Center City, Philly: New Mikvah in Old Synagogue
Center City, Philadelphia is home to some of the oldest synagogues in the United States, like the first Ashkenazic congregation established in the Western Hemisphere in 1795. One of these historic synagogues, the 100-year-old Vilna shul, known for its warm, inclusive services, is renovating its vintage sanctuary and moving weekly prayer services to the third floor to allow a new women’s mikvah to be built in its place.
We Fought For Their Freedom, But Where Are Russian-American Jews Today?
In the 1970s and ‘80s, many segments of American Jewry led protests and rallies under the banner, “Let My People Go,” agitating to bring Russian Jews out of the former Soviet Union. Where do these Russian transplants and their children and grandchildren figure today in the American Jewish community?
By Rena Udkoff
Parkland and Coral Springs Teens Mark One Year from Tragic Shooting
As the first anniversary of last year’s tragic Parkland, Florida shooting arrives, memorial services and events are being held across Parkland and the Coral Springs area. “The mood has again become increasingly somber,” says Rabbi Mendy Gutnick of Chabad of Parkland.
By Ashira Weiss
Atlanta Coworking Space By Day, Addiction Recovery At Night
Awareness about mental illness and addiction has grown in the Jewish community, but there is yet stigma associated with these issues. Jeff’s Place, a cafe and coworking space that hosts support groups and twelve-step meetings after hours, newly opened by Chabad Intown in Atlanta, hopes to change that.
New Book Celebrates Women
Tapping into the current public focus on women’s empowerment, Boca Beach Chabad in Florida launched a new platform where women’s life journeys, stories, and lessons are celebrated, shared, and given over to the next generation. The Women of Valor project includes a website for publishing these stories, events to highlight individual women’s achievements, and, the crown jewel, a Women of Valor Tribute coffee-table book for the preservation of these stories.
Shabbat of Inclusion to be Celebrated on Six Continents
This weekend hundreds of communities around the world will celebrate a global Shabbat of disability-inclusion and mental-health awareness. Dubbed ‘ShabbaTTogether,’ it is set for the second weekend of February, the designated Jewish Disability Awareness and Inclusion Month, or JDAIM for short.
By Ashira Weiss
A Magnet for Millenials: Chabad Builds on Atlanta’s Beltline
“The growth of Intown Atlanta points to the need for a reimagined urban Jewish community center,” says Rabbi Eliyahu Schusterman, who, together with his wife, Dena, founded Chabad Intown in 1997 and built it into a thriving Jewish center.
Families of Parkland Victims Mark Anniversary in Quiet Service
Memorial services were held this week at the Star of David Cemetery in North Lauderdale, Florida and at Chabad of Parkland for some of the Jewish victims of the Parkland school shooting.
By Ashira Weiss
For Pittsburgh, New Jersey Kids Design Mezuzah Cases
In the days after the tragic synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh, an email from a Chabad rabbi in Pennsylvania helped a New Jersey teacher channel her students’ concerns.
By Ashira Weiss
Somebody Has It, Somebody Needs It
The goods and clothing donation exchange is marking thirteen years of humanitarian aid in the tri-state area. They match donors to recipients for almost any household item imaginable. Directed by Rabbi Mordechai Hecht, Chabad emissary and rabbi at Anshe Sholom Chabad JCC, the organization aims to provide the material needs of the Jewish community.
1,000 Expected at 10th Annual Russian Shabbaton
Three generations of Russian-speaking Jews will travel from twelve states to celebrate Jewish pride and identity at this year’s Connecticut-based Shabbaton. Rabbi Kasriel Kastel, program director at Lubavitch Youth Organization, is optimistic about the impact that the Shabbaton continues to have: “The knowledge that they are a part of a large community that cherishes their Jewish and Russian heritage is empowering to them.”
By Ashira Weiss
From 100 Countries: Chabad’s Female Emissaries Celebrate Success and Empowerment
Thousands of women” Chabad emissaries and their guests” gathered at the U.S. Armory in Brooklyn last night for a gala banquet, the finale of the five-day International Conference of Shluchos.
By Ashira Weiss
3,000 Chabad Women Leaders Convene For International Conference
The thirtieth annual International Conference of Shluchos, known as “The Kinus,” begins today in Brooklyn, New York. Over 3,000 women” directors and lay leaders of Chabad centers in 100 countries” are expected to attend.
Thousands of Children “Grow” Goodness for Tu BiSh’vat
“We are each responsible for the atmosphere around us,” said Mrs. Altie Wolvovsky to the group of twenty 5- to 11-year-olds gathered around her. A lively discussion about the environment and their impact on it ensued.
