Op-Ed: ‘Chabad Lite’

In Lubavitch there is the phenomenon of the so called “Chabad Lite” community. People who grew up as Lubavitchers, consider themselves Lubavitchers, but do nothing to actually be Lubavitch. They don’t dress like the way a Lubavitcher would dress, speak the way one would speak, or act in the basic way a chossid would act. In general, I have no issue with these types of people; many of them are my friends and neighbors and we get along wonderfully. I have one major issue: they consider themselves Lubavitch, and take part in our mosdos.

Op-Ed: No Comment on Rubashkin

President Barack Obama had no reservations attempting to block the execution of Humberto Leal Garcia, a Mexican man that was convicted in 1994 of the rape and murder of a 16-yearold girl in San Antonio. On July 5, 2011, The Guardian reported that: “The White House has asked the US Supreme Court to put the execution of Humberto Leal Garcia on hold while Congress passes a law that would prevent the convicted rapist and murderer from being put to death along with dozens of other foreign nationals who were denied proper access to diplomatic representation before trials for capital crimes.”

Op-Ed: The Season of Freedom

Each holiday season ushers in its own particular sentiment or experience of the joyousness of that specific juncture in time. Having just concluded the holiday of Sukkos, we recall numerous recitations of “the season of our joy” spanning eight celebratory days, including Shemini Atzeres (plus another day of Simchas Torah outside of Israel). So it would seem more appropriate to address the joy that we experienced over the holiday and reserve the topic of freedom for a later date, perhaps nearer to Pesach, which deals with the Exodus of the Jews from Egyptian bondage.

Letter: Airline Coffee Is a Major Kashrus Concern

The following is a letter that I have written to Southwest Airlines about a major kashrus blunder that one of flight attendants did and then went on to brag about. I know that there are no kashrus symbols on Airplane coffee pots, but I felt that since some people think only coffee goes into coffee pots, it should be known that that is false.

Op-Ed: In Defense of the Kidney Salesman

It was with great sadness that I read the case of Levy Izhak Rosenbaum and his recent guilty plea in a federal court to having brokered three [illegal] kidney transplants in exchange for payment of money. The slew of negative comments on the news websites made him seem like he is a second coming of Levy Aron. I can’t comment on the character of Mr. Rosenbaum, for I’ve never met the man. Still, I’d like to warn all of you; not so fast!

Letter: Do a Mitzvah in the Memory of Our Alta Shula

Yossi and Hindel Swerdlov penned the following open letter to family and friends in honor of the upcoming 2nd Yahrzeit of their beloved daughter Alta Shula A”H:

Op-Ed: What Chabad-Lubavitch and Modern Orthodox Communities Can Teach Each Other

I think it’s high time there was some new cultural diffusion. I don’t mean cultural diffusion on a grand scale, where one nation spreads its lifestyles and outlooks to another nation or anything of the sort. Rather, I am proposing a small-scale exchange of ideas, lifestyles, and philosophies within two sectors of the Jewish world: Modern Orthodoxy and Chabad Lubavitch.

Op-Ed: Dancing at My Daughter’s Wedding with Rubashkin on My Mind

With one week left to the wedding of my eldest child, I am looking forward not so much to the occasion as to simply seeing my daughter married to her fiancé. I want to dance with abandon at my daughter’s celebration, but I am an informal person and the formality of a wedding leaves me cold. I’m fortunate that most of the heavy lifting has been done by people much more responsible than me. My wife, whose husband abandoned her to the labor. Eddie Izzo, the gentlemanly and professional head of Main Event Catering, Penny Rabinowitz of Save the Day Events, and finally the Rockleigh Country Club, who are black belts at Jewish weddings.

Op-Ed: Does Simchas Beis Hashoeva Run Too Late?

I am not looking to cause a stir, but I was wondering: does anyone else feel the way I do about Simchas Bais Hashoeiva running so late.

Occupy Wall St. and the Perversion of Jewish Values

While there has been some confusion as to what exactly they stand for, paraphernalia handed out by ‘Occupy Wall Street’ activists at Zuccotti Park sums it up in a piece entitled ‘Declaration of the Occupation.’ In one line, they feel “wronged by the corporate forces of the world,” and the piece goes on to list a litany of accusations.

Op-Ed: Board Rejected Sukkah but Embraced Islam

As the holidays bear down on this city, the war on faith has arrived early. The latest chapter in the religious wars takes place in TriBeCa. Community leaders there went positively postal over a request to the Parks Department by the Jewish group Chabad — to erect a sukkah in tiny Duane Park.

Op-Ed: The Blessing of a Child

Fulfilling the dream of having a child is something not all of us are fortunate enough to experience. Not many people give much thought to the subject of infertility. To most people it comes natural but that is not always the case.

Maimon Kirschenbaum Responds: Negative Commenting Has to Stop

Dear Crownheights.info Readers:

As many of you have probably seen yesterday on this website, the NY Post ran an article about me and my business. The article certainly portrayed me and my business in a less than positive light. But I can live with that. My business is very controversial, and I have brought lawsuits against some very wealthy and powerful individuals. Therefore, it was no surprise when one of the defendants in my lawsuits succeeded in having a tabloid run a story about me containing many extreme exaggerations and misrepresentations regarding me and my motives, in an effort to clear his name in the press rather than in a courtroom, where law and reality govern. But the underlying merits of the article are not the subject of this letter.

Op-Ed: A Teacher Opines on the Yiddish Topic

A TEACHER RESPONDS: I recently read an op-ed on your website, and I feel compelled to respond. In the article, the author describes what he perceives as a great accomplishment of his and progress in the right direction for his Yeshiva – namely, the removal of Yiddish from the ULY curriculum.