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Daily Jewish Thought

Daily Jewish Thought

By: Rabbi@JewishNDG.com (Rabbi Yisroel Bernath)
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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".

© 2026 Rabbi Yisroel Bernath & Daily Jewish Thought Hygiene & Healthy Living Judaism Personal Development Personal Success Psychology Psychology & Mental Health Spirituality
Episodes
  • 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 MailRabbi Yisroel Bernath's New Book The Forgiveness Experiment is Available now:Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/Forgiveness-Experiment-What-Would-Your/dp/1069217638Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FR2QNJL6Audiobook: https://bit.ly/4tPFZhVSupport 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
    Show More Show Less
    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

    Rabbi Yisroel Bernath's New Book The Forgiveness Experiment is Available now:

    Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/Forgiveness-Experiment-What-Would-Your/dp/1069217638

    Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FR2QNJL6

    Audiobook: https://bit.ly/4tPFZhV


    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
    Show More Show Less
    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

    Rabbi Yisroel Bernath's New Book The Forgiveness Experiment is Available now:

    Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/Forgiveness-Experiment-What-Would-Your/dp/1069217638

    Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FR2QNJL6

    Audiobook: https://bit.ly/4tPFZhV


    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
    Show More Show Less
    24 mins
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