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25.01.2022 Th 4 February is The world Cancer awareness day. In 2018 there were an estimated 17 million new cases of cancer throughout the world, second only to heart disease. The estimated cost was nearly $US3 trillion. For comparison, the current Covid pandemic has taken 2 million lives to date, making cancer almost 10 times more deadly than Covid. Cancer prevention and cure is palpably one of humanity’s most pressing challenges. Science, technology, physiology, computer science and ...medicine are converging and synergising research. But there is another dimension to cancer prevention: mind and values. The Lubavitcher Rebbe once made the prescient observation that the rapid spread of cancer has coincided with society’s sense of insecurity and materialism. We want more and more. Cancer is the spread of otherwise good cells - more and more! Might there be a correlation? International Cancer Day this year is on this Thursday Feb 4th. Our resource materials below focus on ways and means to apply non-conventional and spiritual approaches to managing the scourge of cancer. Subscribe for our newsletter for more information. Every week we explore different topic and learn it in depth. Our mission is to inspire and empower a community of committed advocates to lead lives of spiritual growth, holistic wellbeing and personal development. #Spiritgrow #LaiblWolf #MenachemWolf #Jewish #community #growth

24.01.2022 We pay tribute to Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, one of the great teachers, healers (of the heart), leaders and thinkers of the generation. We can't help but note that Rabbi Sacks passed away at the young age of 72, a number that in Judaism represents profound revelation of Hashem's energy and consciousness. Rabbi Sacks was so successful in bringing the timeless messages and philosophy of the Torah to people the world over in a manner that bridged and brought people together, irrespec...tive of belief, affiliation or intellectual ability. A few months back, Rabbis Laibl and Menachem Wolf shared in conversation their experiences with Rabbi Lord Sacks and Laibl's personal friendship with Rabbi Lord Sacks and some reflections on Rabbi Lord Sack's last book - Morality. The photos are of Rabbi Lord Jonathan and Lady Elaine Sacks on a personal visit to Spiritgrow whilst in Australia in 2006. May Rabbi Lord Sack's soul be an advocate for all of us in heaven. We wish Lady Elaine Sacks and the whole family strength and comfort. Please hold Thursday evening in your calendars free for a nation-wide tribute and memorial. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxNCr1xlIjU

21.01.2022 Vayishlach (Sat. 5th Dec./19th Kislev) The Future Transformation of Eisav Laibl's Weekly Parsha Video The battle between the brothers Jacob and Eisav has other worldly dimensions. We note that the war is also fought with their respective angels. Peace will one day ensue, with a reformed Eisav pledging allegiance to his brother

19.01.2022 Don’t Fear, the Human is Here By Rabbi Laibl Wolf What kept business alive during Covid lockdowns, has been the trusty lap-top computer and the home-desk nook. Internet kept the wheels of the world turning. The transition has been so successful that some fear that technology is poised to replace people. But that is drawing a long bow. High-tech may have overcome the tyranny of distance but success comes from a people-led transformation that leverages ingenuity, albeit, thro...ugh the medium of technology. Without the start-button the machine doesn’t function. Human resourcefulness is what has driven the solutions for the unprecedented closures of traditional venues of commerce. Humans, not machines, are at the centre of creativity and inventiveness. That being so, our most urgent agenda must be to humanize the workplace to the extent possible. People are the most important assets. While the profit incentive is the ostensible goal of a business, the greater purpose is enhancement of human fulfilment and happiness. That begins on the workplace floor, the keys being mutual trust and transparency. Many a company preaches these values, yet resorts to ‘user-friendly’ relationships (read: exploitation) for the inferior goal of profitability, a ruse quickly exposed when things go wrong and the blame-game begins. People are driven by values and fulfilment even more so than money. Numerous studies have shown that individuals will choose job satisfaction over incremental increases in salary. Fulfilment boosts both motivation and return on effort. But the business enterprise must walk the talk, honouring employees, colleagues and ‘bosses’ alike. Values, ethics and morality are indispensable ingredients of relationships, and this leverages business success. So, where do machines fit in? Machines deliver the product ‘at-speed’, but they depend on human creativity and ingenuity to fit into the workflow. Machines may boast stronger muscles, multi-spectrum eyes, and fancier footwork, but hardware can only be as good as the software that human genius loads it with. Even the dystopian image of chip-implanted man is ultimately dependent on the soul. The human will always be the soul of the machine and the soul of any enterprise. So don’t fear, the human is here. #LaiblsBlog #Spiritgrow #Humans #Machine

18.01.2022 Wishing you a happy, enlightened Chanukah and shabbat shalom. # chanukah #Spiritgrow #MenachemWolf #LaiblWolf #Family #Light #Miracles

