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Great is peace! For to make peace between husband and wife, the Torah instructs that the name of G-d, written in holiness, should be blotted out in water -- Talmud, Chulin 141a

From the Rambam's Sefer Hamitzvot

The Mishneh Torah was the Rambam's (Rabbi Moses ben Maimon) magnum opus, a work spanning hundreds of chapters and describing all of the laws mentioned in the Torah. To this day it is the only work that details all of Jewish observance, including those laws which are only applicable when the Holy Temple is in […]

The Mishneh Torah was the Rambam's (Rabbi Moses ben Maimon) magnum opus, a work spanning hundreds of chapters and describing all of the laws mentioned in the Torah. To this day it is the only work that details all of Jewish observance, including those laws which are only applicable when the Holy Temple is in […]

Chabad Chassidus is an all-embracing world outlook and way of life which sees the Jew's central purpose as a unifying link between the Creator and His world. Written by the Alter Rebbe, the founder of Chabad, Tanya is the central text of Chabad Chassidus. It shows the reader a path to realizing their purpose and […]

Today's Lesson: She'ar Avot haTum'ah - Chapter 3, She'ar Avot haTum'ah - Chapter 4, She'ar Avot haTum'ah - Chapter 5

Today's Lesson: Positive Commandment 96

Today's Lesson: Malveh veLoveh - Chapter 14

Hayom Yom, an expression which translates as 'Day by Day,' is a collection of concise thoughts, often relevant to the season or portion of study when it appears, which gives the reader food to sustain the soul each day of the year.

Today's Lessons: Iggeret HaKodesh, end of Epistle 20

Today's Tehillim: Chapters 66-68

Today's Psalms: Chapters 66-68

Parshat Ha'azinu, 7th Portion (Devarim (Deuteronomy) 32:44-32:52) with Rashi

I could have fallen prey to the "why me?" attitude, sunken into depression and been miserable.

What we physically own or possess is not what brings true happiness.

The sukkah, when done by the book, is incongruence itself: Live in a temporary structure as though it were permanent. What other structure does that remind you of?

Many, including Chabad, prefer “Calabria etrogim,” grown on the southern Italian coast in the region of Calabria. Why are these etrogim so prized?

Don't get stuck in the pine needles!

Take a tour through time and place to discover 11 materials Jews have used for sechach, from Biblical days all the way to the present.

Shimon's past as a bullied orphan prepared him to become a champion of underdogs and an empowering leader, who was knighted for his efforts.

Aryeh Siegel embraced Eastern meditation and Hindu practices before realizing how harmful they are. Now, he’s on a mission to save people from TM (Transcendental Meditation) and introduce them to kosher practices.

Reflecting on her 50 years in education, Mrs. Teichtel shares how the Rebbe guided her toward education and uplifted her after losing a child in a hospital accident.

Learn how Sal and Nina Litvak discovered the beauty and depth of Judaism and have become a beacon of learning, inspiration, and guidance for millions.

Rabbi Yitzchak Lerman talks about losing his home, synagogue, and worldy possessions but remains grateful that his family survived unscathed.

The child of a Muslim father and Jewish mother, Yosef embraced his Jewish heritage and made the Torah his guiding light.

With G-d at her side, Gitty Zee is unstoppable. Even spina bifida and blindness have not stopped her from living life to the fullest and empowering others to do the same.

Rabbi Schochet shares his journey of defying expectations, embracing authenticity, and learning to crawl out of the shadow of his towering father.

Hear Silvia Fishbaum share how her second attempt to escape communist Czechoslovakia succeeded and how she uses her personal experience to educate the world about Judaism and Antisemitism

Now a grandmother many times over, Frumma Kulek looks back at how she found hope, acceptance, family, fufilment, and love when she was a teen mom stuck in an abusive relationship.

Gavriel and his late wife's Bible studies led them to embrace Judaism, which entailed driving 10 hours just to get kosher meat!

Rabbi Danny Yiftach was among hundreds of Persian Jewish children airlifted by Chabad to safety. Today he serves the Persian Jewish community in California and back in Iran.

Born in India to Persian Jews, Sarah Karmely was guided by the Rebbe to become an author, teacher, guide, and mentor to thousands, with lots of miracles and drama along the way.

As a young Jew, he inked his Jewish identity onto his skin. Then he deepened his connection to Judaism and adopted a full Jewish lifestyle--including educating others on the prohibition of getting a tattoo.

How three college credits turned into three years in yeshiva and a lifetime of service, spiritual growth, and joy.

Rabbi Yosef Gerlitzky of Tel Aviv shares an on-the-ground update from the Home Front, as well as memories of his time as an emissary of the Rebbe to visit Iran and around the world.

Hear how a former Christian minister married a convert, struggled to raise their Hassidic family, and grew through the mental illness and loss of their son.

