| By Shais Taub | 0 Comments
Why is tzedaka considered the quintessential mitzvah? In what way does tzedaka accomplish more than any other mitzvah?
Third in a series of classes on the mitzvah campaigns ("Mivtzaim") of the Rebbe and part of the "Every Home a Sanctuary" initiative at Chabad of the Five Towns. Dedicated in memory of Dina Leah Rosenzweig OB"M.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
| By Shais Taub | 0 Comments
In 1974 the Rebbe launched the campaign known as Bais Malei Sefarim, literally "a home full of books." What is the importance of furnishing one's home with an abundance of holy books?
Fourth in a series of classes on the mitzvah campaigns ("Mivtzaim") of the Rebbe and part of the "Every Home a Sanctuary" initiative at Chabad of the Five Towns. Dedicated in memory of Dina Leah Rosenzweig OB"M.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
| By Shais Taub | 0 Comments
The mitzvah of Taharas HaMishpacha (literally "family purity") is the core of Jewish life. It governs the intimate life of Jewish spouses and preserves the sanctity of that relationship.
Fifth in a series of classes on the mitzvah campaigns ("Mivtzaim") of the Rebbe and part of the "Every Home a Sanctuary" initiative at Chabad of the Five Towns. Dedicated in memory of Dina Leah Rosenzweig OB"M.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
| By Shais Taub | 0 Comments
It is a positive commandment to write one's own Torah scroll. How is this mitzvah fulfilled through participating in a communal Sefer Torah?
What is the fascinating story behind the Jewish Children's Sefer Torah which was written in 1981?
Sixth in a series of classes on the mitzvah campaigns ("Mivtzaim") of the Rebbe and part of the "Every Home a Sanctuary" initiative at Chabad of the Five Towns. Dedicated in memory of Dina Leah Rosenzweig OB"M.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
| By Shais Taub | 0 Comments
The great and overarching principle of the Torah is "Love your fellow as yourself." This is also the tenth of the Rebbe's ten Mitzvah Campaigns. What is the meaning of "ahavas Yisrael" practically and conceptually?
Seventh in a series of classes on the mitzvah campaigns ("Mivtzaim") of the Rebbe and part of the "Every Home a Sanctuary" initiative at Chabad of the Five Towns. Dedicated in memory of Dina Leah Rosenzweig OB"M.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
| By Shais Taub | 0 Comments
The campaign for Torah study began with the Rebbe's call to "conquer the world through the study of Torah." What is so transformative about Torah study? How do we make Torah part of our lives?
Eighth in a series of classes on the mitzvah campaigns ("Mivtzaim") of the Rebbe and part of the "Every Home a Sanctuary" initiative at Chabad of the Five Towns. Dedicated in memory of Dina Leah Rosenzweig OB"M.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
| By Shais Taub | 0 Comments
What is chasidus and what was its chief innovation? We look at four possible answers: 1) Chasidus saved the world from spiritual crisis; 2) Chasidus is an ethical system for going beyond the letter of the law; 3) Chasidus is a system for transforming one's character traits; 4) Chasidus is a language for communicating kabbalistic ideas in relatable terms.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
| By Shais Taub | 0 Comments
The four proposed definitions of chasidus (ch. 1) are all just particular manifestations of the essence of chasidus, but they do not capture the essence of chasidus which is infinite.
Similarly, all good and truth that may be found in any manmade system may be found in Torah, but this is not the essence of Torah.
On the Essence of Chasidus (Chs. 2-3)
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
| By Shais Taub | 0 Comments
To better understand the essence of Chasidus, we need to first understand the essence of Moshiach. The end of exile, the proliferation of G-dly knowledge, the change in the natural order, and even the revelation of eternality within time are all but manifestations of the essential point of Moshiach. The essence of Moshiach is that the "yechida" of all the worlds will be revealed.
(Chs. 4-5)
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
| By Shais Taub | 0 Comments
The various innovations brought about by chasidus are but outer manifestations of its true essence, the concept of yechida. We use oil as a metaphor to describe the paradoxical nature of yechida and every essence—while it remains distinct from all parts it is simultaneously found in all parts.
(Chs. 6-7)
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
| By Shais Taub | 0 Comments
Chasidus not only helps to explain ideas on the levels of pshat, remez, drush, and sod; it brings out a completely new vitality in all of these levels.
(Ch. 8)
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
| By Shais Taub | 0 Comments
The number of subjects dealt with in Torah is infinite. We will focus on the Modeh Ani prayer because of its foundational nature and use it as our example of how the four levels of Torah interpretation differ from one another as well as how chasidus illuminates all of them.
(Chs. 9-10)
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Recent Comments