Passover celebrates the national redemption of the Jewish people, liberated from an ancient oppressor in an ancient time. But the theme of redemption is universal, and, perhaps this year more than ever, it resonates on many levels. Here, we invited some writers and poets to share their personal reflections. Tangibly Close DAVID CAPLAN Many baalei […]

It was unseasonably cold on the first night of Passover back in 1979. Snow had fallen the day before and melted into slush puddles that made walking unpleasant. The evening prayers had ended, and everyone was hurrying home to finally begin the Seder.  Not the Rebbe. Before returning to his home to make the Seder […]

The prestigious Haggadah collection of Chabad’s Central Library began in December 1924, when the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, acquired the collection of bibliographer Shmuel Wiener, consisting of approximately five thousand rare books. The acquisition included some four hundred printed editions of the Passover Haggadah. Since then, the Library has added many more […]

Chabad of Coral Springs program in high gear as the holiday approaches Almost since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, volunteers of every ethnicity and faith have gathered together every Wednesday to help at Chabad of Coral Springs’ drive-by food distribution in South Florida, where they can be seen handing out supplies to a line […]

An ambitious project for Seder leaders and participants alike Why is this Haggadah different from all other Haggadahs? The Passover Haggadah has seen more editions than any other Jewish book in history. Yet the recently released Chabad.org Haggadah, which is faithful to tradition, effortlessly accessible and refreshingly inspirational, has arrived as a new standard for […]

In 1948, almost nobody in L.A. knew about shmurah matzah; now everybody wants it Second in a two-part series about about the dramatic growth in the use of handmade shmurah matzah in the last 60 years. The first article in the series, “How a New World of Consumers Discovered Handmade Matzo,” is here. It’s safe […]

Michoel Green produces song explaining why people should not be forced to take a trial vaccine.

Rabbi Yakov Saacks, The Chai Center, Dix Hills, NY As a communal Rabbi I get to partake in the ups and downs of manyindividuals’ and their family’s respective lives. From cradle to end oflife, I try to infuse an additional dose of spirituality and meaning, love,hope and friendship. I recently went to visit a dear […]

The recent spike in deaths caused an unprecedented rise in holy work When the coronavirus pandemic spiked in California last month, it brought unprecedented numbers of the deceased to local mortuaries. Yet despite a staffing shortage—also due to the pandemic—the members of the local Chevra Kadisha (Jewish burial society) have been doing everything in their […]

A new library’s priceless collection chronicles the nation’s rich Jewish history The year was 1497. Just five years after leaving his native Spain due to the Edict of Expulsion, Rabbi Avraham Saba stood tearfully beside an olive tree outside of Lisbon, Portugal. There, under what he described as a “tree of tears,” he buried his […]