montreal, we explore a surprising question: Why are people able to experience happiness even when life is difficult?

    Looking at Israel’s remarkable longevity, strong family culture, and consistently high levels of reported happiness, the answer may have less to do with comfort and more to do with connection, community, meaning, and knowing that you are part of something larger than yourself.

    Rabbi Bernath connects this idea to the Rebbe’s Twelve Pesukim, teachings the Rebbe wanted every Jewish child to carry within them: Torah belongs to you, G-d is present, every person has a mission, loving another Jew matters, success requires effort, and ultimately, your life has a purpose that brings joy to G-d Himself.

    On the Shabbat before Yom Kippur, the message becomes especially powerful: happiness does not mean having a life without pain, uncertainty, mistakes, or struggle. It means waking up knowing that your life matters, your choices matter, and you are part of G-d’s unfolding purpose in this world.

    Key Points
    -Happiness is not the absence of problems. A meaningful life can contain struggle and still be deeply joyful.
    -We need people. Knowing there are people who will show up for us can be more powerful than simply having an easy life.
    -Family and community create meaning. Sometimes the chaos is worth it because of the moments when we realize we belong to something larger than ourselves.
    -Judaism is your inheritance. Torah does not belong only to rabbis, scholars, or “more religious” Jews. It belongs to every Jew.
    -There are no shortcuts to growth. Real achievement requires effort, persistence, and showing up again.
    -Your life has a mission. Judaism teaches that we are here to transform ourselves, our homes, and our world into a dwelling place for G-d.
    -That may be the deepest definition of happiness: knowing that your existence is not accidental and that what you do with your life matters.

    Send us Fan Mail

    The School for Sensitive Souls

    Do you feel everything deeply? Absorb other people’s emotions? Overthink conversations long after they’re over? Struggle with boundaries, burnout, or feeling like you’re simply “too much”? .

    Course begins October 15th.

    Learn more and register here

    Support the show

    Got your own question for Rabbi Bernath? He can be reached at rabbi@jewishndg.com or http://www.theloverabbi.com

    Single? You can make a profile on www.JMontreal.com and Rabbi Bernath will help you find that special someone.

    Donate and support Rabbi Bernath’s work http://www.jewishndg.com/donate

    Follow Rabbi Bernath’s YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/user/ybernath

    Access Rabbi Bernath's Articles on Relationships https://medium.com/@loverabbi
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    24 mins
  • The Forgiveness Experiment: Take Back the Pen, Put Down the Poison

