New Engagement!
Yossi Grosh (Crown Heights) and Shayna (bas Chaim) Goldberg (Toronto, Canada)

Alternate Side Parking Rules Suspended Friday
Alternate Side Parking regulations will be suspended immediately for the remainder of Friday, January 9, to facilitate snow removal. Payment at parking meters will remain in effect throughout the city.

In Historic Appearance, Israel’s Chief Rabbi Appeals for Jewish Unity
Nearly 500 participants attended what was billed as a “Historic Evening,” featuring an open discussion with the Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rabbi Dovid Baruch Lau Shlita, on the topic of “Israel and American Jewry.”

Oholei Torah Board of Directors Visits the Ohel
On the eve of the beginning of Oholei Torah’s 60th year to its founding the entire managing board of directors visited the Rebbe’s Ohel Thursday evening. This Shabbos, 19 Teves, marks the beginning of Oholei Torah’s Shnas HaShishim, Educational Institute […]

Weekly Unique Photo of the Rebbe
CrownHeights.info and Lubavitch Archives present a unique photo of the Rebbe during davening in the early 1990s.

Lubavitcher Among 5 Hostages in Paris Kosher Supermarket
Two separate hostage situations are currently unfolding in France. The first is in central Paris in the heart of the Jewish community, where 5 hostages were reportedly taken inside a Kosher supermarket – Hyper Cacher. The lone hostage-taker is said to be wielding two AK-47 rifles, and is believed to be the gunman who killed a female police officer in Paris yesterday.
New Engagement!
Yossi Smoller (San Diego, CA) to Ita Adelist (Melbourne, Australia)
New Engagement!
Refoel (Rafi) Stein (Flatbush, NY) and Tova Lea Steinmetz (Monsey, NY)
New Engagement!
Shui Kastel (Sydney, Australia) and Sheva Tennenhaus (Hallandale Beach, FL)

Letter & Spirit: Chabad and Israeli Politics
In this week’s edition of Letter & Spirit, we present a letter from the Rebbe to an individual who questioned Chabad’s involvement – or lack thereof – in various politically-connected activities in Israel. The letter was written through the Rebbe’s trusted secretary Rabbi Nissan Mindel, and was made available by the latter’s son-in-law, Rabbi Sholom Ber Shapiro.

Court Upholds NY State Vaccination Requirement
New York state’s requirement that children be vaccinated in order to attend state-funded schools does not violate parents’ religious rights under the U.S. Constitution, a federal appeals court said Wednesday.

8 Sifrei Torah Dedicated to Victims of Terror
Eyal Yifrach, Naftali Frenkel and Gilad Shaar will not be forgotten. In so many ways, the worldwide Jewish community has made it a point over the last six months to remember the names and the lives of these three Israeli teenagers kidnapped and murdered by terrorists in June.

Music Video: Hang ‘Em Low
This music video, produced on behalf of C-Teen – Chabad’s Teen Network – by Moshe Raskin of Swish Media, encourages Jewish boys and men all over the world to be proud of their Jewish identity and let their Tzitzis hang low – and be seen by all!

Shliach Co-Chairs Florida Governor’s Inaugural Prayer
On Tuesday, January 6, Rabbi Raphael Tennenhaus, director of Chabad activities in south Broward, Florida, Co-Chaired the Governor of Florida Inaugural Prayer Breakfast, the only Rabbi to serve as one of six Co-Chairs for this prestigious, traditional event, that preceded the Inauguration of the Governor by 3 hours.
Misdiagnosis Raises New Doubt on NYC Approach to Milah
The NYC Health Department has come under increasing scrutiny for its ongoing campaign against metzitzah b’peh (MBP) after a recent diagnosis at a New York City hospital of neonatal herpes following a bris milah was discredited upon further testing by a New York State laboratory.

NYC to Ban Foam Containers This Year
New York City will ban food establishments from using plastic foam containers, and shipping centers from using packing peanuts, according to Mayor Bill de Blasio.

Here’s My Story: All for the Cause
Mr. Moshe Salzberg lives with his family in Montreal, Canada. He was interviewed for JEM’s My Encounter with the Rebbe project in his home in January of 2011.