Video of the Day – the Weekly Living Torah Clip

This weeks Living Torah, titled “Joseph the Righteous” (Volume 40, Episode 159).

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Available in Hebrew, French and Russian in the Extended Article.

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Op-Ed: A Plea for Shidduchim

Dear Brother, Sister, Parent, and Shadchan,

It seems these days, that finding a Shidduch is a lot harder than it was in the past. There are lots of young boys and girls out there that are getting older, and are still single. Parents are making calls, Shadchanim are making calls, but it just doesn’t seem to move. Aside from time it takes to make the calls and reach references, it takes lots of effort to properly evaluate prospectives and get 2 names in the same plate. When someone makes a call to a reference, they hear something they don’t like and the suggestion is closed. It is my firm belief that people don’t know how to evaluate other people properly and might mention some “major” aspect of a single that really only represents 5% of their total character and personality, but since that is all what the other side hears, they give it heavy consideration in their decision. How many good matches were prevented from going forward for this simple and foolish reason? Shidduchim should be investigated with the accuracy of a crime lab! We should not take some mindless-by-the-way remark someone said about another and consider as evidence good enough for a court. I plead and beg from whoever is involved in the shidduch making process to please take this heart. A brilliant cut diamond has 58 facets, how many does a person have?

Continued in the Extended Article.

Rabbi Michoel Seligson Farbrengs with Yeshiva Tiferes Bachurim in Morristown

MORRISTOWN, NJ [CHI] — On Monday night, Vav Tishrei, the Yahrtzeit of the Rebbetzin Chana, the Rebbe’s Mother, was commemorated by the Bochurim of Yeshiva Tiferes Bochurim in Morristown, NJ. A Farbrengen led by noted Mashpia Rabbi Michoel Seligson took place. Rabbi Seligson told stories of the Rebbe mother, including how she used to make ink for her husband, Reb Levik. Today his published teachings exist due to her hard work and efforts to enable Reb Levik to continue writing.

More pictures in the Extended Article!

On the journey to Yom Kippur

Waveney Ann Moore – Neighborhood Times
Second-graders at the Pinellas County Jewish Day School symbolically cast their sins (in the form of bread pieces) onto the flowing water.

ST PETERSBURG, FL — Judaism’s annual 10 days of reflection, repentance and forgiveness, known collectively as the High Holy Days, conclude Saturday with Yom Kippur.

Friendship Circle Brings Joy to Special Kids

Katherine Paster – Local Source
Photo by Katherine Paster – Before venturing onto the walking paths of Turtle Back Zoo in West Orange, members of The Friendship Circle and many of their special-needs children gathered together as a gang of good friends out for a fun day in the sunshine.

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — A crowd of hundreds congregated at the Essex County Turtle Back Zoo on Sunday to participate in a fund-raising walk to raise money for The Friendship Circle, a non-profit organization dedicated to filling the social and recreational void that tends to plague the lives of children with special needs.

Rosh Hashanah in Russia’s Most Easterly Port

FJC.ru

KALININGRAD, Russia –- The Jewish New Year – Rosh Hashanah – was met in Kaliningrad by over 250 people attending a communal gathering. Organized by the Jewish community of Kaliningrad, the event took place at a local café.

Orthodox Jew Tapped to Replace Gonzales

Ron Kampeas – JTA
President Bush listens to retired judge Michael Mukasey speak at the White House.
Photo – Jason Reed for Reuters

WASHINGTON, DC (JTA) — Those who know Michael Mukasey say President Bush’s pick to be the next attorney general is a political conservative and an Orthodox Jew who kept his politics and religion out of the courtroom.

Documents on the Rebbe’s Studies at the Sorbonne to be Presented!

BROOKLYN, NY [CHI] — CrownHeights.info has recently learned from reliable sources, that for the first time ever, documents uncovering the Rebbe’s studies at the University of Paris – known as “the Sorbonne” – have been found.

The documents were found in the French National Archives by Jewish Educational Media [JEM], and are slated to be presented in an upcoming JEM film called The Early Years Volume 3.

Staff members of JEM have confirmed that The Early Years Volume 3 is set to be released in the next several weeks. The documentary will focus on the Rebbe and Rebbetzin’s time in Paris during the years 1938-1940.

More in the Extended Article!

Mitzvah Tank Org. is now making their final preparations for Sukkos!!

CROWN HEIGHTS, Brooklyn [CHI] — As Sukkos is quickly approaching, dozens of Bochurim and Shluchim have already confirmed their Sukkah Mobiles for this coming Chol Hamo’ed. After tremendous efforts, by Bochurim and Yungerleit, the Sukkah’s are ready to be assembled, rental contracts are already confirmed and much more has already been done in advance of the biggest Sukkah Mobile Season yet.

Last Year alone, close to 40 Sukkah Mobiles, including 3 20′ flat bed trucks, have been organized through Mitzvah Tank Org. “This year”, the organizers say, “it will be much bigger!”

More in the Extended Article!

Thanks to you Chabad of Peoria made the Top 5!

Chabad of Peoria thanks you for casting your votes in the “Make My Non-Profit Run Better” contest for a chance to win an office technology makeover from RK Dixon. Thanks to your help, we are one of the top five finalists, and one step closer to winning new office and network equipment valued at $30,000! The runner up will receive a makeover valued at $15,000!

Chabad of Peoria couldn’t have done it without your support. But in the second round, the first round votes are cleared. In order to win, we need your help in voting again.

CLICK HERE (or on the banner at the top of this page) and cast one vote each day Voting began Sept. 17 and ends Sept. 24. We need this makeover to help us run better.

Amidst the Ruckus; Meaningful Programming for Bochurim

Bochurim sitting at the ‘Bruchim Haboim’ gathering in Bais Rivka, Campus Chomesh.

CROWN HEIGHTS, Brooklyn [CHI] — The streets of Crown Heights are bursting with action, men women and children from around the world have gathered for “Tishrei in the Rebbe’s Court”.

While sometimes the extra load of people can be burdensome; extra long lines in our local stores, extra pushing and shoving in 770, over flowing usage of the Mikva’s, to name a few. We know that the Rebbe was very supportive of Hachnosas Orchim, and the residents of the Shechuna, as always, have stepped up to the task.

More pictures in the Extended Article!

Long Island Community Establishes Library in Girl’s Memory

Chabad.org
The Lubavitch Chai Center of Dix Hills, N.Y.

DIX HILL, NY — Ever since Ariella Weiss, a dynamic three-year-old girl, tragically died in a fire at her Dix Hills, N.Y., home on July 2, friends and family have come together to create a unique memorial to her.

New Arrivals Working to Strengthen Jewish Life in West Virginia

Tami Kamin-Meyer – Chabad.edu

MORGATOWN, WV — West Virginia University, a top-20 party school deep in the heart of coal country, may seem like an unlikely place for a thriving Jewish community, but its off-campus environs now boast a new Chabad House.

A First for Jewish Inmates in a Texas Prison: High Holy Days Plus Sukkot

Rebecca Rosenthal – Lubavitch.com

HOUSTON, TX — While religious books are being purged from federal prison libraries, a Texas state prison hosted a prayer service, complete with two Chabad rabbis and a Torah scroll on Rosh Hashanah.