Three is a special number in Judaism. There is a Hebrew and Talmudic word called “Chazakah.” The definition of the word is, “the status of permanence that is established when an event repeats itself three times.” This year will be our third time holding High Holiday services right here in Vail and South East Tucson. It is a...
We all have things in life we can never get enough of: a classic novel, a scenic pleasure ride, a favorite delicacy. Well here’s a story I’ve heard many times since my childhood that I appreciate anew every time I hear it. Rabbi Yosef Wineberg was a globetrotter who raised funds for several Chabad educational institutions and nurtured...
The Rabbi’s Corner Jewish holidays are generally the same every year. We eat the same foods and observe religious traditions, retell the same stories, and contemplate their messages. But the theme of the Sukkot festival (that we just finished celebrating) changed drastically once every seven years in biblical times and has special lessons...
This fall, Chabad of Vail, AZ will offer a six-week course produced by the acclaimed Rohr Jewish Learning Institute (JLI) that unpacks Judaism’s understanding of G-d while providing fresh, profound answers to common questions about G-d. How did G-d come to be? Is G-d a He, a She, or a They? Does G-d have feelings? If G-d has foreknowledge of all...
Divine Providence is probably one of the most misunderstood concepts in Jewish thinking. Properly appreciating this principle is so important that it must become a point of focus in every Jew’s life. The more one is attuned to it, the easier one’s life can be; the less one understands it, the more random, the more complicated, and the more...
By Rabbi Yisroel Shemtov This year, on April 12, marks the120th birthday of Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, of righteous memory (1902-1994), the seventh leader in the Chabad-Lubavitch dynasty. He is considered to have been the most phenomenal Jewish personality of modern times. To hundreds of thousands of followers and...
By Rabbi Shemtov It all began in Ancient Persia in the fourth century BCE. The Holy Temple that had stood in Jerusalem was destroyed more than 50 years earlier, and the Jews were subjects of the mighty Persian empire that extended over 127 lands. Three years after King Ahasuerus ascended the Persian throne, he celebrated by throwing a grand 180...
By Rabbi Shemtov A fellow who faced a serious crisis visited the Lubavitcher Rebbe (1902 – 1994) the leader of the Chabad movement for his counsel and blessing. “Do you know what Emunah is?” the Rebbe asked. “Yes,” said the man, “faith in G-d.” “Do you know the difference between Emunah – faith, and Bitachon – trust?” “No,” replied the man...
By Rabbi Yisroel Shemtov More than 2,000 years ago, the land of Israel was under the rule of the Syrian-Greek Empire. Unlike other nations who rose up against the Jews to harm the Jewish people physically, the Greeks wanted to influence the Jews to leave their Torah and traditions, and start living the “Greek” way of life, and worshipping idols...
By Rabbi Shemtov The Jewish new year also known as High Holidays or Rosh Hashanah falls out this year on the evening of September 6 through September 8.*Rosh Hashanah, which is the name of the holiday, has two meanings. 1) The “Beginning of the Year” and 2) the “Head of the Year” – the literal translation of the word. What occurred on “Rosh...
