Rabbi's Blog

Purim will be held in a week, on March 13-14. It is considered the most joyous festival of the year. Yet, it’s not mentioned in the Torah. It’s a Rabbinic holiday, enacted to commemorate the story of Jewish salvation from the evil decree of Haman in Ancient Persia.

How can a Rabbinic festival elicit more joy than G-d’s festive occasions in the Torah?

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In this week’s parsha, Tetzaveh, we are taught about the sacred attire of the kohanim (priests) in the Mishkan (Tabernacle).  A kohen was only permitted to perform the sacred tasks if he was garbed in the four holy vestments.  The Kohen Gadol (High Priest) was required to wear eight special garments every time he entered the sacred space. His garments wer… Read More »

The Jewish month of Adar starts today. This is the most joyous month of the year and we are meant to be extra joyful throughout the entire month.

Why are we joyful during Adar?

Is it only due to the great happy festival of Purim? Why is that more deserving of joy than other celebrations?

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When G-d instructs the Jewish people to build Him a Sanctuary He says, “Speak to the children of Israel, and have them take for Me a donation; from every person whose heart inspires him to generosity, you shall take My donation.”

This week’s parsha, Teruma, describes the many details of the Mishkan.  The Jewish people were very generous and offered more than what was necessary for this Divine abode. There was a finite amount of… Read More »

This Shabbat 4000 world leaders converge on the frosty Crown Heights neighborhood in Brooklyn. They are the Shluchos, the women leaders of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, who call Cambodia and Rockford their live location for most of the year. But, this weekend, they are at their home base, Lubavitch World Headquarters, reenergizing themselves at the annual Shluchos Conference in the company of each other and in the shadows of the Rebbe and Rebbetzin's eternal presence.

It’s a time of electrifying inspiration for them; of boundless conversation and dialogue; of deep discussion and learning; of renewed commitment and conviction; of emotional bonding and support.

And, this year, it’s a time of great grief.

We are all mourning th… Read More »

James Howells is ready to buy the landfill.

The British man is desperately seeking to recover a hard drive that he believes contains the keys to nearly $800,000,000 worth of bitcoin. Apparently, he mistakenly tossed the hard drive into the trash over ten years ago. He has been locked in a battle with the city since 2013, trying to gain access to the landfill so he can reclaim his treasure.

After losing a court battle to mine the landfill for the mined currency, he has decided to buy the landfill outright. He’s ready to fork up $70 million for a change to unearth his digital data, which he believes is worth more than ten times that.

As I read this bizarre tale, I was reminded of a teaching in Pirkei Avot (Ethics of the Fathers) abou… Read More »

Last Friday I was in Johannesburg, South Africa.

As I was getting ready to upload and send out the weekly ETORAH email, suddenly there was no WiFi. In fact, there was no power at all in the home I was at. Nor was there power in the entire neighborhood.

Turns out that I was ‘fortunate’ to receive the ultimate South African experience – load shedding. My friends told me it was not an issue. They had not had load shedding for about ten months – don’t worry about it.

But, then – right before Shabbos – it kicked in. Unfortunately, I was unable to send out the weekly ETORAH. And, we had to scramble to make our Shabbat preparations and prepare for eating the Shabbat meal in the dark. The Shabbat candles… Read More »

As parents, teachers, employers or simply human beings we often struggle with finding the right balance. Balance between reward and punishment. Balance between enjoyment and discipline. Balance between diet and obsession.

How do we ensure that we are not going overboard when punishing our child? When demanding of our employees? What we expect from others?

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In the parsha Va’eirah, which we study this week, G-d begins letting Egypt know who’s in charge. First comes the plague of blood, then frogs and lice.  Seven more will follow.

The Torah describes the onset of the second plague as follows: “And Ahron stretched forth his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frog came up and covered the land of Egypt.”

St… Read More »

“Weeping is lodged in one side of my heart, and joy is lodged in the other,” states the Zohar, Judaism’s fundamental mystical text.

It’s hard to imagine the absolute presence of two opposite emotions simultaneously. Yet, this is the feeling many of us may have upon receiving the news of Israel signing a ceasefire agreement.  Our joy knows no bounds at the hopeful release of hostages who have suffered immeasurable torment.

