Weekly Story: It Is A Personal Request To You

by Rabbi Sholom DovBer Avtzon 

Last Shabbos while I was farbrenging in Ksav Sofer, I mentioned a story that shows that when the Rebbe is speaking, he is requesting something from each one of us individually. Someone mentioned his personal story that brought it home to everyone, and I would like to share it with you.

As always, your feedback and comments are greatly appreciated and most welcomed. 

It is known that the Mittler Rebbe wrote seforim for ten different type or groups of chassidim. The Imrei Binah was written for Reb Yekusiel Liepler, a chossid who after much toil and exertion was able to plumb and understand the most intricate concepts of Chassidus. Pirush Hamilos, were ma’amorim that he sent to the Chossid HaRav Yaffe, whom he instructed to move to Eretz Yisroel and promised that he will send him ma’amorim. And then there is Poikei’ach Ivrim that the Mittler Rebbe write specifically for a Ba’al Teshuvah, as the story is described in detail in the introduction to that sefer.

There were times that the Rebbe RaShaB was asked, “Rebbe, for whom was this maamar said for? “ (As the chassidim thought that it was above the ability of almost all of them to comprehend it properly.) On one occasion the Rebbe RaShaB replied, for the Tomim [Reb] Avrohom Boruch Pewzner (who was one of the chozrim then).

So, sometimes a chossid might have thought, is the Rebbe saying this Sichah for me??

Take for example the Sichos about not giving away any part of Eretz Yisroel that Hashem miraculously gave to us. Yes, the Rebbe wants that I should know and understand the proper expected response and way to look at it. For example, the way it is described in Lubavitch is “giving it away”, contrary to the way the world [which is false] presents it, as returning the “occupied lands.”

We don’t say “returning”, as it was never really theirs, and they were  the illegal squatters and occupiers. As Rashi states in the first possuk of B’reishis, Hashem gave the entire Eretz Yisroel to the Jewish people. 

But the listener might wonder, is the Rebbe expecting me to do something about it? He probably is talking to so and so in the government or those who are close to them and have influence on them. But simple me, what can I do?

Similarly, when the Rebbe said we should learn Rambam throughout the year and especially the 4 chapters of Yechezkel’s prophecy, the mishnayos Midos and the Rambam’s Hilchos Beis HaB’chirah during the 3 weeks, one may erroneously ask or think, is the Rebbe asking me to do that, the Rebbe knows it is beyond my capabilities?

So I will mention the following story:

As is known, especially after Simchas Torah of 5738, when the Rebbe was recovering from the heart attack, the secretary made sure to prepare the letters for a bar mitzvah, chasunah, which are technically standard letters in separate piles, and he would give them together for the Rebbe to sign.

So, one chosson who received the Rebbe’s letter of b’rochos in honor of his upcoming wedding, wondered, did the Rebbe really mean me and my kallah personally? He signs hundreds of the same letter.

Before the wedding, the chosson had a yechidus (probably a group one of chassanim and kallahs, and when he passed by the Rebbe, the Rebbe asked him, “Did you receive my letter of brochoh in honor of your Chassunah?”

The chosson then realized that he was completely mistaken; Yes, the Rebbe means each person individually. 

At that moment, Reb Pesach Laufer stood up and stated, “a similar story happened to me, at my Bar Mitzvah”. 

As everyone knows, besides the name and date, it is a standard letter, a letter that the Rebbe sent to thousands upon thousands of Bar Mitzvah boys, in honor of their momentous day.

His letter is the same standard letter, just that the Rebbe corrected it in two places.

The first correction was that he added a comma after the word BaTorah. and the second one was that the secretary forgot to type the letter Yud after the samach of the word Chassidus, and the Rebbe squeezed it in.

So, you see that not only did the Rebbe personally sign it, but he checked every word and letter to whomever it was sent to, even a thirteen year old bar Mitzvah boy.

Therefore, now that we are in the three weeks, please realize that if the Rebbe checked each letter that was sent out under his name, and he meant each individual person, so obviously,  when he requested and pleaded that we each learn the pesukim, mishnayos and Rambam connected to the building of the third Beis HaMikdash, it is a personal request that he is requesting from each one of us, me, that person and you.

A Taste of Chassidus הנה להבין ענין Likkutei Torah  Bamidbar p. 82C

In the first maamar of Parshas Matos the Alter Rebbe presents a unique perspective on why a person may make a vow. 

Generally speaking, the basic perspective of a vow is based on what our sages say (Talmud Sota 2a, quoted by Rashi, Bamidbar 6:2), that one who sees a Sota in her state of disgrace, should separate themselves from wine, as excessive drinking can cause one to conduct themselves inappropriately. In other words, a person might vow not to eat, go somewhere, or do something, in order to prevent them from being in a place or position that they may sin.

So in essence the Torah isn’t encouraging one to vow, rather it allows a person to do so as a protective safeguard. This is supported by the teaching of our sages that the reason a Nazir brings a sin offering is because he prohibited himself from something (wine) that Hashem permitted mankind to enjoy.

However, the Alter Rebbe explains that the person may vow for a different and nobler reason. That is that they realize that the source of the food is holier than their source (as will be explained below), and the person fears that he may not utilize the G-dly power that is in that item properly, so he vows to stay away from it.

The proof that the source of food (animal or vegetable)  comes from a higher place than the person, is that the way Hashem created the world is that the higher thing sustains the lower thing. Such as, children are dependent upon their parents, students upon their educator and so on. 

So, while in this world mankind is the highest level, and towers above the animal and vegetation, however, their source is from the supernal world of Tohu, which precedes the world of Tikun where man is, and therefore, man is dependent upon them to live.

The follow up maamar in Likkutei Torah, is an explanatory maamar on the first one, and the Alter Rebbe asks a basic question:

If we say that their source is from a higher supernal world where it is completely nullified to Hashem, how did it end up being an entity that is the antithesis to Holiness (and declares itself a self-sustaining entity, with no connection to Hashem?

He answers that  this came about through  שבירת הכלים.

One of the basic tenets of Chassidus is that the reason our Neshama was sent down to this world is in order to elevate the 288 sparks of holiness that fell down into this world. Chassidus then explains, being that these sparks originally were in the spiritual world of Tohu, which is higher than the spiritual world of Tikun (which we are in), therefore the higher something is, the further it can fall. 

[In Mitzrayim we succeeded in elevating 202 sparks, and all that was left to elevate are the 86 remaining sparks. 86 is the numerical equivalent value of the word הטבע, which means nature as well as submerged. which tells us that we are to uncover and reveal the G-dliness that is in nature and to show that, in reality, that that which is considered nature, is essentially G-dly.

Being that Chabad demands that we comprehend Chassidic concepts to the best of our ability, and not to merely say words that many know but don’t understand its full meaning, I decided to focus this week on this point.

What exactly does שבירת הכלים – the implosion of the vessels of the supernal world of Tohu mean?

The Alter Rebbe begins by reviewing a halachah concerning carrying on Shabbos.

As is known, it is forbidden to carry a utensil or food from a private house to a public domain on Shabbos. If one does, they are guilty of transgressing this law of Shabbos, and if it was done unintentionally, the person is obligated to bring a sin offering. However, the item must be considered an item, and the food or liquid must be at least a certain measurement. [Food has to be at least the size of a dried fig, and liquid must be enough to fill up one cheek.] If the food or liquid is less than that, you are not obligated to bring a sin sacrifice.

But the interesting part of the halachah is, that if I carry a utensil with a minute amount of food or drink in it, not only am I not guilty on the food, as it is below the necessary amount of food, but I am also not guilty of carrying the full-size utensil. 

The reason is that the utensil is now being utilized as a carrier to the food, meaning it is secondary. Simply saying, if you were asked what did that person carry? The response would be a drop of water, soda or wine. But then if I dropped the bottle and everything spilled out and I picked up the broken shards, since that at that moment there was no longer any liquid, I would therefore be responsible for carrying the vessel (shards) on Shabbos. 

And now we can understand the concept of the implosion of the supernal vessels of Tohu.

The first thing to explain is what are they vessels of? 

The Torah informs us that Hashem created the universe through the ten utterances, such as יהי אור – Let there be light. And as the Alter Rebbe states in the beginning of Shaar HaYichud Ve’HaEmunah, that these words are constantly giving life to the sun to shine and give off light.

This is when those six letters are formed into these two words in this particular sequence. However, if these letters are separate from each other, they no longer would be a vessel for this G-dly power (as the individual letters do not convey that message), and they would merely be individual and independent letters, which do not convey G-dliness.

So, when they were in the supernal world of Tohu and conveyed a message of G-dliness, at that moment they were completely nullified to Hashem. But once they are separated from each other, each letter on its own did not convey a G-dly message and they now present themselves as self-sustaining entity, which may even oppose G-dliness.

But then the question becomes, if they no longer contain or convey G-dliness, how can we say that the spark of G-dliness in them is higher than the spark that is in mankind?

However the explanation is, that just as when one drops a glass container of wine or honey, even though the wine or honey pour out, yet some sticks to the broken shards, so too here, while the G-dliness that was originally contained in those vessels is no longer there, but their residue is still connected, and it is that residue which is from the G-dliness of Tohu that we are elevating. 

Rabbi Avtzon is a veteran mechanech and the author of numerous books on the Rebbeiim and their chassidim. He is available to farbreng in your community and can be contacted at [email protected].

Fifty years ago, the Rebbe launched Mivtza Chinuch, calling on Chassidim to take responsibility for the chinuch of every Jewish child. This summer, mechanchim from across the Chabad school network will gather at the Annual International Kinus HaMechanchim with that mission at the center: raising a generation of פרומע, ערליכע, ווארימע, חסידישע אידן, focused on the עיקר.

“This year is about coming back to the core,” said Rabbi Mendy Kotlarsky, General Chairman, Merkos Chinuch Office. “The Rebbe gave us a clear shlichus in Chinuch. The Kinus is a chance for mechanchim to step away from the daily rush, reconnect with that mission, and return with practical tools and renewed chayus.”

Taking place July 28 to 29 / י״ד–ט״ו מנחם אב at the Armon Hotel in Stamford, Connecticut, the Kinus will bring together classroom teachers, principals, administrators, day school educators, and Base Commanders for two days of practical guidance, inspiration, and connection.

At a time when mechanchim are navigating questions previous generations never faced, from classroom behavior to emotional health and school leadership, the Kinus will focus on what remains unchanged. How do we raise children with Yiras Shamayim? How do we build classrooms filled with warmth and Chassidishkeit? How do we support struggling students without losing sight of the goal?

Featured presenters include Rabbi Nochem Kaplan, Director of the Merkos Chinuch Office, addressing school leaders on “The Menahel and His Responsibility to Struggling Students: The Rebbe’s Guidance.”

Rabbi Zvi Bloom of Torah Umesorah joins Rabbi Yehoshua Lustig for “Leadership Unfiltered,” an administrators’ panel tackling the questions every school leader wants to ask.

Rabbi Hertzel Pewsner, Rabbi Zalmy Kudan, and Rabbi Shmuli Friedman lead “Using the 12 Pesukim to Guide Real Classroom Challenges,” a session for elementary mechanchim built around practical, day to day application.

Rabbi Zalmy Kudan also presents “Baby to Bochur: A Roadmap for Lasting Chinuch and YOUR Role in It,” a session for Base Commanders and elementary mechanchim.

Rabbi Yoseph Chaiton, Founder of Chinuch Solutions, presents “When Kodesh and Chol Work Together: Creating True Educational Synergy” for day school mechanchim.

Rabbi Yisroel Grossberg, MS.Ed., Rabbinic Director of Amudim, presents “Proactive Behavior Management: Connect, Motivate, Prevent” for teachers, and “Every Talmid Counts: Educational Intervention, Remediation & Collaboration” for principals.

Avi Landa, LCPC, Director of Education for Amudim, leads a session on ADHD and anxiety in the classroom, helping mechanchim understand and support their students.
Rabbi Shua Piekarski and Rabbi Aryeh Gurowitz lead a two part session on attaining financial freedom, covering practical steps toward becoming debt free and building long term financial success.

Beyond these highlights, the Kinus offers dedicated tracks for every role in the school, including teachers, principals, administrators, day school mechanchim, and more, so each participant leaves with sessions built specifically for their work.

With rooms filling up and the Kinus less than three weeks away, mechanchim are encouraged to register as soon as possible.

Register now at kinus.chinuchoffice.org
The Merkos Chinuch Office would also like to thank our corporate sponsors, Amudim and Darcheinu, for their partnership and support of this year’s Kinus HaMechanchim.

Every day I see another article.

The shidduch crisis.

The problems with shadchanim.

The flaws in “the system.”

The frustrations are real. There are singles who feel overlooked, shadchanim who are overwhelmed, and a process that can sometimes feel discouraging.

But for a moment, I want you to imagine something else.

Imagine there was no shidduch system at all.

Not a broken one.

None.

You’re 27. Or 30. Maybe you’re 35.

You’ve decided you want to settle down and get married.

Where do you go?

Who do you turn to?

Who is thinking about you?

Who wakes up in the morning wondering who might be right for you? Who calls a friend because they think they know someone? Who asks around on your behalf? Who genuinely cares whether you build a Jewish home?

Without a shidduch system, the answer is often… no one.

As frustrating as the system can sometimes be, at least there are people trying.

Now imagine you didn’t grow up in a community where everyone knows everyone. Maybe you don’t keep Shabbos. Maybe you don’t keep kosher. Maybe your parents aren’t connected to a Jewish community. There are no shadchanim calling. No parents asking around. No one making introductions.

So where do you go?

Do you walk into a bar hoping that the person you’re attracted to also happens to be Jewish… also happens to share your values… also happens to be looking for marriage… and also happens to be looking for someone like you?

Or maybe you hope someone new gets hired at work.

Or perhaps you spend night after night downloading another dating app, matching with strangers, getting ghosted, having conversations disappear overnight, being stood up for dinner, and wondering if this is really what finding your soulmate is supposed to look like.

That isn’t hypothetical.

For millions of Jewish singles around the world, that’s their reality.

They don’t have a community introducing them to people.

They don’t have a shadchan calling with ideas.

They don’t have a friends constantly thinking of suggestions.

They don’t have a system.

And that loneliness is something most people never see.

That’s why we created Met at Chabad.

Today, thousands of Jewish young professionals are connected to Chabad houses around the world. They have a relationship with their shliach. They come for Shabbos meals, classes, holiday events, and community.

But when it comes to dating, too many are left to navigate it alone.
Now, their shliach can finally say,
“Let me help.”
Not just with advice.
Not just with encouragement.
But with real introductions.
With a network of fellow shluchim around the world.
With thoughtful matchmaking.
With a community that genuinely cares whether they build a Jewish home.
Will this solve the shidduch crisis?
No.
Because finding your person isn’t a religious problem. It’s a human problem. We simply feel it more deeply because building a Jewish home matters so much to us.
But every one of us can be part of the solution.
Every one of us knows someone who isn’t part of a traditional shidduch system. A friend. A coworker. A cousin. Someone you met on mivtzoyim.

You may not have an idea for them

But you can introduce them to a community that does.

At Met at Chabad, every single is personally vetted and verified as Jewish. They don’t have to be religious. They don’t have to be “Chabad.” They simply have to be serious about dating with intention and building a Jewish future.

So here’s my request.

Think of one person.

Just one.

Someone who doesn’t have a shidduch system. Someone who’s been trying to do this on their own. Someone who could use a community that’s rooting for them.

Send them to Met at Chabad.

You never know where that one conversation could lead.
A first date.
An engagement.
A wedding.
A Jewish family.

Sometimes changing someone’s life doesn’t begin with making the match.

It begins with making the introduction.

-The Met at Chabad Team
Metatchabad.com

JEM: The Real Security Lesson Behind the 1976 Entebbe Raid

Fifty years ago, one of the most daring rescue missions in history was carried out successfully.

In 1976, Jewish hostages were held in Entebbe, Uganda, after their plane was hijacked by terrorists. When Israeli commandos executed a daring rescue mission, the Lubavitcher Rebbe pointed to a different kind of security.

From children’s rallies and checking mezuzot to his unwavering concern for every single Jew, the Rebbe emphasized the spiritual foundations of Jewish safety and security.

The lessons of this miraculous moment in history continue to resonate nearly fifty years later.

Weekly Dvar Torah: Aharon, the Land, and the Long Journey

This Shabbos blesses the month of Menachem Av. With the arrival of Rosh Chodesh, we enter the Nine Days, when our mourning over the destruction of the Beis Hamikdash intensifies.

Yet at the very threshold of this painful period, the Torah presents us with a remarkable surprise.

Rosh Chodesh Av is the Yartzeit of Aharon HaKohen.

Even more remarkable, Aharon’s passing is the only Yartzeit whose date is explicitly recorded in the Torah. The Torah tells us the exact day that Aharon passed away. Why? Why is this date so important that every year, just as we begin the month of Av, we are reminded of Aharon’s final day?

Perhaps because before the Torah reminds us of the tragedy, it first reminds us of the cure.

Chazal tell us that the Second Beis Hamikdash was destroyed because of Sinas Chinam—baseless hatred.

Who better to introduce the month of Av than the man who devoted his entire life to Ahavas Chinam—baseless love?

Aharon did not merely love peace. He pursued it. If two friends stopped speaking to one another, he intervened. If a husband and wife drifted apart, he would not rest until they were reunited. He refused to accept that conflict was inevitable. Peace was not simply one of his virtues; it was his life’s mission.

That is why, when Aharon passed away, the Torah tells us that the entire congregation mourned him. Every Jew felt that they had lost someone personally.

It is no coincidence that our Parshah describes Moshe’s battle against Midyan.

On the surface, it was a military campaign. But beneath the surface, it was something much deeper.

Aharon represented harmony.

Midyan represented division.

The very name Midyan is associated with contention and strife. If Aharon’s mission was to bring people together, Midyan’s influence was to pull them apart.

How appropriate that as we begin mourning a Temple destroyed because Jews became divided, the Torah reminds us both of the greatest peacemaker who ever lived and of the obligation to wage war against the forces of discord.

But that naturally raises another question.

If hatred destroyed the Beis Hamikdash, what exactly did we lose?

The answer unfolds in the second Parshah.

Parshas Masei devotes an extraordinary amount of space to describing the borders of Eretz Yisrael. At first glance, it almost seems out of place. After forty years in the wilderness, why spend so much time discussing boundaries and geography?

Because this is no ordinary piece of land.

This is the land that Hashem chose as the place where His Presence would dwell. It is the land where the overwhelming majority of the Torah’s Mitzvos can be fulfilled in their complete form. It is the land upon which the Beis Hamikdash stood, where the Korbanos were offered to Hashem, where Heaven and earth met.

As we mourn our exile from that land and the destruction of the Beis Hamikdash, the Torah redraws its borders before our eyes.

Hashem is saying, “Never become comfortable in exile. Never forget where your true home is.”

Throughout history, nations have argued over the ownership of this tiny strip of land. Yet long before there were maps, governments, or international resolutions, Hashem Himself defined its borders in the Torah.

The Jewish connection to Eretz Yisrael is not political.

It is eternal.

It is Divine.

It is inseparable from the very purpose for which the Jewish people were chosen.

So how do we find our way back?

The answer is hidden in the names of the two Parshiyos themselves.

Matos.

Masei.

A Mateh is a staff.

Firm.

Strong.

Unbending.

There are moments in Jewish history when we must refuse to bend. When the world changes around us, our values cannot. Our commitment to Torah, to Mitzvos, to the Jewish people, and to our connection with Eretz Yisrael must remain as solid as an unyielding staff.

But the Torah immediately gives us the second Parshah.

Masei.

Journeys.

Movement.

Progress.

Standing firm does not mean standing still.

The Jewish people have never survived by becoming frozen in place. Throughout thousands of years of exile, we have continued moving forward. We have built communities, established Yeshivos, sent Shluchim across the globe, raised new generations of proud Jews, and carried the dream of redemption from one generation to the next.

We stand firm in our principles.

And we never stop journeying.

Perhaps that is why this Shabbos concludes with one of the most stirring proclamations heard in every synagogue.

As we finish the Book of Bamidbar, we rise together and declare:

Chazak! Chazak! V’nischazek!

Be strong.

Be strong.

And together, let us strengthen one another.

Could there be a more appropriate message as we enter the darkest days of the Jewish calendar?

We mourn.

But we do not despair.

We remember.

But we do not surrender.

Aharon teaches us to replace hatred with peace.

The borders of Eretz Yisrael remind us what we are longing to regain.

Matos teaches us to stand firm.

Masei teaches us to keep moving forward.

And together they remind us that even during the Nine Days, Judaism never ends with destruction.

It ends with strength.

May we merit to replace hatred with love, division with unity, exile with redemption, and mourning with everlasting joy, with the coming of Moshiach and the rebuilding of the Third Beis Hamikdash, speedily in our days.

Chazak, Chazak, V’nischazek!

Have a Strong Peaceful and Loving Shabbos,
Gut Shabbos

Rabbi Yosef Katzman

50 Years Since Mivtza Chinuch: Kinus HaMechanchim to Focus on the עיקר

Fifty years ago, the Rebbe launched Mivtza Chinuch, calling on Chassidim to take responsibility for the chinuch of every Jewish child. This summer, mechanchim from across the Chabad school network will gather at the Annual International Kinus HaMechanchim with that mission at the center: raising a generation of פרומע, ערליכע, ווארימע, חסידישע אידן, focused on the עיקר.

