Daily Jewish Thought
Thoughts on spirituality, Kabbalah, Jewish thought, Judaism and Relationships. Rabbi Yisroel Bernath is the Senior Rabbi at Rohr Chabad of NDG and the Director of Chabad on Campus at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada. Cherished for his incredible warmth and non-judgmental personality, this hipster is not your typical rabbi. In 2012, Rabbi Bernath founded the smashing success JMatchmaking International, a network of Jewish dating sites. He has made 104 matches (that he knows of) to date! In addition to being a matchmaker and dating coach, Rabbi Bernath is also the author of three books, and continuously produces engaging content on his many...
The Forgiveness Experiment: Take Back the Pen, Put Down the Poison
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 fo...
The Wall That Wasn’t There | Rabbi Bernath's Sermon for Rosh Hashanah Day 2 5787
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...
The Shofar We Are: Wake Up to Something - Rabbi Bernath's Sermon for Rosh Hashana Day 1 5787
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 ou...
Growing Older, Growing Deeper: How to Make Your Years Count - Parshat Ki Teitzei • Elul • The Gift of a Life Fully Lived
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?”...
Love Is Not Found. It Is Built. | 10 Jewish Relationship Truths for Tu B’Av
Tu B’Av is often called the Jewish day of love. In this special Tu B’Av discussion, Rabbi Yisroel Bernath, known as the “Love Rabbi” shares ten essential Jewish relationship principles for singles, couples, and anyone seeking to build deeper, healthier love.
Drawing from Torah, Jewish wisdom, matchmaking experience, and years of counselling singles and couples, Rabbi Bernath explores why dating is not a performance, why chemistry must never outrun character, how to distinguish genuine needs from unrealistic checklists, and why love is not simply something we find, it is something we build.
This class of...
Help Us Keep the Light Going: A Special Message from Rabbi Yisroel Bernath
Support the raffle at www.ndgraffle.com.
In this special episode, Rabbi Yisroel Bernath opens his heart to the worldwide community that has grown around the podcast.
The podcast is more than a weekly teaching. It is part of the larger mission of Chabad NDG: creating spaces of belonging, supporting students and families, helping people through crisis, and bringing Torah, healing, hope, and Jewish wisdom into everyday life.
With the annual Chabad NDG raffle now 80% of the way toward its goal, Rabbi Bernath invites listeners to become active partners in sustaining...
The Gift of Feeling Too Much: Why Your Sensitivity Is Not Your Weakness.
In this special class in honour of his birthday, Rabbi Yisroel Bernath explores one of the most misunderstood human traits: sensitivity. While the world often tells us to toughen up and grow thicker skin, Chassidus teaches that the goal is not to suppress our emotions but to refine them. Drawing from Tanya, Torah Or, Likkutei Torah, and the teachings of the Rebbeim, Rabbi Bernath explains that some souls are created to feel more deeply because they are called to illuminate more deeply. Participants discover the difference between being emotionally controlled and spiritually refined, learn why criticism, overwhelm, and empathy...
The G-d Question: Beyond the Bearded Man in the Sky | A Candid Discussion.
In this eye-opening session, Rabbi Yisroel Bernath explores one of the most profound and misunderstood topics of all time: What is G-d? Moving beyond simplistic childhood images of a supernatural sky-being, we delve into Jewish, Chassidic, philosophical, and even scientific perspectives on the Divine. Drawing from thinkers like Einstein and the Alter Rebbe, this class gently unpacks a paradoxical truth: G-d is not less than personal, but also infinitely more than any person. Whether you’re a believer, skeptic, or somewhere in between, this is a class that will stretch your mind and open your heart.
Ta...
Who Really Wrote the Torah? A Conversation on G-d, Truth, and the Power of Ideas
In this heart-open, mind-stretching class, Rabbi Yisroel Bernath dives headfirst into one of the most profound questions ever asked: Who wrote the Torah and what do we mean by G-d? Sparked by a challenge from Ilana, a thoughtful soul who just "won the raffle" and then handed Rabbi Bernath some of the hardest theological questions he's faced, this class isn't a debate, it’s a bridge. Drawing from Torah, Talmud, Rambam, Tanya, Harari, Einstein, Spinoza, and Chassidic mystics, we explore traditional belief, academic scholarship, and the honest soul-searching that sits between them.
Is the Torah a divine bl...
The Blank Tanach and the Book We Need in the Wilderness | Parshat Beha’alotecha
This Shabbat Parshat Beha’alotecha, Rabbi Yisroel Bernath was a Scholar-In-Residence at Beth Tikvah in DDO, Quebec, here is a recording for him preparing his Shabbat morning sermon.
