Letter & Spirit: Is the Hereditary Kehunah Undemocratic?

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In this week’s edition of Letter & Spirit, in honor of Parshas Tetzaveh, we present a letter from the Rebbe in which he comments on an article which discusses the seeming inconsistency between “the otherwise democratic orientation of Judaism” and the fact that there exists a hereditary aristocracy in the persons of the Kohanim and Levyim. The letter was written through the Rebbe’s trusted secretary Rabbi Nissan Mindel, and was made available by the latter’s son-in-law, Rabbi Sholom Ber Shapiro.

1/3/13
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Dramatic Chabad Growth in South Florida Latest Sign of 75-Year ‘American Jewish Revolution’

by Mindy Rubenstein and Carin M. Smilk - Chabad.org
Bal Harbour, Fla., just north of Miami Beach: At left is the Americana Hotel, next to it is the low-lying Balmoral, both Jewish-owned, and next to that is the Sea Isle, a high-rise that was restricted to Jews when this image was taken in 1960, the year Chabad Rabbi Avrohom Korf moved to Florida.
Bal Harbour, Fla., just north of Miami Beach: At left is the Americana Hotel, next to it is the low-lying Balmoral, both Jewish-owned, and next to that is the Sea Isle, a high-rise that was restricted to Jews when this image was taken in 1960, the year Chabad Rabbi Avrohom Korf moved to Florida.

It has been 75 years since the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe—Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, of righteous memory, a refugee from Communist Russia, Nazi Germany and war-torn Europe—arrived on America’s shores in 1940, on 9 Adar, 5700, which corresponds this year to Feb. 28, 2015. And in that time, the Chabad-Lubavitch movement has developed into a vibrant presence in Jewish communities around the nation and the world, with the most dramatic recent growth taking place among young families.

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Picture of the Day: Safety Is CTeen’s #1 Priority

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With a record 1,500 Jewish teenagers expected at the CTeen Shabbaton in Crown Heights this weekend, CTeen staff met with officers from the NYPD’s 71st and 77th precincts, as well as representatives from the Port Authority and the MTA, to formalize plans to beef up security to ensure the safety of the young guests.

Explosion in Kharkov Rattles Ukrainian Jewry

by Dovid Margolin - Chabad.org
A peaceful march in Kharkov, Ukraine, on Sunday was interrupted by an explosion that killed three people and injured nearly a dozen others, and has the entire city on edge.
A peaceful march in Kharkov, Ukraine, on Sunday was interrupted by an explosion that killed three people and injured nearly a dozen others, and has the entire city on edge.

An explosion on Sunday rocked a peaceful demonstration in the eastern city of Kharkov, Ukraine, killing three people and injuring nearly a dozen others. The march celebrated one year since the events last February at Maidan Square in Kiev, which led to the ouster of President Viktor Yanukovych, who is now in exile in Russia.

Reb Michoel Teitelbaum: A Chossid’s Daring Rescue

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Today, Vov Adar mark’s ten years since the passing of Reb Michoel Teitelbaum, OBM. Reb Michoel, together with his wife, Rebbetzin Esther Teitelbaum, are known to be the founders of Mossad Chinuch Oholei Torah, the largest Chabad yeshiva today. What many may not know, is the long history of mesirus nefesh that Reb Michoel had back in Soviet Russia.