Crown Heights Chometz is Sold

Rabbi Avrohom Osdoba, member of Crown Heights’ Beis Din sold the Chomets of all Crown Heights’ residents.

PRESIDENTIAL MESSAGE: PASSOVER, 5765

Passover, 5765

I send greetings to those observing Passover, beginning at sundown on April 23.

This celebration marks the historic exodus of the Israelites from Pharaoh’s oppression more than 3,000 years ago. During Passover, Jews around the world gather with family and friends to share the story of G-d’s deliverance of the Israelites from slavery to freedom. Through songs and prayers, they remember the blessings and mercy of a just and loving G-d. By passing this story from generation to generation, they teach the triumph of faith over tyranny and celebrate God’s promise of freedom.

The lesson of this story is timeless and reminds us that even in the face of struggle, hope endures. As we work to bring hope to the oppressed, we recall the words of the Psalmist, which are read at the Seder meal: “This is the day the L-rd has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”

Laura and I send our best wishes for a joyous Passover.

GEORGE W. BUSH

Lubavitchers celebrate Rebbe’s 103rd birthday

On Wednesday 11 Nissan 5765, Lubavitchers worldwide celebrated the Rebbe’s 103rd birthday.

On Tuesday night, in locations around the globe, Anash and Temimim gathered to Farbreng. In Crown Heights hundreds attended the Farbrengens held in 770 and @ Bais Rivka Campus Chomesh.

Minyonim that were held in the Rebbe’s house were also packed.

On Wednesday morning, a couple thousand children participated in a rally in front of 770.

Also on Wednesday morning, the annual Mitzvah Tank parade left from Crown Heights for Mivtzoim around New York. This years parade had 55 tanks.

Throughout the day a steady stream of visitors were at the Ohel.

Ready for Action

55 Mivtsa Tanks corresponding the 55 years of the Rebbe’s leadership are parked near 770 waiting for instructions to set out to their destinations.

770 closing for 3 days!

Shul to close after Tuesday night Farbrengen – will reopen @ Licht Bentchen on Erev Shabbos

Workers have been busy all week with initial preparations to get 770 cleaned for Pesach.

Those preparations included cleaning all the light fixtures and painting of the beams throughout the Shul.

The painting took place late Monday afternoon and evening and while the workers did hang up “caution” tape and some signs indicating wet paint that still did not stop a number of people from accidentally brushing by the beams and being left with white paint on their jackets and clothes.

Following Tuesday nights 11 Nissan Farbrengen, the Shul downstairs will be in total “lockdown” till Licht Bentchen on Erev Shabbos so that the final cleaning, including the shining and waxing of the floors can be done.

President Bush marks the Rebbe’s birthday

EDUCATION AND SHARING DAY, U.S.A., 2005

– – – – – – –

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

As we enjoy the great freedoms of our country, we are mindful of our obligation to pass on to our children the values that sustain our liberty and our democracy. On Education and Sharing Day, we reaffirm our commitment to teach young people the lessons they need to preserve and strengthen our Nation, and to reach as far as their vision and character can take them.

Education and Sharing Day honors the memory of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, who established education and outreach centers that offer social services and humanitarian aid around the world. Commemorating his life and legacy teaches the next generation that a single life of conscience and purpose can touch and lift up many lives. By helping to heal a broken heart, surrounding a friend with love, feeding the hungry, or providing shelter for the homeless, we can change America for the better, one heart, one soul, and one conscience at a time.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim April 20, 2005, as Education and Sharing Day, U.S.A. I call upon all our citizens to dedicate their time and talents to help our rising generation grow into caring and responsible adults.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this nineteenth day of April, in the year of our L-rd two thousand five, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty‑ninth.

GEORGE W. BUSH

Yud Aleph Nissan for Kids in Crown Heights

On Wednesday morning @ 10:15am, a grand rally is being organized outside 770 for the children of the Moisdos in Crown Heights and beyond.

For those who cannot participate in person, you can join us via conference call:

Just call: 605.990.0001
Access Code: 903013#
After you join please put your phone on mute by pressing 6

Rabbi Klein at Communal Bar Mitzva

On the background of the Rebbe’s picture, Rabbi Binyomin Klein, former secretary of the Rebbe, is seen delivering a speech at the traditional bar mitzvah of Colel Chabad today at the Western Wall

RABBI SUING FDNY

A prominent Brooklyn rabbi is suing the Fire Department because the firehouse closest to his home was unmanned that day, which he claims caused his wife to die in a raging blaze.
It is a situation that one fire union official says happens between 20 and 25 times a day all around the city — leaving firehouses unmanned for hours at a time.

“Lives can be lost by that type of foolish decision-making,” said Rabbi Abraham Hecht’s lawyer, Harry Rothenberg.

Hecht’s wife, Lillian, an 82-year-old Holocaust survivor, was killed when a fire ripped through their Ocean Parkway home in Gravesend on Jan. 15, 2004.

The closest firehouse was Ladder 153 — on Avenue U and East Eighth Street, just blocks from where the rabbi lived — but they didn’t show up because everyone working that day was out getting department-mandated physicals, according to the suit filed in Brooklyn Supreme Court.

Instead, a different company was forced to leave another fire in order to race to put out the flames at Hecht’s home — which started when a portable heater was left too close to a chair, Rothenberg said.

