ChabadNewOrleans Blog - Chabad-Lubavitch of Louisiana

Just Jew It - Fortify Your Jewish Identity

Friday, September 26, 2025 - 1:01 PM

On the first night of Rosh Hashanah we went around the table and asked people to share what their wish was for the world for this new year. People shared very poignant ideas. My wish for the world was that we should start to seek/value truth. We are at a point where anyone can say anything without having to back it up with facts. This has had a detrimental effect on many levels, not the least of which in regard to the war in Gaza. Claims are made and stated as truth. But then “don’t confuse me with the facts.” As the lie is repeated over and over again, it becomes accepted as truth.

This week I had two conversations that really drove this home for me. One was with a person who has been critical of Israel. In the course of the conversation, they shared that initially they weren’t all that knowledgeable about the details, but they felt they needed to be supportive of “innocent people” being killed at that rate. Often people speak first and explore facts later, without thinking about the ramifications of those decisions.

The second conversation was with someone who was feeling assaulted by the plethora of anti-Israel and antisemitic sentiments that are so prevalent on social media and in the world at large. He was asking how he could fortify himself against this. We talked about various strategies, including becoming more informed and listening to sources of information that would reinforce his own commitment, as well as providing information to address the specific falsehoods that are being propagated. More importantly, I encouraged him to fortify himself Jewishly. This is the message I would like to share more widely.

The best way to feel good about your Jewish identity, is to do more Jewish. “Just Jew It.” The more we incorporate Jewish practices and Jewish learning into our daily lives, the stronger our Jewish identity becomes, and the more assured we are that protecting Jewish life is a good and G-dly ideal. The more we do Jewishly, the more we will feel Jewishly. This is a powerful defense against an assault on the Jewish identity.

I hope Nike won’t mind us borrowing their slogan and encouraging us all to “Just Jew It.”

Shabbat Shalom and may we be sealed in the book of life, prosperity, and meaningful spiritual growth.
Rabbi Mendel Rivkin

Reset vs. Delete

Friday, September 19, 2025 - 9:48 AM

Earlier this week, I visited the Federal Prison at which I serve as the contract Jewish chaplain. I usually visit three divisions within the facility. One of the divisions has many inmates for whom English is not their first language. So, when I am speaking to this group, I often rely on an inmate to translate my words into Spanish. Generally, he does a good job and I am able to understand some of what he was saying.

We were talking about Rosh Hashanah being an opportunity for a fresh start with a clean slate. I used the analogy of a reset button. When he translated my words, he replaced reset with delete. I picked up on the change and pointed out that there is a difference between reset and delete. With the delete feature, one loses the benefit derived from what was there before.

One of the powerful ideas of Teshuvah is that our mistakes can propel us to a higher place. First of all, we have the benefit of learning what not to do. But, most importantly, it is the feeling of distance from Hashem resulting from those missteps, that spurs us to the desire for greater closeness to Hashem. This is why the Zohar states, that one who does Teshuvah packs a more powerful intensity and yearning for closeness to Hashem.

The lesson was not lost on the group. Talking about Teshuvah with prison inmates can be quite meaningful.

May we merit to experience this powerful level of Teshuvah this year during the High Holidays. May Hashem bless us all to be inscribed and sealed for a good and sweet year filled with open and revealed blessings.

Please see below for my interview with Gregory Manning, candidate for Council-at -Large.

Shabbat Shalom and Shana Tova
Rabbi Mendel Rivkin

Will AI Replace You?

Friday, September 12, 2025 - 12:43 PM

As AI is introduced more into our lives, some express a fear of being replaced by AI. It seems logical to worry. After all, many of the roles that are filled by people will be assumed by AI as time goes on. So, what does Judaism have to say about this concern?

Judaism’s response to this issue is unequivocal. You will never be replaced by AI! Perhaps your job, your 9-5, your current means of livelihood, will be replaced by AI. But you will never be replaced by AI. Because you are not defined by what you do. Too often, when asked to define ourselves, we will answer with our jobs or professional training. I am a doctor. I am a lawyer. I am an IT technician. I am a teacher. But that cannot be who you are. Your identity began the moment you were born (conceived). While I am sure you were born a genius, you were not born with an advanced medical degree with a job lined up at a prestigious teaching hospital. So, who are you?

By the very fact that you were born, by your very existence, you are an individual with whom Hashem wants a relationship. You are a person who was born with a meaningful purpose. That purpose is to be the other half of the relationship that Hashem desires. Each of us has this purpose. If we didn’t, we would not exist.

Now, while some humans are willing to fool ourselves into believing that we can achieve the emotional fulfillment of a relationship with a “bot,” Hashem suffers from no such folly. He has made it clear to us that what he wants is connectivity with a human. That’s why he created us collectively, and that’s why each of us exists individually. So, I repeat, you will never be replaced by AI!