16.01.2022 Uniforms Don’t Protect Murderers By Rabbi Laibl Wolf When the term ‘war crimes’ is mentioned, for me it immediately conjures up: Nuremberg. For a child of holocaust survivors, there can be no greater barometer of social justice than the prosecution of the crime of democide genocide, mass murder, and ethnic cleansing - of which the Nazis were the cruellest exponents of.... Therefore, the public disclosure of Australian troops committing war crimes of the gravest nature opened up in me a sore wound. But I am relieved and proud to see how honest and frank has been the admission of guilt by the highest echelons of the military, and how staunchly earnest is the process currently in place to bring those who committed cold-blooded murders in the theatre of war in Afghanistan to trial. To watch leading generals admit to and condemn the moral failure of their best troops, the SAS, is for me a sign that Australia is a principled country, possessing scruples, and uncompromising values when it comes to the inviolability of life plus the courage to fight for these truths. Life is sacrosanct. The Torah, the basis of the Judeo-Christian values, exhorts us to choose life’. (Deuteronomy 30:19). There can be no greater litmus test of a morality-based society than protection of life at all costs. Can such strong ethical values trickle down to more mundane levels of daily life, and eliminate the unsavoury features of theft, cheating, verbal assault and onwards? Perhaps. But as long as this boundary life itself - is protected, it reveals strength of national character, and one that will find expression in other social spheres as well. It would have been tempting to sweep these illegal killings under the carpet, claiming special circumstances of war as an excuse for some ‘excesses’. All the more so is the admirable and courageous stand taken so publicly by the military inquiry. A soldier represents the interests of his country. He represents the values of his country. He epitomises the cultural heritage of his country. The Australian ‘diggers’ have an enviable reputation for ethical standards, sense of ‘fair play’ and mateship. Let that reputation endure. There will be another war crimes tribunal this time in Australia. Nothing remotely comparable to the prosecution of the dastardly scale of systematic murders of the Nazis. But even if it is but one single life, that life must be hallowed and protected from a would-be murderer - even if that murderer wears a uniform. I am confident of the moral fibre of this country.

12.01.2022 Vayeitzei (Sat. 28th Nov./12th Kislev) Both Perfect Master and Fighter Laibl's Weekly Parsha Video Very few people are born perfect masters Tzaddikim. But all of us are born with the potential to rise and overcome temptations a status known as Beinoni. Jacob was an unusual blend of both.

10.01.2022 Join us on a journey into Rabbi Jonathan Sack's book Morality, guided by Laibl Wolf who will draw on his personal friendship and understanding of the texts that inspired Rabbi Sacks. As you read the book, Laibl will provide weekly thought bites and insight, facilitate conversation and every onth (for 3 months) participants will come together (in person or on Zoom) to explore hypotheticals and case studies based on the readings. Find out more at https://www.spiritgrowjosefkrysscenter.org//spiritgrow-bo/

09.01.2022 This monday Reflections begins with the reading of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks’s best selling book Morality. If you have joined the bookclub and are finding it difficult to get hold of the book we have secured 7 copies! Below are some further details about the approach of Reflections. Once you have enrolled be in touch with Judy at the office ([email protected]) to purchase a copy while stock lasts! Book here:... https://www.spiritgrowjosefkrysscenter.org//spiritgrow-bo/ The approach we will be taking. 1. Scope of Weekly Readings: It is a weighty tome of 23 chapters plus an introduction. To finish the book in a reasonable time of three months, means we will read two chapters a week averaging 30 pages approximately. Starting Monday 30th November, kindly ensure you have a copy of the book, digitally or hard copy by that date (But if you secure a copy later in the first few weeks that would be just fine). 2. Pointers and Trigger Questions: At the beginning of each week, Laibl Wolf will be providing you with some ideas to look out for and have in mind, as well as some questions that may focus you during the readings as well. This is simply to assist you in following the text. 3. Monthly Gatherings: Once a month we will get together to discuss the book-readings so far, and also to apply the content to a hypothetical moral dilemma that can draw together some of the strands of thinking the book presents. This will be conducted in small groups as well as in an open session. For those who cannot attend in person due to distance, timezone or health concerns, we will conduct zoom sessions to better accommodate. Dates/times of the first gathering will be announced to all enrolled in due course for both live and zoom session. Enrol now at https://www.spiritgrowjosefkrysscenter.org//spiritgrow-bo/

08.01.2022 I would love to see a national moment of gratitude. Gratitude for being fortunate to live in a country that is able to adopt a sense of community. Time will te...ll whether we made the right decision to approach covid the way we did, but the collective willingness to cooperate despite the immense personal cost is amazing, for that I am grateful. Things are far from great. But when i look around the world I see something beautiful in this country. The world has been severely impacted by the effects of covid. but I appreciate that my challenge is here and not elsewhere. Hodu Lahashem Ki Tov, Ki Leolam Chasdo- Thank you G-d for doing this kindness to me. I dont understand Your ways, but I will try to appreciate my lot.

