Daily Archives: March 9, 2006

ULY’s Gan Temimim revisits Shushan

Dressed in the king’s royal crown and robes, Avrohom Sorkin from Gan Temimim, rides the kings horse through the streets of Shushan, as the young “Tinokos Shel Beis Rabbon” relive the miracle of Purim.

As part of their preparations and learning about the upcoming Yom Tov Purim, the students of Gan Temimim – preschool division of ULY Crown Street, were treated to pony rides and a petting zoo.

As the children’s smiles testify, they were thrilled by the ride and had a great time!

More pictures in the Extended Article!

Video: L’chiam With R. Jacobson On A Cable To A Jewish Life

Click Here to watch the program

The Talmud says that a Jew must get drunk on Purim to the point of not being able to distinguish between the cursed Haman and the blessed Mordechai!

Does Judaism really encourage drunkenness?

Listen to Rabbi Yossi Jacobson describe the partnership between Haman and king Achashveirosh including Haman’s reason’s for plotting to kill all the Jews.

True blue and right

Forget everything you thought you knew about immigrants from the Confederation of Independent States (CIS – the former Soviet Union). Forget the assumption that they are utterly secular, forget the assumption that although they are rightist, they are pragmatic. Start thinking in terms of characters from a telenovela: A beauty queen, an immigrant from Ukraine, who married a nephew of the Baba Sali; a lawyer whose father was a general in the Red Army in Stalin’s day and he, the lawyer, is an ultra-Orthodox Jew who takes his every step as instructed by the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s Igrot Kodesh, and a singer who became a politician and is married to a prisoner who was sentenced to death for an attempt to hijack a plane in Leningrad in order to fly to Israel.

These characters are not imaginary, but rather flesh and blood people who have assembled in the Herut Party, headed by former MK Michael Kleiner. This is the second time that Kleiner, who for four terms was a Likud MK, is attempting to get elected at the head of the Herut list. In the 2003 elections, in which he ran on a joint list with Baruch Marzel, he received more than 40,000 votes, slightly under the electoral threshold.

Megillat Esther now in its ninth edition and revised

FREE Publishing House, has released a new revised edition of the Megillat Esther, featuring the original Hebrew text with the accompanying Russian translation, it has been enhanced in several ways: the whole volume, both Hebrew and Russian, has been reset in a clear, crisp typeface. The Russian translation, while still based on the original edition, has been amended to read more smoothly.

Following the Megillah, there is an additional 30 plus pages that contain the chapter on Purim of FREE’s yet-to-be-published book titled “Jewish Holiday and Festivals”. This chapter includes the story of Purim; the holiday’s background, its history and laws as well as its practical lessons and relevance now, 2300 years later, based on the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson.

Chabad VS. Hillel

Now hear this: There is no rivalry between Chabad House and Hillel.

At least that’s the party line here at Harvard. At many other universities, including fellow Ivy Princeton, Chabaders and Hillelians have duked it out in relationships at times openly hostile. At Harvard, however, the atmosphere is rather congenial.

Head to Head

So, what’s the difference between Chabad and Hillel? In the words of Peretz Professor of Yiddish Literature Ruth R. Wisse, who is both a Chabad adviser and a Hillel faculty fellow, “Chabad is a religious organization that also functions on campus. Hillel is an organization specifically designed to provide Jewish college students with a chance to be Jews.”

Arsons Fan Flames of Speculation

In the last three months, there have been at least eight suspicious fires in Prospect and Crown Heights, and five resulting deaths.

Four of those deaths occurred two Fridays ago at 5:30 a.m., and those terrible human tragedies have spurred several local politicians and activists to demand serious reform of the way New York City currently investigates arson.

“In 1986,” recalled Brooklyn Councilwoman Letitia James, “there were about 400 fire marshals and 50 supervisors. By 2001, when Bloomberg entered office, there were about 200 marshals and supervisors. Now, through attrition and head count reduction, there are only about 80 marshals and 20 supervisors. This is not acceptable.”