Rabbi Yisroel Bernath connects two contemporary images: the debate over displaying the Ten Commandments in American classrooms and the haunting “blank Tanach” campaign in Israel. Both raise a deeper question: Is Torah something displayed on walls, or something written into our lives?
The sermon then turns to the mysterious two verses of “Vayehi binso’a ha’aron”, surrounded by inverted nuns and described by...
The House of David & The Forgiveness Experiment
Tonight at Congregation TBDJ in Montreal, Rabbi Zolly Claman invited Rabbi Yisroel Bernath to share a unique talk as part of his series on the Characters from the Torah. Rabbi Bernath explored the life of King David through the lens of The Forgiveness Experiment, asking what it really means to forgive without becoming naïve, passive, or unsafe. Moving from Cain and Abel, Isaac and Ishmael, Jacob and Esau, and Joseph and his brothers, the class showed how Tanach slowly develops a deeper language of forgiveness, from failed repair, to fragile reconciliation, to Joseph’s powerful refusal to let his...
The Story of Ruth: Loss, Loyalty & Redemption
Why do we read the story of Ruth on Shavuot? Beneath the surface of this beautiful Megillah lies one of the most dramatic stories in all of Tanach, famine, exile, conversion, controversy, loss, courage, and the hidden birth of redemption.
In this class, Rabbi Yisroel Bernath explores the deeper story behind Ruth, Naomi, and Boaz through Midrash, Talmud, Zohar, and Kabbalah. Together we’ll uncover the shocking halachic debate surrounding Ruth’s conversion, the spiritual meaning behind her loyalty, and the extraordinary chain of Divine Providence that ultimately gave birth to King David and Moshiach. This is a st...
The Kingdom Within: Presence, Dignity & the Courage to Receive - Entering the Week of Malchut
As we arrive at the final week of Sefirat HaOmer, Rabbi Yisroel Bernath explores the profound and deeply practical world of Malchut, the sefirah of sovereignty, presence, dignity, and embodiment. In Chassidic thought, Malchut is not about domination or ego-driven power, but about becoming a grounded vessel for truth, connection, and Divine presence. Through powerful analogies, relatable stories, and authentic Kabbalistic teachings, this class explores what it means to lead without controlling, to receive without shame, and to stand in your worth without needing to prove yourself. Malchut is where spirituality stops being theoretical and finally becomes lived reality.<...
Real Connection, Not Just Chemistry: Entering the Week of Yesod
As we step into the week of Yesod, we move from the inner emotional world into the place where everything becomes real, where feelings turn into connection, and potential becomes relationship. In this class, Rabbi Yisroel Bernath explores Yesod not just as a mystical concept, but as the very foundation of how we bond with others, with ourselves, and with G-d.
Drawing on teachings from Kabbalah and Chassidus we uncover the deeper meaning of authentic connection, what it means to show up fully, to be emotionally present, and to build relationships rooted in truth rather than fear...
The Courage to Soften: Entering the Week of Hod
In a world that rewards being right, being strong, and holding it all together, the Sefirah of Hod invites us into a very different kind of strength. In this heart-open class, Rabbi Yisroel Bernath explores the power of humility, not as weakness, but as the courage to soften, to acknowledge truth, and to release the need to control. Drawing from Kabbalah, Chassidic teachings and real-life experiences, this session unpacks how Hod shows up in our relationships, our inner dialogue, and our spiritual growth. When we stop defending and start listening, something shifts. Hod is where we become more honest...
The Strength to Keep Going, Even When You Don’t Feel Like It: Entering the Week of Netzach
What drives you to keep pushing forward and when does that drive begin to drain you? In this class, Rabbi Yisroel Bernath explores the Sefirah of Netzach, the inner power of endurance, ambition, and resilience. Through a blend of Kabbalah and Chassidic insight and real-life application, we uncover the difference between healthy perseverance and destructive overdrive. This session invites you to rethink what it means to “win” and how true victory comes not from force, but from alignment with your deeper purpose.
Takeaways:
How to recognize when your drive is comi...
The Heart of Balance: Entering the Week of Tiferet
How to Love Without Smothering and Set Boundaries Without Wounding
Why do our best intentions so often hurt the people we love most? Because love without boundaries can suffocate… and truth without compassion can wound. As we enter the week of Tiferet in Sefirat HaOmer, Rabbi Yisroel Bernath explores the Kabbalistic art of emotional balance, the sacred harmony between Chesed (kindness) and Gevurah (strength). Tiferet is not compromise. It is not weakness. It is the mature, beautiful ability to give people not what we want to give, but what they actually ne...
