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Shabbat in Tzfat and Finals Week

It so happens that we scheduled “Shabbat in Tzfat” for Finals Week 2019 at UAlbany. As the Baal Shem Tov taught, there must be a connection and lesson…

Let’s start with Finals Week. Most of you are taking 4 or … Read the rest

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Sola Kokosh and the Kaliver Rebbe

This week, just after Passover, around the time when many remember the Holocaust, the Kaliver Rebbe passed away in Israel at age 96. He and his first wife were both concentration camp survivors. He had a very unique image for … Read the rest

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The Multipurpose Room at UAlbany

One of the most beautiful new spaces in UAlbany’s Campus Center west wing expansion is called “The Multipurpose Room”. My daughter was intrigued by that generic name and asked, “Aren’t all the open spaces in Campus Center considered multipurpose? The … Read the rest

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A Step to Freedom, My Own Exodus

by Rabbi Shlomo Galperin

I was born in the former Soviet Union and raised there by my parents and grandparents. My family persisted in maintaining Jewish and Chabad Chassidic observance in private, despite the Communist attempt to stamp out religion … Read the rest

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A Six-Month Niggun

My father, Rabbi Yisroel Rubin, shared this memory of his youth in Montreal. 

Reb Peretz Mochkin was the Mashpiya, the Chassidic mentor of the Chabad community of Montreal. He was a beloved, wise Chassid, steeped both in the richest Chassidic … Read the rest

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A Passover Wish: Freedom from Anxiety

The Rebbe has so many beautiful and inspiring communal and individual pre-Passover letters. This short, beautiful letter shares a Passover wish of freedom from anxiety.

 … Read the rest

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3 Ways to Disown Chametz before Passover

Spoiler alert: We do all three.

Chametz (which includes all leavened products ranging from bread, cake and cookies to vodka, whiskey and beer) is a peculiar Torah prohibition. On one hand it is more lenient, being a limited restriction which … Read the rest

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A Tale of Two Verses of Beresheet’s Lunar Crash

Like many other Jews, Israelis, and space enthusiasts all around the world, we have been enthusiastically following the journey of #Beresheet, Israel’s SpaceIL lunar lander’s space journey with excitement and anticipation. Our kids school has been learning along with it, … Read the rest

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3 Torahs and Auto Eco-Mode

This weekend, thanks to a confluence of calendar factors we take 3 Torahs out of the Ark and read from all three. (1) the regular weekly Torah portion, this week “Tazria” (2) it happens to be Rosh Chodesh, the first … Read the rest

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Afikoman Matzah and Zecharia Baumel’s Tzitzit

The big thing this Shabbat is the Desserts. We have six desserts in this year’s Bakeoff to taste, enjoy and vote for your favorite. 

It’s two weeks to Passover. So here’s a dessert question about Passover. Why is Afikoman Matzah called … Read the rest

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