Jewish sect abloom with rabbi teams

David Eliezrie is a rabbi – the head of a Yorba Linda, Calif., synagogue. One of his sons is a rabbi, and two of Eliezrie’s daughters married rabbis.

The three children are “schluchim,” or members of rabbi-and-wife emissary teams sent around the world under the Chabad-Lubavitch banner, a small, growing and controversial Hasidic branch of Judaism.

Moscow synagogue attacker jailed

A Russian man has been jailed for 16 years after a retrial for stabbing nine worshippers in a Moscow synagogue.

The Moscow city court also ordered Alexander Koptsev, 21, to undergo a treatment for a mental disorder.

Koptsev was originally jailed for 13 years in March after he was found guilty of racially-motivated attempted murder in the January attack.

But the Supreme Court overturned the conviction in June after appeals by both prosecutors and defence lawyers.

Mazal Tov! – Its A Boy!

We would like to wish a hearty Mazal Tov to Pinchas and Nechamie (nee Horowitz ) Margolis (Crown Heights) on the birth of their firstborn son!

May the newborn be a source of Nachas to his parents, grandparents, relatives & Klal Yisroel!

Chabad answers call to hold services for Rosh Hashana

The sound of a shofar, the symbolic ram’s horn trumpet, will return to Mesa this month as a Jewish-education group observes the High Holy Days in the city for the first time in years.

Chabad of Arizona will hold Rosh Hashana services, marking the Jewish New Year, Friday through Sept. 24 at the Mesa Convention Center.

Chabad officials said Mesa is a growing community, and residents responded enthusiastically when asked if they were interested in bringing the organization to the city.

Chabad received numerous calls and e-mails after sending out more than 5,000 mailings promoting the Rosh Hashana services to area residents, Rabbi Laibel Blotner said.

1300 Turn Out for Walk4Friendship

West Bloomfield, MI – At the Walk4Friendship, where 1,300 participants walked, wheeled, rolled and strolled to raise close to $200,000 for the Friendship Circle of West Bloomfield, MI, there were two finish lines.

Chabad movement gaining followers in South Florida

ONCE CONSIDERED OBSCURE, CHABAD LUBAVITCH IS FAST

BECOMING POPULAR WITH SOUTH FLORIDA JEWS.

From sundown Friday until sundown Saturday, members of Chabad Lubavitch synagogues are forbidden to drive, cook meals or even flip a light switch. Leaders wear old-fashioned, heavy black coats and hats and long beards.

Their need to be within walking distance of their members has sometimes brought Chabad into conflict with local government officials. Many cities have zoning laws prohibiting houses of worship in private homes or shopping centers.

But this once-small branch of Orthodox, Hasidic Judaism is now attracting thousands of new participants, and new synagogues are sprouting up in single-family homes and storefronts throughout South Florida.

New Shluchim to Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh, PA – Chabad of Pittsburgh plans to begin a new informal education program for high school students this winter.

Rabbi Shmuly Rothman, who has run Jewish youth programming in Toledo for the last six years, recently returned to Pittsburgh, where he grew up, to run the program.

Chabad Educator Wins National Award

Columbia, SC – Rabbi Meir Muller, a Shaliach of Chabad Lubavitch and director of the Columbia Jewish Day School, has been named as a national early childhood professional of the year, a top national award program recognizing early childhood educators.

Early childhood experts and advisors from Scholastic Publishing selected the five grand-prize winners from over 700 nominees. Judging criteria included the educator’s overall commitment to advocacy, developmentally appropriate curriculum, cultural sensitivity, leadership, and community outreach, as well as their ability to mobilize resources.

In the Trenches, From Illinois to Kiryat Shmona

With putty in his ears to protect them from the roaring report of mortar fire, Morton Friedman of Wilmette, IL, supported Israel during the war from the frontlines.

When the war started, Friedman, a former Chief of the Criminal Division of the Cook County State Attorney’s Office, called Rabbi Dovid Flinkenstein at Chai Center-Chabad of Wilmette. He wanted to volunteer in Israel, and not just volunteer somewhere in Israel, which would have been enough, but in the north. “I had trouble conceptualizing why a Diaspora Jew’s blood is more worthy of protection than an Israeli Jew’s,” said Friedman.

Bochurim and Chazzan Placement In Hebrew

The Shluchim Office is proud to announce the newest addition to its website. Following the major success of Bochurim and Chazzan Placement in English, it was decided to service the Hebrew speakers as well. The entire Bochurim and Chazzan Placement Department has now been translated and launched to be used for Hebrew speaking applicants and Shluchim.

For more information log onto www.shliches.com or email Hebrew@shluchim.org

Woman Mugged on Empire and Albany

At around 9:10pm Shomrim received a call from a man who’s wife had just been mugged. Immediately numerous Shomrim members arrived on scene and began canvassing for what the woman described as two male blacks who got away with her purse.

The woman stated she was attacked by the two perp’s one came up behind her while the other came up in front of her and grabbed her purse and made their way down Albany towards Lefferts. Police were notified by both Shomrim and the victim, but took nearly 30 minutes to respond. When police finally arrived they stated that the reason for the delay was due to the fact that they had only 2 cars out and they had cut their ‘lunch break’ short to take the call.

Police then took the woman for a canvas and when that turned up negative they filed a police report.