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Keyword: chabad

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  • 4-year-old who lost parents in Mumbai attack dies of long-term illness

    12/30/2008 4:56:19 AM PST · by forkinsocket · 4 replies · 358+ views
    Haaretz ^ | December 30, 2008 | Yair Ettinger
    Another tragedy befell the family of Mumbai attack victims Rabbi Gavriel and Rivka Holtzberg on Tuesday, as long-term illness claimed the life of the couple's 4-year-old son. Dov Holtzberg, the brother of Moshe who was saved from the terrorist attack in Mumbai last month by his Indian nanny, had been struggling with a genetic illness since birth. Over the past few years, while his parents and younger brother resided in the Chabad House in Mumbai, Dov had been hospitalized at a nursing institution in Israel under the care of his grandparents. His body will be laid to rest later on...
  • If It Involves Jews, Chabad's Tiny But Far Flung News Organization Is On It

    12/27/2008 9:40:05 PM PST · by goldstategop · 3 replies · 285+ views
    New York Times ^ | 12/27/2008 | Alan Feuer
    When the news broke on Thursday of a freakish traffic accident that injured several people at the Chanukah Wonderland workshop run by the Lubavitch community of Woodmere, on Long Island, the story was picked up by the usual suspects: Newsday, The Daily News, The New York Post and The Associated Press. It also happened to be that day’s top North American offering of a much smaller — and somewhat more specialized — journalistic venture: Chabad.org News. Written and produced from a small home office in Israel by a husband-and-wife team, Chabad.org News is a nonprofit international reporting operation that focuses...
  • The Essence of a Man and his Wife

    12/09/2008 10:28:31 AM PST · by chaimke · 280+ views
    Freedom's Cost ^ | 12/09/2008 | Chaim
    Some warriors fight using weapons and quasi sci-fi gadgetry, others fight with their soul. We all too often hear about the first kind, we all too often celebrate them while crying over their loss, their total giving of themselves… Those who use their soul as a tool to attract other souls are seldom heard of.
  • Nanny credited with tot's daring rescue (from the Islamic butchers in Mumbai)

    12/07/2008 8:18:50 AM PST · by PRePublic · 19 replies · 849+ views
    cnn ^ | Dec 2008
    VIDEO From Drew Griffin and Paula HancocksCNN (CNN) -- A 2-year-old survived an attack that took the lives of his parents, thanks to a quick-thinking nanny who grabbed the boy and dashed past gunmen to safety. Sandra Samuel and Moshe Holtzberg were the only ones to survive a siege on Mumbai's Chabad House last week. Those at the Chabad House were among 179 people killed last week when gunmen targeted several sites across Mumbai, including two luxury hotels, a train station and a hospital. As the siege at the Chabad House began, Samuel heard the commotion, locked the doors...
  • Chabad's openness a liability

    12/07/2008 6:20:34 AM PST · by Alouette · 8 replies · 371+ views
    AP | Dec. 7, 2008 | Rachell Zoll
    http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20081206/LIFE07/812060320/-1/RSS05?source=rss_breaking Link only, no excerpt allowed.
  • Silence=Acceptance (Mark Steyn Explains Islam's Judeophobia Alert)

    12/06/2008 10:25:37 AM PST · by goldstategop · 35 replies · 1,006+ views
    National Review ^ | 12/06/2008 | Mark Steyn
    Shortly after the London Tube bombings in 2005, a reader of Tim Blair, the Sydney Daily Telegraph’s columnar wag, sent him a note-perfect parody of a typical newspaper headline: “British Muslims Fear Repercussions Over Tomorrow’s Train Bombing.” Indeed. And so it goes. This time round — Bombay — it was the Associated Press that filed a story about how Muslims “found themselves on the defensive once again about bloodshed linked to their religion.” ' Oh, I don’t know about that. In fact, you’d be hard pressed from most news reports to figure out the bloodshed was “linked” to any religion,...
  • Hero Nanny Who Saved Chabad Baby Tells Story

    12/05/2008 10:18:21 AM PST · by Shellybenoit · 1 replies · 347+ views
    Yidwithlid ^ | 12/5/08 | Yidwithlid
    Perhaps the only 'feel-good" moment coming out of the horrific attack last week at the Chabad House in Mumbai was the fact that Sandra Samuel, risked her own life to save the life of two year old Moshe Holtzberg by smuggling the boy out of the house under fire. There is no doubt that the boy would have suffered the same fate as his parents. Below is her first interview (including a video) since she took Moshe to safety:
  • Mumbai Memorial

