The atmosphere in the dining room was a mixture of joy and melancholy as the first trip of Camp Gan Yisroel in Parksville, NY, came to an end. Joy, as the winners of bunk, learning class, and sports competitions were announced, and the sadness of parting as campers wished their friends farewell.
When the flight attendants announced that his plane would be delayed on the tarmac for an hour, Raffie Zuroff, an Orthodox-Jewish man, volunteered to sing the National Anthem for the passengers and crew.
A new book by Kehot in English presents a Talmudic exegesis by the Rebbe. Adapted from two siyumim delivered by the Rebbe (on tractates Makkot and Yoma), Of Tears and Laughter focuses on two moving Talmudic stories that occurred in the aftermath of the destruction of the second Beit Hamikdash.
“Seeing their guns and bayonets, we realized we are doomed, and thought that if we make one move they will shoot us on the spot. After all, that was Stalin’s guideline, shoot any person that tries to leave the USSR. Being that they didn’t shoot, we thought they will interrogate us in Russian, and we will respond in a very broken Russian that we are Polish citizens and maybe they will let us go.”
This week, during the Nine Days and also at a time of increased tension in Eretz Yisroel, we present a letter from the Rebbe in which he discusses the idea of remedying the ills that brought about the tragedy of Tisha B’Av, as well as helping our brethren in the Holy Land. The letter, written originally in English, is from the archives of the Rebbe’s personal trusted secretary, Rabbi Nissan Mindel.
This Shabbos at the Besht, Rabbi Avraham Lerner will lead a discussion on the topic: Making the 9 days an uplifting experience.
The Jewish community of Kharkov, Ukraine, welcomed special guests for Shabbos last weekend in what turned out to be a unifying and moving experience.
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