by Elisheva bas Chana Art by Karin Foreman The message of Pesach is a journey towards a place where Jews are valued, not for anything other than for who they are. As we sit around the Seder table, rethinking history that has meaning and its rituals which date back 3,300 years. But it is more than rituals; we are remembering the story and adding something of our own to it. “Who am I?” remains a question throughout the ages and for much of our history. We have always been a min

by Elisheva bas Chana Art by Sefira Lightstone Judaism does not believe in freedom of speech; there are certain ways of saying something. When we speak about other people, Kabbalah teaches us that speech itself has an effect beyond the way in which we say something to one another. The Torah prohibits speaking Lashon hara ; even listening has a negative impact, not only on the person who makes themselves guilty of Lashon hara — it affects the person spoken about as well, even

by Elisheva bas Chana The Mitzvos Understanding the concept of the mitzvos, time-bound, and the need to perform them on a particular date on the Jewish calendar or at a specific time. There are mitzvos like eating matzahs on Pesach or sitting in the Sukkah on Sukkos. Wearing tzitzis and wrapping tefilin are performed at specific times during the day. These mitzvos are vital at the time of their fulfilment. There is a specific time to blow the Shofar — only forty-eight hours o

by Elisheva bas Chana Judaica Art by Rochelle Blumenfeld Mishenichnas Adar, Marbim B’Simcha  — Taanit 29a. When the month of Adar enters, we increase our joy. Many of our holidays bring us joy, but none, apart from Purim, affects the whole month. Rashi explains that we must increase our happiness at the beginning of the month of Adar because these days are when the miracles of Purim took place. With senseless hatred defeated, and Pesach entering our minds, we celebrate the da

by Elisheva bas Chana Art by Noa Attias Judaica ~ Eretz Yisroel The beautiful 22 verses of Eshes Chayil , perek 31 of Sefer Mishlei, are traditionally sung on Friday night before kiddush  on Shabbos. The singing of Eshes Chayil  became a way of showing gratitude to the lady of the house for all the hard work she put in to greet the Shabbos Queen on time. The Great Sacrifice An inspiring story about Devorah Leah, the second daughter of the founder of the Chabad Movement, Rabbi

by Elisheva bas Chana Given a Choice to Be A letter in the scroll, a missing note makes a song incomplete. When one letter in the scroll is missing or damaged, chas v’shalom , it is incomplete. We are here for a reason, chosen by HaShem, to be part of His plan. It is not a privilege, but a responsibility to make a broken world whole again. To be part of HaShem’s plan, we have to have bitachon  and emunah , a choice to make the song complete and not to be a missing letter. It

by Elisheva bas Chana Hakaras HaTov Sitting at my desk, with a piece of paper and a pen in front of me, pondering about my next writing, “A Day of My Life.” Half an hour later, I knew nothing would come. I knew I could just start writing about “this day” from dawn to dusk—hundreds of brachos  a day, davening , and reciting Tehillim  in the midst of my busy life. But I want something more, something inspiring, showing how much simcha  is involved. Our lives are full of serving

by Elisheva bas Chana Gratitude Serving HaShem is placing our trust in Him for all our matters, and among them is peace of mind in trusting HaShem. When we choose not to trust HaShem and place our trust in something other than Him, HaShem will remove His providence from us and leave it in the hands of the one we trust instead. “For My people have committed two evils; they have forsaken Me, the spring of living waters, to dig for themselves cisterns—broken cisterns that do not

by Elisheva bas Chana We all have a path to follow, a mission to fulfil, obstacles to overcome, challenges to let us grow; in all, we can find HaShem. Having emunah  is how we relate to good times, but also to what we call the “bad times.” When we look at the world, the distraction, the chaos, and the immorality, life seems to be one big challenge. In reality, life is good; it is the world that needs fixing. To make a change, we fight our battles with light, in unity. Achdus