Sivan Rahav-Meir

This coming Shabbat will be the 25th Yahrzeit of the Lubavitcher Rebbe. The mission and legacy he left for us is more relevant than ever

Parshat Korach reminds us that seeing the good we have, and not coveting the good others have, is more urgent than almost anything else.

This week's parshah teaches us that there is almost no such thing as objectivity. We are all subjective. All of us speak from our own world of values.

Never to old to be a Bar Mitzvah.

Simjon Rosenfeld, 96 years old, was the last survivor of the Sobibor death camp. In a camp in which 150,000 Jews were murdered, he and his friend managed to kill 11 SS people and escape. Most of the rebels were caught and murdered. Simjon survived, until yesterday.

To fathom how great Hillel Butman (ZT"L) was, Natan Scharansky looked up to him.

A message both particular and universal...

Like a grandmother who blesses her grandchildren, she blessed us all. Marie Nachmias raised her hands and eyes to the sky, and the crowd, including the prime minister, rose spontaneously and applauded her.

A picture is worth a thousand words...

Since he was saved,the Kaliver Rebbe said Shema Yisrael thousands of times in front of wide, varied audiences. In the prayer book that he published, he added this verse at the end of the prayer in memory of those who died in the Holocaust.

The story of the Exodus from Egypt teaches us to be alert and attentive to “windows of opportunity” that appear in our lives – so seize them.

“Once, when I was a child in Jerusalem, I couldn’t restrain myself and asked him: ‘Is it true that you are one of the lamedvav (36) tzadikim?’... R’ Aryeh smiled and replied with one word: ‘Sometimes.’

“After 2,000 or more years of exile, you could say that from the six days of Creation until this day, we have not merited to see a day like this, that we are holding elections in a Jewish state. Shehechiyanu! Blessed is the One that kept us alive and sustained us and brought us to this day!" When Torah meets democracy.

According to Chassidus, the general redemption needed to be preceded by personal redemptions from every single person. That is, every person should prepare himself to be redeemed from all the elements that hinder his life

To be silent isn't passive. On the contrary, you don't need any strength to talk. The words just roll out of your mouth, no problem. To be silent, though, requires strength. Aharon chooses silence.

Rebbetzin Yemima Mizrachi: "We live in a joy-challenged society. Today, joy must be learned. It is precisely joy, which everyone treats lightly, that requires serious consideration on our part."

27 years ago, on the 4th day of Adar Sheni, Menachem Begin passed away. Here are 3 enduring messages from his legacy.

“Also, you should know, that this rejection, as painful as it is for you today, upgrades you. It transforms you into people who know how to believe in themselves even when others don’t always believe in them." Encouragement to students applying to HS. Words of wisdom: Believe in Yourself!

“The boy from Russia who was not accepted to study physics because he was a Jew is now part of a team that is sending off a spacecraft containing a disk with the entire Hebrew Bible scanned onto it and an Israeli flag.”

All that's gold does not glitter-in truth

Moshe was a stutterer and did not look for a leadership role, but he proved that one can lead even without charisma – through the power of faith, prayer, and a sense of mission.

To avoid misery, read the 6-steps to misery--and completely side-step these landmines

Long before social media posts and tweets, the Kotzker delivered messages in short, bite-size form. Here are just a few of his gems

Tu B'Shevat is a reminder once a year of the most important commodities: patience, continued labor, investment, devotion.

When 80% is a failing grade.

Of course, we do not expect our elected leaders to be Moshe Rabbeinu---but wouldn't it be great if just one were great.

Great loss to Israel and the Yemenite community.

BH Baruch HaShem: B&H is a real Kiddush Hashem

This year, on the 10th of Tevet, on this sad day, we received news of the passing of Rona Ramon z"l, wife of Ilan Ramon, z"l, and mother of Asaf Ramon, z"l.

In Vayigash, Yehudah teaches us what attitude we should have in life: Sincerity