    12/03/2008 8:33:45 AM PST · by APRPEH · 5 replies · 227+ views
    APRPEH ^ | 6 Kislev 5769/3 December 2008 | APRPEH
    I have refrained so far from commenting about the events that occurred in Mumbai, India. I just didn't have what to add to that which was being written nor did I feel that any contribution of mine could change what occurred nor ease anyone's pain. Then today, I read the article below and decided that no comments from me were necessary. This says it all. No Last Respects for Martyred Couple
  • The Miracle of a Chabad House Survivor

    12/03/2008 6:39:54 AM PST · by Nachum · 12 replies · 625+ views
    arutz 7 ^ | 12-3-08 | Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
    (IsraelNN.com) David Bialka of Netanya is trying to understand how he still is alive after escaping Muslims terrorists in the Mumbai Chabad House. "The Creator has given me a new life," he said four days after escaping what seemed certain death at the hands of the terrorists. [Click here for televison video in Hebrew.] A diamond dealer by trade, Bialka said he had laid down to rest in his Chabad House room shortly after having eaten with Rabbi Gavriel and Rivka Holtzberg, who later were murdered along with four Chabad House guests. He heard several explosions but initially thought they...
  • Mumbai doctor finds no signs of torture on Chabad House bodies

    12/02/2008 4:33:24 PM PST · by BlackVeil · 16 replies · 1,126+ views
    Jerusalem Post ^ | Dec 3, 2008 | By YAAKOV LAPPIN
    A hospital doctor at Mumbai's JJ Hospital, which received the bodies of six Jewish and Israeli hostages from the Chabad House terrorist siege, has cast doubt on a report claiming that signs of torture were apparent on the bodies of the victims. Dr. Gajanan Chawan, who saw the bodies, told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday he did not believe the wounds he observed suggested the hostages had been tortured prior to their deaths. Asked if he saw any evidence of torture on the bodies, Chawan replied, "No, I don't think so." He added that the majority of the wounds he...
  • President Bush Writes Condolence Letter to Chabad

    12/02/2008 11:33:39 AM PST · by Cinnamon Girl · 10 replies · 311+ views
    Yeshiva World News ^ | Dec. 1, 2008 | President Bush
    The White House Washington December 1, 2008 Laura and I send our condolences to the Chabad-Lubavitch family and all those honoring the lives lost in this tragedy. The compassionate individuals of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement dedicate their lives to sharing G-d’s teachings with people throughout the world, offering strength, hope and guidance in the unique spirit of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, of blessed memory. Through countless acts of love and kindness, the lost members of the Chabad-Lubavitch community in Mumbai represented the best of the human spirit, and their memories will live on in the hearts and souls...
  • Thousands Mourn Fallen Victims In Central Israel Ceremony (Funeral At Kfar Chabad Alert)

    12/02/2008 8:09:06 AM PST · by goldstategop · 4 replies · 355+ views
    Chabad.org ^ | 12/02/2008 | Joshua Runyan
    A memorial ceremony for Rabbi Gavriel and Rivka Holtzberg took place Tuesday afternoon in Kfar Chabad, Israel. (Photo: Tamar Runyan) Thousands of people are reciting Psalms in Kfar Chabad, Israel, where the memorial service has just begun for Rabbi Gavriel and Rivkah Holtzberg, the directors of the Chabad-Lubavitch center in Mumbai, Israel, attacked by terrorists last week. Their burial will take place afterwards at Jerusalem's Mount of Olives cemetery. A delegation of Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries from around the world flew in for the ceremony. Rabbi Naftali Lipskar, from the Chabad-Lubavitch Youth Organization, mourned the victims as members of the extended...
  • President Bush Addresses Funeral (Letter Of Condolences Sent Alert)

    12/02/2008 7:50:31 AM PST · by goldstategop · 276+ views
    Chabad.org ^ | 12/01/2008 | President George W. Bush
    Text of the letter sent by President George Bush to the funeral of Rabbi Gavriel and Mrs. Rivkah Holtzberg in Kfar Chabad, Israel, today, via Rabbi Levi Shemtov, Washington director of American Friends of Lubavitch: The White House Washington December 1, 2008 Laura and I send our condolences to the Chabad-Lubavitch family and all those honoring the lives lost in this tragedy. The compassionate individuals of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement dedicate their lives to sharing G-d’s teachings with people throughout the world, offering strength, hope and guidance in the unique spirit of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, of blessed...
  • The Rabbi And The Terrorists (Why The Murder Of Jews In Mumbai Isn't A Merely Jewish Problem Alert)

