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Weekly Story: The Frierdiker Rebbe 

Being that this coming week is Yud-Beis Tammuz, and many people ask me various questions about the Frierdiker Rebbe, especially as my editor is in midst of reviewing the second volume,  I would like to clarify one point which I believe is a misconception that many have. 

Going to Yeshiva for Johnny

Johnny Ellis had a plan. He’d wrapped up his old job, had a new one starting in June, and was going to spend the time in between doing something he’d wanted to do for a while — study in yeshiva. He never made it to either. Johnny, 28, a beloved member of Chabad Young Professionals of Hoboken and Jersey City, died suddenly in April — the day before he was set to leave for Guatemala.

The Jewish State You’ve Never Heard Of

The traces are everywhere. The train station welcomes arrivals in both Russian and Yiddish. A menorah towers over the town square. And unlike nearly every other Soviet-built city, Birobidzhan’s main avenue isn’t named for Lenin — it’s named for the Yiddish writer Sholom Aleichem.