Devarim
A Message from Jerusalem
Dear Friend,
During the first nine days of the Hebrew month of Av, the Jewish people experience sorrow and mourning. The destruction of the Holy Temples on the ninth day of Av is both a historical fact and an eternal remembrance of national, personal and spiritual loss that we re-experience every year.
But this year—amid the daily funerals of our beloved soldiers in Israel, amid the terrors of our brethren in eastern Ukraine and throughout Israel, amid growing antisemitism and the shattering of the once-assumed security of our children everywhere—all this can lead one to the very edge of despair.
Yet here is the solution, wrapped in paradox: Our sages insist that our mourning be accompanied by joyous gratitude to G‑d and the certain anticipation of an immediate future when all that we have lost will be returned to us in greater measure than before.
The Nine Days is a time of action. We will learn more Torah—particularly, advises the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory, teachings on the rebuilding of the Temple and the final redemption. And we will do more mitzvahs, which bring merit to those who are suffering most deeply, especially giving charity generously, praying for their welfare from the depths of our hearts and performing acts of kindness in their merit.
Yaakov Ort in Jerusalem,
on behalf of the Chabad.org Editorial Team
Although their mourning was prompted by a conquest, it was not Napoleon’s victory that they were lamenting.
Each of the vessels of the Temple served as an expression of G‑d’s relationship with the world.
The Third Temple is not a building, but a state of harmony between G-d, humanity, and nature.
The deadly network originates from basements and private homes in Gaza and extends into Israel—a tool for mass terrorist attacks against Jews.
We were saved by the tunnels we ourselves had built. Tunnels beneath the surface, connecting one Jew in this land to a Jew in another.
You don’t understand why we go to the bomb shelter. You’re too young. Too pure.
What’s puzzling here is the veiled way in which Moses chose to reproach his people. How out of character for a man whose hallmark was clarity and truth! Does not allusion leave room for confusion?
For thirty-seven days Moses talks: recalling, reminding, rebuking, warning, promising; about the revelation at Sinai and their journeys through the desert, about spies and wars and victories and the Land, and what it’s like to serve as a leader of G‑d’s chosen people.
Meditation had once been a jailbreak for the mind’s flight from the body. Now it became a way for the body to join with the mind. In Tanya, the goal of both meditation and prayer is to awaken a sense of love and awe that overflows and sweeps up the beast in its path. To fix up that animal.
The Chabad Youth Organization in Israel emphasizes its campaign for prayers on behalf of hospitalized solders. Ten IDF troops were killed and more were wounded in Gaza fighting on Monday. What you can do to help.
Luke Tumblin, 13, uses his Eagle Scout Service Project to help others and make a lasting impression on his community.
While many Jewish families have fled, others remain and Chabad emissaries do all they can to help victims of shelling and chaos in eastern Ukraine.
A class for early risers takes root, as pre-prayer-goers discover analyzing text is “really fun.”
The prognosis was that the boy would never walk, never talk and never develop much.
Hundreds of years after his passing, in wondrous ways, this holy man is still leading people toward Jewish connectedness.
It might be awkward and not my style right now to say it, but I do love you . . .
Jewish history is anything but tragic. It is a tale of hope, faith and optimism, of strength, morality and light triumphing despite the harshest circumstances.
This piece is a Hamsa-shaped depiction of the book of Jonah, in which the prophet Jonah tries to flee G‑d’s command and is swallowed by a whale.
As you treat others here below, so you are treated above.
Perhaps someone once tried to tell you about the ugly deeds of another.
You really wanted to hear. But you knew that’s not right. Gossip is a form of murder, and you did not wish to be an accomplice.
Mustering all your moral strength, you quietly responded, “I...
