Salem, OR – “Reaching every person on his own level—that’s what we have to offer him or her,” said Rabbi Reuven Gitter of his three-week assignment to spread the light of Judaism in Salem and surrounding areas.
Branson, MO – When Yosef Rivkin and Yehuda Reiz arrived in Branson on Tuesday, they expected to find three or four other Jews. Instead, the two young men found about a dozen.
Rivkin and Reiz are visiting communities throughout southwest Missouri to talk to Jews about their faith and encourage them to be observant – from lighting candles on the Sabbath eve to placing a mezuzah on their doors.
The two rabbinical students are part of the Chabad- Lubavitch in Kansas City.
Their expression of their Jewish faith is conservative by Joel Merryfield’s standards. But the Branson businessman welcomed them in for a visit, understanding that the work they do is also part of their faith.
Flint, MI – Spreading Mideast violence hit home Thursday for a local family whose son came close to being hit by a rocket fired into northern Israel.
On Thursday, Israelis bombed the Beirut airport and other locations in Lebanon on a course of action sparked by the capture of an Israeli soldier by Hamas-linked militants more than two weeks ago. Earlier this week, two more Israeli soldiers were captured after a Hezbollah cross-border raid.
This week we read of how a Jew by the name of Pinchas jumped from obscurity, saved the entire Jewish nation and received two divine gifts from the hand of G-d!
Peace and priesthood!
Peace is perhaps the most precious thing on earth. It is the sign of the Messianic era and the goal of mankind. All strife will be reconciled and all creation will be transformed into a symphony of harmony and love. (Isaiah 11:6)
And priesthood means being able to bless others and serve in the Holy Temple!
But if we turn back a few sentences to the end of last week’s Torah portion we disappointingly find that Pinchas earned these two gems by viciously murdering two people!
Moshiach NOW!!!
Last night Crown Heights along with the greater New York area was pounded with a heavy storm, gusting winds hit 45mph and the torrents of rain that came down brought visibility down significantly. The storm had even leveled a factory in Westchester and residents described it as a tornado! Accompanying the rain was heavy lightening and thunderstorms.
In the photo you see 770 with the night sky lit up by a lightening, the photo was taken shortly before 12:00am, while it was still raining. In the extended article there is an animation depicting what the sky looked like.
Click Here to listen to the Sicha the Rebbe said on 3 Tammuz 5742 (WLCC)
At 2 O’clock in the afternoon campers from the Gan Menchem and Machane MaMash day camps gathered in 770 for a rally held due to the situation in Israel, the children heard inspiring words from Rabbi Y. Y. Jacobson about what our [children’s] ‘weapons’ are, Tehillim and Tzedakka, after which the twelve P’Sukim were recited followed by Kapitel Chof with Rabbi Goldstein after which the children watched a piece of the video “Peace Upon The Land” from JEM with Sichos from the Rebbe regarding how safe Israel is and how important it is to maintain the integrity of the land of Israel.
Later at 6:00pm there was a gathering for Tefillah and Tehillim at the Ohel.
The situation in Eretz Yisroel is painful. Two weeks ago a soldier was kidnapped, this week another two were kidnapped, today a soldier died from his wounds that he got while trying to free his friends from a burning tank, the soldiers in the tank died. Civilians are being targeted in Tzfat and other northern locations. Ad Mosai?
At this time of year, as we remember the destruction of the Beis HaMikdosh, Our Rebbe said that destruction was caused by sins. To build a foundation for re-construction, said the Rebbe, we need to do the opposite of sinning, which is adding in Mitzvahs.
Chairman of Agudas Kiryat Chabad, Rabbi Chaim Kaplan, was hurt by shrapnel of a missile that fell in Tsfat when he was driving his car near ‘Beit Yigal Alon’. Rabbi Kaplan, who was hit in his face and is being treated in the ‘Ziv’ Hospital in Tsfat said smilingly, ‘The katyushas are chasing me all day”, referring to the shrapnel that damaged his home in Givat Shoshana.
In addition, a Chabad woman, Mrs. Yehudit Ivgi of Meron was injured in her eyes by shrapnel of a katyusha that hit a car she was standing near when she was shopping in Tsfat.
