ChabadNewOrleans Blog - Chabad-Lubavitch of Louisiana

Let all who are hungry come and eat.

Friday, September 25, 2026 - 3:05 AM

“Let all who are hungry come and eat.” Wait, why are we quoting the Passover Haggadah? Isn’t the next holiday Sukkot? In fact, our sages tell us that “All Israel is worthy to sit in one Sukkah. The Sukkah is the Divine Embrace; and there is nothing better for Hashem than embracing us all together. So really, Sukkot is a time when we should be thinking about those that may not have a Sukkah and make sure that they are included.

In Crown Heights (the Chabad neighborhood in Brooklyn) there are families that have a sign on their Sukkah entrance that declares this to a be a “Sukkah Kol Dichfin,” paraphrasing that quote from the Haggadah, a Sukkah where anyone is welcome to come and eat. There is one famous Sukkah that stretches longer than a football field. It takes up half a block and there is a steady stream of people that come and eat.

Years ago, I heard a great story about this phenomenon. Rabbi M. was a teacher at a Jewish high school in Flatbush. Before Sukkot, he told his students to come to Crown Heights one night of Chol Hamoed (the intermediate days of the holiday) and join him for some refreshments and a shmooze in his Sukkah. A group of guys traveled to Crown Heights to take him up on his offer. They rang the bell and a woman answered the door. She showed them out to the Sukkah and brought some refreshments for them to enjoy. They sat and ate, waiting for Rabbi M. to come out and join them. After about 20 minutes they asked the hostess if everything was ok with Rabbi M. because they were waiting for him. She laughed and said, “Oh, Rabbi M’s family lives next door, you must have gotten the address confused.” They were floored at her instant hospitality without even knowing who they were. She didn’t bat an eyelash or ask them why they had come until they brought it up.

As we prepare to celebrate this holiday of Jewish unity, let each of us make an effort to include someone that may not otherwise be included. Imagine how much joy we can spread to ourselves and others by taking this initiative. Not to mention how happy Hashem is when we are all together. Chag Sameach and enjoy the hug from Hashem.

Shabbat Shalom and Happy Sukkot
Rabbi Mendel Rivkin

Teshuvah on Loop, Positive or Negative?

Thursday, September 17, 2026 - 1:53 PM

Last week, during a prison chaplaincy visit, I got into a discussion on Teshuvah with a group of inmates. One of them had a paperback English translation of Shaarei Teshuvah, a treatise on Teshuvah by 13^th century sage, Rabbi Yonah of Girondi. There he cites a Talmudic discussion between Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov and the Sages regarding the following question. If one confessed a sin on Yom Kippur and did not repeat the sin during the following year, may that sin be mentioned the following Yom Kippur. While the sages prohibit one from bringing the sin back up, Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov recommends it.

What drives these two opinions? How do we apply this wisdom in our daily lives?

The sages are concerned that repeated focus on past sins can drag a person down and paralyze them, preventing further growth. Rabbi Eliezer believes that keeping an eye on past indiscretions can help prevent arrogance, the root of all sin.

Practically, the Rambam and other Halachic authorities encourage it but do not require it. Clearly the solution lies in finding a balance. The Rebbe framed this in terms of compartmentalization. We should designate certain times (such as reciting Shema before bedtime) for introspection on our imperfections. Knowing what I am capable of will keep me vigilant and humble. However, we should free ourselves from these thoughts during all other times to avoid paralysis and melancholy. While I am busy with the rest of my day, serving Hashem must be with joy and alacrity.

Chassidus offers one additional insight to solving this dilemma.

They once asked a drunkard why he kept drinking, knowing that it was going to not end well. He explained that each time he takes a drink he becomes a new man; that man also deserves a drink…

Ideally, as we progress through life, we grow and develop spiritually. The new me finds deeper ways to return to Hashem that I was incapable of previously. So, rather than keeping me down, the new Teshuvah is the symptom of a higher striving. This is rather more liberating than paralyzing.