    12/01/2008 9:59:49 PM PST · by goldstategop · 10 replies · 640+ views
    Townhall.com ^ | 12/02/2008 | Dennis Prager
    It was obvious to observers around the world that one of the designated targets of the Pakistani Islamist terrorists was the Mumbai Chabad House, the one Jewish center in Mumbai. The 10 Islamic terrorists who came from Pakistan to India chose their targets with great care. If one assumes that the terrorists primary goals were to destabilize India, weaken growing Indian-Pakistani cooperation in fighting terrorism, and greatly increase Indian-Pakistani tension, hopefully to the point of military war between the two countries, every one of the targets made strategic sense. Slaughtering as many people as possible in Indias major economic center,...
  • A Day Of Mourning (Naomi Ragen's Thoughts On The Mumbai Massacre Alert)

    12/01/2008 7:21:59 PM PST · by goldstategop · 16 replies · 677+ views
    Israel National News ^ | 12/01/2008 | Naomi Ragen
    After days of prayer and fear among Jews and good people everywhere, the horrible reality of the Islamic terrorist rampage in Mumbai was revealed in all its obscene and mindless savagery when members of Zaka entered the Chabad compound. Perhaps it is impossible for the average human being to understand the depth of evil represented by Muslim extremists. As an eyewitness told Ynet, the sight was unbearable even to the practiced eyes of those whose job it is to deal with the aftermath of murderous terror attacks: "The place was totally destroyed. Live grenades were all over the floor. Torah...
  • Pictured: Tears of the two-year-old boy trapped in Mumbai Jewish centre as his parents were murdered

    12/01/2008 6:34:05 PM PST · by milestogo · 43 replies · 2,351+ views
    Pictured: Tears of the two-year-old boy trapped in Mumbai Jewish centre as his parents were murdered Clutching a toy basketball, his face contorted by tears, this is Moshe Holtzberg at today's memorial service for his parents. The two-year-old orphan's rabbi father and mother were murdered in Mumbai's Jewish centre Horror scene: Blood spatters the walls inside the Jewish centre where Moshe was trapped as Islamic gunmen killed his parents during last week's attacks he body of a suspected militant lies inside Nariman House after the attacks This photograph shows the inside of Nariman House after the commando operation
  • Love The Victims, Loathe The Killers (Rabbi Shmuley Boteach On The Mumbai Massacre Alert)

    12/01/2008 6:40:04 PM PST · by goldstategop · 24 replies · 602+ views
    Jerusalem Post ^ | 12/01/2008 | Rabbi Shmuley Boteach
    All terrorism is monstrous, but the murder of Rabbi Gavriel and Rivka Holtzberg by "religious Islamic extremists" stands out for its unspeakable infamy. The deliberate targeting of a small Jewish center and its married young directors, whose only purpose it was to provide for the religious needs of a community and feed travelers, proves that those who perpetrated this crime are bereft not only of even a hint of humanity, but every shred of faith as well. The world's most aggressive atheists are more religious than these spiritual charlatans and pious frauds. When Osama bin Laden, whose beard masks the...
  • What is our response to the massacre?

    We're all in pain. We're all stunned. But you are asking questions you know you cannot answer. Why? How will that help anyone? What we need now is strength and courage. What we need now is to regather our forces and to rebuild. We knew beforehand that we are at war with an enemy. We knew that the world needs to be healed, that it oozes with a venomous darkness, and that darkness will not sit passively as we steal away its dominion. We knew that the more we fight this darkness, the harder it will fight back. We didn't...
  • Gregory Interview of Chabad Rabbi: Faith, Optimism in Face of Tragedy

    11/30/2008 7:56:56 AM PST · by governsleastgovernsbest · 6 replies · 330+ views
    NewsBusters ^ | Mark Finkelstein
    Of all the genres of interviews, those conducted by the media with family and friends of victims of tragedy are among the most difficult and often least successful. A remarkable exception to that rule comes in the form of the interview David Gregory conducted on this morning's Today show with Rabbi Shalom Paltiel, who was a friend of the Chabad couple murdered in Mombai and is a fellow member of the Chabad movement. Gregory demonstrates knowledge and sensitivity, and Rabbi Paltiel exhibits a faith and optimism in the face of tragedy that people of all faiths should find inspiring. I...
  • 9 Reported Dead in Mumbai Chabad House Terror Attack

    11/29/2008 11:28:21 PM PST · by Nachum · 7 replies · 455+ views
    arutz 7 ^ | 11-29-08 | Hana Levi Julian
    (IsraelNN.com) After more than 40 hours and a day-long siege by Indian commandos against Islamist terrorists holding nine Jews hostage in the Mumbai Chabad House, all were found murdered, including the Chabad-Lubavitch emissary, Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg and his wife Rivka. Voice of Israel government radio reported Saturday evening that at least seven of the victims are Israelis. A forensic pathology expert is being sent from Israel to assist in the identification of three of the bodies. Ben-Tzion Korman (courtesy of npv.co.il) Foreign Ministry sources told Israel National News just minutes before the start of the Sabbath in Israel that among...
  • Contradicting Reports on Fate of Chabad Couple

