Chabad home to Houston’s first-ever designated-dishes mikvah

Houston, TX — Bouncing on the balls of his feet, soon-to-be-65-year-old Rabbi Shimon Lazaroff hardly could conceal his excitement as the massive concrete mixer rounded the corner of Fondren and Portal the morning of June 27. “This is a historic occasion!” he proclaimed, hoisting a large push broom into the air. “No more trips to the chiropractor!”

New Website to Document the Journey of Merkos Shluchim

A new website has just opened and will follow the journey of Bochurim on Merkos Shlichus in 12 locales around the world.

RovingRabbis.com is being launched through Chabad.org and will feature Bochurim on Merkos Shlichus in Berlin, Germany, Caribbean, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Ireland, Lithuania, Norway, Portugal, Saskatchewan, Shanghai, South West Germany, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wisconsin blogging about their experiences.

Jewish Youth Seminar Held in West Siberia

Omsk, Russia – In the west Siberian city of Omsk, a seminar took place for young activists involved in the local Jewish community and the ‘Omets’ Youth Club.

This event was held at a resort not far from town and featured lectures by visiting specialists. One of the highlights of this gathering was when Rabbi Levi Druts, from the Moscow Yeshiva, told the young men about how he found his way back to Jewish traditions.

Jewish Boys Choir Performs at Cultural Festival

Donetsk, Ukraine –- Last week, Donetsk hosted a performance by the ‘Pirchei Donetsk’ Boys Choir. The concert was organized in celebration of Youth Day in Ukraine, for which the Donetsk Municipal Council and the ‘AISEC’ Student Association organized the Festival of Culture.

Participants came from as far away as Jamaica, Columbia, France, Jordan, Turkey and Malaysia. The ‘Pirchei Donetsk’ Choir represented Israel, without ever having actually visited the Holy Land. This remains an unfulfilled dream that the boys and their leaders, Alexandra Mirlakha and Zinaida Zenyuk, eventually hope to realize.

A Camp of Their Own

Naperville, IL — Rabbi Mendy Goldstein counts among his fondest memories the times he spent at Jewish summer camps during his youth.

You’ve Got a Friend Project Pairs Teens with Special Needs Youngsters

Germantown, MD — The first couple of times 17-year-old Olessia Rubin visited 6-year-old Moishe this spring, she said the developmentally delayed boy was kind of shy and a little hesitant to hang out with her.

But by the time she went to visit Moishe last week, that had all changed.

Canberra to get first Mikvah

Canberra, Australia — The small Jewish community in the Australian capital of Canberra is building a mikvah.

Aharon Serebryanski, a Chabad-Lubavitch rabbi from Melbourne, has pledged to fund Canberra’s first Jewish ritual bath. Approximately 600 Jews live in Canberra, whose lay-led community has no rabbi or kosher butcher. Orthodox and liberal Jews share prayer facilities at a Jewish center.

Summer Programs Abet Moscow Jewish Seniors

Moscow, Russia – The ‘Shaarey Tsedek’ Charity Center in Moscow has arranged for a variety of summer programming for its clients, mainly elderly Jews. “Our activities are broad ranging, designed to complement those permanent programs offered year-round,” explained Chana Shulkina, the Head of the Leisure Program at ‘Shaarey Tsedek’. “Our clients will have the opportunity to attend various lessons, sports and clubs focused on their own specific interests.”