Lubavitcher Rebbe; adapted by Yanki Tauber

Why content ourselves with the perfection of the individual self, when we have been empowered to transform the world?

Who has not fallen prey to the oh-so-human tendency to compare his life to the lives of others? "If only I had So-and-so's mind (or talent, or money), then I'd be able to make a difference and have some impact on the world!"

``One cannot banish a life for the sake of a life'' Talmud, Sanhedrin 72b. is a major principle of Torah law. A human life is of immeasurable, unqualifiable, infinite value. The life of an imbecile is worth no less than that of a genius, nor can the...

When the Torah instructs us to "follow the majority," Exodus 23:2. it seems to simply reiterate a most basic fact of life. Physically (as in a snowflake falling into a tub of boiling water), socially (as in the small ethnic minority assimilating within...

How can a unit of time be defined as a day of rest, the very antithesis of time?

"For a mitzvah is a candle, and Torah, light" (Proverbs 6:23). The essence of our mission in life is to shed light, to illuminate a universe darkened by ignorance and strife. Three mitzvot reflect their quintessential function by taking the form of...

Judah the son of Teima would say: "... run like a gazelle ... to do the will of your Father in Heaven." Ethics of the Fathers, 5:20 The gazelle is unique in that when he runs, he turns his head back to the place from which he is running Zohar II, 14a The...

[Upon reclaiming the Beit Hamikdash from the Greeks], the Hashmonians first made the menorah out of iron poles plated with tin. When they grew wealthier, they made a menorah of silver. When they grew wealthier still, they made a menorah of gold. Talmud,...

The sukkah is a makeshift hut in which the Jew dwells during the seven-day festival of Sukkot. In commanding us to leave the stability and safety of our homes for this temporary and vulnerable structure, The sukkah, by definition, is a “temporary...

A maid's child once dirtied the royal palace. Said the king: "Let his mother come and clean up her child's filth." By the same token, G‑d says: "Let the [red] heifer atone for the deed of the [golden] calf." Midrash Tanchuma, Chukat 8 The Torah...