Elul 18

"Chai Elul" - the 18th day of the month of Elul - is the birthday, in 1648, of the founder of Chassidism, Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov. It is also the day on which his " spiritual grandson," the founder of Chabad, Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, was born, ...

You existed before you were born, and you're not going to be doing anything useful for a while; so what, exactly, are we celebrating?

When the man saw me he asked: "What is a small child doing all alone in the forest? Are you not afraid to be in the forest all by yourself?"

The Birthday of the Two Great Luminaries The Eighteenth of the month of Elul is “the birthday of the two great luminaries” The Previous Rebbe (Sefer HaSichos 5703, p. 142), quoting his father, the Rebbe Rashab. — the Baal Shem Tov (R. Yisrael ben R. ...

Elul 18 is the birthday of Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov, the founder of Chassidism Rabbi Israel was born in a small town in Ukraine in 1698. His father, Rabbi Eliezer, who was a member of the secret society of "hidden tzaddikim," passed away when ...

After many years as a member of the society of "hidden tzaddikim", living under the guise of an ignorant clay-digger, Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov was instructed by his masters to reveal himself and begin to publicly disseminate his teachings. This he did ...

Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi (1745-1812), founder of the "Chabad" branch of Chassidism, was born on Elul 18 of the year 5505 from creation -- the 47th birthday of his "spiritual grandfather", Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov (Rabbi Schneur Zalman was the ...

"Life" may be extremely difficult to define, but it is instantly recognizable

The birthday of the 'Besht' is a time to learn his teachings