Communal Matters

A Lubavitcher has initiated a federal lawsuit against Eshel Hachnosas Orchim and its owner R’ Menachem Mendel Hendel over what he claims is a for-profit hotel being illegally operated out of building in Crown Heights. DNAinfo has profiled the lawsuit in an article describing bother parties as “Mishechistim”, and that the social services organization was meant to provide shelter for the needy, but instead charges Manhattan prices for its rooms.

Election results from a vote held in the Mei Menuchos bungalow colony in S. Fallsburg, NY, were unprecedented, with the new board now comprised entirely of women. A Crown Heights Rabbi objected to women serving on the board, only to backtrack later and permit it.

Commitments made to Bais Rivkah teachers in the past year have gone unfulfilled, leaving many to wonder if Crown Heights’ largest girls’ school will open on time for the coming school year.

A six-month-old infant has been hospitalized after being left in a hot car for a duration of time. The child, who was visiting grandparents in Kfar Chabad, Israel, was visiting from the United States.

Crown Heights Girls’ School Bnos Menachem has sent out another letter to its parent body ahead of the upcoming school year, this time instructing them that all devices at home capable of connecting to the internet must have filters installed on them.

Crown Heights Girls’ School Bnos Menachem sent out a letter yesterday to all parents informing them of new standards of modesty it expects all its students’ mothers to adhere to over the coming school year.

Following the announcement of the launch of a new App – called Tohar – to assist women with Bedikah Inquiries, fierce debate over the Kashrus of such an App ensued, while others hailed it as being long overdue. Zisa Levin, one of the apps creators, has authored a response to questions about the App.

Following the uproar over a meeting between a group of Jewish activists – including a Chabad Rabbi – and the pope, Rabbi Dovber Pinson has issued a ‘Letter of Explanation and Apology’ to the community. In response to his dismissal from Shlichus, Vaad Rabonei Lubavitch issued a letter calling the meeting ‘contrary to the instructions of the Rebbe,’ and referred his request for a Din Torah to his former employers – Merkos and Tzach.

Bais Rivkah Girls’ School of Crown Heights has announced that all grades will be returning to their regular school schedule tomorrow, Friday, May 5th, putting an end to a month-long strike by the teachers of grades 1-3 due to lack of pay.

The parents of Bais Rivkah students of grades 1-3, whose teachers have been on strike since before Pesach due to lack of pay, have just been informed that school will resume tomorrow, Wednesday, on a modified schedule. Unfortunately, the problems underlying the strike have yet to be resolved.

The teachers of Bais Rivkah who are currently on strike due to months of owed pay have a message for the parents of their students: “this is just as painful for us as it is for you.”