ב"ה
Sukkot & Simchat Torah 5770 - October 2-11, 2009
Living
Time for a Rest Stop
It's been an awfully long time since I spotted the last road sign. And the darker it becomes, the harder I strain to see ahead. And then, when the despair is almost reaching a fever pitch, I see it...
It's been an awfully long time since I spotted the last road sign. And the darker it becomes, the harder I strain to see ahead. And then, when the despair is almost reaching a fever pitch, I see it...
A Houseplant Named Ned
I think I am going to buy a houseplant and name it Ned. I realized I needed a houseplant after my internet stopped working a few hours ago, and there was nobody around to talk to. Mostly I will talk to Ned about the word "in."
I think I am going to buy a houseplant and name it Ned. I realized I needed a houseplant after my internet stopped working a few hours ago, and there was nobody around to talk to. Mostly I will talk to Ned about the word "in."
Marriage is a Verb
When marriage is neglected, it dies – just like a plant that isn't watered. Very few ever ask themselves: "what have I done to create this mess? And what have I done to prevent it?"
When marriage is neglected, it dies – just like a plant that isn't watered. Very few ever ask themselves: "what have I done to create this mess? And what have I done to prevent it?"
Difficult Children
I wish I could say that as a mother I love all of my kids equally. But no matter how much I lecture myself, or try to pretend, the truth is that some of them just seem to push all my buttons and put me on edge.
I wish I could say that as a mother I love all of my kids equally. But no matter how much I lecture myself, or try to pretend, the truth is that some of them just seem to push all my buttons and put me on edge.
Jewish Stories
Duel in the Sukkah
Gabriel stared back at the rabbi, not liking to be ordered around. But when he once again saw the tears streaming down the rabbi's face, tears he felt responsible for, his anger dissipated...
Gabriel stared back at the rabbi, not liking to be ordered around. But when he once again saw the tears streaming down the rabbi's face, tears he felt responsible for, his anger dissipated...
The Unpopular Tzaddik
Rabbi Pinchas raised his eyes. There stood the first of the Ushpizin--the honored guest for the first night of the festival--outside the door of his sukkah...
Rabbi Pinchas raised his eyes. There stood the first of the Ushpizin--the honored guest for the first night of the festival--outside the door of his sukkah...
The Aluminum Sukkah
"I couldn't contain my emotions. I began to cry... I had only meant to make the sukkah more beautiful!"
"I couldn't contain my emotions. I began to cry... I had only meant to make the sukkah more beautiful!"
"This Is My Torah Scroll"
The soldier stared at the boy, fighting back tears. "Over these four terrible years, this is the first live Jewish child I have seen..."
The soldier stared at the boy, fighting back tears. "Over these four terrible years, this is the first live Jewish child I have seen..."
Chassidic Thought
"Because"
He told me to breathe in. Breathe out. Lay down. Sit up. Stand up. Dance the polka. After this was all done, he sent me downstairs. I thought my ordeal was over. But, no...
He told me to breathe in. Breathe out. Lay down. Sit up. Stand up. Dance the polka. After this was all done, he sent me downstairs. I thought my ordeal was over. But, no...
Does G-d Break the Rules?
The world seemingly runs by rules of cause and effect and laws of nature. If so, how does G‑d get His "foot in the door" in this world. Does He override cause and effect and the laws of nature?
The world seemingly runs by rules of cause and effect and laws of nature. If so, how does G‑d get His "foot in the door" in this world. Does He override cause and effect and the laws of nature?
A Bridge to Somewhere
I don't know what words to use to express my thanks: for being with me at such a special moment, at the marriage of my daughter; for your book; for the tefillin; in short, for making me feel that you care about me.
I don't know what words to use to express my thanks: for being with me at such a special moment, at the marriage of my daughter; for your book; for the tefillin; in short, for making me feel that you care about me.
Holidays
A Sukkah to Survive
Be it due to pogroms, expulsions, or an innate itch for change, we've crisscrossed the globe numerous times throughout history. This may explain why the sukkah so resonates with us...
Be it due to pogroms, expulsions, or an innate itch for change, we've crisscrossed the globe numerous times throughout history. This may explain why the sukkah so resonates with us...
You Never Have To Be Alone Again
If I can enter the Sukkah and sit still, study, pray and expose my self-sabotaging thoughts for what they are, I can hopefully experience what this holiday is all about -- a 7-day hug from my Father in heaven.
If I can enter the Sukkah and sit still, study, pray and expose my self-sabotaging thoughts for what they are, I can hopefully experience what this holiday is all about -- a 7-day hug from my Father in heaven.
The Sukkahs in My Life
I imagine my grandparents' sukkahs in the courtyards and on the rooftops of the Lower East Side tenement buildings. I think of the sukkahs in Poland and Hungary before the war; maybe they were also once covered in pure, white snow...
I imagine my grandparents' sukkahs in the courtyards and on the rooftops of the Lower East Side tenement buildings. I think of the sukkahs in Poland and Hungary before the war; maybe they were also once covered in pure, white snow...
Sukkot & Simchat Torah Mega-Site
A spectacular celebration of Jewish unity, faith in G‑d, and the completion of the annual Torah reading cycle.
A spectacular celebration of Jewish unity, faith in G‑d, and the completion of the annual Torah reading cycle.
Parshah
V’Zot HaBerachah in a Nutshell
Moses blesses each of the twelve tribes. He ascends the mountain where he sees the Land of Israel and passes away, and the Torah tells us, “There arose not a prophet since in Israel like Moses…”.
Moses blesses each of the twelve tribes. He ascends the mountain where he sees the Land of Israel and passes away, and the Torah tells us, “There arose not a prophet since in Israel like Moses…”.
Broken and Whole
When you find the Infinite, where will you put it? In your broken vessel? It will not stay. In a new, whole one? It will not fit...
When you find the Infinite, where will you put it? In your broken vessel? It will not stay. In a new, whole one? It will not fit...
One who is pleasing to one's fellows, is pleasing to G-d. But one who is not pleasing to one's fellows, is not pleasing to G-d.
— Ethics of the Fathers 3:10
Print Magazine
Everyone agrees with all the wonderful advice and ethics written in the books of the sages. Everyone agrees that this is the way to run your life.
Yet each of us has our escape route, to avoid bettering our lives by changing ourselves. We ask, “Were those words truly meant for me, or perhaps for someone else in another t...
New on Chabad.org
