There’s a common expression: “Whatever floats your boat.”

I thought of it this week because we read in the Torah the story of Noah’s Ark. Everyone knows the story of Noah’s Ark, it’s one of those very well-known Bible stories.… Read the rest

There’s a Chassidic teaching from the Baal Shem Tov (see it here on Chabad.org) that on the morning after Simchat Torah the angel Michoel and his helpers clean up the synagogue and they collect torn parts of shoes … Read the rest

I’ve since expanded on this inspiration from Reb Levik’s Niggun in an article on Chabad.org. See it here. 

Below is the original post on ShabbosHouse.org:

This year marks 70 years since the passing of the Rebbe’s father, Reb Levi Yitzchak … Read the rest

There’s an old question about classic Jewish holiday study, especially in Chassidic texts. When it comes to Passover, we learn how fundamental of a holiday it is, and without which there would be no other Jewish holidays. Then comes Shavuot, … Read the rest

This year marks 40 years since the Lubavitcher Rebbe launched his Shabbos Candle-Lighting campaign in 1974. It’s also 40 years since my parents, Rabbi Yisroel and Rochel Rubin, moved to Albany NY on Sukkot of that year (Hoshana Rabba to … Read the rest

It was just a few of us in the Sukkah at the end of Shabbos of Sukkot, when Raizy’s father shared with us memories of his family’s Sukkah in Tashkent, then Russia:

by Rabbi Shlomo Galperin

My father served in … Read the rest

I’ll be honest. Kohelet (known as Ecclesiastes) isn’t my favorite book in the Bible. It’s kind of a dismissive, almost depressing work, sobering and reflective but it is just not uplifting. Its for this reason that many communities read it … Read the rest

Makers Space is the new rage in schools and organizations the world over. It’s a creative hands-on lab with 3-D printing and other tools to transition ideas and concepts into real world tangibles.

Two UAlbany students recently founded the Future … Read the rest

It’s kind of ironic to be celebrating UAlbany’s Homecoming weekend out here in the Sukkah…

On second thought, it’s quite meaningful. Sukkot is a homecoming of sorts. It helps us refocus and reorient our priorities, to rethink what home is … Read the rest

There was a little mixup this year with the Challah order we made from the New Mount Pleasant Bakery in Schenectady (which we get in additon to the Challah baked here at Shabbos House). They make  very large and rich … Read the rest