Engine 254 — which is housed in the same building as Ladder 153 — arrived just three minutes after the first call to 911, said Fire Department spokesman Frank Gribbon.

“It took an incredibly long time for them to get there,” Rothenberg insisted. “That engine apologized to family members because they were at another fire.”

Now, Hecht — a prominent Lubavitcher rabbi — wants the Fire Department to be called to task for leaving an entire firehouse unmanned.

According to the court documents, Hecht, 83, claims the FDNY’s gross negligence contributed to his wife’s death.

He is seeking an undisclosed amount in damages, but more importantly, he wants to make sure something like this doesn’t happen to anyone else.

Gribbon said that only about a dozen firehouses are left unmanned on any given day and that the department has been doing this for decades.

“We move the pieces around. The chiefs try not to strip any area of coverage,” he said. “They move resources around to provide the best coverage possible.”

Gribbon, who called the rabbi’s wife’s death a “terrible tragedy,” pointed out that last year’s number of fire fatalities, 82, was the lowest since 1919 when 77 people died

Council Members Meet Democrats in New York

Members of the Crown Heights Council were hosted by leaders of the Democratic Party in New York. The participating council members from Crown Heights were, Reb Chanina Sperlin, Dr. Zvi Lang, and a resident from Crown Heights, Reb Eliyahu Slavin.

Monday: A Farbreingen in Memory of Rabbi Freedman

On Monday, 10th of Nissan, a farbreingen will be held in memory of Rabbi Yaacov Moshe HaCohen Freedman ob’m. Many Anash who cherish his memory and his blessed deeds will gather for the first yortseit in the Uforatsto Hall, at 305 Kingston Avenue in Crown Heights. The farbreingen will begin at 8:00 pm.

9th of Nissan – Day of Arrest of Reb Levi Yitschak

On the night of the ninth of Nissan in 5699 (1939), Rabbi Levi Yitschak Schneerson was arrested at his home on 13 Borigodna street in Dnepropetrovsk. Four NKVD agents conducted a search in their apartment they ordered Rabbi Levi Yitschak to follow them.
Rabbi Levi Yitschak was taken for investigation and was imprisoned in extremely difficult conditions. He was transferred from one prison to another until he was finally sent to the far off Kazakhstan where he passed away on the 20th of Av in 5700. (Kitsur Toldos Chabad)

Newly Publicized: The Rebbe Sells Chomets

A rare video strip has been released by JEM, of the Bedikas Chomets night in 5748, the year of the Rebbetzin’s passing.
The Rebbe is seen after Maariv in the large room on the first floor of his home, and after Maariv the Rebbe turns to the inner room where the Rosh Yeshiva, Rabbi Pikarski, ob’m presents him with the ‘sale of chomets’ bill. The Rebbe puts on his glasses, engrosses in reading the document and then signs it.

200 @ Maple Street Shul annual Melava Malka

By Yitzchok Wagshul – Crown Heights Chronicle

The annual melave malka of Congregation Ahavas Moische, better known as the Maple Street Shul, was held last Motzoei Shabbos, April 9 at the shul.

Because it is situated on what, until recently, had been the southernmost border of our neighborhood, the Maple Street Shul has long been considered a “community shul,” rather than merely of significance to local mispallelim. Its annual melave malka is traditionally attended by a wide spectrum of residents from all areas of Crown Heights.

The event drew around 200 people throughout the evening, including the Rov and Mara D’Asra, Rabbi Aharon Yaakov Schwei shlita, and the internationally noted activist and lecturer Rabbi Dovid Hollander shlita.

Rav Schwei reminisced about the fact that in his youth, the Maple Street shul was “his shul,” because he used to regularly review a maamar of Chassidus there for the congregants. He expressed great satisfaction at the growth that portion of the neighborhood is experiencing B”H, and urged that more homes in the area be purchased, so that before long, there will again be many shuls there, a mikveh, and so on.

Rabbi Hollander spoke movingly about Jewish issues and the need to stand firm in support of the Torah way of life. Referring to the current crisis the Maple Street Shul is undergoing, arising from the collapse of its retaining wall and the need to raise funds for its repair, Rabbi Hollander likened the shul itself, which has remained steadfast at the border and never let up in its activities, to a retaining wall. It symbolizes the need of all of us to remain at our posts and faithfully guard the boundaries of the Torah outlook.

“The Maple Street Shul,” the Rabbi proclaimed, “is the ‘retaining wall’ of Am Yisroel.”

Contributions to the emergency repair campaign can be made payable to Congregation Ahavas Moische and sent to the shul’s president, Eli Blachman, at 682 Lefferts Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11203.

Car Break-Ins On The Rise

Dear Community Members,

In recent weeks there have been a number of vehicles broken into, especially SUV’s.
“WE URGE THAT YOU DON’T LEAVE ANYTHING OF VALUE VISIBLE IN YOUR CARS”.
A Hatzoloh member’s car got broken into and all his equipment was removed from the car.

PLEASE REMOVE ALL YOUR VALUABLES FROM YOUR CAR UNLESS YOU WANT THEM STOLEN.

IF ANYONE SEE’S SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY TO VEHICLES PLEASE CONTACT SHOMRIM ON 718 774 3333 WHO ARE HERE TO PROTECT THE COMMUNITY AND ARE TRAINED TO DEAL WITH THESE SITUATIONS