Some 650 Crown Heights residents attended Operation Survival’s drug awareness and prevention event on Sunday evening Jan 8th. The event served as an opportunity to highlight the need for prevention strategies and an increased awareness and understanding of the drug problem in the community.
The Speaker of the Israeli Knesset, Mr. Yuli Edelstein, visited the Jewish community in Tallinn, Estonia, last Thursday as part of his official country visit. Edelstein visited Tallinn’s Grand synagogue and was welcomed by the members of the local community and dignitaries – a meeting that developed into an intimate meeting.
New York State Senator Simcha Felder was joined at City Hall by Senators Marty Golden and Tony Avella, Assemblyman Michael Cusick, and other colleagues on both sides of the aisle today to call on Mayor Bill de Blasio and the City Council to stop a regressive tax on plastic bags slated to begin next month. The legislators called the five-cent tax on each disposable plastic bag a bad deal for working- and middle-class New Yorkers, and another example of government “nickel and diming” taxpayers and their families.
When Yeruchem Engel recently became a mentor for MyShliach, he didn’t need much training. The 17-year-old from Colorado was one of a number of boys at the receiving end of the “Big Brother/Big Sister” program at its inception 10 years ago.
At least 26 Democratic lawmakers have announced that they will boycott Donald Trump‘s inauguration on Friday, following the lead of civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis (D-GA), who said he considers Trump’s presidency to be illegitimate. Among those boycotting the event is Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-NY), whose district includes Crown Heights.
Rabbi Menachem Kutner, Director of Chabad’s Terror Victims Project (CTVP), was joined by Rabbi Yaakov Yosef Raskin, Chabad Shaliach from Jamaica, and his wife, Mushka, in a visit of comfort and encouragement to the IDF soldiers still hospitalized following the horrific truck terror attack that took place in southern Jerusalem on Sunday, January 8.
Sarah Encaoua, a recent graduate from York University in Toronto who recently moved to Crown Heights, shares an inspiring story that she experienced. “I couldn’t resist and make a video out of it,” she said, “for it was something real and so moving. I was inspired, moved, in awe, every step of the way and wanted you to feel the same.”
Bnos HaShluchim of Tzfas held a six day special Chanukah program for a bunch of lucky students. While the rest of the dorm residents went home for Chanukah, the Bnos HaShluchim group remained and enjoyed fun activities tailored to their specific interests.
The Rebbe’s call to reach out to every Jew and help them with both their spiritual and material needs has energized his chassidim. Very often, ordinary chassidim reached beyond what they thought possible to find the means to fulfill this ideal. Every chossid is a shliach, even if he does not bear the official title. One person who stands out in this area is Mrs. Reitza Kosofsky, founder of F.R.E.E. in Chicago.
Over a thousand Jews turned up at the Israeli Embassy in Paris to protest the “Mideast peace summit” held in the French capital on Sunday, which as-predicted was nothing more than a ruse for nations to come together and bash Israel for daring to defend itself against Palestinian terrorism.
Hundreds of women turned out Sunday evening for the auction and evening of entertainment benefiting Lubavitcher Yeshiva. Following the Chinese auction viewing, which was complimented by delicious hot food from a number of popular local restaurants, the crowdwas entertained by the music of Sarah Dukes and heard and inspiring talk from Mrs. Rivkah Slonim.
Update: List of Chinese auction winners in the extended article.
Delivering the guest speech at this years Kinus Hashluchos Gala Banquet will be Mrs. Judith Kallman, a holocaust survivor who authored the book “A Candle in My Heart” which detailed the story of her survival.
This week’s edition of MyLife: Chassidus Applied with Rabbi Simon Jacobson, Episode 146, will air tonight, Sunday, here on CrownHeights.info, beginning at 8:00pm. This week Rabbi Jacobson will address the topics: How Does the Torah Truly View Women? Is “Tracht Gut Vet Zein Gut” the Answer to Every Hardship? What’s Wrong with Whistling? At What Point is it Okay to Quit My Job? Is the Choice to Vaccinate Children a Personal Decision?
Menachem Mendel (ben Benji) Korf (Miami, FL) and Moussie (bas Yossi) Futerfas (Crown Heights)
Rebecca Rabinor’s son Samuel is turning 11, and thanks to the arrival of a Chabad couple to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, he has a rabbi to help him study for his bar mitzvah.
Alternate side parking (street cleaning) regulations will be suspended Monday, January 16, for Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Birthday. All other regulations, including parking meters, remain in effect.
With great sadness we inform you of the passing of Mrs. Sarah Nechama Yarmush OBM, the matriarch of a large Chabad family, many of them Shluchim of the Rebbe, passed away on Thursday, 15 Teves, 5777. She was 91 years old.
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