THE MIND’S EYE:

Harnessing the Power of Visualizations, Imagery & Inner Awareness to Master our Lives

A Two Part Lecture by Rav Pinson

Available as a Live Lecture at the IYYUN Center
and via real-time web streaming on your computer at home!

Wed, 7:30pm, April 24^th

Wed, 7:30pm, May 1st

The Lecture will take place at the IYYUN Center
650 Sackett St, Brooklyn, New York

To RSVP for this class and to join via web – please email: contact@iyyun.com

And visit: http://www.meetup.com/IYYUN-Center-for-Jewish-Spirituality-in-Park-Slope-Brooklyn/

There will be handouts for attendees to take home with them, and downloadable pdf’s of the handouts for those who join in remotely.

$10 cover

(about the lectures)

Life is a tension between the Word and the Image, between the right hemisphere of the brain and the left. In the West, we focus on the word, the analytical approach for self transformation. The Kabbalists and Chassidic masters teach that inner redemption begins with redeeming our imagination. Using creative Visualizations, awareness meditations and other ancient techniques to unlock the inner resources of our psyche and inspire a genuine transformation of self.

JOIN US FOR THE ANNUAL IYYUN LAG Ba’OMER CELEBRATION

Saturday Evening, April 27th at 9:30 pm

Location: The New IYYUN Center! 650 Sackett Street

Join us and discover a world of secrets as Rav Pinson reveals to us the mystical and magical teachings of the Zohar.

Barbeque, Music, Refreshments and Drinks!
Bring an instrument if you play, and join the IYYUN jamming!
no reservations necessary, please feel welcome to bring friends

$10 cover

Looking forward to seeing you and celebrating Lag B’Omer together!

For more information you can email us at: contact@iyyun.com

Join Us Shavuot at The IYYUN All Night Torah Experience.

See the sun come up on a night of Torah with Rav DovBer Pinson.

Tuesday night, May 14 beginning at 11:30 pm and going all night long . . .
at the IYYUN Center

9:00pm Ma’ariv Service
9:15pm Festive Dairy Holiday Dinner, by reservation only (*please see below)
11:30 – 4:30am Learning all Night, followed by Shacharis Service and the Torah Reading of the Ten Commandments

All Night Learning will Include:

   Torah Sampler: Short, text based studies of Chumash, Talmud, Zohar, AriZal and Baal Shem Tov.
Tikkun Leil Shavuot: The Tikkun for the night of Shavuot
Meditation: to prepare for receiving of Torah.
Open Forum: Bring your Torah questions and open a conversation.
Cheesecake, Coffee and Refreshments all night long!

$18 Cover for All Night Learning: Includes, learning, refreshments all night and breakfast in the morning!

to pay and reserve – please click here
Please be sure to specify which event/s you are reserving for!

The Festive Holiday dinner meal is by reservation only, and is $36 per person/$50 per couple/ $75 per family (2 adults, 2 children)

click here for more information!

Join our Facebook Event Page: 

https://www.facebook.com/events/520924074633248/?ref=3

Also our Meetup Group!

http://www.meetup.com/IYYUN-Center-for-Jewish-Spirituality-in-Park-Slope-Brooklyn/events/117300572/

Join Rav DovBer and the IYYUN Community for a delicious, dairy Shavuot dinner!

To reserve please click on  contact

to make your payment, send a check to IYYUN:232 bergen, brooklyn NY 11217, or click donate

Special Reading of the 10 Commandments
and Ice Cream Party!

For the Children and Young at Heart!

On Shavuot we re-receive the Torah, and are gifted with wisdom and insight for the whole year ahead.

This is our special day, our birthday as a nation.

Shavuot is an especially important day for the children, as they were the original guarantors for the Torah and they are the future of our people.

Bring the Children (and yourself!) and Celebrate! with Ice Cream and the Reading of the 10 Commandments

Wednesday, May 15 at 6:30 pm
at IYYUN
650 Sackett Street
(bet 3rd and 4th Ave)

Complete Schedule of Shavuot Services at IYYUN

This is our gift. Let us be there to receive it.

On Shavuot we re-receive the Torah, and are gifted with wisdom and insight for the whole year ahead.
This is our special day, our birthday as a nation.
Shavuot is an especially important day for the children, as they were the original guarantors for the Torah and they are the future of our people.

Bring the Children (and yourself!) and Celebrate! with Ice Cream and the Reading of the 10 Commandments

• Crafts – make your own Mount Sinai Cupcake!
• Prizes!
  
• Games!
• and more!