Today, she is a world-renowned expert and author on challah. It all began when she found herself in Japan, expected to bake challah for hundreds. She has since found spirituality, tradition, and her own identity in baking and taking challah.

Modern English translation of the full text of the Parshah.

Explore the Parshah together with a hundred generations of scholars and mystics, from Moses to today. Includes a detailed summary and overview, and dozens of selected excerpts from the Midrash, Talmud, the Commentaries and the Chassidic Masters.

A modern English translation of the full text of the Parshah with the classic commentary by Rashi (Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki, 1040-1105), universally regarded as the most basic tool for understanding the meaning of the text for schoolchild and scholar alike.

Got no more than five minutes? The Parshah in a Nutshell is an ultra-short, one-page synopsis of the weekly Torah reading, peppered with links to related stories, essays and articles.

If G-d “gave” us the Torah at Sinai, what room is there for human creativity? If our tradition is perfect, how can there be so many differing opinions in the Talmud? Why does the Torah have an oral counterpart? Learn the Rebbe’s approach here.

The splitting of the sea was more than a utilitarian measure to save the Israelites. Why did G-d choose this method?

[Rabbon Gamliel's] son, Shimon, would say: All my life I have been raised among the wise, and I have found nothing better for the body than silence... Ethics of the Fathers, 1:17 The Talmud goes even further, with the amazing statement: ``What is man's task in the world? To make himself as silent as the […]

There are four types of people: One who says, "What is mine is yours, and what is yours is mine," is a boor. One who says, "What is mine is mine, and what is yours is yours" this is a median characteristic; others say that this is the character of a Sodomite. One who says, […]

Assume a Master for yourself Ethics of the Fathers, 1:6 "And they believed in G‑d and in Moses His servant" (Exodus 14:31). What was the nature of Israel's relationship to Moses? Moses, after all, is a human being. And yet, the Torah uses the very same word to connote Israel's belief in him and in […]

All Israel has a share in the World to Come, as it is stated: “And your people are all righteous; they shall inherit the land forever. They are the shoot of My planting, the work of My hands, in which I take pride.” -Talmud, Sanhedrin 90a (introductory reading to Ethics of the Fathers) Moses received […]

Yehudah the son of Teima would say: Be bold as a leopard, light as an eagle, fleeting as a deer and mighty as a lion to do the will of your Father in Heaven. He would also say: The brazen to purgatory; the bashful to paradise. Ethics of the Fathers, 5:20 Use the shamelessness of […]

Nitai the Arbelite would say: Distance yourself from a bad neighbor, and do not cleave to a wicked person. Ethics of the Fathers, 1:7 On the surface, Nitai the Arbelite appears to be conveying a simple, if redundant, message: Stay away from bad people. In truth, however, a much deeper lesson is implicit in his […]

May it be Your will, L‑rd our G‑d and G‑d of our fathers, that the Holy Temple be rebuilt speedily in our days.... Ethics of the Fathers, 5:20 The Mishnah is a purely halachic, or legal, work, consisting of sixty-three tractates of legal material, arranged by topic in six "orders." Its concise, almost cryptic style […]

Whoever possesses the following three characteristics is of the disciples of Abraham our Father; and whoever possesses the opposite three characteristics is of the disciples of the wicked Bilaam.... Ethics of the Fathers, 5:19 Bilaam's identity as the evil counterpart to Abraham is a reoccurring theme in the Torah. On the verse, "And Bilaam rose […]

Rabbi Elazar of Bartosah would say: Give Him what is His, for you, and whatever is yours, are His. As King David says: "For everything comes from You, and from Your own hand we have given to You." Ethics of The Fathers, 3:7 The gist of Rabbi Elazar's message is clear, and encapsulates the Jewish […]

There is no free individual, except for he who occupies himself with the Torah. Ethics of the Fathers, 6:2 Why the roundabout, "negative" wording of the mishnah? Why not simply say "True freedom is attained through Torah"? Man is a finite being, and everything he possesses and is capable of achieving is likewise finite in […]

Vows are the safety fence for abstinence Ethics of the Fathers, 3:13 Somewhere between the good deed and the moral wrong is the permissible indulgence. How is one to approach these (seemingly) neutral pleasures? The Torah's view on the matter appears to be mixed. On the one hand, the Talmud interprets the injunction "Be holy" […]

Rabbi Elazar of Modi'in said: One who profanes the kodoshim (sacred things), who degrades the Festivals, who humiliates his friend in public, who abrogates the covenant of our father Abraham, or who interprets the Torah contrary to its true intent--although he may possess Torah knowledge and good deeds, he has no share in the World […]

Which is a dispute that is not for the sake of Heaven? The dispute of Korach and all his company Ethics of the Fathers, 5:17 Korach, Moses' mutinous cousin, earned the dubious distinction of father and prototype of all quarrelers and divisors. His very name became synonymous with disharmony and conflict. The Talmud goes so […]

