There was a nice turnout for the second night of Simchas Bais Hashuaiva although it was not nearly as big as the night before, due to the rain before the start of the event.
At 11:00pm Avremi G. played and Srully Williger sang for the crowd. At 2:00am the first band retired and Yossi Cohen stepped in till the end of the night [or the beginning of the morning].
On Thursday, Mayor Michael Bloomberg arrived for a visit to Crown Heights. The Mayor started out at the home of the former chairman of the Community Council, Reb Shmuel Melamed where he stayed for a half an hour during which a discussion about Sukkos was held . The guest then continued to the home of Rabbi Chanina Sperlin where news personnel and various Crown Heights activists awaited him. Rabbi Chanina Sperlin, the chairman of the Jewish Community Council – Rabbi Rubashkin and Rabbi Shmuel Butman, director of Tsach in the U.S. spoke at this reception.
Every Thursday night there is a video presentation in the small “Zal” upstairs of 770, and this Thursday night in honor of the many guests that came for the month of Tishray there was a special display of Tishray 5737 from the archives of R. Levi Y. Fraidin Z”L presented by JEM.
Simchat Torah has shuls evaluating security and spiritual concerns.
A month that has already seen terror alerts for New York subways, along with ongoing alerts for numerous public spaces, will also see local synagogues dancing into the streets on Simchat Torah.
The dancing may seem spontaneous on the night of Oct. 25 and the next morning, but many shul officials have already begun checking in with their local police precincts, who in turn are awaiting approval from the police intelligence division downtown.
One Jewish official told The Jewish Week that he hasn’t heard of any particular threats, “but I think it’s too early to know; it can change in a day, with intelligence information closer to the event.”
Portland is one of 160 cities worldwide where the Jewish Learning Institute will offer courses.
The Jewish Learning Institute is a program of the Chabad Lubavitch movement for adult students pursuing intellectual and spiritual growth.
Rabbi Moshe Wilhelm of the Northwest Campus of Jewish Life, Chabad Lubavitch of Oregon, said the institute will offer three six-week courses to be held consecutively in the fall, winter and spring.
This year the 25th annual Tzivos Hashem Sukkos Experience took place on Kingston Ave, instead of its regular location in Lefferts Park.
There were inflatable rides, mechanical rides, a petting zoo and food.
We spoke to the manager of the event, and we were told; due to a large turnout we can look forward to having the Sukkos Experience taking place on Kingston Ave in future years i”yh.
Here is a Gallery of 34 Pictures, Enjoy!
For the first night of Simchas Bais Hashuaiva there was a large turnout, Avrohom Fried Performed at 11:00pm, Music was played by Avremi G.
Video clip of Simchas Bais Hashuaiva [Shmais.com]
Here is a Gallery of 31 Pictures, Enjoy!
“Joy shatters barriers,” says a well-known Jewish aphorism. It’s a phrase that many Orthodox synagogues will take literally Tuesday evening with the beginning of Simchat Torah, one of the Jewish calendar’s most joyous days. When the yearlong Torah-reading cycle comes to a close, all Orthodox congregations will dance with their Torahs. But some will do so in a sanctuary that’s been altered temporarily. In some communities, the mechitzah (the barrier separating women from men) will be taken down.
Miriam Hoffinger, 70, remembers the mechitzah coming down in the Hasidic shtibl (prayer house) her family attended in Paris in the mid 1950s. “It was the one time during the year when the mechitzah came down and we were all together, celebrating in the same space,” she said.
Aspiring millionaires crammed gas stations and convenience stores in 27 states yesterday after the jackpot for the Powerball lottery game shot up to an all-time high of $340 million.
Residents of New York and New Jersey, where the game isn’t offered, flocked across state lines after Saturday’s drawing failed to produce a jackpot winner, automatically boosting Wednesday’s pot o’ gold.
Brooklyn truck driver Joe Losh [A member of our community and Gabai in 770], 55, drove to the Putnam Shell gas station in Greenwich, Conn., with $300 in his pocket — enough to buy tickets for 300 friends and relatives.
Blaze shuts Queensboro for hours – traffic in both directions forced to back off span
A raging fire on the Queensboro Bridge pumped black smoke into the afternoon sky and forced the closing of the vital span yesterday [Tuesday], snarling traffic into the night.
“I’m glad the bridge didn’t burn down,” said Vincent Gagnon, 45, a frustrated deliveryman who was trying to get into Manhattan. “But it’s hard enough to get around in this town. My whole day is shot.”
Inside Camera’s [1:12]
Outside Camera’s [7:16]
Shabbos morning at 5:00 a group of 4 males of mixed races walked passed the Kol-Tuv grocery store and began planning their robbery, they walked back and fourth for more then a half an hour, during which they had cut the gate [at appx. 5:28] then continued walking back and fourth.
At 5:30 one of the group actually got into the store. Now contrary to what has been reported by other news sources, the alarm had been functioning properly, the reason it did not go off immediately was since the expansion of the grocery they had demolished a wall, and on that wall there was an alarm sensor mounted, it had been moved from its proper position rendering it useless.
“A Jewish ritual came to a screeching halt yesterday when authorities seized more than 100 chickens from a Brooklyn lot where the flock of foul-smelling birds were kept over the High Holy Days.
“It stunk here,” said Yisroel M Brod, 19, of Crown Heights. “It was terrible.”
Thousands of chickens were being sold as part of the ancient kapparah rite by vendors camped out at a construction site at Coney Island Ave. and Avenue L in Midwood.”
Observant Jews mark Yom Kippur by waving chickens in a circle around their heads while saying a prayer. Afterward, they donate the birds to the poor.
Rev. Al Sharpton yesterday called allegations that he is playing the race card in New York’s upcoming mayoral election “ridiculous.”
Some have accused Sharpton of trying to eat away at Republican Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s sizable black support base by pointing out that the incumbent did not attend a debate in Harlem. Bloomberg is a Jew.
The former Democratic presidential candidate is backing his party’s candidate Fernando Ferrer, who is behind in the polls.
As we have reported, Crown Heights has been hit be severe weather for some time now, a lot of rain and wind. Last week a tree fell on 2 cars, but only damaging them minimally. This time the damage was a lot more severe.
This happened on the corner of President St. and Kingston Ave. while there were a lot of people shopping preparing for Yom Tov, a large part of a tree broke off and landed on top of a “Hacnosas Orchim” Van, and B”H didn’t hurt any people.
As in previous years, the Chabad House of Manhattan, directed by Rabbi Yehoshua Metzger has constructed a giant Sukkah in the center of the city, resembling a sophisticated restaurant. The Sukkah will be opened 24 hours a day catering to a huge crowd of businessmen and tourists who visit it on a daily basis.
The Sukkah, which in itself become a tourists attraction, is located on 40th and 5th in the Bryant Park with is right next to the midtown branch of the New York Public Library, which, as the rumor has it, is where the Rebbe stood over sixty years ago distributing leaflets called ‘Lialter Letshuva – Lialter Ligeula’ (a declaration of the previous Rebbe indicating that repentance will hasten the redemption). Rabbi Metzger calls all the Tmimim who intend to do Mivtzoim in the area to tell the Jews they encounter about this Sukkah.
This past shabbos the grocery store Kol-Tuv, on Kingston and Montgomery was broken into. The grocery has recently expanded by taking over the space Flash used to occupy.
The thieves allegedly gained entry to the store by cutting the gate and breaking the glass door. They stole the calling cards that Kol-Tuv sells but apparently they did not try for the cash in the register.
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