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In learning Torah the Jew feels toward G-d like a pupil with his master; in prayer--like a child with his father -- Hayom Yom, Tammuz 26

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: Ma'achalot Assurot - Chapter 5, Ma'achalot Assurot - Chapter 6, Ma'achalot Assurot - Chapter 7

Today's Lesson: Negative Commandment 173, 175, 176, 177, 178

Today's Lesson: Berachot - Chapter 6

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, end of Chapter 50

Today's Tehillim: Chapters 106-107

Today's Psalms: Chapters 106-107

Parshat Behar-Bechukotai, 7th Portion (Vayikra (Leviticus) 27:16-27:34) with Rashi

The tefillin he once put on in hiding, he now checked and treasured for a new generation of committed young men.

If G‑d wanted to teach us a lesson in humility, why give the Torah on a mountain in the first place? Wouldn’t a valley be a better representation of humility?

Jewish law is not just technical. It is sensitive to the human reality.

Making a blessing before eating is how we acknowledge the creator who provides us with the food; now that you know the why, read of the what and how

Lag BaOmer, the 33rd day of the Omer count, is a festive day on the Jewish calendar.

What do you know about this great sage?

Invariably, we would give our new homeland a name from the Bible.

After experiencing searing loss, Elissa Felder found comfort in caring for the departed. When her grandchild died decades later, she needed to do the unimaginable.

Cameron was steeped in white supremacy and neo-Nazi hate. In prison, he met a Chabad chaplain, and his life changed forever.

When her husband felt chest pains, Lieba knew something was off. Little did she know how her faith in G-d would play a major role in helping him survive what would come their way.

Katia Bolotin's unlikely journey from Friday night concerts to Shabbat observance had plenty of unexpected twists and turns along the way.

Life lessons from welcoming thousands of visitors to the first ghetto in the world, making connections, and lighting up souls.

Since the dreaded diagnosis, Dina and Rabbi Yitzi have emerged as a power couple whose faith, determination, wonder, and joy have inspired millions.

How Divine providence, a car crash, a Shabbat table, and countless twists and turns brought two souls to Torah and to each other.

Smadar Morag was acting, acting, and riding a wave of fame, but Judaism filled a hole in her soul she never knew existed.

Rishe Deitsch, longtime editor of Chabad women's magazine, shares about her challenging childhood, her own triumphs, and what she's most proud of in her life.

Rabbi Yechiel Krisch details how his scientific expertise deepens his understanding of Torah and strengthens his faith, and how he maintains his proud Jewish identity in secular environments.

A legendary Chassidic personality shares how the Rebbe remained a presence in her life ever since she first met him as a toddler in Paris.

Seeking connection, Yehudah fell in with gangs and crime. During his 24-year sentence, he discovered Judaism. Now married, Jewish, and educated, he is a social worker who empowers others to soar.

Bassie Garelik shares about growing up in a Chassidic home in Pittsburgh and putting down roots with her Soviet-raised husband in far-off Italy, a task in which the Rebbe guided them every step of the way.

How Holly Cohen decided to marry a Chassidic man and embrace her role as founder of Tamim Academy, which has branches from Burlington, Vermont to Victoria, BC, and more are opening every year.

Rabbi Dr. Hertsel Simantov's life is anything but typical. Hear how he was raised in Kabul, educated in Israel, and ended up in Japan with the blessing of the Rebbe.

Ari and Elie Kligman are college baseball players with MLB aspirations. Learn how Chabad helps them balance Shabbat, Torah, kosher and competitive sports.

Leibel Lazaroff was shot while protecting a police officer at the Bondi massacre. Hear him and his mother share their journey so far.

Chani Wolf shares how she and her husband are lighting up souls in Fairbanks, Alaska, where winter feels like one endless, snowy night.

The Rebbe examines our relationship with G-d from an interesting angle -- the legal angle. Using Torah law as our criterion, what would be G-d's obligations toward us?

