Families of the Surfside Tragedy Seek Closure On June 24, 2021, at approximately 1:25 am EST, a section of a twelve-story beachfront condominium building in the Miami suburb of Surfside, Florida, collapsed. Rescue operations involved the dangerous work of digging through the rubble in search of survivors. There were none. Nearly 100 people were confirmed […]
Amid Covid Uncertainty, High Holiday Prayer Books Again in High Demand
Surge in sales again this year for those praying at home With the sounds of the shofar already being heard each day during the month Elul, some can hear the echoes of the upcoming Rosh Hashanah prayers in anticipation of the holiday, which begins this year before sundown on Monday, Sept. 6. The High Holidays […]
First-Ever Mikvah in McAllen, Texas, Dedicated to Local IDF Hero
Young man memorialized seven years after being killed in Gaza war Tucked away on the shores of the Rio Grande near the southernmost tip of the U.S.-Mexico border, McAllen, Texas, has had a Jewish presence for more than 100 years with a small but active Jewish population. But a mikvah, the cornerstone of Jewish family […]
Kidpreneurs Experience the Gift of Giving
Friendship Circle of Brooklyn just concluded a week-long fundraising campaign which was, remarkably, conducted entirely by children. Some thirty five groups of children signed up to raise funds by running their very own pop-up lemonade stands. Friendship Circle provided the eye-catching materials, including branded cups, tablecloths, banners, t-shirts, and a recipe. The children took it […]
Toward A Resilient Jewry
“Once again men and women of ripe old age will sit in the streets of Jerusalem . . . The city streets will be filled with boys and girls playing there.” Zechariah 8:4 The slow summer months are quiet on the Jewish calendar, uninterrupted by holidays. There are, however, two days of fasting — the […]
For Practitioners of This Ancient and Holy Art, It’s the Busiest Month of the Year
The beautiful and important custom of checking tefillin and mezuzahs in Elul In the hustle and bustle of life, it’s easy to get caught up in minutiae and marvel at how time passes much too quickly. But one of the beautiful things of the month of Elul is to consciously use time for reflection, introspection […]
“Aggie Rabbi” Answers Mid-Atlantic Call For Kosher Food
When a professor aboard a maritime training vessel in the Atlantic needed kosher food, Rabbi Yossi Lazaroff of Chabad at Texas A&M University sprung into action. In keeping with his kosher diet, Chief Engineer Milton Korn of the USTS Kennedy had been eating only canned tuna and sardines as the vessel prepared to dock in […]
Off The Beaten Path: Chabad Houses You Didn’t Know Existed
“Like Living In The Middle Of Nowhere” Chabad Of San Miguel De Allende – Part 1/4 It isn’t the Mexico of your mind’s eye. No sandy beaches, no spring break revelers. You don’t even need Spanish to get around here. San Miguel de Allende, a landlocked town three and a half hours north of Mexico […]
Can You Count Them?
“Look up and count.” So begins the history of our people, as related in the Torah—with a tally. Before issuing the famous Covenant of the Parts, G-d tells the first Jew, Abraham:“Please look heavenward and count the stars. Can you count them?” (Genesis 15:5) Of course, there are too many stars to count, but that is […]
Chabad Emissary Shterna Wolff Named ‘Person of the Week’ in Germany
Director of Chabad of Hanover cited for work with her late husband, Rabbi Binyamin Wolff It was on a bright summer morning when Shterna Wolff, director of Chabad of Hanover, was approached by an influential German magazine about the possibility of being featured as its “Person of the Week.” At first, she thought it was […]