Op-Ed: Solution to the Shidduch Challenge

Most people agree that there is a major shidduch challenge in Lubavitch, and that unfortunately it’s only getting worse. However, although many ideas have been suggested, no tachlis has come out of all this yet.

In this article, I’ll try to outline what I believe are the major causes of the shidduch challenge as well as propose some potential solutions. My goal is that something concrete should come out of all our kvetching, as in the end, what we all want is to end this frustrating and sad issue ASAP.

Please feel free to comment and add any solutions you think may be helpful. I believe if we are to fix the issue, all of Lubavitch has to come together to do it, from all the factions, geographical locations, etc. Achdus is the only way! Besuros tovos!

Op-Ed: Please Think Before you Spam!

Like all Mosdos, our small day school is struggling. Many more of our students require financial assistance, and the donations that in the past were difficult to procure have now become next to impossible. I’m sure you are familiar with what I am talking about.

Re: Are There Any Lines for Chabad’s Ahavas Yisroel?

Dear Crown Heights Residents,

I wrote an op-ed a couple of weeks ago titled “Love Your Fellow Crown Heightser As Yourself” and hope it was well received. Another piece, “Are There Any Lines for Chabad’s Ahavas Yisroel?” recently responded to it. This is my response.

The article concluded by asking two questions:

1. “Do not the individuals who walk here at home in Crown Heights and call themselves Lubavitchers also deserve rebuke?”
2. “Are there any lines for Lubavitch’s Ahavas Yisroel”?

Op-Ed: Are There Any Lines for Chabad’s Ahavas Yisroel?

I waited until after Tisha B’Av to respond to the letter, Love Your Fellow Crown Heightser as Yourself, lest I be accused of inciting sinas chinom on Tisha B’Av. Other websites and individuals have now taken up the issue as well. Sinas chinom is not the goal of this letter. Rather, this is a wakeup calls to the Lubavitch community to remedy the situation in a way that is both effective and sustainable. Acceptance is beneficial for peace and improving society, but it does not better the lack of tznius and observance in Lubavitch.

The assertion that it is the Lubavitch way to do things with Ahavas Yisroel is correct. Ahavas Yisroel should guide how individuals in the community act toward one another, especially to the point of helping others achieve a better level of spirituality. Even when correcting the bad actions of others, Ahavas Yisroel is mandatory.

Op-Ed: One Standard Of Justice?

A front-page story in The New York Times of July 10 reported that federal immigration authorities in the Obama administration have adopted a “new strategy” to replace the military-style raids that were conducted in the Bush years to find and arrest illegal aliens.

Op-Ed: Stop Bugging Me!

“Stop asking me to vote–bug off!”

That’s what someone told one of my colleagues yesterday when asked to vote for a school to win $500,000 in the Kohl’s contest.

My first reaction was, “Wow, is it really that annoying? Now that I am on the asking end of it I didn’t think of that.” But then I remembered back to a year ago when Devorah Benjamin asked people to vote for her amazing organization, Keren Simchas Choson V’Kallah.

Love Your Fellow Crown Heightser As Yourself!

In response to the recent op-eds on CrownHeights.info, a resident emailed us a letter addressed to the whole community. She reminds everyone, as Lubavitchers we must love every Jew, whether we understand or agree with them.

Op-Ed: Thank You Shomrim!

From the inbox: Rabbi Bentzion Elisha writes of the horror of being awakened on a Friday night, and being informed that his 2-year-old son went missing, and was found by a volunteer in Shomrim. At 4:00am.

Op-Ed: On the Race for the Rabbinate

With elections for a new Vaad Hakahal successfully behind us, I think our community should take a moment to reflect on our accomplishment, and to congratulate ourselves on a job well done.

The idea for these elections—as mandated in the recent psak din that resolved all outstanding community disputes—was that we should have a Vaad Hakahal universally accepted by all segments of the community. As in any election, there will always be some people disappointed by the results, but—since virtually every eligible voter in Crown Heights participated—there can be no doubt that those results are the legitimate will of the people. True, “the people” aren’t always perfect; there’s always the possibility of winding up with an outcome that is less than objectively ideal. But democracy is the best system we have, and it was endorsed by the Rebbe, so, once a valid election has been held, we can all feel good about the results. It’s part of the system that, if things don’t turn out as expected, there will be another election in a few years and we will be able to choose again.

Op-Ed: I Can’t Bring Myself to Care About the Elections

Despite all the talk about Community Council elections lately, I find I can’t really bring myself to care too much about who’s in and who’s out. My apathy is partially due to the fact that I don’t really know what the Community Council does, but I think the bigger reason might be that like other women in Crown Heights, I can neither run nor vote in these elections.

Op-Ed: A Fire Burns in Crown Heights

An Essay on Religion, Modernity and Pizza

We live in a dual culture – pulled by the Jewish, Chassidic, and uniquely Lubavitcher traditions that bind us, we also seek on some level to integrate into the society around us. Our use of innovations in technology, our homes, and even our clothes, are all the result of the modern world’s influence on our lives. [Note to those that take issue with the belief that any modernity has seeped into our Lubavitcher meta-culture: Our mode of dress – be it the short jacket, the choice of a more modern fedora over the more traditional Russian kasket, or even the relatively modern design of the Kapote (based on the Victorian Prince Albert frock) are all signs of our organic adaptation to the modern world]. The calls of modern life offer a lot of potential. They also give room to incredible danger. It is the tension of spanning this spiritual chasm that we must address if we are to remain viable as a group.

Op-Ed: Love, with Respect, is all you need!

Why Successful Individual or National Relationships, Cannot Depend On Love Alone

Obsessed With Love

Some people are willing to do almost anything to be loved. Our society lacks no example of ridiculous cases in which cravers of love are willing to strip themselves of their innermost dignity to desperately attract the affection of others. The recent ‘balloon boy’ saga, ‘kiss cams’ at sports games, lavish lifestyles or simple, yet bizarre human behaviors, all shout the same message: “Please love me!”

The Indian Phone Rep Recalls Mumbai Shluchim

From The Inbox:

Yitzchak Sapochkinsky from Chabad of Westlake Village, CA was speaking with an American Express representative at an indian call center, when the rep suddenly expressed interest in Chabad. The indian rep went on to say “I live in Mumbai, India, next door to the Chabad House” and spoke about the Holtzberg’s.

Editorial: Prosecutions are Not the Answer to Immigration

It sounds like a simple approach to this country’s illegal immigration problems: Crack down on businesses that employ undocumented workers.

But it’s not so simple. Just consider the jury’s verdict of “not guilty” for Sholom Rubashkin. The former Agriprocessors Inc. executive had been charged with scores of child labor violations and was acquitted on all of them. The Iowa Attorney General’s Office alleged Rubashkin knew there were many children working in the Postville slaughterhouse prior to the 2008 federal immigration raid – but that he did nothing to put a stop to it.

Rubashkin Aquittal: Behind The Smoke And Mirrors

The dramatic vindication of Sholom Rubashkin in the state child-labor trial last week has wreaked havoc with the public’s view of him. Given his media-battered reputation, no one expected him to be acquitted of the state charges. Bias against him, especially in Iowa, was rampant. Many described their shocked reaction to the verdict.

The government had promised they had a solid case and there was no reason to doubt it.

The public had long been convinced that Sholom Mordechai presided over a crime-ridden plant where, in addition to minors being forced to work with dangerous chemicals and machinery, workers were subjected to forced labor and other outrages.