As we approach Yom Kippur, I wish us all to have a meaningful day, filled with connection and at-one-ment.

Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Mendel Rivkin

From Heaven, With Love

Friday, September 11, 2026 - 11:28 AM

I was getting ready to write something profound and preachy. After all, tonight is Rosh Hashanah. But then something happened and I decided to go whimsical and heartwarming.

Yesterday I got a phone call that seemed like a little gift from heaven. Let me give you some background. Many of you remember Saul Hakim, who passed away last winter. One of his many hobbies was beekeeping. Each Rosh Hashanah he would lovingly provide honey to the community. Within the year before his passing, he moved to New Jersey to live with his son and family. Before he left, he gave his hives to a beekeeper, and he told him that his gift was conditioned on the beekeeper giving honey to the community before Rosh Hashanah. He put the beekeeper in touch with Rabbi Mendy Schechter to ensure that the process would be Kosher.

Yesterday I got the call from Rabbi Schechter that Saul’s hives had produced honey, and it is being made available to the community. Dozens of families will enjoy this gift from heaven and know that even from the next world Saul Hakim loves his people and his community.

As we prepare for Rosh Hashanah tonight, a time that we stand in judgement before Hashem, we would be well served to take a page from Saul’s playbook and demonstrate a love and caring for our brothers and sisters – our fellow Jews. There is no greater pleasure for Hashem our Father, than seeing His children caring for one another.

I hope that everyone has a meaningful Rosh Hashanah. Please make sure to participate in a Shofar blowing service on Sunday. Chabad offerings will be listed below.

Wishing you all a Shana Tova, a good and sweet year, a year of health, prosperity, nachas, and meaningful spiritual growth. A year of peace and tranquility in Israel and around the world. Most of all, may this be the year that we finally merit the complete and final redemption through the coming of Mashiach!

Shabbat Shalom and Shana Tova
Rabbi Mendel Rivkin

Have You Done Your Soul Labs Yet?

Friday, September 4, 2026 - 12:42 PM

This morning I had my annual bloodwork done. While I was driving to the appointment, I was thinking about how amazing it is that so much about our body and our health can be determined by analyzing our blood.

Then I started to contemplate that while this is the case regarding our physical selves, we have a parallel regarding our spiritual selves. Our soul can tell us a lot about who we are and what our deeper nature is. Our soul can tell us what type of emotions we are drawn to experience. Our soul can tell us which aspect of Torah we are most enthused by. Our soul can tell us which Mitzvot will excite us most and which will present the greatest challenge. Our soul can tell us which music we will appreciate and what kind of person we will marry. Our soul can give us the secret of who we were and what we were like in a previous lifetime.

The major difference between the two is that you cannot draw a soul specimen and analyze it in a laboratory. So instead, the process works in reverse until we get a big enough sample size from which we can project about future matters. We start to experience certain sensations upon encountering particular phenomena. Knowing that how we experience these phenomena can be traced back to the nature of our soul, allows us some insight into that very nature. These begin indicating to us what our soul is like and from there we can apply beyond those experiences.

(An additional option is to go to a soul doctor, a Tzaddik who is an expert in souls. The Tzaddik can tell you what your soul’s nature is and therefore what you should pursue in your life.)

Are you intrigued? Would you like to explore more of this subject? Do you want more details on how to start noticing things and how to connect the dots? Are you curious to find out that you are way more spiritual than you assumed? If you answered yes to any of those questions, I have a suggestion for you. Consider taking our upcoming course: Kabbalah and the Hidden Architecture of You, beginning in late October.

Just as our bloodwork enables us to make healthier lifestyle choices for our physical well-being, learning about your soul enables us to make healthier lifestyle choices for our spiritual well-being.

Learn more about the course at www.chabadneworleans.com/jli. We are launching the course on Wednesday, October 28 at 7 pm. Feel free to sample the first class with no commitment. This course will also be offered on Tuesdays in Metairie by Rabbi Mendel Ceitlin, info at www.jewishlouisiana.com/jli.

Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Mendel Rivkin