Torah Dedication Perpetuates Life of Childless Holocaust Survivor

By Tamar Runyan

Assisted by a ritual scribe, an Israeli police officer fills in one of the last letters of a Torah scroll dedicated in memory of a Holocaust survivor who passed away without children.

KATZRIN, Israel — Holocaust survivors from Holland and Israel, many with tears in their eyes, joined residents in the Golan Heights city of Katzrin to dedicate a Torah scroll in memory of a fellow survivor who, because of the horrors inflicted on her in a Nazi concentration camp, died childless.

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MTA Planning to Cut Weekend Subway Service

By Pete Donohue for the NY Daily News

People wait for a train on a crowded platform in Times Square subway station.

NEW YORK, NY — The MTA will cut weekend subway service even if it gets a state bailout, officials said Monday.

And, for the first time in six years, the number of weekday riders dropped 2% in January, suggesting job losses have begun to thin the throngs of straphangers riding the rails.

Alternate Side Parking Rules Suspended Wednesday

Alternate side parking (street cleaning) regulations will be suspended on Wednesday, February 25 for holiday observances. All other regulations, including parking meters, remain in effect.

Click here for the 2009 Alternate Side Parking Regulations Suspension Calendar

Arrival of Lubavitchers a Noteworthy Event for Area

Rabbi Yosef Lipsker at the new Chabad Center, formerly Congregation Shomrei Habrith, 2310 Hampden Blvd.

The issue: Congregation Shomrei Habrith synagogue has become the Chabad Center of Berks County.

Our opinion: The change opens a new chapter in Jewish life in our area.

READING, PA — Something familiar has disappeared from the religious landscape – but not completely.

Once in a Rare Sun: Birkat Hachamah

By Miriam Davids for Lubavitch.com

BROOKYN, NY — The waxing and waning of the moon is regularly celebrated in Jewish life. The Jewish calendar is based on the lunar cycle, familiar to Jewish children even as preschoolers who learn to welcome the new moon with regular Rosh Chodesh celebrations. In a popular depiction by Jewish painters, a minyan of men stand outside the shtetl shul and bless the new moon under a dark sky.

Head Shliach Inaugurated as New Chief Rabbi of Holland

By Kobi Nahshoni for Y Net News

HOLLAND — Twenty-two years after Holland’s last chief rabbi Eliezer Berlinger passed away, the country’s Jewish public is finally getting a new spiritual leader. Representatives of Holland’s Jewish communities assembled last week and picked Rabbi Binyamin Jacobs to serve as the chief rabbi of 11 of the 12 provinces in the country.

More pictures in the Extended Article!

Darchai Menachem Trip to Sotheby’s NY

By Levi Aronov and Levi Gourarie

NEW YORK, NY [CHI] — Last Wednesday, February 18, our class went to Manhattan to see ancient Seforim from all around the world. Jack Lunzer has been acquiring Jewish manuscripts for a long time, and now Sotheby’s is auctioning the collection off. The collection consists of Gemaras, Chumashim, Sidurim, Tehillim, old newspapers, Shulchan Aruch, Benchers, invitations, Haggadahs, Megillos and other assorted Seforim.

More pictures in the Extended Article!

Attention Shluchos! Roundtable Discussion Coming Up This Wednesday!

Don’t miss the second installment of “Personal Productivity for the 24/7 Shlucha” by Mrs. Rivka Caroline, Key Biscayne, Florida , this Wednesday, February 25th.

A sampling of areas to be discussed are:

Taking Care of #1, Learn the Skill of Breaking Tasks Down to Smaller Parts, Prime Time System Revisited, By Passing Decision Making, Magic Numbers-less is more, more or less, E-mailing Tips, Child Friendly Systems, Innovative Car Time, 8 Must Do’s- 4x a Week.

L Train Goes Fully Computerized Today

Pete Donohue for the NY Daily News

NEW YORK, NY — Robo train is finally pulling into the station next week [today].

Starting Tuesday [today], L line trains will be fully controlled by a computerized signal system, officials said Friday.