Pinchas
We Can Do Something
Dear Friend,
It’s that time of year again: the Three Weeks, when we mourn the destruction of the Holy Temples in Jerusalem and the subsequent exile of our nation. But, as the chassidic masters write, “A single act is better than a thousand groans.” We can (and should) do more than just mope and sigh. The Rebbe—Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory—was wont to suggest a two-part concrete course of action:
a. The Temples were destroyed and Jewish sovereignty was lost due to senseless infighting among our people. Reach out to others in kindness and love, and we’ll be one step closer to where we ought to be.
b. Even if the Temples no longer exist in our physical world, we can recreate them in the worlds of thought and speech. Learn about the layout, function and significance of the Holy Temple, and it’s all that much closer to becoming reality.
Let us hope and pray that if we all do our part, G‑d will determine that the time has finally come for suffering to end and for our people to be restored to our rightful home in Israel. Amen.
Menachem Posner,
on behalf of the Chabad.org Editorial Team
The second half of the last millennium (1500 until today) saw still newer developments in Halachah, as well as in other fields of literacy. How do these major literary trends (such as Chassidism) define Judaism today and into the future?
We spend more than a third of our lives sleeping and eating and doing other mundane things. How can we elevate all aspects of our lives? And why are the mitzvot of tzedakah (charity) and affixing a mezuzah comparable to keeping all the other mitzvot of the Torah?
Learn the laws and customs for the mourning period of the “Three Weeks,” which begin with the fast of 17 Tammuz, and culminates with the fast of Tisha B’Av.
If Pinchas was rewarded with the gift of his children inheriting his priesthood, why did Moses not merit the same reward? After all, Moses turned G‑d’s wrath away from the children of Israel numerous times!
Leadership is one of those qualities that, as soon as a person begins describing his or her own mastery of it, you can’t help but feel that in fact they don’t have it . . .
A condensation of the weekly Torah portion alongside select commentaries culled from the Midrash, Talmud, Chassidic masters, and the broad corpus of Jewish scholarship.
Dressed in rags, with a pair of buckets of water resting on his rounded shoulders, the man looked up in surprise at the august group coming his way.
Although I have not seen it documented, it seems that this originated with the mystics of Safed.
To be honest, I would have never known he was an addict had he not told me so.
I consider myself to be a very attentive listener, but as soon as it is my turn to talk, people start reading, checking their phones or talking about something completely unconnected to what I’m trying to say.
The “Three Weeks” and Tisha B’Av are designated as a time of mourning over the destruction of the Holy Temple and the galut (exile).
As the week before my wedding approached and three generations of women prepared to use the mikvah, I called a local mikvah to reserve three separate rooms. “Yes, three,” I repeated into the phone.
Young Chabad couple's first major project stresses the need for Jewish burial in a remote part of the world.
In addition to two news awards, the website earned top slot for Outstanding Digital Outreach.
Strengthening a small French-speaking community with a long history.
We Jews are a diverse people. We speak many languages. We live in every part of the world. We have different cultures, foods, political views.
But when a Jew’s mind is absorbed within Torah, it is the same Torah within which another Jew is absorbed. And another Jew. And yet another.
We discuss and debate and share and...