Any dispute that is for the sake of Heaven is destined to endure; and that which is not for the sake of Heaven is not destined to endure. Which is a dispute that is for the sake of Heaven? The dispute(s) between Hillel and Shammai.... . Ethics of the Fathers, 5:17 Why would we want […]

A love that is dependent on something when the thing ceases, the love Also ceases. But a love that is not dependent on anything never ceases. Which is a love that is dependent on something? The love of Amnon for Tamar. And one that is not dependent on anything? The love of David and Jonathan. […]

All that G‑d created in His world, He did not create but for His glory. Ethics of the Fathers, 6:11 "I was created to serve my Creator." With these words, the Talmud sums up the purpose of life. But there is also another version of this talmudic passage, which reads. "I was not created, but […]

What has happened to America? Maybe you loved Charlie Kirk; you listened to him every day. Maybe you couldn't stand some of the things he said; he made your blood boil. But a shocking and graphic murder, such a public desecration of another human being, shakes us all to the core. It makes you want […]

Tanya is personal. Tanya is intimate. More than a book, Tanya is my book. Tanya empowers me to see the world by enabling me to see myself. Rabbi Tzvi Freeman opens up about opening Tanya for the first time—and how it opened himself up for the first time to his core essence, the soul of […]

There’s an essential difference between kosher foods and non-kosher. And your body knows that difference.

Introduction Rabbi Schneur Zalman has described the fundamentals of your divine soul: her origin and her essential bond with that origin, her mind and emotions and how they interface with each other, the modes of clothing in which she invests herself so that she can reach beyond herself, and the specific clothes she wears—Torah and […]

Now, “For everything G‑d made, He made an opposite just like it.” Ecclesiastes 7:14. This is how it works with the two souls within you. Just like the divine soul consists of ten modalities corresponding to the ten holy sefirot, and invests herself within three clothes that are holy, so too with the soul of […]

וְהִנֵּה, זֶה לְעוּמַּת זֶה עָשָׂה אֱלֹהִים. כִּי כְּמוֹ שֶׁנֶּפֶשׁ הָאֱלֹהִית כְּלוּלָה מֵעֶשֶׂר סְפִירוֹת קְדוֹשׁוֹת וּמִתְלַבֶּשֶׁת בִּשְׁלֹשָׁה לְבוּשִׁים קְדוֹשִׁים, כָּךְ הַנֶּפֶשׁ דְּסִטְרָא אָחֳרָא מִקְּלִיפּוֹת נוֹגַהּ הַמְלוּבֶּשֶׁת בְּדַם הָאָדָם כְּלוּלָה מֵעֶשֶׂר כִּתְרִין דִּמְסָאֲבוּתָא, שֶׁהֵן: שֶׁבַע מִדּוֹת רָעוֹת הַבָּאוֹת מֵאַרְבַּע יְסוֹדוֹת רָעִים הַנִּזְכָּרִים לְעֵיל, וְשֵׂכֶל הַמּוֹלִידָן הַנֶּחְלָק לְשָׁלֹשׁ, שֶׁהֵן חָכְמָה בִּינָה וָדַעַת – מְקוֹר הַמִּדּוֹת, כִּי הַמִּדּו

“The place of the baal teshuvah in the World to Come,” our sages tell us, “is a place where the most righteous cannot enter.” The Zohar explains the reason why: “Because they are drawn to Him with a love of an entirely different order.” Straddling the Vorskla River in Central Ukraine is the city of […]

These meditations are culled and adapted from Hayom Yom, a collection of pithy teachings, aphorisms, and letters by the Sixth Rebbe.

Sometimes you just have to do what must be done. Even though you are small and few and they are big and many. Even though your friends tell you it’s not for you, the experts say it can’t be done, and the Laws of Nature make it impossible. But who are the laws of nature […]

Eli Rubin. Kabbalah and the Rupture of Modernity: An Existential History of Chabad Hasidism. Stanford University Press, 2025. 446pp. $70. Writing a book review is reminiscent of high school, an enduring trauma to which I have no desire to return. Instead, I’ll just write a perspective I’ve gained by reading Eli Rubin’s latest book. Rubin […]

You may have noticed that, recently, as in just over the past five hundred years or so, most of us started thinking funny. We like to imagine the human mind has evolved and expanded. We discovered entire continents. We discovered the microbes living upon us, split the atom, and planted a flag on the moon. […]

Introduction You did a mitzvah. You embraced G‑d and He embraced you. There is no moment beyond the moment of a mitzvah, not even in the highest heaven. But have you changed? Or was it a moment that came and passed, leaving you more connected with your Creator in some subliminal way, but internally, consciously, […]

The previous chapter mentioned the words of Elijah the Prophet, “No thought can grasp You….” Tikunei Zohar, 17a. Let’s take this idea of grasping the divine further and clarify it well. How Your Mind Grasps an Idea Let’s say your mind has formed a concept of an idea and gotten it straight. This means two […]