This week's parsha

Unless otherwise noted, "This week's Parsha" comprises articles taken from contributors to the Chabad.org website. We show the original author's name here, so that proper attribution is given. For the sake of brevity, footnotes cited in the original author's writings are omitted from this website. If you need to see the citations, please refer to the original articles on the Chabad.org website.

Fusing Idealism and Realism

Published: 31 July 2017 | Written by Rochel Holzkenner

There are two types of people: the idealists and the realists. The idealistic folks dream of a world with social justice, body-soul synchrony, environmental conservation, and of living with higher consciousness. The realistic people invest in practical and obtainable goals like financial security, time management and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Personally, I resonate with both the idealist and the realist. I think we're probably all a composite of both, albeit a little more of one side than the other.

Beating Around the Bush

Published: 24 July 2017 | Written by Mendel Kalmenson

Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu, of blessed memory, former Sephardic chief rabbi of Israel, related:

“The Rebbe once learned of a scheme to personally humiliate one of the Israeli prime ministers. He made every effort to stop the individuals from doing so. He said, ‘To rebuke their actions, yes; to humiliate them, no.’

Journeying Through Life

Published: 17 July 2017 | Written by Mordechai Wollenberg

The Torah speaks in great detail about the journeys of the Children of Israel through their years in the wilderness. The Torah specifies each and every one of the 42 journeys which they undertook.

The Torah does not just tell us things for no reason. There is always a lesson which we can take away for our everyday lives.

All of us have embarked upon many journeys throughout our lives, both physically and spiritually. We make many stops along the way. These stops are important--they are rungs on the ladder, stages on the way to our destination. It is all too easy, once we get there, to forget about the stages we passed along the way. Sometimes we forget about the people who helped us along the way.