Behaalotecha
Sleepless and Inspired
Dear Friend,
I remember the first time I stayed up all night on Shavuot, the anniversary of the revelation at Sinai. Facing the hazy orange glow generated by Chicago’s quarter-million streetlights, we walked to the synagogue where we would sit with the others, studying Torah, making up for our ancestors’ sleeping in on that fateful morning at the mountain. Once there, I nibbled cake and listened to the learning. Eventually I nodded off. A few years (and more than a few coffees) later, I managed to keep awake the whole night.
Since then, I have experienced Shavuot night in Budapest (followed by an immersion in the mikvah/bathhouse constructed in the community’s prewar heyday), Safed (followed by a dip in the ice-cold spring-fed Arizal Mikvah), Jerusalem (followed by early morning prayers at the Kotel), and now in Montreal (followed all too soon by kids climbing into my bed).
No matter the surroundings, the experience remains the same: spending the night preparing to receive the Torah while the world sleeps. It’s something not to be missed.
Menachem Posner,
on behalf of the Chabad.org Editorial Team
P.S.: Make sure you’re not too tired to make it back the next morning. The highlight of the holiday is coming—kids in tow—to hear the 10 Commandments read from the Torah at the synagogue. Chances are there’ll be some good cheese blintzes as well.
We tend to think of them as similar, if not identical. But it is not so. The two are quite distinct, and operate by different logic.
Aaron lights the menorah; a second Passover is instituted; and people complain about the manna, demanding meat instead. Miriam is punished for speaking ill about her brother Moses, and the nation waits for her before leaving Sinai.
These scrolls, chosen for their unique history or appearance, are as diverse as the Jewish people they represent.
What is it that He wants? Obedience or self-initiative? Compliance or creativity?
It all started one year ago, as my husband Felix and I were celebrating our 24th wedding anniversary . . .
This edible bouquet is an easy way to brighten up your table and impress your guests on Shavuot.
This is my painting of the full Hebrew text of Genesis 3:4–9. It is painted in gold, red, orange, yellow, green, blue and violet.
The cows were milked, the cheesecakes have been ordered from Israel, and the handouts are copied and collated. Like thousands of others, Rabbi Chaim Hillel and Devora Leah Azimov of Northern Cyprus are preparing for Shavuot.
The Jewish student body at Florida State University has been growing by leaps and bounds, and a new Chabad center on 3-acre property on the edge of campus will be a big part of that ongoing growth.
Throughout the years, young “Roving Rabbis” have hopped from island to island in the Caribbean—even making clandestine visits to Cuba. Today, nine Chabad couples call the Caribbean islands home, two couples serve Mexico's Caribbean coast, and more are on the way.
“The man Moses was more humble than any human being on the face of the earth.” (Numbers 12:3)
Moses didn’t fool himself. He knew how good he was. He knew he stood on a level beyond any other human being. Yet he was humbled before them.
Because he knew that all that he had achieved was only with the capabilities given...
