Student volunteers clear out flooded shul in New Orleans

Standing on moldy and debris-covered floors, college students cleaning up a shul paused for a prayer service – the first at Beth Israel Synagogue since Hurricane Katrina flooded it with more than 10 feet of water three months ago.

The dozen or so students were among roughly 50 from colleges across the country who have come to New Orleans to spend their winter break helping with recovery efforts at the century-old synagogue, as well as at area homes and schools left damaged by the storm.

The students, wearing face masks and gloves, hauled out to the synagogue’s front lawn books, furniture and holy items such as a shofar.

The items were sorted by what would be buried on Tuesday in Jewish burial grounds in another part of the city and what would be thrown out.

More pictures in extended article

Gut Yom Tov! Gut Yom Tov!

From Chabad.org: On the 19th of Kislev of the year 5559 from creation (1798), Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi — a leading disciple of Rabbi DovBer of Mezeritch (see previous entry) and the founder of Chabad Chassidism — was released from his imprisonment in the Peter-Paul fortress in Petersburg, where he was held for 52 days on charges that his teachings threatened the imperial authority of the Czar. More than a personal liberation, this was a watershed event in the history of Chassidism heralding a new era in the revelation of the “inner soul” of Torah, and is celebrated to this day as “The Rosh Hashanah of Chassidism.”

FULL STRIKE BEGINS

Transport Workers Union Local 100 board announced at 3 a.m. to expand their strike to all MTA properties effective immediately.

With the city in the midst of another nerve-wracking countdown to a threatened transit strike, hopes dimmed late Monday that negotiators would be able to reach a deal to avert a crippling shutdown of the subway and bus system.

The midnight strike deadline passed with no word on whether transit workers would go on strike. The union board was meeting at its headquarters to discuss its next move.

Talks broke down about an hour before the deadline, and the Transport Workers Union and Metropolitan Transportation Authority offered bleak assessments of the prospects of avoiding a strike.

And The Strike Commences – THE MTA STRIKE OF 2005

As most people have feared the TWU has announced a full scale strike starting now [3:00am] all buses and trains will not be running. Here I will try to outline what will be happening now.

All alternate side parking regulations will be suspended for the duration of the strike.

Public schools would open two hours later than usual.

Cars entering the busiest areas of Manhattan must carry a minimum of four people (the entire Manhattan south of 96th St.).

Metro-North and the Long Island Rail Road will offer local shuttles in the Bronx and Queens.

Yellow cabs could pick up more than one fare at a time.

Jew Da Maccabi

From a base out of Florida, Jewish orthodox rapper Jew Da Maccabi is creating a real buzz with the video of one of his tracks Iron Like A Lion.

With a thumping beat, pro-Jewish lyrics and a sharp performance, this 29 year old rapper looks set to do for Jewish rap what Matisyahu has done for Jewish reggae – get it out of just a Jewish niche and get it into the mainstream.

And like Matisyahu, Jew Da Maccabi is a Jew who became frum and wants to get his message out to as many people as possible.

Limited transit strike under way

Workers at a pair of private New York bus lines went on strike early Monday — the first steps in what could be the shutdown of the nation’s largest public transportation system.

With no new agreement in place and a 12:01 a.m. ET Tuesday strike deadline set by the Transport Workers Union (TWU), another 33,000 transit workers could join the picket lines in less than 24 hours, knocking out all New York City transit lines.

The Web site for TWU Local 100 announced the strike that will impact some 50,000 commuters in Queens and pull more than 700 workers off the job: “Strike Alert: NO BUSES MONDAY: Jamaica Bus and Triboro Coach on Strike.”

Deconstructing the Kabbalah

Members of the Jewish faith had an opportunity to learn about an increasingly popular and mystical facet of their religion during a recent series of workshops on the Kabbalah.

The “Kabbalah of Now” workshops explore ancient and modern mystics and the purpose of kabalistic mysticism in peoples’ lives.

Kabbalah is the mystical aspect of the Jewish faith, according to Rabbi Menachem Piekarski of the Chabad of Hamden. Kabbalah, which enhances the Jewish tradition, was in its earliest years studied only by scholars until various forms were brought down to an intellectual level ordinary people could relate to, Piekarski said.

