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The birds and many of the land animals forbidden by the Torah are predators, while the permitted animals are not. We are commanded not to eat those animals possessive of a cruel nature, so that we should not absorb these qualities into ourselves. -- Nachmanides

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: Mechirah - Chapter 10, Mechirah - Chapter 11, Mechirah - Chapter 12

Today's Lesson: Negative Commandment 250

Today's Lesson: Issurei Biah - Chapter 7

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, middle of Epistle 27

Today's Tehillim: Chapters 77-78

Today's Psalms: Chapters 77-78

Parshat Vayeira, 2nd Portion (Bereshit (Genesis) 18:15-18:33) with Rashi

Mrs. Rivka Kravitsky, a woman of legendary self-sacrifice, passed away on Monday, October 19, 2026 (8 Cheshvan 5787), at the age of 90.

Sarah, the first Jewish mother, is a shining example of the great power that every woman has over her family and our entire nation. It was Sarah who insisted that Isaac, not Ishmael, continue Abraham’s progeny. It was she who raised Isaac in his formative years, instilling within him the fortitude to stand up to […]

Anxious Parshah

The bulk of rabbinic commentators, view Lot’s daughters as women of fine and even noble intentions.

What makes righteousness Jewish? Can a person truly love all of humanity? Or does that love, spread too thin, turn into something else?

Nechama Laber devoted her life's mission to teaching and inspiring others through Torah and creativity. Now her work is guided by her daughter's gentle humility and devotion to others.

Many have the custom to simply make the time and place known, without inviting anyone in particular to attend. Here's why.

Many of the Bible’s most famous personalities had difficult childhoods, marked by sibling rivalry, abuse, loss of loved ones, or worse.

Hear from Raizy Mendelsohn about raising 9 children in remote Wyoming, grief, faith, and learning to see the soul.

Abuse drove Danit to the edge. A bad relationship led her to a Passover Seder, where she discovered Judaism and a healthy relationship with G-d and herself.

The daughter of Bondi hero Reuven Morrison, Sheina Gutnick tells about her miraculous birth, how her father lived with joy and faith, and how she's become a fearless warrior against antisemitism and misinformation.

Shaindy Plotzker is a queen of the women-only stage. But she once was too shy to sing and preferred to teach. A medical scare gave her the inspiration she needed to start inspiring others.

She was born Jewish, but her mother had unwittingly gotten her involved in church. Could she reclaim Judaism as her own?

There were times of great struggle and doubt, but the Benjamin family surrounded themselves with a loving community, positivity, and the stubborn faith that things would turn out OK.

Raised in a strict Christian home, Chaya Rivka was abused and afraid. Then she discovered her father's Jewish heritage and became a Jew herself, today living in Israel with dozens of grandchildren.

Two sisters share what it was like to be raised by a woman who literally put her life on the line for Judaism in the Soviet Union time and time again.

A fatal car accident, infidelity, and a kind rebbetzin catapulted Hensha from Ohio to Chasidic Brooklyn, where she married a widower with five children and settled across the street from the Rebbe.

Rabbi Dr. Laibl Wolf opens up about being the child of survivors and how the Rebbe guided his career in teaching the secrets of the Torah.

A "chance" encounter with a rabbi and a medical scare rekindled Arnie Herz's Jewish soul and inspired him to live a full Jewish life and share it it with others.

A rising performer, Deborah Jacobi pined for spirituality. A meal in a sukkah and meeting the Rebbe changed her course forever.

After she left a Christian cult, she reconnected with her boyfriend--now husband--and embarked on a life journey of sharing Judaism with others.

When tragedy struck, the rabbi needed to find inner strength, faith, and focus to be there for his daughter, his grandchildren, and most of all himself.

When this Air Force chaplain was sent to remote Greenland, he knew it was G-d's will. He also knew he had a lot of preparing to do.

Raised by a mother who was struggling with mental health issues, Leah turned to the church for support. A trip to Israel (and a lot of conversations) finally helped her find her way back to Judaism.

