YasherKoach.Com

If there be a prophet among you, I, G-d, make myself known to him in a vision, and speak to him in a dream. Not so My servant Moses; for he is the trusted one in all My house. With him I speak mouth to mouth, manifestly, and not in riddles; and the similitude of […]

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: Teshuvah - Chapter Four, Teshuvah - Chapter Five, Teshuvah - Chapter Six

Today's Lesson: Positive Commandment 73

Today's Lesson: Keilim - Chapter 11

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: Likutei Amarim, middle of Chapter 35

Today's Tehillim: Chapters 88-89

Today's Psalms: Chapters 88-89

Parshat Vayak'hel, 3rd Portion (Shemot (Exodus) 35:30-36:7) with Rashi

Santa Teresa is about as remote and exotic as you can possibly get.

Every man, woman and child can now give of themselves from a place of love and closeness.

How the Jewish community of Jerusalem was taken hostage by a cruel tyrant.

Should they have donated more?

How Do I Explain G-d to My Grandchildren?

Which city currently has the largest Jewish population in Europe?

Bukharian Jews have a rich history that spans thousands of years.

Blind from birth, Richard Bernstein is a justice on the Supreme Court of Michigan, a marathon runner, disabilities advocate, and a Jew on a mission to make the world a better place.

To battle evil, we first must understand its source, and then tread carefully so we are not sucked into the vortex of hate.

Integrative psychotherapist shares how she overcame a lonely childhood, poor self-image, an eating disorder, and failed marriage through learning about herself and her soul through the lens of Chassidus and psychotherapy.

Having known the Rebbe and Rebbetzin from her childhood, Esther Sternberg had a unique view of the regal woman so few ever met.

How Nissim Black overcame a troubled past of drugs, violence and crime to seek spirituality and use music to spread goodness and faith.

She needed to overcome her trauma to mother her own children. A trained psychotherapist, Dr. Robyn Koslowitz now helps others do the same.

Speaking from personal experience, dietician Miriam Shurpin tells of the dangers of poor body image and the "diet culture," and how she learned to embrace her body through Chassidic teachings.

This amazing convert shares how Chassidic philosophy took her to a place she never even imagined existed.

A soul-searching conversation—plus tips!—from the woman who showed the world the beauty of the Jewish dating world.

8th Day music star Shmuel Marcus is actually a full-time Chabad rabbi in a distant community. Here's how he stays inspired and makes it all work.

A woman born without a uterus shares her inspiring journey of faith, love, and medical innovation, culminating in the miraculous birth of her daughter.

The oys and joys of moving to Rostov, Russia, and serving a Jewish community that has reawakened after 70 years of Communist repression.

Hear how Chaya Teldon left home at fifteen to pursue her Jewish education and become a Chabad rebbetzin, as well as how she retained her faith in the face of the birth, struggles, and passing of her son, and how and why she joined the chevra kadisha.

Raizy Fried is author and speaker focused on empowering women and fostering personal growth. Outwardly successful, with a great marriage and growing business, she felt empty and cold. When she discovered the "inner Torah," her inner world began to bloom.

Chava devoted years seeking to understand feminism and apply it to her life. She found the answer in the teachings of the Rebbe.

For Devorah Schwartz, performing for just women is a spiritual experience akin to prayer. She opens up on how she became a singer and how it changed her life.

A longtime expositor of the Rebbe's teachings, and author of Toward a Meaningful Life, Rabbi Simon Jacobson shares how he overcame his early skepticism and found his own calling in life.

Chassidic pop star Avraham Fried shares his inner world, including his personal interactions with the Rebbe and the Rebbetzin.

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.

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 […]

Torah is the primordial parable. And you are its star.

