In honor of Shabbos Shira, thought it would be nice to take a closer look at one of the Shabbos songs that many of our Shabbos Lunch’ers know.

The words or lyrics to Dror Yikra go back 1000+ years, just … Read the rest

Thanksgiving 2008. That Thanksgiving we were glued to the computer for days, watching online the grueling days of the unfolding saga of the terror attacks in Mumbai India, which culminated in a vicious attack on the Chabad House, known as … Read the rest

This Winter 5778 (2017-2018) we were home hosting Cozy Shabbat only 2 of the 5 weekends. On the first weekend of break we were away in Michigan for a family Bar-Mitzvah road trip, another weekend we spent visiting alumni on … Read the rest

With all the cold raging outside, we thought it appropriate to share a collection of stories and inspiration about “internal” warmth.

First a few links from past “mendels messages” posts:

1) Surrounded by Barrels – this short Russian story is … Read the rest

New Years 2018 was our first opportunity to drive a hybrid car, a Ford Fusion Hybrid to be exact. As the Baal Shem Tov taught, and as we are wont to do, here are two life-lessons we learned from our … Read the rest

We did a whole Torah-Tuesday class on this, all based on this saying from Zeide Moshe Rubin:

He used to say: Tea and Tehillim are always good, but they have to be hot!

Let me explain. In the old-times, no … Read the rest

One day this Chanukah 2017 I shared two Chanukah stories with my 7th graders at the Maimonides School in Albany. They asked, “Hey, both these stories are about Chanukah in the forest, deep in the woods. How come?” I started … Read the rest

In the spirit of our “Final-ly Chanukah” theme for Chanukah – Finals Week at UAlbany in 2017, we lit a large “Test-Menorah” made up of 4 types of Chanukah Tests. While they may be harder to read on the circular … Read the rest

Our theme for Chanukah 2017/5778 is “Final-ly Chanukah!” given that this year it falls over Finals Week at UAlbany. We’re doing a “Test-Menorah” decked out in Multiple-Choice, True and False, Essay Questions…  and a student asked that each day have … Read the rest

Being that Chanukah 2017 falls over Finals Week at UAlbany, we’re going with a “Final-ly Chanukah” theme. This year we’re lighting a Test-Menorah on the Podium, with the branches of the Menorah decorated as different types of test … Read the rest