Eighty years after evading Nazis, Vanda Semyonovna Obiedkova died in war As she lay dying in a Mariupol basement, freezing and pleading for water, Holocaust survivor Vanda Semyonovna Obiedkova wanted to know only one thing: “Why is this happening?” Ill and emaciated during the last two weeks of her life, the 91-year-old could not even […]

We stood at the baggage carousel in Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and waited for our boxes to slide down the ramp. We waited and waited, and waited some more. People came and people went. Boxes and suitcases came and went, but not ours. We tried not to panic. How will […]

This Pesach, Chabad centers across Europe are hosting the largest seders in their history. Most years, the world’s largest Pesach seders have been hosted in southeast Asia, in Kathmandu or Thailand. But this year, as thousands of Ukrainian refugees find a Jewish home at Chabad centers around Europe, the world’s largest seder may yet be […]

Law enacted on 120th anniversary of birth of the Rebbe—its greatest proponent An Arizona law that ensures kids in the state’s public schools will have time to begin the day with a one- to two-minute Moment of Silence was signed into law by Ariz. Gov. Doug Ducey on April 12, the 120th anniversary of the […]

Celebration brings a much-needed break for adults and children More than 1,500 refugees from Ukraine who are sheltering in cities around Israel gathered earlier this week in Rishon Letzion to honor the 120th anniversary of the birth of the Rebbe—Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory. Working with Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries from cities around Ukraine, the […]

We had just completed an inspired community Passover Seder. Most of the 135 guests who enjoyed the meaningful Seder had left, and the last few people were lingering and schmoozing. It was past midnight but we couldn’t just go to bed. After reading about the fifteen steps of freedom, we were awake and energized. Something […]

‘I asked the rabbi: Why will Passover be so different this year?!?’ The people of Mariupol understood they were living on a powder keg. On the Ukraine side of the makeshift border with the separatist Donetsk People’s Republic, Mariupol has been a flashpoint since 2014. That’s why, when Russia invaded Ukraine six weeks ago, Mariupolites […]

The Lauder Chabad School in Vienna is going to extreme lengths to accommodate 700 Ukrainian refugee families—free of charge. The Lauder Chabad School in Vienna was already at capacity when the first refugees from Ukraine came pouring into town three weeks ago. But seeing the families as they arrived, Vienna’s chief Chabad rabbi and Chairman […]

The Haggadah is one of those oceanic Torah texts. It invites continual return and reengagement, as we come back each year at the seder, to explore its fathomless depths.  A Pesach-pastiche of biblical passages, rabbinic exegesis, practical laws, and songs, the Haggadah’s roots, in a sense, go back to the Exodus. Its main texts and […]