This Motzoai Shabbos the Soul II Soul Concert!

The annual Soul II Soul concert is set to take place this Motzoai Shabbos Parshas Trumah in the George Wingate Auditorium on Kingston Ave. The proceeds of the concert go to the funding of education and summer camps for special children with special needs.

This year the concert is featuring Mordechai Ben David as its featured performance as well as a special performance by the Temimim Boys Choir under the direction of Rabbi Yossi Goldstein. Producers of the Soul II Soul concert have informed us that ticket sales are moving at an incredible rate selling out some sections of the George Wingate Auditorium.

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Yeshiva Academy gets $2 million Bequest

Worcester Telegram

Worcester, MA — A gift of nearly $2 million from the estate of Max and Ida Fallman will allow the Yeshiva Academy day school to offer college scholarships for the first time, Rabbi Hershel Fogelman said yesterday.

Mr. Fallman, whose family fled the Nazis in Austria to the United States in 1939, was a member of the Yeshiva board and a trustee of the Congregation Tifereth Israel Sons of Jacob Synagogue, Rabbi Fogelman said. Mr. Fallman was a photographer by trade and died in 2001.

“He valued education very much,” the rabbi said in an interview yesterday at the school on Newton Avenue.

Oholei Torah celebrates Fifty Years

Crown Heights has rarely seen a beautiful event such as it did this past Sunday, at Oholei Torah’s Gala Jubilee Dinner.

The hall, packed with over 1000 appreciative participants, enjoyed a scrumptious smorgasbord and a full sit-down dinner in the attractively decorated Oholei Torah Ballroom. Organized by the Dinner Committee, this elegant evening was full of love, respect and honor to the Mossad and its honorees

More pictures in the Extended Article.

Chasidic Tunes Inspire Rockers

Mordechai Shinefield – Lubavitch.com

New York, NY — The last few years in mainstream music have seen an explosion of bands influenced by Eastern European melodies and songs. From Jdub Record bands Balkan Beat Box and Golem to indie bands DeVotchKa and Beirut, everything from Roma lautari to klezmer music has been fair game. Recently, though, artists have been finding inspiration from a more mystical source – the niggunim of Chabad Lubavitch.

Gutnick Targeted in Second Terror Plot

Australian Jewish News

Melbourne, Australia — Prominent Chabad identity Rabbi Joseph Gutnick has been named for the second time as the target of a terrorist assassination plot.

A French court last week heard that Rabbi Gutnick’s name was listed in a notebook filled with coded messages belonging to terror suspect Willie Brigitte.

The court heard that the notebook, found in Brigitte’s home in the Sydney suburb of Lakemba, also contained the names of Jemaah Islamiah spiritual leader Abu Bakar Bashir and Jack Roche, who is serving a nine-year jail sentence for conspiring to blow up the Israeli embassy in Canberra.

Students Rejoice As They Meet Their Classmates For The First Time!

“A Day of Celebration” commenced in Chovevei Torah last Thursday afternoon as over 130 girls and mothers attended the Yaldei HaShluchim Online School program during the Women’s Kinus, celebrating the success of their children and the school. The boys celebrated with a similar program during the Men’s Kinus in Cheshvan.

For the first time classmates who have never met each other in person sat together with their teachers. There were a lot of hugs and excitement exchanged as the students came in and took their seats. Mothers were also thrilled to talk to their daughter’s teacher in person. They enjoyed delicious food and listened to special guest speakers. Students received certificates during the awards ceremony and later, participated in actual classes.

More pictures in the Extended Article!

Luxury and Hiddur Combine in New Kingston Avenue Mikveh

By Yitzchok Wagshul – The Crown Heights Chronicle

Nobody frequenting Kingston Avenue can have failed to notice the gorgeous new building just completed between Crown and Montgomery Streets, just to the left of Auction Ware. Many know that it houses a brand new men’s mikveh, and quite a few of those have already tried it out. Yet there’s more to this story than meets the eye.

Conceived some 7–8 years ago by Rabbi Don Yoel Levy of the OK Labs, the project soon evolved into a joint undertaking of the Levy and Rabkin families, according to Rabbi Chaim Fogelman, an official of the OK and chief overseer of the project. The mikveh, which officially opened Yud Shvat, is on the basement level of the three-level structure and has been built and maintained by the Rabkin family in memory of their father, Reb Meir Rabkin, a”h. It is to be called “Mei Meir,” or “Waters of Meir.” The second floor of the building houses a magnificent and truly inspiring (it has 15-foot ceilings with a dome!) shul built by the Levy family in memory of Rabbi Levy’s brother, Reb Eliezer Yitzchok Levy. It is scheduled to open in time for Pesach, and will IY”H be known as “Beis Eliezer Yitzchok.”