From Egypt to Opening Doors: How to Break Through What’s Holding You Back
What if the last days of Pesach aren’t about how the story ends… but about how your story begins?
In this deeply practical and soulful class, Rabbi Yisroel Bernath explores the hidden power of the final days of Passover, where we stop remembering freedom and start living toward it. Through the lens of the splitting of the sea, the mysterious idea of Moshiach as a “Caesar,” and the transformative ritual of Moshiach’s Seudah, this class reveals a powerful truth: You’re not as stuck as you think, you’re just one doorway away. Blending Chassidus, storytelling...
The Kabbalah of the Passover Seder
We’ve all been to a Seder. We know the songs, the matzah, the wine… and somehow, we still walk out the same person. But what if the Seder was never meant to be a ritual you attend, but a process you go through?
In this class, Rabbi Yisroel Bernath uncovers the Seder as a 15-step journey of real transformation. A map for getting unstuck, from old habits, inner resistance, fear, and emotional baggage. Not just leaving Egypt… but finally letting Egypt leave you. This isn’t about doing the Seder better. It’s about becoming...
Rabbi Bernath’s Passover Seder: A Guide to Preparing for a Night That Can Change You
Download Rabbi Bernath's Haggadah HERE https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/98kilqi70z1cpqcn47jo0/Rabbi-Yisroel-s-Passover-Haggadah-Version-6B.pdf?rlkey=2gbd5i1u1fx0787fochlrpj6b&dl=0
Most people prepare for the Seder like they’re hosting a dinner. The food is ready. The table is set. The Haggadah is in place. But the Seder was never meant to be something you run. It’s something you enter. In this class, Rabbi Yisroel Bernath reframes Seder preparation, not as logistics, but as inner work. From the wine to the matzah, from the questions to the story, every detail beco...
Pre-Passover Special - When the Chains are Invisible
There’s something about this time of year… As we prepare for Pesach, cleaning, cooking, setting the table… we’re also being invited into something deeper. Not just a historical remembrance… but a personal awakening.
Because the real question of the Seder isn’t “What happened then?” It’s “Am I free now?”
In this special pre-Passover episode, Rabbi Yisroel Bernath shares an exclusive preview from the audiobook of The Forgiveness Experiment Chapter 9.
A look into the “Mitzrayim” within, the inner narrowness, the old voices, the quiet fears that still hold us back long after we’ve “left Egy...
This Passover: How to Finally Break Out of Feeling Stuck
What if the line in the Haggadah isn’t history… but a diagnosis? “If G-d hadn’t taken us out of Egypt, we would still be there.” Not physically. Psychologically. Spiritually. Emotionally. In this heart-open Kabbalah class, Rabbi Bernath unpacks the deeper meaning of Egypt, not as a place, but as a mindset. An inner voice that says, “This is just who I am.” A life shaped by patterns we stopped questioning.
Discover how the Exodus introduced something the world had never known before: the possibility of change. A new language. A new identity. A new way to see yoursel...
When, Not If: Why Your Mistakes Might Be Your Greatest Strength
In this deeply real and liberating class, Rabbi Yisroel Bernath explores a striking idea from Parshat Vayikra: the Torah doesn’t say if a leader will fail, it says when. Why? Because growth, leadership, love, and even spirituality all require stepping into a messy, imperfect world.
Through the lens of Kabbalah and Chassidus, you weren’t created to be perfect, you were created to transform imperfection. Your mistakes are not interruptions to your journey… they are the journey.
This class reframes failure, guilt, and self-doubt and replaces them with responsibility, growth, and deep self-compassion.
The Life You Dreamed vs. The Life You’re Living
Did life turn out the way you imagined it would? Most of us quietly carry two versions of our lives, the ideal one we dreamed about and the messy, imperfect one we actually live. In this Wednesday morning Kabbalah class, Rabbi Yisroel Bernath explores a powerful insight from Parshat Vayakhel–Pekudei and Chassidic teachings: why the Torah repeats the story of the Mishkan twice, and what that reveals about our own lives.
Drawing from the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe and Tanya, the class examines the difference between the “heavenly sanctuary” of our dreams and the “earthly sanctuar...
Finding Holiness in the Fragments of Life: The Kabbalah Secret of the Broken Tablets
Why did Moses smash the tablets and why were the broken pieces placed in the Holy of Holies alongside the whole ones? In this heart-open class, Rabbi Yisroel Bernath explores one of the most powerful and surprising teachings in Torah: that brokenness is not the opposite of holiness, it can be its doorway. Drawing on the story of the Golden Calf, the teachings of the Talmud, Midrash, and the Lubavitcher Rebbe, this class reveals how Judaism embraces both the “whole tablets” and the “broken tablets” of our lives. Together we explore how pain, setbacks, doubt, and struggle can become catalyst...