“This year is about coming back to the core,” said Rabbi Mendy Kotlarsky, General Chairman, Merkos Chinuch Office. “The Rebbe gave us a clear shlichus in Chinuch. The Kinus is a chance for mechanchim to step away from the daily rush, reconnect with that mission, and return with practical tools and renewed chayus.”

Taking place July 28 to 29 / י״ד–ט״ו מנחם אב at the Armon Hotel in Stamford, Connecticut, the Kinus will bring together classroom teachers, principals, administrators, day school educators, and Base Commanders for two days of practical guidance, inspiration, and connection.

At a time when mechanchim are navigating questions previous generations never faced, from classroom behavior to emotional health and school leadership, the Kinus will focus on what remains unchanged. How do we raise children with Yiras Shamayim? How do we build classrooms filled with warmth and Chassidishkeit? How do we support struggling students without losing sight of the goal?

Featured presenters include Rabbi Nochem Kaplan, Director of the Merkos Chinuch Office, addressing school leaders on “The Menahel and His Responsibility to Struggling Students: The Rebbe’s Guidance.”

Rabbi Zvi Bloom of Torah Umesorah joins Rabbi Yehoshua Lustig for “Leadership Unfiltered,” an administrators’ panel tackling the questions every school leader wants to ask.

Rabbi Hertzel Pewsner, Rabbi Zalmy Kudan, and Rabbi Shmuli Friedman lead “Using the 12 Pesukim to Guide Real Classroom Challenges,” a session for elementary mechanchim built around practical, day to day application.

Rabbi Zalmy Kudan also presents “Baby to Bochur: A Roadmap for Lasting Chinuch and YOUR Role in It,” a session for Base Commanders and elementary mechanchim.

Rabbi Yoseph Chaiton, Founder of Chinuch Solutions, presents “When Kodesh and Chol Work Together: Creating True Educational Synergy” for day school mechanchim.

Rabbi Yisroel Grossberg, MS.Ed., Rabbinic Director of Amudim, presents “Proactive Behavior Management: Connect, Motivate, Prevent” for teachers, and “Every Talmid Counts: Educational Intervention, Remediation & Collaboration” for principals.

Avi Landa, LCPC, Director of Education for Amudim, leads a session on ADHD and anxiety in the classroom, helping mechanchim understand and support their students.

Rabbi Shua Piekarski and Rabbi Aryeh Gurowitz lead a two part session on attaining financial freedom, covering practical steps toward becoming debt free and building long term financial success.

Beyond these highlights, the Kinus offers dedicated tracks for every role in the school, including teachers, principals, administrators, day school mechanchim, and more, so each participant leaves with sessions built specifically for their work. 

With rooms filling up and the Kinus less than three weeks away, mechanchim are encouraged to register as soon as possible.

Register now at kinus.chinuchoffice.org

The Merkos Chinuch Office would also like to thank our corporate sponsors, Amudim and Darcheinu, for their partnership and support of this year’s Kinus HaMechanchim. 

Back for the second year, Cheder Chabad Baltimore’s Summer Program, publishes a Kovetz Haoros, with campers participating by giving in questions, and challenging their friends and staff to find answers. This adds a tremendous Chayus and Koch in learning Torah by the campers and staff alike, with the special flavor of the summer.

Click here to download

This is in connection with the theme of the Mivtza for the summer, מבצע אנגעצונדן, based on a Yechidus of the Rebbe with college students in the 5710’s. The students asked the Rebbe, what’s the “job description” of a Rebbe. The Rebbe responded with a Mashal, (which was brought out in a special Mivtza launch video): You see this light switch? This receives its electricity all the way from Niagara Falls, which is then sent to Downtown Brooklyn to be limited and toned down, and from there its connected with wires to this light switch. You have tremendous energy at your fingertips. All you need to do is turn it on. However, you may not know where this switch is. You may need somebody to show it to you. So too, every Yid has tremendous capabilities and potential, all waiting to be brought out. You just need to turn your switch on. The Rebbe is the one that shows us where this switch is. (Based on an JEM interview with Dr. Yitzchok Block).

One of the things that the Rebbe has always encouraged is to write and publish Chiddushei Torah, and through that it will add in the Geshmak in learning Torah. In this way, we hope to be “turned on”, in learning Torah, and that it will add tremendous Chayus to the entire summer for the entire camp!

A special Shabbos Mevorchim Tehillim contest is being held in 17 Chabad overnight Gan Yisroel girls and boys camps as well as Crown Heights.

Children are encouraged to recite Tehillim on Shabbos Mevorchim Av, and will be entered into a raffle at participating camps in New York, Pennsylvania, Florida, Detroit, and Montreal more, as well as at Bais Shmuel Chabad in Crown Heights.

The Tehillim is being recited in the merit of the safety of the Jews in Eretz Yisroel.

A raffle for a $150 gift certificate will be held in each camp. Each child who participates will receive a danish.

The project is held in memory of the bochur Shmuel Karnowsky OBM, who passed away at the young age of 15, and has grown and seen great success since being founded in his memory.

Shmuel’s parents, Osher and Rivka Karnowsky, wanted to do something special to honor the memory of their son, who was a straight-alef student and a diligent bochur who was beloved by his peers.

“We all know the great power of reciting words of Tehillim, and the many brochos which come from it, especially when it comes to children,” said Rabbi Moshe Pinson, President of Bais Shmuel Chabad in Crown Heights.

The project encourages children, boys and girls, to recite Tehillim in Shul on Shabbos Mevorchim. The children receive prizes and incentives for joining. This week, in honor of Shabbos Mevorchim Av, 17 boys and girls overnight camps, in addition to Bais Shmuel Shul boys and girls, who recite 30 kapitlach of Tehillim will be entered into a raffle for exciting prizes.

Imagine If There Was No Shidduch System

Every day I see another article.

The shidduch crisis.

The problems with shadchanim.

The flaws in “the system.”

The frustrations are real. There are singles who feel overlooked, shadchanim who are overwhelmed, and a process that can sometimes feel discouraging.

But for a moment, I want you to imagine something else.

Imagine there was no shidduch system at all.

Not a broken one.

None.

You’re 27. Or 30. Maybe you’re 35.

You’ve decided you want to settle down and get married.

Where do you go?

Who do you turn to?

Who is thinking about you?

Who wakes up in the morning wondering who might be right for you? Who calls a friend because they think they know someone? Who asks around on your behalf? Who genuinely cares whether you build a Jewish home?

Without a shidduch system, the answer is often… no one.

As frustrating as the system can sometimes be, at least there are people trying.

Now imagine you didn’t grow up in a community where everyone knows everyone. Maybe you don’t keep Shabbos. Maybe you don’t keep kosher. Maybe your parents aren’t connected to a Jewish community. There are no shadchanim calling. No parents asking around. No one making introductions.

So where do you go?

Do you walk into a bar hoping that the person you’re attracted to also happens to be Jewish… also happens to share your values… also happens to be looking for marriage… and also happens to be looking for someone like you?

Or maybe you hope someone new gets hired at work.

Or perhaps you spend night after night downloading another dating app, matching with strangers, getting ghosted, having conversations disappear overnight, being stood up for dinner, and wondering if this is really what finding your soulmate is supposed to look like.

That isn’t hypothetical.

For millions of Jewish singles around the world, that’s their reality.

They don’t have a community introducing them to people.

They don’t have a shadchan calling with ideas.

They don’t have a friends constantly thinking of suggestions.

They don’t have a system.

And that loneliness is something most people never see.

That’s why we created Met at Chabad.

Today, thousands of Jewish young professionals are connected to Chabad houses around the world. They have a relationship with their shliach. They come for Shabbos meals, classes, holiday events, and community.

But when it comes to dating, too many are left to navigate it alone.

Now, their shliach can finally say,

“Let me help.”

Not just with advice.

Not just with encouragement.

But with real introductions.

With a network of fellow shluchim around the world.

With thoughtful matchmaking.

With a community that genuinely cares whether they build a Jewish home.

Will this solve the shidduch crisis?

No.

Because finding your person isn’t a religious problem. It’s a human problem. We simply feel it more deeply because building a Jewish home matters so much to us.

But every one of us can be part of the solution.

Every one of us knows someone who isn’t part of a traditional shidduch system. A friend. A coworker. A cousin. Someone you met on mivtzoyim. 

You may not have an idea for them 

But you can introduce them to a community that does.

At Met at Chabad, every single is personally vetted and verified as Jewish. They don’t have to be religious. They don’t have to be “Chabad.” They simply have to be serious about dating with intention and building a Jewish future.

So here’s my request.

Think of one person.

Just one.

Someone who doesn’t have a shidduch system. Someone who’s been trying to do this on their own. Someone who could use a community that’s rooting for them.

Send them to Met at Chabad.

You never know where that one conversation could lead.

A first date.

An engagement.

A wedding.

A Jewish family.

Sometimes changing someone’s life doesn’t begin with making the match.

It begins with making the introduction.

-The Met at Chabad Team

Metatchabad.com

Is biology destiny? How much do we independently determine our choices in life? The Avner Institute presents three letters highlighting the paradox of effortlessly choosing the right school, synagogue, or neighborhood, yet encountering human challenges; and the Rebbe’s emphasis on Torah observance and the innate will to overcome deviant temptations or to correct sinful or negligent behaviors.

In loving memory of Hadassah Lebovic A”h

“Suitable for you and your family”

By the Grace of G-d
24 Tammuz 5739
Brooklyn, NY

Dr. Yonoson Yitzchok Adler
1528 East-West Highway
Silver Spring, MD 20910

Greeting and Blessing:

This is to acknowledge receipt of your letter of the 20th of Tammuz, and many thanks for the good news it contained, including the opportunity to purchase a house as you described in your letter. According to your description, the house seems suitable for you and your family, as well as being in a suitable neighborhood, especially being within walking distance of a shul.

May G-d grant that your purchase of the house should be in a happy and auspicious hour, and that the change should be a change for good and blessing.

In view of the subject matter of the letter, it is sent to you ahead of time.

With blessing,

[signature]

“To overcome the extraordinary difficulty”

By the Grace of G-d
25 Shevat 5746
Brooklyn, NY

Greeting and Blessing:

This is to acknowledge receipt of your letter of Jan. 26th, in which you write about a serious problem.

As requested, I will remember you in prayer for the fulfillment of your heart’s desires for good.

While all blessings come from Hashem, a Jew is expected to do what is necessary in the natural order. In the matter of the said problem, you surely know that there are doctors and psychiatrists who treat it and have been successful in many cases. I know of a number of cases of people who had this problem but eventually overcame it, married, and raised a family.

Clearing Misconceptions

While on this topic, I would like to clear up a misconception that has led some individuals into confusion and wrong conclusions. The misconception stems from the argument that since some individuals are born with this problem, it must be a “natural” thing; hence it cannot be designated as a wrong, or a sin, and there is therefore no need to do anything to change it or, at any rate, it is not a serious problem at all.

That this approach is entirely without foundation can be seen from the fact that the Torah (called Toras Chaim and Toras Emes because it is our true guide in the everyday life) declares that to indulge in it, or even to dwell on it mentally, is a grave transgression of Hashem’s commandment. Hence, it is also clear that the problem is controllable, for if it were beyond human control, Hashem would not have made it a sin.

The fact that the problem may largely be congenital does not alter the situation. Every day children are born with particular natures and innate tendencies or drives, some of them good and some of them bad. This is why human beings have to be trained and educated, so as to develop and strengthen the positive characteristics and eliminate the bad ones. The Creator endowed human beings with the capacity to improve, indeed, even to change, their “natural” (i.e. innate) traits.

Inborn Trait?

A case in point is kleptomania. It is generally recognized that kleptomania is a very compulsive drive. But no one will suggest that because it is probably inborn and extremely difficult to resist, the kleptomaniac should be told that it is okay for him to steal, or that there is nothing he can, or should, do about it, and so on.

Similarly, in the case of one who is born with a drive to destroy things, or with a quarrelsome or aggressive nature, or with a propensity to cheat or lie, or any other innate trait that is considered reprehensible. No normal society would declare that since one was born that way, one should be allowed to go through life according to one’s natural desires and tendencies. Such an attitude will help neither the individual nor the society. On the contrary, everything should be, and is, done to help individuals overcome their neurological problems, whatever they may be.

Needless to say, the person who is afflicted with this or other neurological problems may well ask, “Why has Hashem created such a compulsive drive, which is in direct contradiction to His moral Code? Why has He afflicted me, who desires to comply fully with His commandments?”

No human being can answer such questions, which only Hashem, the Creator, can answer. One observation that can be suggested in relation to the question, “Why me?”—if an individual experiences a particularly difficult, or trying, situation, it may be assumed that Hashem has given him extraordinary powers to overcome the extraordinary difficulty. The individual concerned is probably unaware of his real inner strength; the trial may therefore be designed for the sole purpose of bringing out in the individual his hidden strength, which, after overcoming his problem, can be added henceforth to the arsenal of his revealed capacities, in order to utilize both for infinitely greater achievements for the benefit of himself, and others.

Maimonides, the “Guide of the Perplexed” of his generation and of all subsequent generations, who was also acclaimed as the greatest physician of his time, declares in a well known passage in his famous Code, MishnehTorah (Yad Hachazaka): “Every person has the option (power), if he so desires, to direct himself to do only good and be a Tzaddik, or, if he chooses, to follow the bad road and be a Rasha [evil person]. Do not ever think that a person is predestined from birth to be a Tzaddik or Rasha. Nor is there any inner compulsion to make a choice, but one has the capacity to choose the right behavior, and it is entirely a matter of one’s own will and determination” (Free translation from Hil. Teshuva, ch. 5. See it there at length).

Considerable Progress

A final remark from the scientific viewpoint.

To say that the human mind and neural system are unimaginably intricate is to say the obvious. Only the Creator knows His handiwork. But the Creator has endowed the human mind with wonderful qualities to probe the mysteries of nature, to research and experiment and steadily gain more knowledge about himself and his physical and mental capacities.

Considerable progress has been made by scientists in their studies of the brain cells and hormones. It is now clear that a wide range of human emotions and sensations can be stimulated artificially with the aid of electronic and biochemical techniques. It is not generally agreed that most, if not all, neurological disorders, including deviant sexual behavior, probably proceed from chemical (hormonal) deficiencies or irregularities during the period of youth. Some neurological disorders are already being treated successfully in certain areas involving the neural system, and it is to be hoped that the range will expand and eventually include the whole spectrum of neurological disorders, both of individuals and of nations.

In the meantime, we can only put our trust in Hashem, and strengthen our adherence to the Torah and mitzvoth, of which it is written, “They are our life and the length of our days.”

With blessing,

[signature]

By the Grace of G-d
11 Tishrei 5749
Brooklyn, NY

Greeting and Blessing:

It was a pleasure to meet with you and our other distinguished friends on the day before Erev Yom Kippur.

A personal meeting between Jews should always be a good, pleasurable, and productive event. When it coincides with the other two auspicious dimensions, namely, time and place—it is certain to have all three elements: goodness and sweetness to themselves, and usefulness to other fellow Jews, in the fullest measure.

To focus on the dimension of time—what could be a more auspicious time than the period between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, at the beginning of an especially auspicious year, an ibbur year [Jewish Leap Year), a year that has thirteen months.

The essential aspects of our Jewish Leap Year have been discussed on various occasions. One point, which cannot be overemphasized, is particularly relevant at this time of year. It has to do with the Torah concept of time.

Recurring Phenomenon

Normally, the lunar year (which is the basis of our luach, the Jewish calendar, lags behind the solar year by about eleven days. In order that our festivals occur in their due season (Pesach in the spring; Succoth in the autumn, etc.), the time lag is made good by the inclusion of an extra month every two or three years. This makes an ibbur year, which not only evens out the score, but surpasses the solar year by as many as eighteen, nineteen, or twenty days, as the case may be.

While the ibbur year is a recurring phenomenon involving highly intricate calculations and details that affect Jewish life in totality, it also provides a simple, abject lesson. Every Jew has been endowed with the capacity to recoup and complete those “lost” days which, for one reason or another, have not been fully utilized in terms of Yiddishkeit, Torah, and mitzvoth.

This means, in effect, that a Jew has the spiritual strength to make himself “master over time.” Indeed, he can gain mastery over time not only in terms of the present and the future, by setting for himself the highest standards of conduct, but he can also rectify his past.

New Worlds

This is why the above lesson of the ibbur year is particularly relevant in the Ten Days of Return, the Asseres Yemei Teshuva—that period of time that has been assigned for Jews to return even closer to their true essence.

The same period, inasmuch as it begins with Rosh Hashanah, marks the origin and creation of the world. It is written, “The world was built on chessed (kindness).” The Creator, the Master Builder, in His kindness, among other things, set the stage for created man to become a builder of worlds—our own world as well as “new worlds.”

We Jews have been particularly privileged to be builders, especially where our children are concerned: “Banayich, bonayich.” Banayich—“your children;” Bonayich—“your builders.” Each child, boy or girl, brought up in the way of Yiddishkeit, Torah and mitzvoth, is a binyan adei-ad, “an everlasting edifice,”—a world in his/her own right, as well as a builder of worlds.

This is why our recent meeting, during the Ten Days of Return, at the “head” of the current new ibbur year, for the purpose and cause of building new worlds, must become meaningful and vitally important.

With prayerful wishes for hatzlacha [success] in all above, and for a joyous Succoth festival, and

With esteem and blessing,

[signature]

To receive to your inbox email: [email protected]

It’s been two months since I lost my mother, and I would like to share a few points for those people who have never experienced this, yet may have people in their lives who are going through it.

Firstly, for some reason people are scared to send the person a message or give them a call (if you’re one of those people who still calls in 2026). They have the notion that the person is far removed or whatever. The person isn’t scary. They’re the same person as before, but now they’re broken. Send them a message. They may never respond. They might turn off blue checks on WhatsApp. Send the message.

What to say in the message: Just show support. Don’t say “let me know if you need anything”. While this might sound nice, if you’re living in South Africa while the person is in New York, it doesn’t help them to see this. If you’re not close with them from before, they’re not gonna reach out. Even if you are close with them, they’re not gonna reach out. Find out or think about what they need and just do it. (My mother passed away early Friday morning. A close friend immediately said he’s coming over with breakfast. He showed up 20 minutes later with a bagel and an iced coffee. He forced me to eat it. My mind wasn’t on food. I had no appetite. I didn’t think I needed it. Four hours later it hit me, whoa, he saved me. He didn’t just say “I’m here if you need anything”. He acted.)

In the message, writing BDE is fine, but writing it out in full is slightly more meaningful. Saying “I was saying Tehillim for them” is very nice. Again, it’s all about the support. There really are no words to say. The whole thing is beyond words. You can say “sending you love” “wishing you comfort and strength” “I’m davening and thinking about you” etc.

Many people will send a message in the beginning, but for the person, the loss is still very real for a long time. Sending that “random” message several months later simply tells the person “hey, we haven’t forgotten about you”.

Do not ask the person every day how they are doing. As a matter of fact, don’t ask them at all unless you plan on actually sitting there and being their therapist for a few minutes. While it might sound nice, think of it this way. The person is going through a lot. So many thoughts and questions and emotions. Asking them how they are doing could be frustrating to them because the answer is either “Thank G-d”, or a long rant about their feelings. Once again, it’s all about just being there and showing support. Support doesn’t mean giving advice or asking questions (in some cases it could but not in most). Support means just being there for them and letting them know they are on your mind.

If you bump into them, bringing up the topic by just saying that you’re thinking of them is fine. It’s either way on their mind. You’re not going to be triggering anything. If anything the person wants to know that you’re feeling their pain. Be aware however, some people may respond by closing up and being non-receptive to your comment. That’s just their way of grieving. They themselves are trying to figure this out.

It’s also extremely important to recognize that the person really wants to live a regular normal life with regular interactions. Very likely they have no interest in discussing this topic with you, especially if you’re not so close. Once you’ve made it clear that you’re thinking of them, don’t bring it up again. Just interact with them as you usually would.

Something to be cognizant of when sending a message or making a comment. People can often tell when it’s genuine or when you’re saying it to be polite but don’t actually mean it. Don’t feel obligated to send a message. Remember, the goal is support. The goal is not to flood the person’s WhatsApp account with ingenuine messages because you read in an article that you need to send messages every week.

If you are a close friend, you have an obligation and a duty to really be there for the person. That could mean making an effort to spend some time with them or take them on an outing, and not mention anything about this topic. Having that attention and social life could be massive. Again, the person really desires to live a normal life with regular interactions. Being there for a friend could also mean that the person knows they have someone with a listening ear who they could talk to. Sometimes they need a response, but often times they just need to feel like they are heard and validated.

And finally, going and getting the person dinner one night, sending them a bar of chocolate, or legitimately finding out what they need could be absolutely huge. It’s not even so much about what you get them or if they need it or not, but it’s a matter of you went through that extra effort to support them. It could be that if you go over and offer to do the person’s laundry or wash their dishes (obviously depending on your relationship with them), it would make the person feel like a massive burden has been lifted off of them. It’s the small acts that make an impact. The person is broken. Very likely they are struggling to do even basic productive tasks. And even if not, it’s really all about letting the person know that there are people out there who legitimately care about them. The person knows it regardless, but when some time goes by with no active support, it could be a struggle for the person. Going and actually getting them something shows that active support.

Just a disclaimer: These are my personal feelings and experiences. Everyone will experience emotions differently.

Lubavitcher Yeshiva’s New Mesivta Enters Final Stages of Construction Ahead of Opening Zman 

Lubavitcher Yeshiva is preparing to open its new Mesivta this coming Shnas Halimudim, welcoming its first Shiur Aleph with over 40 bochurim, With experienced Hanhalah and Mechanchim, and a dedicated group of Talmidei HaShluchim.

