Photo Gallery: Ceremonial Menorah Lighting in Sacramento

Gov. Schwarzenegger holds up a Dollar coin to put in the Charity box.

SACRAMENTO, CA [CHI] — In a tremendous and proud display of Kiddush Hashem, Shluchim of Chabad of California together with California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, lit a giant Chanukah Menorah on the west steps of the state capitol.

Many more pictures in the Extended Article! (Photos by Webby)

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Op-Ed: Magisterial Bigotry

by Getzy Markowitz

Jews have been the target of injustice for centuries. From judges on the bench to the chancellors who might appoint them, our people have enough historical experience to know when it is time to defend ourselves.

Magistrates preside over cases dealing with minor offenses, and over preliminary hearings that deal with more consequential ones. But a statement made by Magistrate Jon Stuart Scoles on Nov. 20, concerning the bail of an orthodox Jew, was a major offense to every American Jew. It must evoke a harsh response from the Jewish community. In his ruling, the Judge cited Israel’s Law of Return as grounds for not permitting a Jewish defendant to be released on bond, even though he had already surrendered his passport.

Locks of Faith: Jewish Boy Gets First Haircut at Age 3

Amanda Greene – Star News Online

Edna Vretsky (right) cuts the hair of Isser Shlomo while his father, Rabbi Moshe Lieblich, watches at the Chabad Center of Wilmington.

WILMINGTON, NC — For most three-year-olds, standing on a chair for 30 minutes while people line up to cut off pieces of your hair might seem scary and somewhat of an eternity.

Not for little Isser Lieblich. He stood still except for an occasional windmill swing of his arms.

Chabad Zoning Victory – PZC Votes 4-3

Rachael Scarborough King – New Haven Register

Peter Mohrer of Guilford, left, studies a religious text with Rabbi Yossi Yaffe, while the Guilford Planning and Zoning Commission meeting works through its agenda. Yaffe was there for a vote on the Chabad of the Shoreline application (Mara Lavitt/Register)

GUILFORD, CT — The Planning and Zoning Commission Wednesday night, after lengthy discussion, approved a special permit that will allow Chabad of the Shoreline to build a synagogue and day care center at 181 Goose Lane.

For University Students, It’s Never Too Late For a Bar or Bat Mitzvah

Yosef Lewis – Chabad.edu

Rita Vinnik addresses classmates, friends and family at her bat mitzvah celebration at the Chabad Center for Jewish Student Life serving Binghamton University. (Photo: Edward Lin/Chabad of Binghamton)

BINGHAMTON, NY — While the typical bar and bat mitzvah party celebrates the coming of age of 13-year-old Jewish boys and 12-year-old Jewish girls, a grand celebration of an entirely different nature took place at Binghamton University in New York. The party had all the trappings of the standard teenage affair, but it was 15 fully-grown college students who celebrated their entry into Jewish adulthood, albeit a bit late.

Ohr Avner School Connects Online

DNEPROPETROVSK, Ukraine [FJC] — This week, teachers at the Levi Yitzchak Schneerson Day School joined those from dozens of other Jewish schools from other cities of the CIS and Baltic countries for a large-scale online conference. This project was initiated by the Ministry of Education of Israel, represented by Irina Dashevsky, the Ministry’s Adviser for the CIS and Baltic Countries.

The conference involved numerous Russian-speaking teachers of Jewish traditions and, to a large extent, was dedicated to their methodological development, relation to and dealings with the Ministry of Education of Israel, and the upcoming holiday of Chanukah, in addition to several other issues related to Jewish education in the post-Soviet countries.

Alternate Side Parking Rules Are Suspended on Friday

The New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) in conjunction with the Department of Sanitation (DSNY) today announced the suspension of Alternate Side Parking (ASP) regulations citywide for Friday, December 19 to facilitate snow removal. However, parking meters will remain in effect throughout the City.

For updated information, visit the DOT Web site at www.nyc.gov/dot or call 311.

Click here for the 2008 Alternate Side Parking Regulations Suspension Calendar

Menorah Lighting with Gov. Schwarzenegger to be Broadcast Live

Last years state capitol Menorah lighting ceremony.

SACRAMENTO, CA [CHI] — California State Capitol Menorah lighting will be broadcasted live over the California government’s website at 2:30pm PST (5:30pm EST). Click here to watch!

Hungry To Be Heard – Eating Disorders In The Frum Community

Tova Stulman Ross – 5 Towns Jewish News

Many young women in the frum Jewish community are well aware of the pressures that exist for them in today’s society. The shidduch world oftentimes has potential mates asking about body size before character. Choosing between full-time work, being a stay-at-home mother, or a combination of the two roles can drive the sanest to second-guess themselves. And, as wonderful as living among other Jews in a tight-knit community is, it also leaves little room for errors in religious observance.

Latkes Are the Centerpiece of the Chanukkah Table

Judith Salkin – My Desert Sun

Chaya Posner of Chabad of Rancho Mirage makes potato, zucchini and yam latkes in the Chabad kitchen. (Michael Snyder The Desert Sun)

RANCHO MIRAGE, CA — With all the admonitions against eating fried foods, the words of a rabbi come to mind.

Dipping into a stack of crispy latkes (potato pancakes), he declared, “There are no calories in eating Hanukkah foods cooked in oil.”

The Weekly Sedra – Parshas Vayeishev!

The Rebbe says:

1. In this week’s Torah portion the Torah tells us that Yoseph Hatzadik (Joseph the righteous one) was a man who was “Yefas To’ar V’Yefas Mar’eh – handsome of form and handsome of appearance” and he would curl his hair. The Torah continues and tells us that this caused the wife of his master Potiphar to cast her eyes upon him and want to lie with him, and this eventually landed him in jail. However, even while he was in jail Hashem was with him and he was successful in whatever he did.

In short, there are two parts to this story; 1) Yoseph Hatzadik was “Yefas To’ar V’Yefas Mar’eh – handsome of form and handsome of appearance”, and 2) the issue of Potiphar’s wife.

Obviously, since the Torah is an everlasting guide for our lives, and every singe story has a lesson for us to learn from, there are lessons to be learned from each part of this story.

Video of the Day! – Exile + 1 = Redemption!

This weeks Living Torah, titled “Exile + 1 = Redemption” (Volume 56, Episode 223)

Living Torah is a member supported project Become a member today at LivingTorah.org

Also available with Hebrew, French, Russian, Spanish and Yiddish subtitles in the Extended Article.

Chanukah Lightings to Take Place in State Capitol Across United States

By Joshua Runyan

BROOKLYN, NY — Chanukah will formally be welcomed in Utah this year during a Sunday evening ceremony at the Governor’s Mansion, where Gov. Jon M. Huntsman, Jr., and his wife are expected to join Chabad-Lubavitch Rabbi Benny and Sharonne Zippel in lighting a menorah.

Emphasizing that the message of Chanukah should be spread among all corners of the globe, Zippel asserted that “a little bit of light dispels much darkness.”

Please say Tehilim for…

Please take a moment and say a Kapitel Tehillim for a Refuah Shlaima.

Aviela Meira bas Sara

A young kallah in Australia, who finally found a Shiduch. She married less than a year ago and is 5 months pregnant. Doctor’s just found out that she has carcinoma and said she only about a year and a half to live. She can’t get any treatment because she is pregnant.