New Engagement!
Aizik (ben Leibel) Baumgarten (East Hampton, LI) and Musia Goldman (Crown Heights)
L’Chaim tonight, Sunday at the Jewish Children’s Museum
792 Eastern Pkwy [corner Kingston Ave]

Op-Ed: Why I had Almost Given Up on Chumash
When I was becoming more interested in Judaism, I learned that the word “Torah” comes from the word “hora’ah,” meaning to teach, to instruct. I was taught this meant that each day’s Torah portion had a vital lesson for our daily lives, even in this contemporary world. Frankly, I didn’t buy it.

Photos: ULY’s Father and Son Melava Malka
Boys in United Lubavitcher Yeshiva on Crown Street had their annual father and son Melava Malka on Motzai Shabbos.

PSA: Flavors of Chanukah at Gombos! (a)
Celebrate Chanukah with Gombos Bakery’s ten flavorful doughnuts! Get your order in today!
New Russian Prison Includes Synagogue
More than two centuries after the release of Chasidic leader Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi from a S. Petersburg prison, corrections officers in the Russian metropolis joined Jewish community officials in dedicating a synagogue in the city’s newly-opened Yablonevka Prison.

Christopher Hitchens: The Fall of a Worthy Adversary
A journalist friend of mine emailed me at 1am Friday morning to tell me that Christopher Hitchens had died. The news brought with it a deep sadness and I instantly recited the Jewish prayer upon hearing of the passing of a friend, “Blessed is the true Judge.” That instinctive religious action captured the paradox of our unpredictable friendship, born in battle in four public debates – stretching from 2004 until 2010 – on G-d, faith, evolution, and religion, but solidified over food at kosher restaurants, kosher wines, and, of course, healthy swigs of whisky.
Chabad Lights a Fire Under Chanukah
The Lubavitch Jewish Center of Alaska traditionally hosts an art show to celebrate Hanukkah. This year, however, Rabbi Joseph Greenberg wanted to go bigger.

A Store Where Toys Must Be Kosher
in this toy store, Batman and Spider-Man are not heroes. For one thing, said Barbara Shine, manager of Double Play Toys in Borough Park, Brooklyn, the characters encourage interest in television, and the Orthodox Jewish families who make up her clientele do not watch television. More important, those toys might also teach lessons Hasidic parents don’t want their children to learn.

Fathers and Sons Have Melava Malka at Oholei Torah
Boys in Oholei Torahs Pre-1a through 2nd grade had a Melava Malka with their fathers, together they learned Chumash and each got their own Tanya at the end of the event.

North Miami Beach Jewish Community Arming Themselves After Crime Surge
People in one North Miami Beach community are so fed up with crime, they’re arming themselves.

Boruch Dayan Ha’emes: Rabbi Meir Halberstam, OBM
With great sadness we inform you of the passing of Rabbi Meir Halberstam of Bnei Brak, at the age of 85. Rabbi Halberstam is survived by his two sons: Rabbis Chaim Boruch and Chesed Halberstam of Crown Heights. He was the grandfather of terrorism victim Ari Halberstam HYD.
Senate Majority Leader Lights Menorah with Chabad
WASHINGTON, DC [CHI] — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada welcomed West Coast Chabad’s Rabbi Chaim Nochum Cunin and Rabbi Menachem Mendel Cunin for a pre-Chanukah celebration in the Lyndon B. Johnson Room of the United States Capitol. The Senator joined Chabad in a symbolic lighting of the center “Shamash” candle on the Menorah.
5 Sholom Zochors This Week!
Dovid Nissan and Tzivia (nee Gorkin) Jacobs
1490 Union St. [between Kingston and Albany Ave.]
J.J. and Shaina (nee Klappholz) Katz
1276 President St. [between Brooklyn and New York Ave.]
Yudi and Devory (nee Greenwald) Steiger
522 Maple St. [between Kingston and Brooklyn Ave.]
Mendel and Yochi Scheiman
770 Empire Blvd. [between Troy and Schenectady Ave.] Apt. 5L
Sholom and Mushky (nee klein) Kass
Photo Gallery: Yud Tes Kislev All Around the World
Pictures of Yud Tes Kislev farbrengens from Pittsburgh, Baltimore, New York, Montreal and… the Amazon Rain Forest!
Weekly Unique Photos of the Rebbe!
In honor of Yud Tes Kislev, Crownheights.info and the Avner Institute present a series of unique photos from the Yud Tes Kislev farbrengens of the years 1954, 1955 and 1959.