“Please, Strengthen Unity”

Hours before their son, HaTomim Menachem Mendel Moshiach OBM’s Levaya, his parents took a brave step and called to all Chasisdim: “Please, strengthen in Achdus [unity] amongst ourselves!”

A young Bochur Chaim Menachem Mendel Moshiach Of Blessed Memory, 13 years old, passed away this Friday. Two weeks ago he was hospitalized after having a sudden heart attack and his condition had been deteriorating ever since, many Minyanim all over the world were saying Tehillim for him.

Thursday night the doctors summoned his parents and informed them of a serious deterioration in his condition and Friday afternoon 1 PM he passed away.

Out of Hospital, Rabbi Groner Makes Surprise Appearance at Yeshivah Fundraiser

Melbourne, Australia — Rabbi Yitzchok Dovid Groner, the spiritual head of Melbourne’s Lubavitch community, defied the odds on Monday by leaving his hospital bed to attend a celebration of 50 years of Yeshivah-Beth Rivkah Ladies College.

Community Board 18 Opposes Chabad House

Canarsie, Brooklyn — Under a blanket of darkness, Community Board 18 last week unanimously rejected a plan that seeks to bring a synagogue to a residential block in Mill Island.

Moments before the board was to take its vote, as if by divine intervention, all the lights in the Kings Plaza Community Room went out, providing a strange end to the board’s 2006-7 session.

The School Your Daughter Wants To Attend

VALLEY STREAM, LONG ISLAND — Bnos Chomesh Academy, a new girls’ high school located just 30 minutes from Crown Heights is now open for registration for the 2007-2008 academic year for 9th and 10th grades. Bnos Chomesh combines a strong academic curriculum with the kind of individual attention that only a school with small classes can provide.

The school’s founder and principal is Mrs. Dena Gorkin, an acclaimed mechaneches who has been working with teenage girls both in and out of the classroom for 15 years. Bnos Chomesh faculty is experienced, caring and tuned in to the educational, social, and spiritual needs of each girl. As a result, this new school has already gained the support and endorsement of some of the most respected mechanchim. The school has also received a whole-hearted approval from the principals of Beth Rivka High School.

FREE’s New Russian Translation of Pirkei Avot Opens Doors for Spiritual Growth

Downtrodden by betrayal and reversals of fortune, Alex Winner never imagined a 2000-year-old Jewish book would bolster his spirits. Two years ago, a concerned friend lugged Winner to Lubavitch World Headquarters, during the High Holidays. “He said I could pray, put on tefillin, give charity, and maybe I’d feel better,” said Winner. In the cavernous space filled with the hum of scholars and a polyglot of visitors, the Kiev-born Winner, a Moscow conservatory trained oboist, met Rabbi David Okunov associate program director of Friends of Refugees of Eastern Europe (FREE). “I cannot say I was looking for religion, but I was looking for support.” When Rabbi Okunov offered him a slim volume entitled “Ethics of the Fathers,” Winner accepted it out of curiosity, out of desperation.

Russian Police Officers Gain Insight into Jewish Community

Ufa, Russia – A conference for representatives of law enforcement agencies has just wrapped up in Russia, but this one is like no event previously held. This event was organized and sponsored by the Chief Rabbinate of Russia. More than 1,000 police officers from across the country attended lectures on the history of the Jewish people in Russia and internationally.

Moscow Jewish Community Hosts Deputy Mayor

Moscow, Russia — The Jewish community of Moscow hosted a high profile visit by a top official from the Moscow City Administration. Vladimir Resin, the First Deputy Mayor and Head of the capital’s construction agency, engaged in a tour of numerous local Jewish institutions this past week.

This excursion involved a visit to the building of the Jewish Charity Center ‘Shaarey Tzedek’, which is still under construction, a number of Jewish educational institutions, and the construction site of the Jewish Museum of Tolerance. During this time, he was accompanied by Chief Rabbi of Russia Berel Lazar and Aleksander Boroda, Chairman of the board of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia.

Alaska Jews to get Jewish Museum

Anchorage, AK — In a US state whose entire population is roughly equal to Tel Aviv’s and whose capital cannot be reached by road, the small Jewish community has strengthened its roots with the planned construction of the Alaska Jewish Historical Museum.

An Evening on Nutrition with Hatzalah and Maimonides

Crown Heights, Brooklyn — In an evening entitled “Nutrition and You” members of the community gathered this past Wednesday evening in the hall of Lubavitcher Yeshiva on Crown Street to hear a lecture from medical experts on nutrition and for a raffle drawing.

More pictures in the Extended Article! (Photos by: Webby and Eli Blachman)

The Rebbes Car Repaired in Time for Gimmel Tammuz

Gimmel Tammuz in the early afternoon R. Binyomin Klein stopped by Everything Automotive [our advertiser] on East New York Ave in order to pick up his Cadillac, the one in which he drove the Rebbe to the Ohel for a number of years.

More pictures in the Extended Article!

Op-Ed: How Much of My Income Should I Be Spending on Tuition?

Since my last article on the tuition crisis, many people have stopped me in the street, called or e-mailed me to discuss their pain and their ideas on this issue.

In order to deal with this problem it is imperative that we all, as a community, understand and agree on some basics. One key to our children’s success is proper Chinuch. Without education our children are missing the foundation to success in life. Education is a responsibility of both parents and the community. The community has an obligation to make sure education is affordable to every parent. Likewise, parents must know that they have to do whatever they can so their children can have the best education.

Once we agree that it is a personal and communal obligation, we must deal with the realities of life. What can we do about the cost of education? How do we deal with the expense?

Chaya Aydel Seminary Offers Community Outreach and Academic Excellence

Chabad-sponsored teacher training program makes inroads worldwide in Jewish education

They come from all over the world, beckoned by the promise of a toasty, warm winter and the opportunity to study Judaism in a unique environment.

Every year, around 25 girls are trained at the Chaya Aydel Seminary in Hallandale Beach, a Lubavitch school that focuses on rigorous, diverse academics and community involvement and outreach. Located in a separate building next to the Chabad of South Broward, Chaya Aydel is the only Lubavitch teachers’ seminary for females in the United States outside of New York.

Yeshivas Hatmimim of Parksville NY Receives Smicha

Parksville, NY — On Monday, beis Tammuz, eleven new Rabbonim concluded their studies at Yeshivas Hatmimim of Parksville NY which is headed by Rabbi Mordechai Stern and recieved their Semicha.

The young Rabbonim were tested four times this year by HoRav Gavriel Zinner of Boro Park the author of the famous seforim “Nitey Gavriel”, who praised the bochurim for their amazing knowledge in all parts of subjects they studied.

More in the Extended Article!