The new Mesivta will be housed at Lubavitcher Yeshiva’s Ocean Parkway campus, a building with deep roots in the history of Tomchei Temimim in America. Originally built after the Yeshiva outgrew its Bedford and Dean location, the Ocean Parkway building served for many years as the home of the Mesivta,and Beis Medresh educating generations of Lubavitcher bochurim.

Now, with the launch of the new Mesivta, the building will once again be home to bochurim learning and growing in the atmosphere of Tomchei Temimim.

In preparation for the opening, Lubavitcher Yeshiva has made a substantial financial investment into renovations and upgrades. The dormitory has been fully reconstructed, the mikvah has been renovated and expanded, and the Zal has been prepared to welcome the new Mesivta.

The Mesivta will be led by Rabbi Mendel Scharf, He will be joined by a dedicated team of Mechanchim, including Rabbi Shmuel Wagner, Rabbi Mayer Rodal, Rabbi Shmueli Matusof, Rabbi Boruch Dahan, and Rabbi Moshe Javen, each of whom has spent years guiding bochurim through these formative yeshiva years.

While the Mesivta originally anticipated opening with one Shiur Aleph class, strong interest from parents led to the creation of two classes, bringing enrollment to over 40 bochurim for the inaugural year.

The Mesivta has also drawn significant interest from outside New York, with approximately one-third of the incoming class coming from out of town, including many children of shluchim. For these families, the new Mesivta offers a unique opportunity: a focused dormitory yeshiva setting with the added benefit of being near Crown Heights, making it easier for parents and shluchim visiting for simchos, the Kinus, and other occasions to stay connected with their sons and the yeshiva.

As the Yeshiva prepares to open this exciting new chapter, the hanhalah looks forward to strengthening Tomchei Temimim and continuing to build a Mesivta where bochurim can grow העכער און העכער, both b’gashmiyus and b’ruchniyus.

By COLlive reporter

Summer visitors to the Catskills can now enjoy a familiar taste of Crown Heights, as Prime Avenue has opened a seasonal location in Monticello, bringing its popular menu of Chinese, Israeli, and American cuisine to the area’s summer community.

Owned by Yossi Gershovitz, the same entrepreneur behind Prime Avenue and Bread and Dairy in Crown Heights, the new restaurant is operating under the same management team led by Avremi Scheinfeld, giving many longtime customers a familiar experience. Prime Avenue first opened on Kingston Avenue in 2011, offering both Chinese and Israeli-style menus under one roof.

The spacious Monticello location seats nearly 300 guests, making it one of the larger kosher dining options in the Catskills. Designed with families in mind, the restaurant offers a relaxed atmosphere and will remain open through Labor Day.

The menu mirrors the Crown Heights location, featuring Chinese favorites alongside grilled Israeli specialties and classic American fare. Among the most popular items this summer are the restaurant’s burgers, appetizers, and its signature fresh Chinese dishes, led by the well-known sesame chicken.

In addition to serving daily diners, Prime Avenue is also catering events throughout the Catskills during the busy summer season.

To accommodate the area’s diverse kosher community, the restaurant operates under the supervision of Tarnapol/Babad. For customers requesting Lubavitch shechita, select burgers, chicken sandwiches, and other menu items are available upon request through the restaurant. All salad greens are pre-checked by Bodek or other certified checking companies.

Customers can order directly through the restaurant’s Catskills website or via Uber Eats, making the menu accessible throughout the surrounding bungalow colonies and vacation communities.

With familiar staff, an expanded dining space, and the same menu that has made Prime Avenue a Kingston Avenue favorite for years, the seasonal Monticello location aims to provide summer visitors with a taste of home throughout the Catskills season.

Prime Avenue
Located in the Mountains Square Mall
321 E Broadway, Monticello

https://primeavenueus.com/

Hours daily 12pm-1am
Thursday and Sunday 12pm-2am
Friday 12-5
M Shabbos 10-2

Rambam is for Everyone: Inside the Campaign at LEDAS

How do we encourage more people to actually pick up the sefer every day and learn Rambam?

At one late-night farbrengen, that was the question. The Siyum HaRambam had already wound down. An inspiring celebration featuring music, festivities, and an impressive rotation of renowned speakers and mashpiim.

But what now?

“We were discussing that a huge deal was being made — justifiably so — about completing the study of Rambam,” recalls Mendel Shanowitz, now director of the initiative, “we felt that the regular, day-to-day study, however, was not being given the same attention”

So, we set out to change that. More than reminding people that daily study was important, we wanted to turn Rambam into a non-negotiable part of their day — and give them the tools to do so.

Looking for a natural starting point, we settled on yeshivos.

“Why yeshivos specifically?” Shanowitz explains, “Bochurim are surrounded by learning day and night, and don’t have the distractions of a working life. So, its much easier to introduce a bit more learning at that point, with the goal that this Rambam routine will follow them into their life after yeshiva.”

With no time wasted, we immediately secured funding and drafted a campaign package to be sent to yeshivos across the country. There would be organized shiurim, regular tests, and exciting incentives. Overall, the focus was clear: This was not to be a one-and-done, we were here to build lifelong habits.

Now, a year after that pivotal farbrengen, the initial results are here to speak for themselves:

Seven yeshivos, eleven raffle winners,

— and hundreds of young bochurim’s lives changed with the holy habit of daily Rambam; bochurim who now possess the tools and appreciation for the Rebbe’s initiative, enthusiastic and ready to carry it forward with them into their lives and the lives of those around them.

This success, however, is just the beginning; the template for our exponential expansion starting next year. As the Rebbe emphasizes: One who has 100, desires 200.

For now, and for the future, our deepest appreciation goes to the committed shluchim, our ‘boots on the ground’ in the yeshivos, for their dedication and heart; to the hanholos for their consistent support; and to Rabbi Chai Amar for his infectious enthusiasm for Rambam, driving the campaign forward from the very beginning. He was there the whole time with encouragement, inspiration, and crucial financial support.

And most of all: A huge thank you to all those bochurim who participated, pushing themselves to do just that little bit extra every day. Your contributions of pure effort are seen, and are most valuable above all — the foundation, pillar, and reason for everything else.

Join Us:

We’re thrilled to announce the expansion of this initiative to many more yeshivos beginning this upcoming Cheshvon zman. If you are a shliach or menahel interested in enrolling your yeshiva in next year’s campaign, please reach out to Ledas at [email protected]

Weekly Letter: A Jews’ Obligation Towards Gentiles

The Rebbe’s letter – during this time of resentment and hatred towards Jews by an increasing number of non-Jews – is in answer to a woman who finds it difficult to understand why Jews feel so strongly that Gentiles are not well disposed towards them, as she herself does not feel that way about the Jews. In his answer – the Rebbe, interestingly, stresses what the Jews’ obligation is towards Gentiles, regardless of what may be the Gentiles’ attitude towards Jews.

By the Grace of G-d

20th of Elul, 5735

(Aug. 27, 1975)

Brooklyn, N.Y.

Mrs.

Montreal, Que.H3X267

Blessing and Greeting:

I duly received your letter and regret unavoidable delay to acknowledge same. You write that you find it difficult to fully understand why the Jewish people seem to feel so strongly that the Gentiles are not well disposed toward them, especially since you personally do not feel this way about the Jews.

May I say, first of all, that I am gratified to hear about your good feelings and I do hope that you avail yourself of every suitable opportunity to let people know how you feel in this matter, so they emulate you.

As for your question, what basis, if any, there may be for Jews to feel suspicion – or even frightened, as it seems to you – about the Gentiles’ feelings towards them – surely there is an obvious explanation of that in what happened in our time, and before our own eyes, obvious at any rate, to those who survived the holocaust in Europe and found a haven in this country. Considering that one third of the Jewish people was callously decimated by a Gentile nation and its collaborators, while the rest of the Gentile world looked (and sometimes not even as indifferent observers) – a subject too painful to dwell on, particularly in this letter, in view of your personal feelings. I mention it only by way of reply to your question – the explanation is fairly obvious, and it is surprising that it had eluded you. Moreover, seeing the attitude of the vast majority of the members of the United Nations toward the remnants of the Jewish people, it clearly reinforces the suspicion that the attitude of the Gentiles – generally speaking, for there have always been exceptions – has not changed radically.

By way of contrast, it is noteworthy that Jews on their part have a duty to encourage and help every Gentile to abide by the Divine commandments which have been given to all mankind, namely, the so-called Seven Precepts Given to the Children of Noah, which are the minimum standards of universal ethics and morality, law and order, without which no human society can long survive. This is expected of the Jew regardless of the Gentiles’ attitude toward Jews. Similarly Jews are commanded to practice charity and benevolence towards Gentiles along with Jews.

No doubt you also know the Jewish contributions to the concepts of liberty and humanitarianism and others. Even the motto of the United Nations, “Nation shall not lift up a sword against nation,” is an ideal Divinely inspired to a Jewish prophet for Jews and, through them, for Gentiles. This too, incidentally, pointedly underscores the contrast between the said ideal displayed there on the wall with what is going on there between the walls. Again, there is no need to dwell on this, as noted earlier.

                                                       With blessing,

By Shloimy Galperin – Chabad.org

“We dreamed of this moment for years,” Rabbi Avraham Feldman told the crowd packed into the brand new center on July 7. “And now we are sitting in this dream that has become reality.”

The dream in question is the Beit Shvidler Jewish Center of Iceland, a 9,000-square-foot structure that opened that evening as the country’s first Jewish center and Jewish culture house. Three stories tall, its distinctive color and design makes the building a landmark and instantly recognizeable.

Jews have lived in Iceland for more than a century, but the community spent most of that time without a permanent rabbi or a synagogue of its own, an absence that set Reykjavik apart from every other capital in Europe.

That changed in 2018, when Rabbi Avraham and Mushky Feldman, moved to the city as Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries and opened Iceland’s first Jewish center. For the past eight years, the Jewish Community Iceland—Beit Tovah Chabad- the only active Jewish organization in the country- has been operating out of the Feldman’s home and temporary spaces. Until now.

“The center is a home. It’s a place where you can walk through the door and feel comfortable,” Feldman said in his remarks. “Where you can simply be Jewish.”

Serving both Iceland’s local Jewish community and the Jewish travelers who pass through the country, the center will also have space for programming that the community’s previous, more limited quarters could not accommodate. It will house a Judaica and kosher store, as well as a stunning social hall for community events.

It is also designed to open outward: any Icelander curious about Jewish life can now walk in and encounter it directly. The center will host the Gallery of Jewish Life in Iceland, a new permanent exhibit that traces more than a hundred years of the island’s Jewish history through photographs and documents that, until now, had nowhere to be shown. Now, that history finally has a home.

“This is exactly the kind of place the Rebbe [Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory] envisioned when he spoke of ahavat yisrael, giving every Jew the chance to connect with and celebrate their Judaism.”

A Country-Wide Celebration
Jón Gnarr, Reykjavik’s former mayor and now a member of the Icelandic Parliament, used his remarks to talk about the country’s debts to its Jewish community, and the Jewish authors he has been influenced by. He described the new center as “a living bridge, connecting cultures, dispelling ignorance, and fostering dialogue and understanding.”

“Many Jews in Iceland have felt hesitant to say out loud that they’re Jewish,” Gnarr said. “That’s why education and dialogue are key.”

Acting U.S. Ambassador Joanie Simon, Rabbi Mendy Kotlarsky, community member Patrick Sulem and Mushky Feldman also addressed the gathering, while cantor Aryeh Leib Hurwitz brought the sound of traditional chazzanut into a room that had never held it before.

The opening drew recognition from the highest levels of Icelandic government.

Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir, a guest of Jewish community events in the past, sent a letter describing the center as “an important milestone for the Jewish community and for Icelandic society,” and expressed hope for “continued cooperation between the Jewish community and the Government of Iceland.” Þórunn Sveinbjarnardóttir, Speaker of Althingi (parliament), wrote separately to recognize the occasion.

The evening closed with thanks to the donors whose generosity built the center, among them Eugene Shvidler, whose vision, leadership and generosity helped propel the center from an idea into a building people could actually walk into and celebrate Jewish life, philanthropists Isaac and Tovah Cohen, George and Pamela Rohr, The Shmuel Isaac and Miriam Popack Foundation and Dovid and Rivka Feldman.

“Together,” Rabbi Feldman told the room, “we are writing the Icelandic chapter in the story of the Jewish people.”

Rabbi Heschel Greenberg has launched a new series of classes on the Rambam’s Mishneh Torah in response to the Rebbe’s call to learn at least one halacha in depth.

The Rebbe initiated a major effort to unite all Jews with the study of the entire encyclopedic work, Mishneh Torah, by learning three chapters a day and completing the entire work in less than a year. Alternatively, one can learn one chapter and complete the entire Mishneh Torah in close to three years. The Rebbe also gave a third option to study Maimonides’ companion work, Sefer Hamitzvos that parallel the Mishneh Torah.

In addition, the Rebbe requested that we learn one halacha in depth.

We recently began the 46th cycle of Mishneh Torah which inspired Rabbi Greenberg to record brief classes on selected passages of the Mishneh Torah.

Rabbi Heschel Greenberg is a shliach of the Rebbe in Buffalo, NY and the Director of the Jewish Discovery Center, and, for over 50 years, has taught thousands of classes on all aspects of Jewish knowledge.

Rabbi Greenberg has also authored dozens of works on diverse subjects including several volumes of commentary on the Mishneh Torah.

Many of Rabbi Greenberg’s classes can be accessed on his website rabbigreenberg.com.

What if I told you that simply speaking words of consecration could earn you Malkus (lashes) — even though Jewish law normally requires a physical action for such a penalty? In this deep, Rambam masterclass, we unpack one of the most fascinating and counterintuitive halachos in the entire Mishneh Torah: the prohibition against sanctifying a blemished animal (Ba’al Mum) for the Mizbeach. This isn’t dry legal theory — this is a window into Rambam’s revolutionary legal mind, the power of speech in creating spiritual realities, and the profound debate between two great Rishonim (Chinuch and Lechem Mishneh) that reveals how “just words” can carry real halachic weight. Whether you’re a serious Torah student, a halacha enthusiast, or simply fascinated by how Jewish law thinks about intention, speech, and holiness, this video will transform the way you understand the gravity of our words and commitments.

It was a night of palpable joy and gratitude as families, friends, and community members filled Yeshiva Ohr Elchonon Chabad in Los Angeles to celebrate a new group of musmachim from Kollel Tiferes Menachem — now marking 26 years of preparing rabbanim, shluchim, dayanim, and other Torah leaders who serve Jewish communities around the world BH.

The year’s curriculum centered on halacha shiurim led by Rosh HaKollel Rabbi Dovid Schmukler, delivered with a depth, clarity, and interactivity the bochurim consistently praised, alongside Chassidus classes from Rabbi Dovid Schmukler and Rabbi Yisroel Noach Raichik, as well as a guest lecture series from Jerusalem Prize recipient Rabbi Zvi Ryzman.

Beyond the classroom, countless hours of learning and farbrengens together forged a genuine camaraderie among the students — the kind of bond that was unmistakable in the room that night. Before receiving Smicha, students passed rigorous examinations on the halachos required for rabbinic ordination.

The program also included a comprehensive marriage and dating curriculum, featuring presenters Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok Jacobson, Rabbi Yosef Shusterman, Rabbi Dovid Schmukler, Rabbi Mendel Lipskier, and Rabbi Mendel Schapiro. Sessions covered everything from navigating the dating process to building a Torah home — preparing the musmachim not just for communal leadership, but for their own families.

The evening’s speakers included Rabbi Shlomo Cunin, Dayan Levi Yitzchok Raskin of London, Rabbi Yisroel Noach Raichik, Rabbi Dovid Schmukler, and Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok Jacobson, who spoke on behalf of the parents about the role of halacha in Jewish life. Three of the new rabbis — Shneur Wagner, Menachem Barash, and Yisroel Jacobson — addressed the crowd with reflections on their years of study, offering a moving glimpse into the sense of purpose that carried them through the program.

Two moments stood out. Rabbi Yossi Niasoff, a businessman who completed the full program alongside full-time students, opened his remarks by reciting Shehecheyanu over a new fruit — an emotional expression of gratitude to Hashem for reaching this special milestone. And newly ordained Rabbi Yankel Friedman moved the crowd with a heartfelt rendition of “Tanyeh,” filling the hall with music and joy.

The emotional high point of the evening came with the formal presentation of Smicha certificates to this year’s musmachim: Rabbis Moshe Bacher, Menachem Barash, Ari Dworcan, Yankel Friedman, Dovid Geisinsky, Yisroel Jacobson, Nechemia Kessler, Avi Kurinsky, Yossi Niasoff, Yaakov Potash, Mendel Rapoport, Shneur Vidal, Shneur Wagner, and Dovi Wilhelm. As they embark on the next stage of their lives, they do so prepared to serve, strengthen, and inspire Jewish communities around the world bezH.

For more information or to apply, contact [email protected].

 An excerpt from the LEC Community Magazine, Summer Edition

by Mothers of The Club at LEC, Miami

Summer: a time for relaxing, travel, camp, and for many parents, when they consider giving their child their own phone to help navigate all that. As mothers of The Club, proactively working to help our children experience healthy and happy childhoods, both physically and spiritually, we put together some information for our school’s magazine that we hope will be useful to you as you make these decisions.

Wishing you a happy and healthy summer!

—Mothers of The Club at Lubavitch Educational Center, Miami

A Mother’s Musings

Becoming a mother has an interesting way of making you revisit your own childhood. Holding my brand-new, precious baby and imagining her future naturally takes me back to a pivotal shift in my own youth. 

When I was in Middle School, I begged and begged my parents to give me a phone. It felt like all my friends had one and there was so much happening on social media. Calls, group chats, games—a whole life I was missing out on. 

So they gave me one. My friends and I didn’t have them in school but the day ended, we took them out. Much of the time, in the carpool line, at home, on the bus, at sleepovers, on weekends, we were on our screens instead of talking to each other or our families. I scrolled, checked, and watched for longer than I meant to. 

I remember how I would check my phone every two minutes. Sometimes I’d stay up until two in the morning even when my parents thought I was sleeping because the phone was right next to my bed and the green light kept blinking, and I couldn’t make myself put it down.

Even WhatsApp wasn’t just messaging. I always checked my friends’ Statuses to see what they were doing. A lot of times it made me feel sad and left out, like my life wasn’t as fun as theirs. I posted on my Status too. And then I checked, and checked, and checked who saw it and who liked it and worried about it. The group chats never, ever stopped and kids shared things I wouldn’t have chosen to see—and now I can’t unsee them. I had access to all of it.

It felt like everyone was watching me, all the time. I felt a constant pressure to look a certain way. Even when my phone was in my pocket, the worries about how I fit in and measured up moved to my head. 

Looking back, those short videos that went around did something to my concentration. My brain learned to expect something new every few seconds. Sitting down to read a book, listen to a teacher, or even have a regular conversation, felt almost impossible some days. My homework took twice as long as it did before my phone. 

My parents and teachers were teaching me how the value of every person is intrinsic, from Hashem, and how externalities don’t truly define us. But on my phone, views and likes seemed so important. While I was learning that what is real about a person isn’t their followers or vacation picture but who they truly are on the inside, their essence, my phone was focusing only on appearances.

Now that I am beginning the journey of raising my own children, I want to give them the best that I can. I know that the habits they form as children are wiring the brains they will carry for the rest of their lives and I want to make sure they’re healthy ones.

Thankfully, there’s a lot I can do, starting with my own behaviors, though it won’t always be easy.

Looking at my child’s sweet face, I think: my phone influenced my past. Now I will take that experience and use it to shape my family’s future for the better. 

Just Consider…

The Rebbe viewed modern technology as a useful tool to elevate the world, but one that must be used with caution. The Rebbe utilized live satellite hookups to broadcast farbrengens and encouraged Torah to be taught on the radio, but he also spoke out repeatedly against having a television at home, pointing to its “destructive influence on youth,” and the immorality that is inevitably transmitted. (—Likutei Sichos Vol. 18, p. 459-61)

Technology is like everything else in the world: it exists only for Hashem’s honor, to be used for Torah and mitzvos. “The ultimate purpose for which these new technologies were developed,” the Rebbe teaches, “is that they be used for holy purposes… The fact that they can also be used for mundane purposes, and even things that are the opposite of holiness, is to facilitate free choice… and Hashem commands, requests and grants the capacity that ‘you shall choose life.’” (—Toras Menachem Hisvadius 5742 Vol. 4, page 2150)

This principle is what we are trying to live by now: use technology where we are in control of it, as a tool for Hashem, and keep out of the home anything that controls us or brings us to negativity. Smartphones for kids, with social media and apps—whose sole goal it is to capture our attention and keep us scrolling, and where access to content that is against kedusha is a swipe away—falls on the other side of the line. When a human being is using technology, good can come from it, but when technology is using the human being, no real good can come of it.

Because even when technology can be harnessed for kedusha, it has to be used with caution and limits to keep it holy.

What We Can Do

• Let your children be bored, send them outside, and do not rescue a bored child with a screen. Boredom is the birthplace of creativity, resilience, and imagination.

• Fill your child’s time with real-world things first, like library trips, baking, LEGO, sewing, journaling, a musical instrument, or dance—so the screen just isn’t necessary for entertainment.

• Use a dedicated family phone for kids who need to be reachable: a landline through Google Voice or your internet provider, or a basic flip phone they can borrow.

• Use standalone, single-purpose devices for music and stories: 24six and Naki Radio for kosher music and radio; screen-free audio players; a basic Kindle for reading only.

