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One of the goals of Judaism is to draw holiness into this world. A more important goal, however, is to elevate the world and the worldly aspects of man.

A remarkable occurrence is happening in the state of Israel today. The vast majority of the people living there, whether observant or non-observant, ultra-religious or not, observe the holidays as national or religious events in their lives.

According to the Torah, the first month of the year is Nissan. This was the day the earth became dry after the Flood (Gen. 8:13). It was the day the Israelites received their first command as a people (Ex. 12:2).

The first night of Pesach was a gift, an experience of transcendence. This night was characterized by the miracles of makkas bechoros and yetzias Mitzrayim, which connected the Jewish people to a higher dimension of existence.

The nature of the people of Israel is to live by a sacred mission. The existence of the people of Israel is dependent on its refusal to surrender to normalcy.

Yitzchak feels privileged to have been welcomed into Am Yisrael. Having been exposed extensively to the outside world, he understands that there is no other nation like ours.

I must admit that the simcha and tuv leivov (joy and gladness of heart) do not come that easily, if at all. Nevertheless, the directive of the Rebbe is to continue our mission with joy and with gladness of heart that baruch Hashem we are zoche to do what the Rebbe wants.

There are holy times and holy places, and each time and place has its own integrity, its own setting in the total scheme of things.

In truth, we are not counting down to Matan Torah, but rather are building toward it, ascending one day at a time. We do not wait for Shavuos to arrive; we actively bring it ourselves through the time and effort we invest as we count the omer.

Unfortunately, aside from my apparent penchant for misadventure, and ‘Midas touch in reverse,’ there is also my abysmal sense of direction. Add to that the fact that I get carsick on the local bus routes and consequently rarely use public transportation, and the scene was set with perfect precision for what transpired next.

The Rebbe wanted us to make a Sefer of Hadronim from the siyumim that had taken place.

I am back at my showroom working my appointments, it is now 3.00 p.m. and I still have not met anyone whom I could give these publications to. I am now walking the halls for about 5 or 6 minutes and lo and behold I see two women walking towards me.

I was a bit involved in the first siyum. I had a connection with the New York Hilton, where the siyum was held. So I had a little, but not much, involvement.

In order to live a spiritual life, one must escape the physical, completely rejecting their physical nature. Therefore, spiritual systems such as Buddhism prescribe meditation, abstinence, and the suppression of physical desire. In such a system, the ideal is to sit isolated on a mountaintop and meditate on our navel.

The shul was finally opened with air conditioning, furniture, and books, and has been serving Eshel for about 40 years. But that isn’t the end of Miller’s story.

We can’t wait for him to knock on our door and say he wants to be at the Seder. What if he’s not going to knock? And if we are going to wait for him to knock, it may take a very long time.

Those looking to find the source of antisemitism often miss the massively disproportionate representation of Jews in almost every index of human achievement. Instead of learning and benefitting from the great success of a contributing minority, many choose a path of envy and jealousy, which leads to hatred.

The disciples of Hillel hold that at a wedding you should sing that the bride is beautiful, whether she is or not.

The Seder night serves as an opportunity to pass over our mesorah, our tradition and legacy, to the next generation. It's a night when we speak about emunah, the meaning of being a Jew, and our purpose in this world. In order to teach these lessons to our children and ourselves in a deep and lasting way, we must encourage the Seder participants to ask questions, no matter the age or knowledge-level.

I didn’t let go of what I correctly perceived was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and accompanied Rav Elyashiv all the way home – again just the two of us.

His reply was quick in coming. I’ve heard of a segula if the Pesach wine used for the makkos is poured on the doorstep of irritating neighbors they might move out, he informed him. Of course, Asher and Malkie were very excited to hear about this unusual segula and couldn’t wait for the seder to end so they could implement it.

Every participant will receive this matbei’a shel eish, a coin of fire, representing the fire of the Rambam and the fire of the Rebbe. Ure’isem oso uz’chartem – whenever one sees the coin, he or she will remember what the coin stands for; the daily learning of Rambam.

The most compelling illustration of what the tradition is speaking about when it talks of the gravity of motsi shem ra, slander, and lashon hara, evil speech, is Shakespeare’s tragedy Othello.

There is a fundamentally deeper understanding of a challenge – one that reveals the very core spiritual purpose and effect of a test.

They tried to explain he had Alzheimer’s and they implored upon them to try one more time to check that David was safe. Reluctantly they finally agreed and told them to return in two days.

This presents a grave challenge, which should command our attention long before Passover and the Seder night. For no Jewish child should be forgotten and given up.

Why then was spontaneity wrong for Nadav and Avihu yet right for Moshe Rabbeinu? The answer is that Nadav and Avihu were Kohanim, Priests. Moses was a Navi, a Prophet.

Most spiritual schools of thought are focused wholly on the spiritual; they view the physical world as lowly and dangerous. They therefore claim that the physical should be avoided to the greatest extent possible.

The fallen tree damaged the car’s roof and broke a window. My husband covered the window with plastic in the meantime. Accompanied by a car-knowledgeable friend, Menachem went to file his claim against the city a short time later.

Jews did not abandon the past. We still refer constantly to the sacrifices in our prayers. But they did not cling to the past. Nor did they take refuge in irrationality.