Holocaust classes offer lessons of hope

A young Jewish woman in a Nazi concentration camp organized the collection of bread crumbs to help nourish starving orphan children left to fend for themselves.

A group of Jewish men, in the face of certain death, sang of their hope in God as Nazi soldiers marched them to gas chambers.

Rietta Miller of Norman said she was inspired by these stories from the Holocaust told during a Jewish Learning Institute class taking place Thursday nights at the Belle Isle Library.

Taught by Ovadia Goldman, rabbi with the Chabad Jewish Center of Oklahoma City, the class has helped Miller and others see past the tribulation of the Holocaust to the hope in humanity.

Bochur Taunted and Assaulted

Thursday night a young Bochur (13) on his way home from Yeshiva, passed a black boy who was around the age of 13 to 14 years old, who started to call him by racial slurs and taunt him. When the Bochur didn’t respond with violence the boy grabbed the Bochurs hat off his head and ran.

The Bochur then rushed to the nearest phone and called Shomrim who put out a description of the boy and began canvassing the area for him immediately, after being unsuccessful in finding him they took the Bochur home and called the police and filed a police report.

During the time they were filing the report a phone call to the Bochurs house came from a pawn shop saying the he has the Bochurs hat! What happened was that this perp after taking the Bochurs hat, he had jumped on a city bus and got to Atlantic Ave. and Fulton St. and walked into a pawn shop and tried to sell it to the pawn broker, who recognized the hat and took it from this boy and chased him away, then went to look for any way to identify the hats owner, inside the lining of the hat was the Bochurs name and home phone number, and the pawn broker called saying that he can come and retrieve the hat! The perp was not caught.

I would like to take this opportunity and mention how important it is to file a police report on any incident relating to racial violence or any crime whatsoever, because a crime not reported is a crime that didn’t happen!

Weather Hazard Causes 4 car pileup on Empire & Kingston

Today [Friday] at 2:45pm Erev Shabbos 4 cars piled up at the intersection of Kingston Ave. & Empire Blvd. What happened was the first car stopped a bit late to avoid going through the red light, and the car behind him hit him lightly causing no damage. But then the 3rd car impacted with more force damaging both the 2nd car and itself, but it didn’t stop there a 4th car impacted as well with a lot more force causing its airbags to deploy and damaging itself and the 3rd car.

All the drivers were Jewish, three of them live in the neighborhood. Hatzalah responded and although none of the injuries were serious B”H, they transported two of the drivers to Kings County Hospital as a precaution.

Rabbi Leider, director of the organization Ahavas Chesed which helps out people in hospitals, providing kosher food and faster care, was called to help get the 2 drivers out of the hospital before Shabbos.

This would be the time to warn all the other drivers out there, the roads are treacherous in these weather conditions, please slow it down and keep a good distance between cars as to avoid an accident C”V.

More pictures in the Extended Article.

Chabad of Mineola’s 13th Annual Chanukah Telethon

This Sunday, the 10th of Kislev (corresponding to the 11th of December) the NCFJE-Chabad of Mineola will be hosting it’s 13th annual Chanukah telethon. Lending their support will be artists such as Avraham Fried, Bruce Adler, Kinderlach, Blue Fringe and much more.

The telethon will be aired on WLNY – channel 55 from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. It will also be aired simultaneously LIVE on the internet at www.chanukahtelethon.com

To find out more or to see the telethon LIVE on the internet this Sunday, please log on to www.chanukahtelethon.com

Chabad Gan Yeladim in Stamford chosen for national pilot program

A Stamford preschool has been chosen to participate in a pilot program, the goal of which is to make Jewish early childhood centers instrumental in building Jewish continuity.

Chabad Gan Yeladim in Stamford is one of 13 preschools from around the country that is participating in the Jewish Early Childhood Education Initiative (JECEI), created by a group of several Jewish philanthropic foundations including the Harold Grinspoon Foundation in Springfield, Mass. Harold Grinspoon is president of the board of JECEI and Michael Steinhardt, executive director of the Jewish Life Network/Steinhardt Foundation is the chairman of the board.

