The Shtreimel, that round, fur hat, has long been associated among Chassidic Jewish males over the last few hundred years. When one sees an adult Chassidic Jew on Shabbos, Yom Tov or at a Simcha, chances are that a Shtreimel…
Chassidus
An Inch, A Snip And A Shtreimel
by Rachel Bluth • • 0 Comments
A few weeks back I attended a highly advertised lecture, aimed at the women of the Five Towns that dealt with the topic of tznius. What intrigued me about this particular event was that it reminded me of the feeling…
Parshas Vayikra: Chida & Amshinov Rebbe – The Lucky Nation Whose Nasi Sins
by Rafael (Rafi) Hecht • • 0 Comments
Asher Nasi Yechta”, when the Nasi sins (4:22). Rashi brings down the gemara (Horiyos 10b) that says Asher is from “Ashrei”, “Ashrei HaDor SheHaNasi Yechta”, fortunate is the generation whose Nasi sins. What is so goods about having a Nasi…
Today is the Yahrtzeit of Reb Shlomo Carlebach
by Rafael (Rafi) Hecht • • 0 Comments
Today is the Yahrtzeit of Reb Shlomo Carlebach. Reb Shomo ben Naftoli ZT”L Carlebach was a controversial yet very warm person with a heart of gold. The above videos are a testament to who he was. I dare anyone to…
Why I (E. Fink) Won’t Be Waving a Chicken Over My Head This Week
by Rabbi Eliyahu Fink • • 0 Comments
This post originally appeared on DovBear two High Holiday Seasons ago: Why I Won’t Be Waving a Chicken Over My Head This Week and on my blog last year. For hundreds of years, rabbis have been trying to ban kaparos. The Rashba, the…
Chabad, We’re Not into Chitzoinius
by Rabbi Dovid B. Kaplan • • 0 Comments
Chabad, we’re not into chitzoinius, but… Why isn’t your hat brim-down? Chabad, we’re not into chitzoinius, but… Why does your tallis have an atarah-crown? Chabad, we’re not into chitzoinius, but… Why is your weekday jacket so long? Chabad, we’re not…
The Chassid and the House Sparrow
by Rabbi Dovid B. Kaplan • • 0 Comments
[A couple of months ago] there was a house sparrow in my house. (They call them house sparrows for a reason.) As hard as it tried, it just kept bumping into the walls, and couldn’t seem to figure out how…
Litvaks and Galitzyaners
by Rabbi Gil Student • • 0 Comments
Bernard Wasserstein’s On the Eve: The Jews of Europe Before the Second World War tells the story of interwar European Jewry, the rapid decline from tradition following World War I. In the process, Wasserstein describes the many kinds of Jews of the…
Abusive Breslov Sub-Cult Found in Jerusalem, Tiberias
by Rafael (Rafi) Hecht • • 0 Comments
If you think Breslov is a cult, wait till you hear this! Ha’aretz a while ago reported an abusive sub-cult in Israel. Nine members were arrested when it was found that they sexually abused, enslaved, and raped female cult members…
In the Court of the Tsadik
by Geoffrey Clarfield • • 0 Comments
“Geoffrey, it’s Shlomo. Meet me at Bathurst and Eglinton in thirty minutes. We’re going to play for the Sufis!” This was not the first time I had received what I used to call “the call.” I do not mean Max…