Most rabbis don’t consider close proximity to a prison a selling point when purchasing a home. But after living in Morgantown, W.V., for a few years, Rabbi Zalman Gurevitz wanted to move closer to both the University of West Virginia campus—and to the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI Morgantown) there.
Graffiti scrawled on the walls of a Chabad library in Beit Shemesh, Israel, says “Beware: Chabad Missionary.”
Levi Small (Pittsburgh, PA) and Gitzy Lazaros (Framingham, MA)
The Shul of Bal Harbour, Florida, one of the largest Chabad centers in the world, will be doubling its size in a $20 million expansion, with the groundbreaking ceremony set to take place Thursday. The center’s new wing will feature state-of-the-art facilities for education, prayer and social gatherings.
Amatzia and Chaya Musia (nee Shurpin) Argentar (Stockton, CA)
A Chabad Center in Tampa Bay, FL, was damaged by vandals during the annual “Gasparilla Pirate Festival” hosted by the city. The Shliach, Rabbi Lazer Rivkin, says the vandalism has “sort of become a tradition during the parade.”
An Albanian man has been convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 8½ years in prison for the beating death of a 22-year-old Israeli man on his way to the Chabad-run Pesach Seder in Berlin last year.
This summer, the neighborhood will mark a grim anniversary: the 25th year since anti-Semitic violence and rioting swept Crown Heights in August of 1991. To mark the occasion, the Weeksville Heritage Center, a local African-American Historical and Cultural Institution, is asking those who “participated in or experienced” the 1991 riots to tell their stories.
Mark and Yaffa Sebag (Five Towns, NY)
With much pomp and joy, a newly completed Sefer Torah was introduced to the Chabad synagogue in the “Chmobniki” neighborhood of Moscow.
With Chof Beis Shvat – the day of the Rebbetzins Yohrtzeit – falling out on Monday, participants of the Kinus Hashluchos gathered at the Rebbe’s Ohel and the graveside of the Rebbetzin in Queens, praying for their families, communities and fellow Shluchos.
The drawing of the 2nd Annual Likras Shabbos Bayis Raffle was held Monday evening in New York. Over the past two months, thousands of tickets were bought in support of the extraordinary work of Machon Or Hachassidus.
Levi and Faigy (nee Gluckowsky) Tzfasman (Brooklyn, NY)
Benny and Miriam (nee Brum) Silberstein (Crown Heights)
Fitche and Feige Benshimon (Crown Heights)
Moshe and Chaya (nee Bialestock) Gitlin (Crown Heights)
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