ChabadNewOrleans Blog - Chabad-Lubavitch of Louisiana

Snakebitten or Blessed?

Friday, June 26, 2026 - 2:16 PM

We are familiar with the “snake on a pole” symbol that is used for medical services. The Greek origins of this symbol can be traced back to a narrative in this week’s Torah portion. The people of Israel complained once again. A plague of fiery serpents was inflicted upon them. The people repent and Moses prays for salvation. G-d instructed Moses to fashion a copper serpent and place it high upon a staff. Any snakebitten individual who gazed upon the copper snake on the staff was healed.

The Talmud asks, “Does a copper snake bring life or death? Rather, the purpose of the snake on the staff was to turn the eyes and hearts of the people to their “Father in Heaven,” the true source of life and death.

There are many ways to get the people to turn their eyes and hearts to their Father in Heaven. There must be a deeper layer of meaning to the choice of a snake on a staff, beyond just the symbolism of healing a snakebite.

The Rebbe offers the following insight. The snake in the Garden of Eden was the first incarnation of the Yetzer Hara, the evil inclination. Jewish mysticism explains that evil as a force in the world is simply an agent of Hashem to provide a context and background for free will. As such, it is truly a force for good in the big picture. Furthermore, even when we fail and listen to the Yetzer Hara, thereby giving in to our base and less noble aspects of self, the darkness of that moment can be a powerful force to propel us back to the light. In Chasidic terminology this is called “a descent for the purpose of an ascent.”

The message of the snake on the staff is to recall that our snake, our base inclinations for self-gratification, is rooted in a high place. A place so high, that it can bring us much higher than can a simple, straight-forward journey. If we recognize that the snake is on a staff, that turns our eyes and hearts to our Father in Heaven.

Now snakes can bite and darkness is not a good state in which to be. So, we do not deliberately seek out these experiences. However, when we fall and encounter the darkness, we must remember that the light that comes out of that darkness is a very powerful one and work our way forward towards it. When we come of it and reach the light, we learn to appreciate not only the destination, but also the perilous journey that got us there.

Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Mendel Rivkin

Klal Yisrael or Reb Yisrael

Thursday, June 18, 2026 - 6:03 PM

Often, leaders specialize in a particular area of leadership. Some are great organizers. Others are visionaries. Some leaders are great motivators. Others lead by example. There is a form of leadership that focuses on the big picture, addressing global issues. There is the leader that relates to the individual. Some are political or civic leaders. Others are religious leaders. Some are thought leaders. Others are focused on character.

There are many leaders that can integrate multiple forms of leadership that span wide areas of life. However, it is rare for a person to excel in every area of leadership. Perhaps the greatest challenge is the tension between attention to global issues and a focus on the individual. Yet, this is what personifies a consummate Jewish leader. Moses, Joshua, King David, and true Jewish leaders throughout the generations, all were able to successfully straddle both sides of the equation.

Today is a day that we reflect on the Rebbe’s leadership. What many have observed, and I too have been privileged to witness, is the Rebbe’s capacity to excel in all those aforementioned areas of leadership and yet be able to hyper-focus on the individual at the same time. We know that the Rebbe oversaw a network of institutions that had global reach. We know that the Rebbe was involved in geopolitics, especially as it related to Israel. We know that the Rebbe taught for hours, with revolutionary innovations in the intersection of Torah and life. At the same time, the Rebbe corresponded with thousands of people. He also spent countless hours meeting with individuals. Each person that met the Rebbe commented on how during their time with the Rebbe they felt that were the only thing he was focused on.

At the bottom of this email there is an interview with a person whose father passed away when he was seven years old. He shares how the Rebbe cared for him like a surrogate father. I was witness to that story. From fall of 1989 until the Rebbe’s illness in the winter of 1992, I saw the Rebbe’s constant attention to this boy and his brothers. There are countless people who felt that personal love and connection. As Rabbi Israel Meir Lau, former Chief Rabbi of Israel, put it, “the Rebbe cared for both Klal Yisrael (the Jewish people as a whole) as well as Reb Yisrael (the individual Jew).”