More than $3 million is expected to be raised by the foundations and organizations involved to be used during the first three years of the program.

The Guy in the red convertible gets a Status Upgrade

The Draidel Get’s Its Letters

Just in time for Chanukah the Tzivos Hashem’s Jewish Children’s Museum’s first exhibit, the large Draidel out in front of the building has finally got its final touch, the four letters.

Russian Jewish Woman Mugged At Knife Point

At around 10:00 o’clock this morning [Thursday] a local resident was leaving his house and his neighbor stopped him and asked him if he has someone working on his car? The answer was no so he immediately went out to his backyard to see what was going on, and he saw a black man crouching under his car, so he called him to leave and the man pulled out a knife and said “no, you leave”. So he ran back into his house and called 911.

The police’s response was very fast but still they didn’t managed to catch the guy, when the police arrived they went to check what this man was doing they found a purse and its contents minus anything of value, the Police had found an ID in the stuff and identified the puse as belonging to a Russian Jewish woman that had been mugged at knife point just down that block! All this had taken place on President Street between Utica Ave. and Schenectady Ave. in the backyard and driveway of one of the houses.

New Orleans Shluchim Convene with President Bush

On Tuesday evening, President George Bush met with a group of Jewish educators representing various Jewish groups in the U.S. One of these was Rabbi Zelig Rivkin, Shliach to New Orleans and director of the Torah Academy School in the city. In the White House meeting, Bush had R. Rivkin seated on his right and spoke about the importance of freedom of religious and democracy as it is illustrated in the struggle of the Maccabees on Chanukah. “Just as the Maccabees restored the Beis Hamikdash, these educators ensure that the Jewish heritage is sustained from generation to generation”, said the president. Recently, as you may recall, President Bush had praised the activities of Rabbi Rivkin during hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.

Following the meeting, the president hosted a pre-Chanukah party in the White House, held early due to the president’s vacation that falls out on Chanukah. The event opened with candle lighting and continued with a reception and a festive kosher meal supervised by Chabad. A selection of 200 public Jewish figures was present at this meal. The Chabad delegation was headed by Rabbi Avrohom Shemtov, chairman of the International Aguch, Rabbi Avrohom Korf, chief Shliach to Florida, Shluchim to Louisiana, Rabbi Rivkin and Rabbi Yossi Nemes, Shluchim to Virginia, Rabbi Shuki Deitch and Rabbi Yosef Kranz, Rabbi Yossi Posner of Alabama and, Rabbi Levi Shemtov, Shliach to Washington D.C.

First Lady Takes Personal Interest in the “Comfort of her Guests”

First Lady Laura Bush had resolved to personally supervise the preparations of the planned Chanukah party in the White House kitchen on Tuesday night. The White House kitchen underwent a kashering process to please the first lady who requested this so that ‘the Jewish guests feel comfortable’. For this purpose she recruited the assistance of Rabbi Levi Shemtov and all of these measures were taken despite the fact that pre-heated meals could have been used for the party as in previous years.

Rabbi Shemtov appointed Rabbi Hillel Baron from Howard County, Maryland to supervise the kitchen-koshering process and he was assisted by HaTomim Menachem Mendel Minkowitz, from Montreal who had been ordained with Smicha and currently studies in 770. Minkowitz did the koshering job with the help of Rabbi Binyomin Taub of the Kashrus Committee of Bergen County in New Jersey and Rabbi Hillel Baron, Shliach in Columbia, MD. The Kosher Lemehadrin cuisine was prepared by the chef and staff of the Petak catering. The festive meal was held after a candle lighting ceremony with President George Bush, which was held early this year due to Chanukah falling out on vacation time.

G-Ds Welterweight champion

This champ sees God in the speed bag, halacha in the heavy bag, and when he does his roadwork on the streets of Midwood, he feels the presence of the divine.