• Put real filters on every device: TAG South Florida helps families set up filters on phones, computers, and home WiFi; Google Family Link and Apple Screen Time are free; Circle Home Plus and the Xfinity app cover the whole network, including turning the internet on and off by device.

• Keep all screens in public spaces, never behind closed bedroom doors. Presence is protection.

• No phones at mealtime, parents included.

• Research any new app before you approve it. Common Sense Media gives quick reviews on apps and sites.

Phone Alternatives

Thankfully, the choice today isn’t between a smartphone or nothing. A growing number of non-smartphone options let you stay in touch with your child without giving them a portal to social media and the open internet:

• Fig Phone: touchscreen, full keyboard, Waze
• Sunbeam: touchscreen, full keyboard, Waze
• Pom 
• The Light Phone: includes directions
• Punkt MP02
• Kasher ViYasher Flip  
• KV-Qin Pro

Though The Club does not recommend a smartphone at all, if your child does have one, consider using a managed iPhone which locks the phone down to a specific allow-list of apps (like Waze, Uber, banking) and disables social media and the open internet.

Here are two local Florida options:

• LEC kPhone. The Club’s version of a managed iPhone. Reach out to Beis Chana for details.
• TAG South Florida can convert a standard iPhone into a managed one. 

About MUST & The Club

Our LEC community has built two initiatives that work to make it possible for a family to say no to a smartphone and social media without leaving the child feeling left out. We encourage parents in other schools to consider starting their own chapters!

MUST (Mothers Unite to Stall Technology) is a delayed phone use agreement for parents of elementary-aged children. It works because the “everyone has one” argument stops being true the moment a few other families in the grade are choosing the same path. Starting a parent pact in your child’s class only takes one other parent.

• Step 1: Find one other parent. Reach out to one parent in your child’s class who shares your concerns. A coffee, a phone call, a text. That is all it takes to begin.
• Step 2: Decide on a pact together. Choose the no-phone-use commitment that fits the grade (for example: no smartphones until a certain age, no personal social media accounts including WhatsApp, no devices on playdates). See sample pacts.
• Step 3: Invite the class or grade. Create a WhatsApp group for your child’s class or grade, share the pact and the link to sign on, and invite the other parents in. You will be surprised how many say yes. Check in twice a year.

The Club is the parent-run, parent-funded initiative at LEC for girls who have chosen, together with their families, to live without a smartphone and without a personal social media account. Founded by mothers Rivkah Bloom and Esti Chazanow, it partners closely with the school, which provides in-school time for programming, incentives, and direct engagement with the girls. The Club currently runs in the LEC Girls Middle School and Beis Chana High School, led by groups of two to three parents in each grade. The original cohort just completed its second year with a Grand Trip to North Carolina.

Over 175 LEC students are currently benefitting from being part of The Club!

The clearest sign that the culture is taking hold came recently from an eighth grader whose older siblings each got phones at the start of ninth grade. She told her mother she does not want one and her closest friends do not have one. The pressure she feels is not to get online, but to stay off. We’re very proud!

Contact your child’s division to join or start The Club for their grade!

LEC gives a heartfelt thank you to the incredible Club mothers whose dedication, advocacy, and leadership have brought greater awareness and meaningful action to LEC: Mrs. Chanale Altein, Neomi Bialo, Rivkah Bloom, Esti Chazanow, Touba Fitzig, Gitty Freedman, Chana Gopin, Chanale Kornfeld, Dina Kranz, Shaynee Kroker, Rivky Rodal, Chana Rubashkin, and Rochel Zuckerman.

Read the Community Magazine!

The residents of Carroll Street between Troy and Schenectady Avenues would like to express our heartfelt appreciation to the Crown Heights Jewish Community Council, and especially to Rabbi Zalman Friedman, for their outstanding responsiveness and dedication to our neighborhood.

Following the recent storm, a large tree branch came down and completely blocked our sidewalk, creating a serious inconvenience and safety hazard. After contacting the City, we were told it could take up to a year for the issue to be addressed—an astonishing response for something that clearly required immediate attention.

Hoping they might be able to help move the process along, we reached out to the Crown Heights Jewish Community Council. To our surprise, they didn’t just make a few phone calls or try to pressure the City. Instead, they immediately took responsibility for the situation themselves. Within a couple of hours, someone arrived with the necessary equipment, removed the fallen tree, and restored the sidewalk.

Their swift action transformed what could have been a long-standing problem into a same-day solution.

In a time when it is so important to demonstrate the values of Torah in our everyday lives, this was a beautiful Kiddush Hashem. The care shown for the entire neighborhood, the willingness to help without hesitation, and the quiet professionalism with which it was done reflected the very best of our community. It made a tremendous impression on everyone on the block—Jewish and non-Jewish alike.

On behalf of all the residents of Carroll Street between Troy and Schenectady Avenues, we extend our deepest thanks to the Crown Heights Jewish Community Council and especially to Rabbi Friedman. Your commitment to serving the community, your readiness to step in when help was needed, and your dedication to making Crown Heights a better place are truly appreciated.

Thank you for all that you do.

Shmuly Goldman

A family in our community with children who have special needs has been struggling with significant financial hardship and ongoing challenges for an extended period of time.

Despite sincere efforts to improve their circumstances, and despite many factors beyond their control, the burden has become overwhelming. The situation has now reached a point where there is a genuine risk of the family losing their home and being unable to keep a roof over their heads.

רחמנים בני רחמנים — we ask all those who are able to please lend a helping hand and assist this family as best as they can during this difficult time.

Please open your hearts and help as generously as you can.

Every contribution makes a difference. Every dollar is a lifeline.
https://abcharity.org/Save

The campaign is endorsed by Harav Shmuel Chaim Bluming of Crown Heights.

Lubavitcher Yeshiva is preparing to open its new Mesivta this coming Shnas Halimudim, welcoming its first Shiur Aleph with over 40 bochurim, experienced Hanhalah and Mechanchim, and a dedicated group of Talmidei HaShluchim.

The new Mesivta will be housed at Lubavitcher Yeshiva’s Ocean Parkway campus, a building with deep roots in the history of Tomchei Temimim in America. Originally built after the Yeshiva outgrew its Bedford and Dean location, the Ocean Parkway building served for many years as the home of the Mesivta,and Beis Medresh educating generations of Lubavitcher bochurim.

Now, with the launch of the new Mesivta, the building will once again be home to bochurim learning and growing in the atmosphere of Tomchei Temimim.

In preparation for the opening, Lubavitcher Yeshiva has made a substantial financial investment into renovations and upgrades. The dormitory has been fully reconstructed, the mikvah has been renovated and expanded, and the Zal has been prepared to welcome the new Mesivta.

The Mesivta will be led by Rabbi Mendel Scharf, He will be joined by a dedicated team of Mechanchim, including Rabbi Shmuel Wagner, Rabbi Mayer Rodal, Rabbi Shmueli Matusof, Rabbi Boruch Dahan, and Rabbi Moshe Javen, each of whom has spent years guiding bochurim through these formative yeshiva years.

While the Mesivta originally anticipated opening with one Shiur Aleph class, strong interest from parents led to the creation of two classes, bringing enrollment to over 40 bochurim for the inaugural year.

The Mesivta has also drawn significant interest from outside New York, with approximately one-third of the incoming class coming from out of town, including many children of shluchim. For these families, the new Mesivta offers a unique opportunity: a focused dormitory yeshiva setting with the added benefit of being near Crown Heights, making it easier for parents and shluchim visiting for simchos, the Kinus, and other occasions to stay connected with their sons and the yeshiva.

As the Yeshiva prepares to open this exciting new chapter, the hanhalah looks forward to strengthening Tomchei Temimim and continuing to build a Mesivta where bochurim can grow העכער און העכער, both b’gashmiyus and b’ruchniyus.

Insights from Toras Reb Levi Yitzchok, a weekly class based on the teachings of Harav Levi Yitzchak Schneerson, chief rabbi of the city of Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine, during the bloody Bolshevik revolution and the subsequent Communist oppression and father of the Rebbe.

The shiur is presented by Rabbi Dovid Dubov, Director of Chabad of Mercer County in Princeton, New Jersey, and author of Yalkut Levi Yitzchok, an anthology of commentaries collected from the works of Harav Levi Yitzchak, of blessed memory.

Organized by Irguntorah.org and aired on community news service COLlive.com.

From The Rebbe’s Father זצ״ל
Massai

They camped along the Jordan from Beth jeshimoth to Abel shittim, in the plains of Moab
33:49

The Talmud (Eiruvin 55b) States, the area was 3 Parsa , which equals 12 Mil.

Questions

A) Why was the stop at מבית הישימות עד אבל השיטים?

B) The Meaning of the name בערבות מואב

C) Why was it 3 Parsa – 12 Mil?
לקוטי לוי יצחק, אגרות קודש ע׳ ת

Get The Weekly Shiur On Whatsapp: https://chat.whatsapp.com/Gespf7sF2KKK0opfrv3SVO

For more shiurim and podcasts visit: irguntorah.org

Six years ago, Rabbi Mordechai Kanelsky commissioned Rabbi Schneor Henig, a scribe from Jerusalem, to begin writing the Bris Avrohom Unity Sefer Torah. The mission was to create a Torah in which every Jew connected to Bris Avrohom could have a share.

Over the past six years, the Rabbis of Bris Avrohom- Rabbi Mordechai Kanelsky, Rabbi Baruch Lepkivker, Rabbi Dovid Wilansky, and Rabbi Avremy Kanelsky- encouraged thousands of people to participate and acquire a letter in the Sefer Torah.

On Sunday, June 14, that vision reached its joyous conclusion. More than 500 people gathered to celebrate the completion of the Unity Sefer Torah.

The event opened with Bris Avrohom sponsors receiving the honor of writing the final letters. A portion of the Torah was dedicated in memory of Jews who perished in the Holocaust or under the Communist regime in Russia or in Israel’s wars. At the Siyum Sefer Torah, many attendees put on tefillin, adding to the spirit of unity.

Following Hagbah and the singing of Sisu V’simchu, a lively procession began under a beautiful canopy, making its way from 824 Salem Ave. to the Bris Avrohom Shul. Singer Berel Zucker led heartfelt songs as the crowd danced through the closed-off streets.

Upon arrival, the new Sefer Torah was greeted by the 11 existing Sifrei Torah in the shul. Rabbi Kanelsky spoke about the significance of now having 12 Sifrei Torah—corresponding to the twelve tribes of Israel.

The celebration concluded with a lavish seudah enjoyed by all.

Rebbetzin Shterney Kanelsky worked tirelessly to coordinate the extensive preparations for the Siyum Sefer Torah, ensuring the celebration ran smoothly. Mr. Chesky Hirschfeld, manager of Bris Avrohom, expertly organized and arranged the beautiful event.

Of the Torah’s 304,805 letters, 30,000 have already been purchased. To acquire a letter for yourself or a loved one, please contact the Bris Avrohom office at 908‑289‑0770.

On 22 Av, August 5, 2026, as over 1,200 Jews glide up the palm-lined roads leading to Miami’s Trump National Doral Resort, the most dynamic program in the Jewish world will be waiting for them inside.

The National Jewish Retreat is returning to Miami this year with its boldest program yet—featuring a live historical drama, “Libel!” that pulls the audience into dynamic story-driven Torah study, concert and comedy by world renowned comedian Elon Gold

In five days and 150 workshops, many of the Jewish world’s most fascinating and respected speakers will lead workshops that pull back the curtain on the secrets of Judaism—and the universe itself.

Historian Dr. Henry Abramson will tell the story of the ancient Khazar Kingdom in “The Khazars and the Jews,” while Rabbi Yechiel Krisch explores the secrets of who your soul was before you were born in “Before I Was Me;” and Mrs. Rivkah Slonim, Rabbis Simon Jacobson, Yitzchak Schochet, Moshe Bryski, Yisroel Bernath, Dr. Edward Reichman, and Manis Friedman share Judaism’s most breathtaking insights on everything from the nature of the soul to beating antisemitism, AI, and what happens when a machine can carry a pregnancy to term.

“This is the only Jewish event today where a surgeon from Manhattan and a college student from Kansas can study Torah together at a live drama, with leading Rabbonim, and hear the kabbalistic secrets of their soul together, and sing together like old friends—all in one day,” says Rabbi Hesh Epstein, the National Jewish Retreat’s chairman. “You don’t go home the same after this.”

Held at one of America’s most iconic golf resorts, with a program that will effortlessly fill the Trump National Doral’s 24,079 sq. ft. Grand Ballroom, with gourmet food, live winetasting, art, and more—this year’s National Jewish Retreat is turning out to be a landmark cultural and spiritual event.

To join the National Jewish Retreat, or to learn more, visit jretreat.com.

Click Here to view the full National Jewish Retreat Highlight booklet.

Bais Habechira Video With Rabbi Chananya Hoffinger – Day #7

Today’s video goes through the basics of the Mizbeach; from the general size of the Mizbeach to the size of the ramp, from their combined size to the details of the foundation of the Mizbeach. You will also see the size of the Mizbeach relative to the area inside of 770.

Thursday’s raffle winners are:
$50 Judaica World gift card – Mushka Baumgarten
$36 Judaica World gift card – Levi Presman

Link to the quiz https://ispri.ng/VZ6rZ

Link to join the WhatsApp group https://chat.whatsapp.com/JWKXQK4ucWN2w7ObrYCgUG

Today’s class & prizes are sponsored by Heshy Hoffinger, לעילוי נשמת ברוריה בת חנניה

To dedicate a class and the prizes for $186 please email: [email protected]

This article is brought to you by the editorial team of JLI’s Living Jewish series, which has recently released The Complete Guide to Keeping Kosher, as previously reported on COLlive.

I’m away on summer vacation, hunting the local grocery aisles for a makeshift supper. Then I spot them in the freezer section: par-baked baguettes with a hechsher, the kind you finish in your own oven for ten minutes. I grab a pack before I notice that the hechsher doesn’t say whether it’s pas Yisrael. Does it need to be, or can I fix this myself?

Let’s first understand what makes bread pas Yisrael in the first place. Pas akum is bread baked by a non-Jew, which Chazal restricted to curb the socializing that comes from breaking bread together. If a Jew takes part in the baking by doing some minimal act that helps it along, the bread becomes pas Yisrael.

Classically that means lighting the oven, putting in the dough, raising the heat, or fanning the flames. With a modern oven it’s simpler: turning it on, adjusting the temperature, setting a timer, or closing the oven door all make the final product count as baked by a Jew.

So finishing my par-baked baguettes in the toaster oven we brought is fine, then?

Yes. Par-baked goods are usually baked to roughly 80 percent in the factory, then frozen before the bake is done. When you finish the last few minutes in your own oven, you’re completing the baking, and the baguettes come out pas Yisrael.

What about these burger buns that aren’t par-baked but would taste much better after a few minutes on the grill? Can a Jew toasting them further make them pas Yisrael****?

No. A Jew’s participation only counts while the bread is still not fully ready to eat. Throwing the buns on the grill makes them taste better, but it isn’t completing the baking, it’s reheating finished bread. Once bread is pas akum and fully baked, toasting won’t turn it into pas Yisrael.

That said, the hechsher not labelling them as pas Yisrael doesn’t necessarily mean they aren’t. Some products are pas Yisrael even when the packaging doesn’t say so. To help you identify them, kashrus agencies release annual lists of pas Yisrael products. The OU, Kof-K, cRc, and others post theirs online, and you can find them by searching “Pas Yisrael list.”

So check that list before you give up on those buns. They may be pas Yisrael after all.

If you have a question you’d like to submit, email us at [email protected].

Note: The Halachic rulings in this article were reviewed by Bais Hora’ah Chabad.

Iceland Gets Its First Jewish Center

by Shloimy Galperin – chabad.org

“We dreamed of this moment for years,” Rabbi Avraham Feldman told the crowd packed into the brand new center on July 7. “And now we are sitting in this dream that has become reality.”

The dream in question is the Beit Shvidler Jewish Center of Iceland, a 9,000-square-foot structure that opened that evening as the country’s first Jewish center and Jewish culture house. Three stories tall, its distinctive color and design makes the building a landmark and instantly recognizeable.

Jews have lived in Iceland for more than a century, but the community spent most of that time without a permanent rabbi or a synagogue of its own, an absence that set Reykjavik apart from every other capital in Europe.

That changed in 2018, when Rabbi Avraham and Mushky Feldman, moved to the city as Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries and opened Iceland’s first Jewish center. For the past eight years, the Jewish Community Iceland—Beit Tovah Chabad– the only active Jewish organization in the country– has been operating out of the Feldman’s home and temporary spaces. Until now.

Rabbi Avraham and Mushky Feldman. Israel Sudry

“The center is a home. It’s a place where you can walk through the door and feel comfortable,” Feldman said in his remarks. “Where you can simply be Jewish.”

Serving both Iceland’s local Jewish community and the Jewish travelers who pass through the country, the center will also have space for programming that the community’s previous, more limited quarters could not accommodate. It will house a Judaica and kosher store, as well as a stunning social hall for community events.

It is also designed to open outward: any Icelander curious about Jewish life can now walk in and encounter it directly. The center will host the Gallery of Jewish Life in Iceland, a new permanent exhibit that traces more than a hundred years of the island’s Jewish history through photographs and documents that, until now, had nowhere to be shown. Now, that history finally has a home.

“This is exactly the kind of place the Rebbe [Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory] envisioned when he spoke of ahavat yisrael, giving every Jew the chance to connect with and celebrate their Judaism.”

The distinctive 9,000-square-foot structure is the country’s first Jewish center and Jewish culture house. On top of hosting a Judaica and kosher store, as well as programming for the Jewish community, it will also host the Gallery of Jewish Life in Iceland, a new permanent exhibit inside the center that traces more than a hundred years of the island’s Jewish history. Israel Sudry

A Country-Wide Celebration

Jón Gnarr, Reykjavik’s former mayor and now a member of the Icelandic Parliament, used his remarks to talk about the country’s debts to its Jewish community, and the Jewish authors he has been influenced by. He described the new center as “a living bridge, connecting cultures, dispelling ignorance, and fostering dialogue and understanding.”

“Many Jews in Iceland have felt hesitant to say out loud that they’re Jewish,” Gnarr said. “That’s why education and dialogue are key.”

Acting U.S. Ambassador Joanie Simon, Rabbi Mendy Kotlarsky, community member Patrick Sulem and Mushky Feldman also addressed the gathering, while cantor Aryeh Leib Hurwitz brought the sound of traditional chazzanut into a room that had never held it before.

Patrick Sulem addresses the celebration.

The opening drew recognition from the highest levels of Icelandic government.

Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir, a guest of Jewish community events in the past, sent a letter describing the center as “an important milestone for the Jewish community and for Icelandic society,” and expressed hope for “continued cooperation between the Jewish community and the Government of Iceland.” Þórunn Sveinbjarnardóttir, Speaker of Althingi (parliament), wrote separately to recognize the occasion.

The evening closed with thanks to the donors whose generosity built the center, among them Eugene Shvidler, whose vision, leadership and generosity helped propel the center from an idea into a building people could actually walk into and celebrate Jewish life, philanthropists Isaac and Tovah Cohen, George and Pamela Rohr, The Shmuel Isaac and Miriam Popack Foundation and Dovid and Rivka Feldman.

“Together,” Rabbi Feldman told the room, “we are writing the Icelandic chapter in the story of the Jewish people.”

Here’s My Story: Warning! Your Blessing is Overdue

Mr. Avrohom Procel

Click here for a PDF version of this edition of Here’s My Story, or visit the My Encounter Blog.

I was born and raised in Melbourne, Australia, where my parents settled after World War Two. My father was a Holocaust survivor from Poland, while my mother emigrated from Egypt, which was then a British protectorate. Although both originally came from religious homes, they were not Torah observant, but they had strong Jewish identities.
In 1966, as my Bar Mitzvah drew near, they moved from West Preston, a predominantly non-Jewish suburb of Melbourne, to the more Jewish East St. Kilda. They did this just so that I could attend the Chabad school there and learn a little about Judaism. However, I took what I learned very seriously and, while this was not their intention, I ultimately became fully religious, as did the rest of my family.

After high school, I was accepted into the dentistry school at Melbourne University, but what I really wanted to do was study Torah at Chabad’s Yeshivah Gedolah. My parents were initially worried that I would squander a great opportunity for a higher education and a lucrative profession, but they agreed to a short deferment, and I got to learn Torah for one more year before going on to university. Incidentally, I never did become a dentist; instead, I became a fundraiser for the Yeshivah Gedolah. I like to joke that I do extractions of a different nature — pulling money out of people instead of teeth.

During the years that followed, I became a true Chabad chasid and I visited New York a number of times to see the Rebbe — I merited four private audiences with him between 1973 and 1980. But the story I’d like to relate here is what happened in 1983 while my wife, Gita, was pregnant with our second child.

Our first child, Yossi, had been delivered by C-section, what we call a Cesarean in Australia. Afterwards, the doctor told us that once you had a Cesarean, every subsequent delivery will have to be by Cesarean, which can only be done a maximum of four or five times.

Naturally, my wife and I were not happy about this news. We sought a second opinion from another obstetrician, who told us that this didn’t necessarily need to be the case. Natural delivery might be possible after all, depending on the circumstances.
When my wife became pregnant for the second time, the pregnancy proceeded normally. However, when she was ten days overdue, the doctor said that this situation could not continue. The baby was getting bigger, which meant that the chances of normal delivery were diminishing by the day. It was a Thursday, and he booked an operating room for a Cesarean on the following Tuesday.

