Behar-Bechukotai
Dear Friend,
We have just celebrated Lag BaOmer, a day of joy commemorating the life of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, the great sage and mystic who authored the Zohar, the primary text of Kabbalah.
In the 1950s, the Rebbe initiated Lag BaOmer children’s parades as a testament to Jewish unity and pride. Speaking to the children gathered for the 1980 parade, the Rebbe reminded them that they belong to the same family, no matter their provenance or education—and so, even as they each returned to their respective homes, their essence remained whole and united. We are brought together by one Torah, as we have always been.
Watching my daughter march with her schoolmates, I think of the Jewish ideals I hope she will carry with her. The powerful takeaway is that we are all His children, united by our belief in one G‑d and His commandments.
Etti Hazan,
on behalf of the Chabad.org Editorial Team
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Abraham was wise enough to recognize when his wife, Sarah, possessed a certain level of greatness that he did not.
Could others see the countless tiny strands of their separate anxieties silently knitting them together? Did anyone notice how, though they sat on separate chairs not touching, they sat as close as two people could without touching?
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Why didn’t Adam eat from the Tree of Life? After all, G‑d had forbidden eating only from the Tree of Knowledge.
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When he was engaged in study or prayer, he did not hear or see a thing around him.
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Sometimes you feel like you’re going about life as just another grain of dust blown by the wind.
You get to your home and there’s a mezuzah on the door.
You are a Jew. You are the Jewish people.
You are Abraham. You are Sarah. You are every Jew who has ever lived.
You, your family, your home, every moment of y...