    11/27/2008 9:22:05 PM PST · by Nachum · 1 replies · 310+ views
    arutz 7 ^ | 11-27-08 | staff
    (IsraelNN.com) An Indian television station has reported that Chabad Rabbi Gabriel Holtzberg and his wife Rivka still are alive, causing Indian commandos to advance carefully in their attempt to kill the two or three terrorists who are believed to remain in the Chabad House in Mumbai. However, another network stated that no more hostages remain live inside the five-building building. Indian forces are gaining control if two luxury hotels in Mumbai, and hostages have escaped or been rescued during the fighting.
  • Chabad Couple Feared Dead, Commadnos Raid Building

    11/27/2008 8:27:58 PM PST · by Nachum · 19 replies · 1,162+ views
    arutz 7 ^ | 11-27-08 | Hana Levi Julian
    (IsraelNN.com) An Indian newspaper has reported that Chabad-Lubavitch emissary Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg and his wife Rivka have been killed by Islamist terrorists who held them hostage in the siege on their Chabad House in Mumbai. Indian helicopters dropped commandoes on the roof of the Chabad House in on Mumbai early Friday morning, and a battle is continuing at this moment. Three blasts were heard in side the building, where four terrorists remain. One was killed in an earlier battle. It is thought that no more hostages are being held inside. The Chabad House was one of 10 sites that were...
  • '10-15 Israelis held in Chabad House and Mumbai hotel'

    11/27/2008 9:19:55 AM PST · by Nachum · 7 replies · 446+ views
    Jerusalem Post ^ | 11-27-08 | DAVID HOROVITZ, MATTHEW WAGNER, AND JPOST.COM STAFF
    Indian commandos and police were evacuating civilians and cordoning off the area apparently in preparation to storm the Chabad House in Mumbai, India, where a rabbi, his wife and several other Israelis were being held hostage, according to IBN, an Indian news agency. Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg and wife Rivka with their son. Photo: Courtesy: http://col.org.il/ Slideshow: Terror in Mumbai Newscasters were calling it the "final assault" on the Nariman House, where Chabad headquarters are located, adjacent to the Leopold Cafe, a major tourist center in Mumbai's Colaba area, which was also attacked Wednesday night. Chabad spokesman in Israel, Moni Ender,...
  • International Jewish Activists Conference Kicks Off in New York

    11/20/2008 8:33:51 PM PST · by Alouette · 4 replies · 218+ views
    Chabad.org ^ | Nov. 19, 2008 | Tamar Runyan
    Whether by plane, train or car, thousands of Jewish activists from all over the world made their way to the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, N.Y., for the much-anticipated 25th annual International Conference of Chabad-Lubavitch Emissaries. The rabbis began trickling in on Tuesday as their flights landed at John F. Kennedy International Airport. More so than in years past, this year’s conference will shine a spotlight on Jewish unity. It takes place in a year of hakhel, a once in seven years occurrence that was marked during the time of the Holy Temple by a gathering of men, women and...
  • British Shul Bans "Racist Tanya" [Jewish text banned for PC reasons]

    10/23/2008 11:42:17 AM PDT · by Alouette · 9 replies · 564+ views
    COL Live ^ | Oct. 23, 2008
    Shocking: One of Britain's largest synagogues in the Hampstead Garden suburb canceled an adult-education class on the Tanya, following objections by senior congregants who declared it "racist." Vivian Wineman, vice-president of the Board of Deputies, said: "Lubavitch philosophy has elements which are unacceptable." A synagogue's decision to abandon a study course after a religious commentary was pronounced "racist" has been criticized as "outrageous" and "spineless" in the latest edition of the shul magazine. London's Hampstead Garden Suburb United Synagogue, one of Britain's biggest synagogues, discontinued an adult-education class on the Tanya earlier this year, following objections by three senior congregants,...
  • Sarah Palin's Appeal Is Same As Chabad's

