Chodesh Tov/Rabbi Hanoch Teller

Reb Elimelech personally selected his burial spot, explaining that on that location he perceived the soul of the Baal Shem Tov. Reb Elimelech returned his pure soul to his Maker on 21 Adar, 1787 at the age of 70. Ever since, his burial plot has become a center for prayer and personal requests.

This was going to take motivation, so I called upon my best friend – my imagination. Presto! We had it.

The parents of Reb Elimelech M’Lizhensk, Eliezer Lipman and his pious wife, Mirish, emanated from families that could trace their lineage all the way back to Rashi, Rav Yochanan Hasandlar of Talmudic fame and even King David. They lived in the townlet of Lapachi, not far from Tiktin.

Reb Elimelech maintained that just for him alone they will have to make a new Gehinnom, for the one that already exists is not adequate enough. He also commented – in his infinite humility – that the reason people come to him and request his assistance with children, health and parnassah is because it is his sins that are responsible for the absence of these blessings.

Eight days after Truman became president, he was visited by a Zionist delegation headed by Rabbi Steven S. Wise. The President told his guests that he supported the Zionist goals, but he was very concerned about opposition from the State Department.

The enormity of Hiram’s accomplishments crazed him and deluded him into self-deification.

So why then are we not attentive enough to all of the signs that surround us? I have not the psychological training to analyze this question, but what seems clear is that slumber is not only restricted to our beds.

Separating fun from happiness can liberate, regarding (a) time, (b) money and (c) jealousy.

Without telling anyone that he was going, Rabbi Kelemer had driven for hours to sit with this old man, who was not his congregant and had been non-verbal for many years. The rabbi was obviously embarrassed when the grandson walked in and found him there.

He left the meeting with no doubt that if Hitler only could, he would destroy European Jewry.

The end of the story is that my wife and family are pleased with the new oven. (This was pretty much a win-win as the old oven barely cooked, and anything with a functional heating element would have been an improvement.)

As has been noted in a previous column, Reb Elimelech – like the Baal Shem Tov before him – asserted that pessimism and depression cause sin and spiritual apathy. Repentance (yes, even repentance!) that causes depression and sadness distances the Holy Presence.

Another installment in the Rubashkin saga.

Rav Elyashiv favored books about gedolim with 2 caveats: accuracy; and no distasteful elements

Since the restructuring of my column at The Jewish Press, we have been focusing on the Jewish tenet that whatever G-d does, His interest is our good – even if we fail to see how events are for our betterment. Here is an example with a compelling script.

One of the ancillary axioms of cornflake fights is that they can never be contained between just two warring parties.

Beginning in the tiny Galician town of Belz, Rabbi Aharon Rokeach, better known as the Belzer Rebbe, maintained his chassidic court despite the constant danger.

On board were 769 refugees bound for Palestine. This should have been a voyage of just a few days, but due to engine trouble, the boat headed to Istanbul for repair.

In 1648 and 1649 Bogdan Chmelnitzky and his hordes of Cossack warriors perpetrated an annihilation campaign against the Jews of Poland and the Ukraine....

The Baal Shem Tov was the founder and the visionary of chassidus, but the architect who built and spread the movement was Rabbi Dov Ber, the maggid of Mezeritch.

If the walls have ears (as the Midrash points out) then how much more so, human beings.

In preparation for Shabbos, Salik Orenstein's (our protagonist, and through his eyes and his memoir are we viewing the shtetl) mother baked challos.

Another installment in the ongoing Rubashkin saga

“he’s my rabbi” the Black painter said with pride, pulling out a photo of the Rebbe from his wallet

The United States was convinced that Israel could never prevail against so many Arabs and feared that U.S. troops would be called in to save Israel.

Chanukah teaches the secret that greatness is how you respond-It’s how you fight&sacrifice for RIGHT

Wandering from town to village, the Holy Brothers neglected their physical needs and were sustained by meager coins or scraps of food that were donated along the way.

Witnessing the British brutality was an exclamation point for UNSCOP. Wherever the delegates went in Palestine they saw elaborate military precautions, barbed wire, armored patrol cars, searchlight beams at night – all compelling evidence of a doomed political entity.

If you expect more, you will be less grateful; if you expect less, you will be more grateful.

For the washing machine to conceal the noise and smell of the factory, it had to be in use 24 hours a day – which adds up to a lot of loads for a small kibbutz. Even the clothing had to do its share for the nascent State...