About the Site

The "Good Shabbos email" is sent each week, usually on Thursday evenings or Friday mornings, to hundreds of people who are subscribed to the electronic mailing list. Subscription is free of charge to anyone. Please click here to subscribe.

The email is written by Rabbi Yossi Lew, a Chabad Rabbi in Atlanta, Georgia, and a Rabbi at Congregation Beth Tefillah, a Chabad synagogue. The emails are edited by Mrs. Arlene Shapiro and Mr. Jeff Kalwerisky, both members of the Congregation and community in Atlanta.

Usually, the emails begin with a personal story or observation by Rabbi Lew, and the main theme connects with either the week's Torah portion or a relevant holiday theme.

The Good Shabbos Email developed over several years, beginning after the tragic murder of Mr. Allen Tenenbaum, in August, 1999. In April, 2000, Rabbi Lew began emailing to the Tenenbaum family the candle lighting times for the city of Atlanta for each Friday and festival eve. In the email, the Rabbi would add a few words of Torah, taken from articles written by people other than Rabbi Lew, or found on websites. Rabbi Lew would usually change these articles up, making small, and sometimes big, changes.

Eventually, these emails were also sent to a handful of the Rabbi's friends and by October, 2004, about 25 people were on the list.

At the end of October of that year, Rabbi Lew was motivated to write a Good Shabbos email from scratch. Inspired by his children's faith and trust in G-d, the email explored the attitude people have towards their faith in G-d. It was well received and from that time, the emails contained, mainly, original material by Rabbi Lew.

By March, 2005, the email list was opened to anyone who wanted. As of this writing, in February, 2006, close to four hundred people are subscribed, and the list continues to grow.

Since April, 2005, the Good Shabbos emails exclusively contain original material by Rabbi Lew, unless marked otherwise.

Every email written and sent is dedicated, lovingly, to the memory of Allen Charles Tenenbaum, Avraham Caim Ben Yashaya Halevi, and to the continued growth and success of the beloved Tenenbaum family: Debra, Brittany, Megan and Scott Tenenbaum.