יום שישי, י״ח תמוז תשפ״וFriday, July 3, 2026
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Rabbi Shlomo Litvin is a Chabad rabbi and director of the Jewish Student Center at the University of Kentucky. A national advocate combatting antisemitism, he is a prolific writer and educator with many leadership roles including chairman of the Kentucky Jewish Council. He writes across social media at @BluegrassRabbi.
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Starting from the aliyah that marks the bar mitzvah, life is marked by aliyot. And as soon as we reach one height, we begin scaling the next.
I kiss the tzitzis of the tallis, their strings reminding me of the 613 opportunities we are given to weave holiness into everyday life.
Being a father has also given me a greater understanding of my relationship with my Father in heaven.
When my great-grandfather, Rabbi Moshe Dubinsky, arrived in America, he was shocked that Melava Malka wasn’t the norm, and marched across the neighborhood, inviting people to take part.
It's not the heat. It's the humidity. That's the common refrain. A high temperature alone isn't enough to change your day, but when it's humid? Humidity is everywhere.
When the Rebbe would write his public letters to the Jewish people, they would begin To the Sons and Daughters of Our People Israel, Everywhere...
Not just because it's a physical way to literally tie into Judaism and to prepare for prayer and not just because it's the same action that my father, sheyichyehi, my grandfather, and my ancestors have done since Sinai.
Perhaps it's a benefit to us that we can't see real kings today. It allows us to strengthen our desire, so as we gather in shul this year, we not only crown Hashem as our melech...
It is impossible to fully encapsulate the impact or the influence of the Rebbe in a single article. Growing up as a young emissary (shliach) in Louisville, Kentucky, I rarely saw the Rebbe in person, but I witnessed the effect of his teachings and worldview every single day.
Instead of the lofty goal of creating a Sanhedrin with the intent of creating consensus and unity, we could start the other way around. Start off with achdus, and a global movement to increase ahavas Yisrael among our people.
Although not present in my circles, it's hard not to admire the grandeur. It’s also hard to mistake the shtreimel as anything but a sign of proud Judaism.
In the aftermath of the October 7 Pogrom, it's only natural to shiver as we think of the evil acts of the Hamas Nazis, yemach shemam. But that shiver must be followed up with lighting the greatest fire the world has ever seen, so that warmth reaches every single Jew, and spans the globe.
Our Yiddishkeit is the image our puzzle creates, and we should endeavor to make each piece of our puzzle fit this mold.
When someone questioned the show of wealth, R' Meir Shlomo explained, Why was gold created? For the Beis HaMikdash. With the Beis HaMikdash destroyed, gold exists exclusively for tzaddikim like him.
The true power of a flickering flame is its ability to burst into an inferno. Because while wind is a risk to a fire, it also helps increase it.
It's crucial to remember that before Hashem created anything, before even light, the ruach Hashem was already everywhere, just waiting to be breathed into us...
Today, 2,500 years later, Yirmiyahu is welcomed in our happiest moments, as we sing: Od Yishama, his song of Yerushalayim.
July 3, 2026 