That Thursday night, I called New York and spoke with the Rebbe’s secretary, Rabbi Binyomin Klein. I wanted him to ask the Rebbe two things — should my wife proceed with the Cesarean, and should I proceed with a tonsillectomy to remedy a recurring infection that was not responding to antibiotics.

The next day, Friday, I called Rabbi Klein again numerous times to see if there was an answer from the Rebbe. But the phone was constantly busy. I did not manage to get through until Sunday, when Rabbi Klein informed me that he had an answer from the Rebbe. The Rebbe gave us blessings but he had responded to my two questions in completely different ways. And as he often did, the Rebbe wrote in shorthand so Rabbi Klein needed to explain his words to me.

As far as the tonsillectomy, the Rebbe answered that we should act “according to the advice of the doctor.” As far as the Cesarean, the Rebbe answered, “meanwhile the Nine Days.”

We were about to start the “Nine Days” — the period of mourning for the destruction of Jerusalem which begins on the first day of the Hebrew month of Av, and which culminates on the ninth of Av — known as Tisha B’Av — the terrible date on the Jewish calendar when both the First Temple and Second Temple were destroyed by invaders. Rabbi Klein explained that the Rebbe meant that the “Nine Days” are not a good time for operations, so we should wait until they are over.

I called the doctor on Monday and informed him that I had consulted the Rebbe and he had advised to postpone the Cesarean. Both my wife and I agreed on this. Although we realized that we were putting both my wife’s life and our baby’s life on the line by listening to the Rebbe and not to the doctor, we trusted the Rebbe one hundred percent.

The doctor was very respectful of our decision, but he also said that if the baby goes into distress, it would not be possible to wait until after Tisha B’Av since, in any case, the birth was already almost three weeks overdue.

As it happened, our daughter, Rivki, was born totally naturally on the following Sunday, the seventh of Av, during the “Nine Days.” (In hindsight, I realized that the Rebbe’s words could also be understood as an allusion to this: There was no need for the Cesarean because the baby would be born meanwhile, during the “Nine Days”!)

Afterwards, the doctor said, “I want to tell you something which I didn’t tell you before. When your wife’s labor started last night, I was ninety percent sure we would be doing a Cesarean and I acted accordingly, but somehow things turned around overnight.”

The anesthetist told us something similar. He said our doctor had booked him in for the Cesarean, and then he was amazed to hear that the Cesarean had been canceled. He had never had anything like that happen before.

A few days later, I went to the hospital for my tonsillectomy.

Rivki grew up happy and healthy and is now a Rebbetzin, serving the community of Central Shule Chabad of Melbourne, alongside her husband, Rabbi Shmuel Karnowsky. As for my wife, in the years that followed — thanks to the Rebbe’s blessing — she delivered eight more children, all of them naturally.

Mr. Avrohom Procel serves as executive director of the Rabbinical College of Australia and New Zealand (Yeshivah Gedolah – Melbourne). He was interviewed in July 2016.

Nearly two years have passed since the passing of Mrs. Chaya Sofer obm, yet the light she brought into the world continues to illuminate the lives of those who encountered her.

Some people leave behind memories. Others leave behind a mission.

Chaya Sofer a”h belonged to the second kind.

For years, she served as a devoted midwife, accompanying mothers through one of the most profound moments in life. Bringing Jewish children into the world was never simply her profession—it was her shlichus.

Every birth was approached with warmth. Every mother with dignity. Every family with genuine care.

Yet perhaps the greatest expression of her strength emerged during the most difficult chapter of her own life.

For more than six years, Chaya courageously battled cancer.

It was a journey marked by pain and difficult treatments, yet she refused to let illness define who she was.

Those around her rarely saw the depth of her suffering.

Instead, they saw a woman whose smile never disappeared, whose emunah remained unshaken, and whose first instinct was always to strengthen someone else.

During those years, Chaya recorded a series of deeply personal podcast episodes.

With remarkable honesty, warmth and wisdom, she spoke about emunah, family, gratitude and discovering Hashem’s presence even in life’s greatest challenges.

Rather than asking why difficult things happen, she taught how to live with purpose through them.

One of those conversations became especially memorable. Every Chossid knows the Rebbe’s timeless words: “Tracht Gut Vet Zein Gut.” “Think good, and it will be good.”

Chaya gently added her own perspective. “Think Good. Now Is Good.”

Not because life had suddenly become easy. Not because the pain disappeared. But because she believed that even in the midst of challenge, one can discover the goodness Hashem has already placed in the present moment.

It was more than a sentence. It became the way she lived.

During Aseres Yemei Teshuvah 5784, COLlive featured an interview with Chaya in which readers were given a glimpse into that extraordinary perspective and unwavering faith.

There is another reason why this particular project carries such deep meaning. Long before Chaya became known as a devoted midwife and a source of strength, she was a young girl growing up in the Chabad community of Lod, Eretz Yisroel.

Her father, Harav Jurkowicz, has served for many years as the Mara D’Asra of the Chabad community there.

Lod is where Chaya grew up, where her values and emunah were nurtured, and where her lifelong connection to the Chabad community began.

Following her marriage, Chaya and her family made their home in Crown Heights, where they lived throughout the final six years of her life. It was there that she continued raising her family, fulfilled her shlichus as a midwife, and shared words of inspiration that continue to resonate long after her passing.

As construction continues on the new Chabad Women’s Mikvah in Lod, the Sofer family has established a personal fundraising campaign within the broader building project.

Their goal is to dedicate Chaya Sofer’s annual yahrtzeit so that every year, on the date of her yahrtzeit, the day’s immersions in the new mikvah will be dedicated in her memory.

For years, Chaya devoted her life to accompanying Jewish mothers at the very moment new life entered the world.

Today, her family hopes to connect her memory with one of the most fundamental mitzvos upon which every Jewish home is built—taharas hamishpacha.

Their vision is that each year, on her yahrtzeit, a day of taharah, tefillah and kedushah will forever be associated with Chaya’s precious neshama.

It is a mission that will continue year after year.

The Sofer family warmly invites friends, Anash and the wider Jewish community to become partners in this meaningful initiative.

Every contribution toward this personal campaign helps bring this vision closer to reality.

Those who are unable to participate financially can become partners by sharing the campaign with friends, family and others who may wish to take part in this special zechus.

Sometimes, a single shared message reaches exactly the person it was meant to reach.

Supporting from Outside Israel

The donation page is in Hebrew. With today’s translation tools, the process is simple for English-speaking donors.
When asked to enter an Israeli ID number, donors outside Israel may simply enter any sequence of nine digits (for example *123456789* or *000000000*) and continue with the donation.

Click here to participate in Chaya’s memory: https://donext.co.il/public-screen/201?fundraiser=3698

LAST CALL: Final Opportunity to Join the Taharas Habayis Chosson Teacher Training Cohort

The final call has arrived. Registration is now closing for the newest Taharas Habayis Chosson Teacher Training Cohort, and this is the last opportunity for Rabbonim, mashpi’im, and qualified yungerleit to join this unique program dedicated to preparing the next generation of Chassidishe chosson teachers.

With communities around the world experiencing a growing need for knowledgeable and well-trained madrichei chassanim, the Taharas Habayis program has become a trusted address for comprehensive, practical, and halachically rigorous training. Participants receive in-depth instruction from leading Rabbonim and experienced educators, equipping them to guide chassanim with clarity, sensitivity, and confidence.

The program was launched with words of inspiration and guidance from Rabbi Sholom Ber Chaikin , senior Chabad Rav and veteran chosson teacher of Cleveland, who emphasized the tremendous responsibility and privilege of helping establish Jewish homes built on the foundations of Torah, halacha, and kedusha. Throughout the course, participants benefit from practical insight, real-life guidance, and a structured curriculum designed specifically for today’s needs.

The initiative has also received the strong endorsement of Rabbi Yosef Yeshaya Braun , Mara D’Asra of Crown Heights and member of the Badatz, who praised the importance of properly training those entrusted with teaching these vital halachos.

Applications are now in their final hours. Those who have been considering becoming a certified chosson teacher are encouraged not to delay. Once registration closes, the next opportunity may not be available for some time.

To reserve your place in this cohort and take part in this important mission of strengthening Yiddishe homes, register now as enrollment is about to close! TaharasHabayis.org/apply

With a renewed sense of achrayus for the future of Chassidishe homes, Machon Taharas Habayis welcomed a new cohort of aspiring Madrichei Chassanim as the latest Chosson Teacher Training Course officially got underway.

The evening was opened by Machon director Rabbi Menachem Mendel Yusewitz, who welcomed the participants and spoke about the tremendous zechus and responsibility entrusted to those preparing the next generation of Chassanim.

The keynote address was delivered by Rabbi Sholom Ber Chaikin, senior Chabad Rav of Cleveland, Ohio, veteran Chosson teacher, and the longtime Rav of Mikvah.org. Together with the Crown Heights Badatz, Rabbi Chaikin has been one of the visionaries behind Machon Taharas Habayis, working tirelessly to raise the standards of Taharas Hamishpacha in the Rebbe’s shechunah and throughout the wider Lubavitch community.

Drawing upon decades of experience, Rabbi Chaikin shared the tremendous responsibility and privilege of serving as a Madrich Chosson, while offering practical guidance, valuable insights, and critical perspectives from the field. His heartfelt words inspired the participants as they embarked on this important shlichus of helping establish Batei Yisroel on the foundations of Torah, Halacha, and Chassidus.

The course then began with its opening segment, led by Rabbi Yitzchok Meir Einstein, who introduced the participants to the יסודות of preparing Chassanim with clarity, sensitivity, and dedication to Halacha. This was all brought together by Rabbi Chananya Hoffinger with Rabbi Yossi Overlander working tirelessly on preparing the course.

The launch comes following the enthusiastic endorsement of Mara D’Asra Rabbi Yosef Yeshaya Braun, who recently reviewed the curriculum and expressed deep admiration for the program. Reflecting on the immense responsibility of teaching Hilchos Taharah, Rabbi Braun became visibly emotional, praising the way the material was carefully organized and brought to life in a practical and relatable manner for both teachers and talmidim.

As another group of dedicated Rabbonim prepares to become certified Madrichei Chassanim, Machon Taharas Habayis continues its mission of strengthening the kedusha of the Yiddishe home, ensuring that every Chosson enters marriage equipped with the Halachos, Hashkafos, and guidance necessary to build a true Bayis Ne’eman B’Yisroel.

For more info, see: TaharasHabayis.org/apply

Is This Heaven? No, It’s Iowa: Bettendorf Teen Completes Entire Talmud

chabad.org

Yossi Cadaner, 17, grew up amid the peaceful cornfields of flyover country.

Heaven? No, Iowa—Bettendorf to be exact. Located on the Iowa-Illinois border, Bettendorf is smack dab between Chicago to the east and Postville to the west.

But Iowa is also famously the place where dreams come true. And for Yossi that meant studying all 2,711 pages of the Babylonian Talmud, a feat he completed this week in at the Chicago Mesivta, where he is currently a student.

His parents, Rabbi Shneur and Chana Cadaner, established Chabad-Lubavitch of Quad Cities in 2005 to serve the small pockets of Jews sprinkled across Davenport and Bettendorf west of the Mississippi, and Rock Island, Moline, and East Moline on the eastern side.

Like many smaller communities in the Midwest, a century ago the area was home to a thriving Jewish community with as many as eight Orthodox synagogues. There were Torah scholars, Chassidim, kosher butchers and every other amenity needed for Jewish life. Everything, that is, aside from a Jewish day school. That historic lack of Jewish education meant that by the time the Cadaners arrived, things had dwindled to the point that there were just two congregations, one Conservative and one Reform.

Despite there being only an estimated 1,000 Jewish souls between all five cities, the Cadaners have made it a point to provide a full Jewish experience with services on Shabbat and Sunday, a just-completed mikvah, programs for men and for women, Torah classes and a Hebrew school.

As a boy in Bettendorf, Yossi was drawn to study and committed the entire Tanya—spanning 53 chapters—to memory shortly after his bar mitzvah. Growing up with virtually no observant peers, Yossi excelled at his Judaic studies at the Nigri Shluchim Online School, where he developed the base for his Talmudic pursuits.

In a world full of distractions that too often capture the attention of young minds, the Cadaners work hard to ensure the computers and other devices in their home are used only as educational tools. This helped Yossi develop his discipline, focus and love for learning. That’s not to say he isn’t a regular teenage boy with different hobbies and interests. Yossi loves sports and music, among other things, but a healthy approach to technology helped shape him.

For eighth grade, he left home for Chicago, about a three-hour drive away, where he was finally in a brick-and-mortar school. Ready and motivated to be learning in person with yeshivah students his own age, Yossi enjoyed the transition. It was as an eighth-grader that he began learning Talmud voraciously.

Yossi Cadaner speaks at the celebration honoring his acomplishment of studying all 2,711 pages of the Babylonian Talmud.

And, as they might say in Iowa, if you build it….

“Whenever Yossi comes home, he sits and learns Talmud,” attests Rabbi Cadaner, “sometimes three or four hours in a row. There are not many people to learn with here, so he’s often learning by himself.”

For the past three years, Yossi has been a student at Yeshivas Ohr Eliyahu-Lubavitch Mesivta of Chicago. And now just weeks from graduating high school, his classmates joined him for a grand celebration: the completion of all 2,711 double-sided pages that make up the Babylonian Talmud.

“I had no idea that Yossi was even planning to finish the Talmud,” says Rabbi Cadaner. “It was his classmates who let me know that the milestone was approaching and his teacher who suggested that we come to Chicago to celebrate the accomplishment at a grand event.”

And a grand event it was. In addition to his parents and younger siblings, Yossi was also joined by his grandfather, Rabbi Shlomo Bendet, an educator from St. Paul, Minn., as well as Mesivta staff.

Yossi’s siyum was the fifth such accomplishment celebrated at the Mesivta in recent years, a testament to the school’s efforts to nurture and guide each student to maximize his potential. Yet, Mestiva staff work hard to make each siyum unique, as befitting the herculean accomplishment they celebrate.

The Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory, would often call for increased Torah study and continual growth in learning. In a pastoral letter addressed to the Jewish community at the conclusion of the High Holiday season in 1984, the Rebbe addressed perceived individual boundaries in Torah study. The Rebbe encouraged all Jewish men and women to systematically add new, challenging periods of study:

“…a suggestion and urgent appeal to all of you, men and women… To take upon yourselves… new (additional) shiurim (regular study periods) in Torah, each one on his/her level; especially those who do not yet have any regular Torah study periods…As for those who, seemingly, have a full schedule of Torah shiurim, surely they will wish to fulfill the rule of ma’alin b’Kodesh (matters of holiness should be on the ascendancy), which (also) implies ascendancy to an ever higher level in the quality of Torah comprehension, in greater depth and with greater enthusiasm, vitality and joy.

“We are all interconnected,” explains Yossi. “When one person pushes himself to do a bit more than he would have otherwise, others will do the same, and they will then have an effect on even more people, ultimately raising the bar for the entire Jewish people. Every person can achieve and every person can influence others in his or her own way.”

Community Board 9 Seeks Resident Committee Members – Applications Open Through July 22

Residents of Crown Heights and the surrounding Brooklyn Community District 9 have an opportunity to play a more active role in shaping the future of our neighborhood. Brooklyn Community Board 9 is now accepting applications for Committee Resident Members, with applications due Wednesday, July 22, 2026, at 12:00 PM.

Committee Resident Members serve alongside Community Board members on committees that address many of the issues affecting daily life in our neighborhood, including housing, transportation, public safety, parks, economic development, environmental protection, youth services, health, education, and land use. Committee meetings are open to the public, and Resident Members are appointed to participate in the committee’s work and, under CB9’s bylaws, are voting members within their assigned committee.

This is an excellent opportunity for community-minded residents to ensure that the voices and concerns of the Crown Heights Jewish community are represented when important neighborhood issues are discussed. Committee recommendations often help shape the Community Board’s positions on local developments, city services, transportation projects, public safety concerns, and other matters that directly impact residents. While Resident Members do not vote at full Community Board meetings, their participation at the committee level plays an important role in developing recommendations and informing Board decisions.

Applicants will be asked to rank their first, second, and third committee preferences. Placement is based on committee needs, and applicants may not receive their first choice. Because committee members count toward quorum, those appointed are expected to attend meetings regularly. Committee Chairs may remove members for unsatisfactory attendance, though Resident Members are welcome to attend meetings of any committee as observers.

Community Board 9 encourages residents from across the district to get involved and help strengthen the community through civic engagement.

Application Deadline: Wednesday, July 22, 2026, at 12:00 PM

Resident Member Application: https://forms.gle/njibcExmwnkN3sds6

Every day after school, in cities and towns across the world, children walk through the doors of a CKids Afterschool program and into a space built for one purpose: to make Torah learning and Yiddishkeit part of their everyday lives.

For many of these children, this is their primary connection to Jewish life. Their days are spent in public school, typically with little exposure to their heritage. But each afternoon, they step into a structured environment away from the noise of the world, where they have an opportunity to learn about Judaism, build friendships with Jewish peers, and develop pride in who they are.

“In today’s world, every Jewish child must have access to a robust Jewish education,” says Rabbi Mendy Kotlarsky, Executive Director of Merkos 302 and Chairman of CKids International. “There’s no substitute for daily exposure to Yiddishkeit, daily reinforcement of their identity, and connection to Hashem.”

In an effort to bring that vision to life, Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky OBM stood at the Kinus HaShluchos two years ago and announced a bold goal: to establish 100 CKids Afterschool programs, where children would learn Torah and live their Yiddishkeit four days a week instead of just at Hebrew School once a week. It was Rabbi Moshe Kotlasky’s last Kinus address ever. “And in just two years,” shares Rabbi Mendy Kotlarsky, “boruch Hashem, we’re nearly a third of the way to that original goal.”

What began as a pilot program has quickly grown into a network serving more than 1,500 children in over 30 CKids Afterschool programs worldwide, with over a million dollars invested to date. From New York to Stockholm, from Johannesburg to Vancouver, children are taking time after regular school hours to bolster their Yiddishkeit. They’re learning Torah, doing mitzvos, and growing up proud to be Jewish, all week long.

Mrs. Chaya Rosenfeld of Chabad of Vancouver, British Columbia, recalled how a student from the local public school joined the afterschool program and became close friends with her daughters.
Soon, the girl was joining the family for Shabbos meals and participating in bas mitzvah classes. As she grew more connected to Jewish life, her parents also began building relationships within the community.

“What started as an afterschool activity became something much bigger,” Mrs. Rosenfeld said. “The friendship helped an entire family feel at home in Jewish life.”

Similar stories are unfolding in communities around the world. Now, six shluchim have been selected as new recipients of the CKids Afterschool Program Grant, joining the growing network of communities creating new opportunities for Jewish learning and connection.

As the Jewish community marks the 50th anniversary of the Rebbe’s landmark Mivtza Chinuch initiative, expanding access to Torah learning and engagement has never felt more urgent. The Rebbe consistently championed the need to elevate the prestige of Jewish education.

“No more once-a-week Judaism,” says Rabbi Zalman Loewenthal, Director of CKids and Associate Director of the Chinuch Office of Merkos L’Inyonei Chinuch. “A child learning secular studies every day needs to know that Judaism doesn’t live in the shadow of secular education.”

“For young couples looking for their makom hashlichus, afterschool is the new frontier,” says Loewenthal. “It’s a full-fledged shlichus opportunity in hundreds of Chabad houses around the world.”

The new CKids Afterschool grant recipients include:
Rabbi Mendel and Peri Raichik – Chabad Israeli Center, Houston, TX
Rabbi Yisroel and Chanale Cotlar – Chabad of Cary, NC
Rabbi Yudi and Chana Eisenbach – Chabad Israeli Center of Fair Lawn, NJ
Rabbi Eliyahu Nachum and Tzivia Block – Chabad Center for Jewish Life & Learning, San Antonio, TX
Rabbi Sholom and Sarale Posner – Chabad of Rancho Mirage, CA
Rabbi Moshe Dovid and Chaya Rochel Cohen – Chabad of Manchester, UK

Grants Expand CKids Afterschool Programs To Six New Locations Making Jewish Education Accessible For All

Across 30+ cities worldwide, CKids Afterschool programs offer over 1,500 Jewish public school children a daily home for Torah learning and Jewish pride. 

Every day after school, in cities and towns across the world, children walk through the doors of a CKids Afterschool program and into a space built for one purpose: to make Torah learning and Yiddishkeit part of their everyday lives. 

For many of these children, this is their primary connection to Jewish life. Their days are spent in public school, typically with little exposure to their heritage. But each afternoon, they step into a structured environment away from the noise of the world, where they have an opportunity to learn about Judaism, build friendships with Jewish peers, and develop pride in who they are. 

“In today’s world, every Jewish child must have access to a robust Jewish education,” says Rabbi Mendy Kotlarsky, Executive Director of Merkos 302 and Chairman of CKids International. “There’s no substitute for daily exposure to Yiddishkeit, daily reinforcement of their identity, and connection to Hashem.” 

In an effort to bring that vision to life, Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky OBM stood at the Kinus HaShluchos two years ago and announced a bold goal: to establish 100 CKids Afterschool programs, where children would learn Torah and live their Yiddishkeit four days a week instead of just at Hebrew School once a week. It was Rabbi Moshe Kotlasky’s last Kinus address ever. “And in just two years,” shares Rabbi Mendy Kotlarsky, “boruch Hashem, we’re nearly a third of the way to that original goal.”  

