Rabbi Levin's Blog

  Chabad was not always admired as it is today.  As a matter of fact, when the movement began to spread at the end of the eighteenth century, many attempts were made to stifle it.  In addition to Halachic and spiritual disputes, there were also many attempts made to  eliminate the Chabad leader.   An accusation of treason towards the Czar of Russia’s government was leveled against the Alter Rebbe, Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, the holy founder of Chabad.   He was arrested and taken to prison in a wagon reserved for capital criminals.  The suffering endured by the greatest and holiest Jewish leader in one of the worst prisons on earth, is unimaginable.    Rabbi Schneur Zalman answered all the questions posed to him by the interrogators.  The questions were not just about Chabad but Rabbi Schneur Zalman was also forced to defend Chassidism in general. His fellow Jews, sadly, claimed that he was starting a new religion.   It quic...

  I’m in the mood for some Kabbalah.  Don’t worry, I’ll make it relatable.  (This is inspired by the JLI Kabbalah course I am teaching now on Wednesdays, and the Sunday night Chassidus class on Zoom.) The Torah is not a story book.  This is a fundamental principle that our Sages taught.  The purpose of Torah is to teach, which is the literal translation of the word.  So what’s all this stuff about our father Yaakov raising sheep?  It would seem to suffice if the Torah had told us that while living at Lavan’s house, Yaakov tended the sheep.  Perhaps another couple of verses about how Lavan tried to cheat him and he nevertheless prospered.   But the Torah goes into great length discussing the deal that Yaakov made with Lavan, and the lengths that Yaakov had to go to protect himself.  It was the first recorded case of genetic engineering.  Yaakov was supposed to receive all the spotted, striped and multicolored sheep as payment fo...

  I was in New York for almost a week, for the annual Chabad emissary convention.  The energy was amazing.  The power of unity was palpable, as Rabbis from around the world shared the incredible outpouring of support for Israel that we are experiencing among the entire spectrum of our people.  (Over 1,000 Rabbis joined via live telecast from Israel, because they did not want to leave their posts.)   Together we mourned our brothers and sisters who were so brutally murdered, injured and captured by our enemies.  Together we prayed and resolved to encourage each other and Jews around the world to stand strong and proud, to defy all our enemies and continue to build Judaism and Jewish life.  Together we honored our heroic soldiers who are literally giving their lives to protect our people, and together we committed to support our people in Israel and around the world with all the power that the Rebbe vested in us, as Chabad does.   We heard movi...

  “Avraham’s camels.”  It seems that they were famous!  Where would you get that idea from, you ask?  Well there are two words in this week’s Parsha that seem redundant, and as our Sages teach us, every peculiarity in the Torah is written to teach us a lesson.   The tale of Eliezer finding a wife for Yitzchak is told in wonderful detail in the Parsha.  He traveled to Avraham’s birthplace to find a righteous woman for the holy Yitzchak.  So Eliezer sets out on his journey with ten camels laden with gifts.  The verse states (Bereshit 24:10):  “The servant took ten camels of his master's camels , and he went, and all the best of his master was in his hand; and he arose, and he went to Aram Naharaim, to the city of Nahor.”   Rashi comments on the words “migemalei adonav” – his master’s camels.  As Avraham’s servant, clearly the camels he would use would be Avraham’s, so why mention their ownership?   Rashi quotes the Midrash:...

Lot had it made.  He had reached the pinnacle of society.  Not only had he settled comfortably in the affluent Sedom, as a relative newcomer he was quite successful to have been appointed a judge!  Two of his daughters had married local men, and the other two were engaged.  It was a good, comfortable life.    Lot had had to make a decision a while back.  His great, wealthy and famous uncle Avraham had brought him along on his journey from Charan to Canaan, but after a while there had been a clash of values.  Lot’s shepherds allowed their sheep to graze on other people’s lands, while Avraham’s shepherds would never allow it.  They had to split.  Avraham promised to stay nearby wherever Lot moved to, in order to protect him but they could not live together.  Where should Lot move to?  He looked around and found the beautiful pastures of Sedom and Amora.    If you visit that area now it is impossible to imagine that it w...

Avraham and Sarah were the father and mother of the Jewish people. They made great sacrifices and bucked all the trends.  In a generation overcome by idol worship they, alone, believed in one G-d and publicized that belief at great danger.  Avraham was thrown into a fiery furnace by Nimrod and, with Hashem’s help, miraculously survived.  They had many challenges and tests of faith, but they endured, and gradually created a huge following of hundreds of thousands of believers. Hashem rewarded them greatly, as we read in this week’s Parsha.  One reward was the “Covenant Between the Parts,” in which Hashem promises the land of Canaan (what would later be known as Israel) to Avraham’s descendants.  Later, when a barren Sarah convinced Avraham to marry her maidservant Hagar, Yishmael was born and Hashem told Avraham to circumcise himself and his household as a sign of the covenant they entered into.  The word “bris” - covenant - appears 13 times in this Parsha, ...

“Noach was a complete Tzaddik (righteous man) in his generation,” says the opening verse of this week’s Torah portion.  Note the words “in his generation,” which begs the question, why qualify it?  Was he actually a Tzaddik or were the people of his times just that bad?     Our Sages discussed this question in the Talmud, and gave two distinct answers.  One opinion says that the Torah is extolling Noach’s greatness.  Even in his generation, when the entire world was corrupt, as the Torah states “Vatimalle Ha’aretz Chamas” – the world was filled with robbery and mayhem, Noach remained a Tzaddik.  Imagine if he were living in a great generation, how much greater would he be! The second opinion takes a different approach.  In his generation, compared to the corrupt people in the world, he was a Tzaddik.  If he had lived alongside Avraham, however, he would not have been considered righteous. Why?  Why disparage Noach?  There ...