ב"ה

Shavuot 5770 - May 18, 2010

Video & Audio
Smile for the Camera

A little boy would walk to and from school daily. One afternoon, a huge storm began along with thunder and lightning...
The Goodly and the G-dly (II)

Morality and goodness revisited
Do You Believe in Angels?

This lecture will go beyond the abstract concept of the Holy Hosts, beckoning us to recognize the presence of angels in our own lives. A most inspirational and uplifting exercise.
Holidays
Shavuot - The Website
Shavuot marks the giving of the Torah on Mt. Sinai. The Ten Commandments are read in synagogues, just as they were in the desert on Mt. Sinai over 3,300 years ago.
Of Life and Logos

Does Shavuot not seem somewhat orphaned and bereft of imagery? What prominent symbol do we hold aloft to represent the season of the Giving of the Torah?
Yes & No

Can there be a relationship which is defined by what it is not, rather than what it is? Actually, every marriage starts as such, and our relationship with G-d is no exception.
One Heart

Sinai unequivocally states that you do not have to resign yourself to a life of duality
Shavuot Recipes
Shavuot recipes: Blintzes, cheesecake, and many other traditional Shavuot delicacies. And a dose of healthy and kid-friendly recipes too . . .
Living
Déjà Vu For Little Michele

One part of our Sunday church service referred to “our brothers and sisters, the Jews.” I asked my Irish mother about Jews at one time, and she smiled and told me that the Jews were very special people with a special connection to G-d
The Man in Black, The Dude, and You

You mumble the words and even shake back and forth a bit to make it seem sincere. You have no clue what you're saying or why you're saying it. Whatever. You finish. You take off the leather and boxes, carefully unwrapping them...
Something for G-d

He was falling into an abyss with nothing to hold on to, nothing to anchor him. One day, which seemed like every other day of listlessness and sadness, Steven was told he had a visitor
Silence—Good or Bad?

The ability to communicate is central to human function. Why then would the sages suggest that silence is a value worth pursuing? Isn't silence the absence of speech?
Judaism
All About The Ten Commandments
A selection of insights, stories and essays on the Ten Commandments.
How Do We Know the Torah Is Real?

I could believe the world was real. But was it possible to know it? What had to be added to that belief in order to convert it into knowledge?
When Was the Torah Written, and By Whom?

Did Moses take dictation at Sinai? Take a closer look at how Torah got to us: the classical sources (Midrash, Talmud, et al), prophecy and Biblical criticism.
The Jewish Woman
Transformation Through Self-Expression

It’s in the place we resist that we touch our purpose. Right there, in the “lowest” dimension of the soul, we gain access to its highest point. More importantly, it’s through this “lowest” of soul powers that we get done what we’re here to do in the first place. Jews do not eschew the mundane. We celebrate matter and even – or rather particularly – the lowest dimensions of who we are…
Teaching by Example

"Why did he hit her over such a trivial thing as Kapla?" I thought to myself. "How do I teach him not to get angry, and to show his frustration in a different manner?"
My Hardest Commandment

If I am to truly leave Egypt behind, it won't be as a result of getting that black belt, becoming proficient with a .45 semi, engaging in more therapy, reading self-help books, meditating on Hebrew letters or Your divine attributes, eating right, increasing my daily fiber intake, or even praying. There is no solution other than to cry out to You, I suppose...
KabbalaOnline.org
The Bread of Divine Service

Why Cheesecake?

Parshah
The Parshah In a Nutshell
Laws of the Nazir and the wayward wife, priestly blessings and twelve identical inauguration offerings.
The Id and the Yid

A trainable cat, a prince who thinks he’s a rooster, and a rebbe who digs up dirt.
A shepherd went out to feed the king's flock, and the flock was abducted. When the shepherd sought to enter the royal palace, the king said to him: "If you come in now, what will people say? That it was you who have caused the flock to be carried off!" In the same way, G-d said to Moses: "Your greatness is that you have taken the 600,000 out of bondage. But you have buried them in the desert and you wish to bring into the Land a different generation! This being so, people will think that the generation of the desert have no share in the World to Come! No, better be beside them, and you shall in the time to come enter with them."
— Midrash Rabbah
Print Magazine

How can you attain love of an infinite G-d? Through love of your fellow human beings.

As Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa would say, “If people like you, G-d likes you too.”

How did he know?

Because he knew that if people truly like you, it must be that you genuinely like them.

And when you hold genuine love in your heart for ...

New on Chabad.org