Couple brings effort for Chabad outreach to Wallingfords’ Jews

Rabbi Baruch Kaplan sat on a couch in his living room Tuesday night and spoke about his Jewish heritage with a great sense of pride. He has another couch for anyone wishing to join him.

Kaplan moved to Wallingford just over a month ago with his wife Raizy and their two young daughters to serve as the directors of the local Chabad-Lubavitch movement, a worldwide Jewish outreach organization.

Sharon Taken to Hospital

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was taken to a Jerusalem hospital Sunday after feeling ill while working in his office, two Israel television stations reported. One of the stations said he suffered a minor stroke and had lost consciousness.

Channel 2 TV said the roads around the hospital were closed before Sharon, 77, arrived in his official vehicle.

Channel 10 TV, quoting police officials it did not identify, said Sharon apparently lost consciousness. He was taken directly to the emergency room of the hospital, the media reports said. Officials in Sharon’s office were not available for comment.

Update On The Transit Strike: Headed To Court

With a promised strike less than 48 hours away, the Transport Workers Union was planning to seek a court order Sunday against the Metropolitan Transportation Authority — claiming that the agency was breaking state law by demanding changes in pension benefits for new hires, a union lawyer said.

There were no reports of progress following talks between the two sides on Saturday, and commuters were making plans for a possible shutdown of the nation’s largest mass transit system at the height of the Christmas rush.

According to Walter Meginniss Jr., the union planned to file the complaint with the state’s Public Employment Relations Board, The New York Times reported on its Web site Sunday.

Hasidics put down roots in Q-C

Rabbi Shneur Cadaner dresses in a traditional Orthodox Jewish manner and seems not to notice any extra attention he receives while moving about the Quad-Cities. He is a man on a mission.

The rabbi, his wife Chana and their infant son moved to a north Davenport home six months ago as part of the Lubavitch Hasidic movement. “Our outreach is to enrich the Jewish lifestyle,” he said, noting that the couple has sponsored several events and has “Chanukah on Ice” planned for Dec. 27 at the Quad-City Sports Center in Davenport.

“We give Jews reasons to explore Judaism,” Chana Cadaner said, noting that a good deal of reaction has come from older persons who remember the more traditional practices the couple supports.

The Festival of Lights in Manatee

Rabbi Mendy Bukiet sports a menorah on the roof of his car, all the better he says to bring attention to Hanukkah’s true meaning.

“I’ve gotten a few thumbs up,” said Bukiet, of Chabad of Bradenton, after a day of driving his Hyundai with the Jewish candle holder with eight bulbs and a helper bulb attached to the car’s roof. ” I think I am probably the first person ever to have a menorah on a car here.”

Also called The Festival of Lights, Hanukkah is celebrated for eight days, Dec. 26 through Jan. 2 this year.

Bukiet, who had his metal menorah custom-made in New York, will insert the first bulb into the menorah on Dec. 25 and light another each day thereafter.

Brooklyn Jury Finds Norman Guilty, Again

If you are all wondering why I am covering this, is because he was the CHJCC’s former nominee for Assemblyman

The Brooklyn Democratic Party’s former leader, Clarence Norman Jr., was convicted yesterday of stealing a $5,000 check from his re-election campaign, a felony that could land him in prison for up to seven years.

The guilty verdict comes just two and a half months after Norman was convicted on three felony charges for soliciting illegal campaign contributions. The Brooklyn district attorney, Charles Hynes, has another two cases pending against him.

Handed down after about a week of deliberations, the verdict is another triumph for the district attorney’s office, which is said to be pursuing Norman aggressively to help crack a larger judicial corruption case in the borough.

In D.C.’s political maelstrom, Chabad man makes his mark

Rabbi Levi Shemtov, Chabad’s representative in Washington, bears certain similarities to the menorah whose lighting he engineers each year on the White House lawn: big, warm, and impossible to ignore.

What makes Shemtov remarkable is that in his 12 years of dealing with the world’s most powerful power brokers, few seem to consider him overbearing.

“We have nothing in common except love of Judaism and love of politics — and it’s not the same Judaism and not the same politics — but we’re still very good friends,” said Steve Rabinowitz, a former Clinton administration official and a longtime consultant to the Reform and Conservative movements.