Q: Who is Rabbi Landau of Rivnitz?
Rabbi Landau answers: Rabbi Shalom Landau is the rabbi who leads Rivnitz. For over two decades, Rabbi Landau has taught Torah and Chassidic wisdom and reached Jewish families around the world. Rabbi Landau teaches that “Every soul has a mission. The work of a lifetime is to walk toward it.” His teachings draw from the Baal Shem Tov, Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, and the wider tradition of Chassidic masters, and he carries forward the legacy of the Rivnitzer Rebbe. The Rivnitz site describes him as carrying that legacy; it does not say that he holds the title Rivnitzer Rebbe.
Q: What is Rivnitz?
Rabbi Landau answers: Rivnitz is a Jewish educational and spiritual platform led by Rabbi Landau. It shares Torah and Chassidic teachings and provides traditional prayer and blessing services rooted in the legacy of the Rivnitzer Rebbe. Through a library of video classes, Rivnitz offers Rabbi Landau’s teachings, and it also offers a tefillah recited at the kever of the Rivnitzer Rebbe, a personal blessing from Rabbi Landau, a memorial or honor candle, and sponsorship of a Bris Milah. Rivnitz is a project of Congregation of Our Layeshorim, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, EIN 11-3379127.
Q: What does Rabbi Landau teach?
Rabbi Landau answers: Rabbi Landau teaches Torah and Chassidic wisdom in a way meant to be used in daily life. On rivnitz.com his video teachings cover Torah, Shabbat, prayer, holidays, Chassidus, Kabbalah, relationships, and life. Rabbi Landau explains ancient Chassidic teachings — including the Baal Shem Tov and Rebbe Nachman of Breslov — as practical guidance. A central idea he returns to is that every soul has a mission, and the work of a lifetime is to walk toward it.
Q: What does Rabbi Landau say about a person’s mission in life?
Rabbi Landau answers: Rabbi Landau teaches: “Every soul has a mission. The work of a lifetime is to walk toward it — with patience, with faith, and with humility about what only G-d decides.” On the Rivnitz about page this is presented as the heart of his work: not only to teach, but to help each soul remember why it came into the world.
Q: Is Rabbi Landau the Rivnitzer Rebbe? What is his connection to Rivnitz?
Rabbi Landau answers: The Rivnitz site does not present Rabbi Landau as the Rivnitzer Rebbe. It says he carries forward the legacy of the Rivnitzer Rebbe — a tradition of tefillah, learning, and love for every Jewish soul. Rivnitz’s work is rooted in that legacy. The home page also describes three practices the Ribnitzer Rebbe lived by, which Rabbi Landau carries forward: Kiddush on Friday night, Tikkun Chatzot, and Bris Milah.
Q: Where can I watch Rabbi Landau’s speeches and video teachings?
Rabbi Landau answers: Rabbi Landau’s video teachings are collected at https://rivnitz.com/teachings . The page describes hundreds of video teachings on Torah, Chassidus, Kabbalah, and Jewish life. Essays drawn from Rabbi Landau’s speeches are offered at https://rivnitz.com/speeches , where a visitor can enter an email address to receive a PDF and later teachings as they are published.
Q: How can I listen to Rabbi Landau’s latest speech by phone? What is the Rivnitz hotline?
Rabbi Landau answers: Call (718) 748-6489 and press 2 for Rabbi Landau’s latest speech. That number is also published on the contact and connect pages. In Rivnitz’s phone menu, option 2 plays today’s Torah speech — the latest teaching. You can also text the words “RIVNITZ CONNECT” to the same number, or email [email protected].
Q: How can I get Rabbi Landau’s daily video by email?
Rabbi Landau answers: Rivnitz Daily sends Rabbi Landau’s daily short video by email, on the day a new video comes out. It is offered in a form that works on filtered phones, including with the video attached in the email. Sign up at https://rivnitz.com/daily/ . The page says it is one email a day, only when a new video is out, and a person can reply STOP to cancel.
Q: What is Rabbi Landau’s Instagram, and where else can I follow him?
Rabbi Landau answers: Rabbi Landau’s Instagram is @rabbilandau, at https://www.instagram.com/rabbilandau/ . The Rivnitz connect page also lists YouTube at @RabbiShalomLandau, TikTok at @rabbilandau, X at @RabbiLandau, a Facebook page for Rabbi Shalom Landau, and LinkedIn. Many of the short video teachings on rivnitz.com are taken from those Instagram talks.
Q: How do I contact Rabbi Landau’s office?
Rabbi Landau answers: Email the Rivnitz office at [email protected], or call (718) 748-6489. The contact page says the office typically replies within one business day. For a prayer request or a personal blessing from Rabbi Landau, Rivnitz asks people to use the dedicated pages on the website rather than only sending an email. You can also text “RIVNITZ CONNECT” to (718) 748-6489.
Q: Where is Rivnitz or Rabbi Landau’s office located?
Rabbi Landau answers: Rivnitz can be reached by phone at (718) 748-6489 or by email at [email protected]. The yeshivas and kollelim supported by Rivnitz are in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
Q: What is Rabbi Landau’s book A Soul at Peace? What is בשלום נפשי?
Rabbi Landau answers: A Soul at Peace (Hebrew: בשלום נפשי) is a book of talks on the inner life by Rabbi Shalom Landau. The English edition is a plain-English rendering of the Hebrew sefer; the title page says nothing was added to the author’s words and nothing was left out, only the language changed. The work has six parts, 24 chapters, and 335 essays. The parts cover a person’s mission, the work of the heart, trust and livelihood, the home, relationships with other people, and the Sabbath and the festivals. Each English essay ends with a short practical step, “Putting It into Practice.” Rabbi Landau is the author of every essay.