And like the more famous Champ that came before him, one Muhammad Ali, this smaller, very Jewish champ can turn a phrase and deliver some lip.

“Anyone who wants a good whuppin’ from me is just going to have to wait until sundown [on Saturday],” says Dmitriy Salita, the “Star of David,” as he’s called in the boxing business.

Salita, a 23-year-old Odessa-born émigré who took up boxing in elementary school to better handle himself against the taunts of kids in his Brooklyn public school, will make the first defense of his North American Boxing Association light-welterweight title next week against Spanish Harlem’s Edgar “El Chamaco” Santa at the Manhattan Center’s Grand Ballroom.

Reward for post office heist

Remember the armed robbery at the Post Office?

UPDATED: Tzivos Hashem’s 25th anniversary and Hachnosas Safer Torah

Yesterday [Sunday] a dinner was held in honor of the Tzivos Hashem Organizations 25th anniversary, and the ceremony of the completion of a Sefer Torah written for the Shul in the museum and was donated by Dr. Esther Benenson “The mother of Tzivos Hashem”. The event was attended by board members and employees of the museum and family, as well as local politicians and our brass of the NYPD’s 71st Precinct.

The event opened up with the completion of the writing of the Sefer Torah, and the dancing with the torah out in the freezing cold around a few blocks. Then the crowd moved back into the museum for a beautiful and delicious buffet dinner with a variety of different food to choose from.

And for the last part of the event, there was a round of special presentations of their work here in the United States and abroad, specifically the USSR, from schools to shelters and orphanages. One of the entertainers was Bruce Adler a world famous singer and entertainer who brought back memories of his childhood and the radio station WEVD the only radio station in Yiddish! Another of the presentations was from the Friendship Circle where 2 special children made a brief speech thanking the organizers and counselors for their work and effort they put into the program and how much it means to them.

An extensive gallery is now online with 160 beautiful pictures of the event! Enjoy!

Chabad, a success story

Chabad, the Lubavitch Hasidic movement headquartered in New York, is the most effective movement in the Jewish world today, according to Michael Steinhardt, a major figure on the American philanthropy scene, who is a self-defined secular and non-believing Jew. Steinhardt made the statement at the annual Chabad convention last week in the grand ballroom of New York’s Hilton Hotel before an audience of 3,000, of which more than 2,000 were Chabad emissaries worldwide.

Steinhardt, who contributes millions of dollars to Jewish education in the United States, helps fund the Chabad youth movement, which has branches in over 100 cities in the Commonwealth of Independent States (C.I.S.).

Professor Alan Dershowitz, another well-known American Jewish figure, who is not a Chabad member and who is active in the struggle against anti-Semitism and pro-Israel causes, was the guest of honor at the convention.

Orthodox Jews rebuild spiritual borders that fell victim to Wilma

Throughout South Florida, symbolic walls brought down during Hurricane Wilma are being repaired.

In strict Jewish observance, on the Sabbath, people are prohibited from carrying anything from a private domain, such as their home, to a public domain, such as the synagogue.

1000 Tefillin Distributed at Kinus Hashluchim

The Tefillin and Mezuzahs bank distributed some 1000 pairs of tefillin to be handed out in 16 different countries and 1800 mezuzahs in communities of shluchim all over the globe. To date 2600 pairs of tefillin and 3500 mezuzahs have been handed out by the Tefillin Bank since its inception. As one shliach put it, “the tefillin so many Jews began wearing daily and the mezuzahs on so many Jewish doors has caused a ‘revolution’ in our quite little town!”

The Kushner International Tefillin and Mezuzah Banks are a project of The Shul of Bal Harbor in conjunction with The Shluchim Office and made possible through the philanthropic leadership of the C. Kushner Companies Foundation. The Tefillin Bank receives an ever growing number of requests for tefillin and mezuzos daily “on average we receive 25 to 30 requests for tefillin a day from shluchim” says Rabbi Sholom Ber Galperin of The Tefillin Bank. “and that number is steadily increasing”.