Through the years and the courts, a small spark in Philadelphia now lights up the world It was a frigid Saturday night during Chanukah of 1974, when Rabbi Abraham Shemtov had the unusual, perhaps wild, idea of lighting a menorah right in front of Independence Hall, which houses the Liberty Bell, the icon of American […]

Shabbos is one of the most widely discussed subjects in the Talmud. Aggadic and halachic aspects of Shabbos are scattered throughout just about every tractate in the Talmud, and are fully examined in one dedicated tractate, aptly named Shabbos. A The Talmud tells a story about an elderly man rushing to get home before the […]

The first infant in four generations to be circumcised at eight days This picture says a lot more than meets the eye. Two years ago, I wrote an article about Jewish men originally from the USSR undergoing circumcision and receiving Jewish names, reclaiming an important element of their Jewish heritage and identity. The story focused […]

Community school keeps up with explosive growth in Torah-based education Amid the economic woes and rising inflation that plague Argentina and its 250,000-strong Jewish community, Chabad’s school system, Oholey Chinuch, is experiencing explosive growth. With parents attracted by quality education and traditional values, each year the need for additional space increases. “The classes are jammed,” […]

“My zaidy called it ‘di heiliger Shabbos’ (the holy Shabbos); my father called it the Shabbos; I call it ‘the Sabbath,’ my children call it ‘Saturday,’ and my grandchildren call it ‘the day before Super Bowl Sunday’.” This pithy anecdote describes a tragic trend among Jews who came over from the Old World and failed, for whatever […]

A Chabad emissary in New Jersey has taken menorah construction to new heights It was more than 30 years ago when Rabbi Boruch Klar first heard the Lubavitcher Rebbe—Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory—speak about the importance of lighting menorahs in public places. As soon as the speech was completed, Klar saw groups of […]

The 9th of Kislev marks both the birthday and passing of the Mitteler Rebbe (the second Chabad Rebbe), Rabbi Dov Ber of Lubavitch (1773-1827). Rabbi Dov Ber was a prolific author who published many scholarly books during the course of his lifetime, including Toras Chaim, Imrei Bina, and Peirush Hamilos. Rabbi Dov Ber constantly advocated […]

Rabbi Yerachmiel Gorelik leads an active community of 3,000 in Tyumen When most think of the quintessential faraway locale—a place where life is different and distant—many of us think of Siberia, the winter wasteland that never seems to end. Since I began writing about what Jewish life is like in various places, I’ve wanted to […]

In Episode 11 of Lamplighters: Stories From Chabad Emissaries On The Jewish Frontier, Lamplighters Reporter/Producer Gary Waleik presents his unlikely – and long – story of embracing the Jewish faith and how, at several points in his life, he learned from and was supported by Chabad emissaries … from his hometown and many other places […]