Brooklyn Is All Aglow With the Festival of Lights

Courier-Life Publications
Brooklyn’s largest menorah, measuring 29 feet in height, stands at Grand Army Plaza. Photo by Paul Martinka

Brooklyn, NY — When Brooklynites of the Jewish faith light the first candle on the Menorah on December 15th at sunset, they will be participating in a tradition that goes back over 2,000 years.

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Jewish group has gotten the OK to light the symbol of Hanukkah in Old Town

The Tribune
Rabbi Gorelik being interviewed by the media

Fort Collins, CO — U.S. Sen. Wayne Allard will participate in a holiday celebration organized by a Fort Collins Jewish group that disagrees with the city’s policy of allowing only Christmas trees to be displayed on public grounds.

Click here for a recent radio interview with Rabbi Gorelik

New Shluchim To California

Shmais.com

Rabbi and Mrs. Mendel and Chaia Cohen of Crown Heights have just moved on Shlichus to Los Angeles, where they will direct the Chabad Mobile Kitchen; and the Ma’alot Chabad Center.

The Cohens were appointed by Chabad of California.

Hatzlocha Rabbah!!

The new Shluchim can be reached via e-mail at chaiandmendel@sharingthewarmth.com

Yet Another Open Letter – The 770 Incident

Sholom Aleichem is the way we greet each other because within that greeting is found the one thing human beings need most, peace. And when peace is not found in any relationship, one shudders to think of what takes its place.

Our holy community of Crown Heights amongst the entire Lubavitch community the world over is reeling from the violence that has crept into our Holy of Holies, Beis Chayeinu – 770. The Sitra Achara couldn’t beat us using his traditional weaponry of plain jealousy and hatred so he turned to righteous indignation. Imagine Jews, Chassidic Jews, Chassidim of our Rebbe, lifting their hands on one another and considering themselves to be righteous by doing so!

How many times did we hear the Rebbe instruct us not to fight, even when attacked?! The hands of Eisav have infiltrated Yaakov!! Indeed, the policy of our Rebbes and their Chassidim going back to the times of the Alter Rebbe has been not to fight back violently. Teach, inspire, lead! But to hit!! Gevald Gevald!! If we do not stop the craziness now, what will come next? The Aitra Achara is succeeding!!

Yud Tes Kislev: Clarifying the Shitaa of the Alter Rebbe & Vilna Gaon

In honor of Yud Tes Kislev, Rabbi Yisroel Rubin published a Kuntres on the Alter Rebbe vs. the Vina Gaon’s views on the Nusach of Birchas Hatorah [The Blessing of the Torah], its relevance to women, children’s education and many interesting applications.

Click Here to view the Kuntres in FDF format!

Fairhaven menorah display planned

The Bellingham Herald

The xmas tree on Railroad Avenue won’t be the only large holiday display in a public square this year.

Chabad of Bellingham will host a public menorah lighting ceremony at Fairhaven Village Green Dec. 20, the middle of Hanukkah, the eight-day Jewish Festival of Lights.

Mayor Tim Douglas is scheduled to speak, and several people will be asked to light the branches of the large candelabra, said Rabbi Levi Backman.

Not Perfect, But I Won’t Let That Discourage Me…

A Parshah Thought – By Elazar Kohen

A High-Priest. A South American Indian. Your average guy with a pencil behind his ear…

What do YOU aspire to be?

And this isn’t just one of those “What do you want to be when/if you grow up?” types of questions…

What do you want for yourself in life? What are your ideal circumstances? What goals do you set for yourself?

Tzivos Hashem Celebrates 26 Years of Education and Jewish Pride

by Shlomo Abraham

After twenty-six years of innovative Jewish education, you’d forgive the directors of Tzivos Hashem: Jewish Children International, if they were feeling satisfied. As it happens, no forgiveness is needed. The organization founded by the Lubavitcher Rebbe in 1980, is as innovative as ever and more than ready to meet the challenges facing today’s youth.

“What makes us want to continue moving forward?” asked Rabbi Yerachmiel Benjaminson, Tzivos Hashem’s executive director. He was speaking to a crowd of 500 at the 26th Anniversary Dinner, December 5, at the Jewish Children’s Museum. “One thing that drives us is ‘The Ourie Factor.’”

More in the Extended Article!

Fighting Chutzpah with Chutzpah

Rabbi Yossi Kahanov Shliach to Jacksonville, FL

Well, the neighborhood bully, he’s just one man,
His enemies’ say he’s on their land.
They got him outnumbered about a million to one,
He got no place to escape to, no place to run.
He’s the neighborhood bully.

