Living Aligned Podcast

In this powerful episode, Rabbi Gartner reveals the revolutionary Torah teaching that business itself is Torah — not just learning about it, but actually conducting commerce with holiness and awareness. Drawing from the Baal Shem Tov and Rebbe Nachman, he shatters the false divide between spirituality and the marketplace.

Key discussions include:

• The Baal Shem Tov’s profound insight: if studying a business transaction in the Mishnah (Bava Metzia) is Torah, then real-world business done properly is even more so Torah
• The common mistake of separating “shul/Torah time” from “work time” — and why this disconnect is spiritually dangerous
• Rebbe Nachman’s teaching in Likutey Moharan 280: why standing before judges in a Din Torah can actually be Torah’s “vengeance” for forgetting the Torah hidden inside every deal
• The difference between an ordinary businessman and a holy businessman — keeping the inner mind attached to Hashem even while the outer mind handles negotiations, contracts, and profit
• Why daily Torah learning (especially Choshen Mishpat) is non-negotiable for anyone who wants to elevate business and reveal the sparks within it
• Practical preparation for Shavuos: how to receive the Torah that is already clothed inside your daily commerce, speech, and decisions
• The ultimate vision — entering the marketplace with emunah turns ordinary work into the building of the “Palace of Holy Wealth”

Short, inspiring, and immediately applicable for every Jewish professional and entrepreneur.

In this powerful women's class, Rabbi Baruch Gartner explores Rebbe Nachman's profound teachings on Holy Wealth — the idea that every Jew is destined for wealth, honor, and influence, drawn from the same spiritual root as the soul.
Drawing from Likutey Moharan and stories of great tzaddikim like Yosef HaTzadik and the Arizal, Rabbi Gartner explains how anger and frustration block divine abundance, while shalom bayis (peace in the home) and joyful mitzvos open the channels of blessing. He highlights the crucial role of women in supporting their husbands, improving communication, and transforming the home into a palace of holy wealth and inspiration.
A must-listen for anyone seeking greater harmony, purpose, and abundance in marriage and life.
“Honor your wife so that you will be wealthy” — Chazal

In this episode, we explore the hidden spiritual dynamics behind business, success, and decision-making through the lens of Emunah (faith) and Bitachon (trust in Hashem). Why do ideas appear when they do? What is our role in earning a livelihood, and where does Divine guidance begin?

Key Topics Covered:

• The “Vacated Space” of Not Knowing: The uncomfortable but necessary stage before clarity, where opportunity is עדיין hidden, and direction feels absent.
• Bitachon vs. Hishtadlus: Understanding how total trust in Hashem coexists with the need for human effort and action.
• Passing Beyond Intellect: Why some of life’s deepest questions cannot be solved with logic and must be crossed through Emunah.
• The Source of Every Idea: How true business insight and direction are gifts from Hashem, not merely products of intelligence or research.
• “The Power to Make Wealth”: Interpreting Divine “power” as counsel; Hashem placing the right ideas and opportunities in a person’s mind.
• The Hidden Danger of Success: How achievement can lead to forgetting the true Source of both ideas and outcomes.
• Hisbodedus in Daily Life: The essential role of personal prayer in gaining clarity, guidance, and protection in business and beyond.
• Trust in Hashem and Act: Living the paradox of faith and effort without needing to fully resolve it intellectually.
• The Holy Businessman: Transforming work into avodah by maintaining awareness of Hashem in every decision, deal, and dollar earned.

This episode reframes success, reminding us that while we act, build, and strive, the ideas, clarity, and ultimate outcomes always come from Above.

Getting Away or Plugging In

In this episode, we explore the deeper meaning behind taking a break from the pressures of life and business. Is a vacation simply about escape—or is it an opportunity for something more meaningful?

While rest and disconnection can restore the body, true renewal comes from reconnecting to purpose, faith, and spiritual clarity. Drawing on timeless Torah insights and teachings from Parshas Re’eh, this episode challenges us to rethink what we’re really seeking when we “get away.”

*Topics covered:*

•⁠  ⁠The hidden pressures of business life and why rest is necessary
•⁠  ⁠Physical rest vs. spiritual renewal
•⁠  ⁠“Re’eh” — learning to see beyond surface reality
•⁠  ⁠The paradox of giving: how tzedakah creates true abundance
•⁠  ⁠The inner struggle of generosity and transforming resistance into compassion
•⁠  ⁠Why tzedakah is called “the beginning of all beginnings”
•⁠  ⁠The importance of staying connected to Torah and spiritual sources
•⁠  ⁠The role of the Levi and supporting a life of holiness
•⁠  ⁠Vacations in the Torah: from escape to elevation (Shalosh Regalim)
•⁠  ⁠Finding true joy through connection, not disconnection
•⁠  ⁠Practical ways to stay spiritually “plugged in” even while getting away

Take the vacation—but don’t forget your soul. True rest comes when body and spirit are aligned, and when even time away becomes a path back to what matters most.

Two Lifestyles, One Common Goal

What does the Torah say about wealth, poverty, work, and a life devoted entirely to Torah? In this episode, we explore the apparent contradiction between “there shall be no needy among you” and “the needy shall never cease from the land,” and discover that the Torah may be revealing two different paths of serving Hashem.

Topics covered:

• The Torah’s seemingly contradictory messages about poverty
• Rabbi Yishmael and Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai: two approaches to Torah and work
• Why poverty is not the Jewish ideal
• The powerful story of Rabbi Yochanan and Ilfa
• When business is a responsibility—and when full-time Torah is a unique calling
• Why the giver and recipient are both fulfilling a Divine purpose
• The deeper connection between businessmen and Torah scholars
• How honest business can become a form of Meleches HaMishkan
• Transforming the “garments of Eisav” into the fragrance of Gan Eden
• The role of holy wealth in building The Palace of Holy Wealth
• Two lifestyles, one people, and one common goal

The ultimate message: We are not building two worlds. We are building one Palace.