This Sunday, we have the unique opportunity to heed a call to action that the Rebbe announced 44 years ago.

In 1981, like this year, most of the world celebrated Purim on Friday, the fourteenth of Adar, as per the Megillah's instructions.

The Megillah further instructs that residents of Jerusalem (and other ancient walled-in cities) celebrate their special Purim, known as Shushan Purim, on the very next day. But how do they perform the Purim mitzvahs when the fifteenth of Adar occurs on Shabbat?! Handling money, for example, even for charity, may not be done on the day of rest.

This gives rise to the Purim Meshulash (“Triple Purim”), a unique celebration that is actually distributed over three days—Friday, Shabbat, and Sunday.

In a letter sent to all Jewish people worldwide just before Purim, the Rebbe noted that this provides us with a unique opportunity:

When Jews went into exile, after the destruction of the first Beis Hamikdosh, they vowed never to forget Jerusalem, and remember it and raise it above every Simchah, as David, the Sweetener of the Songs of Israel, declares in Tehillim.

It would therefore be appropriate, indeed very much so, for Jews everywhere to make this coming Sunday [...] a particularly joyous one by additional activities that produce joy: Torah study (“rejoicing the heart”), spreading joy among Jews in the spirit of Ahavas Yisroel, and if suitable or necessary—through Mishloach Monos to friends, and gifts to the poor, and particularly through gatherings to spread Yiddishkeit in the spirit of “Yerushalayim”— Yirah shleima, complete awe (of—את—Hashem) … and to do all the above with true joy, in accordance with the conclusion of Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chayim, Laws of Purim: “The good-hearted feasts always.”

In this way we identify ourselves still more with Jerusalem, to which we turn every day at prayer, as it is written, “They will pray to Hashem through the city which You have chosen,” chosen and given to every Jew and to all Jews for ever, as an eternal inheritance.

Let’s be sure to heed the Rebbe’s call and infuse this coming Sunday, March 16, 2025, with Purim joy, Purim-themed celebrations, gift-giving, and Torah classes.

Just like peanut butter and jelly, or coffee and donuts, some pairings are simply perfect.

In the world of Torah study, Maimonides’ Sefer Hamitzvot is a perfect match with master Torah teacher and life coach Rabbi Shais Taub. By learning the daily mitzvah with Rabbi Taub, you’ll gain a rich, satisfying, and deeply fulfilling understanding of the daily mitzvah following the annual cycle established by the Rebbe.

And we are happy to announce that Rabbi Taub’s classes are all available on Chabad.org, both on our Daily Study Portal and the Daily Study App.

The first day of the new cycle is Shabbat, when we take a hard break from all tech. But after Shabbat ends, get that day’s class and then come back each day for the next 339 days (again, not on Shabbat and holidays), and you’ll have learned every mitzvah in the Torah in tandem with hundreds of thousands of fellow scholars!

Whether you’re a seasoned learner or just starting out, these engaging and insightful podcasts will guide you through the mitzvot in a clear and meaningful way.

Start learning in the Daily Study Portal (Chabad.org/DailyMitzvah)

Or using the Daily Study App (Chabad.org/DailyStudyApp)

Or on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts

Let’s make it a year to remember!

The wise … who bring the multitudes to righteousness [shine] like the stars forever and ever. (Daniel 12:3)

What does this mean? The mystics point out that if you look up at the sky at any given moment, you can only see half of the visible stars. The other half are on the other side of the earth. But they are still there, and their light still shines upon us in an indirect manner.

In the same way, our great Torah teachers continue to guide and influence us even after they have passed and are physically no longer on our side of the world.

In today’s contemporary world, this is more tangible and apparent than ever before.

Nine years ago, on 29 Shevat, master Torah teacher Rabbi Yehoshua B. Gordon passed away. In the years since, hundreds of thousands of people have continued to study Torah with him (online and on the Daily Study app), chuckled at his jokes, and been inspired by his down-to-earth wisdom, positivity and faith.

In addition to classes on every portion of Chumash and Tanya, Rabbi Gordon also enriched the Chabad.org community with classes on every chapter of Maimonides’ Mishneh Torah.

On the day after Rabbi Gordon's yahrzeit, thousands of students will learn from him the final chapter of Mishneh Torah according to the annual cycle, ready to start learning the next chapter on Shabbat (March 1).

Have you joined the Mishneh Torah study program? This is the perfect time to join. Rabbi Gordon as your guide, you'll be learning, laughing, and growing as a Jew!

Get Started Here

On Thursday, the world witnessed in horror as the bodies of Oded Lifshitz and Kfir and Ariel Bibas were paraded by Hamas through jeering crowds, before finally, finally, being brought back home, to us, to Israel. (According to the IDF, the 4th body is not of Shiri Bibas but a person whose identity is unknown.) Since the shocking and barbaric massacre on October 7th, our hearts have been broken more times than we can count, and today our hearts are shattered once again. The Bibas family, with their adorable red-headed children, took up residence in our hearts and minds. We prayed for them, we were worried for them, we couldn’t stop thinking about these toddlers and their mother in the tunnels of Gaza.

And now, our hearts are with Yarden, their father, who returned from Gaza just a short time ago.

Dear Yarden,

Words fail us.

We want to share your great pain, to say something that will ease it, but we know we cannot.

If we could, we would offer you a hug and say, “Yarden, you are our dear brother. We love you forever. Your wife, Shiri, is our sister, your children, Kfir and Ariel, are our children. We will forever love all of you.”

For the past year and a half, we never stopped thinking about, hoping, and praying for you and your family. We will continue to pray for you, and we will continue to remember and honor the holy souls of your family. Please know that hundreds of thousands of people all around the world did mitzvot for you and your family, and we will continue to do so.

The souls of your dear family will continue to shine bright.

When words fail us, we fall back on the traditional text said by Jews for generations:

“May the Omnipresent comfort you among all the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.”

The Chabad.org Team

Dear readers, the international Chabad.org community:

Please join us in sharing your condolences with the Bibas and Lifshitz families and memorializing their loved ones, whom we have all come to love and care for. Please leave a message for them in the comment section below, sharing what they have come to mean to you, your words of comfort, and please accept upon yourself a mitzvah you can do in their memory.

(For ideas of mitzvahs you can do, please see Sending Love Packages to Deceased Loved Ones and 14 Jewish Ways to Honor the Soul of a Deceased Loved One. Also, we recommend reading Fragmented Thoughts of a Broken Heart, which expresses what so many of us may be feeling, and watching this video of a man being named for Kfir and Ariel today in Israel.)

After 491 days in Hamas captivity, Eli Sharabi was released this weekend in a terribly weakened and emaciated state, to the devastating news that his wife and daughters were murdered in the October 7 attacks.

One of his first requests was a spiritual one—a pair of tefillin—and his family’s Chabad rabbi was ready to help.

Rabbi Shneur Raskin, Chabad emissary to Alfei Menashe, had been in touch with Sharabi’s family throughout his captivity in Gaza. When he heard about Eli’s request, he jumped into action, procuring a beautiful set of tefillin in custom embroidered bags that read: “The entire nation of Israel hugs you.”

Please join us—in the comment section below—in blessing Eli with good health, comfort, and healing.

Eli's tefillin bags, embroidered with his name and the heartwarming reassurance: “The entire nation of Israel hugs you.”

Rabbi Shneur Raskin, Chabad emissary to Alfei Menashe.