Rabbi Binyomin Scheiman shares about how he sees the good in every person and every circumstance and built a community of ex-criminals.

Now a successful real estate broker and philanthropist, Naomi Streicher shares her personal approach to challenges, charity, setbacks, and faith.

Modern English translation of the full text of the Parshah.

My movements are sluggish. A thousand times I have done this. Thousands more I will . . . I yearn for “inspiration” . . .

A famous talk by the Lubavitcher Rebbe analyzes the lives of Noah, Abraham and Moses as milestones in humanity’s journey from an instinctive selfhood to a true concept of “love” for one’s fellow. We also encounter the basis of the Rebbe’s groundbreaking approach to “outreach,” and how to relate to those who are supposedly spiritually […]

The “binding of Isaac” has come to represent the ultimate in the Jew’s devotion to G‑d. But every nation and cause has its martyrs. Is there anything truly unique about Abraham’s deed, or about the Jew’s readiness to sacrifice himself for his Creator?

A deed that reaches backward and forward in time to embrace all that enables it and all that results from it, to include them all in an encounter with G-d...

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.

Do we ever really want to go against G-d's will? What is the point of despair? What stops a person from being sensitive to G-d?

Why tell us that G‑d only reveals Himself to "a righteous Jew who decides at the age of 99 to circumcise himself"? What is the relevance of such a message to the average individual?

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 […]

When matter and energy were created from the void, every invention we will ever conceive was created along with them. As the world moves toward its fulfillment, each discovery emerges, each in its proper time. In these times, every new technology has one purpose only: to prepare the world for its ultimate destiny, a time […]

In the same way others live in space, Jews live in time. It’s all here, all at once.

This being the era that it is, I immediately dumped the collage into ChatGPT for analysis.

We've got a Shabbat Sandwich year: Shabbat at both ends, and all the other days of the year between them.

The Master Gardener of the universe takes pride in everything about you.

What does it actually mean?

The Parable On the Shabbat just before the Jewish month of Elul 5557 See marei mekomot to the source below. (August 22, 1797), Rabbi Schneur Zalman told a parable of a king in the field—what we would call today “the countryside.” The parable rings a little foreign to us today. To the people listening to […]

There’s nothing that matches the joy when a lost child returns home. And you are that child. Because your soul began within G‑d. And she descended into this world to inhabit a body and live as though a stranger to the heavens, captive of a futile dream, journeying upon many winding and perilous roads… Until […]

The yetzer hara is an instinctive impulse for self-gratification (bad), embodied by the emotional responses of the beast within you.

On the outside, Torah is water. On the inside, it is fire. The text, the instructions, the practical side of Torah--that is water. People come to water. When they are thirsty, they gather around. But what if you have no thirst for Torah? What if you find the water cold? What if dos and don’ts […]

Click here for a printable PDF of Chapter 10. Key Words and Concepts You Will Need For This Chapter Bitul (adj. batel): A state of insignificance within a greater context. A grain of salt is batel within a large soup. A candle’s light is batel held up to the midday sun. A single created being […]

Click here for a printable PDF of Chapter 10. Conquest Now that we know of this internal battle, let’s see how it plays out as five possible states of war and peace. We’ll start with wars that are won. Let’s discuss a person who empowers his divine soul and wages such a war with his […]

The cardinal sins of Torah demanded only 70 years of exile, while hatred takes almost 2000 years!

Pleasure is an abandonment of the awareness that you are here, that you exist.

It’s G-d’s world. Everything He gives is good, the sweetest good. But it is often a good far too great for us to understand. We imagine it is not good, because that’s the only way to make sense of it with our small minds. Yet the truth is, He gives us all the good we […]

In my quest to understand the large language models currently spinning our world around, I recalled a discussion on the topic of human language the Rebbe delivered in 1957 and the brilliant way our teacher, Rabbi Yoel Kahan, delivered it to us. As I reread it and examined the sources provided, it seemed to me […]