    09/09/2008 11:51:05 AM PDT · by Nachum · 17 replies · 52+ views
    New York Jewish Week ^ | 9-8-08 | Shlomie T.
    I'm getting a hunch the Republicans just might win for one reason alone, and it makes no sense, just like Chabad makes no sense to the Jewish elite. That one reason is Sarah Palin. She reminds me of about a thousand different Chabad shluchot (the rebbe's women representatives). She's seems friendly, sexy (forgive me) in an Orthodox way, with that magnetism, optimism, and accessibility that has made Chabad shluchot successful in 5,000 different locales, even though they are almost always considerably more right-wing -- religiously and politically -- than their congregants and financial supporters. Reform, Conservative and other Orthodox Jews...
  • No 'bipartisan hechsher' for Chabad in D.C. [Jewish libs seething over McCain calls]

    09/09/2008 7:27:55 AM PDT · by Alouette · 24 replies · 80+ views
    JTA ^ | Sept. 9, 2008
    A Jewish Democratic leader says he will decline invitations to future Chabad-Lubavitch events in the nation's capital because of its "partisan activities." National Jewish Democratic Council executive director Ira Forman will skip the events because “certain Chabad associated individuals and institutions” have been “taking part in partisan activties” in the last three election cycles. “I currently do not feel that it is proper for a NJDC representative to give a ‘bi-partisan hechsher’ to your events,” wrote Forman in an e-mailed letter to American Friends of Lubavitch Washington director Rabbi Levi Shemtov that was obtained by JTA. Forman was upset most...
  • McCain, Promises 'Never Again,' asks Chabad for Support

    08/28/2008 7:45:46 PM PDT · by Nachum · 10 replies · 109+ views
    Arutz 7 ^ | 8-28-08 | staff
    (IsraelNN.com) Republican presidential candidate Senator John McCain has asked the Chabad-Lubavitch movement to support him in the November elections. In a conference call to 40 of Chabad's leading rabbis, the senator told them that he is the underdog in the race and that Chabad's support "would mean a great deal to me." He pledged "never again" to another Holocaust and he reminded the rabbis of his vow to keep Israel secure. However, Chabad is forbidden from officially endorsing a candidate because it is listed as a tax-exempt and non-profit organization.
  • Chabad Temple Course 'Scares' Muslim Groups

    07/29/2008 7:32:55 PM PDT · by Nachum · 36 replies · 48+ views
    Arutz 7 ^ | 7-29-08 | staff
    (IsraelNN.com) A brief Chabad-sponsored course on the Temple, to be held in Israel this week and the next, has angered Islamic organizations, who call it a threat to the Al-Aksa Mosque compound. "We view this as a serious and drastic move toward the fruition of extremist organizations to establish a temple in place of al-Aksa Mosque," said Zahi Nujidat of the Islamic Movement. "This represents a real danger to al-Aksa." The Aksa Foundation issued a similar statement. The course, offered at roughly 200 locations throughout Israel, comes during the two weeks leading up to Tisha B'Av, the fast day that...
  • When A Tombstone Reads "Light Of The World" (Shmuley Boteach Reflects On The Rebbe Alert)

    07/06/2008 5:35:56 PM PDT · by goldstategop · 12 replies · 140+ views
    Jerusalem Post ^ | 7/6/2008 | Rabbi Shmuley Boteach
    sioned humanity. His message became a mantra: give charity, pray daily, offer hospitality, and love every stranger as oneself. He practiced what he preached. A Catholic gay man I know wrote the Rebbe a letter disagreeing with the Bible's views on homosexuality. Never expecting his letter to even reach the Rebbe, he was blown away when he received a five-page response in which he was treated as being infinitely beloved of God. Where some religions condemn abortions, the Rebbe sought to cultivate a love of children. THOSE OF us who can still close our eyes and remember the enormous public...
  • The Lubavitcher Rebbe and President Ronald Reagan

    07/06/2008 7:32:12 AM PDT · by Alouette · 5 replies · 58+ views
    Chabad.org ^ | July 6, 2008 | Dovid Zaklikowski
    The Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory and President Ronald Reagan enjoyed a deep relationship for many years. National Day of Reflection By the President of the United States of America Amid the distractions and concerns of our daily existence, it is appropriate that Americans pause to reflect upon the ancient ethical principles and moral values which are the foundation of our character as a nation. We seek, and steadfastly pursue, the benefits of education. But education must be more than factual enlightenment-it must enrich the character as well as the mind. One shining example for people of...
  • Heartland Jews Amidst Flooded Iowa

    06/20/2008 7:21:41 AM PDT · by APRPEH · 7 replies · 66+ views
    APRPEH ^ | 17 Sivan 5768/20 June 2008 | APRPEH
    Chabad Flood Relief 1,000 pounds of meat donated by Agriprocessors distributed by Chabad through the Red Cross more photos hereIts been called the greatest flood in Iowa history, a "500 year flood". Cities have been submerged, lives lost, homes washed away in torrents of rain, thunder and tornadoes. It seems like daily a new story of a levy on the verge of collapse or giving way to the rush of out of control rivers, stills the hearts of Americans. People await the answers to their prayerful calls for help. In response, Americans have donated money and volunteered for relief operations....
  • Donors helping synagogue replace Torah lost in blaze

