Sunday night, as I lit the first candle of the Menorah, I thought about my personal journey of performing this incredible commandment with pride and joy. My story begins in 1982 in Odessa, Ukraine, which at the time was controlled by the Soviet Union. I was raised in a traditional Soviet family at a time […]

Orthodox Jewish brothers Levi Chayo and Yossi Chayo couldn’t find well-priced and well-made custom black fedora hats, despite the fact that they have worn them since they turned thirteen. While the fedora is a part of the lavush, or uniform that Hasidic Jews wear, it is also a style that has caught on as a […]

The Jewish holiday of Sukkot is called z’man simchaseinu, (the time of our happiness), and as millions of Jews around the world have been rejoicing this week with festive meals, prayers, concerts, and family outings, some antisemites tried to dampen the mood. On Wednesday night, a modern Orthodox shul in LA was left shocked when […]

Rabbi Avraham Bekhor of Chabad of Randolph, NJ inspired his congregation to do more mitzvos, but his speech to them about it a few months ago made only a part of the impact. It took him almost dying a few hours after giving the speech for them to take it to heart. Struck by a […]

The most common question I get at our weekly community Shabbos meals is, “You must have spent all week cooking for this!” I always explain that in fact, I only cook on Friday mornings because I don’t like to spend my entire week cooking. To make this possible, I’ve adopted various tricks and methods over […]

After the tragic collapse in Surfside, Florida of the Champlain Towers South condominium building, the community’s strong Orthodox Jewish contingent has been working nonstop to maintain traditional Jewish burial customs for the many Jewish victims. From through the period between death and burial known as aninut, the tahara, the ritual cleansing of the bodies, to […]