These are spiritual days. By spiritual I mean days when we are less immersed in the daily quotidian of material survival, and more focused on the bigger issues of life: Why am I here? How do I deal with loss? Where are the souls of my departed beloved ones? What is the destiny of my and my family’s life? What does the future hold? • Click to Read

From the desk of Sydney, Australia Shliach Rabbi Levi Wolff: This weekend marks 20 years since 9/11. “Where were you?” is a sobering question that has been asked to so many of us in relation to the destruction of the Twin Towers in New York City. With a two-decade milestone upon us, it feels necessary to pause and reflect • Click to Read

From the desk of Manhattan Shliach Rabbi Sholom Schapiro: A father gathered his children and handed them a bundle of twigs and asked them to break them in half. Try as they would, it was too difficult and they could not crack the twigs • Click to Read

We live on shlichus and am part of the board of our local day school. The curriculum includes limmudei chol (secular studies). Are there certain policies that the Rebbe would want me to try to implement in the school in regards to limmudei chol (besides cancelling the limmudei chol all together which is currently not possible)? Rabbi Gershon Avtzon of Yeshivas Lubavitch – Cincinnati answers • Click to Read

From the desk of Manhattan Shliach Rabbi Uriel Vigler: I Googled, “Can I cut down a tree in Manhattan?” and the first thing that popped up was: According to Title 18, Chapter 1, Section 18-129 of the New York City Administrative Code, it is illegal and punishable by law for citizens to remove, kill, or damage a street or park tree, whether intentionally or accidentally. … Anyone caught removing or otherwise harming a tree should be reported immediately • Full Story

From the desk of Rabbi Gershon Avtzon of Yeshivas Lubavitch – Cincinnati: What do people mean when they tell you that “It is all in your head?” Usually, it is a disparaging remark. When you are complaining to them about a personal issue that you are experiencing – usually connected to anxiety or fear – people might respond by trying to convince you that the source of your issue is only imaginary and thus it would be best to just forget about it • Full Article

We are a new community and are planning to open up a Chabad school. Some parents would prefer the classes to be taught in Yiddish, while others — whose children do not have a background in Yiddish — would like the classes to be taught in English. Has such a situation been addressed by the Rebbe? Rabbi Gershon Avtzon of Yeshivas Lubavitch – Cincinnati answers • Click to Read

The world watched in horror as the Taliban overpowered the Afghan army in less than a week. All that effort, all that training, gone. The Baal Shem Tov teaches that there is a lesson for us in everything we observe. And I see a strong parallel to our lives from what’s going on in Afghanistan •  Click to Read

An op-ed piece from the Wall Street Journal by columnist Elliot Kaufman dissects the less than pleasant results of the recent Pew Research poll on the state of Judaism in America, discovering the crucial role of Chabad in undoing the damage • Full Story

Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz, lovingly known to his students as “Rav Adin,” was recognized as a “once-in-a-millennium scholar,” who revolutionized the world with his trailblazing translation and commentary of the entire Talmud, Bible, Maimonides’ Mishneh Torah, the Tanya, his authorship of many books on Jewish mysticism, philosophy, and sociology, his educational institutions, and his life mission to “let my people know” • Full Story

How do we reconcile faith and modernity? The spectrum of human religion and faith today is so vast and diverse. Each perspective offers their own opinions and thoughts on the issue of faith and modernity, but none address the core issue at hand. What is one to do? What does the Torah advocate? • Full Article

What truly makes the Ferrari so special is its speed. Nothing can compare, or even come close to it. It’s like magic! The Tzemach Tzedek, the third Chabad Rebbe, had a student who was into fast horses. The Rebbe asked him, “Why is a fast horse so much better than a slow one?” • Full Story

The reason that Jews have prayed for thousands of years at the Western Wall is that this is the closest they could get to Temple Mount and the site of the Holy of Holies. The Western Wall is not part of the temple itself but merely a supporting wall for Temple Mount. No Jew ever thought that this would serve forever as a replacement for the Temple • Full Story

Fifteen years ago, Ariel Sharon, facing indictment along with his sons for far-reaching corruption, decided to protect himself from prosecution by rendering Gaza and the northern Shomron Judenrein. The Lubavitcher Rebbe incessantly drilled into his chassidim the grave danger posed by even so much as talking about territorial compromise, never mind actually ceding land to terrorists. I could not stand idly by • Full Story

About 12 miles southeast of Moscow lies Malakhovka, a suburb surrounded by pine groves. This sleepy town holds some historic importance for Russian Jews, but what’s happening there today also says a lot about a long-persecuted community’s future • Full Story

When I was 13, Reb Yoel visited London as the guest speaker at the siyum Harambam, a large celebration for the conclusion of one of the cycles of the study of Miamonedies. I remember it being a very unique visit, for Reb Yoel rarely left the Rebbe’s side. From what I recall, he hadn’t traveled overseas for a speaking engagement prior to that visit • Full Story

As cities and countries rush to erect statues that honor frontline and essential workers, as we fittingly laud the IDF for its invaluable, professional and caring aid at Surfside, it is time for we Jews, as a people, to recognize our own other frontline workers–Chabad. Even as we saw many communities rightfully close their doors for safety reasons during this pandemic, Chabad found creative ways to keep Judaism open • Full Story

A few days after the terrible news that a building had collapsed in Surfside, Florida, and learning that one of the founding members Brad Cohen together with his brother Gary were among the missing or unaccounted for, I decided that if I am the empath I feel myself to be, then I have to visit with the families, and the Cohen family in particular • Full Article

A powerful picture made the rounds on social media this week. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and that’s certainly true here. In fact, this one picture captures the story of our nation—past, present, and future • Full Article

Plenty of news organizations thought so. The Daily Mail, a British newspaper, has published three articles about the attack. Fox News covered it. The Washington Post website carries an Associated Press article about the attack and an article from the Religion News Service. CNN covered it. But for the New York Times, the news wasn’t fit to print. A search of the Times website for “Noginski” turns up no results • Full Story

Today, the United States of America celebrates 245 years since the drafting of the famous Declaration of Independence. While the goal of the declaration was to declare their independence from England, they also declared that our true dependence is on G-d Almighty our creator. They were religious men and were deeply committed to freedom of religious practice and observance • Full Article

When I think of a safe, comfortable place to live, one of the first places that comes to mind is Miami. No earthquakes, terrorists, or tragedy … just warm weather, blue skies, endless ocean, peace and quiet. It’s irresistible. And I know I’m not alone • Full Article

From the Facebook feed of Rabbi Uriel Vigler, Shliach in Manhattan: I fell for a scam not once but twice! A few weeks ago I received a response to my weekly email from Jennifer, a lovely elderly woman who lives alone in Manhattan • Full Story

One Purim night, we were farbrenging and Reb Mendel came in. We asked him to say something and he said that later on in the Farbrengen, he will reveal a big secret that was taught in Tomchei Temimim in Lubavitch. He got up and said: “In Lubavitch it was taught: If you do not learn, you will not know anything”, and with those words he left the Farbrengen • Full Story 

One of the main problems I have with applying the primary message of “Yatir M’b’chayohi” to our situation after Gimmel Tammuz is the last line in Siman Chaf Zayin in Iggeres Hakodesh, making a clear distinction between connecting to a Tzaddik before and after his histalkus • By Levi Liberow, Beis Moshiach Magazine • Full Article