qChabad

MM-chayei-sarah MM-Toldos-3 wells Vayishlach Va’erah – Moshe’s words to Pharaoh only made the Jews work harder, why?!

In this week’s parsha, Toldot, we read of the famous story of Isaac giving blessings to his son Jacob. Everyone knows the general story: Isaac has two sons, Jacob and Esau. Esau is the bad guy and Jacob is the good guy. Esau spends his days hunting and killing, while Jacob passes the time immersed [...]

When I was attending many Phish concerts, I used to enjoy arriving at the “parking lot” with a generous amount of time before the concert began (at least in the summer time).  It was a pleasant time to wander, take in the sites, and chew on whatever happened to be on my mind. A common [...]

Although at times elusive, we all strive for it.  The quest for truth takes people to the corners of the globe, and the deepest recesses of one’s mind and heart. At the beginning of the Torah, there is an intriguing allusion to truth.  The Baal HaTurim points out that the last letter of the first [...]

Q: So I’ve been working towards keeping kosher for awhile, and now I’m at a point where I basically only eat kosher food, but I don’t have two sets of kosher dishes. My question is: if I buy new pots and pans but I don’t kosher my stove/ oven is the food I eat kosher, or at least more kosher then it was before? Also… will I have to go out and buy new pots and pans because the old ones will be considered treif because I used them on an un-koshered stove?

A: You ask a complicated question, as the laws of kashrut are vast and complex.

It’s that time of year again. Yup, the time when it seems like at least 10 direct mail solicitations arrive in the mail every day. Most not-for-profit organizations send solicitation mailings before Rosh Hashana, as it is a time that people often feel moved to give to charitable causes.

A friend once asked me: What if he contributes to a cause that turns out to not be quite as charitable as they seem to be?Does it still count as performing the mitzvah of tzedakah (charity)?