Ever-Growing Image of a Stumbling Third Term for Bloomberg

New York Times

In selecting Cathleen P. Black as schools chancellor, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg was, in many ways, playing to type: a man famous for ignoring advice, relying on his own instincts and doing the opposite of what an ordinary politician would do had chosen as leader of the nation’s largest school system a woman with no relevant experience whom he knew socially.

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Op-Ed: Thank you My Encounter Team!

by S. Rosenfeld

Once again it is Friday — time to watch The Living Torah. As the screen flickers on we await the Rebbe’s holy countenance and his immortal words. We watch and are transported back to those incredible years when farbrengens abounded and occasions to see the Rebbe were many. Perhaps at times we took those magical days for granted and didn’t take advantage of every golden opportunity.

Did you say the ‘Nasi’ Today? (Yom Daled)

From the Safer Haminhagim: [Every day from Rosh Chodesh Nissan until the twelfth of the month, usually after Shacharis,] one reads the passage [from Bamidbar 7-8:4] that describes the offering brought on that day by a particular Nasi, or tribal prince, for the dedication of the altar of the Mishkan. [In common parlance, each day’s passage itself is often referred to as “the Nasi.”] This daily reading is followed by the prayer which opens with the words yehi ratzon (and which appears in Siddur Torah Or [as well as in Siddur Tehillat HaShem, p. 371]). This prayer is recited even by a Kohen or a Levi [despite its seeming relevance only to tribes other than the Tribe of Levi]. [284]

Rabbi Devises Program to Ensure Constant Stream of Prayers

Responding to the popularity of the United State’s largest single-mountain ski resort, a rabbi in Vail, Colo., launched an online program designed to efficiently organize public prayer services for arriving visitors.

With more than 3,300 Chabad-Lubavitch centers spread out among 70 countries around the world, it can be downright easy finding a public quorum to pray with while travelling. And if you’re going to a popular resort town in the middle of the tourist season – a place like Vail, Colo., for instance – you don’t need to look very far.

Life is a Box of (Bittersweet) Chocolate

by Rabbi Yoseph Kahanov Jax, Fl.

The Silver Lining Behind Challenge And Adversity

Life is so full of sadness and sorrow, some say it’s better not to have been born at all!… But how many people do you meet in a lifetime who are that lucky?

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When things go wrong as they sometimes will
When the road you’re trudging seems all up hill

When funds are low and debts are high
As you try to smile but somehow sigh.