Va’eira
If Fire and Ice Can Make Peace . . .
Dear Friend,
Winter has made its appearance in this part of the world. My office window frames a breathtaking landscape of falling snowflakes, pounding rain, and tiny hailstones that ping sharply as they land.
This week’s Torah portion describes another hailstorm, which occurred in Egypt as the seventh of the Ten Plagues: “The L‑rd gave forth thunder. . . . And there was hail, and fire flaming within the hail . . .”
Fire and hail cannot normally coexist; their intrinsic natures are at odds. Ice (water) seeks to extinguish fire, and fire attempts to melt ice. Yet in this instance, our sages teach us, “to perform the will of their Maker, they made peace.”
What I find fascinating in this account is that the fire and ice each maintained their individuality; they didn’t lose their identities as they rose above their differences for the sake of a higher cause. Ice remained ice and fire remained fire.
No two snowflakes are alike, and the same is true of each of G‑d’s creations. There is immeasurable beauty in our uniquenesses, the specific characteristics that make us who we are.
Let’s dedicate our unique talents and capabilities to making the world a better place, working together so that the darkness of winter shines.
Rochel Chein,
on behalf of the Chabad.org Editorial Team
Are these merely old superstitions, or legitimate concerns?
There are similarities between the Freudian model of the human psyche and that describedby the Chassidic masters. But there’s a major difference.
Diachronic perspectives on the leadership and oral teachings of Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi
The life, teachings and works of Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, founder of Chabad.
I found myself in a murky world, sailing around and around and around in excruciating circles. There was often no seashore in sight.
I researched finicky eaters and developed an effective method for exposing my young charge to new foods.
As I received my diploma, many people were looking at me with either envy, admiration, or a mixture of both.
Money speaks to our Adam needs, but meaning speaks to our Abraham needs.
A condensation of the weekly Torah portion alongside select commentaries culled from the Midrash, Talmud, Chassidic masters, and the broad corpus of Jewish scholarship.
What accident of fate made me part of the Ruderman Chabad Inclusion Initiative, a group committed to inclusion for people with disabilities at every level of Chabad life?
The newly appointed governor of a storied Stalin-era "Jewish” oblast in the Russian Far East took part in an unexpected celebration in Moscow after he put on tefillin for the first time.
Young couple finds a niche and a need in a small section of a big city
Officials urge caution while suspect who killed two in Friday attack remains at large.
Afterlife is a very rational, natural consequence of the order of things.
After all, nothing is ever lost—even the body only transforms into earth. But nothing is lost.
So too, the person you are is never lost. That person—that soul—only returns to its origin.
If your soul became acutely attached to the material worl...