    05/27/2008 7:20:49 AM PDT · by Alouette · 7 replies · 50+ views
    Miami Herald ^ | May 27, 2008 | Tania Valdemoro
    A recent fire has led to an outpouring of generosity for a struggling synagogue that lost its Torah in the blaze. A Broward County woman who wants to honor her dead parents, and a couple who commute between Miami and New York, are donating new Torahs to a beleaguered Jewish congregation in Miami Beach whose synagogue was ravaged in a recent fire. ''These show people that we're going to come back stronger after a tragedy,'' said an appreciative Rabbi Zev Katz, the head of Miami Beach's Chabad Shul, part of Judaism's Orthodox Hasidic movement. Miami Beach police and fire officials...
  • Embrace of Passover Tradition Can Be Decidedly Untraditional

    04/02/2008 10:03:53 AM PDT · by Alouette · 4 replies · 17+ views
    Chabad.org ^ | April 2, 2008 | Motti Seligson
    Concluding the Passover Seder half an hour after it began was almost a family tradition for the Sifens. Larry and Pam Sifen, together with their children and parents, would sit around the table in their Norfolk, Va., home as the aroma of holiday foods warming in the neighboring kitchen competed with the text of the Haggadah for attention. In recent years, however, the Sifens have taken a new approach to the annual Passover ceremony and feast, ditching the house altogether to embark on an inspirational holiday learning experience away from home. The experiences of other families suggest the Sifens are...
  • Give gays kosher stamp [Give shrimp, bacon, lobster, cheeseburgers kosher stamp too]

    02/21/2008 9:22:04 AM PST · by Alouette · 66 replies · 111+ views
    YNut ^ | Feb. 21, 2008 | Assaf Wohl
    Asaf Wohl calls on rabbis to replace horrifying gay-bashing with social acceptance of homosexuals Asaf Wohl Published: 02.21.08, 15:30 / Israel Opinion The issue of religious homosexuals is a serious test case for leaders of the so-called God-fearing public. With the exception of very few people, the leaders of this community fail time and again in handling this question. The miserable anti-gay expressions uttered by Orthodox Knesset members are especially concerning, and in fact horrifying. Had I been God, I would immediately sue those Knesset members for making pretenses to represent me in such a deficient manner. The argument that...
  • Russian chief rabbi against Kosovo independence

    02/19/2008 3:35:27 PM PST · by kronos77 · 16 replies · 35+ views
    A chief rabbi of Russia concemned Kosovo's independence. Berel Lazar, of the Chabad-led Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia, said at a news conference Tuesday that Kosovo's declaration of independence from Serbia could further contribute to world instability, according to a report by Interfax. He said a "totally wrong approach," had been taken in deciding Kosovo's future. "Today it is Kosovo, tomorrow it will be someone else or Kosovo itself will be divided in two, and there will be no end to this process," he said. Kosovo, a province of Serbia that has been administered by the United Nations since...
  • California: Rabbis nourish crews with food, lessons

    10/28/2007 7:42:17 AM PDT · by Alouette · 39 replies · 30+ views
    YNet ^ | Oct. 28, 2007
    At Camp Gan Israel, crews fighting devastating blazes in mountains east of Los Angeles find more than a source of water Associated Press Published: 10.28.07, 09:36 / Israel Jewish Scene Dark beards blowing, black felt fedoras flying off their heads, the four hassidic rabbis clapped their chests with open palms and cheered as the firefighting helicopter dipped its bucket into their camp swimming pool. At the Camp Gan Israel, crews fighting devastating blazes in the mountains east of Los Angeles have found more than a source of water. The rabbis have been serving kosher meals, spiced with a dollop of...
  • Pioneering Chabad Emissary, Mother and Grandmother Passes Away in Nashville (lengthy but worth it)

    10/25/2007 1:38:33 PM PDT · by APRPEH · 8 replies · 30+ views
    Chabad.org ^ | Oct 24, 2007 | Sue Fishkoff
    Mrs. Risya Posner, who with her husband Rabbi Zalman Posner established the first Chabad-Lubavitch presence in Nashville, Tenn., died Tuesday at the age 80. An inimitable force behind Lubavitch outreach operations and techniques across the world, she was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., to Lubavitch parents who had immigrated from Russia. She and her husband pioneered the field of campus-based outreach, almost immediately inviting Vanderbilt University students to their home after their arrival in Nashville. From when she was a baby until her last day in the hospital, she elicited love from those who were mere acquaintances as easily as from...
  • Chabad Family Not Deterred in Face of Apparent Arson