The neighborhood bully just lives to survive,
He’s criticized and condemned for being alive.
He’s not supposed to fight back, he’s supposed to have thick skin,
He’s supposed to lay down and die when his door is kicked in.
He’s the neighborhood bully.

Mazal Tov! – Its A Girl!

We would like to wish Mazal Tov to Yossi and Sarah Malka (nee Mili) Pinto (Montreal, Canada) on the birth their firstborn daughter.

May the newborn be a source of Nachas to her parents, grandparents, relatives and Klal Yisroel!

Judge Bars Aggressive Vandal from Entering 770

Thaler being led out in handcuffs.

Earlier this week Judge Ira Harkavy, justice in the State Supreme Court placed Yaakov Tahler in contempt of court and gave Merkos and Aguch a temporary restraining order denying him of stepping within 25 feet of 770 (including 784 and 788). This comes after the courts found Thaler and his cohorts guilty of deface and damaging 770 last year. The judge said that this was done “in order to protect its dignity” referring to Thaler violating the terms set forth in June of this year.

This judgment reaffirms what the Rebbe noted to the Hanhola of the Central Yeshiva in 5751: “Take their belongings and their hands and go to Bnei Brak or someplace else”. A hearing to determine the final verdict is set for later this month.

Click Here to view the judgment in a PDF. Or click the Extended Article to view it in images.

Mazal Tov! – 3 New Engagements!

We would like to wish Mazal Tov to Shmulik Lieberman (Kfar Chabad) and Mushky Lapidus (Buenos Aires, Argentina) on their engagement!

And we would like to wish Mazal Tov to Sender Gourewitch (Lyon, France) and Devora Leah Cohen (Melbourne, Australia) on their engagement!

And we would like to wish Mazal Tov to Eytan Menachem Fiszon (Mets, France) and Ruty Kramer (Manchester, UK) on their engagement!

Aliya Closes On Properties This Month

R. Moshe Feiglin watches as workers put final touches on the facade of the building earlier this year.

ALIYA (Alternative Learning Institute for Young Adults), under the banner of Chabad Inreach, will IY”H be closing on its new headquarters at 525-527 East New York Ave. this month.

These buildings will provide a base out of which we will continue to cater to the needs of our youth who aren’t being serviced by the Yeshiva system.

Thousands celebrate Chabad’s global outreach

Seth Mandel – The Jewish State
Rabbi Avraham Altein (from left), East Brunswick resident Monty Block, Rabbi Eliezer Zaklikovsky, Rabbi Moshe Zaklikovsky, and S resident Harold Rosenblatt were among the nearly 4,000 Chabad rabbis and their lay leaders at Sunday night’s annual international Conference of Shluchim banquet, in Somerset.

At the first International Conference of Shluchim — the annual gathering of Chabad rabbis and lay leaders — it took about seven minutes for all the representatives to introduce themselves at the culminating banquet.

On Sunday night, the roll call was a little different; it took more than that amount of time for the program’s emcee, Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky, to announce the 72 countries that were represented by the banquet’s nearly 4,000 attendees.

More in the Extended Article!

The Weekly Sedra – Parshas Vayishlach

The Rebbe says:

1. In this weeks Parshah Ya’akov Avinu (our father) meets with his brother Eisav after many years of not seeing each other. When Ya’akov Avinu had taken the Blessing from his father Yitzchak that was “supposed” to go to his brother Eisav he ran away in fear of Eisav’s wrath. Now Ya’akov Avinu is about to meet with his brother Eisav for the first time after this incident. Ya’akov Avinu is nervous about what his brother Eisav will do to him and therefore he sends angels to speak to Eisav before he actually sees him again.

2. Part of the message that Ya’akov Avinu tells the angels to give over to Eisav is “Eem Lavan Garti – I lived as a guest with Lavan” (see Chapter 32, Verse 5). Rashi (an acronym for Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki, he wrote a super-commentary on the Bible and Talmud) writes that what Ya’akov Avinu meant to tell his brother Eisav was that he had kept all of the 613 Torah commandments even though he had lived with their wicked Uncle Lavan. Rashi writes that he knows this explanation because the word “Garti – I lived as a guest” has the numerical value of 613, and the total amount of commandments from the Torah is 613.

Mazal Tov! – Its A Girl!

We would like to wish Mazal Tov to Dovi and Kayla (nee Zalmanov) Schochet (Jerusalem, Israel) on the birth their firstborn daughter.

May the newborn be a source of Nachas to her parents, grandparents, relatives and Klal Yisroel!