Op-Ed: Open Letter to Parents of Chabad Teens

As we approach Tishrei – of a Shnas Hakhel – many families are considering sending their teenage sons and daughters (sometimes even younger) to Crown Heights for Yom Tov in order to draw from the deep well of Chabad richness – the Rebbe’s Shul, the Sukkah, the Ohel and the streets of the Schunah.

Undoubtedly, many parents feel that the time spent in Crown Heights is a time to charge or recharge the batteries of our children to help them tackle a year of learning, Mivtzoim and success.

There is no Kedushah in the world like Crown Heights in Tishrei, however, a cornerstone of Chabad philosophy is “Zeh LeUmas Zeh Asah Elokim” and therefore great caution is necessary.

Southeast Texas Emerges From Hurricane Ike With Costly Property Damage

For many Jewish residents of southeast Texas, Hurricane Ike amounted to several heart-pounding hours of blasting 100 mph winds and driving rain smack dab in the middle of Shabbat.

Jewish Family of Four Perishes in Russian Airline Disaster

A Jewish family of four was killed Sunday morning when a Boeing 737-500 airplane crashed during its final approach to Perm, Russia. All 88 people aboard Aeroflot Flight 821 are presumed dead, the Interfax news agency reported.

Terror Suspected in Aeroflot Crash which Killed all 88 People Aboard

DEBKAfile’s counter-terror sources report from Moscow that three Jewish families, two Habad students and a Russian general were among the 88 passengers and crew killed in the Aeroflot Boeing 737 crash at Perm, Siberia, Saturday, Sept. 13. The plane was in flight from Moscow.

Op-Ed: Unions United. Brothers Divided.

In an imperfect world a famed man can be defamed. A practitioner of benevolence can be terrorized by malevolence. A man of refreshing candor becomes the victim of violent slander. Yet while I knew of the libel against him, I also knew that in good times and not such good times, we Jews inquire of our fellows’ welfare. In the most precarious of conditions, we will still be curious of our brethren’s well being. Resting my palm upon his arm, and with near sarcastic thoughts, I asked how he was. With his humility, integrity, and sincerity, he responded, “the grace of G-d.” A wholehearted answer from a man who walks wholeheartedly with G-d, and who with relentless goodness makes the world a home for G-dliness.

Faced with horrific aspersion, he maintains propriety with devout assertion. With venomous assaults on his person, he continues to be a kind and different kind of person.

But no good deed goes unpunished, and no act of charity goes unresented.

Op-Ed: Cold Meat On Shabbos Afternoons

So much has been written about the Rubashkins, specifically the allegations made against their company. AgriProcessors has been filleted by writers, roasted by bloggers, and smoked by former employees. It’s not my purpose here to defend the company against those allegations; I’ll let the public-relations professionals and attorneys handle that. I merely wish to share my personal experiences with Rubashkin meat.

In 1994 I was living at home, in Hallandale, Florida (a city about 30 minutes north of Miami) when it was decided I would go to a yeshiva out of town, as there were no Chabad yeshivas in the area. I informed my parents I wanted to study in a yeshiva in France because that’s where my classmates in Miami were headed.

Continued in the Extended Article.

Largest Jewish Center in NY University System Gears Up for Grand Opening

Hundreds of Binghamton University students, alumni, faculty members and administrators are gearing up to dedicate one of the nation’s largest Jewish student centers.

NY Post: Jon Voights 15th Telethon!

JON Voight , who mingled with the Republicans in St. Paul, will be dancing with the rabbis on the Chabad “To Life” Telethon next Sunday. Voight, who is not Jewish, has appeared on the telethon every year for the last 15 years, and always dances with the rabbis, including Rabbi Shlomo Cunin, who started the telethon 28 years ago. Since then, the telethon has acquired a cult following among Jews and non-Jews alike who tune in for the shtick and A-listers like Voight, Adam Sandler, Jimmy Kimmel, Regis Philbin and Bob Dylan.

Throughout Our Lives, We Try On Different Outfits

My youngest, Ben, now dons the garb of a Chasidic Jew when he celebrates Sabbath, holy days and sacred occasions — black frockcoat, broad-brimmed hat, ritual fringes, woven prayer-sash, and the rest. He has come to identify with an Orthodox sect, Chabad, with which I, too, was once closely associated.

Chabad recently gained a modicum of controversy, having posthumously declared their Rebbe (“Grand Rabbi”) the Messiah. The disagreements between us have never been rancorous. Ben knows my watchword: “Son, as long as you are first and foremost, in every dimension of your life, a ‘mensch’ (a decent, God-loving, honorable human being), everything else is just parsley around the plate.” So far, he is faithful to my watchword.