    10/09/2007 5:58:06 PM PDT · by Nachum · 3 replies · 128+ views
    Chabad.org ^ | Oct 8, 2007 | Dovid Zaklikowski
    After spending the last days of Sukkot in a neighboring town, Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries Rabbi Menachem and Moussia Teichman returned to their Uzhgorod, Ukraine, home only to find it gutted by fire. Following the recovery of key pieces of evidence, authorities in Ukraine's furthest western region are investigating the destruction as an apparent act of arson. Anti-Semitism has not been ruled out. The Taichmans, co-directors of the Jewish Community of Uzhgorod, spent the holidays of Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah and the following Shabbat in the town of Mukachevo, birthplace of the Munkatch branch of Chasidism. They returned Saturday night to...
  • Remembering One of the World's Greatest Jews

    06/19/2007 11:44:27 AM PDT · by Alouette · 7 replies · 274+ views
    Israel National News ^ | June 19, 2007 | Hillel Fendel
    (IsraelNN.com) Jews around the world are commemorating the 13th anniversary of the death of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson. Rabbi Schneerson, generally known simply as the Rebbe, is widely considered to have been one of the most outstanding Jewish personalities of modern times. The seventh leader of the Chabad-Lubavitch dynasty, he is described on one Chabad website - with little argument from non-Chabad Jews - as "the one individual more than any other singularly responsible for stirring the conscience and spiritual awakening of world Jewry." The Rebbe was born on Nissan 11, 5662 (April 18, 1902), in Nikolaev,...
  • Rebbe To The World (Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson's Outreach To Non-Jews Alert)

    06/18/2007 1:24:24 AM PDT · by goldstategop · 4 replies · 476+ views
    Jerusalem Post ^ | 06/17/2007 | Rabbi Shmueley Boteach
    Few men are able to shape the world in death as they did in life. To do so is to so subsume your existence to a lofty ideal, with such complete thoroughness, that your life comes to symbolize the values for which you toiled. In the latter half of the 20th century perhaps only two men can be said to have so completely revitalized their communities that they achieved immortality by becoming the symbol of their nations. They are Martin Luther King, Jr., who offered dignity and self-worth to a persecuted people, and the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Schneerson, who...
  • Hava Nagilah - Bob Dylan Tribute At Chabad Los Angeles Appearance (Vanity)

    06/08/2007 11:37:14 AM PDT · by goldstategop · 8 replies · 652+ views
    Havah Nagilah Hebrew Havah nagilah, Havah nagilah Havah nagilah v'nismchah Havah nagilah, Havah nagilah Havah nagilah v'nismchah Havah n'ran' nah Havah n'ran' nah Havah n'ran' nah v'nismcha Havah n ran' nah English translation: Come let’s dance, come let’s dance, Come let’s dance, and be merry! Come let’s dance, come let’s dance, Come let’s dance, and be merry! Come let’s whirl, come let’s whirl, Come let’s whirl, and be merry! Come let’s whirl, come let’s whirl, Come let’s whirl, and be merry! Rise, rise, brothers! Rise, brothers, with a glad heart. Rise, brothers, with a glad heart. Rise, brothers, with...
  • The Right Time for a Census

    05/18/2007 5:32:21 AM PDT · by APRPEH · 135+ views
    ChaBad.org ^ | for parashas Bamidbar | Rabbi Zalman Posner
    One of the early expressions of the dignity of the individual is in this week's Torah reading. The greatness of giants is a commonplace -- Adam, Noah, the Patriarchs, Moses - these are all noteworthy names. But the anonymous, the scores of thousands who were not leaders and chiefs, the masses -- they too are endowed with worth by the simple theme of this week's Torah reading, the census. Counting implies value, for worthless things are not counted, certainly not as individual units but in the mass at best. The Torah counts Israel to the last man, because each one,...
  • The Weekly Sabbatical

    05/11/2007 5:27:39 AM PDT · by APRPEH · 135+ views
    ChaBaD.org ^ | for parashas Behar-Bechukosai | Rabbi Zalman Posner
    "G-d spoke to Moses on Mt. Sinai and said ... Six years you may plant your fields... and the seventh year shall be Shabbat, you shall not plant.” Why was this Divine commandment of shmita (Sabbatical year when fields are left fallow) particularly related to Mt. Sinai? After all, the entire Torah was taught to Moses on Sinai. Shmita, perhaps to a greater degree than other commandments, tests the Jew's faith in G-d, because it explicitly calls upon him to demonstrate his confidence in G-d's bounty, his belief in G-d's power and providence. "And if you ask what will we...
  • Un-Kosher Kindness

