Three recent openings highlight 40 years of steady growth The classic Chicago greystones and quirky bars lining stately Logan Boulevard in Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood are home these days to young, upwardly mobile professionals. So Mitch Trachtenberg did a double-take when he spotted black-hatted and bearded Rabbi Avremi Raichik strolling the boulevard this summer. Along […]

Today, the government of Hungary officially recognized EMIH, the Orthodox Jewish Communities Association, the umbrella organization of Chabad of Hungary, and granted them “special status.” The title, which has been held by churches and other Jewish organizations, and until now has not been granted to any Orthodox Jewish organization, will allow EMIH to accept specific government funding […]

A compact edition of Tzvi Freeman’s best-selling ‘Wisdom to Heal the Earth’ Nearly 6,000 rabbis and guests from around the world will converge this week in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, N.Y., for the annual International Convention of Chabad-Lubavitch Emissaries (Kinus Hashluchim). Coming together from 100 countries and all 50 states, the shluchim will […]

A four-week tour of the Oral Law begins on Nov. 26 One of the most misunderstood elements of Judaism is the Oral Torah, the companion to Scripture in which the terse laws of the Torah are elucidated, expounded and expanded. Talmud, Midrash and many other bodies of work all fall under this general rubric, but […]

EMIH group given special designation enabling funding, including grants for educational work that would otherwise be unavailable Amid a deterioration in relations between some Jewish groups in Hungary, the country’s government elevated the status of an organization affiliated with the Lubavitch-Chabad movement. On Monday, Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjén signed a document that gives the […]

Works by Chassidic pop artist Yitzchok Moully featured in biennial festival Amid the bustle of Jerusalem’s iconic First Station, new flashes of color adorn the walls of the historic railroad station, now an outdoor mall. Three Shabbat candles shine brightly from a pop-art mural, spreading their glow on a colorful backdrop. Street art is a […]

With World War II and assimilation raging, Wellington ritual bath was a ‘matter of life and death’ Tucked in the far southeastern corner of the globe, the Jewish community of Wellington, New Zealand, is in the process of rebuilding its aging community mikvah. For many, the endeavor is especially meaningful in the light of the […]

Today in Jewish History 20 Cheshvan Birthday of the fifth Chabad Rebbe, Rabbi Sholom DovBer Schneerson in 1860 (5621), the founder of the central Chabad-Lubavitch yeshivah, Tomchei Temimim. “If you find yourself in a certain place, a particular situation, know that it is by Divine providence. For G‑d orchestrates and arranges many events so to […]