By Ashira Weiss
Belgian Rabbis Resolute Despite Kosher Slaughter Ban
For many of Belgium’s 30,000 Jews, 2019 brings with it some uncomfortable restrictions. A law proposed in June 2017, now implemented after a unanimous vote, has outlawed ritual Kosher slaughter in their country.
By Ashira Weiss
Art and Design Meet in Chabad of Korea’s New Mikvah
Designed by the emissaries, the mikvah is uniquely Korean. Its roof is reminiscent of the curved, tiled designs that feature prominently in royal Korean architecture, and the waved aluminium panels on the left side of the building are a nod to the modern, high-tech vibe currently sweeping the country. The mikvah pool features intricate mosaic tiles placed along the walls that were artfully formed in the shape of a single droplet of water, encouraging one to contemplate the sanctity and rebirth associated with the waters of the mikvah.
A Testament to the Rebbe’s Exhaustive and Far-Reaching Scholarship
For most readers, the fascinating meanderings and careful reconciliations of apparently contradictory details will obscure the big insight that brackets the Rebbe’s writing: the “theory of everything” the profound unity that pervades all of Torah thought. Block carefully prunes the Rebbe’s winding tendrils of thought to help the reader see the recurring themes in the Rebbe’s writings.
An Undying Commitment: A Premature Passing, A Community’s Resolve
A convoy of one hundred cars rolls solemnly through Akron’s Jewish community. People of every affiliation are coming to pay their last respects to the man “who built this community.” Over the course of thirty years, Rabbi Mendy Sasonkin managed to bridge the centuries-old gaps dividing Akron’s diverse Jewish population, promoting the culture of warmth and unity that has come to define the city’s Jewish community. How will the center hold without him?
Vanderbilt: An American Campus Where Jewish Students Feel Safe and Welcome
When the Chabad rabbi walks the streets of Nashville, he’ll often be greeted by strangers. “Bless you, rabbi!” or “Bless Israel, we pray for you,” they’ll say. The friendly reception towards Shlomo Rothstein, Chabad emissary at Vanderbilt University, and his wife Nechama, also prevails on campus, where the college community values the presence of Chabad.
In this regard, Vanderbilt stands in sharp contrast to many other universities where anti-Israel demonstrations, anti-Semitic vandalism, and a general disdain for religious beliefs and practice make life difficult for Jewish students.
Building Communities: An Answer to The Loneliness Epidemic
How does a young couple begin to build a community?
That question has been on my mind since my daughter and son-in-law became Chabad emissaries to an expansive rural town on the East Coast. For all its landmass, the town has a small population and is home to fewer than a thousand Jews. I couldn’t imagine how my daughter and her husband would go about creating a community there. Perhaps they should reconsider, I said, and look for a place where there is a greater need.
New In Adult Education: Crime And Consequence
Crime, punishment and justice from a distinctly Jewish perspective will be the topic of a new course launched by the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute (JLI). With criminal justice reform now center-stage in the United States, the course, a six-part series that will be offered beginning in February, at more than 400 locations worldwide, is well timed.
By Staff Writer
In the Suburbs of Sao Paulo: A Jewish Community Opens a Synagogue
This ritzy S. Paulo suburb is home to one thousand Jewish families. Since 2005, Rabbi Eliyahu and Rivky Rosenfeld have been holding services, running a Hebrew school, and teaching classes in a small rented home here. The people were interested; the leaders passionate. But their success quickly became their greatest obstacle: there simply wasn’t enough room.
By Dvora Lakein
Blog: But First Come For Shabbat
I can’t remember my first day of Hebrew school. My bar mitzvah portion is a blur. But I’ll never forget the day a rabbi told me to stop reading so many Jewish books.
By Scott Hirsch
Partnering With Chabad On The Next Frontier
Chabad shluchim typically finance this work by fundraising inside the communities they serve. The practice fosters dynamic partnerships between local residents and shluchim who work together to build vibrant communities. But when three hundred Jews are scattered across a wide terrain as in some locations, they generally don’t have the resources to build the infrastructure that a Jewish community requires.
Photo & Video
Kinus
Holocaust survivor Helga Melmed is giving her time, energy, and priceless life experience to educate and care for Jewish children at Chabad of Venice, Florida’s Camp Gan Israel.
Kinus
Mitzvahs at the World Cup
Kinus
Mitzvahs at the ADL Never Is Now Summit in New York City
Kinus
As 90,000 fans descend on Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara for this year’s Super Bowl, Chabad is welcoming hundreds of Jewish visitors with kosher food, prayer services, and mitzvah opportunities throughout the weekend.
Kinus
New Chabad Center in Buckeye — The Gateway to Arizona’s West
Kinus
Chabad Young Professionals Rabbis Gather For Convention in Raleigh
Kinus
Texas Chabad Brings Aid To Flood Victims
Kinus
Chabad Brings Kosher Food To Wimbeldon


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