The Supreme Court of the State of Michigan on Wednesday handed down a ruling in which they dismissed a lawsuit brought by the head Shliach of the state, Rabbi Berel Shemtov, against the Chabad Torah Center in West Bloomfield, led by Rabbi Elimelech Silberberg.
Israel’s chief rabbinate updated the design of its official logo in which the Ten Commandments will now be depicted in a square rather than the familiar rounded shape. The change comes in time for Shavuot, the holiday that celebrates the revelation at Sinai with the Ten Commandments and the Torah. This year, Shavuot falls on Sunday and Monday (May 24th 25th).
25 after the first Kinus of all the Chabad Shluchim of Europe, which took place in the crumbling Soviet Union, the Shluchim of the European continent will once again gather for an historic Kinus.
In this week’s edition of Letter and Spirit, in honor of Shavuos, we present a letter from the Rebbe in which he explains the concept of Na’aseh V’nishma with yet another perspective: the doing/Na’aseh brings to greater understanding/Nishma. 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.
A 46-year-old man was the victim of a ‘strong-arm robbery’ Wednesday night. Three suspects stole $1,280 in cash, a laptop and the victim’s SUV on Bedford Avenue.
A recently-hired cashier at the Kol Tuv grocery store on Kingston Avenue was arrested after she was caught attempting to steal customer credit card data using a ‘skimming’ device.
On Monday evening, Erev Rosh Chodesh Sivan, 24 students of Oholei Torah, Lubavitcher Yeshiva-Crown St. and Cheder Chabad of Monsey competed against each other in the final round of the Chidon Shoneh Halachos.
The Shiur Beis class of Rabbi Chaim Yisroel Wilhelm of Oholei Torah Mesivta had a Mivtza in which all Bochurim who learned and wrote thirty pages of Gemara between Peach and Lag Ba’omer would be taken on a special trip and Shabbaton.
What do 5 girls from California, Florida, New York, Maryland and Arizona have in common? They are all sisters of children with special needs who are growing up on Shlichus, and last weekend they got a chance to meet each other for an amazing sibling experience.
Empire Press of Crown Heights has released a clear print – with large and vibrant letters – of the portion of the Torah that is read in Shul on Shavuos, which they are sharing with the community free of charge.
Senior mashpiim including Reb Yoel Kahan and Reb Sholmo Zarchi appear in a video calling for donations in an ambitious campaign for Yeshiva Tomchei Temimim – 770.
A Holocaust memorial in Massachusetts has been vandalized with pig meat. Rabbi Yossi Lipsker of the Chabad Lubavitch of the North Shore says one of his members went to the Pride of Lynn Cemetery Tuesday night to visit the grave of a family member. During the visit, she noticed several pieces of pork dumped on top of the Holocaust memorial.
Mendy and Sara Levitin (Crown Heights)
Many years ago, on the night the Rebbe asked that the world be divided into regions for purposes of regional Kinusim, those working on the project took a group of states from Mississippi to Washington – and many in between – and created a group they called the “Sheiris Hapleita.” Officially it was named the ‘Western Region,’ at the time encompassing about twelve Shluchim spread across twenty states.
A committee at Brooklyn’s Community Board 9 pushed through a vote in favor of a controversial rezoning process during a chaotic meeting Tuesday night in which police dragged out and arrested a longtime protester.
“My eyes met with the eyes of the terrorist. I saw murder and hatred in them. Then he emptied his gun—12 rounds struck me. The tables and holy books were overturned. Anyone who was in sight was hit,” recalls Yosef Edri, one of the 150 survivors of a terrorist attack in Kfar Chabad, Israel, when the state was still a fledgling enterprise.
Sholom Wilansky (Montreal, Canada) and Aidle Raigorodsky (Los Angeles, CA)