When the Street Starts Singing: Drowning Out Haman, Then and Now...
This wasn’t just another Shabbat. This was the kind of Shabbat that reminds you history isn’t something we read, it’s something we walk into.
At Chabad NDG in Montreal, a Persian-themed Shabbat table became something deeper: a meeting point between ancient Persia and modern Iran. Between the story of Haman and the voices of real Iranian activists fighting for freedom today. Between fear… and courage.
Then came the moment no one planned.
Walking to synagogue the next morning, before even hearing the news, the streets began to speak. Neighbors stopped, embraced...
Going “All In” for the Right Things
The Megillah opens with one of the most extravagant, unnecessary parties in history and somehow, it’s there to teach us how to live. In this class, Rabbi Yisroel Bernath discusses a powerful insight from the Rebbe: even a foolish king understood something many of us forget, that life is not meant to be lived halfway. Through the lens of Achashverosh’s over-the-top feast, we explore what it means to stop playing small, access our full potential, and show up to our lives, our relationships, and our purpose with everything we’ve got.
Takeaw...
You’re Not Broken, You’re Layered: The Kabbalah of Showing Up Even When You Don’t Feel Golden
Parshat Terumah introduces the Ark, Judaism’s holiest object and reveals a radical truth about the human soul. The Ark wasn’t one solid piece. It was gold on the inside, wood in the middle, gold on the outside.
In this class, Rabbi Yisroel Bernath explores how the Ark becomes a map of the inner life: A core that is pure and untouchable. A middle that feels messy, emotional, contradictory and an outer life that still has the power to shine.
Drawing from Tanya and Chassidic psychology, this episode reframes guilt, self...
Who’s in Charge: Your Emotions or Your Values?
In this morning’s class, Rabbi Yisroel Bernath explored one of the Torah’s most psychologically honest teachings: what to do when our emotions and our values don’t align. Through the mitzvah of helping an enemy’s fallen donkey, we uncovered Judaism’s middle path, neither repressing emotions nor surrendering to them. Drawing from halacha, Kabbalah, and Chassidus, the class reframed emotional maturity as the ability to feel honestly while choosing responsibly, and offered a practical way to act with integrity even when the heart resists.
Key Takeaways
The Torah ackn...
You Don’t Have to Be Born Jewish to Choose Judaism
Why would a powerful, respected spiritual leader abandon comfort, status, and certainty to join a nation of former slaves in the desert?
In this morning’s class, Rabbi Yisroel Bernath explores the story of Jethro—not as ancient history, but as a living mirror. Through a surprising Talmudic question, we uncover what Jethro really heard that compelled him to move from observer to participant.
This class weaves together three forces that define the Jewish story, irrational hatred, the moral genius of Torah, and the supernatural resilience of the Jewish people and asks a deeply personal ques...
The Forgiveness Experiment Book Launch | Rabbi Yisroel Bernath in conversation with Ilana Zackon
You don’t often see a book launch feel like a collective exhale.
This recording is from the Montreal launch of The Forgiveness Experiment, featuring the author Rabbi Yisroel Bernath in conversation with Ilana Zackon.
Ilana Zackon, an award-winning actor, writer, and filmmaker. Together, they dive into the heart of the book: why forgiveness matters, how it changes us, and what it means to live with open hearts even in a fractured world. Expect laughter, honesty, vulnerability, and plenty of inspiration.
Held in the days leading up to Yom Kippur, this wasn’t just...
Who Sang First? Leadership, Voice, and Finding the Song Within
One of the first things we did together as a people wasn’t march, organize, or strategize. We sang. Standing at the edge of the sea, fresh from fear, not yet healed, still unsure where we were going the Jewish people lifted their voices in song. But the Torah leaves us with a mystery: how did three million people sing one song together? Was it led by Moses? Echoed by the people? Or did each person discover the song within themselves?
In this class, Rabbi Bernath explores an ancient debate that turns out to be a...
Why the Hardest Moments in Life Are Invitations, Not Obstacles.
In Parshat Bo, G-d tells Moses something unexpected: “Come to Pharaoh.” Not go… but come.
In this episode Rabbi Yisroel Bernath explores a profound teaching from the Zohar and Chassidic thought: when we face a “Pharaoh” in our lives… fear, resistance, heartbreak, failure, or a person who seems to block our freedom… we are never sent alone. G-d says: Come with Me.
