This week’s Torah portion is Shemini, which discusses the animals that are kosher and chew their cud and have split hooves, and the animals that have one sign or the other and are not kosher. The Lubavitcher Rebbe says this portion is a proof to those who doubt that the Torah is given by the […]

Today is the auspicious day of Yud Tet (Yud Tes) Kislev, the day that the first Chabad Rebbe, the Alter Rebbe, was released from prison after 53 days in confinement. He was imprisoned on trumped up charges of treason, but as we know, any accusation in this world is due to an accusation above in

Recently I seem to hear that sentence everywhere. And I started thinking into it. What does that mean?? It seems obvious…it is what it is. Nothing profound.  But somehow everyone feels they need to make that statement constantly. Why? So I started to analyze it a bit. It is what it is….that basically is another

The Lubavitcher Rebbe in a sicha on parshas Balak said the following: Bilaam attempted to curse the Bnei Yisrael, but G-d caused him to bless them and praise them instead. Extolling Bnei Yisrael’s great merits and their endearment to G-d, Bilaam said, “Who has counted the dust of Yaakov?” According to one interpretation brought by Rashi, Bilaam was

With the words "Harei at mikudeshat li" a man and woman get married. What does that mean? the husband is saying that his wife is holy to him, separate, kadosh, special. She is exclusively his. And he of course becomes exclusively hers. And when we do a mitzvah, the wording is similar. "Baruch Atah Ado-nai

It is that time of year again: the month of Elul (yemei rachamim, days of mercy). The Alter Rebbe , the first Chabad Rebbe, gives a moshul (an example) of how accessible G-d is to us during this month. He compares this to a King who leaves his palace and goes out to the fields

What is the difference between living and existing? We all exist. Everyone and everything in this world exists.  But existing does not mean we are living. We can go through all the motions of life: we can pray, we can work, we can do our responsibilities and duties as parents, spouses, friends, children etc. But

Chanukah commemorates the victory of the small group of Jewish fighters, the Maccabees, against the Greeks who defiled the Beit Hamikdash. After winning, the Jews then entered the Beit Hamikdash to kindle the menorah and found miraculously one flask of pure oil with the seal of the Cohen gadol still on it. But how does

This year there are two months of Adar because it is a Jewish leap year. And we know when there are two months of Adar, as the Lubavitcher Rebbe said, the idea of simcha is even stronger. The Rebbe said that simcha poretz geder, breaks barriers. And since there is a concept of botul bshishim

The first days of Pesach (Passover) emphasize the redemption from Egypt (Mitzraim).  But the emphasis of the last two days Pesach is on the future redemption with the coming of Moshiach.  We eat a Moshiach seuda on the eighth day of Pesach (before nightfall we gather our family and we drink four cups of wine