Tag Archives: Chabad
Restructuring Meaning
If you ever hire an architect to design a synagogue, you will need to inform him of the two-door rule: The worshipper must first enter into a vestibule that precedes the sanctuary before walking through the doors of the sanctuary … Continue reading
Mistreating People
A few years ago, in a hilarious episode of “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” the comedian Larry David bought scalpers’ tickets to his congregation’s High Holy Day services, and was kicked out when his subterfuge was discovered. Nothing that dramatic happened to … Continue reading
The Finger of God is Writing
Once, Rav Elchonon Wasserman explained the greatness of those who learn Torah which touched upon a famous statement of Rava: “How foolish are those who stand for a sefer Torah but not for people great in Torah!” Rav Elchonon related … Continue reading
Waiting for Spring: Messianic Divinity Part 4
According to Torah sources, Moshiach undertakes the most intense suffering in the world on the condition that every Jew that has ever lived should have a portion in the ultimate redemption, including even aborted fetuses, the stillborn, and those souls … Continue reading
Injustice and the Promises
Three years ago, Baby Moshe, one of the unforgettable faces of the Mumbai attacks, escaped the carnage clinging to his nanny not knowing that his parents- Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg and his pregnant wife Rivika - were killed. Now a four-year-old, Moshe knows they had … Continue reading
Toldot: The Servant and the Coachman
It was a hot July day during the summer of 1866. The children of Rabbi Shmuel of Lubavitch, five-year-old Sholom DovBer and his brother Zalman Aharon, had just come home from cheder and were playing in the garden which adjoined their home. … Continue reading
The Empty Sukkah
Rabbi Pinchas of Koretz was a spiritual giant in his generation. At first, his greatness was mostly unknown to his contemporaries, but he had no regrets; indeed, it suited him just fine. He spent his days and nights in Torah-study, … Continue reading
Island Under Heaven
There is no security this side of the grave. -Harlan Ellison Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking. -Marcus Aurelius Joy is an overflowing, an explosion. Something enters … Continue reading
Wonder
Wonder or radical amazement is the chief characteristic of the religious man’s attitude toward history and nature. One attitude is alien to his spirit: taking things for granted, regarding events as a natural course of things. To find an approximate … Continue reading
Va’etchanan: Blessing God in Sorrow
And you shall love the Lord your G-d. with all your ‘me’od’ -Deuteronomy 6:5 The word me’od has many meanings. It serves as the etymological root for ‘measure’ (midah), ‘thank’ ( modeh), and ‘very much’ ( me’od). Using all three … Continue reading
