Parshas Tazria-Metzora – The Journey of the Soul
By Avner Friedmann The Parshah begins with the following words,[1] “Hashem spoke to Moshe, saying: Speak to the Children of Israel saying; when a woman conceives and gives birth…” Out of all the...
Neirot
The Disclaimer
The famed chossid, Rabbi Yisroel Jacobson, recounted the following story: On the eighteenth of Elul, 5702, the (Previous) Rebbe spoke of a letter that he had received. In the letter, someone asked how it...
Memory Technique
Once, a chossid of Rabbi Mendel of Kotzk complained to his Rebbe that he did not remember his learning. Reb Mendel responded: “A clear technique for remembering your studies is written in the Torah (Bamidbar 15:39-40),...
Three things
The holy Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Vorki, enumerated three things that a chossid must know: “How to dance while sitting, how to be bent over while standing and how to cry out in...
Fast or Slow
Once, the Chassidic mentor, Rabbi Shmuel-Gronem Estherman, repeated the following conversation that took place between the fourth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Shmuel Schneersohn, and a chossid of Polish orientation: “Why is it that Chabad chassidim...
A Golden Shovel
The Chassidic mentor of the original Tomchei Temimim in Lubavitch, Rabbi Shmuel Gronem-Estherman, recalled the following story: Once, a certain Jew came to the famed scholar and chossid, Rabbi Yitzchak of Homel, telling him:...
Waking Like a Lion
The holy Rebbe, Reb Zushe of Anipoli, once asked and answered the following question: In the Code of Jewish Law, Laws of Waking in the Morning, it states (Orach Chaim, 1:1): “One should strengthen...
Pesach – Relating the Story
The Power of the Pesach Story
Pesach – Matzah and Chametz
Why Eating Matzah & Nullifying Chametz are limited to the holiday of Pesach.
Like a Blanket
Once, when a certain chossid desired to move to the Land of Israel, his Rebbe, Rabbi Yisroel of Ruzhin, told him the following allegory: The Land of Israel is akin to a down blanket....
