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The Kiddush Cup Dumpster Dive

Well, we didn’t exactly dumpster dive, but here’s the story.

We hosted an alumni Bris here and in the hasty cleanup two Kiddush cups got lost. One was a nice cup, but the other had sentimental value as it was … Read the rest

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The Best Torah Teachings…

One night recently, we happened to be  sitting & schmoozing with some visiting Chassidic Chevra, active businesspeople, from Satmar, Viznitz, Kloizenberg, etc.

One says to me as he was leaving: “Lubavitcher Torah (teaching) is the best Torah”.

I replied: “There’s … Read the rest

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Know Thy Friends

For “Shabbat360” of 2023/5783 our theme and logo this year was a meaningful twist on the Life360 app which shares location and other phone info with selected friends and family for safety and comfort purposes. Their slogan is Find Friends … Read the rest

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Some Chanukah Tweets

Looking back at our Chanukah tweeting over the years is a little telling, as we’ve been much more focused on “sharing the lights” than on meaningful messages as we’ve done for tweets for many of the other holidays. But Chanukah Read the rest

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Chassidus as Coals and Pearls

Here’s a thread below explaining the ideas behind this banner our school kids painted some years ago for #19Kislev, aka #YudTesKislev, the Rosh Hashanah of Chassidus.

These ideas are based on a talk of the #FriedikerRebbe R’ Yosef Yitzchak on … Read the rest

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Kantoni’s Upswing Trope

The usual translation for קטנתי “Katonti” in Vayishlach is “I’ve been diminished” or “I have become small” but the Torah trope melody (a dynamic upswing) suggests otherwise!

The seeming absurdity of singing “Katonti” to such a dynamic upswing tone is … Read the rest

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And Jacob was alone – not good to be alone.

On a Friday afternoon I attended a funeral at the Fuller Road cemetery just down the street of someone I didn’t know. An alumni friend (whom we know) called and said it was his old UAlbany college roommate (early 1980’s) … Read the rest

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The “Vshavti B’Shalom” Maamar

In 1977 the Rebbe shared a very long Maamar (a Chassidic discourse) titled “V’Shavti B’Shalom” based on the words of Jacob’s pledge/promise after his dream of the ladder in Parsha Vayeitzei. This was said not long after he suffered a … Read the rest

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Jacob’s Ladder & Two Road-Trip Stops

For Thanksgiving 2022 our family went on a road-trip to see 4 of Raizy’s siblings and their families in the Midwest. We drove through Canada, spent a night in Detroit, most of the weekend in Chicago and a morning stop … Read the rest

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Elon Musk’s “Hardcore” Letter to Twitter Employees and Closing Paragraph of Rambam’s Book of Acquisitions

It so happens that the daily study-cycle of #1ChapterRambam completed the Book of Acquisitions, unit on Servants/Slavery, on the very same day that Elon Musk is said to have sent the demanding “hardcore” letter to remaining not-yet-fired employees at Twitter … Read the rest

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