07.01.2022 Yitro (Sat. 6th Feb./24th Shevat) Flexibility: Can You Touch Your Asymptote? Laibl's Weekly Parsha Video Yitro, Moses’ father-in-law, abdicates his position as the leading practitioner of the dark arts of idolatry and converts to Judaism. But can he be really sure of his motivations? Are we ever 100% sure of our motivations? Yet life is about coming closer and closer to our truth.

06.01.2022 Death by Stealth - Rabbi Laibl Wolf In looking through comparative deathrates of various illnesses, I was hugely surprised to learn that last year, globally, over 20 million people died from heart disease and another 18 million from cancer. 38 million people! For comparison, the current Covid pandemic has taken half a million lives. So why has Covid become such an international urgency when its deathrate doesn’t come even close to the other two major ‘killers’? ...Continue reading

06.01.2022 Please Grow a Thicker Skin Everyone today is searching for their personal and collective voice and clamouring to claim their right to express themselves. Even the ‘right’ to prevent others to freely express themselves. And never has there been a freer time to do so as a result of the freedoms accorded by social media. The only problem is that one person’s right is the next person’s wrong, as noted vociferously by exponents of today’s ‘cancel culture’. These new ‘thought poli...Continue reading

06.01.2022 Chayei Sara (Sat. 14th Nov./27th Cheshvan) Two Views of the World Laibl's Weekly Parsha Video Avraham takes his son Yitzhak to sacrifice him as instructed by G-d. Sarah dies of shock hearing of this undertaking. The two demonstrate different world views, one of obedience and the other of actualizing the future. Notes:... This week’s Parsha, Chayei Sarah, opens up with her passing. She does not die only of old age. Having heard that her son Yitzhak was being offered up by her husband, Avraham as a sacrifice was such a shock, that her soul departed. How is it that Abraham seems to take this test by G-d, in stride, with full preparedness to offer up his son, while Sarah simply expires at the thought? Herein we see two very different perceptions of reality. His belief was so strong that life and death were on the same spectrum of personal behaviour. If G-d wills it, so it must be. Sarah’s worldview is different. She perceives in her son a potential for the future of the Jewish people without which there can be no future. To her, the future was clear. And yet, here was something occurring that inexplicably aborting the future line of Jewish peoplehood. Of course, the truth is she did foresee the future clearly and accurately, and G-d had no intention of having Yitzhak sacrificed. But Abraham’s test of supreme obedience was also passed. Each one of us have a little of Abraham and Sarah within us. We face Abraham’s supreme tests of being a Jew over and over again throughout history. But at the same time, we have a clear vision as Sarah did that ultimately destiny will see us succeeding in every respect. The message to you and me: Be strong and believe in the coming of Moshiach Tzidkeinu. See more

06.01.2022 Mishpatim (Sat. 13th Feb./ 1st Adar) Why Have Law? Laibl's Weekly Parsha Video Different writers have offered various rationales for society legislating laws. The general view is that they conform to human reason (though reason is variable). In Judaism law is an expression of G-d’s intention and will, thereby even the most reasonable of laws have higher meaning.

04.01.2022 Mikeitz (Sat. 19th Dec./4th Tevet) Endings and Dramatic Endings Laibl's Weekly Parsha Video Two Hebrew words mean ‘end’ - ‘keitz’ and ‘sof’. The former is used for dramatic endings. Joseph dramatically ends his imprisonment just when Pharaoh ends his dream state. Meaning, dreams and reality are reflections of each other.

02.01.2022 Vayeisheiv (Sat. 12th Dec./26th Kislev) (CHANNUKA) Living a Material Life Spiritually. Laibl's Weekly Parsha Video Joseph has two dreams in one night one mundane and the other is heavenly. We too live lives separated neatly into two compartments. The ideal is to synthesize these two dimensions of life into elevating the material to the spiritual.

01.01.2022 From Laibl’s World BLOG 174 Death by Stealth By Rabbi Laibl Wolf One of Spiritgrow’s values is Wellbeing looking after the mind, body and environment.... #LaiblsBlog #LaiblWolf #Spiritgrow #Covid #Food #LackOfExercise #PersonalResponsibility #Jewish #Values