What began as a pilot program has quickly grown into a network serving more than 1,500 children in over 30 CKids Afterschool programs worldwide, with over a million dollars invested to date. From New York to Stockholm, from Johannesburg to Vancouver, children are taking time after regular school hours to bolster their Yiddishkeit. They’re learning Torah, doing mitzvos, and growing up proud to be Jewish, all week long. 

Mrs. Chaya Rosenfeld of Chabad of Vancouver, British Columbia, recalled how a student from the local public school joined the afterschool program and became close friends with her daughters. 

Soon, the girl was joining the family for Shabbos meals and participating in bas mitzvah classes. As she grew more connected to Jewish life, her parents also began building relationships within the community.

“What started as an afterschool activity became something much bigger,” Mrs. Rosenfeld said. “The friendship helped an entire family feel at home in Jewish life.”

Similar stories are unfolding in communities around the world. Now, six shluchim have been selected as new recipients of the CKids Afterschool Program Grant, joining the growing network of communities creating new opportunities for Jewish learning and connection. 

As the Jewish community marks the 50th anniversary of the Rebbe’s landmark Mivtza Chinuch initiative, expanding access to Torah learning and engagement has never felt more urgent. The Rebbe consistently championed the need to elevate the prestige of Jewish education.

“No more once-a-week Judaism,” says Rabbi Zalman Loewenthal, Director of CKids and Associate Director of the Chinuch Office of Merkos L’Inyonei Chinuch. “A child learning secular studies every day needs to know that Judaism doesn’t live in the shadow of secular education.” 

“For young couples looking for their makom hashlichus, afterschool is the new frontier,” says Loewenthal. “It’s a full-fledged shlichus opportunity in hundreds of Chabad houses around the world.” 

The new CKids Afterschool grant recipients include:

• Rabbi Mendel and Peri Raichik – Chabad Israeli Center, Houston, TX
• Rabbi Yisroel and Chanale Cotlar – Chabad of Cary, NC
• Rabbi Yudi and Chana Eisenbach – Chabad Israeli Center of Fair Lawn, NJ
• Rabbi Eliyahu Nachum and Tzivia Block – Chabad Center for Jewish Life & Learning, San Antonio, TX
• Rabbi Sholom and Sarale Posner – Chabad of Rancho Mirage, CA
• Rabbi Moshe Dovid and Chaya Rochel Cohen – Chabad of Manchester, UK

Born without legs, Rivky Holtzberg has built a life defined by resilience, independence, and unwavering faith. Raised in a Chabad family, she credits her parents with instilling the confidence to embrace challenges rather than be limited by them.

Despite growing up in schools that often lacked accessibility, Rivky refused to let obstacles define her. Today, she works full-time in marketing, runs her own party planning company, drives independently using adapted vehicles, and continues to pursue her goals with determination.

At the heart of her life is her family’s Chabad shlichus. Together, they welcome and host approximately 200 people each week, creating a warm, vibrant community where Rivky plays an active role. Her commitment to hospitality and Jewish outreach reflects the values of kindness, service, and faith that have shaped her life.

Rivky also speaks candidly about the challenges of dating while living with a disability, noting that she hopes people will look beyond appearances to appreciate who she is. Through it all, she remains optimistic, drawing strength from her faith, her family, and her belief that every challenge carries purpose.

Supporters of the Yaldei Shluchei HaRebbe organization, a division of Merkos Suite 302, gathered for their annual men’s BBQ at The Arches in Brooklyn.

Guests enjoyed a delicious barbeque spread and Kumzitz by superstar Chasidic singer Avraham Fried in support of children of Shluchim who have special needs. Speaking at the event were Yaldei director Dovid Leib Shur, Rabbi Ari Shishler and Rabbi Mendy Kotlarsky, Director of Merkos 302.

Yaldei Shluchei HaRebbe supports and assists Shluchim who are raising children with special needs, so the Shluchim can focus their energy on spreading the light of Torah and Yiddishkeit in their communities.

The final call has arrived. Registration is now closing for the newest Taharas Habayis Chosson Teacher Training Cohort, and this is the last opportunity for Rabbonim, mashpi’im, and qualified yungerleit to join this unique program dedicated to preparing the next generation of Chassidishe chosson teachers.

With communities around the world experiencing a growing need for knowledgeable and well-trained madrichei chassanim, the Taharas Habayis program has become a trusted address for comprehensive, practical, and halachically rigorous training. Participants receive in-depth instruction from leading Rabbonim and experienced educators, equipping them to guide chassanim with clarity, sensitivity, and confidence.

The program was launched with words of inspiration and guidance from Rabbi Sholom Ber Chaikin, senior Chabad Rav and veteran chosson teacher of Cleveland, who emphasized the tremendous responsibility and privilege of helping establish Jewish homes built on the foundations of Torah, halacha, and kedusha. Throughout the course, participants benefit from practical insight, real-life guidance, and a structured curriculum designed specifically for today’s needs.

The initiative has also received the strong endorsement of Rabbi Yosef Yeshaya Braun, Mara D’Asra of Crown Heights and member of the Badatz, who praised the importance of properly training those entrusted with teaching these vital halachos.

Applications are now in their final hours. Those who have been considering becoming a certified chosson teacher are encouraged not to delay. Once registration closes, the next opportunity may not be available for some time.

To reserve your place in this cohort and take part in this important mission of strengthening Yiddishe homes, register now as enrollment is about to close! TaharasHabayis.org/apply

For Sophie Bassman, the numbers tell only part of the story.

Yes, the CKids division at Camp Balaton has more than doubled since last summer. Yes, it is now topping 65 campers. And yes, the full camp has grown into a 100-plus camper lakefront experience, with children and teens spending their summer surrounded by friends, counselors, Shabbos, learning, trips, sports, and proud Yiddishkeit.

But for Sophie, the real story is what those numbers feel like on the ground.

It is standing on the campgrounds near Lake Balaton and realizing that a vision that once felt ambitious is now full of real children, real families, real bunks, real staff, and real impact.

It is seeing a camper who may have only known Yiddishkeit from a local Chabad program suddenly living it all day long. Davening with friends. Singing at a Shabbos table. Running to activities with Jewish kids from other cities and countries. Looking around and feeling, maybe for the first time, “This is mine.”

And it is knowing that the work is no longer happening in isolation.

Behind the calls to parents, the planning, the staff meetings, the late nights, the logistics, and the endless effort to bring one more child to camp, there is now support. There is a strategy. There is a network that understands what Shluchim are trying to build and is stepping in to help make it happen.

The CKids grant has made that difference felt in a very practical way.

For many families, camp is not a simple yes. There are costs. There are questions. There is hesitation. The grant gives Shluchim and Shluchos a way to move the conversation forward. It helps turn “we’ll think about it” into “we’re signing up.”

At Camp Balaton, that shift has been clear.

“This grant has been a real catalyst for the growth of our CKids division,” said Rabbi Tzemmy Bassman. “We are deeply grateful to George and Pamela Rohr for their vision and generosity, and to Rabbi Mendy Kotlarsky and Rabbi Zalmy Lowenthal of CKids for understanding what Shluchim need on the ground and becoming that partner. Their support is helping us reach more children here in Hungary, and it is strengthening the work of Shluchim around the world.”

That partnership is exactly what makes the growth feel so meaningful.

Camp Balaton did not grow because of one flyer, one phone call, or one program. It grew because local shlichus met real backing. A beautiful lakefront campsite. A team on the ground. Families who were ready. Children who needed the next step. And a grant that helped open the door.

For the CKids campers, that next step matters.

These are children connected through Chabad Houses, Hebrew Schools, holiday programs, Gan Izzy day camps, and local peulos. Many already have a spark. Camp gives that spark room to grow. It gives them friends. It gives them memories. It gives them a summer where Yiddishkeit is not something they visit once a week, but something they live.

That is why Sophie sees this summer as more than camp growth.

More campers means more families reached. More children walking into Shabbos with confidence. More young Jews coming home with songs, stories, friendships, and a stronger sense of who they are.

When there is a big vision, and direct support is placed into the hands of the Shluchim and Shluchos doing the work, great things happen.

At Camp Balaton, you can see it.

You can see it in the doubled CKids enrollment.

You can see it in the energy across the lakefront campus.

And most of all, you can see it in the children.

For years, Cary, North Carolina, has been one of the fastest-growing and most family-friendly communities in America.

Nestled between Raleigh and Durham, Western Wake County has become known for beautiful neighborhoods, excellent schools, strong economic opportunity, and a quality of life that continues to attract families from across the country.

But something else has been growing here too.

Jewish life.

A frum traveler passing through North Carolina on business walks into Chabad of Cary on Shabbos morning, expecting to find a small minyan in a quiet storefront.

Instead, he opens the door and is greeted by the smell of cholent, the sound of spirited conversation, children running in and out, and a room filled with fifty or more mispallelim.

For a moment, he pauses.

“Where am I?”

This is not Long Island.
This is not Atlanta.
This is not Houston.

This is Cary, North Carolina — a suburban town in an area with no long history of Jewish life.

And yet, something remarkable is happening.

Originally founded by Rabbi Aaron and Leah Herman, Chabad of Cary has been led for the past sixteen years by Rabbi Yisroel and Chana Cotlar. What began as a modest small town Chabad presence has grown into a thriving center serving Cary, Morrisville, Apex, Holly Springs, and the greater Western Wake region.

Today, close to 100 children are enrolled in Hebrew School, ka”h. Multiple shiurim take place every week. Yomim Tovim and community programs regularly fill beyond capacity. Shabbos mornings are alive with davening, Kiddush, and a lively Parsha discussion that often continues long after davening has ended.

But the numbers only tell part of the story.

Slowly, quietly, something deeper is being built: a real culture of Torah life in a place where many would never have expected it.

In the last six months alone, five Jewish families have moved specifically to be within walking distance of the future shul. More homes are being kashered. Teenagers are seeking deeper connection. Several young people who first became involved through Chabad of Cary have gone on to Lubavitch mosdos and are today living fully observant Jewish lives.

Because Cary is only minutes from RDU Airport, there is also a steady flow of Jewish travelers who unexpectedly discover a warm meal, a place to daven, and a Jewish home away from home.

Over the years, many groups of Lubavitcher girls have come to Cary for a year of shlichus. Many describe it as one of the most transformative experiences of their lives — learning what it means to build Jewish life from the ground up, one family, one mitzvah, and one neshama at a time.

The Farmer Who Found His Jewish Home
Recently, “Murray”* — a North Carolina farmer for decades — found his way to Chabad of Cary.

Like many Jews living in smaller communities, his connection to Yiddishkeit had slowly drifted over the years. But when a Chabad of Cary family moved into his neighborhood, he was drawn to the warmth of their home, their Sukkah, their kosher kitchen, and the visible pride with which they lived as Jews.

He soon asked to join them at Chabad.

Today, he puts on tefillin every single day. After reading a book about the Rebbe, he asked Rabbi Cotlar for a picture of the Rebbe to hang in his home.

“This is the first time in my life,” he said quietly, “that I’ve found my Jewish home.”

Think about that.

A Jewish man, with a precious neshama and generations of Jewish heritage behind him, lived most of his life without ever experiencing that feeling — even after years in larger Jewish cities.

And then, in a storefront in Cary, North Carolina, he found it.

Building the Future
After nearly a decade of planning, dreaming, perseverance, and countless small miracles, construction is finishing up on the Mendel Jewish Center — a permanent 13,000-square-foot home for Jewish life in Cary/Morrisville, at the heart of the community it serves.

Named in memory of Mendel Cotlar, a special young bochur whose life continues to inspire kindness & gratitude the center is being designed as a true Jewish community hub. Mendel’s legacy continues to inspire the values that define this growing community: seeing every bracha as a gift and every Jewish soul as precious.

The new center will include:

• A spacious permanent shul
• Expanded Hebrew School and CKids facilities
• A dedicated CTeen lounge
• Community gathering and learning spaces
• Kosher Dining for locals and travelers
• A future community mikvah

This is not a project being carried by one major donor.

There was no single multi-million-dollar gift leading the charge. Instead, hundreds of local families, friends, supporters, and people who believe in this shlichus have helped bring the campaign to nearly five million dollars raised.

Now, the finish line is in sight. Construction is nearing completion. The dream is becoming real.

But funds are still urgently needed to complete key portions of the building, furnish the new spaces, and bring the vision fully to life.

The next “Murray” is already out there somewhere.

The next child who will discover the beauty of Yiddishkeit is waiting.

The next family searching for a Jewish home may be only a few miles away.

And the infrastructure to reach them is being built right now.

We are turning to Anash, friends, supporters, and all those who believe in the power of shlichus in places like Cary, North Carolina — including those who know the Shluchim personally — to please partner with us in completing the Mendel Jewish Center. Every contribution, large or small, helps turn this storefront story into a permanent landmark of Jewish life.

As a token of appreciation, all contributors of $54 or more from Anash worldwide will receive a beautifully produced Birchos HaShachar booklet, a new initiative of Chabad of Cary dedicated in Mendel’s memory. Featuring a clear translation of the morning brachos, along with meaningful reflections and meditations, the booklet is designed to help readers begin each day with gratitude and awareness of Hashem’s gifts. It is equally suited for personal use, for sharing with mekuravim, or for use on mivtzoim.

Cary, North Carolina, may once have been a secret.

Not anymore.

To partner in completing the Mendel Jewish Center, please visit:

https://causematch.com/chabadofcary

Rabbi Aryeh and Chana Wells (née Laber) along with their son Yisroel will be establishing the first Chabad Center in Auburn, Alabama this summer.

Auburn, Alabama, known as “The Loveliest Village on the Plains”, is the fastest growing metropolitan area in the state. Auburn is famous for being home to Auburn University — the highest academically ranked university and second largest university in Alabama, nationally recognized for its engineering, business, agriculture, nursing, and athletic programs.

Over the past few years, Rabbi Sholom Posner of Chabad on Wheels, Alabama traveled to Auburn as part of his shlichus to strengthen the remote Jewish communities around the state. As the Jewish student population of the university continued to grow, he realized that the students needed a permanent Jewish presence. The new shluchim have been appointed under the direction of Rabbi Yossi Posner, head shliach to Alabama.

Chabad of Auburn will be dedicated to supporting the Jewish students of Auburn University, as well as the communities of Auburn and Opelika. The Chabad house will offer Shabbos and holiday meals, Torah classes, community events, and programs throughout the year.

The Wells bring warmth, authenticity, and a passion for creating meaningful Jewish experiences. They look forward to being a steady presence of Jewish life in Auburn, building one on one relationships, and having a place for Jewish students to relax and connect with each other

Originally from Boynton Beach, Florida, Aryeh graduated from Columbia University with a degree in Philosophy. Although always connected to Judaism, it was through Chabad on Campus at Columbia that he first fell in love with the depth and beauty of Yiddishkeit. After spending several years studying in yeshiva in Jerusalem and Brooklyn, he is excited to share his love of Torah, Jewish mysticism, and music with the Auburn community.

Chana grew up in Rensselaer, New York, where her parents run a Chabad House and the Jewish girls’ retreat summer camp. A self-taught artist and educator, she has led painting workshops around the world and loves helping people connect through creativity, warmth, and meaningful conversations.

You can partner with the Wells family in launching Chabad of Auburn through their Charidy campaign or Zelle:
https://charidy.com/chabadofauburnalabama
Zelle: [email protected]

In Episode 66 of Lamplighters: Stories From Chabad Emissaries On The Jewish Frontier, reporter/producer Gary Waleik presents the story of Rabbi Zalman and Rebbetzin Rifky Lent, Shluchim to Dublin, Ireland. The Lents’ Chabad House is a nexus point for Dublin’s diverse Jewish community and, with the help of their kosher deli and market, also a very popular meeting place for non-Jews.

Lamplighters: Stories From Chabad Emissaries On The Jewish Frontier is producing a series of moving, beautifully produced, sound-rich and often surprising stories of Chabad shluchim and the people they inspire in every corner of the world.

Listen and subscribe at www.Lubavitch.com/podcast and on all major podcast platforms.

To pitch a story for our podcast about Chabad emissaries or for dedication/sponsorship opportunities, email us at [email protected].

Yeshiva L’Talmidim Hashluchim Launches to Anchor the Shlichus Year in Serious Learning and Mentorship

A talmid hashliach’s year is a busy one. He learns and farbrengs with the bochurim late into the night, runs programs and mivtzoim, and becomes the older brother a younger talmid turns to. Between it all, his own seder and growth are often the first to slip. Yeshiva L’Talmidim Hashluchim was created to change that, turning the year of shlichus into a transformative year of structured learning and growth.

That goal is not new. When the Rebbe began sending talmidim hashluchim, he was emphatic that they were going first and foremost as talmidim. In a letter from 5731, the Rebbe wrote that their purpose was to learn b’shkida v’hasmada and to serve as a living example to the bochurim around them.

The Rebbe guarded that learning closely. When the first group of talmidim hashluchim reached Australia in 5727 and a shliach proposed they give a weekly baalei batim shiur, the Rebbe refused in his own handwriting, permitting it only if it would not cut into their seder at all. Their own time to learn came first.

This Elul, Yeshiva L’Talmidim Hashluchim opens to give that principle a real structure. A new program from Merkos 302’s Merkos Torah, offers talmidim hashluchim a framework of serious learning, mentorship, and accountability across Gemara, Halacha, and Chassidus, so the year they give to others becomes a year of their own growth.

“The Rebbe sent talmidim hashluchim to be a role model, and a bochur learns the most from an older bochur who is himself invested in his own sedarim,” said Rabbi Mendy Kotlarsky, Executive Director of Merkos 302. “The yeshiva ensures that while these shluchim are giving everything to the bochurim around them, their own learning gets the same attention.”

The program grew out of conversations with yeshiva hanhalos, mashpiim, and talmidim hashluchim themselves, who kept naming the same gap: the shlichus year offers enormous opportunity, but few have a structured, measurable way to keep their own learning on track.

“We’ve put together a top-tier hanhala and built out a full curriculum across Gemara, Halacha, and Chassidus, with mentors who follow each talmid through the year,” said Rabbi Mendel Chaiton, director of Merkos Torah. “Everything is in place for these young men to have a serious, successful year of their own growth.” 

Rather than imposing one model, Yeshiva L’Talmidim Hashluchim works in partnership with each yeshiva’s hanhalah, shaping the tracks and benchmarks together so the program fits the institution’s chinuch. Every participant starts with a personal intake interview that sets his goals and places him in the right track, then receives weekly follow-up, monthly progress reviews, and ongoing mentorship through the year.

The learning runs on three tracks. Gemara L’Iyun preserves serious iyun at a foundational or advanced level, with Rabbi Dov Popack and Rabbi Moshe Wolberg leading the shiurim and a weekly lomdus shiur from Rabbi Mendel Krasnjanski. The Halacha track takes participants through Hilchos Shabbos b’iyun, tracing each halacha from Gemara through Tur, Beis Yosef, and Shulchan Aruch to practical application, as the first stage of a longer semicha curriculum. Chassidus b’iyun anchors the week with structured study of foundational Chassidishe sugyos, shiurim, and farbrengens.

The program draws on a roster of well-respected mashpiim and rabbonim: Rabbi Yosef Klyne, Rabbi Osher Farkash, and Rabbi Yitzchok Kaufman in Chassidus**;** Rabbi Chaim Hillel Raskin, Rabbi Tuvia Kasimov, Rabbi Ehud Kvin, and Rabbi Berel Polityko in Halacha**;** with Rabbi Mendel Prescott on halacha from the sugya, alongside guest mashpiim and maggidei shiur. 

For the rabbonim building it, the need is clear from both sides. Rabbi Shmuel Wagner, recently appointed Rosh Mesivta of the new Tomchei Temimim mesivta at Lubavitcher Yeshiva Ocean Parkway, helped develop the program and sits on its hanhala.

“As a mechanech, I see what a talmid hashliach gives our bochurim, and I see how much he can gain himself if someone helps him use the time right,” said Rabbi Wagner. “Building this means the talmidim hashluchim finish the year stronger in their own learning, not just busier.”

Through the year, each participant’s progress is shared with his yeshiva. A report also goes to the Rebbe, summing up the talmid’s learning and growth, framing the year’s work as something brought back to the one who first sent talmidim hashluchim out.

Registration is open now and closes Rosh Chodesh Elul. Talmidim and yeshivos can sign up or learn more at Yeshivath.com, or text 773-971-1342.

Download the Yeshiva brochure [HERE

](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lVHTmlMG3eX1JJF3ScpADLBFin_ud1YF/view?usp=drive_link)—-

**Hanhala & Faculty:

Program Leadership:**

• Rabbi Mendy Kotlarsky, Executive Director, Merkos 302
• Rabbi Mendel Chaiton, Menahel, Merkos Torah
• Rabbi Betzalel Bassman, Menahel, Yeshiva L’Talmidim Hashluchim
• Rabbi Shmuel Wagner, Program Development
• Rabbi Dov Popack, Curriculum Development
• Rabbi Levi Paltiel, Director, Kollel L’Lomdei Dach

Gemara L’Iyun:

• Rabbi Dov Popack, Foundational Track
• Rabbi Moshe Wolberg, Advanced Iyun Track
• Rabbi Mendel Krasnjanski, Lomdus Shiur
• Rabbi Mendel Prescott, Halacha from the Sugya

Halacha:

• Rabbi Chaim Hillel Raskin
• Rabbi Tuvia Kasimov
• Rabbi Ehud Kvin
• Rabbi Berel Polityko

Chassidus B’Iyun:

• Rabbi Yosef Klyne
• Rabbi Osher Farkash
• Rabbi Yitzchok Kaufman, also Dedicated Mentor and Shoel U’Meishiv
• Rabbi Levi Paltiel

Yeshiva L’Talmidim Hashluchim is a program of Merkos Torah from Merkos 302, in partnership with Igud Hamesivtos V’Yeshivos Lubavitch.

