The Weekly Sedra – Re’eh

In this week’s Torah portion we find a clear hint at Jerusalem “And it shall be that the place in which G-d your G-d will choose to make is name abide. Bring your offerings etc.” (Deut 12:11).

Jerusalem is central and essential to Judaism. Not only was it the home for the first two Holy Temples and the direction to which every Jew in the world must face when praying today but it is there that Moshiach will rebuild the third Temple and gather the Jews.

So why isn’t it mentioned explicitly in the Torah? Why only as “The place that G-d chooses”?

The Lubavitcher Rebbe (Likuti Sichot Vol. 2 pp 617-6 19) asks this question and answers it from ‘Sefer HaChaim’ a book written by the brother of the famous Mahaha”l of Prague (1520-1609) as follows:

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Spreading message of hope and peace

Leader-Post
Rabbis Shaul Goldman (left) and Boruch Cohen, both 22 and from New York, were visiting Regina as part of the Jewish Summer Peace Corps. Rabbis Shaul Goldman (left) and Boruch Cohen, both 22 and from New York, were visiting Regina as part of the Jewish Summer Peace Corps. Photo by: Don Healy, Leader-Post

Two young rabbis have been in Regina this week to spread the messages of their faith and of peace to the city’s small Jewish community.

Rabbis Shaul Goldman and Boruch Cohen — both 22 years old and residents of New York City — arrived in Regina last Sunday as part of their month-long outreach project for Saskatchewan Jews.

The pair, who were ordained as rabbis earlier this year, plan to spend about 10 days reaching out to the city’s Jewish population, helping them to rediscover their heritage and religion.

“Everyone has a soul, and who are we to judge what someone’s situation is? Every person has their challenges in life and so on, and the idea is to stress positivity and the like,” Cohen, who is originally from England, said earlier this week.

Hundreds Attend Shloshim of R. Zalman Shagalov OB”M

Hundreds attended a Shloshim gathering Tuesday Evening for Rabbi Schneur Zalman halevi Shagalov OBM on at F.R.E.E. The program which Lasted for about 5 hours began with Rabbi Mendel Shagalov calling upon Chazan Reb Moshe Teleshevsky to recite the Rebbe’s Kapitel. Afterwards Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok Shagalov (eldest son) made a Siyum. Next was Rabbi Elchonon Shagalov the younger son who tried speaking of loosing his friend, mentor, Rabbi, and father choked for words.

We Are Back!

After a long hard day of server maintenance we are finally back to normal. During our downtime we accumulated quite a backlog of articles and we still have to get used to the new system.

So please bear with us as we return to normal!

The Technical and Reporting Staff of CrownHeights.info,

Smoky Track Fire Strands Riders on 2 Trains on Manhattan Bridge

The New York Times

A track fire sent smoke billowing through a subway tunnel in Downtown Brooklyn during the evening rush yesterday, halting two subway trains carrying nearly 4,000 passengers, who had to be led to safety on the Manhattan Bridge.

At least 25 people received minor injuries, including 10 passengers and three firefighters who were treated at hospitals for smoke inhalation, the authorities said.

Subway and car traffic between Brooklyn and Manhattan was snarled for hours.

Koptsev confesses attack on synagogue, denies nationalism

ITAR-TASS

Moscow, Russia — The Moscow City Court has opened hearings on the merits over the case of 22-year-old Alexander Koptsev, a resident of Moscow, accused of attacking praying worshipers at a Moscow synagogue early this year.

The defendant confessed the very instance of attacking parishioners, but denied any nationalist motive behind his actions.

“I do confess I caused injuries, but I do not recognize guilt under articles “attempted murder” and “incitement of inter-ethnic discord,” Koptsev said.

The prosecutor read out the bill of indictment. Victims began to be questioned afterwards.

Ex-convict: I killed granny

NY Daily News

The ex-con who allegedly stabbed to death a Brooklyn great-grandmother was angry that her sister didn’t pay him enough for their sham marriage, police sources said.

Anderson Scrubb, 50, had married a sister of 69-year-old Gloria Boney so that the woman could get a green card, the sources said.

But Scrubb said the family had only paid him half of the $5,000 they promised for his bogus union with Jocelyn Ford. And when Boney refused to pay up and threatened to tell the authorities on Saturday, Scrubb snapped, the sources said.

Chabad of Northwest Corner Celebrates Decade of Growth

Litchfield County Times

Litchfield, CT – Eleven years ago, Rabbi Joseph Eisenbach and his wife, Mina, followed their religious faith and passion to Litchfield. Young and newly married, he was 23 and she was 19, they assumed their roles as emissaries of the centuries-old Chabad-Lubavitch movement in a town where being Jewish was rare and practicing Chabad Hasidism was more so.

Six children later-one more is on the way-the Rabbi and Mrs. Eisenbach are celebrating the Chabad Lubavitch of The Northwest Corner’s 10th anniversary and a move to a larger and more prominent facility on West Street in Litchfield.

“It is a tremendous milestone,” said Rabbi Eisenbach. “We have been blessed that the community has supported us.”

A Remarkable Spirit is Laid to Rest

Chabad.org
Michael Levin cut short a vacation with family in
Philadelphia to rush to the Lebanese front.
Photo: Family photo

Ever since he was a teenager growing up in suburban Philadelphia, Staff Sgt. Michael Levin dreamt of moving to Israel and joining the Israel Defense Forces. He died on Aug. 1 fulfilling that dream, fighting in the service of the country he loved near the southern Lebanon village of Aita al-Shaab. He was 22.

In the days and weeks since his untimely passing, many have spoken and written about the American’s dedication to his elite paratrooper unit – he was vacationing with his family in Newtown, Pa., when the war with Hezbollah terrorists broke out in July, and he promptly boarded a plane to enter the fray. But those who knew Levin also attest to his passion for Judaism.

“Michael’s idealism was a total selflessness, a response from within to do the right thing,” said Rabbi Yehuda Shemtov, director of Chabad-Lubavitch of Bucks County, where Levin was part of the inaugural teens’ group. “That’s very rare for a teenager.

New Shluchim To Merick New York

Shmais.com

Rabbi & Mrs. Shimon Kramer of Kings Park, NY will IYH be moving on Shlichus to Merrick, NY where they will open a Chabad center to serve the Merrick, Bellmore and Wantagh communities and the southeast Nassau area.

They will also continue running the Gan Israel Day Camps of Suffolk County.

The Kramers were appointed by Rabbi Anschelle Perl.

HATZLOCHA RABBA!

If you are aware of any Jewish families in the area, please forward their contact info to: rabbik@gmail.com.