The Faculties of Your Soul Now, the divine soul, on each of her three distinct levels of nefesh, ruach, and neshamah, consists of ten faculties corresponding to the ten sefirot of the higher, divine world. These faculties are actually micro-versions of those sefirot, the outcome of a long process of descent through the chain of […]

Introduction You’ve just discovered you have a divine soul. How do you tap into her energy? How can you channel it into down-to-earth reality? In this chapter, Rabbi Schneur Zalman maps out the psyche of this divine soul to reveal his key strategy to harnessing its power. This divine soul, it turns out, is a […]

וְהִנֵּה, כָּל בְּחִינָה וּמַדְרֵגָה מִשָּׁלֹשׁ אֵלּוּ: נֶפֶשׁ רוּחַ וּנְשָׁמָה – כְּלוּלָה מֵעֶשֶׂר בְּחִינוֹת, כְּנֶגֶד עֶשֶׂר סְפִירוֹת עֶלְיוֹנוֹת שֶׁנִּשְׁתַּלְשְׁלוּ מֵהֶן, הַנֶּחְלָקוֹת לִשְׁתַּיִם, שֶׁהֵן: שָׁלֹשׁ אִמּוֹת וְשֶׁבַע כְּפוּלוֹת; פֵּירוּשׁ, חָכְמָה בִּינָה וָדַעַת, וְשִׁבְעַת יְמֵי הַבִּנְיָן: חֶסֶד גְּבוּרָה תִּפְאֶרֶת כוּ'. וְכָךְ בְּנֶפֶשׁ הָאָדָם, שֶׁנֶּחְלֶקֶת לִשְׁתַּיִם: שֵׂכֶל וּמִדּוֹת. הַשֵּׂכֶל כּוֹלֵל: חָכְמָה בִּינָה וָדַעַת, וְהַמִּדּוֹת הֵן: אַהֲבַת ה' וּפַחְדּוֹ וְיִרְאָתוֹ […]

A Jew once demanded of the tzadik, Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Kotzk, “Rebbe! Where is G‑d?” The rabbi answered him, “Wherever you let Him in.” The secular world does not react kindly to the notion of holiness. Holiness creates distinctions. It’s much more expedient to deal with a world flattened into a homogeneous mush. In […]

Read your life from the future backwards.

The Divine Soul The second soul in a Jew is “a part of G‑d from beyond” Job 31:2. in actual fact. “Part” here means not a particular part of G‑d, which is absurd, but a particular iteration of a sample of Him. This second soul knows G‑d from her very essence. The Torah describes how […]

Introduction The Second Soul If you feel you’ve been left hanging at the end of chapter one, it’s probably because that’s exactly where you are supposed to be. The bar seems to be set very high and, so far, all you’ve got inside yourself to tackle the challenge is a beast that’s barely better than […]

וְנֶפֶשׁ הַשֵּׁנִית בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל, הִיא חֵלֶק אֱלוֹהַּ מִמַּעַל מַמָּשׁ, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב: "וַיִּפַּח בְּאַפָּיו נִשְׁמַת חַיִּים", וְ"אַתָּה נָפַחְתָּ בִּי", וּכְמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב בַּזֹּהַר, מַאן דְּנָפַח מִתּוֹכֵיהּ נָפַח, פֵּירוּשׁ, מִתּוֹכִיּוּתוֹ וּמִפְּנִימִיּוּתוֹ, שֶׁתּוֹכִיּוּת וּפְנִימִיּוּת הַחַיּוּת שֶׁבָּאָדָם מוֹצִיא בִּנְפִיחָתוֹ בְּכֹחַ: כָּךְ, עַל דֶּרֶךְ מָשָׁל, נִשְׁמוֹת יִשְׂרָאֵל עָלוּ בְּמַחֲשָׁבָה, כְּדִכְתִיב: "בְּנִי בְכוֹרִי יִשְׂרָאֵל", "בָּנִים אַתֶּם לַה' אֱלֹהֵיכֶם" פֵּירוּשׁ, כְּמוֹ שֶׁהַבֵּן נִמְשָׁךְ מִמּוֹחַ […]

I used to put my menorah in my window, but since last year I’m scared of having my window smashed.

A lucid translation and guide, including fundamental concepts

Your Promise Here is a teaching from the end of the third chapter of Nidah, a book of the Talmud: “Before you were born, the heavenly court made you swear: Be a tzadik and don’t be a rasha. Yet they also made you swear: Even if the whole world tells you that you are a […]