Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

Magazine Adar I 25, 5771 · March 1, 2011 Editor's Note: With a glint in her eye, my one-year-old daughter grabbed my husband's wallet from the table, and, in classic toddler fashion, began removing the contents and scattering them all over the room. Suddenly she turned to me and held out a quarter. "Daka!" she said with great enthusiasm (her version of "tzedakah"-Hebrew for charity). Our daily ritual of placing a coin in our charity box had obviously given her the idea that all coins are intended for that purpose. I was in no hurry to correct her, and we immediately went to place the quarter in its "rightful" destination. Later, I smiled over the incident. If only we could all share my daughter's single-minded view, I thought, that money is for giving, what a different place the world would be! Of course, money is for both giving and spending. And both giving and spending are means for us to make the world a better place. But there's something special about giving. This week, join us for an in-depth look at the art of tzedakah. From the mystical to the purely practical, it's astonishing what a simple act of charity can accomplish. All in all, I think you'll agree that to give is truly a gift! Sarah Ogince, on behalf of the Chabad.org Editorial Team This Week's Features Printable Magazine On Giving Judaism: The Right Way to Give No one should have to pay with his dignity for another's assistance. How you give, our sages taught, is more important than how much you give! Story: Love in a Heartbeat He turned his head to me, and in his soft, broken Spanish asked, "Cuando voy a morir?"-"When will I die?" By Dr. Blair P. Grubb Story: The Wheel of Life "If there's nothing I can help you with," said the Baal Shem Tov, "perhaps you'd like to hear a story?" By Shoshannah Brombacher Story: The Meeting Hundreds of mitzvot were about to be performed in Shchedrin! How could it be prevented? As told by Yanki Tauber Voices: Between Two Worlds From that moment on, all of my energy, time and patience snowballed into one enormous goal-taking care of the woman who gave me the best years of her life. By Catherine Roozman Weigensberg Video: The Charity Ladies Itche and Jono help two eccentric sisters give tzedakah. Hilarity ensues. Dovid Taub & Jonathan Goorvich  Watch (7:21) Video: On the Mark Rabbi Raphael Pelcovitz shares a personal discussion he had with the Rebbe in the late 1950s.  Watch On Chance Spirituality: How Random is a Lottery? There has to be some algorithm, some set of computer-coded logical rules, that stacks the odds in favor of the lottery while tantalizing the customer with a seemingly good chance of winning. By Arnie Gotfryd Living: A Grave Mistake As he bent down he glanced at the writing on the monument, blinked, stepped back and read it again . . . By Ann Goldberg Beliefs: What Does "Mazel Tov" Mean? I always thought Mazel Tov meant "congratulations." I recently heard that it actually means "good luck." But I thought Jews don't believe in luck . . . By Aron Moss On Jewish Unity Jewish Geography: Building Bridges & Sukkahs of Understanding in Shanghai, China He was warned that he could be prosecuted. So he agreed to dismantle the sukkah-which he did, after the holiday ended . . . By Whimsy Anderson Parshah: A Foundation of Love We all have different levels of ability, opportunity and commitment. The foundation of the edifice, however, is built of constancy . . . By Shlomo Yaffe Voices: Learning to Yearn Word by word, image by image, the great Temple appeared before us, rebuilt in its glory . . . By Rhona Lewis Question: I Want a Star of David Tattoo I'm thinking of getting the Star of David. I have heard that tattoos violate Jewish law. What do you think I should do? By Tzvi Freeman Connecting Heaven and Earth Parshah: Home A corner of the universe that is utterly, exclusively, one's own. By Yanki Tauber Lexicon of Jewish Thought: Torah Beyond wisdom Torah is a sharing of purpose, of intent, of the desire from which all that is emerges. Audio: What Is Authentic Kabbalah? Kabbalah is a received tradition, but a living one, sprouting, growing and blossoming in the most creative ways, yet always organically bound to its roots. A discussion with Tzvi Freeman  Download    Listen (1:20:36) KabbalaToons LIVE! Words from the Creator of the Animated Series Rabbi Tzvi Freeman, creator of the animated series, KabbalaToons, presents and explains select episodes to a live audience. By Tzvi Freeman  Watch (32:06) Judaism 101 Kosher: Waiting Between Meat & Dairy The laws of kashrut require that in addition to not eating them together, we wait a specified period of time between eating meat and eating dairy. Video: Cooking in Eli's Kosher Kitchen Join Eli as he makes everybody's favorite: chicken soup with matzah balls for the Shabbat meal.  Watch (8:51) Question: Can I Thank G-d for a Hybrid Fruit? I heard that G-d does not want us to create hybrid fruit. So my question is, if G-d is not happy with this fruit, should I make a blessing before eating it? By Yehuda Shurpin Parenting Video: Talking to Your Teen Opening up the lines of communication with your children, or how to talk so kids will listen and how to listen so kids will talk. By Daniel Schonbuch  Watch (18:07) Voices: The Missing Ponytail It seems that my daughter is expected to appear in school each day with a ponytail, which is taken as a sign that she has a good mother... By Robyn Cuspin