Rabbi Levin's Blog

  Today is a very emotional day for me.  It is Rosh Chodesh Kislev, the beginning of the month of Kislev, and it brings back memories from the year 1977.  I was studying in Brooklyn at the time, at the Rebbe’s Yeshiva in 770 Eastern Parkway.  At the Hakafot (dancing and celebrating) on Shemini Atzeret, the culmination of the holiday of Sukkot when we dance with the Torah, I witnessed the Rebbe suffering a serious heart attack.   The Synagogue was packed with thousands of people squeezed together enjoying one of the most joyous and ecstatic days of the year.  It is impossible to describe the electricity in the Rebbe’s presence at Simchat Torah celebrations, and it is safe to paraphrase the Talmud relating to the Sukkot celebrations in the Temple, “whoever did not see this joy has not seen joy in their lives.” It was so packed that it was impossible to move around.  A mass of people stood on the floor in the center, and on bleachers built from table...

This week’s Parsha begins with a surprising verse: “Sarah lived for 100 years and 20 years and 7 years, the years of the life of Sarah.” Rashi comments that, “the years of the life of Sarah,” teaches us that all her years were equal in goodness. Does that mean that she was the same all her life?  Did she not grow in goodness and holiness? Most of her life she was called Sarai, “my minister.”  When she was 89 Hashem changed her name to Sarah, “minister” - meaning minister to others, not just her family. Clearly Sarah experienced personal growth.  How can we say that all her years were equal? We all change over time. We hope that as we mature we have more knowledge, more experience, and more power to make a difference. Certainly we can accomplish much more as adults than we ever could as children. But each day we have an opportunity to be our best. Equal in goodness does not mean equal in outcome. It means that each day, whatever level we may be on, we live up to our full p...

  Every journey has a purpose.   Sometimes it’s business. Sometimes it’s vacation. It could be a family event, or, G-d forbid, fleeing disaster as a refugee.  How monumental is each journey, and what impact does it have on the world?  Usually, none.     But this week we read about one of the greatest and most impactful journeys in the history of the world.  Hashem tells Avraham (Bereshit 12:1,2) "Go forth from your land and from your birthplace and from your father's house, to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you, and I will aggrandize your name, and [you shall] be a blessing.”   Let me tell you a bit of the backstory of Avraham’s journey. Contrary to popular belief, Genesis is not just a collection of children’s fables and dysfunctional family tales that we grow out of as adults.   These stories are given to teach us - in fact the meaning of the word, Torah, is “teaching” – ...