Op-Ed: To Beard or not To Beard?

Dear Fellow Jew,

Beard, some beard, no beard. Any color, any shape, and size. I love you because you are my fellow Jew.

The news about the inspiring Shabbos Hakhel held in Crown Heights this past Shabbos hit the Chabad websites in a matter of hours after Shabbos. The standard negative reactions were soon to follow. I can guarantee that all the people who did not have good things to say, could not have attended the event. It was purely inspiring, and I had tears in my eyes more than once. The organizers, speakers and participants made this an event to be remembered, and one that will bring about positive change in people and in the community as a whole.

One of the main themes of the event was Achdus and Ahavas Yisrael.

India Seeks Israeli Help

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — An Israeli intelligence source has reported on Saturday that India has sought Isralei help and support in operational and intelligence planning to conduct Commando attacks on three to five Pakistani targets.

According to a report the Indian leaders “showed the outline of this plan to US secretary of State Condoleezza Rice when she visited New Delhi last week.

Lego-Style Islamic Terrorist Figurine Sparks Outrage

A Lego-style figurine resembling an Islamic terrorist strapped with explosives and made by a small American company has caused an uproar among Muslims and non-Muslims alike.

The controversial miniature figure, created by Seattle-based Will Chapman as part of his BrickArms military fighters line, is a bearded militant with a face-covering hood, a tiny toy assault rifle, a little grenade launcher and plastic bombs that can be attached to an explosives belt.

Inside Hero Nanny’s Dash to Save Young Boy During Mumbai Massacre

MUMBAI, India [NYDN] — The little boy’s voice echoed down the staircase from the second floor, steady and insistent.

“Sanda! Sanda! Sanda!” cried Moshe Holtzberg, just three days short of his second birthday. The beloved boy’s parents – former Brooklynites Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg and his wife, Rivkah – were unconscious nearby.

Talking With a Terrorist: An Endless Call to India

On the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving I was in my office in New York, preparing notes for a finance class I was set to teach the next week. I grew up in Mumbai, India, and I had heard earlier in the day from my brother about the terrorist attacks in my hometown, but I had thought it was going to be over quickly. Then my nephew called. He told me that the Chabad-Lubavitch movement was looking for Indian language speakers to help them keep track of developing news after terrorists took over the Chabad house in Mumbai. This was the beginning of a nearly 17-hour ordeal that soon had me in prolonged negotiations with the terrorists holed up in the Jewish center, moving toward a deathly denouement.