Tetzaveh
Dear Friend,
Are you happy?
Yes, that was a loaded question. But we are in a loaded month—two of them, actually. You see, we just entered the Hebrew month of Adar, about which the sages say, “When Adar enters, we increase in joy.” Not just that, but since this year is a Jewish leap year, we have two Adars, which bring us 60 days of joy.
One second, you say. What is there to be happy about?
We each have our answers. It may be family, it may be friends, enjoying G‑d’s sunshine, or even a smile shared with a stranger. Perhaps it is the amazing Torah class you just attended, or the new mitzvah you have added to your routine. The answer is different for each of us. But it is there. Find it, and celebrate it.
Just to help you get into the mood, for the duration of these two months we will be holding a #60daysofhappiness campaign on our Facebook page, sharing one original Torah quote about joy every day. Like our posts, create your own happiness posts and join the joyful revolution.
The Chabad.org Editorial Team
What do we imagine to be Moses’ finest hour? Receiving the Torah? Leading the Jews to the Exodus? Splitting the sea? Would you be shocked if I told you it is none of the above?
Beyond life spans a vast stillness. But as long as we live and strive, sound denotes activity, activity denotes movement, and movement denotes a discrepancy between where we are and where we want to be . . .
By law, the menorah stood in a chamber into which only kohanim (priests) were permitted entry. But the law also states that an ordinary person may light the menorah. What is the point—and lesson—of this legal paradox?
Aaron, the high priest, is to light the menorah daily with pure olive oil. The priestly garments are described, and G‑d details the seven-day initiation process for Aaron and his sons. Instructions for the building of the golden altar are given.
Do I think that this blessing should be abolished? Does it make me feel angry?
Thanks to her commitment to animal health and Jewish values, Dr. Lisa Tager makes the world better, one cow at a time.
Let children learn according to their way, not your way! Let children learn from their own trials and errors, from their own successes and failures (obviously, while establishing boundaries and rules, and instilling Torah values).
Everything we believe, including faith in the word of the written Torah, is based on this faith in the Jewish people.
The origins of the haftarah reading are somewhat vague, and several theories have been suggested . . .
“When I was about three years old, the war broke out. I was too young to know why things were so hard, but old enough to know that every egg and every piece of fruit was a real treasure.”
The Teleki Square neighborhood, and a small local synagogue founded in Jewish Budapest’s prewar heyday by poor but pious peddlers, are being rejuvenated in so many ways. Third in a series on Jewish life in Hungary.
Estee Ackerman, a seventh-grader who forfeited her chance at a title at the 2012 Table Tennis Nationals when she realized that she would have to compete on Shabbat, has hit a number of major milestones.
After a recent trip to New York with their Chabad rebbetzin for the International Conference of Shluchos , twelve young Jewish women from France have returned home with a commitment to do more good.
Just as a light bulb requires a constant flow of electricity to remain lit, every creation needs a direct flow of energy from G-d in order to simply be.
Here is a painting of girls and women dancing at a traditional Jewish wedding celebration in New Square, New York.
Intellect is inadequate because not all things can be explained. Intellect needs faith.
Faith is impotent because it remains forever obscure. Faith needs intellect.
But they are opposites, as contradictory as yes and no:
Faith accepts; Intellect questions.
Faith surrenders; Intellect struggles.
Miraculously, ther...
