Israel’s Bleeding Wound

In the name of peace, an embattled nation declares war on itself.

In early September, news coverage got swamped with a nation-shaking disaster and a harrowing evacuation in the United States. The event overshadowed another evacuation—possibly just as nation-shaking—that had occurred not two weeks before on the other side of the world.

Israeli soldiers called it the most difficult mission they have ever been asked to carry out in service to the democracy they love. With few exceptions, they dutifully obeyed orders to evict all 9,000 Jewish residents from their homes in settlements throughout the Gaza Strip and northern West Bank—even as they withered inside.

‘Hachnosas Orchim’ Guests to Dine in 1414

The Tomchei Temimim administration and Eshel – Hachnosas Orchim, signed a contract for the month of Tishrei, stating that the guests would dine in 1414’s large lunch room while the 650 yeshiva bochrim will have their meals in the Getzel Shul, located in the lower level of 1414. The yeshiva bochrim will be served meals prepared by Eshel – Hachnosas Orchim.

Children craft instruments for Jewish holiday

The hiss of a saw, the buzz of a drill and the laughter of children filled the Chabad Lubavitch Center on Sunday afternoon.

The occasion? A chance for children to learn more about their Jewish faith by making their own shofar, a horn blown for Rosh Hashana, which begins at sundown Oct. 3.

“I think sometimes in order to understand faith and God, you have to have hands-on experience,” said Haleh Resnick, 33, a Cherry Hill mother who helped her four children make the ceremonial instruments. “When you’re making the shofar, you have the hands-on experience hopefully your heart will catch up with.”

Ceremonial horn reaches deep into the past

Local rabbi helps Jews observe Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur by producing shofars in his home

Rabbi Yaakov Weiss’ shofar factory looks a lot like his family room. That’s because Rabbi Yaakov Weiss’ shofar factory is his family room.

In a booming suburb with no synagogue, Weiss, barely a month in his Loudonville home, set up shop on his first floor Sunday afternoon.

Weiss, who adheres to the beliefs of a missionary branch of Judaism known as Chabad-Lubavitch, was giving a mostly younger audience a lesson about the significance of the shofar — a ceremonial horn that takes a central role in next month’s observance of Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year (which begins Oct. 3). It also is used during mid-October’s observance of Yom Kippur.

Jewish Vet Gets Medal of Honor 55 Years On

A concentration camp survivor who joined the U.S. Army out of gratitude, fought in Korea and spent 2 1/2 years in a Chinese prisoner of war camp was awarded a Medal of Honor on Friday, 55 years after his heroism.

President Bush gave the nation’s highest military honor to Hungarian-born Tibor Rubin, 76, in the White House East Room. The medal recognizes him for overcoming dangers as an infantryman, trying to save fellow soldiers in battle and as a prisoner of war, even as he faced prejudice because he was Jewish and a foreigner.

Closing Arguments Begin in Dem Leader’s Trial

Closing arguments begin today in the trial of Brooklyn Democratic leader Clarence Norman. WNYC’s Fred Mogul has more.

In testimony last week, Norman admitted he made mistakes, but said they were oversights, not criminal activities. He is accused of letting a lobbyist pay for thousands of dollars worth of campaign expenses – well in excess of state limits. Norman never reported the transactions to his treasurer, but testified that he thought she knew about them.

Prosecutors produced several receipts Norman HAD submitted for reimbursement and tried to suggest he could be detail-oriented about expenses when he chose to. If convicted, the 54-year-old assemblyman from Crown Heights could face up to four years in jail.

And The Total Is – $6,216,675

Chabad Telethon 25

The annual Chabad Telethon is Being broadcasted now.

On TV its channel WLNY (10) and on the internet it’s @ www.ToLife.com. Enjoy.

Chabad of West Hempstead’s Slichot

For the first time ever Chabad of West Hempstead which is headed by Rabbi Yossi Lieberman has had a Minyan for Slichot, there were just above 2 Minyonim. R. Yossi Lifshitz was Chazzan.

More Pic’s in the extended article.