Wedesday, May 15th at 6:30 pm
at IYYUN
650 Sackett Street
(Between 3rd and 4th Ave)

This wonderful program for children of all ages is sponsored in loving memory of:
Alte Shula Swerdlov A”H – a special little girl who loved going to shul

B”H

Join us for an elegant Dairy Shavuot Dinner!

Tuesday, May 14th
9:15 pm

$36 per adult, $50 per couple, $18 per child
$75 for a family (minimum 2 children and 2 adults)

By Reservation Only
Please reserve as soon as possible

Click on the link below and please be sure to let us know how many people will be attending and if there are any special dietary considerations.
Reservation is confirmed once payment is received

http://iyyun.com/contact

B”H

Two initiatives to feed the elderly and poor before Passover 

LET’S COME TOGETHER… AND GIVE!

Sunday, March 17th, 2013

11am-1pm

at Iyyun center 650 sackett Street, (3-4^th ave) Brooklyn!

“all those who are hungry…. come and eat!”

Our first initiative:

Maot Chittim:  Feeding People for Passover
Passover Packages for the Poor and Elderly

We will be distributing packages of essential Kosher-for-Passover foods & drink to local Jewish elderly and poor who live in a residential complex a few blocks’ walk from the IYYUN Center. This is an opportunity to warm their hearts!

Please sponsor a package!

We ask that each package include the following foods:

(Please note:  All food & drink must have a Kosher for Passover label on it)

•  Two boxes of  Matzah
• One bottle of grape juice
• One bag of potatoes
• One bag of onions
• One box of potato starch
• Bottle of Olive Oil
• Eggs
• Macaroons/ chocolate/
• Horseradish (fresh or ready made bottled)
• Fruits: bag of apples, bag of oranges

Total cost for all essential food items listed above is approximately $30-$40.

If you’d like to add any extra food items to your package, here are some suggestions:

• Butternut Squash
• Carrots
• Sweet Potatoes
• Beets
• Salt
• Tea
• Extra Matzah or Grape Juice

These items can be purchased from any kosher section of a supermarket. Fairway’s Passover section will have many. The closest kosher supermarket to Carroll Gardens is Empire Kosher in Crown Heights (on Empire Boulevard between Brooklyn and Kingston Aves). They can box it for you. Pomegranate (corner of Coney Island Ave and Ave L) is another near-local choice.

PLEASE BRING THE FOOD ALREADY PACKAGED BUT NOT SEALED

Bring the kids, create and decorate your own boxes of food and deliver them as a family!

If you would like to commit to purchasing and creating a food package, please contact Tamar Madmoni Reich at treich26@gmail.com ASAP. Please include your telephone number. 

This is a wonderful opportunity for people from all backgrounds to come together, uniting in one goal: helpful, unconditional giving! Let us teach our children and ourselves by being a living example of the importance of sharing our blessings, our lives and our hearts with those who may need our help.

Our second initiative:

 Food-drive for those in need!

If you know of any family or person in need, please let us know!

 For All important information – please email us at contact@iyyun.com!

We will supply crayons and decorative paper for the kids to decorate the boxes and for each person or family to write a little note for that added personal touch.

Can you volunteer your time to help us organize the drive on Sunday?

Volunteers needed to:

• Expedite

· Lead the kids’ arts & crafts

· Deliver packages throughout Carroll Gardens, Park Slope & Crown Heights

- Extra boxes for the food drive will be greatly appreciated

The Age of Bar Mitzvah & Mental Maturity

Excerpted from “Tefillin: Wrapped in Majesty” by Rav Pinson 2013

The age of thirteen is the age of maturity, when a boy begins to become a man. This existential shift is also accompanied by actual physical changes in the body as the body is transitioning from that of a child into an adult (Nidah, 46a). This period is a major life cycle event and rite of passage. From this day forward, the young boy has embarked on the journey of becoming a man, a person with responsibility. From now on, the young boy has begun to become conscious of developing the ability to recognize right from wrong, what is good and what is bad, as well as a healthy sense of the consequences of ones actions.

Our reality is primarily an “emotionally” based reality and the way most people live life is through unconscious, reactive, emotional responses to external circumstances and stimulus. Instinct and emotional feelings, for better — as in love or connection — or worse — as in hate and fear — predominate most people’s decisions about life. It is often rare to find clarity of thought, expansive thinking and openness of mind.  This is because the Keser — resolute purpose — and the mature deliberation of Mochin are “above” the world so to speak, they are not a natural given. We need to mature and develop in order to receive them. Our purpose — and the means to attain it — does not always seem so apparent and needs to be “revealed” to us.

