#lubavitcher rebbe

[mental-mona]

Chanukah is the time to awaken the hidden light within us, to shine brightly even when the world around us is dark.

Lubavitcher Rebbe

[girlactionfigure]

President of Argentina Javier Milei was seen today at the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s Ohel in New York, Praying at the Rebbe’s resting place. 🇮🇱❤️🇺🇸

[septembergold]

[dk-thrive]

How will you fix a soul? A soul doesn’t need fixing. It needs to be uncovered. Blind yourself to its muddy crust. Dig deeply and deeper yet, sift through the darkened embers, search for a spark that still shines. Fan that spark until a flame appears.

— Rabbi Tzvi Freeman, condensation of a teaching by the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson in "The Tanya (Chapter 32) (via Make Believe Boutique)

[maslimanny]

Imagine you could open your eyes to see only the good in every person, the positive in every circumstance, and the opportunity in every challenge.

[unsongquotes]

Not like the earthen golem of Czech fame, Laid low, and in some dusty attic stowed Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates there strode A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame Was the imprisoned lightning; and a Name Writ on her forehead. In her crown there rode The Rebbe, and his face with Torah glowed “Sh’ma Yisrael HaShem elokeinu HaShem echad” prayed he Then, with silent lips: “Save them, Your tired, Your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to break free, The wretched refuse of your demon war. Save these, the hopeless, battle-tossed, for me, I lift my lance beside the golden door!”

[byfaithmedia]

What did the Rebbe say to Netanyahu and why was his inspired by this powerful rabbi?

[hasdrubal-gisco]

there's something so charismatic about the specific american chabad dialect (ie. chabadniks in isr just speak modern hebrew) and it's selective use of poylishe phonology

[chavasjewishscrapbook]

"In a long and fascinating letter, the fourth Lubavitcher rebbe, Rabbi Shmuel, known as the Rebbe Maharash, explains that although some Kabbalists were of the opinion that animals don’t have immortal souls, according to the teachings of the Arizal animals do in fact have independent souls, and they do go to heaven. The Arizal is generally considered the final arbiter for all Kabbalistic teachings.

The Arizal explains that every created entity possesses a “soul.” This includes everything from rocks and other inanimate objects to animals and, of course, people. This soul or “spark of G‑dliness” not only sustains the creation’s existence, but it imbues the creation with its purpose and significance in the world."

[mental-mona]

When you light the menorah, you are not just commemorating an ancient miracle. You are revealing the hidden light that has been within you all along.

Lubavitcher Rebbe

[girlactionfigure]

[eretzyisrael]

FUN FACTS ABOUT ADAR

Adar contains the holiday of Purim, which commemorates the salvation of the Jewish people in ancient Persia from a genocidal plot by the wicked vizier Haman to “destroy, kill and annihilate all the Jews, young and old, infants and women, in a single day.” (Esther 3:13) God saved us through His servants Esther and Mordechai, and Haman was “hoisted with his own petard” and hanged on the gallows he built for Mordechai. Purim is a holiday of feasting and merriment. Customs include hosting meals, giving generously to charity, delivering sweet treats to friends, and attending public readings of the Megillah (Book of Esther) which recounts the miraculous events.

 Moses was born on the 7th of Adar. (He also died on that day, which is considered a particular blessing.) The Lubavitcher Rebbe teaches that a person’s soul shines stronger on his or her birthday. Every generation of Jews contains a spark of Moses, who brought us the Torah and led us to the Promised Land. Therefore Moses’ birthday is like the collective birthday of the Jewish people and all of our souls shine brighter at this time.

The Zodiac sign for Adar is Pisces, the fish. Traditionally fish are a sign of blessing and fertility. We are likened to fish because just as fish need to be immersed in water to thrive, the Jewish people need to be immersed in Torah to thrive. A Jew without Torah is a fish out of water.

Adar is related to the word “adir” which connotes strength and power. The Rebbe points out that the term “adir” is used to refer to the Jewish people. 

Adar was the last month the Jews spent in Egypt before the Exodus. Part of the excitement of Adar is the anticipation of the next holiday, Passover, the time of our liberation.

[tomfoolerytime]

Shout out to Shulem-Yontif son of the Esroger Rebbe (from The Forbidden Book by Sacha Lamb) and his name for melting my friends' brains this Shabbat.

Top quotes include:

“Yontif?????”

“Didn’t know Yontif could be a name”

“Wait like etrog ???”

“The etrog rebbe???”

