A wedding as it should be: full of spirituality

I danced in circles with dozens of elegantly clad women as the band played a Hasidic tune that seemed to go on and on. The blisters on the bottoms of my feet were evidence that I gave it my all, not used to wearing high heels or dancing, especially not at the same time.

I recently attended the wedding of Chanie and Mendy Yarmush at the Grand Hyatt in Tampa. Chanie is the daughter of Sulha and Yossi Dubrowski, who have run Chabad-Lubavitch of Tampa Bay in Carrollwood for the past 20 years. Chabad is a mystical form of Hasidic Judaism that focuses on outreach to unaffiliated nonobservant Jews like me.

Auschwitz and Darfur

The images from Sudan are horrific: wounded, starving, diseased adults; skeletal, dying infants. Some people have referred to this as “ethnic cleansing,” and the U.S. called it “genocide.” Since 2003, an estimated 400,000 Africans have been massacred by the state-sanctioned Janjaweed (“men on horses”), many of them through savage torture. Many men had their eyes poked out. Countless women were raped, and if they refused, their arms and legs were broken. Children were mutilated while others perished from famine and disease. Two million people have been displaced from their homes and villages.

As youngsters, many of us could not fathom how the world remained silent as six million Jews were taken to their deaths. How was it that even among many Jews apathy prevailed? How, we wondered, could anybody go to sleep at night knowing that tomorrow another 12,000 Jews (as was the number in 1944) would be gassed?

But human nature knows all too cruelly how to detach. One of the tragic ironies of life: As many of us get ready to enjoy a serene weekend, in Darfur others will brace for rape, torture and death.

After Agoura Eruv Dismantled, Residents ask ‘What’s up with that?’

Conejo Valley, CA — Construction of an eruv in the Conejo Valley was nearly complete last month when area residents began complaining to public officials about aesthetics and safety concerns as well as a lack of proper permits. Last week the eruv’s organizers ordered all remaining portions along the enclosure’s 5-mile perimeter be dismantled.

“We are sorry that mistakes were made and that the eruv was put up in an incorrect way,” Eruv Committee spokesman Eli Eisenberg told a hostile crowd of about 60 Conejo residents during the Oak Park Municipal Advisory Council (MAC) meeting on Jan. 23.

Ukraine native staying home to keep Jewish tradition alive

Ivano-Frankovsk, Ukraine — As an observant Jew, Moishe Leib Kolesnik admits he thinks about moving to Israel and the ease of living a religious lifestyle there rather than staying in this Western Ukraine city.

But Kolesnik just can’t leave his hometown, which he serves as spiritual leader and keeper of all things Jewish.

“Leaving the community for some time is very difficult for me,” he acknowledges.

Jewish Holidays Come Early at Aleph

Surfside, FL — Out of sight, out of mind . . . When Jewish holidays come around, it’s easy to forget those who, for whatever reason, are beyond the general community. Sometimes, they are remembered by token gestures. Oftentimes, they are baited by proselytizing groups. One Jewish organization is in full gear now to make sure that come Purim and Passover, no Jew is left behind.

The Winners of the Darchai Menachem Chinese Auction!

SPLIT THE POT – FREEDA SCHAPIRO
JACKPOT 1 – YEHUDIT GOODMAN
JACKPOT 2 – AMICHAI COHEN

1. GRAND PRIZE – CHANA JACOBSON
2. COMPUTER – ROCHEL GINSBURG
3. ISRAEL/EUROPE TRIP – YITZCHOK HURWITZ
4. EZAGUI BOOKCASE – CHAIM NEWBORT
5. MAGNIFICENT DIAMONDS – MICA SOFFER

List Continued in the Extended Article!

Darchai Menachem’s Chinese Auction!

The Darchai Menachem School which opened up a few years ago in Crown Heights quickly became famous for its high quality education with very specific and individual attention. Not for no reason is the school commonly referred to by residents as one of the best Moisdos in Crown Heights.

“One of the things that set Darchai Menachem apart from other schools is the small classes with 10 children, something that gives the teachers the possibility to give much more individual attention to each students need and creates a comfortable atmosphere in between students” said the principle R. Ayal Ben-Tzion

Calls for police investigation into Muslim extremism

…“Rabbi Aryeh Sufrin from Chabad Lubavitch Centre, Eastern Avenue, Gants Hill, told the Ilford Recorder: ”I’m quite horrified that this language is still being used“…

London (EJP) — Both Jewish and Muslim leaders have called for police to launch an official investigation into the Islamic extremism uncovered in the UK TV documentary “Undercover Mosque”, which revealed that anti-Semitic DVDs were on sale at London’s Central Mosque in Regents Park.

The films, contained the speeches by two radical preachers, Sheikh Feiz and Sheikh Khalid Yasin, which predict the mass-extermination of the Jews on a ”day of judgment,“ dismiss equal rights for women as ”foolishness,” and accuse the Christian faith of deliberately spreading the AIDS virus around Africa.

Questions As Weapons

“Why did you kill your grandmother?” That’s what Professor Ruth Wisse said to an Arab student at Stanford who asked her, “Why is Israel an apartheid state?” The student was flummoxed and tried again, “Why is Israel an apartheid state?” Wisse again responded, “Come on now, tell us why you killed your grandmother.” A few more rounds of this and the student relented.

According to the Chabad Rabbi who invited Harvard’s Wisse to speak, Wisse then explained how some questions are not questions at all, but weapons: If she would have answered his anti-Israel accusation, she would have been trapped, and done damage to her cause.

English Takes a Back Seat in Morristown – South Americans Get a Month-Long Taste of Yeshiva

At first glance, there was no telling which of the students in the study hall of the Rabbinical College of America in Morristown, N.J. were newcomers. All the men in the room sat in pairs, known as chavrusas, deep in their studies, reading from religious texts. For Jews, there is no language barrier; everyone understands, or does their best to comprehend, the Hebrew language.

A Soul in Crown Heights – A Student Challenges Himself by Exploring His Roots

According to Jewish thought, life is a spiritual journey that leads individuals through moments of pleasure and pain, inspiration and struggle, enlightenment and confusion in order to build a better relationship with Hashem. A Jew should never feel comfortable with his current position in the physical and spiritual worlds, but instead must constantly evaluate his actions and philosophies to better align with what G-d desires of him.