A Shliach from a small town was visiting Crown Heights to stock up on months’ worth of kosher food, only to face an urgent problem that happens well too often in our neighborhood – a problem which can be entirely avoided with a little bit on consideration.
As we enter the summer months, we share with our readers a letter written to Mrs. Shaindel Teichtel 19 years ago by mother of a then high school girl who was a peer and friend, herself a renowned Crown Heights educator, after she expressed grave concern to her on the level of Tznius in the local girls’ schools and in the wider community. Every word of the letter is still relevant today.
Weighing in on the debate over Tznius that was sparked by a letter to the parents of Crown Heights girls’ school Bnos Menachem, Rabbi Avrohom Brashevitzky, Shliach to Doral, FL, shares his thoughts on this controversy, while tying it into this week’s Parsha.
“We are so focused on the clothing aspect of tznius that we may be missing the forest for the trees,” writes a member of the Crown Heights community in this op-ed shared with CrownHeights.info.
“We need Tznuis role models who look nice, classy and yes ‘with it,'” says a Bnos Menachem mother in this op-ed response after receiving a controversial letter from the school requiring all parents to agree to strict Tznius guidelines, including no long shaitels, dark nail polish, or denim.
Crown Heights community member Chaya Sara Waldman penned the following open letter to Rabbi Motty Gurary, director of Bnos Menachem, in response to his letter requiring all parents to adhere to strict Tznius guidelines – including no denim, long shaitels or dark nail polish – in order for their children to be considered for the coming school year.
The Tanya, the foremost spiritual text for Chabad Chasidim since the late 18th Century, could be the next big thing for secular self-help, says Rishe Groner in an article published by Tablet Magazine that is going viral.
It is becoming increasingly popular among some Orthodox Jewish women to send their own hair to wig-making companies – who then create a Sheitel for them that perfectly matches their natural look at a much lower cost. Writing for the Five Towns Jewish Times, Rabbi Yair Hoffman seeks to clear up some of the Halachic questions surrounding the issue.
Rebbitzin Tzippy Weiss, Shlucha to Miami Lakes, FL, and a renowned Kallah educator, lent her voice to the brewing controversy involving the recently-launched ‘Tahor’ app, which allows women to submit Bedikah inquiries to a rabbi via photo.
A recently-divorced Crown Heights father takes his former Mashpia to task for his purported lack of guidance before his marriage fell apart, as well as his judgmental attitude afterwards, in this eye-opening op-ed submitted anonymously to CrownHeights.info.
Writing for The Forward, Lubavitcher attorney and activist Eli Federman accuses European countries that ban Kosher and Halal ritual slaughter of hypocrisy, and points to antisemitism and Islamophobia – not animal welfare – as their primary motivation.
When Shoshanna Silcove learned that she had become a grandmother for the first time, she couldn’t contain her excitement. She jumped up out of her office chair and exclaimed, “I’m a grandmother!” All her 150 co-workers stood up and applauded. Then, she had a moment of reflection.
Following the sudden passing of Rabbi Dovid Steigman OBM, his grandson – Rabbi Dovi Henig, Shliach in Chengdu, China – penned a letter to his community remembering him and a visit he made to their community. He also shared a message of comfort from the Chumash which exemplified his grandfather.
The New York City Department of Health has once again launched a coordinated attack on the age-old Jewish practice of metzitzah b’peh, deploying a barrage of alternative facts and fake news, says veteran Mohel Rabbi Levi Heber.
It’s time for the Crown Heights community to have a serious conversation about housing reform, says one community member in this op-ed submitted to CrownHeights.info.
It’s heartbreaking. Those absolutely heart-stopping horrific sounds: screeching brakes, slamming crash, shattering glass, screams… A racing ambulance, flashing, blaring, whining, and getting closer, announcing trouble. Instant panic and tefillah. Please Hashem let it be ok. And not be anyone I know.
“If the State of Israel is to be a Jewish state. A sliver of a state, in a world teeming with Muslim dominated states. And if the Jewish state wants to respect the safety and wellbeing of its citizens, and its law abiding residents, it can happen,” writes Aliza Bas Menachem in her latest op-ed.
In a painful open letter to the community, a Crown Heights parent says that last night their young son was struck by a vehicle as he was crossing the street. The driver, a member of our community, then added insult to injury.
Update: The driver (through CrownHeights.info) reached out to the family of the boy who was hit. She personally apologized to the boy and has offered to pay for any damage.
“The so-called ‘settlements’ are not bargaining chips in negotiations. They are the front lines for Jewish security for the people of Israel in the land of Israel,” writes Aliza Bas Menachem in her latest op-ed, following the Obama-sanctioned UN Security Council vote to condemn Israeli settlements.
A Crown Heights mother watched as her daughter came home from her classmate’s Bas Mitzvah with an entire shopping bag full of prizes and party favors. She could see the anxiety on her daughter’s face. Will she be considered the “neb” of the class because her Bas Mitzvah celebration is going to be held at home?
With so many suggestions on how to tackle the “Shiduch Crisis” being passed around, one anonymous CrownHeights.info reader believes there is a key issue being ignored, and offers an innovative way to deal with it.
As President Obama counts down his final weeks in the Oval Office, two well-known names in the legal world have called for a presidential pardon for Sholom Mordechai Rubashkin in an op-ed printed by the Wall Street Journal, America’s largest newspaper by circulation.