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I made light of the loss. I produced a wan smile and announced to my caring Israeli group, Gam zu l'tovah.

Rabbi Schneerson was sitting opposite me, speaking pearls of wisdom, and above his head floated the seven holy guests, the ushpizin who visit every sukkah.

The Sukkah represents the singular character of Jewish history, the experience of exile and homecoming, the long journey across the wilderness of time.

Amongst the Yamim Noraim, Succos is an anomaly. Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur are overtly spiritual and transcendent days, with intense rounds of prayer and spiritual elevation. Succos, on the other hand, is grounded in the physical.

Every action, every hour of learning, chesed, brachos, tefillos were done for their father’s neshama to merit a closeness to the Kisei HaKavod. That was all that was left for them to do for him.

Yom Kippur has the power to purify because on this day the bond between the essence of the soul and G-d’s essence is revealed.

As music connects note to note, so faith connects episode to episode, life to life, age to age in a timeless melody that breaks into time.

Arguably the most important concept in life, though often misunderstood, is the nature of the soul.

Berta had no inkling about the journey she and Michael were going to take... For a year following the wedding, Berta’s mother kept bringing non-kosher food into their apartment; she had difficulty accepting the young couple’s choice to learn more about Judaism.

Despite the misnaggid finding himself in a loony bin of naiveté, surely the Rebbe would not be so brazen and shameless to claim that he was up in Heaven reciting selichos!

It is expected of every Jew, man or woman, young or old, that he (or she) bring in Shabbosdikeit (the spirit of Shаbbos) into all his toil, including also the mundane activities;

We blow the shofar as a part of the Rosh Hashana prayers, but it is unique amongst the tefillos. While all the other prayers utilize words, the shofar is a wordless cry. What is the meaning behind this?

Judaism turns life into a work of art. It consecrates the love between husbands and wives, and parents and children. It sanctifies our most physical acts, through the laws of kashrut and family purity.

Both of these words are commonly translated as “nothingness,” but understanding the nuances expressed by these ostensible synonyms will help us better understand what exactly the Torah means to teach us about the state of the world before Creation.

In the end, though the young daughters had been crying while the verbal abuse was going on, they now saw how the effect a kind word and a smile could change everything.

The liturgy for the High Holiday Selichos is not found in most siddurim; rather, it is found in a special Selichos sefer, with a different selection for each day.

And while I’m already in full-blown kvetchy mode, now may be as good a time as any to mention the mess!

The only way to stay young, hungry, and driven is through periodic renewal, reminding ourselves of where we came from, where we are going, and why.

The birth of a new year is a time of reflection and resolution; a time when hope and inspiration fill the air. We dream about what this upcoming year holds in store; how we can make the rest of our life the best of our life.

Even though we know the score can even change once we are up there (through the mitzvos that our performed in our merit), what we must seriously keep in fresh in our mind is that our interactions have a lasting impact and a value for eternity.

A Jew must escape from his egocentric existence and embrace a new life founded on the conclusions of true soul-searching and repentance.

The answer to the question, Who am I? is not simply a matter of where I was born, where I spent my childhood or my adult life or of which country I am a citizen.

Kefitzas haderech enables one to transcend the laws of time and space. Why is this possible? It is due to the unique location in which kefitzas haderech always occurs: Eretz Yisrael, the land that transcends the bounds of time and space.

In this article, we explore the etymologies of ravak and two other Hebrew terms for an unmarried or single man – panui and bachur – try to zone in on the nuances they express.

It had just passed its test, when a friend offered us a newer car for a very reasonable price. It was a shame to just discard our old ‘friend’ but we also knew it wasn’t sellable.

The lovely lady in charge asked me to sing “Happy Birthday” over the telephone. I noted that that night, Rosh Chodesh Tammuz WAS actually my birthday. I sang and I was accepted.

When the farmer sees the king in his field, does he keep on plowing? Does he behave as if this were just another day in the fields? Of course not.

Love is central to Judaism: not just love between husband and wife, parent and child, but also love for G-d, for neighbor and stranger.

Hashem promised Avraham the land of Israel as a sign of their eternal covenant. There are a number of mitzvos that can only be performed in Eretz Yisrael. Our question, then, is twofold. What is the underlying uniqueness of this special land, and why does Eretz Yisrael possess this unique quality?

In Chassidic tradition, it is said that during this month, “the King (G-d) is in the field,” smiling and accessible to all. On the other hand, once the holidays are upon us, G-d is, so to speak, in His palace. The experience during the holidays is that much more powerful and majestic, but now is the time when anyone can approach G-d with requests and be received.