What my mother and Rav Tzadok understood about the bigger picture, on the thirty-sixth yahrzeit of Yenta Rivka bas Rav Yaakov Halevi
A deeply personal yahrzeit essay connecting memories of Yenta Rivka Gutnicki with Randy Pausch’s last lecture and four teachings from Rav Tzadok’s Resisei Layla—on emunah, Shabbos, the light that emerges from darkness, and joy. Includes family photographs, original Hebrew quotations, and detailed source notes.
Shabbos candles, the “light of Gehinnom,” and the wisdom waiting beneath the Flood
Rav Tzadok connects the Shabbos lamp, challah and niddah with the nefesh, ruach and neshamah; then reveals the deeper meaning of Noach’s six-hundredth year. Read the essay online or download its PDF and Word editions.
Transforming the Yetzer Hara and the Bitterness of Mar Cheshvan in Parashat Bereishit
After the Yamim Noraim and Sukkos, ordinary life returns. Drawing on Pri Tzaddik, Resisei Layla, Mei HaShiloach and the Izhbitza–Radzin tradition, this week's essay explores how the yetzer hara, darkness and even the bitterness of Cheshvan can become instruments of spiritual growth.
