No! Do Not Turn Your Brain Off – The Divinity Within The Mundane

By Rabbi Yoseph Kahanov, Jacksonville, FL

When Minister Joe Wright was asked to open the new session of the Kansas State Senate, everyone was expecting the usual generalities, but this is what they heard:

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Mazal Tov! – It’s A Boy!

CrownHeights.info wishes Mazal Tov to Shmuli and Mimi (nee Jacobson) Kopfstein (Crown Heights) on the birth of their son.

May the newborn be a source of Nachas to his parents, grandparents and Klal Yisroel.

Sholom Zochor IYH at Aliya, 525 E New York Ave [between Kingston and Brooklyn Ave].

My visit to Sholom Mordechai Rubashkin in Prison

by Rabbi Shalom Gurewicz

My job in Kashrus takes me to Cedar Rapids, Iowa every month. Knowing that Sholom Mordechai is sitting in prison there, I applied last month to visit him. I was approved and visited him yesterday.

He was so happy to see me besides for the fact of just having a visitor, he had also been placed in solitary confinement the night before and nobody including his wife and attorney knew about it yet and he was not allowed to make calls.

Mazal Tov! – 8 Sholom Zochors this Week!

Itzik and Chanie (nee Avtzon) Wolf
IYH at 541 Crown St [between Kingston and Albany Ave]

Benny and Yael Rosenberger
IYH at 1318 President St [between Brooklyn and New York Ave].

Mendy and Esty (nee Lazar) Raitport
IYH at 637 Montgomery St [between Kingston and Brooklyn Ave]

Mendy and Gittel (nee Gurary) Shneur
IYH at 400 Crown St [between Brooklyn and New York Ave]

Shmuli and Mimi (nee Jacobson) Kopfstein
IYH at Aliya, 525 E New York Ave [between Kingston and Brooklyn Ave]

Ari and Yehudis Cattan (Boca Raton, FL)

Shimon and Sara (nee Nelson) Shain
IYH at 5155 Luigi Terrace, #15, San Diego, CA 92122

Benny and Chani Lew (Rancho Mirage, CA)

Please stay tuned as we update this list when information becomes available. However, in an unfortunate event that we do not get all the Sholom Zochors this week, we are sorry. But you can help! If you know of any Sholom Zochors or Mazal Tovs you can email it to us at MazalTov@CrownHeights.info. Thank You!!

Rabbi Terminates AgriStar’s Kashrus Certification

MONSEY, NY — A letter released today by one of the Rabbis that has provided kashrus certification for years to Agriprocessors in Postville, Iowa, before it was sold to AgriStar, has informed the public that he has removed his hechser from the poultry processing facility.

Op-Ed: Lessons I Uncovered Beneath the Haitian Rubble

by Mushki Boteach

Like millions of people around the world, I have been following the tragedy in Haiti since the earthquake jolted the country just over a month ago. Although the media portrays a great deal of the devastation that has been visited on this poorest of Western nations, it wasn’t until I traveled to Haiti on a humanitarian relief mission that I truly understood just how severe the crisis really was.

Rabbi Chaskel Besser, Revitalizing Force of Polish Jewry, Passes Away

by Dovid Zaklikowski – Chabad.org

Known for a disarming smile and a dignified love of all people, Rabbi Chaskel Besser, who worked to spur a revival of Jewish life in his native Poland, passed away this week at the age of 87. Having made it out of Europe shortly before World War II, he eventually settled in the United States, where he maintained close contact with heads of state, as well as the “regular people” who, despite having never met, regularly called him for advice.

JEM VIdeo – Shlucha Relates Story and Letter from Rebbe


CrownHeights.info presents this weeks Living Torah excerpt, “No Doubts”. Mrs. Bassie Garelik and her husband have been Shluchim in Milan, Italy since 1958. She shares a heartwarming letter she received from the Rebbe during a time when she was doubting her ability as a Shlucha…