Modern English translation of the full text of the Parshah.

Mundanity, holiness and beyond—a study of the spiritual significance of the Shemittah and Jubilee cycles.

Torah law forbids charging interest for a loan, but with a heter iska form, one is permitted to profit on invested capital. Is this not a violation of the spirit of the law? What indeed is the “spirit” of this law?

We are forever asking: What is the reason? What is the meaning? We ask this question of all commandments and all occurrences, even those we supposedly understand . . .

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.

“All affairs of this world are severe, and evil and wicked men prevail.” No one who is even minimally acquainted with world history, and marginally aware of current events, is likely to take issue with this statement from Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi’s Tanya. Its stark accuracy underlies one of the most disturbing questions in […]

From his hiding place, Rabbi Hillel heard the rebbe enter the room. But before he could make a move, he heard Rabbi Schneur Zalman exclaim: “If a young man has a question regarding ‘Appraisals,’ he had best first evaluate himself!”

What is the correlation between life's responsibilities and its rewards? If we "do our best" will G-d give us everything we need, or is reward measured by achievement? The law of the "Four Guardians" as a model for the duties and priviliges of man

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 […]

Miri and Meni embark on an after-bedtime journey through the universe to discover that there is only G-d.

Ask those questions. Eat bitter herbs. Swallow matzah. Drink another cup of wine. And ask the questions that come from the bottom of your heart.

Everyone's favorite Kabbalist is back, and he has a new grandson! In this episode we learn what it means to "own" the Torah.

Is happiness stupid?

A parable of the Baal Shem Tov: A king had a son who gave him much delight. And he wanted even more delight. Because there are many sorts of delight. There’s delight from cute things your child does. There’s delight from seeing him grow into a true prince. There’s delight from playing, learning, and talking […]

The meaning of your life is a story: A divine soul, a breath of G‑d, becomes embodied within meat, bones, and an animal soul that obscure her light and threaten to extinguish it. Yet, nevertheless, she refines and uplifts this body, this animal soul, and even her share of the world. That is the meaning […]

Click here for a printable PDF of Chapter 8. Introduction They say you can’t read the label from inside the jar. All the time you live and breathe from within a flask of sinews and veins, you can’t know who you are, where you are, or why you came here. One day, when you leave […]

Click here for a printable PDF of Chapter 8. It’s Not You Engaging in forbidden relations and eating forbidden foods are called assur because these activities are tied down to the completely tamei kelipot. But when it comes to forbidden foods, these are called assur not only because of what you do and how you […]

Click here for a printable PDF of Chapter 7. Introduction Animal Training If you were to purchase an exotic pet, you would likely do your research beforehand. You would want to know its needs, its habits, and, in particular, the hazards it brings. You would also want to know how to train this pet, what […]

Click here for a printable PDF of Chapter 7. All these forces, souls, and soul-clothing just listed are of the three completely tamei kelipot that contain no good at all. But then there are those of a kelipah that does have some good—kelipat nogah. They are: The vitalizing, animalistic soul within a Jew, the soul […]

To be a Jew today, you gotta be a leader.

Kabbalat ol (קבלת עול, “accepting the yoke”) is part of a longer phrase meaning “accepting the yoke of the dominion of heaven.” Why would you want to do that? Don’t you have enough yokes around your neck as is? But when you take on the yoke of heaven, you throw off every other yoke. You […]

Although his father had made many journeys to publicize his teachings, Isaac never left the Land of Israel. People came to him, and he brought out the best in them, as one who digs wells to find living waters within the earth. The Maggid of Mezritch did the same. Learned tzadikim came to him from […]

While Jacob lived with his father and grandfather, he sat in his tent and studied and contemplated the divine wisdom of the Torah. When he ran from there to save his life from his brother, he fled to the yeshivah of Shem and Ever. When he dwelt with Laban for 20 years, he sat in […]