A Jewish high school operated by Chabad-Lubavitch in Berlin took top honors in the capital city’s state Regents exams, in which Hebrew was recognized for the first time by the German government as a tested subject. The students who took the exam at the Jewish Traditional School in the Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf section of the city weighed […]
This Six-Day War Widow Dedicated Her Life to Families of Fallen Soldiers
Shifra Marasow (Golombovitz) was the mother of three (including a newborn) in July 1967 when she got the news that her husband had lost his life defending Israel in the aftermath of the Six-Day War. In the years that followed, she went on to care for hundreds of widows and orphans, devoting herself to their […]
Underground Memories: Recalling Secret 19 Kislev Gatherings in 1960s’ Moscow
Rabbis talk of freedom amidst persecution during their youth For more than 200 years in Chabad-Lubavitch communities around the world—in the best of circumstances and the worst—these early winter days have been dedicated to preparing for the Chassidic holiday of Yud Tes Kislev, the 19th day of the Hebrew month of Kislev (which in 2019 […]
‘Putin’s rabbi’ says challenging governments is not Jewish
Berel Lazar, one of Russia’s chief rabbis, stands by his strongman, aka President Vladimir Putin MOSCOW (JTA) – Rabbi Berel Lazar’s mother was eager for grandchildren. So she gave her 25-year-old son an ultimatum: He could return to his beloved Jewish outreach work in Russia if — and only if — he got married. His […]
How the Chanukah Menorah Made Its Way to the Public Sphere
Through the years and the courts, a small spark in Philadelphia now lights up the world It was a frigid Saturday night during Chanukah of 1974, when Rabbi Abraham Shemtov had the unusual, perhaps wild, idea of lighting a menorah right in front of Independence Hall, which houses the Liberty Bell, the icon of American […]