But how do we find that meaningful purpose? I am glad you asked. This will be the subject of the upcoming JLI Fall 2025 course entitled, The Kabbalah of Meaning, that begins after the holidays. Over the duration of this course, we will explore what we need to pursue to discover the inherent meaningful purpose with/for which we were created.

In Louisiana everyone likes a little bit of lagniappe. This course offers CE credits for doctors and mental health professionals. To learn more about the course, which will run on six Wednesdays starting October 29, www.chabadneworleans.com/jli.

For the Metairie course, which will run on Tuesdays, www.jewishlouisiana.com/jli.

This past Monday night, our community was privileged to host freed hostage Omer Shemtov for a special event. You can see photos below, or at www.chabadneworleans.com/6766079. Omer is a beautiful soul, who shared his story of captivity and freedom. He spoke of his faith and how he retained his humanity and Jewish identity throughout his ordeal. His story touched every single member of the audience of over 450 strong. The event was a collaborative effort between Chabad of Louisiana and Chabad of Metairie along with our partners at the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans and the New Orleans JCC.

I hesitate to write these next few lines, but my heart weighs heavy from this part of the experience. While this soulful gathering was taking place inside, a small group of (mostly masked) protestors gathered outside, doing their utmost to project fear, ugliness, and discord upon those in attendance. The notion that they would protest a hostage who endured 505 days of unspeakable inhumane torture by a group of terrorists, speaks volumes about their moral compass and human awareness. I will not be silenced or mince words about this despicable gathering. I care little for these folks or their opinions, though I wish they would see the light and come back to normalcy. What broke my heart was seeing one of our own, a fellow Jew, one of my brothers, standing in their midst. I pray to Hashem that He lead this misguided lamb back to his people, rather than standing in support of those who raped, murdered, and kidnapped his own brothers and sisters. May this be the year of return for all our Jewish brothers and sisters who have wandered off. Come home to Am Yisrael. We are waiting for you with open arms.

Wishing each of you a Shana Tova, a year of good health, prosperity, happiness, and meaningful spiritual growth.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Mendel Rivkin

Tradition: Positive or Negative?

Friday, September 5, 2025 - 1:17 PM

We all know that context is critical. Life is a study in contrasts. Something that is positive in one context may be negative in another. Let’s use a positive test result as an example. If the test was a school entrance exam, a positive result would be wonderful. If the test was to determine whether one had a virus, a positive result would be anything but positive.

In Hayom Yom, the Rebbe offers a study in contrasts regarding a common character trait. “In material matters, one who is "satisfied with his lot" is an individual of the highest quality… In spiritual matters, however, to be satisfied with one's lot is the worst deficiency, and leads, G‑d forbid, to descent.”

I would like to examine the idea of “tradition” through this lens. In Judaism, tradition, or “Mesorah,” occupies a lofty perch. Much of Halacha is based on the transmission of principles and practices going back through the ages all the way to Moses and Mt. Sinai. Does that mean that anything that any group of people do for a long time is automatically deemed a valuable practice? What if it was based on an error or a mistaken application of an idea? I recall praying in a certain Synagogue many times and wondering why they added an extra Mourners Kaddish where one was not called for in any other Prayer Tradition. I asked the regulars, and they said that this is what they have been doing for as long as they can remember. After digging into it a little further, we figured out how the mistake evolved and that tradition dissipated.

On the other hand, we often find in Halachic discussion, that when an authority in Jewish law argues that their ruling is based on an established Mesorah (tradition), this is regarded as more compelling than even a logical defense of the ruling. So, it really depends on the roots of the tradition. There is an expression that an idea is “Yesudato B’harerei Kodesh” – one whose foundation is on the mountains of the Sanctuary, to paraphrase Psalm 87. This means that it has lofty and holy origins. When something is rooted in positivity and holiness that is a good tradition. However, when the roots are rotten…

In my recent interviews with NOLA candidates, a recurring theme has been that New Orleans has to stop accepting traditions that do not serve us well. Just because we have had potholes and bad city services for so long doesn’t mean that those traditions are rooted in “Holy Mountains.” Just because “we have always done it this way” doesn't mean that we have to keep doing it that way if it is not serving us well.

As each of us prepares for the New Year and we engage our personal reckoning, let us uproot (pun intended) those less than desirable things about ourselves which we have come to accept because that’s way we have always done it. We can introduce alternative traditions that are rooted in “Holy Mountains.” Doing so will give us all a fresh start to a year blessed by Hashem with all that we need and desire for good.

Shana Tova and Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Mendel Rivkin