Mendel Kalmenson

If you really want to know someone well—what captures their interest, imagination, and passion—study the passages highlighted in the books on their nightstand. In this spirit, it is deeply telling that amid the vast body of Jewish literature and wisdom, t...

Rabbi Dovid of Lelov once told a young man who witnessed him studying the Talmudic Tractate of Bava Kama: “Know, my son, that just as you are now studying the Tractate of Bava Kama, so in the future, when Mashiach comes, there will be a tractate of Dovid ...

On the evening of Simchat Torah 5719 (1958),Talk of the Rebbe from Simchat Torah 5719; see Melody of the Waiting. the central study hall of 770 Eastern Parkway was alive with revelry and song. Following the traditional hakafot [dancing with the Torah scro...

In early 1984, R. Moshe Kotlarsky, one of the Rebbe’s emissaries and future vice-chairman of Merkos L’Inyonei Chinuch, received an urgent phone call from the Rebbe’s secretary with a mission. The Rebbe wanted him to travel immediately to the island of Cur...

A story Rabbi Kalmenson says he wishes he included in his book, On Purpose.

A story Rabbi Kalmenson says he wishes he included in his book, On Purpose.