Israeli History Comes to Life for High Schoolers

The Orange County Register
DRESSING UP FOR LEARNING: Peter Small, who calls himself a “historical impressionist,” portrays Golda Meir to teach about Israel’s history. Other characters he plays include Thomas Jefferson and Harry S. Truman

Los Alamitos, CA — A room of high school students sat in silence Sunday morning as former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir recounted her signing of the Jewish nation’s declaration of independence.

Women Pay Tribute

NY Daily News
Faithful at grave of
Rebbetzin Schneerson.

Jamaica, NY — Thousands of Hasidic Jewish women recited psalms and prayed for guidance Friday as they huddled around the Queens gravesite of Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka Schneerson, wife of the last Lubavitcher rebbe.

The rebbetzin, who died 19 years ago Saturday, was known for her loyalty to her husband, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, whom she pushed to become the seventh rebbe – or spiritual leader – in 1950.

Acknowledging the rebbe and rebbetzin’s inspiring lives, scores of female emissaries from places as distant as Australia, Japan and Siberia journeyed to the couple’s final resting place in Cambria Heights.

Shanghai Restores Historic Synagogue

Boston.com
The entrance of the Ohel Moishe Synagogue which built in 1935, is seen Friday, Feb. 9, 2007 in Shanghai, China. Restoration work has begun on one of Shanghai’s two remaining synagogues, and a rabbi ministering to the city’s growing Jewish community said Thursday he believes officials will eventually turn over the other for regular worship service

Shanghai, China — Shanghai has started restoration work on one of its two remaining synagogues as part of China’s effort to revive Jewish heritage in a city that provided refuge to tens of thousands of Jews during World War II.

Oholei Torah’s Gala Jubilee Dinner – Just Days Away

Brooklyn, NY — In just over one week, on Sunday February 18th, Rosh Chodesh Adar, Oholei Torah will be celebrating the culmination of its Shnas HaChamishim Campaign with a Gala Dinner. To mark this historic event, friends, parents and alumni will join together in a show of support and solidarity as Oholei Torah celebrates its glorious past and secures a most promising future.

Inspired by Henson — and Schneerson

Sara Trappler Spielman – Forward

Dovid Taub has two main inspirations: Jim Henson and the Lubavitcher rebbe. Through his ability to knit threads of holiness and ancient kabbalistic wisdom into the fabric of his puppetry, Taub has created a comedy sitcom to which fellow Hasidim return every week. The “Itche Kadoozy Show” features a Hasidic rabbi and his troublemaking young neighbor who poke lots of fun at each other and see the world through very different eyes, yet ultimately learn life’s mystical lessons from each other. Through these opposing characters, Taub brings a new dimension to his genre — secularism and sacredness mingled into one — leaving all types of fans begging for more.

Condo Bans Mezuzos

Fort Lauderdale, FL — Laurie Richter says Jewish law requires her to attach a mezuzah to her doorpost.

But the board that runs The Port condominium, in the 1800 block of Southeast 17th Street, says displaying the 5-inch-long case with a religious message inside violates the condo documents and has ordered it removed.

“The Songs and Stories of Shabbat” Concert

An incredible and moving event took place a few days ago in the Valley in California.

Rabbi Moshe Bryski of Chabad of the Conejo and singer Benny Friedman partnered to produce the perfect Shabbos peulah, “The Songs and Stories of Shabbat”. Between Benny’s songs and Rabbi Bryski’s narration, the audience was wowed musically and spiritually. Scores left with renewed resolve to keep Shabbos.

More pictures in the Extended Article!

Amazing Success for Darchai Menachem’s First Musical Production!

At 8:00pm on Motzoai Shabbos, the Rosa Hall in Bais Rivka Campus Chomesh began filling up with families eagerly anticipating the upcoming show. The first of its kind for Darchai Menachem was this musical, entitled: The Change In Time, which depicts the story of a modern-day teenager going back in time for an eye opening adventure.

The evening began with an introduction/performance from Mendy Pellin, host of the widely popular new weekly news cast. Amid a few jokes and a crowed rolling in laughter, Mendy spoke about how necessary it is for schools to recognize and fill the need of creative outlets for their students. He emphasized how the night’s performance was one of those ways.

A full article accompanied by over 60 pictures and a video clip in the Extended Article!

Celebration of 29,000 Britot Milah

On Sunday, Jews from all walks of life, Chassidic, religious and non-religious gathered at the Young Israel Center in Hollywood, to celebrate the milestone of 29,000 Britot Milah that Brit Yosef Yitzchak has performed worldwide.

The evening began with personal experiences shared by people who had a Brit during the past year. Keynote speaker Rabbi Sholom Lipskar, expressed the fact that Brit Yosef Yitzchak is the spiritual safety net of our generation.