50 years ago, On October 6, 1973, Egypt and Syria launched a coordinated surprise attack against Israel on Yom Kippur, a.k.a the holiest day on the Jewish calendar.  In the Golan Heights, about 180 Israeli tanks went against 1,400 from Syria. Along the Suez Canal, fewer than 500 Israeli defenders with only three tanks were […]

“I grew up thinking that if you don’t do Rosh Hashana right, then terrible things are going to happen,” Jamie commented during a discussion of the High Holidays. By the nods around the room, it was clear that he wasn’t the only one who grew up with the Jewish guilt strong around this time of […]

You may be aware that religious Jews do not work on Shabbat. You may also be aware that religious Jews do not do a whole slew of things on Shabbat, such as igniting a fire or even turning on lights. You are certainly aware that turning on the lights isn’t a whole lot of work. […]

Dear JITC, I know you’re not meant to “shop around” in matters of getting a psak (a ruling in a matter of Jewish law). But can you ever seek a second opinion and, if so, how? Best, Josh — Dear Josh, Thanks for your question. It dovetails very nicely with another topic that we discussed […]

I honestly can’t remember a time that I cried as much as I cried today. Monday night, a young man, Elan Ganeles z”l, 27 years old, was driving to his best friend’s wedding. He was shot in his car by a terrorist. This tragedy came after two sets of brothers were killed in two seperate […]

Thirty-six years ago, one fateful Sunday morning, my wife Rochel Leah suddenly passed away. I was 38 years old, and she was 36. We had 11 children together. I’m a Chabad rabbi; I always had faith in God. But I couldn’t comprehend this. Why would God take away a mother, a pillar of our community, […]