When a child reaches the age of thirteen, their minds have developed sufficiently to rationalize decisions, to make choices, to exhibit some control over themselves — if they truly desire to. And they can therefore begin to put on tefillin with the intention to draw down a sense of their personal and spiritual purpose, as well as a revelation of a deeper sense of Mochin into their reality, filtered down through their Midos, until the truth of this higher revealed reality infuses their entire way of being and acting. For once there is a proper and prepared vessel, i.e. the maturity of heart and mind, one can then attempt to draw down Gadlus Ha’mochin or ‘expansive mind’.

Expansive Mind and Constricted Mind

Being that the age of thirteen is the beginning of maturity, it is also the age that tefillin — along with the recitation of their accompanying blessings — begin to be worn, starting from the day of the boy’s Bar Mitzvah.

As previously explored in great detail, through the Mitzvah of tefillin we draw down flashes and flows of novel and elevated Mochin, ‘intelligence’, and especially Gadlus Ha’Mochin, ‘big or expansive mind’, which is connected with mental maturity.

Overall, children experience Katnus Ha’Mochin, ‘small, constricted or immature mind’. They may be smart and intelligent, but overall, children lack a certain sense of maturity and the ability to perceive the big picture. The basic difference between these two states, between Gadlus and Katnus, is the difference between a mature adult and an immature child (Maamorei Admur Hazoken. Inyonim, p. 201). The ‘bigger’ or more expanded the mind is, the more inclusive it becomes, and the more it encompasses. An adult with a ‘mature mind’ is capable of contemplating simultaneous opposites and paradox, without breaking down into false conflict and duality. They can understand that the losing of one thing often means the gaining of something greater, perhaps in the future.

Give a child a dollar to buy candy and then tell them that if they give you back the dollar today, you will give them two dollars tomorrow, and see what happens. For the child, what is now is now. When a favorite toy is taken away from a child, or is broken, the child loses himself completely and it is hard to comfort them. You cannot explain to them that you will by them another, better toy tomorrow. They cannot sustain paradox, simultaneous opposites, or tension. Their minds are one dimensional, as it were.

A child has Mochin, ‘mind’. He can figure things out, he knows how to open the box to his toys and maybe even build them. But his Mochin is Katnus, ‘small’, immature, constricted.

Children cannot and should not put on tefillin.

The idea of tefillin is to draw down Mochin D’gadlus, ‘big picture mind’ into our lives. When a child reaches a mature age, he can and should put on tefillin.

Stages of Development
In the general development of the human being there are three main stages:

1.    Ibbur — pregnancy
2.    Yenikah — nursing
3.    Mochin — mind, consciousness

But when seen in more specific detail, one can actually perceive five stages:

1.    Zeri’ah — Sowing of the seed
2.    Ibbur — Pregnancy
3.    Leidah — Birthing
4.    Yenikah — Nursing
5.    Mochin —mind, consciousness.

These two separate but complementary models are the three/five stages of maturation, from conception all the way to full independence and self-awareness. In the process of development — whether physical, psychological, or spiritual — the preceeding stage is always Katnus in comparison to the proceeding stage, which is Gadlus. And the stage that is Gadlus in comparison to the preceeding stage is viewed as Katnus in relation to the next proceeding stage. This developmental process is illustrative of a movement from mere extension and dependence towards independence and uniqueness.

We will explore both of these models (the three and the five stage models of development) in greater depth throughout the following pages. As mentioned previously, they are each meant to be seen as complete in and of themselves, as well as meant to be overlayed and viewed in relation to each other. It is a standard approach of Kabbalah specifically, and Torah in general, to provide numerous lenses and perspectives through which to view a single idea or phenomenon. This associative technique is not meant to confuse the reader, but rather to give the honest seeker as many tools as possible with which to plumb the depths of their existence and experience of the world.

We will begin by taking a deeper look at the five-stage model of development.

Here are the five main stages in the process of becoming in greater detail:
1) Zeri’ah — Sowing of the seed, the moment of conception. This is the first stage towards birth and individuality. In the stage of Zeri’ah there is no individual, the individual is completely hidden and undetectable.

2) Ibbur — The second stage is impregnation, much like a fetus within the womb of the mother. Here the embryo has taken on form and its existence can now be detected. Yet, there is no independence and the child is one with his mother, literally an extension of the mother. Such as it says in the Gemara, the ‘fetus is like the limb of the mother’ (Chulin, 58a).

3) Leidah — The third stage is birthing. Now the infant is fully formed, and all can see that it exists as an independent entity, no longer “attached” (literally speaking) to the mother.