Crown Heights Man Allegedly Hid Dead Roommate’s Body Under Pile of Trash On Couch

Pix11

A Brooklyn man is accused of hiding his dead roommate’s body beneath a pile of clothes and garbage on a couch in their apartment, authorities said.

Jose Rivera, 53, was arrested for allegedly concealing the man’s body in their residence at 1722 Union St. in Crown Heights at around 7:50 a.m. on July 2, according to the criminal complaint.

A cleaning crew member found the bones buried under clothes and debris on the living room couch and called 911, prosecutors and sources said.

Read More at Pix11

During these days of summer vacation, thousands of children from all corners of the Russian Federation are gathering at Jewish camps in dozens of different locations. They are enjoying weeks of Yiddishkeit at all levels and for all ages, operated by the dedicated and experienced hands of hundreds of rabbis and Shluchim, featuring highly organized and deeply invested programs.

The vanguard of Russian Jewry is represented by hundreds of young Shluchim and children of community rabbis. These children grow up throughout the year in remote cities, often serving as the only observant Jewish children in their environment. The summer months are not just a break from their regular studies; they are a time for Chassidic gatherings, social bonding, and spiritual recharging ahead of the coming year of Shlichus.

At the center of this educational endeavor once again stands the “Camp Gan Israel – Tzeirei Hashluchim,” located in the pastoral ‘Ramenskoye’ complex in the suburbs of Moscow. The camp, expertly directed by the educator Rabbi Avraham Zaks, experienced a moment of historical closure this week. This occurred during a visit by the founder of the camps, Chief Rabbi of Russia, Rabbi Berl Lazar, to the camp grounds. During the visit, Rabbi Lipsker, director of educational institutions in Moscow, presented him with a unique gift that embodies the concept of “Zeh L’Umas Zeh” (one in contrast to the other). Chief Rabbi Lazar received an original, century-old red “Pioneer” tie, which was used in the summer camps of the communist regime that attempted to uproot religion. Alongside it was a new green tie bearing the emblem of the Chassidic camp—a living testament to the victory of the Jewish spirit and tradition.

In his remarks to the campers, Chief Rabbi Lazar said that alongside their responsibilities, they must remember the immense privilege each one holds, especially as they are on Shlichus in Russia. He thanked the educational staff, adding: “The greatest success in Shlichus is when people see how we care for our children.”

The spiritual climax of the camp days was recorded when the “soldiers” set out on an emotional journey to the cradle of Chassidus: the town of Lubavitch. Following prayers and a spiritual awakening at the holy Ohel of the “Tzemach Tzedek” and his son, the Rebbe Maharash, they continued with a tour of the historical sites in the area. The campers joined a special initiative of archaeological excavation and exposure works taking place in the courtyard of our Rebbes—the very courtyard where the first “Tomchei Temimim” Yeshiva was established and founded, and the complex where several generations of Lubavitcher Rebbes lived for many years. During these works, a literal treasure from the past was suddenly uncovered: a luxurious and incredibly rare pocket watch, alongside ancient ruble coins that had been buried in the ground for decades.

The discovery sparked tremendous excitement among the children and staff, who immediately broke into sweeping Chassidic dances on the holy soil of the famous Yeshiva courtyard in the center of the town. The rare findings were reverently transferred to the hands of Rabbi Gavriel Gordon, the Shliach and director of the Chabad House in Lubavitch, who is responsible for the restoration and maintenance of the holy sites. After an initial examination of the items, Rabbi Gordon noted that the finish and luxury of the watch indicate with high probability that it belonged to a family member of the Rebbes, a fact that further elevated the spiritual upliftment among those present.

As mentioned, this camp is one of many. Particularly noteworthy is the framework for the daughters of the rabbis and Shluchim, running concurrently in the city of Nizhny Novgorod, dedicatedly directed by Rebbetzin Fradi Lerman, with the assistance of the city’s rabbi, the Shliach Rabbi Shimon Bergman, and Rebbetzin Bergman.

These events, which combine deep-rooted Chassidic education with a tangible connection to a glorious history, are expected to leave an indelible mark on the campers’ hearts. As the children return to their places of Shlichus across Russia for the upcoming school year, they will, with God’s help, carry with them the immense spiritual charge they absorbed. They will continue to illuminate their communities with Jewish pride and the dedication that characterizes the legion of the Lubavitcher Rebbe. Exactly 70 years ago during these very days, the Rebbe arrived for a rare tour of the first camp, which was founded at the initiative of the Chassid Rabbi Moshe Lazar, father of the Chief Rabbi of Russia. Since then, the name “Gan Israel” was established by the Rebbe, named after the founder of Chassidism, the holy Baal Shem Tov; a project that today spans the entire globe, educating hundreds of thousands of Jewish children during the summer months.

Photography: Levi Nazarov

Lamplighters Podcast: Kosher Corned Beef On The Emerald Isle

In Episode 66 of Lamplighters: Stories From Chabad Emissaries On The Jewish Frontier, reporter/producer Gary Waleik presents the story of Rabbi Zalman and Rebbetzin Rifky Lent, Chabad emissaries to Dublin, Ireland. The Lents’ Chabad House is a nexus point for Dublin’s diverse Jewish community and, with the help of their kosher deli and market, also a very popular meeting place for non-Jews. 

Lamplighters: Stories From Chabad Emissaries On The Jewish Frontier is producing a series of moving, beautifully produced, sound-rich and often surprising stories of Chabad shluchim and the people they inspire in every corner of the world. 

Listen and subscribe at www.Lubavitch.com/podcast and on all major podcast platforms.

To pitch a story for our podcast about Chabad emissaries or for dedication/sponsorship opportunities, email us at [email protected].

Picture of the Day

This eulogy took place on the 10th of Adar, 1950 for the Rebbe Raayatz. It took place at the large shul in the Zichron Moshe neighborhood. The people speaking were Rabbis Isser Zalman Meltzer, Zalman Sorotzkin, Eliyahu Vilkovsky and Shlomo Yosef Zevin. It mentions the Mesiras nefesh the Rebbe had for Torah.

It’s most interesting that Rabbi Meltzer was one of them, given his son-in-law, Rabbi Aron Kotler had issues with the Rebbe. Obviously, the truth is the truth and the personal issues between them had no place in memorializing the Rebbe by a leading Litvish figure-head.

Credit: Rabbi Yitzchak Stroh, Dalfin Archives, and Library of Agudas Chasidei Chabad

Many of us know the concepts. We have learned the sichos, heard the ideas, and spoken about Moshiach and Geulah for years.

But what would happen if we stopped simply knowing about Moshiach—and began allowing these ideas to reshape the way we see ourselves, our challenges, and the world around us?

This summer, N’shei Chabad is launching Think Again: a refreshed way of living with Moshiach, a new four-week learning experience for Chabad women in Crown Heights, bungalow colonies, and communities worldwide.

The course explores four foundational sichos of the Rebbe and presents them in a clear, relevant, and deeply personal way. Each week will uncover another dimension of what it means to live with Geulah—not only as a future event we are waiting for, but as the true reality that can already shape the way we think and live today.

The curriculum will address questions such as:
How much power should we give the limitations and struggles of Galus?

What does it mean to recognize Hashem’s presence within every detail of our lives?

When we talk about Geulah, are we imagining a world where candies grow on trees, the shofar sounds on its own, and we soar on eagles’ wings—what are we actually waiting for?

And if the whole world needs a transformation, what does my one small mitzvah contribute to this overwhelming task?

This is for you. Wherever you are. Join together with other woman around you and start “Think Again”.

“We all know the concepts. We have heard the sichos and spoken about Moshiach and Geulah for years,” organizers shared. “Think Again is an opportunity to revisit these ideas with fresh eyes—and allow them to reshape the way we see ourselves, our challenges, and the world around us.”

Groups can be formed in bungalow colonies, neighborhoods, blocks, or among friends. Each group will receive a fully prepared, beautifully designed curriculum, teacher guidance, preparation classes, marketing materials, and participant incentives.

The four-week program will begin Rosh Chodesh Av, transforming the Three Weeks into a meaningful period of learning, reflection, and active preparation for Geulah, and will conclude Rosh Chodesh Elul.

Participants are invited to approach familiar ideas with fresh eyes—to move Moshiach from the back of their minds to the center of their lives.
Because perhaps the ideas are not new.

Perhaps we simply need to Think Again.

To create or join a group and receive a personal registration link, visit:
womenseventch.com

For questions email [email protected]

Historical Discovery and Closing the Circle at Russia’s Main Camp

During these days of summer vacation, thousands of children from all corners of the Russian Federation are gathering at Jewish camps in dozens of different locations. They are enjoying weeks of Yiddishkeit at all levels and for all ages, operated by the dedicated and experienced hands of hundreds of rabbis and Shluchim, featuring highly organized and deeply invested programs.

The vanguard of Russian Jewry is represented by hundreds of young Shluchim and children of community rabbis. These children grow up throughout the year in remote cities, often serving as the only observant Jewish children in their environment. The summer months are not just a break from their regular studies; they are a time for Chassidic gatherings, social bonding, and spiritual recharging ahead of the coming year of Shlichus.

At the center of this educational endeavor once again stands the “Camp Gan Israel – Tzeirei Hashluchim,” located in the pastoral ‘Ramenskoye’ complex in the suburbs of Moscow. The camp, expertly directed by the educator Rabbi Avraham Zaks, experienced a moment of historical closure this week. This occurred during a visit by the founder of the camps, Chief Rabbi of Russia, Rabbi Berl Lazar, to the camp grounds. During the visit, Rabbi Lipsker, director of educational institutions in Moscow, presented him with a unique gift that embodies the concept of “Zeh L’Umas Zeh” (one in contrast to the other). Chief Rabbi Lazar received an original, century-old red “Pioneer” tie, which was used in the summer camps of the communist regime that attempted to uproot religion. Alongside it was a new green tie bearing the emblem of the Chassidic camp—a living testament to the victory of the Jewish spirit and tradition.

In his remarks to the campers, Chief Rabbi Lazar said that alongside their responsibilities, they must remember the immense privilege each one holds, especially as they are on Shlichus in Russia. He thanked the educational staff, adding: “The greatest success in Shlichus is when people see how we care for our children.”

The spiritual climax of the camp days was recorded when the “soldiers” set out on an emotional journey to the cradle of Chassidus: the town of Lubavitch. Following prayers and a spiritual awakening at the holy Ohel of the “Tzemach Tzedek” and his son, the Rebbe Maharash, they continued with a tour of the historical sites in the area. The campers joined a special initiative of archaeological excavation and exposure works taking place in the courtyard of our Rebbes—the very courtyard where the first “Tomchei Temimim” Yeshiva was established and founded, and the complex where several generations of Lubavitcher Rebbes lived for many years. During these works, a literal treasure from the past was suddenly uncovered: a luxurious and incredibly rare pocket watch, alongside ancient ruble coins that had been buried in the ground for decades.

The discovery sparked tremendous excitement among the children and staff, who immediately broke into sweeping Chassidic dances on the holy soil of the famous Yeshiva courtyard in the center of the town. The rare findings were reverently transferred to the hands of Rabbi Gavriel Gordon, the Shliach and director of the Chabad House in Lubavitch, who is responsible for the restoration and maintenance of the holy sites. After an initial examination of the items, Rabbi Gordon noted that the finish and luxury of the watch indicate with high probability that it belonged to a family member of the Rebbes, a fact that further elevated the spiritual upliftment among those present.

As mentioned, this camp is one of many. Particularly noteworthy is the framework for the daughters of the rabbis and Shluchim, running concurrently in the city of Nizhny Novgorod, dedicatedly directed by Rebbetzin Fradi Lerman, with the assistance of the city’s rabbi, the Shliach Rabbi Shimon Bergman, and Rebbetzin Bergman.

These events, which combine deep-rooted Chassidic education with a tangible connection to a glorious history, are expected to leave an indelible mark on the campers’ hearts. As the children return to their places of Shlichus across Russia for the upcoming school year, they will, with God’s help, carry with them the immense spiritual charge they absorbed. They will continue to illuminate their communities with Jewish pride and the dedication that characterizes the legion of the Lubavitcher Rebbe. Exactly 70 years ago during these very days, the Rebbe arrived for a rare tour of the first camp, which was founded at the initiative of the Chassid Rabbi Moshe Lazar, father of the Chief Rabbi of Russia. Since then, the name “Gan Israel” was established by the Rebbe, named after the founder of Chassidism, the holy Baal Shem Tov; a project that today spans the entire globe, educating hundreds of thousands of Jewish children during the summer months.

Photography: Levi Nazarov

Amid Deadly Wave of Bombardments in Kyiv, Jewish Community Launches Major Relief Effort

As relentless missile and drone attacks batter Ukraine’s capital, leaving dozens dead and thousands in distress, Kyiv’s Jewish community has mobilized an extensive humanitarian operation. Led by Chief Rabbi Yonatan Markovitch, volunteers are distributing food, water, clothing and essential supplies to Jews and non-Jews alike who have been affected by the bombardments.

Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, has endured one of its most devastating waves of bombardment since the outbreak of the war. In recent days, large-scale missile and drone attacks have struck residential neighborhoods and civilian infrastructure, claiming dozens of lives and leaving many more wounded.

The scale of the destruction prompted city authorities to declare an official day of mourning, while rescue teams continue searching through the rubble for survivors and victims.

Alongside the emergency services, JCC Beit Menachem Kyiv community has mobilized to provide assistance to those affected. Under the leadership of Kyiv’s Chief Rabbi and Chabad shaliach, Rabbi Yonatan Markovitch, community volunteers have launched a broad humanitarian relief effort to aid residents whose lives have been upended by the attacks.

Over the past several days, volunteers have been distributing food, bottled water, clothing, medications, essential supplies and other basic necessities to families whose homes were damaged, as well as to the elderly, the needy and anyone requiring immediate assistance, regardless of their religion. In addition to providing material aid, volunteers are offering practical support and guidance to families left without help in the wake of the devastation.

“At a time when the air raid sirens scarcely stop, our responsibility is to be here for every person in need,” Rabbi Markovitch said. “We are distributing food, water, and essential supplies, strengthening families and giving them hope. Our mission is to bring light precisely during these darkest moments for the people of Ukraine in general, and for the residents of Kyiv in particular.”

Bais Habechira Video With Rabbi Chananya Hoffinger – Day #6

Today’s video goes through the Ezras Kohanim; from the Duchan to the Tzafon area near the Mizbeach, from the rings used to Shecht the Korbanos to the tables used to rinse the meat. You will also see the size of the Ezras  Kohanim relative to the area around 770.

Thursday’s raffle winners are:
$50 Judaica World gift card – David
$36 Judaica World gift card – Yossi Baumgarten

Link to the quiz https://ispri.ng/VZ618

Link to join the WhatsApp group https://chat.whatsapp.com/JWKXQK4ucWN2w7ObrYCgUG

Today’s class & prizes are dedicated לעילוי נשמת ברוריה בת חנניה

To dedicate a class and the prizes for $186 please email: [email protected]

By Popular Request: An Evening of Bitachon – Round Two

Following the overwhelming success of An Evening of Bitachon, we are excited to announce Round Two, taking place this Sunday at 6:45 PM.

The first Bitachon Summit, held on Sunday, 9 Iyar 5786, brought together women from around the world for an evening of inspiration, practical guidance, and heartfelt encouragement. Dedicated to the memory of Rabbi Mendel Plotkin, Shneur Zalman Plotkin, and Rabbi YY Wilansky, the program was also dedicated to all those seeking their bashert, with the heartfelt tefillah that we should soon celebrate many simchos together.

The evening featured a unique lineup of speakers, each addressing a different area of bitachon that women encounter in everyday life. Topics included developing overall trust in Hashem, bitachon in matters of parnassah, navigating the loss of a loved one, shidduchim, raising a large family, facing life’s hardships, and coping with health challenges. By bringing together diverse voices and real-life experiences, participants were able to see how bitachon applies to every stage and circumstance of life.

Baruch Hashem, the response exceeded expectations. There were over 150 participants throughout the program. Since then, the replay has continued reaching even more people, with nearly 200 replay views to date. Most meaningful of all has been the steady stream of positive feedback from participants, many of whom shared how the program strengthened their perspective and inspired them to deepen their own bitachon.

Because of the enthusiastic response and numerous requests for another event, we are thrilled to present Round Two!

Join us this Sunday at 6:45 PM for another evening of meaningful talks, practical inspiration, and powerful messages from a new lineup of speakers, each sharing how bitachon can guide us through the challenges and opportunities of everyday life.

Register today: bit.ly/bitachon2

We look forward to welcoming you.

During the Kinus for 198 Chabad educators in Israel, held by the Reshet Oholei Yosef Yitzchak Lubavitch, an inspiring film was shown, presenting the moving story of Rabbi Shlomo Chaim Lison, a Shliach chinuch from Haifa.

The film tells the story of his medical struggle and reveals the extraordinary dedication of a Shliach chinuch to his students – even in the most challenging moments.

Now, for the first time, the film is available for viewing by the broader community with English subtitles.

“Ashrei Adam Bote’ach Bach”
VIDEO:

Trump Says Iran Deal is Dead After Responding to Attacks on Strait of Hormuz with Hellfire and Fury

New York Post

President Trump said Wednesday that he believes his memorandum of understanding with Iran is dead after he ordered overnight airstrikes on 80 targets in response to Iranian attacks on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

“I don’t like them at all. And frankly, I think we wasted a lot of time with them, I think we should just do our business,” Trump said in his first public remarks after ordering the airstrikes.

When asked by a reporter if the preliminary peace deal, which Trump signed at the Palace of Versailles in France June 17, was dead, the president replied: “To me, I think it’s over. I don’t want to deal with them anymore. They’re scum.”

BDE: Harav Tuvia Blou, Veteran Chabad Rov and Mashpia in Eretz Yisroel, Passes Away at 90

With deep sadness we report the passing of Harav Tuvia Blou OBM, one of the elder Rabbonim and Mashpiim of Chabad-Lubavitch in Eretz Yisroel and Rov of the Chabad community in Neve Yaakov. He passed away on Wednesday, the 23rd of Tammuz, 5786.

He was 90 years old.

Harav Blau was among the founders of Talmud Torah Toras Emes and Bais Chana High School for girls in Yerushalayim.

Compounding the sadness, he passed away during the shloshim for his wife, Rebbetzin Chana Frumit Blou OBM, who passed away on 2 Tammuz.

The levaya will take place today, Wednesday, the 23rd Tammuz, departing at 2:00 pm from the Shamgar Funeral Home in Yerushalayim. The procession will continue to the Chabad section of Har HaZeisim, where he will be laid to rest.

The family will be sitting shiva at the Blou home at 43/9 Harav Zevin Street, Neve Yaakov, Yerushalayim.

Boruch Dayan Hoemes

Forty-three newer Shluchim gathered in Crown Heights earlier this month for Merkos 302’s seventh annual Fundraising Seminar, walking away with a new mindset, a practical toolkit, and a network of peers to carry them through the years ahead.

The event was organized by the New Shluchim Desk at Merkos 302 and spearheaded by Rabbi Mendy Shanowitz, the Desk’s director. “Fundraising is the engine that powers a Shlichus,” he said. “We send them home with the mindset, the tools, and a network of peers to lean on from day one.”

The full-day masterclass is geared for Shluchim within their first seven years on Shlichus and was led by Rabbi Elazar Green, Shliach to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and founder of Grow Gelt Solutions.

Rabbi Mendy Kotlarsky, Executive Director of Merkos 302, set the tone for the day. “The Rebbe’s vision for Shlichus was never about buildings or budgets. It was about people,” he said. “You cannot fundraise successfully if you don’t love your donors. You cannot build a community if you don’t love your community. When you genuinely care about them — about their family, their struggles, their simchas — they feel that. And that is what they support.”

The program covered identifying the right donor prospects, making a confident ask, and cultivating the long-term partnerships that sustain a Mosad for decades. Participants worked through the material in live role-playing exercises.

Sessions also covered setting up a Chai Club monthly giving program, navigating major gift conversations, following up on pledges with dignity, and understanding why donors stop giving.

One Shliach pointed to the “Elephant” analogy running through the day. “Seeing it from both the donor’s perspective and the fundraiser’s, and how it comes up at every step on both ends,” he said. Another described learning to find a donor’s hidden hesitation “in a straightforward and mentshlich way.” A third pointed to something more concrete: having a written budget ready to show a donor before being asked for one. “It gave me something concrete to walk out with,” he said.

All participants have access to a dedicated WhatsApp group for guidance and peer support after the seminar.

Keynote and Post-Banquet Farbrengen Announced for Kinus HaMechanchim

Rabbi Benjy Korf, Head of School of Lubavitch Educational Center in Miami, Florida, has been announced as the keynote speaker at the banquet of this year’s Kinus HaMechanchim.

The Annual International Kinus HaMechanchim will take place on July 28–29 / י״ד–ט״ו מנחם אב at the Armon Hotel in Stamford, Connecticut, bringing together mechanchim, principals, administrators, and school leaders from across the Chabad school network for two days of inspiration, professional development, and connection.

This year’s banquet will focus on the theme: “פרומע, ערליכע, ווארימע, חסידישע אידן — Focused on the עיקר.”

Rabbi Korf will address the central mission of Chinuch: raising students to be frum, ehrlich, warm, and Chassidishe Yidden. Drawing on his years of experience leading one of the largest Chabad schools in the country, he will speak to the heart of the mechanech’s shlichus and the responsibility of staying focused on the עיקר in today’s classroom.

