Living Torah Archives

When Mrs. Alice Zlotnick’s husband, Professor Dov Zlotnick, told the Rebbe about the success of his Talmud class in Riverdale, New York, he received an unexpected challenge, which he duly passed on to his wife.

Rabbi Yekusiel Farkash and his wife arrive for an audience with the Rebbe, but receive a private talk on the requirement for women to study chasidic teachings, with a special directive for Mrs. Farkash.

In this day and age, women and girls–even very little girls–study parts of the Torah which in the past they’d rely on their husbands or brothers to know.

When G-d told Moses how to prepare the Jewish people to receive the Torah on Shavuos, He instructed him to speak to the women first, for it was the women’s commitment that would inspire the rest of the Jewish people at the time of the giving of the Torah—and down through the ages.

The daily study of Maimonides’ works is becoming increasingly widespread. The Mishneh Torah, his Magnum Opus that codifies Jewish Law, serves to guide all Jews through the intricacies of Jewish observance. It is not geared for scholars alone. It guides “small and great alike,” as they pursue their life tasks.