    The Forgiveness Experiment: Take Back the Pen, Put Down the Poison
    Sep 18 2026
    What would your life look like if you stopped waiting for an apology, stopped replaying the hurt, and stopped allowing yesterday’s pain to occupy today’s heart?In this deeply personal and practical talk, delivered at JLI’s 20th Annual National Jewish Retreat in Doral, Florida, Rabbi Yisroel Bernath explores forgiveness not as a one-time declaration, but as a spiritual practice of reclaiming your life. Drawing on the biblical story of Joseph, an ancient teaching about Rabbi Abba, Jewish bedtime prayer, and lessons from his book The Forgiveness Experiment, Rabbi Bernath challenges the idea that forgiveness means excusing wrongdoing or abandoning boundaries. Instead, forgiveness means refusing to give the person who hurt you authorship over the rest of your story. Through practical exercises, humor, meditation, and Jewish wisdom, the talk offers a path for separating what belongs to you, what belongs to the person who hurt you, and what ultimately belongs to G-d. The goal is not to erase the past, but to stop demanding that the past become different so that the future can finally become different. Ultimately, Rabbi Bernath argues that forgiveness is less about setting someone else free and more about becoming fully present again—to your relationships, your joy, your faith, and the life still waiting to be written. Key Points- Forgiveness is not approval. You can forgive someone while still acknowledging the wrong, maintaining boundaries, refusing reconciliation, or even keeping them out of your life. - Stop waiting for the person who hurt you to become the person who heals you. Waiting for the apology, admission, or validation can keep your life emotionally tied to the past. - Take back the pen. Joseph’s story teaches that another person may have created a painful chapter, but they do not get to become the author of your identity or destiny. - Pain does not need to be called “good.” Jewish faith does not require minimizing suffering. Something meaningful can emerge from what you choose to do next without pretending the wound itself was a blessing. - Learn what belongs in your department. Rabbi Bernath’s “Forgiveness Inventory” separates life into three categories: my business, their business, and G-d’s business. Healing, boundaries, choices, and apologies you owe are yours. Their remorse and growth belong to them. Ultimate justice and the full explanation belong to G-d. - Forgiveness can be a daily practice. The ancient Jewish bedtime forgiveness prayer offers a way to clear resentment each night rather than allowing small hurts to accumulate into permanent bitterness. - You do not have to forgive everything today. Sometimes the first prayer is simply, “G-d, I want to want to forgive.” Healing can happen gradually—one less replay, one softened reaction, one rock put down. - Stop demanding a better past. The past cannot be rewritten. Forgiveness is releasing the demand that yesterday become different so that tomorrow is finally allowed to be different. - Resentment steals presence. Old wounds can quietly follow us into marriages, parenting, friendships, and new relationships. Forgiveness clears emotional space for the people who are actually standing in front of us. - Forgiveness does not mean forgetting where you have been. It means remembering where you are going. The final declaration is not, “They were right.” It is: “I am free.” Send us Fan MailThe School for Sensitive SoulsDo you feel everything deeply? Absorb other people’s emotions? Overthink conversations long after they’re over? Struggle with boundaries, burnout, or feeling like you’re simply “too much”? .Course begins October 15th.Learn more and register hereSupport the showGot your own question for Rabbi Bernath? He can be reached at rabbi@jewishndg.com or http://www.theloverabbi.comSingle? You can make a profile on www.JMontreal.com and Rabbi Bernath will help you find that special someone.Donate and support Rabbi Bernath’s work http://www.jewishndg.com/donateFollow Rabbi Bernath’s YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/user/ybernathAccess Rabbi Bernath's Articles on Relationships https://medium.com/@loverabbi
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    51 mins
  • The Wall That Wasn’t There | Rabbi Bernath's Sermon for Rosh Hashanah Day 2 5787

    The Wall That Wasn’t There | Rabbi Bernath's Sermon for Rosh Hashanah Day 2 5787
    Sep 14 2026
    On the second day of Rosh Hashanah, the shofar finally sounds. Yesterday’s question was: Are you awake? Today’s question goes deeper: What are you awake for and what happens when you finally know where you want to go, but you hit a wall?Drawing on a powerful teaching of the Baal Shem Tov, Rabbi Yisroel Bernath tells the story of people invited to visit a king. Again and again they encounter walls, obstacles, distractions, and treasures. Some turn back. Some settle for the rewards along the way. But a few keep going because they remember why they came: “I came for the King.” When they finally reach the innermost chamber and look back, they discover something astonishing: the walls were never what they appeared to be. The King had never been far away.We all have walls: anxiety, grief, shame, resentment, fear, family struggles, illness, disappointment, self-criticism, or the belief that we should be further along by now. The Baal Shem Tov’s teaching does not deny the reality of pain. It challenges the conclusion that because life feels difficult, G-d must therefore be distant. Kabbalah teaches leit atar panui minei, there is no place devoid of Him. Even the wall itself exists within the palace. The place we imagine is separating us from G-d may be precisely the place where G-d is meeting us.But the sermon goes one uncomfortable step further: sometimes the wall does not merely block us, it becomes our excuse not to move. Pain is real, but we can surrender our future to it by saying, “This is simply who I am,” “Nothing can change,” or “I cannot move until someone else changes first.” The alternative is not pretending we were never hurt. It is becoming a co-creator with G-d and asking: Given what happened, what do I want to create now?The shofar becomes the perfect expression of that journey: Teki’ah - wholeness. Shevarim - brokenness. Teruah - fragments. And then another Teki’ah - wholeness again. Not because nothing happened, but because beneath everything that broke is a deeper part of the soul that never stopped belonging to the King.Rosh Hashanah therefore asks us not to demolish every wall overnight, but simply to identify one wall and take one step. One apology. One boundary. One conversation. One mitzvah. One honest act of courage. And when the shofar sounds, hear the deeper truth: You were never outside the palace. The King was with you inside the journey all along.Key Points- Awakening is only the beginning. Once we know we want to change, we inevitably encounter resistance, the “wall.”- The wall is not proof that G-d is far away. Difficulty, distraction, doubt, anxiety, grief, and spiritual struggle do not equal Divine absence.- The wall itself is inside the palace. Since nothing exists outside G-d, even concealment exists within His presence.- Pain is real; separation is not. The sermon carefully distinguishes between denying suffering and refusing to interpret suffering as abandonment.- Thoughts can masquerade as reality. “I am broken,” “I’ll never change,” “I’m not good enough,” and “I’m too far gone” may feel like facts while actually functioning as walls.- Sometimes the wall becomes an alibi. A painful story can quietly become permission not to move, grow, repair, forgive, or take responsibility.- The opposite of Victim is Co-Creator. We cannot control everything that happens to us, but we remain partners with G-d in deciding what happens next.- You cannot always choose what happens to you, but you can participate in what happens through you.- You do not need to climb twenty walls today. Take one step: one apology, boundary, appointment, conversation, mitzvah, or change in how you show up.- Success can become a wall too. Not only suffering distracts us from the King. Career, money, status, accomplishments, and even religious achievements can become “treasures” that cause us to forget why we began the journey.- A mitzvah is not a trophy; it is a doorway. The question is not merely what we accomplished, but whether it brought us closer.The shofar tells the story of the soul:Teki’ah - whole.Shevarim - broken.Teruah - fragmented.Teki’ah - whole again.- Teshuvah means return. And you can only return somewhere you already belong.- The King was never waiting at the end of the journey. G-d was present inside every step of it.- The deepest Rosh Hashanah question becomes: What did you come for? And beneath all the noise, the neshamah answers: I came for the King.Send us Fan MailThe School for Sensitive SoulsDo you feel everything deeply? Absorb other people’s emotions? Overthink conversations long after they’re over? Struggle with boundaries, burnout, or feeling like you’re simply “too much”? .Course begins October 15th.Learn more and register hereSupport the showGot your own question for Rabbi Bernath? He can be reached at rabbi@jewishndg.com or http://www.theloverabbi.comSingle? You can make a profile on www.JMontreal.com and Rabbi...
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    43 mins
  • The Shofar We Are: Wake Up to Something - Rabbi Bernath's Sermon for Rosh Hashana Day 1 5787

