When a bus of boys coming to farbreng got stuck in the mud, it took two vehicles and coordination to get it out. At the ensuing farbrengen, we derived two important lessons. Article by Rabbi Sholom Mordechai Rubashkin.
The Rebbe’s Library Might Have a Photo of Your Grandfather
One especially unique collection in the Rebbe’s library is an archive of over 50,000 photos. It contains photos of chassidim, their families, and Chabad activities from across the globe.
‘This Man Must Have a Blocked Head!’
Living in the shadow of one of the greatest chassidim of all time, R. Sholom R. Hillel’s was himself an impressive chossid and oved. But one comment from a villager did more for his avodas Hashem than the Chassidus that he learned from his great mashpia.
What’s Wrong with the Frog?
You can just imagine this wretched rasha stroking his goatee, clearing his throat, and giving rational, reasonable life advice to the massed Jewish soldiers. “If you ask me,” he told them, “you should drop this whole thing.” An article by Rabbi Sholom Mordechai Rubashkin.
The Mission to Russia to Rescue the Hostage Seforim
Special Episode: Rabbi Berel Levine retells the entire sequence of events of the Chabad battle with Russia for the seforim of our Rebbeim, beginning with the secretive mission to the USSR in the 1980s.
This Is the Kind of Wall That Needs Breaking
Article by Rabbi Mordechai Lipskier: During the Three Weeks, we revisit and repair any breach that may threaten the integrity of our Yiddishkeit. But there’s another kind of wall that we should be breaking during this time.
In His Sleep, He Asked the Alter Rebbe “What is a Neshama?”
One night, the Alter Rebbe came with a candle to see how the chassidim slept. R. Moshe Vilenker woke up bewildered and asked the Alter Rebbe, “What is a neshama? What is Elokus?” The Alter Rebbe told him to go back to sleep, but later said a maamar on the topic.
The Rebbe Told Me Not to Use Self-Help Books
Rabbi Sholom Ber Lipskar, director of the Aleph Institute, shares a fascinating unpublished response that he received from the Rebbe advising him to turn to “true Torah leaders” with questions on education and the like and not “outside books.”
The Chofetz Chaim’s Manuscripts and the Baal Shem Tov’s Siddur
Alongside its collections of over 250,000 printed books, the Rebbe’s library is also home to several thousand manuscripts, including parts of the original draft of Mishna Berurah and the priceless personal Siddur of the Baal Shem Tov.
How We Can Find Space for Other People in Our Life
Article by Rabbi Mordechai Lipskier: When we stand firm, no matter how much space we have, we’ll always feel hampered, threatened, and inhibited by others. But when we “prostrate” ourselves to a higher purpose, we’ll have plenty of room for the other people in our life.
Locked in a Hotel Room, He Learned the Maamar 400 Times
A successful diamond merchant, R. Monyeh Moneszhon was told by the Rebbe Maharash to learn one maamar four hundred times straight. He locked himself in a hotel room and did that, and he came out a changed man.
Pamphlets, Placards and Pashkevillin
One of the more recent collections uploaded to the website of the Rebbe’s library is a selection of over 1,000 leaflets, fliers, and pamphlets, spanning the years 1650 to 1960.
Do You Ask the Rebbe Your Real-Life Questions?
Article by Rabbi Mordechai Lipskier: The Rebbe is known to many as an address to turn to when we need help in life, be it in business, health, shidduchim. Let’s remember that the Rebbe’s field of expertise is Yiddishkeit and chinuch.
The Chossid Who Was Told Not to Learn His Shiurim After Davening
R. Yehoshua Lein of Nevel, who served as a rosh yeshiva, rov and schochet, was given a seder in learning by the Rebbe Rashab. When asked when to learn them, the Rebbe advised him to delay it until later in the day, so he would carry around that obligation.
What We Can Do About Too Much Screen Time
Article by Rabbi Mordechai Lipskier: Children nudge to have just a few more minutes of screen time. A few minutes may be harmless but are we slowly building “walls” of habit? It’s our job to give pause and scout the land.
Over Dangerous Mountains, He Risked His Life for Chinuch
An orphan from a young age, R. Avrohom Levik Slavin came to Lubavitch at age 14, and was placed in the senior Zal. Sent by the Rebbe Rashab to Georgia, he traveled through mountainous regions educating the locals, and he refused to leave his post even at fear of arrest.
Here’s How You Can Access the Seforim Still in Russia
Who doesn’t know about the ongoing battle between Chabad and Russia over the seforim of the Rebbeim? But did you know that even as the seforim remain captive in Moscow, you can still browse them?
He Walked Into the KGB Office and Asked for a Picture of the Rebbe
A respected tomim and chozer, R. Avraham Baruch Pevzner was sent by the Frierdiker Rebbe to serve as a rov and mashpia in Minsk. When the KGB confiscated the Rebbe’s picture during a search of his home, he went after them to get it back.
How the Rebbe’s Library Responded to the Spread of the Internet
About two decades ago, with the spread of the internet, libraries across the world, started seeing a drastic decrease in the number of visitors. In response, the Rebbe’s library launched an ambitious project.
This Chossid Literally Emptied His Pockets
A chossid of the Rebbe Maharash, Rebbe Rashab, and Frierdiker Rebbe, R. Yehoshua Eliyahu Volosov was a generous baal tzedakah beyond his means who was moser nefesh to keep the Kharkov shul and mikvah open under Communism.