Re’eh
Dear Friend,
You may not have heard, but in a hospital in London (where incidentally, heroin and penicillin were discovered in 1874 and 1928, respectively), a child was born last week to the Mountbatten-Windsor family.
Just kidding. Of course you heard! The news has been filled with minute-to-minute speculation, coverage and analysis of the birth and naming of His Royal Highness Prince George of Cambridge, a baby so unique he doesn’t even need a last name!
No matter how distant the concept of monarchy is from our modern sensibilities, we are still enthralled by the goings-on of the English royals. The newborn Prince George has captured our attention because he was born the automatic heir to the throne of England.
When reading “You are the children of the L‑rd, your G‑d” (Deuteronomy 14:1) in this week’s Torah portion, it occurred to me that I too am part of the royals! I am an automatic heir to the most prestigious heritage: “The Torah that Moses commanded us is the inheritance of the congregation of Jacob” (Deuteronomy 33:4). Can you imagine how much excitement there was in heaven when I was born and named?!
But it’s okay if you don’t call me Royal Highness. You just can call me Baruch for short.
Rabbi Baruch Davidson,
on behalf of the Chabad.org Editorial Team
Why would anyone feel euphoric just because they can see where the floor in their kids’ room is? Men might chalk it up to insanity, or to simply being one of those girl things, but I prefer to attribute it to spiritual sensitivity . . .
The Torah requires that we feed our animals ahead of ourselves. Wake up and feed Spot before indulging in your breakfast.
A fundamental principle of the Jewish faith is that there are no “intermediaries” between G‑d and His world; our relationship with Him is not facilitated by any third party. So what is the role of a rabbi, a rebbe—indeed, a Moses—in Judaism?
About two mountains, from which blessings and curses are announced; a home for G‑d, and the difference between holiness and chosenness; meat, blood, false prophets, idolaters, kosher signs, tithes, pilgrimages, and the special Jewish idea of charity.
If matter is made almost entirely of empty space, why can’t my hand go through it? The answer is more mystifying than the question, and leads to some profound implications about our reality.
An Israeli public figure who couldn’t refuse a request to put on tefillin, and the emotional chain of events that followed . . .
As I was discussing my future with the Rebbe, he suddenly asked me, “Are you buying your bride a present for the wedding?”
There was an undercurrent of raw emotion in the large room. Entranced, I watched the circle of dancers and the smiling onlookers who clapped along.
When I was eighteen years old, I had an internship at an auction house in Geneva. It was exciting, and I befriended many interesting people, yet I still felt very much alone . . .
We quickly noticed a large group of boisterous teenagers also boarding the flight, and we discovered they were heading to Israel on a Birthright trip
Rabbi Judah the Prince (circa 135–219 CE), also known as Rabbeinu Hakadosh, is credited with having compiled statements of earlier sages to form the Mishnah, when the Oral Law was in peril of being forgotten. In this class we also go through Maimonides’ list of the generations of Torah transmission.
The Midrash is replete with statements regarding fantastic miracles that will be commonplace during the Messianic Era. Are we to take these statements literally?
A Jewish couple under the chuppah, shaped as the trunk of a tree which represents their life together, sustained by the Torah and mitzvahs they’ll live by.
Rabbi Dr. Jacob Immanuel Schochet, a Chabad scholar and academic, and a preeminent defender of traditional Jewish belief, passed away following a long illness. He was 77.
Rabbi Ovadia Isakov gave his first account of a shooting that he said was “motivated by anti-Semitism” as his condition continued to improve following emergency surgery in Israel.
Dozens of rabbinical figures and Talmudic scholars gathered amid hundreds of camp children this weekend at Camp Gan Israel in upstate New York to celebrate and commemorate the life and scholarship of Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Schneerson.
From a letter:
Even if all your complaints about your spouse are well-founded and valid—show her your love, nevertheless. Show her unconditional love.
The sages taught that all our exile is due to the sin of senseless, unwarranted hatred.
When each one of us will start with unwarranted, unconditional love in our ow...