Fertile Blessings Indeed

One recent afternoon, three sets of parents, each with early-teenage triplets in tow, arrived at the Old Montefiore Cemetery and filed into the entranceway of a roofless mausoleum, which was lined with shelves of lighted candles and prayer books. Inside is the gravesite of the Lubavitcher grand rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, who died in 1994, leaving no successor.

The children waited restlessly in the small courtyard around the rebbe’s grave as their parents tore up pieces of paper bearing handwritten prayers and scattered the scraps by the grave. The parents said they had come to the cemetery, in Cambria Heights, Queens, to offer thanks. All had once struggled with infertility until they received a dollar bill and a blessing from the rabbi, who would dispense plenty of both on Sundays at 770 Eastern Parkway, the Lubavitch headquarters in Crown Heights.

$9 million synagogue breaks ground

It was once the site of a movie theater that played films like “Halloween 6” and “Speed 2.” Before that it was an Art Deco Post Office and now it’s an empty lot — but not for long.

Groundbreaking ceremonies were held Thursday at the corner of Chestnut and Clark Streets for the Center for Jewish Life, a $9 million synagogue and community center that will be run by the orthodox Lubavitch Chabad.

Unlike other orthodox Jewish sects, which generally keep to themselves, the Lubavitchers see it as their mission to reach out to other Jews and encourage them to become more religious and observe traditional rituals.

Simon Wiesenthal: Endorsed Chabad’s JLI Holocaust Program In Final Days

Although Simon Wiesenthal, the “Conscience of the Holocaust,” has been laid to rest, his endorsement of the Jewish Learning Intitute’s Holocaust course in his final days assures that his legacy lives on.

Wiesenthal, renowned for his lifelong quest to bring Nazis to justice, endorsed the JLI course after meeting with his friend and confidante, Rabbi Jacob Biderman, Chabad’s representative in Vienna. His endorsement statement read: “My friend Rabbi Jacob Biderman has brought to my attention the course “Beyond Never Again: The Holocaust Speaks to Our Generation” which The Jewish Learning Institute (JLI) is planning to offer. I strongly support this course, as information is our defense against the repetition of history, and keeping memory alive is our moral obligation.”

Thief’s Silliness never seizes to amaze!

Yesterday (Thursday) evening the Police responded to a call about a shoplifter on the corner of Montgomery St. and Kingston Ave. right next to the grocery store “Kol-Tuv”.

Later we learned that this thief did more then just shoplift. Allegedly he went into the Shain Shul and stole R. Shain’s hat, then he started walking up Kingston Ave. and was trying to sell this hat to various stores, according to eyewitness accounts. When he did not manage to sell the hat he just went into the store and helped himself to some goods.

When the police arrested him they went trough his belongings and saw this hat which a member of the CH Shomrim recognized as R. Shains hat and was returned to him.

A New PreSchool Building for Staten Island’s Jewish Community

Speculation about the fate of Chabad of Staten Island’s preschool ended when the school reopened in a brand new facility this school year. Last May, city authorities closed the buildings citing code violations. But now, says Chani Katzman, director of the school, “we are back and better than ever.”

Children streamed into the new building, some fifteen minutes away from the original site, to begin the school year. The new school site trumps the old one in several significant ways. Within the brick building are six generously sized classroom bathed in natural light from the oversized windows in each room. New light pine colored flooring, soft yellow wall color and matching tables add to the bright, clean look. The building was constructed originally to house a day care center, but it did not attract enough children to remain open.

Federation makes Rita plans

Several Houston-area synagogues will be shut down this Shabbat ahead of Hurricane Rita.

The local Jewish federation made sure that home-bound elderly are in safe places or can be brought to safe places, the chief executive officer of the federation, Lee Wunsch, told JTA. With the help of the United Jewish Communities, the umbrella organization of North American federations, Houston-area Jews were given a list of other federations in Texas to help them find homes to host them. Hurricane Rita is expected to hit the Texas coast late Friday night or early Saturday morning.

Jews in Galveston, a city on the coast, have evacuated along with the rest of the city’s residents, Wunsch said.

Chabad said its centers would remain open in Houston and elsewhere in Texas to house anyone who needed a place to stay because of the storm.