You would think people would get excited about mass prophecy, but alas, there's no denying: Passover, the holiday of the Exodus, is way more popular than Shavuos, when we received the Torah. Why is it that we are more attracted to drama than to enlightenment? The solution is cheesecake.

The current focus of many synagogues on maintaining and acquiring new members suggests a narrow message -- namely, that someone is joining an organization that they can easily "unjoin."

We ought to never become oblivious to all that which life has to offer. And we ought to remember that the blessings of life emerge precisely when we learn to synchronize what we want from life with what life wants from us. Herein lies the secret to a life of purpose and meaningful achievements.

WASHINGTON — A U.S.-based Jewish group Thursday rejected Russian President Vladimir Putin's suggestion to house disputed historical collections ...

Bim arrived at the Chabad House last year, naked but for a plastic bag that he used for some cover. One of hundreds of children exploited for profit on Kathmandu's dangerous streets, he fixed his eyes on a rabbinical student, and asked for help. He wouldn't leave until the student brought him back to Chabad.

Religious standards of modesty govern behavior in normal, healthy interactions -- and should never be an excuse to censor educating the public on the dangers of sexual abuse.

As a survivor of chronic, violent sexual abuse, I found Rabbi Friedman's statements ill informed, insensitive and deeply offensive, shunting the formidable struggles of survivors of such deeply damaging crimes. It is time for community members to demand answers and support survivors.

We live in this world that tells us: If you have problems, the answer is outside of you. If you're looking for truth, it exists somewhere else. If you want to grow, you need to leave your hometown, your community, your world. And that was the compulsion I had throughout college.

Aaron Hillel Swartz, the "old, wise soul" whose life came to a tragic end on a recent Friday morning, intuitively valued teaching and the sharing of knowledge as a fundamental human responsibility.

The issues haven't changed: guns, mental health, memories of the victims. All of these issues require action. If you're looking for something you can do today, the statement from the Pozner family of Newtown, who lost their son Noah, speaks volumes.

The Miami Heat hosted a Jewish heritage night at the basketball team's Dec. 12 game at American Airlines Arena, with tens of thousands in attendance. How odd, I thought, to celebrate Hanukkah in a sports arena, given that the concept of sports is emblematic of Greek culture.

Why have Jews traditionally given money to our children on Hanukkah? While it is now commonplace to also give gifts, the original tradition remains to give gelt.

Today, the 19th day of the Hebrew month Kislev, is widely celebrated as the anniversary of the Alter Rebbe's release from prison by the Czar Paul I of Russia in 1798. Elanit Kayne, a contemporary artist, has evolved an iconography of the Tanya, the Alter Rebbe's famous book.

The question of how appropriate the work is, and whether it belongs on Chabad's official Facebook page, may literally be out of the artist's and Chabad's hands at this point.

Chabad-Lubavitch representatives to Gothenburg, Sweden have a right to educate their children in accordance with their religious faith. The unanimous decision of the appellate court followed the Namdars' complaints against city authorities fining them for homeschooling their children.

Soon, I will be landing in Kuala Lumpur and settling into my hotel room to observe the holiest of Jewish days while amongst the Islamic people. I am looking forward to the adventure.

I've attended Yom Kippur services as a congregant for many years, and I've also conducted Yom Kippur services when serving as a pulpit rabbi for several years. From both ends I can tell you: Yom Kippur can be rough.

Last week, our 4-year-old son, Sruli, asked the following question: "On the first day when the world was created ... in our house ... was there food in the fridge?" An interesting question, from a curious boy.

Originally, G-d didn't care about good and evil or the Torah. Then, out of an act of absolute selflessness He decided He would care about this stuff. With all this in mind, we can now begin to appreciate the secret of Rosh Hashanah according to Chassidus.

We Jews protest and remonstrate against suffering. We don't excuse it. We don't justify it. We don't find beauty in it. We don't find spiritual purpose it in. We fight it and, to the best of our ability, cure it.

At the age of 17, I had a formal education more comparable to a third grader. I lacked the opportunity to function as an informed, educated young adult.

Yesterday was proclaimed National Education and Sharing Day in tribute to the late Chabad Lubavitch Rabbi Menachem Schneerson's birthday. It baffles me that the Chabad movement has inspired such an observance.

I was invited to attend the Dr. Phil show last week to offer commentary on their feature story about a young and beautiful woman who had a tale of unsettling circumstances in regard to her Hasidic background.

After visiting Hasidic communities in Brooklyn, N.Y., for a two-part episode on "Oprah's Next Chapter," Oprah Winfrey sat down for an exclusive interv...