Chabad Rebbes

She scoured and polished the coins till they sparkled, and with a heartfelt prayer that their fortune should also begin to shine, she packed up the coins and gave them to Gavriel to bring to the Rebbe...

Introduction The Torah reading begins with the command to give a half-shekel, as it is written, Shmos 30:12-13. “Let each one give to G‑d an atonement for his soul…. This is what all... should give: a half-shekel.” Our Sages Bamidbar Rabbah 12:3, also cit...

Introduction This week’s Torah reading includes the commandment to make the Basin from which the kohanim would wash their hands and feet before beginning their service in the Sanctuary. There are several puzzling factors related to the Basin: Firstly, all...

Introduction The sichah to follow was delivered in 1957, and its words will resonate with anyone familiar with the state of American Jewry at that time. Then, Orthodoxy was on the defensive. Rabbis who were observant in their own personal lives were takin...

The ninth section of the Book of Exodus begins with G‑d’s final instructions regarding the Tabernacle. G‑d tells Moses to take (Tisa, in Hebrew) a census of the adult male Jews by collecting a silver half-shekel coin from each one. The silver thus collect...

This week’s Torah reading recalls how Moshe sacrificed himself for the Jewish people after the Sin of the Golden Calf. After G‑d told him that He would destroy the Jews because of their sin and make a new nation from Moses’ descendants, Moses replied: “If...

R. Meir of Premishlan was the Rebbe of a small town that was then part of Austria-Hungary. He was known to perform miracles and the people of his community held him in awe. The younger members of the town, however, had their doubts and some even desired t...

Before Rabbi Shlomo of Karlin passed away, he made it known that his students should transfer their allegiance to Reb Mordechai of Nischiz. As each of Rabbi Shlomo’s disciples came to Karlin after the sage’s passing, they were given this advice and made t...

The Haftorah for Ki Tissa (I Kings 18, 1-39) records the famous confrontation between Elijah and the prophets of Baal. But Elijah’s accusation lay more heavily against the Jewish people for its indecisiveness, than against the “prophets” for their idolatr...

The Torah portion of Sisa begins with G-d telling MosheShmos 30:11-16. that, when he takes a census of the Jewish nation, he should do so by having each individual give a half-shekel atonement offering. So powerful was this charity offering that, when Mos...