The work of the Campus Shluchim is never done. They are on call 24/7. Their doors are always open. They are the cooks, the chaperones, the confidants, the teachers. They are the fundraisers, the website designers, the visionaries and the graphic artists. But with so many hats to wear, how do they figure it all out? One word: Bootcamp.
Two Florida Shluchim launched a lawsuit against the Federal Emergency Management Agency claiming religious discrimination after they were barred from receiving hurricane aid. One month later FEMA has reversed course and will allow religious institutions to apply for and receive federal aid for disaster recovery.
Some 90 young Shluchos from the west coast enjoyed an eight day winter camp in the Verdugo Mountains of Glendale, California. The program was full of fun and friendship in a chassidishe atmosphere, and for many this opportunity is quite rare, and is something that many other Jewish children take for granted.
“New York is too cold, but thanks to some warmer people, it is definitely a place worth coming back to.” These are the words of Gabe Fresa, 22, former National Guardsman, and current student of Islamic and Christian studies at Furman University, posted on Facebook.
Some 40 Argentinian students, who participated in Torah classes throughout the year, were rewarded with a weeklong trip to New York City.
For the ninth time, Jewish students from a number of universities enjoyed a week-long hands-on Yeshiva learning experience in North Miami Beach, Florida with top Chabad educators.
Interest in Chassidic teachings and Torah study are on the rise in Nigeria, according to Rabbi Israel Uzan, co-director of Chabad Lubavitch of Nigeria. And now, those wanting to learn have some more tools at their disposal.
Arlene Botkin looks forward to the kosher care packages she receives each week as part of a year-round program called “Stoop Soup,” run by Chabad of Brooklyn Heights, N.Y. The soup, challah, cake, and sometimes, seasonal items (this month, warm scarves) are “very nice,” she says.
For the first time ever, CKids and Merkos 302 will be hosting a three-day retreat for shluchim, with dual programming focusing on Hebrew School and camp leadership.
The President of Montenegro, a country on the Adriatic coast in Europe, joined Shliach Rabbi Ari Edelkopf, who earlier this year became Montenegro’s first resident rabbi in over a century, to lay the cornerstone for what will be the Balkan nation’s first synagogue in hundreds of years.
A Birthright trip to Israel for individuals with special needs? The logistical hurdles make it seem too daunting a responsibility to tackle. But one local Friendship Circle took up the gauntlet, and a dream materialized, giving a special demographic their long overdue birthright.
The Chabad center in Munich, Germany, seems like thousands of others in 100 countries and territories around the globe. Located in the center of town, it is the site of busy Jewish activity—prayers, holiday celebrations, Torah classes—from morning until evening. What sets it apart is that it sits directly across the street from the nine-room luxury apartment at Prinzregentenplatz 16, which became home to Adolf Hitler in 1929.
Shortly after he heard the news that an Amtrak train had derailed on Monday morning in DuPont, Wash., Rabbi Yosef Schtroks, who co-directs Chabad of Olympia in Tumwater, Wash., headed for a nearby hospital where the injured were taken. “Realizing that this took place in my own backyard, that there are people suffering a terrible tragedy, my instinct was: ‘What can I do to help? How can I be supportive?’ ”
For the 29th time, thousands of Jews gathered to participate in a public menorah lighting in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France. Thousands more participated through the “Chanukah Live” broadcast, which tied together public Menorah lightings from Israel and New York.
Public menorahs are in the process of being lit all over the world as part of the Chabad-Lubavitch Chanukah campaign in more than 100 countries and territories, including all 50 U.S. states. Some 15,000 oversized menorahs will be kindled in front of landmarks such as the White House, Mount Rushmore, the Eiffel Tower, the Brandenburg Gate and the Kremlin.
The Chief Rabbi of Russia, Rabbi Berl Lazar, made a very unusual visit today. He went to the Butirsky Prison in the center of Moscow in order to strengthen and encourage the Jewish prisoners who are serving time there amongst the three thousand prisoners of various backgrounds.
Monroe residents celebrated the first night of Chanukah with a large celebration featuring the state’s largest menorah.
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