Perhaps the most popular tractate of the Talmud among our people is the Mishnah Avot. What is unique to this particular book of the Talmud is that, unlike the other tractates, this one is a book of ethics not law. more

As the Republican and Democratic conventions draw near, the news media expends more of its time on election-related coverage. The focus is either on gaffes made by Vice President Biden, the fiscal policies and the fitness regimen of Mitt Romney’s choice for VP, Representative Paul Ryan, and the campaign battles between the two presidential candidates. more

A not-too-farfetched reading of the end of Chapter 45 can indicate that only one person intended to go down to Egypt to stay there. “… And bread and food for his father for the journey” (45:23). “He saw the wagons Yosef had sent to carry him…” (45:27) “Israel said, ‘My son Yosef still lives: I will go and I will see him before I die.’” (45:28) more

The bombings at this past Sunday’s Boston Marathon sent repercussions through the Jewish community, bringing up memories of terrorist attacks in Israel and New York, wreaking horror and devastation in what were once peaceful places and times. more

He’s low-key, reassuring and rabbinic, speaks easily to his charges and could easily be one of them, as he brings North American Jews closer to geulah [redemption]. In ten years, through Nefesh B’Nefesh, Rabbi Yehoshua Fass, along with Tony Gelbart, has succeeded in moving 35,000 Jews along the path to accomplish their dream of living in Israel. more

This week, as Jews across the world celebrate Chanukah, they also remember the victory of the Maccabees against the brutal rule of Antiochus IV, designated “Harasha” (“the wicked”) by rabbinic tradition. Antiochus’s main aim was to Hellenize the Jews in the ancient land of Israel by forcing them to adopt Greek customs in place of Jewish ones. more

For the 21st year, a mid-afternoon concert and political rally in Central Park overlapped with the day-long Celebrate Israel Parade on Sunday. Musicians and dignitaries rubbed shoulders at Summerstage as crowds poured past security to enter the Rumsey Playfield near the park’s 72nd Street entrance. more

“We are in America but our hearts are in Israel,” read the graffiti art on the paddle ball courts at Camp Lavi. This art exemplifies what all Jews in America felt this summer, and that is not forgotten by the nearly 800 campers and staff at Camp Lavi. more

The numbers are staggering: 4,202 shluchim (emissary) couples working around the world; 94,650 students interacting with Chabad-Lubavitch on campus annually; 37 million unique visitors per year … more

Near the end of my portrait session, Dr. Ranan Wolff puzzled: “But you never asked me to smile!” True. I never do. My approach is to get meaningful expression that only comes from … more