    The Shofar We Are: Wake Up to Something - Rabbi Bernath's Sermon for Rosh Hashana Day 1 5787
    Sep 14 2026

    This Rosh Hashanah begins with a strange silence: the first day falls on Shabbat, and there is no shofar. But perhaps this year, we do not need a horn to wake us up. The Jewish people are already awake, shaken by antisemitism, fear, and an intensified awareness of what it means to be Jewish.

    The deeper question is no longer “Are we awake?” but “What are we awake to?” Antisemitism may remind us that we are Jews, but it cannot be allowed to define what Judaism means. We cannot let those who hate us become our rabbis, write our curriculum, or turn Jewish identity into a story only about fear and survival. Rosh Hashanah calls us to take back the pen and build a Judaism rooted not merely in defiance, but in love, Torah, mitzvos, family, joy, and connection to Hashem.

    The shofar is more than an alarm clock. It is the wordless cry of the deepest soul, the prince who has wandered far from the palace, forgotten the language, and yet still remembers Home. This year, perhaps we are the shofar: a Jewish people crying out, searching, remembering, and returning.

    The sermon offers three invitations: stop apologizing for being Jewish, learn what you are proud of, and teach the next generation that “S’iz gut tzu zein a Yid” - it is good to be a Jew. Ultimately, Jewish pride is not simply refusing to hide. It is discovering something about Judaism beautiful enough that we want to live it.

    Key Points
    -This year we are already awake. The world has shaken the Jewish soul awake, the question is what we will do with that awakening.
    -Antisemitism cannot define Judaism. It may remind us that we are Jewish, but it does not get to tell us what being Jewish means.
    -Take back the pen. Our Jewish story cannot be written only around persecution, fear, or survival. It must also be about what we live for.
    -Jewish pride must become Jewish love. “I refuse to hide” is important, but deeper still is: “I love being Jewish.”
    -The shofar is the cry of the soul. Beneath words, theology, wounds, and doubts is the etzem haneshamah, the part of us that still knows where Home is.
    -Stop apologizing for being Jewish. Stand tall, not arrogantly, but without shame.
    -Learn what you are proud of. You cannot deeply love a Judaism you have never taken the time to know.
    -Our inheritance is more than trauma. We inherited Auschwitz, but we also inherited Sinai, Shabbat, Torah, family, faith, and light.
    -Teach children that Judaism is good. Not merely “S’iz shver tzu zein a Yid” - it is hard to be a Jew, but “S’iz gut tzu zein a Yid” - it is good to be a Jew.
    -We need to become the shofar. To live Jewishly with such clarity, joy, and conviction that the next generation can hear what Judaism sounds like through our lives.