“Shul man Yontif wow…”

“What did you name yourself again? Yehuda Yocheved? Yeah…” (one of the harshest burns I’ve ever gotten)

“I need a picture of an etrog with the Lubavitcher rebbes beard and hat on it”

[rabbiaharon]

BS”D

The Two Children

A parent has two children. One of whom is responsible, humble, and desires connection with their parent, and one of whom is egotistical, irresponsible, and primarily pursues their own benefit and enjoyment. Early in their childhood, the parent gives both children the same responsibilities. Easy, simple chores that they expect both children to do, and if they don’t, there will be no major loss. The responsible child does their chores with respect, knowing that whether or not they enjoy their chores, they look forward to the time they’ll be able to spend with their parent after they are finished. The irresponsible child rarely does their chores, instead choosing to lounge around, draw on the walls in crayon, complain, and roll their eyes at anything their parent asks.

As they get older, the parent recognizes that they can trust the responsible child with more meaningful tasks, and that they can rely on them to be completed. In return, the responsible child acquires a deeper relationship, and cultivates their emotional connection with their parent. The irresponsible child continues to receive basic tasks, and continues to present emotional resistance to their parent, refusing to do the simple tasks, respecting only themselves and even going directly against their parents’ wishes, doing things that present danger to themselves, and maybe even the entire family.

When they are teenagers, the responsible child is trusted to stay out late, to come home when expected. The parent trusts them to start to take some responsibilities in organizing and planning in the household, and they get a job. The irresponsible child continues to misbehave, perhaps joining a gang, or getting into drugs. They still refuse to contribute to the household via any basic tasks, and occasionally even try to work against the responsible child in their own actions.

When they are full-grown adults, the contrast is stark. The responsible child has developed a deep and meaningful dialogue with the parent, and has a reciprocal relationship, where they provide the parent with some of the support they once received as a child. They have learned to do things for the parent on their own initiative… not because they are told what to do, but because they’ve developed a feeling for what makes their parent happy. The irresponsible child has finally noticed that their own actions have shredded their relationship with their parent, leaving them estranged. Rather than reflecting on how they should behave in the future and trying to repair the bridges they burned, they begin to resent and even hate the responsible child for their rich, intimate, and personal relationship with the Parent, a relationship cultivated…. Over thousands of years.

Such is the relationship between Hashem, Jews… and antisemites. In the days of Noah, G-d gave all of humanity 7 commandments; Not to murder, not to steal, not to commit acts of sexual immorality, not to blaspheme His name, to believe in Him, to establish courts of law, and not to eat meat taken from a live animal (Rambam, Hilchos Malachim). By and large, the nations of the world paid little heed to these laws, and invented new forms of idolatry, undermining any relationship they had with the Master of the World. When they did keep the laws, they often did so with complaint, or with perversion and malice. For instance, the “courts of law” of the city of Sodom were used to accuse, try, and execute those who hosted guests or gave charity….

… And then there was Avraham and his family. They kept the 7 Noahide Laws with awe and respect, and cultivated a relationship with G-d. G-d gave Avraham tasks, tests to his dedication and he passed them all. In response, he was given a new mitzvah. As the Lubavitcher Rebbe says in the final Ma’amer he left us with, the term mitzvah (מצוה ־ commandment) is related to the term tzavsa (צװתא) meaning “connection”. This mitzvah - the mitzvah of milah - represented the first vote of confidence between him and his Father in Heaven, “I understand, you want to connect to me, and I know you want to do more, but let’s start with this. This isn’t a one-off, this is the first step between you and I.” As the years, decades, and centuries passed Avraham’s children deepened their relationship with Hakadosh Baruch Hu (The Holy One Blessed be He), and he took care of them intimately, as with Yitzchak during the famine. When Yaakov dedicated himself to raising a people who would all follow G-d’s word, he was even given a name which showed his relationship with G-d… a name which foreshadowed an even deeper relationship in the future - one where his hundreds of thousands of descendents receive a Torah containing a spiritual letter for each and every one of them, as it says in the Zohar Hakodesh - that Yisrael stands for “There are 600,000 letters in the Torah” (י־ש ש־ישים ר־יבוי א־ותיות ל־תורה). After the people’s teenage years - 210 years of suffering in Egypt (Who’s to say that Hashem doesn’t understand the suffering of a teenager!), they were ready to deepen their relationship again.

Hashem was ready to give them the responsibilities associated with the upkeep of the house. Hashem was ready to begin the partnership that was prepared for from the 6 days of creation, as it says “אשר ברא אלקים לעשות” “Which Hashem created ‘to do’.” It states in Bereishis Rabbah (11:6) - “Everything that was created in the 6 days of creation requires further work”. While the simple understanding of this Midrash is the idea that wheat needs to be ground to make bread, or that mustard must be sweetened before it is eaten, a much deeper explanation is brought in sifrei kabbalah and sifrei chassidus: The Mitzvos that Hashem has commanded us help to spiritually complete the creation he left uncompleted.

