יום ראשון, כ״ח חשוון תשפ״זSunday, November 8, 2026
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From the Rebbe’s absolute devotion to his father-in-law, chassidim have learned what the measure of their own devotion – what chassidim call hiskashrus – to their Rebbe should be.
"Moshe's life is inspiring and reassuring to children with learning disabilities and to their parents
Their assumption was predicated on the theory that Hashem operates based on middas hadin.
Though they share parents and ancestors, once the two lines diverge, the Torah tells us exclusively about Aharon’s descendants
The most dangerous thing in the world is to try to leap a chasm in two jumps. -David Lloyd George
We do not expect those elected to be Moshe Rabbeinu. Still, the parshi’ot that will accompany the election campaign in the weeks ahead should remind us of how, ideally, those in leadership roles should conduct themselves.
Was R’ Simcha Bunim justified in not bringing Moshiach because of the distress of one individual?
We don’t seek out faults in people to tell them off, but we should always look for ways to help set people on the right path while we ourselves serve as shining personal examples.
There are times when wrongdoing around us needs to be challenged, opposed, and resisted, and there are times when the wiser reaction is to hunker down and let it pass.
The greatest feelings of accomplishment result from when one invests the most effort in its attainment.
The fire of truth burned brightly before Esav, but he was headstrong.
Yaakov’s service of G-d, at his high spiritual level, required him to be buried with his father Yitzchak and grandfather Avraham in Me’aras HaMachpeilah, a place of openly revealed holiness.
By Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks z"l
Genesis is not a hymn to the virtue of families. It is a candid, honest, fully worked-through account of what it is to confront some of the main problems within families, even the best.
It’s difficult to describe an event of this magnitude in words. But I’ll share a few highlights...
Ya’akov’s mistake instructs us to understand that even if something appears to be good, that does not mean there isn’t a different way that might be even better
Is it better to complain, seek revenge, and hold a grudge? Or is it better to find a blessing within the curse?
Yosef, on the other hand, was involved in worldly affairs. He was on such a high spiritual level that this involvement didn’t disturb his service of G-d.
The Gemara says that when a guest is escorted out of a city, he is protected from harm along his journey.
Joseph hinted to his brothers, based on his dreams, what would happen to them, but he did not converse with them.
In overcoming our impatience on the road, we perform a truly heroic act.
The Zohar tells us that Moshe Rabbeinu visits Bisya every day in Gan Eden to inquire after her well being.
In order to prove that the oil was undefiled, wouldn’t it have been sufficient if its seal remained unbroken, even without the kohen gadol’s personal seal?
The man before whom the brothers bowed was no longer the youthful dreamer. The reinterpreted Joseph dreampt no longer about himself, the dreams were now about something beyond the dreamer
Is this the only question we should ask?
Even according to the Rambam, if an exceptionally pious and G-d-fearing man sees that his generation is degenerate in a certain matter, he may sanctify G-d’s name and sacrifice himself even to avoid a minor mitzvah so that people learn from his example.
Leaders need to pay special attention to the law of unintended consequences.
Here are three crucial truths from Tanya, the fundamental text that Chabad chassidim study in its entirety every year, concluding it on the 19th of Kislev:
The redemption and salvation are commensurate with the distress and challenges of galus.
If we look like an ancestor, smile like them, wrinkle our eyebrows in the way they did, we already carry on more of them than others
It is Judah's honesty that triggers Joseph's decision to reveal his identity.
She probably gave no conscious thought to the message that she broadcast. She did not mean to deliberately offend anyone; it just seemed like a cute thing to do.
“I came here to get a mask so…Moshiach won’t see my aveiros.”
Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz emphasized again and again when he taught this parshah that Yaakov moving the massive stone from the well was not a miracle. Yet, it was not a matter of physical strength either. It was a matter of heart and faith.
Halacha mandates that the anniversary of a miracle be celebrated, not only by its subject, but by his descendants and disciples in later generations.
In one of the most mysterious verses in the Torah (Bereshit 35:8), we read about the death of Devorah the nursemaid, a character so minor that we have never really heard of her before
Rachel only related to one purpose, that of giving birth, and ignored the second purpose – to learn, to become worldly wise and pious and, in the process, to bring more goodness into the world.
Rabbi Salanter said we must all act like poor men when it comes to matters of ruchniyus.
Immediately upon becoming Rebbe, he embarked upon the most ambitious chassidic publication program until recent times.
We are a people bound by law as much or more than any other, our legacy also tells us there are times when those laws and norms are appropriately breached.
Rabbeinu Yonah, who passed away 756 years ago this week, wrote prolifically from the city of Girona, in medieval Spain, about repentance and self-improvement.
The challenges presented by the yetzer hara differ every day. Today the yetzer hara may be dormant; tomorrow it may wage war.
Speaking to his chassidim actually improved his health, much to his doctors amazement!
On the face of it, a conventional exchange between father and son, we see it nowhere else in Tanakh. Moreover both discussions take place at pivotal points in which the respective father-son relationships are tested to their limits.
The Rashbash advised the couple to name the boy Yonah, citing the Talmud’s statement that before a tzaddik dies, another tzaddik rises.
A leader must aim to change the culture and not just temporarily affect behaviors.
As the end of their forty-year sojourns in the desert approached, Moshe Rabbeinu, knowing that he would not lead the nation into Eretz Yisroel, requested that Hashem help him appoint a worthy successor.
Throughout our history, great leaders have given their disciples and others special tasks to spiritually elevate the world.
