Rabbi's Blog - Chabad Lubavitch of Idaho

Genuine Joy

Friday, February 28, 2025 - 7:32 AM

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 »

A False Truth

Friday, February 21, 2025 - 10:31 AM

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 »

Buy the Garbage Dump!

Friday, February 14, 2025 - 7:38 AM

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 »

Load Shedding

Friday, February 7, 2025 - 12:46 PM

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 »