In this week’s edition of Letter and Spirit, we present a letter from the Rebbe written on Chol Hamoed Pesach in 1964 to the rabbi of a Jewish community in New York City, in which the Rebbe discusses whether or not an Eruv should be erected. The letter was written in English through the Rebbe’s trusted secretary Rabbi Nissan Mindel, and was made available by the latter’s son-in-law, Rabbi Sholom Ber Shapiro.
In honor of 150 years since the passing of the Tzemach Tzedek, the Lubavitch community of Motreal gathered in the central Shul for a Kinus Torah.
As soon as the innkeeper heard his request, his friendly expression disappeared and he began berating the poor person for thinking that other people who work are obligated to help him. Why, you are many years younger than me, you look healthy and strong. Hire yourself out as a porter or manual worker and you can earn some money in an honest way. No, I will not give you even the smallest coin. Because if people give you handouts, you will remain lazy your entire life and will remain a beggar. No, go get a job and become something!
Nosson and Rivky (nee Moss) Lang (Crown Heights)
A reader has brought to our attention that a fruit-infused wine under the brand name Casato, which they had purchased for use over Yomtov, is in fact not Kosher L’Pesach.
It is forbidden on a holiday to do any act in preparation for the following day, even if the following day is Shabbat. However, the sages created a halachic device, called an eruv tavshilin, which allows one to cook food on a holiday day for use on a Shabbat that immediately follows it.
It’s been nearly 16 years now that the children davening at the Marina Roscha shul in central Moscow are part of something very special. On Friday nights and Shabbos morning they have been joining the “Chevra Tefilla” and on Shabbos afternoons the “Chevra Tehillim”. The children sit together and daven beautifully, savoring every word, along with their devoted counselors.
Yesterday, Tuesday, a rally was held in 770 for children in honor of Chai Nissan – the birthday of Reb Levi Yitzchok – and in the spirit of Hakhel.
Recently elected Prime Minister Andrew Holness of Jamaica met last week with local Chabad-Lubavitch representatives in advance of the Passover holiday.
A former Knesset member, Rabbi Yehoshua Pollak served as Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem for 12 years. Now retired from public service, he resides in Jerusalem, where he was interviewed by JEM’s My Encounter with the Rebbe project in February of 2016.
Alternate side parking (street cleaning) regulations will be suspended Thursday through Saturday, April 28-30. All other regulations, including parking meters, remain in effect.
In Moscow the chometz gets sold twice each year by the Chief Rabbi of Russia, Rabbi Berel Lazar. This is because of the great time differences that span this vast country – 11 time zones in total.
As the sun went down Friday evening, candles were lit and blessings were spoken in a conference room at La Quinta Inn and Suites in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, where a small group of Jews gathered on the first night of Passover.
With temperatures soaring, more than 150 people came out April 17 to break ground and lay the cornerstone for Chabad’s $9.5-million Bayview Centre for Jewish Life in Toronto.
Rabbi Sholom Deitsch got the go-ahead from a local zoning and planning board to operate Chabad of Ridgefield, Connecticut, in a two-family house where he lives with his family.
The west hills of Portland have been a hub for Jewish goings-on for decades. From synagogues to schools to kosher delis, the west side is the place to find Jewish resources in Portland — leaving east side Jews without many accessible services. But come mid-May, Northeast Portland Jews will have a community center to call their own.
When Rabbi Shmuly and Rashi Weiss took on the roles of directors at Chabad at McGill nine years ago, they had three people around their humble Shabbos table. Within several weeks, as Rosh Hashana came around, they suddenly found themselves cutting each piece of schnitzel into four as their crowds had quickly hit 60 plus.