The Kloister that had been on Albany Ave. next door to the Matzah Bakery has been purchased by a real estate developer in Crown Heights. After the closing the first thing done was to remove to signs and symbols off the front of the building followed by a Minyan for Mincha in the building.
We would like to wish a hearty Mazal Tov to Mendy and Henni (nee Denburg) Halberstam on the birth of their first born son!
May he be a constant source of Nachas to his parents, grandparents, relatives and klal yisroel.
The Sholom Zochar will be I”YH at 1324 Carroll Street, apartment # 2A
Bisbee, AZ – (population 6,000) whose saloons once buzzed with miners, boisterously carousing over finds in copper lodes, is where rabbinical student Yehoshua Lustig went digging for Jews last summer.
Click Here for CNN News Covering the Bochurim and Staff Members leaving Tzfas
With the recent rocket attacks that have been coming from Lebanon to the northern Israel, Yeshivas Kayitz will be leaving Tzfat to a little town south of Haifa called Kfar Sitrin.
The bochurim are now getting on busses and should be there within a few hours Bezras Hashem. The boys will all have an opportunity to call home later this evening.
Katyusha missiles slammed into the holy city of Tzfat Thursday afternoon, striking a college, mortally injuring one and wounding close to 20. Hizbullah: If Beirut is hit, Haifa will be next.
Seven 122mm Katyusha rockets struck Tzfat (Safed) around 3 PM Wednesday. One landed near a bus stop, one near an absorption center and the others in populated areas as well. At least 20 people are being treated for wounds. A 70-year-old woman was critically wounded, and another person remains in serious condition. The rest suffered light injuries from shrapnel and shock.
A rocket also struck the Arab village of Majd al-Krum near Carmiel this afternoon. Majd al-Krum has seen arrests and investigations due to widespread support for Hamas and Syria in the village. The Hizbullah-fired missiled injured five residents, including two in moderate condition. Another wave of rockets struck Kibbutz Snir and the Arab village of Rajar, but failed to injure anybody.
The Fast Begins at 3:52am and ends at 9:07pm
Tomorrow is the fast of 17th of Tammuz, which is devoted to mourning the breaching of Jerusalem’s walls (and other tragic events that occurred on this day) and repenting and rectifying their causes. We refrain from eating and drinking. Special prayers and Torah readings are added to the day’s services.
The 17th of Tammuz also marks the beginning of “The Three Weeks”, a period of mourning which ends on the 9th of Av, commemorating the conquest of Jerusalem, the destruction of the Holy Temple and the dispersion of the Jewish people.
Weddings and other joyful events are not held during this period; like mourners, we do not cut our hair, and various pleasurable activities are limited or proscribed.
On Wednesday night, July 5, Rabbi Berel Levertov, Head Kashrus Supervisor for the Vaad Hakashrus-CHK, was about to leave on a long trip. It was one of his frequent trips for surprise inspections of dairy facilities of the Ahava company, which carries the Crown Heights Kosher certification. Then his phone rang.
Tronto, Canada - If Judaism can’t thrive in total freedom, it doesn’t deserve to survive, according to author and radio personality Dennis Prager.Tronto, Canada – If Judaism can’t thrive in total freedom, it doesn’t deserve to survive, according to author and radio personality Dennis Prager.
Speaking at a tribute to the late Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, Prager, a self-described non-denominational Jew, said that rational, intellectual reasons must exist for identifying as Jewish.
“If we need anti-Semites to keep us Jewish, we [Jews] are not worthy of surviving,” the Los Angeles-based Prager told the full house at the Toronto Centre for the Arts on June 26. “I don’t want to rely on Arafat or on Nazis to stay Jewish.”
Though not wishing to proselytize, Prager said he believes the Torah’s innate wisdom is relevant to all peoples.
Ft. Collins, CO – The city’s holiday display probably won’t include religious symbols – or a menorah.
At a study session Tuesday night, most City Council members seemed to back a policy to maintain current city practice, which means Xmas trees, wreaths and white lights on city property from Thanksgiving to January.
The direction rankled Mayor Doug Hutchinson, who pushed for a policy that would have allowed religious symbols approved by the city.
“We’ve just taken a step backward,” Hutchinson said.
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