Forced to Run Once More, Jewish Residents Return to Storm-Tossed New Orleans

Though anticipating damage similar to three years ago, residents of greater New Orleans were largely spared devastation from Hurricane Gustav, which came ashore west of the city on Monday. Joining highly organized columns of evacuees, Jewish residents across the Gulf Coast headed to points inland. The five families of Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries serving New Orleans relocated to the Birmingham headquarters of Chabad-Lubavitch of Alabama.

Op-Ed: The Moshiach Controversy

A note to the reader: The letter below was originally written to explain this subject matter to my own son. Now I have been persuaded to make it public. I do not intend for this to be a polemic against a particular ideology. Rather, my intention is to help those thoughtful individuals who have open minds and are sincerely seeking for a way to understand and deal with the Moshiach issue.

If you don’t fit this description please don’t read further. I am also refraining from identifying myself as the author in order not to divert attention from the ideas and arguments themselves. I will instead rely on the dictum “Kabail Es HoEmes Mimi Sheomro.”

My Dear Son,

Last night I received a very good report about you from the Menahel of your Yeshiva. I am delighted that you are taking your learning more seriously and that you are focusing on absorbing Darkay HaChassidus. May it be His will that you continue to make good progress.
You asked me to explain to you my view of the controversial Moshiach issue in Lubavitch since you and many Bochurim in your Yeshiva are confused about the matter and feel very uncomfortable about it. After the report I received I decided not to wait until you come home but to spend the time and write this letter to you with my thoughts on the matter.

Man’s Body Found After 1-week Search

Search teams found the body of Anatoly (Naftoli) Smolyansky in Lake Piru on Monday, a week after he jumped into the water after his daughter and drowned.

Smolyansky, 39, of Los Angeles, and his family were in a boat on Lake Piru on the evening of Aug. 25 when his 5-year-old daughter fell overboard. Witnesses said he jumped in to rescue her and sank into the water as he was pushing her back toward the boat. He was presumed dead shortly afterward.

Massive Chilul Hashem, or Kidush Hashem?

The following article appeared yesterday in the Village Voice, a widespread NYC newspaper. The article takes focus on ‘Lubavitch’s Mainstream Missanics’ with Mrs. Sara Kanevsky and her wacky antics as the center stage for this article, detailing her and her groups fast day celebration meals, belly dance classes and nightly dancing to ‘traditional Yiddish hymns set to techno music‘. Our pride and glory or embarrassment and shame? You be the judge.

The Crown Heights Lubavitchers
Ecstatic Jews, a messiah proclaimed, and the consequential divisions

Like many other young men in Crown Heights, Itzik Balulu studies the Talmud and other Jewish texts from early in the morning to well into the night.

But you should see his ride. When he’s not ensconced in 770 Eastern Parkway, the center of the Chabad-Lubavitch universe, the 26-year-old Israeli and his crew drive around in a blinged-out Cadillac, a regular kandy-kolored streamline baby. Oy vey.

Grandpa’s Bar Mitzvah

Last August, I was visiting my grandparents at their home in Los Angeles. I live in Moscow and travel often to the US, and I try to make it a priority to fly to L.A. at least once a year to visit.

Sitting in the living room with my grandparents on that summer night, I inquired about a family member who was turning thirteen and whether he will be having a Bar Mitzvah, and how I could help him celebrate one.

This past Shabbos, I was touched…

Leaving Erev Shabbos from the country, heading home to Crown Heights and taking precaution with extra traveling time, was the plan…Figuring Woodbury Commons Outlets were only about an hour and half from NY, we decided to stop. Still having enough time to make our way back, we started our journey; a journey that began with complete panic and ended with total appreciation.

Who would have known that traffic on the inbound George Washington Bridge would be so backed up? With no movement in site, we were clearly at a standstill. Our first thoughts; the famous story of our dear uncle, Rabbi Levitansky ob”m, stuck at the gas station the entire Shabbos. We strongly believed that everything would work out. The only differences were; we were traveling with six people (the two of us, our 20 month old twins, newborn baby and sister-in-law) and were headed towards the bridge with no gas station in sight…

Breathe in breathe out…

Continued in the extended article.

Unsung Holocaust Hero Celebrates 100th

ATLANTA, GA [AP] — Andre Steiner was the muscle behind one of the most daring — and overlooked — missions to save Jews during the Holocaust.

In his youth, before he became a renowned architect, he helped engineer a plan to stave off the deportation of Slovakia’s Jews through a network of work camps and a series of bribes that likely helped save the lives of thousands.