Tzei’rei Chabad’s well-known Tefilin stand at the Kotel was repurposed during Chol Hamoed Sukkos to afford the multitudes of Jewish locals and tourists the opportunity to perform the Mitzvah of Arba Minim, which tens of thousands happily did.
Studying at the University of Vermont, Rabbi Fishel Jacobs, who had not yet become observant, met R’ Hershel Backman, OBM, during the holiday of Sukkos. He writes about this meeting, which led to a Jewish revival in the town, which has one of the oldest synagogues in the United States.
Israeli President Reuven Rivlin and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman received beautiful sets of Arba Minim from a Chabad delegation, including the latter’s longtime acquaintance, Rabbi Levi Edri.
Look for Levi Duchman on a bike. Not just any bike, though. The 21-year-old Chabad yeshivah student in Brooklyn, N.Y., is riding around on a modified pedi-cab—an adult-sized, three-wheeled cycle (a tricycle, really) that instead of having a set of seats in the back attaches to various holiday accoutrements.
Anna Koozmin, a 20-year-old sophomore at the University of Maryland, loves the popular Netflix series about a woman’s prison for the way it delves into the back stories and lives of inmates at a federal women’s prison. Now she is about to find out for herself what the place is like—at least for a day.
For most Americans, Labor Day is an annually anticipated day of fun and barbecuing. For many Brooklynites however, it is just one of those dreaded days when the city is gridlocked, leaving those in it grounded until all the chaos is over. But for one group, this year’s Labor Day had a pleasant surprise in store: a surprise that would prove to be both entertaining and empowering for the unique task which lies ahead of them this year.
Twice a year, the Ledaiev brothers, members of the Lubavitch community in France, travel to far-flung places across the globe to help isolated Jews fulfill the Mitzvah of Mezuzah. This summer, the brothers traveled to Azerbaijan, a small country bordering Iran, and helped Jews there with their spiritual home protection systems.
Chabad students and Rabbis from the US, Europe, and Israel have set off on a journey across Russia in ‘Mitzvah tanks.’ As part of the trip, the expedition will visit Crimea, a territory recently annexed by Russia, to promote Judaism there.
This Sunday was a big day for Australians as the “City 2 Surf” run took off with 81,000 runners. JEMS (Jewish Education Matters) was there too, manning two tables with water, cookies and Tefilin.
Members of the Chabad community were out in force at a large solidarity rally in support of Israel outside Parliament house in Melbourne, Sunday 14 Av 5744. The rally attracted over 2,000 people, numerous politicians and other community leaders.
They were three friends, fighters in the IDF’s armored brigade, who served together for months, waiting for their turn to go into Gaza and fight the terrorists. But at that moment the worst happened: a mortar shell fired by the enemy exploded nearby and killed all three, along with another soldier who was nearby.
Millions of Americans partake in the ‘National Night Out Against Crime,’ an event held to prevent crime and build community partnerships between residents and law enforcement. This year’s event fell out on Tisha B’Av, but that did not stop Chabad of Simcha Monica from turning out in full force.
As the IDF withdraws its troops from Gaza, residents of Kfar Chabad arrived at the border to thank the soldiers for their sacrifice and raise their spirits with refreshments and the opportunity to put on Tefilin.
A group of Kfar Chabad residents, several of them members of a local ‘Shomrim’ volunteer group, packed up food, drinks, Tefilin, Shabbos Candles and brochures and headed out to the Gaza border to raise the spirits of the IDF soldiers stationed there with refreshments and good deeds.
On a recent trip, CGI-Simcha Monica visited America’s first theme park – Knotts Berry Farm. The night before the trip, the staff-members were tipped off about a Jewish worker with whom they should try to put on Tefilin. But they were warned that it would be a challenge: He was one of the “bad guys,” the actors who would regularly “rob” guests on the train which travels throughout the park.
Due to the renewed threat of Hamas rockets aimed at Ben Gurion Airport, the IDF set up a contingent of Iron Dome anti-missile systems in the vicinity of Kfar Chabad. On Friday, a group of Lubavitcher met with these soldiers and helped them put on Tefilin.
As the Israel Defense Forces mobilize for what looks to be an imminent ground offensive to root-out Gaza-based terrorists, troops on the fronts lines were joined by a different kind of “tank.”
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