May we be inspired by the Rebbe’s example of caring and love for all. May we merit to be a small part of bringing the Rebbe’s vision of a world of Redemption to a state of reality with the coming of Mashiach speedily.

Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Mendel Rivkin

Are You A Scout Or A Spy?

Friday, June 12, 2026 - 1:26 PM

We are familiar with the story of the spies (meraglim in Hebrew) in this week’s Parsha. What you may not have picked up on is that the term “spies” is not actually referenced in this Parsha. Moshe tasks them with scouting, which is a different Hebrew term.

Without getting linguistically technical, let’s just say that, colloquially, the difference between scouting and spying is as follows. Scouts are tasked with gathering data, not necessarily in a subversive manner, and reporting on the data that they gather. They are rarely tasked with carrying out any tactical missions beyond intelligence gathering, and certainly not asked to draw any conclusions. Spies, on the other hand, act subversively, and they are tasked with not just gathering data, but occasionally also specific tactical missions, and their opinion on the strategy and success of the mission is often sought.

We find Moshe praying that G-d spare Joshua from the “plot” of the spies. Caleb too prayed at the tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron that he would not be persuaded to be part of his colleagues’ “plot.” What was this plot? Why would “good men” scheme against Moshe and Hashem?

Moshe was looking for scouts, but they wanted to be spies. Moshe realized that they were not aligned with the mission with which he tasked them. This gave Moshe an inkling that the venture was not going to turn out positively.

The result was that they returned with more than the data for which he asked. They offered opinions on the strategy and success of the mission. In fact, they ended up trying to sabotage the mission, which already had the assurance of success by Hashem. This was how a group of “good men” went off the rails with such disastrous results.

This difference between scouts and spies has a ramification for us in our life’s mission. We have been tasked with achieving certain things in the world, via the agency of Torah and Mitzvot. We are also tasked with data gathering to determine the best way to be successful. What nobody asked of us, is to decide whether the mission can be successful. That decision was already made by Hashem. All we have to do is be determined to invest effort and accomplish the mission.

Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Mendel Rivkin

On the Mt. Rushmore of Lawgivers

Friday, June 5, 2026 - 1:40 PM

In the late 1940s a committee overseen by members of Congress selected 23 figures to be depicted high on the walls of the House of Representatives as part of a portrait series featuring historical Lawgivers from ancient times through the 18^th century. Central to the display is Moses, the ultimate lawgiver, conveyor of the Law of G-d to humanity. Among that select group is another Moses, known as Maimonides. He was selected due to his groundbreaking work of codifying Torah and Talmudic law in a systemized fashion. Since much of Western law can be traced back to Talmud/Jewish law, his inclusion was apropos.

While we don’t need confirmation of Maimonides’ place on the “Mount Rushmore” of lawgivers, it is nice to see him recognized for those monumental achievements.

As for how he is viewed in the Jewish tradition, the epitaph on his tombstone says it all, “From Moses to Moses there arose none like Moses.” The Rambam’s role in articulating Torah law, Jewish philosophy, and ethics, places him in the highest echelons of Jewish scholarship. Hardly a discussion of Torah can take place without referencing the teachings of the Rambam. He is reverently referred to as the “Great Eagle” leaning into the metaphor of a mighty eagle who carries its young on its wings. Through his scholarship and leadership, Maimonides has been our eagle for nearly a millennium.

Did you know that there is a monthly class in our community featuring the writings of Maimonides? Taught by my father, Rabbi Zelig Rivkin, the longest serving Rabbi in New Orleans, Breakfast with Maimonides focuses on a different section of the Rambam’s halachic writings on the first Sunday of each month. Join us at Chabad Uptown this Sunday at 9 am over bagels and lox as we mine the wisdom of one of the greatest “lawgivers” in human history. I look forward to seeing you there.

Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Mendel Rivkin