Shimon Neubort

More than a week passed, and Reb Mordechai still remained in the grave diggers’ beis hamedrash, arguing with his erstwhile companion (who was now a porush), about the false path the porush was following. At present, he had not yet succeeded in convincing ...

After he arrived at the Baal Shem Tov’s court, [Reb Mordechai] became a completely different person in a matter of days. Now, having been privileged to witness the Rebbe’s true path of avodah, his preparation for davening was very different. And yet, some...

Once again Reb Mordechai’s whole life story passed through his mind: how he established himself in a trade and worked, but still allowed himself ample time for study. He studied Gemara, Poskim, Zohar, and Kabbalah. He believed his spiritual attributes to ...

Some years later, for certain reasons, Reb Mordechai was living in far-away Podolia. There, he heard rumor of the great miracle-worker who lived nearby, whose fame as a great scholar and kabbalist had spread throughout the region. Being a great scholar an...

The tzaddik Reb Avraham Kalisker was a disciple of the Great Maggid, and had arrived in Mezritch even before the Alter Rebbe. As we know, the tzaddik Reb Avraham’s system of avodah and Chassidus was very different. He had the highest regard for emotional ...

Sunday, 16 Shevat, 5695 [January 20, 1935]. To my dearly beloved daughter, Chayah Mushka: Thank G‑d we are alive and well, and may we continue to be so. Joyfully, I have received your precious letter, dearest daughter. I thank you for your past letters, a...

I remember my first Shabbos in Meah Shearim. The manner in which people dressed, the cobblestone streets, the large families living in small homes, the courtyards where neighbors would stand and talk to each other. I could go on and on. It was not only th...

Sixty years ago, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn נ"ע, the Previous Lubavitcher Rebbe, sent a long letter to his daughter, Rebbetzin Chayah Mushka, describing the personal metamorphosis several individuals underwent as they accepted the chassidic way of l...

Only those terms necessary for an understanding of the historical and geographic background of the text are included here. Spellings are consistent with the Polish spellings found on 18th century maps of the region Bessarabia: territory approximately corr...