    04/13/2007 5:39:30 AM PDT · by APRPEH · 1 replies · 196+ views
    ChaBaD.org ^ | for Parasha Shemini | Rabbi Zalman Posner
    The weekly Torah portion describes the characteristics of kosher and forbidden animals, fish, and fowl. Nachmanides in his commentary observes that the forbidden fowl are predatory. Among these prohibited birds enumerated we find the chasida, translated as "stork." The literal meaning of chasida is "kindly," an appropriate name, says Rashi, because this bird is helpful to its friends, and shares its food with them. In this case, asks the Gerrer Rebbe, since the bird is kindly and sympathetic, then according to Nachmanides it belongs among the kosher instead of the forbidden fowl. The Gerrer drew an interesting moral from this....
  • Golden Calf -- Spirituality or Hedonism?

    03/09/2007 5:44:08 AM PST · by APRPEH · 8 replies · 228+ views
    ChaBaD.org ^ | for parashas Ki Tissa | Rabbi Zalman Posner
    After the enthusiastic reception of the Ten Commandments, the people, impatient for Moses' descent from the mountain, made themselves a new god -- a Golden Calf. Examine the text carefully1 and perhaps a few observations might be made. Can't we find some exoneration for their idolatry? Moses was delayed in coming down from the mountain, so the people demanded of Aaron a "god that will go before us," for the Moses who led the people from Egypt is gone. Was this not a sincere religious quest for the divine? Was not their rejection of Moses (and all he taught) justified,...
  • The Holiday When We Became Jewish

    02/26/2007 2:18:15 PM PST · by APRPEH · 2 replies · 204+ views
    ChaBaD.org ^ | For Purim | Rabbi Naftali Silberberg
    What is the significance of the name "Jew"? Where does the word come from and what does it mean? The word Jew (Yehudi in the Hebrew) is a derivative of the name Judah (Yehudah), Jacob's fourth son; hence calling someone by this name would seemingly imply that the person is a descendant of that particular tribe. However, as is well known, Jacob had twelve sons, progenitors of the Twelve Tribes of Israel, all of whom comprise our great nation. Why, then, is the entire Israelite nation known as "Jews"? (The conventional answer to this question is that the majority of...
  • Chavez denied visit to Caracas synagogue

    02/25/2007 3:17:21 PM PST · by Alouette · 19 replies · 682+ views
    YNet ^ | Feb. 25, 2007 | Chaim Levinson
    Chabad rabbi argues that visit intended to garner political gains Chaim Levinson Published: 02.25.07, 21:58 / Israel Culture A recent request by socialist Venezuelean President Hugo Chávez to pay an official visit to a Chabad synagogue in Caracas was rejected. The Chabad official news site posted an article saying that Rabbi Moshe Ferman, the chief Chabad envoy to Venezuela, had rejected the president's request arguing that it was aimed at garnering political gains in light of the West's revulsion of him. Chavez who has been in office since 1999, allied with Saddam Hussein at the time, befriended Iranian President Mahmoud...
  • Kobe, Brooklyn and Egypt

    02/02/2007 5:38:47 AM PST · by APRPEH · 86+ views
    ChaBaD.org ^ | for Parsha Beshallach | Rabbi Shimon Posner
    "My grandson made a Passover seder in Kobe!" "150 people!" "In Kobe Japan!" "My grandson!" I was on a trip back to Brooklyn several summers ago, and had met up with one of the elders of the Crown Heights community. A butcher by trade. Polish born. He had stopped me in the middle of 770; after a hurried hello started gushing about his grandson's Pesach, some three months before. I didn't get the excitement. I understand a grandson's nachas. I find it amazing there were 150 Jews in Kobe and am impressed by near teenagers who spend their time off...
  • Controversy follows Dennis Prager to Yorba Linda [Chabad tells CAIR where to go]

    01/24/2007 11:48:37 AM PST · by Alouette · 23 replies · 900+ views
    LA Times ^ | Jan. 24, 2007 | Christopher Goffard
    When talk-show host Dennis Prager wrote a column in November decrying a congressman-elect's decision to take his oath of office on the Koran rather than the Bible, he argued that it would "embolden Islamic extremists and make new ones." In a column for Townhall.com, Prager wrote that Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), the first Muslim elected to Congress, "should not be allowed" to swear on the Koran because "the act undermines American civilization." Soon, the Los Angeles radio host was at the center of the biggest controversy he has faced during decades in public life. Op-ed pages around the country rushed to...