Former chief rabbi of Israel urges Jews to unite

Toronto, Canada — Just days before his devastating second stroke in January, then-Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon called Rabbi Israel Meir Lau to discuss a government position he had in mind for him in the Kadimah party, the former Ashkenazi chief rabbi of Israel told a Toronto audience last week.

Sharon asked for Rabbi Lau’s help addressing two issues: the disconnection between Jews in the Diaspora and Jews in Israel, and the disconnection between Israeli youth and Jewish tradition, said the rabbi, who is now chief rabbi of Tel Aviv. He was speaking to a crowd of almost 1,200 people at the third annual Spirit of Community dinner held by Beth Chabad Israeli Community Centre at Vaughan’s Renaissance Parque Centre.

Klein – Lazar Wedding

Shluchim, Mashpiim, Roshai Yeshivos, Bochurim and Members Of Anash took part last night in the wedding of Yanky Klein, son of R. Binyomin Klein to the daughter of R. Moshe Lazar Shliach to Milan, Italy.

A special ‘Tshurah’ was given out at the wedding, to view it Click Here.

More pictures in the Extended Article!

Chabad dominates Birthright Mega Event

Birthright Israel celebrated the Annual Mega Event held on June 13th at the Latrun Memorial for the Armed Corps. In addition to the event, this also marked the one hundred thousandth student participating on birthright since the programs conception. Chabad recognizing the amazing potential to reach out to the many students, had volunteers working on location publicizing its many programs, and on the forefront JNET, the chavrusa by phone network. At the event alone well over one thousand brochures were distributed and over two hundred and fifty students signed up to join on the spot!

“Students coming from the Mayanot Birthright Israel this past winter expressed a high interest in joining JNET, and therefore we decided to step it up a notch and present it to the entire spectrum of students participating, thus enabling us to reach out to ten times amount of students, totaling about seven thousand Jewish students,’ said Mendy Rivkin, of the JNET campus division.

Unprecedented Success of Chabad Booth in Chicago Festival

Over ten thousand Jews who arrived at the Chicago festival stopped by at the giant Chabad booth to don tefillin, to pick up yiddishkeit content brochures, to register their children at Chabad ‘Gan Israel’ day camps, to find out the address of the closest Chabad House to their homes. Thousands of brochures and magnetic cards were distributed at the booth and the throughout the State helped man the booth and the statements, “Kol HaKovod L’Chabad” and “Thank you Chabad for being there” were heard over and over again. This giant project was arranged by Rabbi Yosef Shmuel Moskowitz, Associate Director of Chabad Lubavitch of Illinois.

More pictures in the Extended Article!

Penn students return from their first tour of Israel

Some eighty students from the University of Pennsylvania recently returned from a 10 day intensive trip to the holy land as part of the Mayanot-birthright Israel excursion organized locally by the Jewish Heritage Programs and Lubavitch House at Penn.

1,000,000 People To Make A Difference

Launched in May 2006, the Million Mitzvahs Campaign initiated by The Shul, a Chabad Lubavitch institution serving Bal Harbour, Surfisde, Bay Harbor Island and Indian Creek, is motivating community members and people around the world to fulfill one more commandment. They’ll do this until, collectively, 1,000,000 concrete steps to a better world have been taken.