As we matured as a people, we came to understand what Hashem wanted of us, and enacted our own decrees, including Rabbinic Mitzvos and fences or additional obligations in addition to the scriptural ones, as it says in the Talmud (Berachos 20b):

דרש רב עוירא, זמנין אמר לה משמיה דרבי אמי וזמנין אמר לה משמיה דרבי אסי: אמרו מלאכי השרת לפני הקדוש ברוך הוא: רבונו של עולם, כתוב בתורתך ״אשר לא ישא פנים ולא יקח שחד״, והלא אתה נושא פנים לישראל, דכתיב: ״ישא ה׳ פניו אליך״?! אמר להם: וכי לא אשא פנים לישראל, שכתבתי להם בתורה ״ואכלת ושבעת וברכת את ה׳ אלהיך״, והם מדקדקים [על] עצמם עד כזית ועד כביצה.

”Rav Avira taught, sometimes in the name of Rebbi Ami, and sometimes in the name of Rebbi Asi: The ministering angels said before the Holy One, Blessed be He: Master of the Universe, in Your Torah it is written: ”who favors no one and takes no bribe” (Devarim 10:17), yet You, show favor to Israel, as it is written: “The Lord shall show favor to you…” etc (Bamidbar 6:26).

He replied to them: And how can I not show favor to Israel, as I wrote for them in the Torah: “And you shall eat and be satisfied, and bless the Lord your God” (Devarim 8:10), yet they are exacting with themselves [to recite birkas hamazon] on [bread] the size of an olive or an egg.

The irresponsible child began to truly notice his lack of relationship with his Father in Heaven when the Torah was given, and began to resent the Jewish People even then, as it says in Tractate Shabbos in the Talmud (89a);

“מאי ״הר סיני״? הר שירדה שנאה לאמות העולם עליו.

”What is the meaning of ‘Mount Sinai’? The mountain which drew hate (sina) from among the nations”.

As time went on his hate turned to anger, and anger to rage. He did not look inward to see why he wasn’t being given more responsibilities. He didn’t examine his own behavior to realize that the true cause of his resentment was the guilt of a missed opportunity - or many of them. Instead, the rage of the Irresponsible child has manifested in every generation, causing violent actions towards individual jews and genocide attempts against the entire Jewish people. With the entire history of the world as precedent, his behavior in our generation is neither unusual nor surprising.

Next time you see an antisemite spouting vicious vitriol - or if you are an antisemite and you’re feeling angry while reading this, remember that those feelings are nothing more than the invalid insecurities of a petulant child who squandered every chance to form a meaningful relationship with his Father, and instead of reflecting on his own shortcomings, he has chosen to blame his sibling for all of his problems.

The solution in my eyes is twofold: Antisemites must recognize where those feelings come from. Blaming a people that makes up 0.2% of the world’s population for 99.8% of the world’s problems is neither logical nor realistic. Learn about us. Get invited to a shabbos meal, or a passover seder. Trust me, you WILL find a jew (for better or worse) who will invite you. You’ll be well fed, and it won’t be poisoned. Don’t just take my word for it either: Educate yourself about Judaism from Jewish websites, like Chabad.org or Aish, not from Wikipedia - and certainly not from random users on Tumblr or Facebook.

Us as Jews? We must recognize the source of these things, and not be discouraged. We should stay the course. We’ve been developing our relationship with Hashem for thousands of years, and we’ve been tasked with fixing his broken world. If someone who was formerly an antisemite - or someone who is trying to change - approaches you, remember to stay safe (do your due diligence to ensure your own safety before inviting them over!), but be welcoming and warm to the best of your abilities. Ultimately… even the estranged, petulant, irresponsible child is still a child of Hashem, and regardless of your personal feelings (and mine, by the way), can be accepted in repentance, should Hashem desire it.

[wenevergotusedtoegypt]

What's the difference between ultra orthodox, chasidish and chabad?

Ultra-Orthodox = Orthodox people that the speaker views as too extreme (or otherwise used as a poor translation of the Hebrew term Haredi, but while I know people who would self-identify as Haredi, I don’t really know anyone who would self-identify as ultra-Orthodox)

Chasidish = an Orthodox Jew who affiliates with a chasidic group. Chasidism was started by a rabbi called the Baal Shem Tov. His disciples and their disciples founded subgroups known as “dynasties,” each led by a Rebbe, with the leadership most often passed from father to son or son-in-law. Often named for the location in which they were founded.

Chabad = one particular chasidish dynasty, also known as Lubavitch (it was founded in the town of Lubavitch and Chabad is an acronym for a concept from Lubavitch teachings)

[unsongquotes]

The Rebbe put his hands over his face. “Only the Holy One knows why so many people have goats in Brooklyn,” he said, “or why they all come to me. But no, I think I am done for the night. Tell them to pray to God for advice, and also that if they want to own goats they should really move somewhere more rural. Actually, dismiss everyone else for tonight, give them my apologies, but I have some work to do.”