All Summer Camps Are Urged To Participate In This World Wide Campaign To Add-A-Mitzvah For Shlaimos Haaretz

The situation in Eretz Yisroel is painful. Two weeks ago a soldier was kidnapped, this week another two were kidnapped, today a soldier died from his wounds that he got while trying to free his friends from a burning tank, the soldiers in the tank died. Civilians are being targeted in Tzfat and other northern locations. Ad Mosai?

At this time of year, as we remember the destruction of the Beis HaMikdosh, Our Rebbe said that destruction was caused by sins. To build a foundation for re-construction, said the Rebbe, we need to do the opposite of sinning, which is adding in Mitzvahs.

Head Shliach of Tzfat Rabbi Chaim Kaplan Injured

Chairman of Agudas Kiryat Chabad, Rabbi Chaim Kaplan, was hurt by shrapnel of a missile that fell in Tsfat when he was driving his car near ‘Beit Yigal Alon’. Rabbi Kaplan, who was hit in his face and is being treated in the ‘Ziv’ Hospital in Tsfat said smilingly, ‘The katyushas are chasing me all day”, referring to the shrapnel that damaged his home in Givat Shoshana.

In addition, a Chabad woman, Mrs. Yehudit Ivgi of Meron was injured in her eyes by shrapnel of a katyusha that hit a car she was standing near when she was shopping in Tsfat.

Katyusha Missiles Strike Tzfat

Katyusha missiles slammed into the holy city of Tzfat Thursday afternoon, striking a college, mortally injuring one and wounding close to 20. Hizbullah: If Beirut is hit, Haifa will be next.

Seven 122mm Katyusha rockets struck Tzfat (Safed) around 3 PM Wednesday. One landed near a bus stop, one near an absorption center and the others in populated areas as well. At least 20 people are being treated for wounds. A 70-year-old woman was critically wounded, and another person remains in serious condition. The rest suffered light injuries from shrapnel and shock.

A rocket also struck the Arab village of Majd al-Krum near Carmiel this afternoon. Majd al-Krum has seen arrests and investigations due to widespread support for Hamas and Syria in the village. The Hizbullah-fired missiled injured five residents, including two in moderate condition. Another wave of rockets struck Kibbutz Snir and the Arab village of Rajar, but failed to injure anybody.

Inspecting Kashrus Close Up – An Exhausting But Rewarding Trip

On Wednesday night, July 5, Rabbi Berel Levertov, Head Kashrus Supervisor for the Vaad Hakashrus-CHK, was about to leave on a long trip. It was one of his frequent trips for surprise inspections of dairy facilities of the Ahava company, which carries the Crown Heights Kosher certification. Then his phone rang.

Torah is an instruction book for life, Prager says

Tronto, Canada – If Judaism can’t thrive in total freedom, it doesn’t deserve to survive, according to author and radio personality Dennis Prager.

Speaking at a tribute to the late Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, Prager, a self-described non-denominational Jew, said that rational, intellectual reasons must exist for identifying as Jewish.

“If we need anti-Semites to keep us Jewish, we [Jews] are not worthy of surviving,” the Los Angeles-based Prager told the full house at the Toronto Centre for the Arts on June 26. “I don’t want to rely on Arafat or on Nazis to stay Jewish.”

Though not wishing to proselytize, Prager said he believes the Torah’s innate wisdom is relevant to all peoples.

City likely to stay the course on decorations

Ft. Collins, CO – The city’s holiday display probably won’t include religious symbols – or a menorah.

At a study session Tuesday night, most City Council members seemed to back a policy to maintain current city practice, which means Xmas trees, wreaths and white lights on city property from Thanksgiving to January.

The direction rankled Mayor Doug Hutchinson, who pushed for a policy that would have allowed religious symbols approved by the city.

“We’ve just taken a step backward,” Hutchinson said.

Kosher Day set for Valley

Pleasanton, CA — For many Jews and some non-Jews, following a kosher diet is important to their faith and/or their physical and spiritual well-being. This is why two local Chabads will assist area residents in maintaining and learning more about this way of life Wednesday during the first Tri-Valley Kosher Day.

This is a way to perk up interest in general, says Rabbi Raleigh Resnick. For Jewish people and community at large … there are so many choices.
Sponsored and coordinated by Chabad of Contra Costa and Chabad of the Tri-Valley, the day will focus on promoting, educating and bringing awareness to the general community about kosher food.

Participating supermarkets will have displays, videos and kosher food samples throughout the day. There also will be a raffle for a kosher cookbook and childrens contests.

Post all wrong on Hasidic cop hire

A Hasidic scholar from Brooklyn wasn’t hired as part of the NYPD’s newest class of recruits as the New York Post claimed on its front page yesterday, authorities said.

Joel Witriol, 24, was four credits shy of meeting the NYPD’s requirement of 60 college credits, and was not part of the latest class of 1,560 recruits.

Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said Witriol could reapply if he fulfills the education requirement. Kelly said the department had hired Orthodox Jewish recruits in the past.

Picture of the Night

At around 12:00am this man was observed staring attentively into the window of the Jewish Children’s Museum’s Gift Shop, at a painting of the Alter Rebbe with a pad and pen in hand sketching the painting.

The man told me that he felt that the Rabbi [the Alter Rebbe] has some special powers and was a special person, and therefore felt the need to sketch the painting.

Gas Explosion on the Upper East Side Levels Building

One second the building was there, shaken residents of 62nd street said yesterday, but in the next moment it was a cascade of fiery rubble pounding the street.

Authorities said they were investigating whether the four-story building’s collapse at 8:40 a.m. yesterday was the result of a suicide attempt by the owner and sole occupant of the building, Nicholas Bartha, 66, who is reportedly going through a lengthy and bitter divorce. The explosion at 64 E. 62nd St. between Park and Madison avenues was officially caused by an ignited gas leak, the fire commissioner, Nicholas Scoppetta, said.

It wasn’t a quick, loud explosion like a firework, but a deep boom followed by the sound of four stories of stone tumbling to the ground, observers said. Nearby building alarms set off, TV news became static, and phone lines went dead on this upscale block of Manhattan. The power of the blast shattered the windows in the building across the street.

Hasidic girls take journey of faith

Santa Barbara, CA – Rock climbing and bicycle riding can be tricky in a floor-length skirt. A group of teenage girls who belong to Chabad, a Hasidic Jewish group, have learned to get around the obstacles of their faith’s dress code requirement.

“We wear pants underneath,” said Devorah Goldberg, one of 46 sophomores on a trek up the West Coast. “You get used to it.”