4) Yenikah — The fourth stage is nursing, where a child is outside the womb, starting to move above, yet, completely dependent on the mother for its survival.
5) Mochin — The fifth stage is Mochin or mind and maturity, where the child becomes independent, rational, and understanding of self and others.

These five general stages of early human development correspond to the five times the word Ohr, ‘Light’, appears in the Torah during the creation story. Ohr is the first ‘thing’ to be created, and thus the model of creation.
1)    “Let there be light” (Bereishis, 1:3). This is Zeriah, the “sowing of the seed”, expressing the potential for desired conception.
2)    “And there was light” (ad loc. 1:3). This is Ibbur, the time of “impregnation”. The light exists, but is still hidden, gestating.
3)    “G-d saw that the light was good” (ad loc. 1:4). This is Leidah, the “birthing” stage. There is now an ability to perceive and experience the light, as it is birthed into existence.
4)    “G-d separated the light from darkness” (ad loc. 1:4). This is Yenikah, the “nursing” stage. This process is characterized by the completion of the dependent stage, which occurs towards the end of the nursing stage, when the child is ‘separated’ from its mother and weaned off of the mother’s milk.
5)    “G-d called the light Day” (ad loc. 1:5). This is Mochin, the independent stage wherein the child begins to develop a ‘mind’ of their own. The initial light now becomes a potential source of light, as now the child may too become a parent.

We will now return to the three-stage model of development. Corresponding to the three main stages of development outlined above (Ibbur, Yenikah, Mochin), there are also three basic levels of soul and spiritual complexity through which the child evolves and enters into throughout their life.
The three basic levels of soul are Nefesh, Ruach, and Neshama.
1.    Nefesh is connected with Ibbur
2.    Ruach is connected with Yenikah
3.    Neshamah is connected with Mochin…
…….

These three developmental states and levels of soul — Ibbur/Nefesh, Yenikah/Ruach, and Mochin/Neshamah — also correspond to three bodily positions:
1)    Lying Down
2)    Sitting
3)    Standing

Lying down is Ibbur. This represents a state of zero independence, where the child is not even able to sit up on its own. Left to its own devices, a young infant can only lie down. While in the position of lying down, the head (i.e. the mind) and the rest of the body, even the feet, are on the same horizontal level, which represents that there is no dominance or chain of command of mind over instinct. In this alignment, all cognitive capacities are considered the same. This is the consciousness of Nefesh or pure instinct.

Next step is the movement from lying down to sitting up. This is a major development for a child, which requires a modicum of strength, balance, and self-control. Here the child is gaining more independence. They are big enough to sit up by themselves. This is the state of Yenikah. When the body is in a sitting position, the most prominent and revealed part of the body is the torso, the seat of the heart and metaphorical home of our emotions. This is the consciousness of Ruach — emotional reality.

The final step is to stand up erect and full upright. This is a unique position of the human being. A standing position suggests that there is a flow from top to bottom. There is a movement from the mind, to the heart, to the instincts and actions. The mind dictates. This is advanced Mochin. This is the consciousness of Neshamah…
……
Bar Mitzvah as a Rite of Passage for both Father and Son
According to the Zohar, On the day of a boy’s Bar Mitzvah, we need to make a festive meal, as on the day of ones wedding (Zohar Chadash, Bereishis, 10). It is a joyous time, and one that should be celebrated (Magen Avraham, Orach Chaim, 225:4). But like all transitions in life, even the joyous ones, there is always a measure of gentle sadness.

The age of Bar Mitzvah is a transitional stage, and as is the case with every transition, there is a mix of the joy of moving on, as well as the bittersweet melancholy of leaving “what was” behind. The child is now officially growing up and becoming a man. He is no longer in the stage of Yenikah, ‘suckling’, both feeding off of and clinging to the parents, almost attached to their hip, as it were. Now begins the awkward stage of adolescence. The young boy will go off to Yeshiva and may even board and live away from home. Eventually, the young boy will become a fully-grown man and move away from their parental home and establish their own household. So while there is great joy, having merited to witness and participate in the growth of this young boy, there is also a sense of sadness on the part of the parents.

There is an inner tension that parents feel when their children begin maturing. On the one hand, the sense of pride and perhaps relief to have brought them to this place. And yet, on the other hand, an underlining sense of anxiety, knowing that the nurturing period of their child’s life, which began at birth, is now coming to a close. This transitional stage of the parents sets in motion an awareness of their own mortality and ageing.

