The figure of our matriarch Rachel is the one most associated in Kabbalah with the building of Jewish nature, the inbred character of an individual who walks willingly and naturally in the path of G-d. Just as our matriarch Eve, “the mother of all life,” is the mother of human nature, so our matriarch Rachel is the mother of our unique Jewish nature.

How I navigated the long road to rewriting my script and my healing process

The year that Isaac Lidsky was chosen to play the part of Weasel on Saved by the Bell was also the year that he was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, a retinal degenerative disease that leads to gradual sight loss and eventual blindness. It was 1993 and Isaac was only 13. He thought his life was over.

The Month of MarCheshvan: Back to Normal: The Month of MarCheshvan Why This Is Not Going to Break You, but Make You! Why Jewish Women Will Bring Moshiach and more...

Throughout your life, you will have many missions. What have you completed, and what is there to begin at this new stage of life? What should you be leaving, and where are you headed now? With the cycle of the Torah beginning all over again, we begin anew. But change is not simple, clear-cut or a straight line. Unlike the mission to Mars—the success or failure of which is measurable and quantifiable—life is confusing. The learning process is messy. We have to evaluate continuously and let go, over and over again.

Now is the time to reflect and integrate the spiritual insights gleaned from the holiday season.

Now is the time to put into action all the hopes, prayers and resolutions we made at the start of the Jewish New Year.

Cheshvan is when darkness reigns, yet growth begins deep beneath the surface. What is the deeper significance of this, and what can we learn from it?

I was talented and strong. I could teach, lecture, sing, dance and play guitar. Within two years I watched that all slip away. I have ALS and my muscles lost their functionality.

As Michal Levitin gets up on stage to perform for the annual Conference for Chabad Women in Israel, the audience bursts out laughing. She hasn’t even opened her mouth yet. But every woman there has seen Michal perform before, and the mere sight of her almost reflexively makes them laugh.