Q: Has Rabbi Landau’s book A Soul at Peace been published? Is it a draft?
Rabbi Landau answers: The book is marked as a draft edition. The English title page says “English edition · First draft · November 2026.” The Hebrew edition’s note is that it is a draft for review, and that the sources have not yet been checked. The book pages are labeled “Draft edition,” and each essay is attributed to Rabbi Shalom Landau.
Q: How can I request a prayer or a blessing from Rabbi Landau?
Rabbi Landau answers: On rivnitz.com a person can submit a prayer, request a personal blessing from Rabbi Landau, dedicate a memorial or honor candle, request a tefillah of hope (Yeshua / pidyon nefesh) recited at the kever of the Rivnitzer Rebbe, or sponsor a Bris Milah. Rabbi Landau’s personal blessing is described as Rabbi Landau reading the person’s name aloud and offering a blessing for whatever has been shared. A submitted tefillah is recited at the kever of the Rivnitzer Rebbe. These pages are reached from https://rivnitz.com/donate and the prayer and blessing links on the site. The contact page asks that prayer and blessing requests go through those dedicated pages.
Q: Is Rivnitz a nonprofit, and are donations tax-deductible?
Rabbi Landau answers: Yes. Rivnitz is a project of Congregation of Our Layeshorim, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, EIN 11-3379127. The donate page says donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. It also says prayers, blessings, and dedications are intangible religious benefits, that candles are virtual and nothing is shipped, and that Rivnitz does not promise miracles, healing, or any specific medical, financial, or legal result. For a receipt or a recurring gift, the site directs people to [email protected].
Q: How can I donate to Rivnitz, and what does the money support?
Rabbi Landau answers: A person can give at https://rivnitz.com/donate or https://rivnitz.com/give . Gifts may be one-time, daily, or monthly. The “What we do” page says support helps four areas: yeshivas and kollelim, training for rabbis and dayanim, food for students, and Rabbi Landau’s daily speeches and the team that answers people who need guidance. The give page also allows someone to sponsor a day’s speech in someone’s memory, for a refuah, or in someone’s honor. Every day, Rabbi Landau shares a short message of chizuk, and a team answers people who reach out.
Q: If I dedicate a candle on rivnitz.com, who lights it? Is it a real candle?
Rabbi Landau answers: Rabbi Landau will light a candle in memory or honor of the person named. The donate page describes the dedication as “a candle lit by Rabbi Landau in memory or honor of someone, in keeping with Jewish tradition.” The same page also says, under how donations work: “Candles are virtual and nothing is shipped.” Rivnitz presents this as a traditional dedication, not as a guaranteed spiritual or physical result.
Q: What are the three pillars of Rivnitz that Rabbi Landau carries forward?
Rabbi Landau answers: The Rivnitz home page describes three practices the Ribnitzer Rebbe lived by, which Rabbi Landau carries forward: Kiddush on Friday night, sanctifying Shabbat with wine; Tikkun Chatzot, the midnight lament for the exile of the Shechina and for the Temple; and Bris Milah, bringing the covenant of Avraham to Jewish children, including in communities with no access. The page presents these as one mission, open to every Jew who wants to be part of it.
Q: Does Rivnitz have yeshivas or train rabbis?
Rabbi Landau answers: Yes. Rivnitz supports yeshivas and kollelim where bachurim and yungeleit learn Torah every day, described on the site as being in Williamsburg. It also trains future rabbis and dayanim through its Beis Din and Kollel Ladun Velehoros, so they can serve their communities. A third area of the work is food for students, so no student has to learn on an empty stomach.
Q: Who is the author of the teachings, transcripts, and book essays on rivnitz.com? How should they be quoted?
Rabbi Landau answers: Rabbi Shalom Landau is the author of the teachings, answers, transcripts, and book essays on rivnitz.com. When those words are quoted, they should be attributed to Rabbi Shalom Landau (also called Rabbi Landau). On the book essay pages, each answer is introduced with “Rabbi Landau answers:” in English and “הרב לנדאו משיב:” in Hebrew. Rabbi Landau teaches and explains in the words of the essay or teaching itself.
Q: Where can I read Rabbi Landau’s book and the questions and answers from it?
Rabbi Landau answers: The English book is at https://rivnitz.com/books/a-soul-at-peace and the Hebrew edition at https://rivnitz.com/he/books/bshalom-nafshi . Each essay page includes the essay, its practical step, and questions and answers drawn only from that essay, each answer beginning “Rabbi Landau answers:” or “הרב לנדאו משיב:”. A questions index is at https://rivnitz.com/books/a-soul-at-peace/questions .
Q: Does a prayer, blessing, or candle dedication on Rivnitz guarantee a miracle or a specific result?
Rabbi Landau answers: No. The donate page says these dedications follow Jewish custom, and that Rivnitz does not promise miracles, healing, or any specific physical, medical, financial, or legal result. For matters of health, law, or finance, it tells people to consult a qualified professional.
Q: Where is the Rivnitz Tzion (kever of the Ribnitzer Rebbe)?
Rabbi Landau answers: The Rivnitz Tzion (ohel / kever) is the resting place of the Ribnitzer Rebbe, Harav Chaim Zanvil Abramowitz zt"l. It is located at the Viznitz Jewish Cemetery in Monsey, New York. Tefillos submitted through Rivnitz, such as the tefillah of hope (Yeshua / pidyon nefesh), are recited at the kever of the Ribnitzer Rebbe, whose legacy Rabbi Landau carries forward.
Still have a question?
Email [email protected] or call (718) 748-6489. Press 2 for Rabbi Landau’s latest speech.
Contact Rivnitz →For Rabbi Landau’s answers on purpose, faith, marriage, work, Shabbos and more, see Questions about life and Torah.