Apple made big waves this week when they announced that they will be removing the ubiquitous and universal headphone jack from their newest iphones and replacing it with their proprietary “Lightning” port.

Without getting into the pros and cons of such an audacious … Read the rest

by Rabbi Yossi Paltiel of InsideChassidus.org

Elul, the month leading up to the High Holidays, is a time of heightened spiritual awareness and introspection. There was once a group of Rabbis (non-Chassidic) who wished to capitalize on this heightened sense … Read the rest

So many of you know this classic picture book for young children by Bill Martin and Eric Carle. It’s one of those board books that nearly everyone has read, and some have dog-eared worn copies.

When the Brown Bear is … Read the rest

This first weekend in September 2016 we’re celebrating the recent wedding of Mendel’s youngest brother Motti and his new wife Chana’le (nee Paltiel) at Shabbos House. In honor of this occasion many family members and guests have come to … Read the rest

“And now People of Israel, what does G-d ask of you – only to fear Him!”

This is a verse in Parshat Eikev. Moshe is speaking to the Jewish people, telling them that G-d isn’t asking much, all G-d asks … Read the rest

Usually, we begin the new semester and academic calendar in the Hebrew month of Elul or very close to Rosh Hashanah. The Jewish New Year and preparations leading up to it and all the associated themes (including King in the … Read the rest

This first Friday in August 2016 we were on the phone with customer service at a utility provider, one of those long calls that were actually helpful. Towards the end of the call, the knowledgeable and thorough company representative at … Read the rest

Recently we had our car in the shop for a bunch of necessary fixings. Funny thing was, after we took it home we noticed a rumbling noise that we didn’t hear as much before. Noises can be difficult to describe, … Read the rest

“Lift your eyes upward/heavenward” (Isaiah 40:26)

We translated this from the 5703 talks of the Previous Lubavitcher Rebbe (1880-1950) as part of a Torah-Tuesday class we did on the Chassidic background to Emeril’s famous “Kick It Up a Notch!” 

I … Read the rest

This Shabbos as we commemorate the Rebbe’s 22nd Gimmel Tammuz Yartzeit, we happened to have a guest who got stranded here in the Albany airport and spent Shabbos with us, who is now in the midst of studying the first … Read the rest