When a boy reaches the age of thirteen, growing up and becoming Bar Mitzvah, he is becoming essentially “old enough to protect” and to be responsible. It is now time, our sages tell us, “for the father to buy him tefillin” (Sukkah, 42a).
And so, besides the Bar Mitzvah celebration, which is written about in the Zohar and is considered a Seudas Mitzvah, ‘a meal of a Mitzvah’ (Yam Shel Shlomo), as the boy is becoming a man, it is the father who needs to buy him the tefillin. The actual purchasing of the tefillin by the father marks, acknowledges, and in essence, eases this transition.

A child who is Bar Mitzvah is old enough to protect and respect the sanctity of the Torah and its Mitzvos, including his tefillin, and thus his father buys him a pair. As it is written, “When the child turns thirteen, and not before, his father buys him a pair of tefillin” (Itur. See: Beis Yoseph, O’C, 37). There is a strong emphasis on the father buying the tefillin for his son (Tosefos, Erchin 2b).

The father’s act of purchasing and passing on the tefillin to his son at the time of Bar Mitzvah is the passing of the torch of Torah, of tradition, of heritage, of history, of eternity, and indeed of our immortality. It is a testament, an Os, of our sense of and connection to eternity in the face of the temporary. This rite of passage — buying, giving, and helping the Bar Mitzvah put on the tefillin for the very first time — is the Torah’s way of lifting us all — as individuals, as a family, and as a community — to the highest heights of Eternity, Immortality and Transcendence.

Written in honor of the great simcha
of the Bar Mitzvah of his son, Mendel Pinson

and

Rav DovBer Pinson

are proud to announce the recent publication of

TEFILLIN

Wrapped in Majesty

and in Hebrew

Chosmo Shel Melech

Sod Hatefillin

Understand the Mitzvah of Tefillin like never before. Profound, Inspirational and Instructive!

Click here to read excerpt

Tefillin, the black boxes and leather straps, that are worn during prayer, are curiously powerful and mysterious.
Within the inky black boxes lie untold secrets.

In this profound, passionate and thought-provoking text, Rav DovBer Pinson explores and reveals the multi-dimensional perspectives of Tefillin.
Rav Pinson magically weaves together all dimensions of Torah; Peshat, literal observation, to Remez, the allegorical; Derush,
the homiletic, to Sod, hidden Kabbalistic, into one wonderful tapestry.

Rav Pinson reaches for the underlying unity within all wellsprings of Torah and uncovers the hidden profound mystery of the Tefillin.

Inspirational and instructive, Wrapped in Majesty: Tefillin, will make putting on the
Tefillin more meaningful and deepen the experience.

Click here to purchase on Amazon.com as hardcover or Kindle

‘Sod HaTefillin’ – is available in Hebrew at all fine Jewish Bookstores, or to place an order – please email:  gemachlist@gmail.com

Join us for a Syrian Shabbat Adventure!

Shabbat of April 19/20, 2013

Experience the Syrian Tradition through tastes, Torah, tefillah and song . . .

click here to register

The Tefillah:
A Special Guest Chazan will lead the Tefilot in authentic Syrian Melodies!

The Flavors:
A Lavish Kiddush Lunch featuring Authentic Syrian Cuisine!

The Torah:
Rav Pinson will introduce us to the great Tzaddikim
and Scholars of Syria, and share their teachings.

The Music: – Please note: Due to the Sefirah Season – there will not be the usual Saturday night music . . .
Uplifting, Joyful Havdalah Service and Live Music

$18 per person • $50 per family
Includes Davening, Learning and Lavish Kiddush Lunch

Registration and pre-payment is required- please be sure to register now,
and specify that your reservation is for the YEMENITE SHABBAT.
(additional charge for Saturday night entertainment – _$15 pay at the door_)

click here to register

click here for Shabbat schedule times

Looking forward to a wonderful Shabbat together!

Journey to Freedom

The Inner Kabbalistic Structures of the Haggadah, and Passover.

An intensive 2 hour workshop preparing for the Seder and Pesach Experience

Available Live at the IYYUN Center and via real-time web streaming on your computer at home!

Sunday Evening, March 17th – at 7:00 pm
at the IYYUN Center

to RSVP for this class and to join via web – please click on the link below

http://www.meetup.com/IYYUN-Center-for-Jewish-Spirituality-in-Park-Slope-Brooklyn/events/108841082/?action=detail&eventId=108841082

This incredible class will prepare you for the Pesach Seder and for the experience of freedom!

There will be handouts for attendees to take home with them for their own use during the Seder, and downloadable pdf’s of the handouts for those who join in remotely.

$10 suggested cover

For further reading on the Haggadah and Passover by Rav Pinson

please see The IYYUN Haggadah
available on Amazon as paperback or Kindle

http://www.amazon.com/Iyyun-Haggadah-Introduction/dp/1460949838/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1301188751&sr=1-10