And, our hearts are shattered at the knowledge that many languish behind, that terrorists are being freed with a promise to make October 7 look like child’s play G-d Forbid, that Hamas will continue to terrorize Israel and the inhabitants of the Gaza Strip.

So, how should we be feeling… Read More »

In light of the situation in California, I'm sharing a thought by a former yeshiva-mate of mine.

We pray for those in harm's way and for those who have lost so much.

By Rabbi Eli Friedman, Chabad of Calabasas

The thing about evacuations is, you can only take what's most important when you go. And so, suddenly you're asking yourself, what's most important?

And when all is said and done, even some of the most expensive items you own don't make onto that rarest of all lists. Expensive equipment, designer clothing, luxury jewelry - forget about it. Why, your most expensive possession of all - your house - is left behind.

Only that which is truly priceless gets to come with you. Things that mean the whole world to you and yet you proba… Read More »

In 1985, at the Library of Lubavitch World Headquarters, precious and rare books began mysteriously disappearing. Eventually, it was discovered that a relative of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, who had left the fold, was surreptitiously removing books from the library.

Hundreds of priceless religious tomes went missing, many of which were found to have been sold on the black market.

In a tragic part of Chabad history, a court case ensued to recover the stolen books. On 5 Tevet 5747 (January 6, 1987), the court ruled in favor of the Chabad movement. Most of the books were recovered, though some still remain at large.

The Rebbe stated that this was a cause fighting for – because it underscored the very nature of the Chassid-Rebbe relationshi… Read More »

Chanukah is most widely celebrated by kindling the menorah. This commemorates the miracle of the oil lasting eight days instead of one.

The Talmud (Shabbat 21b) teaches us how this mitzvah of kindling the menorah should be performed:

The mitzvah of Chanukah is to kindle one light per household (each night of Chanukah); Mehadrin (those who eagerly pursue mitzvos) kindle a light for every member of the household; Mehadrin min hamehadrin (those who are even more eager than the standard mehadrin)... kindle one on the first day, and on each following night increase the number of lights by one.

Amazingly, while with regard to many commandments – even Biblical ones – we find varying degrees of meticulousness, when it comes to lighti… Read More »

This week’s Torah portion Vayeshev tells us that Yosef (Joseph was a successful man). In fact, it informs us of his success twice.

You may be thinking, “Well obviously, he was the viceroy of Egypt and ran all its affairs.”

However, the truth is that the Torah never mentions his success once he rose to power. Instead, the Torah declares how successful he was when he was 1) a slave and 2) a prisoner.

Why would Yosef be considered successful when he was demoted to the lowest levels of society, relegated to a life of suffering and isolation from his family?

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Today is the 19^th of Kislev. It’s considered the Rosh Hashanah of the Chassidic calendar. This day commemorates the release of Rabbi Schneur Zalman, founder of… Read More »

On Sunday we celebrated the Upsherenish (first haircut) of our son Levi. At one point someone asked him where all his hair had gone. He responded that they cut it because, “I’m not so little anymore.”

Meanwhile, everyone was enjoying the lavish spread that Esther and friends had prepared. The attention to every detail was impressive. In fact, every little detail was accounted for.

That got me thinking about little things. Should we invest our attention on small details, or focus our limited energies on things that are “not so little?”

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In this week’s parsha, Vayishlach, we read about Yaakov’s quarrel with a stranger.  This stranger, we are taught, was the angel of his brother Esav … Read More »

A boy comes home from Hebrew School and asks his mother to help him with his Hebrew homework.  She stares blankly at the page of strange letters and suddenly bursts into tears.  “I’m sorry I don’t know Hebrew,” she says.

“Don’t worry Mom,” the young boy replies, “I didn’t mean to make you feel bad. I can call my friends for help with my homework. Their parents were raised in observant homes. They know Hebrew; they know the Torah.”

“No, my son,” she says. “These are not tears of sadness. They are tears of joy, because I know that one day you will be able to teach your children. I embraced Yiddishkeit late, but you will have the tools to give your childr… Read More »