The end of this week (Ki Sisa)’s Torah portion describes the radiance emanating from Moshe after his return from Mt Sinai on Yom Kippur, after successfully advocating in defense of the Jewish people after the Golden Calf. This beams of light … Read the rest

THE EXPENSIVE ORANGES

It was the night after Purim. A beautiful, memorable and exhausting Purim, but Shabbat was the next night and we had to shop and stock up again. Plus a snowstorm was forecasted for Friday, so we wanted … Read the rest

Here’s the story behind our family costume at UAlbany Purim 2018:

The theme is “Jewish Frame of Mind” and its supposed to mimic those overlays, adornments, ribbons or filters people use to frame their social media profile pictures (for a … Read the rest

This began as a series or thread of tweets, so we may add some more ideas as we celebrate Purim – and eat more Hamantaschen…

#Hamantaschen may just be a #Purim cookie treat, but perhaps a #Hamantasch has more in … Read the rest

One of the big stories of Superbowl LII is the contrast of the two quarterbacks in the biggest game of 2018: Tom Brady for the Patriots and Nick Foles for the Eagles.

Tom Brady is one of the best QB’s … Read the rest

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