Rabbi's Blog - Chabad Lubavitch of Idaho

Thinking Jews

Friday, June 24, 2022 - 8:02 AM

Have you ever tried tying a string around your finger to remember something? This age-old method has proven helpful to many people.

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The mitzvah of Tzitzis, wearing fringes on a four-cornered garment, is taught in this week’s Torah portion of Shelach. The Torah tells us the significance of this mitzvah, as follows:

“This shall be fringes for you, and when you see it, you will remember all the commandments of the Lord to perform them, and you shall not wander after your hearts and after your eyes after which you are going astray.”

So if we are looking for a foolproof way to always do right and never do wrong – just look at the Tzitzis.

Why then – many ask – is it that so many people still mak… Read More »

Endless Flooding?

Friday, June 17, 2022 - 7:26 AM

Yellowstone National Park is experiencing some of the greatest flooding on record. Our neighbors in Montana are struggling with similar floods. Despite our incessant prayers for rain, we beseech our Father in Heaven to deliver tempered rain.

This reminds me of the story of Choni HaMe’agel in the Talmud. Choni haMe'agel was once asked to pray for rain. So he drew a circle and declared: "Master of the Universe! See how Your children have turned to me! I swear by Your Great Name that I will not move from here until You have shown Mercy towards them! At that moment a few drop of rain began to fall. Choni exclaimed: "I prayed for enough rain to fill the wells and the ditches!" Torrential rain started to pour down from the H… Read More »

The Best IPO

Friday, June 10, 2022 - 9:10 PM

Wall Street has had a rocky year. Tech companies sit at the top of the devastated list of battered firms.

Are we in for another tech bubble – and burst?

Ultimately, what causes investor interest in a company that has yet to display significant earnings is the potential to connect people in a new and profound way. In other words, this could be the next big thing. And if it is, let’s get in on it now because soon it will be making tons of money.

Inventors of these new social media ideas, like Twitter, Whatsapp, Instagram, Facebook, etc., are heralded as geniuses that can foresee fundamental methods of connectivity and creating community.

The truth, however, is that they are not really so new. They may have invented the t… Read More »

Aftertaste

Friday, June 3, 2022 - 6:37 AM

Some foods hit the spot right away. Others require some time to maximize their effect.

Good or bad, sometimes it’s the aftertaste that prevails.

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In a comment referencing the Giving of the Torah, celebrated this Sunday and Monday during Shavuot, the Talmud states (paraphrased):

At the Giving of the Torah, G-d overturned Mount Sinai upon the Children of Israel like an inverted cask, and said to them: "If you accept the Torah, fine; if not, here shall be your burial."

Rabbi Acha ben Yaakov observed: This resulted in a strong legal contest against the Torah (since it was a contract entered into under duress). Said Raba: But they re-accepted it (out of their own, uncompelled choice) in the days of Achashverosh (the Purim s…Read More »