Mordechai “The Jew” Mordechai was a Benjaminite, but he is called “Yehudi,” literally meaning a descendant of the tribe of Yehudah. Likewise, the Megillah refers to the Jewish people as “Yehudim,” ignoring tribal differences. Why Yehudi? Yehudi is of the same root as “hoda’ah,” meaning to acknowledge, or to accept. The essence of Jewish identity […]

Programs this weekend to be hosted in-person and online at Chabad centers Amid the global coronavirus pandemic and the corresponding mental-health crisis it has exacerbated, Jewish communities around the world are joining an effort to raise mental health and disability inclusion awareness by participating in the global ShabbaTTogether initiative this coming Friday and Shabbat, Feb. […]

Rabbi Yehoshua (Josh) Gordon, 66, Chabad representative of Encino, California since 1973, passed away on Chof Tes Shvat of 2016 after battling an illness. Tonight commemorates his 5th yartzeit. Rabbi Gordon and his wife Deborah were among the Rebbe’s early representatives to the state of California. Under his leadership, Jewish life in the San Fernando Valley blossomed. From […]

Chabad of Tampa brought mitzvah opportunities to sports’ biggest stage This year was the first time a Super Bowl was played—and won—by the home team on its home turf. And for some Jewish Tampa Bay fans, it was also the first time they felt truly at home, as the Buccaneers coordinated with Chabad of Tampa […]

In an online conference, emissaries discuss moving forward in a post-coronavirus world The dizzying geographical scope of the Chabad-Lubavitch empire of emissaries around the world has long been a topic of conversation—an impressive phenomenon that inspires amazement and admiration on any day. When it comes time for the annual conference of emissaries with so many […]

Readers encouraged to share their #mitzvahforyitzi on social media When Rabbi Yitzi Hurwitz, Chabad-Lubavitch emissary to Temecula, Calif., turned 41, he received a dreaded diagnosis. He had ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) and would soon lose all mobility, including his speech. But nothing—not even a debilitating illness—could stop the indomitable spirit of this joyous Chabad Chassid, […]

Training the young to value those who have come before them Golda* was a toddler when peasants beat her parents during a pogrom in Rostov, Russia. A few years later she watched as Nazis rounded up and murdered 27,000 of the city’s Jews over the course of two days. After her miraculous survival, she returned […]