The Rebbe's Letters

Many soldiers wrote to the Rebbe explaining that they felt unable to keep Torah and Mitzvos while in the military. The Rebbe soundly rejects this notion, and reminds the soldiers that their safety is only enhanced by increasing in their observance while at war.

In a letter from 1974, shortly after the Yom Kippur War broke out, the Rebbe explains that all of the blessing due to soldiers who engage in an obligatory "Mitzvah" war apply to modern Israeli soldiers, too. The shiur explores the implications, and reads through a much longer letter in which the Rebbe explains the Halachic parameters of modern war, and why all soldiers will receive these...

A sprawling exploration of letters, Sichos, and outside sources on the Chabad custom to: 1) Wear a Kittel on Yom Kippur. 2) Not wear it on Rosh Hashanah. 3) Not wear it in the first year of marriage.

The Rebbe is vehemently opposed to self-affliction, but offers a surprising alternative that "can transform a person from one thing into another" and that goes all the way back to the Fourth Lubavitcher Rebbe—resisting the tantalizing urge to speak, and spending 15 minutes every day contemplating one's state.

Kabbalah demands many fasts to atone for sins (151 fasts for displaying anger!) and the Alter Rebbe rules that one may fulfill this obligation by giving charity—18 Gedolim Polish per fast. In today's letter the Rebbe explains how to convert that into dollars, and we'll use that to calculate how much charity we might owe for our sins.

What do I do if I messed up my Elul? Can I still have a Rosh Hashanah if I didn't take advantage while the King was in the Field? If so, what was the point in meeting the King during Elul anyway?

For our second installment in the Shalom Bayis mini-series, we focus on letters in which the Rebbe offers unconventional perspectives and unique advice for improving Shalom Bayis. Tips include visiting a Rav, considering prior reincarnations, and holding Torah study sessions with your spouse.

To kick off our mini-series on Shalom Bayis, we look at a number of letters from the Rebbe with the same theme: arguments and strife in the home are often due to a lack of adherence to Taharas HaMishpacha, and strengthening one's commitment to the laws of Family Purity can solve even seemingly irreconcilable differences. We also begin a broader discussion of how Shalom Bayis influences Parnasa...

Many Sichos describe the advantages of spending Tishrei close to the Rebbe. But there are important rules and restrictions.

A much more source-heavy discussion of how to make a sincere accounting of our deeds, with multiple references from the Alter Rebbe, Rebbe Rashab, Friediker Rebbe, and Rebbe, as well as practical tips from the Mashpia Reb Shlomo Chaim Kesselman

The days between 18 Elul and Rosh Hashanah are set aside for Cheshbon Nefesh—a serious accounting of our past deeds and, perhaps more importantly, our capabilities. Through letters and Sichos, we delve into how and when this accounting is done.

Unfortunately, many of us haven't learned Torah with a consistent study partner (Chavrusa) since our yeshiva days. Several letters from the Rebbe highlight the importance of working men and women bucking this trend.

The Rebbe often instructs doctors to not only involve themselves in physically healing their patients, but to also pushing spiritual cures. Today we'll explore the contours and limits of that advice, with practical lessons for both spiritual and physical healing.

Practical guidance from the Rebbe on how to educate Jewish girls, including: what themes to emphasize, what teachers to hire, and what subjects to teach in girl's schools.

Millions of Jewish tears have been spilled at the Kotel for 2,000 years, but how significant is it as a Jewish holy site? An exploration of letters from the Rebbe Rashab, Friediker Rebbe, and Rebbe, drive home the importance of the Western Wall today--provided it is used properly.

An exploration of the Rebbe's well-known position that young couples should have the shortest possible engagements, minimizing the time between the decision to get married and the wedding itself.

The Rebbe wants everyone to have a Rabbi/Mashpia, but the Talmud suggests one is only allowed to learn from a uniquely righteous person "similar to an angel". How, then, are we to practically pick Mashpiim? Today's letter addresses this point, and we'll also look at a few Sichos that give more guidance on the issue.

"The footsteps of man are directed by G‑d". From this verse our Rabbeim learned that G-d preordains the time, place, and situation in which we find ourselves. Practically, as today's letters demonstrate, this means there is no such thing as a truly unwinnable situation--and that those who blame the time and place for their lack of success are simply incorrect.

We often have big ideas that would further Torah and Mitzvos, and those are great. But the Rebbe consistently demands that, before launching a new initiative, someone take responsiblity for its success. Otherwise, the Rebbe explains in today's letters, the initiative is doomed to fail.

In 1942, the Previous Rebbe launched a campaign to write a Sefer Torah to welcome (and hasten the coming of) Moshiach. Almost 30 years later, it remained unfinished until a woman in Kfar Chabad rallied for its completion and the Rebbe agreed. This is the story of Moshiach's Sefer Torah, and the practical lessons that our Rabbeim drew from it.

Today's letter addresses a fundamental question: if the whole goal of Judaism is action, why is there so much theoretical and philosophical material in the Torah? And why do the Ten Commandments begin with a theological statement of truth, instead of some call to action?

In honor of 20 Av, a letter by the Rebbe's father, R. Levi Yitzchok. This letter contains precisely 101 words, and meant so much to Reb Levik that, in a subsequent letter, he asked the Rebbe to "safeguard it at all times" and described it as "written from the depths of my heart and soul".

The women who danced in the vineyards on Tu B'Av extolled the virtues of "Fear of Heaven" above all else. Here's what modern men and women can learn from their example.

Although the Talmud gives many historical reasons for celebrating 15 Av, the Rebbe emphasizes one essence of the day: recommitting to dedicated, focused Torah study and performance of Mitzvos with Hiddur.

In honor of Tisha B'Av, a Special Episode featuring two letters from the Rebbe on Nichum Aveilim—the first, with a class approach from the Alter Rebbe, Mittler Rebbe, and Tzemach Tzedek, and the second with a very novel approach from our Rebbe.