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 social media & podcast platforms. As a professional voice-over artist, screen-writer, and actor, he has been a part of dozens of productions, including the hit CBC Documentary "Kosher Love".
Episodes
1189 episodes
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 a...
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 Kabba...
The Heart of Balance: Entering the Week of Tiferet
How to Love Without Smothering and Set Boundaries Without WoundingWhy 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 ent...
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 rem...
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...
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...
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 quest...
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...
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 spiritua...
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 e...
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 brok...
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 poi...
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 understoo...
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...
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 Jud...
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, b...
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, a...
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...
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 “Ph...
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 Providenc...
Turn Your Head... How Moses Found His Calling and How You Can 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 mo...
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 re...
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 w...
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 o...
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...