Avraham, saw a world where people can acknowledge a huge and intractable gap between them, know it will not go away, and also build a strong and trusting friendship across tbe gap.
More than his guests enjoy the meal, Avraham enjoys fulfilling the mission for which he was created – to help others.
Chazal say (Menachos 53b) that just like an olive tree does not ever shed its leaves, so too Klal Yisrael will never be destroyed, not in this world or in the next.
After the tailor left, Rebbetzin Rivka told off her son for embarrassing the tailor. Realizing what he had done, young Sholom Ber burst into tears.
They believe that if they inundate me with beautiful gifts, it will be difficult for me to be angry with them.
Who are these beings? Men to Avraham; Angels to Lot. Why do they play such important roles in Genesis? Why are the stories of the beginnings of humanity so rich with unfamiliar characters?
Do we have the courage to swim against the stream? To be in the minority? To be different?
we make guilty of our disasters the sun, the moon, and stars,
Avraham Avinu symbolized Toras chesed, the Torah of loving kindness. Commentaries ask: Is there a Torah that isn’t loving kindness?
When others see that serving Hashem is rewarded with material abundance, G-d’s name is sanctified. It is a kiddush Hashem.
Rashi gives us a new insight into Avraham’s relationship to Israel, seeing it as a place he went voluntarily, before Hashem told him
Noach is considered responsible for the Flood because he felt no personal responsibility for his generation.
What was Adam missing? After all, he had everything – a female companion, food, a Garden of Eden surrounding him. What was lacking?
Rashi writes that the world was going to be destroyed because of rampant immorality. So why does the Talmud say robbery sealed the decree?
God doesn't need a slave to order and say: Build an ark! He could have made it in a second. God desires a partner. It is up to us to rise to that role. Noah's greatness was that he figured it out.
When Noach gets off the ark, there seems to be a whole new world order that surrounds him.
We see from the Talmud that ingratitude can be cause for harsh punishment.
The universe was created for the sake of the Torah and for the sake of the Jewish people – i.e., in order that we Jews study and observe the Torah.
“How can you know there’s no G-d? Can anyone possibly prove there’s no G-d? How can you prove that?” I wondered.
Of Rav Nissim Karlitz,(ZT"L) the Chazon Ish said “One day, the entire world will hear from him.” He was right.
To cross the infinite gulf separating us – as finite created beings – from the infinite Creator, we need to nullify our sense of self-importance.
The Vilna Gaon (cited in Sefer Kol HaTor 1:7) states that one's entire body is involved in two mitzvos: the mitzvah of sukkah and the mitzvah to dwell in the Land of Israel. (the GR"A does not mention Mikvah). It turns out that the mitzvah of sukkah and the mitzvah of living in Eretz Yisrael are like sister mitzvos.
A person only receives the amount of parnassah that was proclaimed for him in Heaven.
Irritation leading to growth...
A person who responds “Amen” with all his might…has the power to open all the gates surrounding Gan Eden.
Our soul wants, to be better, different, true. Now the soul prevails over the body, and in the last moments of this journey, we must take something with us, some 'soul food' for the road ahead.
“If God only commanded Moshe to present Haazinu, what was the need for Yehoshua to join in?”
Hashem’s love for us is like the love of parents for their young child; it’s an essential love not dependent upon the child’s conduct.
We're going to talk about something that is probably one of the most practical pieces of advice for today. We're talking about handing over leadership.
The Angel Raziel read the sefer together with Adam, who fell on his face, shaking.
What we need to think about now – in Tishrei 5780 – is Tishrei 5781...Shana tova!
The fear of success, the fear of being led astray, the fear of losing sight of where we started and the truths we used to know we had to hold self-evident, these were the fears Hashem was telling the Jewish people to have the strength and courage to overcome,
Whereas all people need to be careful of what their words may cause, leaders must especially be careful in this regard.
Lean back but be active
The “head” – the great Torah leaders – are dependent upon all lower “limbs” of our people for their spiritual completeness.
A person should never despair of his ability to do teshuvah.
Since we are taught that each person is like a universe, to casually dispense with one individual is like dispensing with an entire universe.
Finally, in a choked voice, the father said, “Yanky has a brother, Mutty, who has been in the hospital with a debilitating illness for many months.”
Choosing what really matters
The path of Chabad, on the other hand, while maintaining the close Rebbe-chassid relationship, emphasizes personal labor in serving Hashem.
A friend told me about a niggun for what to me is a new zemer and I have recently begun singing it. It has had a profound impact on me and how uplifted I feel on Shabbos...
Sadly, we live in a world where too many of us reject such remonstration out of hand, deny anyone else’s right to give us the awareness we may not find ourselves. In doing so, in building a society of tochaha-objectors, we lose half the arrows in the quiver, and open ourselves to the risk of never hearing what we need.
These three verses point to Elul as a time for reinforcing the “three pillars upon which the world stands: Torah, service [of Hashem through prayer], and kind deeds” (Avos 1:3).
Although the chacham and rasha are completely dissimilar, they still share a bond as brothers.
Once I learned to treat every person I meet as more than chance and as an opportunity, I was able to expand my collection of superheroes.
Many commentators wonder why not proffering bread and water is considered such a great crime. Because turning away goes from being a sign of neutrality to being an act of hostility.
Leadership is not domination, but the art of persuading people to work toward a common goal.
Even though you think you see the whole picture, chances are that you don’t.
ven with all the news stories about “the best teacher I had” or “the teacher who changed my life,” there is no doubt that the teachers who influence us the most are our parents.
November 6, 2026 
