Christopher Hitchens: The Fall of a Worthy Adversary

by Rabbi Shmuley Boteach

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.

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A Store Where Toys Must Be Kosher

NY Times

Double Play Toys, in the largely Hasidic neighborhood of Borough Park, operates with the kind of self-policing that few toy stores in other neighborhoods can match. It does not carry Batman and Spider-Man action figures because they encourage violence and the watching of television.

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.

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

Weekly Living Torah Video: Chanukah, the Day After

“After the eighth day of Chanukah we stop lighting the candles. But as far as Mitzvos are concerned, the ninth day must bring an added Mitzvah, and the tenth day another new Mitzvah — constantly increasing and growing.”

Bomb Scare at 770 [Update: Package Harmless]

Crown Heights [CHI] — The entire 770 has been evacuated and all the morning regulars are congregating outside due to a suspicious package that has been mysteriously placed at the “Shalash” entrance (between old and new 770 buildings). The NYPD’s bomb squad is on the way to inspect the package and determine what further steps must be taken. Update: Package determined to be harmless.