Do I do what doesn’t feel good, or do I commit only to what feels aligned with my inner truth? We live in a culture that prizes alignment above all else, authenticity, resonance, inner harmony. And yet, I want to make the case for something counterintuitive: the spiritual necessity, and even the holiness, of living unaligned.

Rosh Hashanah is coming. The Rosh Hashanah for Chasidism that is. It is called the Holiday of Holidays in Chabad circles. It commemorates the liberation of the first Chabad Rebbe, Rabbi Schneur Zalman from Czarist prison.

We all have parts of ourselves that we love; the pieces that feel easy, smooth, and clear. And then there are the parts we struggle with; the ones we’d rather hide. At times, even from ourselves.

Og was the biblical giant, the king of Bashan, the man whose bed stretched thirteen feet. What many don’t know is that Og was the first antisemite.

When Avraham celebrated Yitzchak’s birth, he invited the world’s leaders. The Midrash tells us that Og stood among them, looked at the eight-day-old baby, tiny and fragile, and sneered:

“This? This little thing is the future? I could crush him with one finger.”

Do you ever want to take a break from yourself? A break from thinking? A break from feeling? The more sensitive you are, the more in touch you are, the smarter you are, the greater the desire to take a break, the greater the need to still the mind.

Dena and I just returned from a whirlwind trip to Israel. We went for a wedding but we also went to feel the land, to feel the people, to be with our People.

Have you ever found yourself stuck in an airport with a cancelled or delayed flight? Perhaps you "found" yourself in a city with a job that you are not entirely sure how your life brought you to this circumstance.   

The High Holiday season just ended and we are already knee deep in flood waters.  These flood waters are called the waters of Noah.

In introducing Noach, the first description the Torah tells us that he was a Tzadik – a righteous man. 

The hostages are home. We can finally release the breath we've been holding. And while things are far from normal, we can begin to take a moment to reflect.

Some years ago I was in NY for the annual conference of Shluchim. I saw a friend who had recently celebrated the marriage of his daughter.

We each yearn for inner peace. You know when the mind stops churning and the heart is at rest without angst?

For the most part, people are in two groups; Thinkers and Feelers.  The Thinkers are constantly analyzing what's going on around them, how they are showing up, what other people think about this or that etc.

Chabad Intown YJP Intown Atlanta is one of those rare places where you can walk in and instantly feel at home—even if you’ve never set foot there before. Services are laid-back, come-as-you-are. We’ve got the “learners’ service,” where men and women sit together, ask questions out loud, and no one pretends to know the Hebrew by heart.

On the eve of Rosh Hashanah, September 6, 2021, six Palestinian prisoners carried out a dramatic escape from Israel’s Gilboa Prison. Over the course of several months, they had dug a tunnel from the bathroom of their cell using nothing more than spoons, plates, and other makeshift tools.

It's a time of year that we reflect and take stock.  Despite all the challenges we've encountered, each of us I pray have blessings in our lives to give thanks and gratitude to Hashem.

It's actually a nice exercise to say the morning blessings and to recognize all the basics that we have; feet, shoes, belts, ability to stand upright, water to wash our face and hands, ability to use the bathroom and the list goes on

Mira and Moshe, Mazal Tov! It’s done! You are husband and wife.

Mira and Moshe, the Rebbe explains that the Shechinah, the Divine presence, hovers over the couple under the Chuppah, with a revelation that is comparable to the revelation of Sinai and that the marriage is a new covenant between Hashem and the Jewish people through each couple. 

Note: We have entered the final month of the Jewish year, the month of Elul. The Alter Rebbe explains its unique energy with a parable: During the year, if one wishes to see the King, he must pass through guards and gates, and only then can he enter the palace. But in Elul, the King Himself goes out into the field. There, every person can approach Him freely. The King greets each one warmly and with a smile.

Judaism has some very obvious unique core beliefs.  Among them is the role that Israel in general and Jerusalem in particular play.

Jerusalem's holiness starts with the creation of Adam and continues with the two Holy Temples that stood there.  It begs the question, although we find references to Jerusalem in the Five Books of Moses (eg. Malkizedek the king of Shalem), we don't find the word Jerusalem/Yerushalayim explicitly mentioned as Jerusalem?

As Yom Kippur draws to its close, I often feel myself shifting roles—from spiritual leader to coach—guiding the “team” through the final inning, the last round. We’re all tired. Weeks of preparation, two days of Rosh Hashanah, the deep solemnity of Kol Nidrei, and now a full day of fasting have left everyone—myself included—exhausted.

Have you experienced loss? Has a part of you been taken out never to be returned? You're not alone. The prayer of comfort we offer in the Shiva home begins with a reference to G-d as Hamakom - The Place.

As a People we've been victims of hatred, murder, rape, destruction.  This Sunday we commemorate the event that spawned the current exile of close to 2000 years where acts against us have been non stop.