    Send us Fan Mail

    The School for Sensitive Souls

    Do you feel everything deeply? Absorb other people’s emotions? Overthink conversations long after they’re over? Struggle with boundaries, burnout, or feeling like you’re simply “too much”? .

    Course begins October 15th.

    Learn more and register here

    Support the show

    Got your own question for Rabbi Bernath? He can be reached at rabbi@jewishndg.com or http://www.theloverabbi.com

    Single? You can make a profile on www.JMontreal.com and Rabbi Bernath will help you find that special someone.

    Donate and support Rabbi Bernath’s work http://www.jewishndg.com/donate

    Follow Rabbi Bernath’s YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/user/ybernath

    Access Rabbi Bernath's Articles on Relationships https://medium.com/@loverabbi
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    42 mins
  • Growing Older, Growing Deeper: How to Make Your Years Count - Parshat Ki Teitzei • Elul • The Gift of a Life Fully Lived

    Growing Older, Growing Deeper: How to Make Your Years Count - Parshat Ki Teitzei • Elul • The Gift of a Life Fully Lived
    Aug 24 2026

    Our culture often treats aging as something to resist. Judaism sees it differently: years are not merely something that happen to us; they can become a source of wisdom, purpose, and depth. Drawing on the mitzvah of shiluach hakein in Parshat Ki Teitzei, the Torah’s promise of long life, the mitzvah of honoring parents, and the Rebbe’s teachings about aging, Rabbi Yisroel Bernath explores what it really means to “lengthen our days.”

    As Elul invites us to look back over another year, the deeper question is not simply, “How much older did I become?” but “How much deeper did I become?”

    Through the moving example of Brahm and Ilana Shiller, the sermon becomes a meditation on courage, resilience, love, and living fully even when life does not unfold as we would choose. Perhaps a long life is measured not only by how many days we receive, but by how much life we put into each day.


    Key Points

    Judaism does not see aging as decline. Long life is a blessing, and lived experience itself carries dignity and holiness.

    You can retire from a career, but never from purpose. As our stage of life changes, our mission may change with it, but our ability to matter does not disappear.

    Ki Teitzei teaches us not to exploit devotion. Both shiluach hakein and honoring parents remind us to recognize and honor those whose love causes them to keep giving.

    Elul is not merely about another year passing. Growing older happens automatically. Growing deeper requires choice.

    Difficulty can reveal character. Real positivity is not denying pain; it is being able to say, “This is hard, and I am still going to live today.”

    Courage also belongs to the person standing beside the struggle. Caregivers and spouses carry their own quiet burden of love, worry, strength, and hope.

    Arichut yamim, long life, can also mean full days. A day filled with love, laughter, generosity, presence, and an open heart contains an extraordinary amount of life.

    The Elul question: We cannot always choose what happens to us, but we participate in choosing who we become within what happens.


    #ParshatKiTeitzei #KiTeitzei #Judaism #Jewish #Torah #Bible #BibleStudy #Elul #chabad #Rabbi #JewishWisdom #AgingWithPurpose #LongLife #purpose #resilience #Courage #ShiluachHakein #chassidus #therebbe #LivingFully #gratitude #JewishInspiration #RabbiBernath


    Send us Fan Mail

    The School for Sensitive Souls

    Do you feel everything deeply? Absorb other people’s emotions? Overthink conversations long after they’re over? Struggle with boundaries, burnout, or feeling like you’re simply “too much”? .

    Course begins October 15th.

    Learn more and register here

    Support the show

    Got your own question for Rabbi Bernath? He can be reached at rabbi@jewishndg.com or http://www.theloverabbi.com

    Single? You can make a profile on www.JMontreal.com and Rabbi Bernath will help you find that special someone.

    Donate and support Rabbi Bernath’s work http://www.jewishndg.com/donate

    Follow Rabbi Bernath’s YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/user/ybernath

    Access Rabbi Bernath's Articles on Relationships https://medium.com/@loverabbi
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    29 mins