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Amid the Wilderness, Wyoming’s Jews Need a Mikvah

Home to national parks and resort ski slopes, Wyoming is currently without a Jewish ritual bath. One community is trying to change that.

For most women, heading to the mikvah – the ritual bath that lies at the heart of Jewish family purity laws – does not involve surprise encounters with wild animals, traipsing through three-feet of snow or hacking through a frozen river in subzero temperatures to reach flowing water.

Video: What a Mitzvah Does for You

In honor of Yud Tes Kislev, the well-known Chassidus teacher Rabbi Yossi Paltiel presents a powerful Ma’amar of the Alter Rebbe, exploring the inner power of a mitzvah and how it gives the soul the garments it needs to “weather” Paradise.

Op-Ed: Of Beards and Whiskers

by Shimon Posner

Illustration Photo. Subject photographed bears no connection to the story.

He was a photographer at Crown Heights chasunas and worked the cash register at his daughter’s grocery on Kingston. He was friendly in a self-effacing way and was friends with my father. His name was Velvel Shildkraut.

‘Canorah’ Brings Light, Cheer – and Food – to Students

Jewish Tribune

The stereotype of university students surviving on macaroni and cheese and instant soup is an enduring one, but with the economic downturn there are some who may not be able to afford even those basic items. Last week, Chabad@York University organized an early Chanukkah celebration attended by all Jewish campus groups that also acknowledged this sombre situation.

Koshering the White House Kitchen

New York Times

Rabbi Levi Shemtov oversees a team, including Tommy Kurpradit, second from left, the executive sous-chef, in koshering the White House kitchen.

First, spritz the kitchen’s stainless steel counters with disinfectant. Scrub vigorously. Next, wrap counters in tinfoil, tight, tight, tight. Now stretch plastic wrap over the foil and seal with masking tape. Then repeat for every surface that could possibly come into contact with food — yes, even the hanging pot rack.

The Crown Heights Affair

Jewcy.com

I meet Mattew Shaer at Pete’s Candy Store in Williamsburg; Of course, this being Williamsburg, the bar serves no candy. Shaer walks in from the cold looking a little different than his picture. He offers to buy me a beer, which at first I deny, and we begin talking about his excellent new book Among Righteous Men.

Shechita Ban Fails in Dutch Senate

Radio Netherlands Worldwide

Illustration Photo

Animal Rights Party leader Marianne Thieme’s plan to introduce a ban on ritual slaughter has failed to make it through the Senate, the upper house of the Dutch parliament. Ms. Thieme withdrew from the debate after intervention by the Agriculture Minister.