Even more startling, G-d adds: “Because I hardened his heart.” The resistance itself is Divine. Not to stop redemption, but to reveal it.
Through Torah, Kabbalah, psychology, and powerful stori...
Freedom Begins When We Stop Tolerating
One of the most surprising details in the Exodus story is that Moses, the redeemer of Israel, did not grow up as a slave, but in Pharaoh’s palace.
In this morning’s Kabbalah class, Rabbi Yisroel Bernath explores why Divine Providence chose such an unlikely path for Israel’s future leader and what it reveals about the nature of freedom.
Drawing on Chassidic insights into the word sivlot“ burdens” that also mean tolerance, this class reframes redemption as a psychological and spiritual awakening. True liberation begins not when suffering becomes unbearable, but when we refuse to a...
Turn Your Head | How Moses Found His Calling and How You Find Yours
Moses had every reason to stay comfortable: palace roots, a peaceful life in Midyan, and an age where most people stop reinventing themselves. Then a bush burned and refused to go away.
In this class, Rabbi Yisroel Bernath explores the moment that changes everything: not charging forward, not fixing the world, but simply turning your head. Through the burning bush, the Midrashic debate, and Moses’ three objections, we uncover how purpose actually shows up, why resistance is part of the calling, and how your deepest struggles may be the doorway to your greatest contribution.
...
The Greatest Light That Could Only Come from the Deepest Darkness
The moment Joseph reveals himself to his brothers is not just a family reunion, it is a soul disclosure. In this class, Rabbi Yisroel Bernath explores why Joseph repeats himself, why he asks his brothers to come closer, and why he insists on reminding them that they sold him into Egypt. Drawing from Torah, Midrash, and Kabbalah, we discover that Joseph’s greatest holiness was not forged in comfort, but in confrontation with darkness. His life teaches us that our deepest light often emerges not despite our struggles, but because of them. This is a class about identity, resilience, an...
After Bondi Beach Attack: Chabad Answers Darkness with Light!
This Shabbat, as Chanukah and Parshat Miketz converge, our hearts are heavy and our calling is clear. From the moment the Maccabees discovered a single cruse of oil in the desecrated Temple, Jewish history hinged not on what was found, but on what was done. They could have preserved the oil as a relic. Instead, they used it and ignited a light that has burned for 2,200 years.
In the shadow of the tragic attack at the Chabad Chanukah celebration in Bondi Beach, Rabbi Yisroel Bernath delivers a sermon that explores a timeless Jewish truth: Judaism does not...
Are the Jewish People Really the Chosen People?
In this morning’s class, Rabbi Yisroel Bernath explored the baffling, almost mythical global obsession with Israel and the Jewish people, a tiny nation that somehow takes up an outsized share of the world’s attention. Drawing on the teachings of Rabbi Simon Jacobson, Rabbi YY Jacobson, and Rabbi Manis Friedman, Rabbi Bernath unpacked the spiritual roots behind antisemitism and the world’s fixation on Jews.
We confronted the paradox: being “chosen” doesn’t raise us above others, it humbles us beneath the weight of responsibility. Using the Alter Rebbe’s 1798 letter after his release on Yud Tes Kislev, we...
A New Way to See Charity: When Giving Becomes Receiving
In this heart-opening conversation, Rabbi Bernath shares a powerful true story of a needy bride who felt ashamed to accept financial help, until she discovers that she is a partner, not a burden. Drawing on the Torah’s teaching of Yissachar and Zevulun, and Chassidic wisdom from the Lubavitcher Rebbe, he reveals the revolutionary idea that tzedakah is not a one-way act of charity but a sacred spiritual partnership. Through moving stories, including a dramatic tale of a Hatzalah medic and his unlikely agreement with a butcher afraid of blood the message becomes clear: the giver and receiver elevate an...
In Conversation with Rabbi David Eliezrie | UNdaunted: How the Sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn Saved Russian Jewry, Reimagined American Judaism, Ignited a Global Jewish Renaissance
In this remarkable conversation, Rabbi Yisroel Bernath sits down with Rabbi Dovid Eliezrie to explore UNdaunted, his newly released biography of the Previous Lubavitcher Rebbe, a hero of Jewish history whose courage rewrote the future. We journey through the Rebbe’s extraordinary childhood, discovering how early acts of bravery shaped a leader who would one day defy empires and rebuild Jewish life across the world.
Rabbi Eliezrie speaks of the Rebbe’s profound influence on Montreal, from the spiritual infrastructure he inspired, to the seeds of community he planted that continue to flourish today. Along the way, Rabb...
