Everybody knows that wherever there are Jews, there is Chabad. The presence of Chabad is especially noticeable Chanuka time, when public ceremonies are held with local politicians and media in attendance. What not everybody knows about are the efforts of the Rebbe’s foot soldiers who reach out to individual Jews in the most out-of-the-way places, whether in a Druze village or deep in a Tasmanian forest.
The primary way that we show our thanks and appreciation to Hashem for the miracles of Chanuka is by lighting the Menorah for 8 days. Every day we light a different amount of candles. It is well known that there is an argument between Beis Shammai and Beis Hillel as to the amount of candles that we should light each night. Beis Shammai says that we start with eight and progressively decrease until we kindle only one light on the final night. Beis Hillel says that we start with one and increase each night until on the eight night we kindle eight lights.
What do the study of Rambam, Tanya classes on the radio, and worldwide Chanuka Menorah lightings via satellite hookup all have in common? And what lesson can we learn from them as far as the impact we have on the world, even from the privacy of our own homes? Read on and discover what the Rebbe has to say on the matter…
She created noteworthy stories on a daily basis. We chose stories that are representative of Shayna’s accomplishments. We hope that they give the reader an appreciation of her unique life.
The institution of the Minyan is a crucial factor in facilitating our spiritual experience of prayer. When 10 Jews gather together, they generate a spiritual force that is infinitely more potent than the spiritual energies possessed and generated by each individual.
The curriculum for the Jewish subjects was based on textbooks that were bought from R’ Moshe Kantor, R’ Moshe Zalman Feiglin’s son-in-law. These books were brought from religious schools in Eretz Yisroel and the US.
A brief profile of the Chassid about whom the Rebbe Rayatz said, “Sholom is mine,” and “That is a Tamim!” * To mark his passing on 24 Kislev.
Gai was taken aback. A dreidel on the Thai beach? How could that be? There wasn’t a single Jew in the entire area! Gai turned the dreidel this way and that and even played with it. It turned and turned and landed and Gai felt surprisingly emotional about it. He was overcome by childhood memories. He remembered how his father lit the Chanuka Menorah. His mother made warm, tasty doughnuts and they all sat and sang “HaNeiros Hallelu.”
“We once called them ‘sacrifices of peace,’ and today they are sacrifices of the diplomatic process,” said Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon the previous week. He essentially declared exactly what the Rebbe had said more than thirty years ago: Talking with terrorists doesn’t just bring territorial concessions, it leads to murder. What were once “the sacrifices of peace” are now the sacrifices of the talks between Israel’s pseudo right-wing government and the terrorist organization calling for the Jewish homeland’s destruction.
“All sevenths are beloved” - this praise is mainly directed to being seventh; the thing is cherished in virtue of being seventh. Its desirability [here referring to our generation, the seventh generation from the Alter Rebbe] does not hinge upon its choice, will, or effort in serving G-d, but just because it is seventh, attaining a special quality simply on account of its sequential position.
It is hard to believe but a Litvishe yeshiva in Yerushalayim has its own shliach, R’ Yitzchok Shneur Zalman Yitzchakov. There was even a Tanya shiur in the rosh yeshiva’s living room! * Presented for Yud-Tes Kislev.
There was a kernel of truth in equating Joseph with Eisav. However, their relationship was one of polar opposites: Joseph as antidote to Eisav’s threat of dominance over the Jewish nation. This reciprocal relationship is underscored by the juxtaposition of the recitation of Eisav’s descendants at the end of last week’s parsha with the discussion of Jacob’s special relationship with Joseph that begins this week’s parsha.
A story about the Rav HaMaggid and the Baal HaTanya, presented for the Yom Hilula of the Maggid and the Chag HaGeula of the Alter Rebbe, on 19 Kislev.
November 26, 2013