The Baal Teshuva Journey

The “Baal Teshuva movement”; the phenomena of those born into homes void of Jewish practice, committing themselves to observance of Torah laws, began in the early 1950’s. One individual, a man who in keeping with his newfound lifestyle adopted the Hebrew name Avraham, is commonly identified as the prototypical, if not the original, Baal Teshuva. As an innovator his story offers insights into this flourishing trend, including a plan of action and a refutation of common myths.

From Days Gone By: Tomchei Temimim in Japan

Students of the Lubavitcher Yeshiva in Otwock, fleeing the Nazis after the invasion of Poland in WWII, arrive in Kobe, Japan. They would later make their way to Shanghai, China and remain there for the duration of the war. Can you identify those in the photo?

100 Years: The Rebbe Rashab and the Beilis Trial

The trial of Mendel Beilis—a Jewish factory manager in Kiev, Ukraine, accused of murdering a Christian child to use his blood to bake matzah for Passover—began 100 years ago this month. Reported on closely by the international press, the world watched the unfolding—with reactions ranging from liberal astonishment to Jewish anguish to anti-Semitic satisfaction—of what was to be the last major blood-libel case of the 20th century.

The Rebbe and Ronald Reagan’s Historic Talk

A new letter from the Rebbe to President Ronald Reagan sheds light on the Rebbe’s approach to education – not just for Jews, but for all humankind.

Laws and Customs: Hoshanah Rabbah, Shmini Atzeres and Simchas Torah

Rabbi Shmuel Lesches, Maggid Shiur in Yeshiva Gedola of Melbourne, Australia, has compiled a guide to the laws of Hoshanah Rabbah, Shmini Atzeres and Simchas Torah for the benefit of the wider Lubavitch community.

Laws and Customs: Sukkos and Eruv Tavshilin

Rabbi Shmuel Lesches, Maggid Shiur in Yeshiva Gedola of Melbourne, Australia, has compiled a guide to the laws of Sukkos (up to – but not including – Hoshanah Rabbah) and Eruv Tavshilin for the benefit of the wider Lubavitch community.

[Update: Guide from Crown Heights Badatz Added]

Rabbi Shmuel Lew’s Yom Kippur at the North Pole

The Jewish Youth Library of Ottawa, Canada, directed by Dr. Yosef and Devora Caytak, recently hosted a Shabbaton for over two hundred people, with Rabbi Shmuel Lew of London, UK as a guest speaker. He told a fascinating and amusing story of a Yom Kippur he spent at the North Pole.

The Yom Kippur War: Forty Years Later

40 years ago, residents of Kfar Chabad were shocked to see their neighbors – while still in their tallis and kittel – riding hastily in buses. News began to trickle through the village that a war had just broken out, and all reserves were being called to duty. The war has been etched into the collective Jewish history as the Yom Kippur War.

Laws and Customs: Yom Kippur

Rabbi Shmuel Lesches, Maggid Shiur in Yeshiva Gedola of Melbourne, Australia, has compiled a guide to the laws of Kaporos, Erev Yom Kippur and Yom Kippur for the benefit of the wider Lubavitch community.

Laws and Customs: Rosh Hashana and the Aseres Yemei Teshuva

Rabbi Shmuel Lesches, Maggid Shiur in Yeshiva Gedola of Melbourne, Australia, has compiled a guide to the laws of Rosh Hashana and the Ten Days of Teshuva, Blowing Shofar and Tzom Gedalia for the benefit of the wider Lubavitch community.

[Update: Guide from Crown Heights Badatz Added]

A Jewish Thought on Labor Day

It’s Labor Day once again, which brings up some very important questions: Where is the best Labor Day sale? Where did I put my dark hats?

Laws and Customs: Week of Selichos

Rabbi Shmuel Lesches, Maggid Shiur in Yeshiva Gedola of Melbourne, Australia, has compiled a guide to the laws of the week of Selichos, Erev Rosh Hashana, and Eruv Tavshilin, for the benefit of the wider Lubavitch community.

Letter: Our Experience at the National Jewish Retreat

We grew up in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, N.Y. surrounded by Orthodox Jews, but we were never part of that community. We were all Jews but somehow it seemed that we each lived in our own little world. When Rabbi Yanky Majesky asked us to join him and his wife, Chanshy, to the National Jewish Retreat we did not know what to expect.