“Rabbi Benjy Korf brings decades of hands-on dedication to Chinuch, focused on what matters most: raising children to be frum, ehrlich, warm, and Chassidishe Yidden,” said Rabbi Mendy Kotlarsky, General Chairman of Merkos Chinuch Office. “His message at the Kinus banquet will speak to every mechanech’s shlichus — staying focused on the עיקר and giving talmidim a strong foundation for life.” 

The banquet is expected to be one of the highlights of the Kinus, bringing together hundreds of mechanchim for an evening dedicated to strengthening and celebrating the vital work of Chinuch.

Following the banquet, a special farbrengen will be led by Rabbi Yossi Paltiel, giving mechanchim the opportunity to continue the inspiration of the evening in a warm and uplifting atmosphere, with niggunim, stories, and meaningful reflections that will help carry the message of the Kinus into their daily avodah in Chinuch.

The Kinus will feature a full program of sessions, tracks, workshops, and networking opportunities designed for mechanchim, principals, administrators, and school leaders.

Stay tuned for exciting new tracks focused on AI and curriculum development. 

Registration is still open.

Register now at: kinus.chinuchoffice.org

By COLlive reporter

Rabbi Tuvia Bloy, one of the eldest Chabad rabbis and thinkers in Israel, passed away on Wednesday, 23 Tammuz 5786.

He was 90.

He was born on 16 Iyar 5696 (1936) to Rabbi Boruch Yehuda Bloy, one of the leaders of Poalei Agudas Yisrael (PAGI) in Jerusalem. He was the grandson of Rabbi Moshe Bloy, chairman of Agudas Yisrael in Eretz Yisrael.

In his youth, Rabbi Bloy became close to the Belz and Gur Chassidic courts and regularly attended the tish of the Gerrer Rebbe, the Beis Yisrael, despite the risks involved in traveling there.

In 1953, he was introduced to Chabad through Rabbi Avraham Leib Klein, head of the Hasmidim Yeshivah where he studied. Rabbi Klein, himself a Chabad chassid, also brought Rabbi Bloy’s brothers, Rabbi Yosef Bloy and Rabbi Amram Bloy, closer to Chabad.
Rabbi Bloy was among those who helped guide Chabad’s evening yeshivos in Jerusalem’s neighborhoods, established under the initiative and leadership of Rabbi Shmuel Elazar Halperin, rosh yeshivah of Toras Emes in Jerusalem.

He married Chana Frumet Rosenberg, daughter of Rabbi Chaim Uri Rosenberg, on 20 Kislev 5715 (1954).

Following his marriage, he worked closely with Rabbi Shmuel Menachem Mendel Schneerson, director of Colel Chabad, to spread the Rebbe’s teachings among Jerusalem’s charedi community through Tzeirei Agudas Chabad of Jerusalem. After internal disputes arose within the organization in 1959, the Rebbe instructed Rabbi Azriel Zev Slonim to dissolve the existing leadership and reestablish it with a new administration. Rabbi Bloy was appointed to the new executive alongside Rabbi Yehoshafat Alpert and Rabbi Tzvi Eisenbach, serving in that role for approximately thirty years.

In 1975, he was appointed principal of the Beis Chana girls’ high school in Jerusalem.

Rabbi Bloy began writing for the Chabad journal in 1959. Following the passing of his close friend Rabbi Uriel Zimmer, he continued Zimmer’s translation of Sefer HaZichronos and produced numerous additional translations.

In 1970, he wrote an article explaining the Rebbe’s methodology in Rashi commentary. The Rebbe’s secretariat later instructed him to expand the subject into a book. The result was Klalei Rashi, published in 1980. A second edition followed in 1991, and a greatly expanded third edition was published in 2018 with the assistance of his grandsons, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Bloy and Rabbi Moshe Levi Yitzchak Laufer.

In the summer of 1980, Rabbi Bloy joined the editorial staff of Kfar Chabad magazine, where he began publishing a regular column titled “Da Mah SheTashiv” (“Know What to Answer”), responding to ideological critiques originating in certain circles in Bnei Brak. Rabbi Binyomin Klein, one of the Rebbe’s secretaries, later recalled that the Rebbe once described Bloy’s essays as “ringing articles,” a reference to their forceful and impactful style.

He remained with Kfar Chabad until 1990. Afterward, he published less frequently in Chabad periodicals, except for Pardes Chabad, which he edited from 1997 through 2007.

With the establishment of the Levi Yitzchak Institute, Rabbi Bloy undertook the translation of the Rebbe’s Likkutei Sichos from Yiddish into Hebrew.

Over the years, Rabbi Bloy also wrote under several pen names, including “A. Choker” (“A. Researcher”) and “T. Me’aleil,” which he used in both the Chabad journal and Kfar Chabad magazine.

Rabbi Bloy passed away during the shloshim, the thirty-day mourning period following the passing of his wife.

He is survived by his children: Mrs. Leah Laufer of Ashdod, Rabbi Peretz Uriel Bloy, Mrs. Raizel Halperin of Kfar Chabad, Rabbi Yaakov Meir Bloy of Jerusalem, and Mrs. Shaina Tzipora Wilhelm of Nachlas Har Chabad, as well as many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Baruch Dayan Haemes.

Shluchim from across the Netherlands gathered for a focused Halacha L’Maaseh training day addressing real-life questions in Shlichus, including amira l’nochri on Shabbos, the Alter Rebbe’s approach to Eruvei Chatzeiros, and practical Yichud guidelines.

The program was led by Dayan Rabbi Chaim Hillel Raskin, Mara d’Asra of Chabad Central Petach Tikva, Dayan on the Chabad Rabbinical Court in Eretz HaKodesh, and Head of the Shluchim Rabbanus Kollel under Merkos L’Inyonei Chinuch, who traveled from Israel to guide the Shluchim through sources and practical psak.

Joining as a guest was Shliach Rabbi Menachem Hadad, Chief Rabbi of Brussels, who shared insights from his extensive experience in Kashrus.

In a moment of Hashgacha Pratis, Rabbi Mendel Kotlarsky, Chairman of the International Kinus Hashluchim, arrived in the city and offered warm words of encouragement. He praised the initiative and shared a vort from his father on the importance of Shluchim being true lamdanim who can learn and apply Halacha aliba d’hilchasa.

The event was organized by the Shluchim under the auspices of Chabad Netherlands – Central.

Bais Habechira Video With Rabbi Chananya Hoffinger – Day #5

Today’s video goes through the Ezras Yisroel; from the Lishka of the Kohen Gadol to the Lishka of the great Sanhedrin, and from the Lishka where the stored the salt to the one where the salted the leather and the one where they would draw water from.

You will also see the size of the Ezras Yisroel relative to the area around 770.

Yesterday’s raffle winners are:
$50 gift card – Yitzchok Isaac Heidingsfeld
$36 gift card – Esther

Link to the quiz https://ispri.ng/yMnv0

Link to join the WhatsApp group: https://chat.whatsapp.com/GVaB819H9hPFwL6c4DEGeg?mode=ac_t

To dedicate a class and the prizes for $186 please email: [email protected]

Hundreds of students, alumni, community members, and friends gathered over Memorial Day weekend for an uplifting evening of Jewish music and unity as Illini Chabad hosted world-renowned Israeli music star Ishay Ribo in Skokie, Illinois.

The concert drew more than 800 attendees, including alumni spanning more than two decades. Some traveled from New York and other states to reconnect with friends, celebrate their shared experiences, and strengthen their connection to the growing Illini Chabad community.

The event reflected the vision of Rabbi Dovid and Goldie Teichtel, as they enter their 24th year of shlichus in Champaign. Beyond serving students during their years on campus, Illini Chabad continues to foster lifelong relationships through its expanding network of thousands of alumni around the world.

Attendees included members of Illini Chabad’s very first class from 2003 alongside current students, high schoolers, and many community members experiencing the organization for the first time. Organizers said the evening highlighted the lasting bonds created through Chabad and the vibrant community that continues long after graduation.

A particularly memorable moment came at the conclusion of the concert, when Rabbi Dovid Teichtel joined Ishay Ribo on stage for spirited dancing, bringing the crowd together in celebration.

Organizers described the evening as both a reunion and an inspiration, serving as a fitting lead-up to the fall semester, when Ishay Ribo is scheduled to return to campus for an evening dedicated to Jewish heritage and pride.

New Shluchim Desk Wraps Seventh Annual Fundraising Seminar

Forty-three newer Shluchim gathered in Crown Heights earlier this month for Merkos 302’s seventh annual Fundraising Seminar, walking away with a new mindset, a practical toolkit, and a network of peers to carry them through the years ahead.

The event was organized by the New Shluchim Desk at Merkos 302 and spearheaded by Rabbi Mendy Shanowitz, the Desk’s director. “Fundraising is the engine that powers a Shlichus,” he said. “We send them home with the mindset, the tools, and a network of peers to lean on from day one.”

The full-day masterclass is geared for Shluchim within their first seven years on Shlichus and was led by Rabbi Elazar Green, Shliach to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and founder of Grow Gelt Solutions.

Rabbi Mendy Kotlarsky, Executive Director of Merkos 302, set the tone for the day. “The Rebbe’s vision for Shlichus was never about buildings or budgets. It was about people,” he said. “You cannot fundraise successfully if you don’t love your donors. You cannot build a community if you don’t love your community. When you genuinely care about them — about their family, their struggles, their simchas — they feel that. And that is what they support.”

The program covered identifying the right donor prospects, making a confident ask, and cultivating the long-term partnerships that sustain a Mosad for decades. Participants worked through the material in live role-playing exercises.

Sessions also covered setting up a Chai Club monthly giving program, navigating major gift conversations, following up on pledges with dignity, and understanding why donors stop giving.

One Shliach pointed to the “Elephant” analogy running through the day. “Seeing it from both the donor’s perspective and the fundraiser’s, and how it comes up at every step on both ends,” he said. Another described learning to find a donor’s hidden hesitation “in a straightforward and mentshlich way.” A third pointed to something more concrete: having a written budget ready to show a donor before being asked for one. “It gave me something concrete to walk out with,” he said.

All participants have access to a dedicated WhatsApp group for guidance and peer support after the seminar.

For the first time, visitors and locals in Jackson Hole have access to a dedicated kosher pop-up grill, bringing fresh kosher dining to one of America’s most popular summer destinations. The Kosher Grill, which opened on July 5, is operating from the Chabad Jewish Center of Wyoming and is offering an exciting menu throughout the busy summer season.

While located at Chabad, the Kosher Grill is an independent venture operated by three Chabadniks from New York: Mayer Balkany, Tzvi Torenheim, and Yehudah Schultz. Chabad of Wyoming is providing the hashgacha and overseeing the kashrus.

The opening marks a significant milestone for the region, where the Jewish community is relatively small and kosher dining options have traditionally been very limited. Jackson Hole has become an increasingly popular destination for Jewish families exploring the nearby Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks. Until now, those seeking fresh kosher meals while in the area had few convenient options.

“One of the Rebbe’s well known mivtzoim campaigns was encouraging greater access to kosher food for Jews wherever they may be. Alongside his campaigns encouraging men to put on tefillin and women to light Shabbos candles, the Rebbe emphasized making kosher food more readily available to every Jew,” said Rabbi Zalman Mendelsohn of the Chabad Jewish Center of Wyoming. “We’re grateful that this initiative helps further that vision by making fresh, high quality kosher meals available throughout the summer.”

The seasonal Kosher Grill features a diverse menu of freshly prepared favorites, providing a new kosher dining destination in northwest Wyoming during the busy summer season. The project is especially noteworthy because it brings together three Chabadniks who traveled from New York, transporting equipment, supplies, and their culinary expertise across the country to establish the seasonal venture.

Beyond serving meals, the team is also committed to giving back to the Jewish community. Every Tuesday, the grill closes so its operators can travel throughout Yellowstone National Park and surrounding areas to connect with Jewish visitors. They will help men put on tefillin, distribute Shabbos candles, and offer opportunities for Jewish inspiration and connection, continuing the Rebbe’s vision of reaching every Jew wherever they may be. The weekly outreach reflects the team’s commitment to strengthening Jewish life alongside operating the Kosher Grill.

“We’re excited to bring quality kosher food to Jackson Hole and make it more accessible for Jewish visitors and the local community,” said Mayer Balkany. “We’ve put a great deal of thought into creating a menu that people will enjoy, and we hope the Kosher Grill becomes a welcoming place where guests can relax, enjoy a delicious meal, and connect with fellow travelers during their time here.”

The Kosher Grill is expected to operate throughout the summer, expanding kosher accessibility in one of the nation’s premier vacation destinations.

For hours, the menu, and additional information, JewishWyoming.com/Grill.

Rabbi Benjy Korf, Head of School of Lubavitch Educational Center in Miami, Florida, has been announced as the keynote speaker at the banquet of this year’s Kinus HaMechanchim.

The Annual International Kinus HaMechanchim will take place on July 28–29 / י״ד–ט״ו מנחם אב at the Armon Hotel in Stamford, Connecticut, bringing together mechanchim, principals, administrators, and school leaders from across the Chabad school network for two days of inspiration, professional development, and connection.

This year’s banquet will focus on the theme: “פרומע, ערליכע, ווארימע, חסידישע אידן — Focused on the עיקר.”

Rabbi Korf will address the central mission of Chinuch: raising students to be frum, ehrlich, warm, and Chassidishe Yidden. Drawing on his years of experience leading one of the largest Chabad schools in the country, he will speak to the heart of the mechanech’s shlichus and the responsibility of staying focused on the עיקר in today’s classroom.

“Rabbi Benjy Korf brings decades of hands-on dedication to Chinuch, focused on what matters most: raising children to be frum, ehrlich, warm, and Chassidishe Yidden,” said Rabbi Mendy Kotlarsky, General Chairman of Merkos Chinuch Office. “His message at the Kinus banquet will speak to every mechanech’s shlichus — staying focused on the עיקר and giving talmidim a strong foundation for life.”

The banquet is expected to be one of the highlights of the Kinus, bringing together hundreds of mechanchim for an evening dedicated to strengthening and celebrating the vital work of Chinuch.
Following the banquet, a special farbrengen will be led by Rabbi Yossi Paltiel, giving mechanchim the opportunity to continue the inspiration of the evening in a warm and uplifting atmosphere, with niggunim, stories, and meaningful reflections that will help carry the message of the Kinus into their daily avodah in Chinuch.

The Kinus will feature a full program of sessions, tracks, workshops, and networking opportunities designed for mechanchim, principals, administrators, and school leaders.
Stay tuned for exciting new tracks focused on AI and curriculum development.

Registration is still open.
Register now at:
kinus.chinuchoffice.org

One month before Chof Av, the yahrzeit of the Rebbe’s father, the mekubal Rabbi Levi Yitzchok Schneerson, a special initiative and raffle has been launched for all those who carry his name.
The initiative, organized by the Rebbe’s shluchim in Kazakhstan, where the resting place of Rabbi Levi Yitzchok is located, invites anyone named Levi Yitzchok, or anyone who gave that name to one of their children, to submit their information and join a first-of-its-kind global list of those named after the baal hahilula.

From all those who register by Sunday, 12 Menachem Av, one name will be drawn to receive a trip to Alma-Ata, Kazakhstan, where he will daven at Rabbi Levi Yitzchok’s holy tziyun on Chof Av as the representative of the entire group.

In addition, the names of all participants and their families will be mentioned for brachos and hatzlacha at the holy tziyun.

“Every chossid named for Rabbi Levi Yitzchok is a living expression of the deep connection chassidim feel to the Rebbe and to the Rebbe’s father,” the organizers said. “To gather all those names together and bring them to his tziyun on the yahrzeit is a powerful zechus, and surely a great source of nachas to the Rebbe.”

Are you named after Rabbi Levi Yitzchok: Levi Yitzchok, Levi, or Yitzchok?
Enter the raffle here:
https://forms.gle/7ovVJpdWG6JMMJVZ6
Have a son, brother, or friend named after him? Please share the form and invite them to join.

By Nochum Greenwald

The Montreal community marked a major milestone with the dedication of a brand new men’s mikvah at Congregation Lubavitch.

The previous men’s mikvah was in need of extensive repair. With much patience and support from the community, Boruch Hashem, a brand new Bor Al Gabey Bor Mikvah has now been built.

The Mikva Committee put together architectural plans and raised funds for several much-needed improvements — accomplishing the goal of completing a beautiful and comfortable mikvah for the entire community.

Under the guidance and direct oversight of Rabbi Dovid Banon, Rabbi Berel Bell, and Rabbi Moshe Stern, the committee engaged Rabbi Gershon Grossbaum — an expert who has built and supervised numerous mikvaos — together with an experienced local team. Their combined expertise ensured the new Bor was constructed in accordance with the highest halachic and professional standards.

The committee would like to thank Rabbi Pesach Sperlin for his expertise in constructing a brand new Otzar [reservoir of rain water].

The Montreal community expresses immense appreciation to the entire Mikva Committee:
Rabbi Dovid Cohen, Rabbi Baruch Aaron Hus, Mendy Mochkin, Dovid Slapochnik, and Mendy Zirkind.
Your tireless dedication to this project paid off.

Special thanks to Rabbi Chaim Shloma Cohen, the Montreal Torah Center, and Tzeirei Hadas, for making their mikvaos available to more members during construction.

Taiwan’s Jews Get a Cemetery of Their Own

by Shloimy Galperin – chabad.org

The man asked Rabbi Shlomi Tabib for one thing as he lay dying of Stage 4 lung cancer: Make sure there was a Jewish cemetery in Taiwan by the time it was going to be needed again.

Tabib couldn’t make it happen in time for the patient. The man, a longtime member of the Jewish community in Taiwan, was buried elsewhere.

“When he passed away, it was a wake-up call,” Rabbi Tabib told Chabad.org. “I knew that if we didn’t take this on and make it happen, no one else was going to do it.”

It would be three more years before the cemetery opened its gates. But finally, a few weeks ago, it did. Set in a forest about 40 minutes from Chabad of Taiwan, the island’s first dedicated Jewish burial ground held its first funeral, and the last crucial piece of Jewish infrastructure on the island was complete.

Jeffrey D. Schwartz, center, flanked by Rabbi Shlomo Tabib and Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky at the opening of the $16 million Jewish community center in Taiwan.

‘We Don’t Take It for Granted’

Organized Jewish life in Taiwan goes back only to the 1950s, when American Jewish servicemen stationed on the island gathered for Shabbat and holidays. Rabbi Shlomi and Racheli Tabib arrived in 2011 and built on that foundation, establishing Chabad-Lubavitch of Taiwan in Taipei City, and opened the Jeffrey D. Schwartz Jewish Community Center a decade later. Funded by Taiwan businessman Jeffrey Schwartz, the $16 million complex gave the island its first permanent synagogue and kosher kitchen, along with a Judaica museum, a 300-seat ballroom and a mikvah finished with a gold-leaf ceiling.

One piece was still missing. In Taiwan, where 95% of the population is cremated, burial according to halachah, Jewish law, has never been available. Families had to send loved ones abroad, often to Hong Kong— home to the region’s oldest Jewish cemetery, dating to 1855. Shanghai’s Sephardi community opened its own in 1862. Taiwan had nothing comparable.

The Tabibs tried to negotiate space for a Jewish cemetery for years, and eventually found a private cemetery willing to set aside a section permanently for Jewish use. They then worked with rabbinic authorities to structure and fence off the area so it would function as a distinct Jewish burial ground.

The Tabibs saw the need almost as soon as they arrived, but local law didn’t allow for the permanence Jewish burial requires, and the project stalled for years. The turn came when the rabbi found a private cemetery willing to set aside a section permanently for Jewish use, a step Schwartz helped make possible. Rabbi Tabib then worked with rabbinic authorities to structure and fence off the plot so it would function as a distinct Jewish burial ground.

On June 23, the cemetery was consecrated when its first burial took place there. The deceased’s family lived outside Taiwan, and Rabbi Tabib served as their representative on the ground, and working closely with Chabad of Hong Kong and ZAKA’s international division, oversaw the arrangements. Taiwan’s burial laws, unlike those in much of North America, permit burial directly in the earth without a casket, in keeping with the most ideal halachic practice.

“I know you say it’s your job, but we don’t take it for granted,” a family member wrote to Rabbi Tabib. “You were there for us at our collectively most difficult time in our lives. What you do touches hearts.”

Alumni of Yeshiva Tiferes Bachurim gathered for a memorable Shabbos reunion, culminating in a Chanukas Habayis celebrating the yeshiva’s new state-of-the-art zal and expanded facilities. The reunion followed a Yarchei Kallah that brought professionals from across the Tri-State area together for a yeshiva experience.

Talmidim spanning more than five decades returned to spend Shabbos in yeshiva, reconnect with friends and hanhalah, and revisit the place that helped shape their formative years.

The Chanukas Habayis program on Sunday opened with chavrusa learning, followed by a shiur delivered by Rabbi Zalman Dubinsky.

A panel discussion featured members of the hanhalah, Rabbi Chaim Brafman and Rabbi Dovid Faiden, together with alumni representing different eras of the yeshiva: Rabbi Menachem Schmidt (1974–1979, now with Chabad on Campus International), Rabbi Shaul Wertheimer (1999–2004, now of Chabad of Queens College), and Rabbi Gavriel Isenberg (2013–2017, now of Chabad Vanderbilt JGrads). The discussion centered on “The Life of a Chossid,” exploring how the values instilled in yeshiva continue to guide alumni throughout their lives.

Several alumni then shared personal reflections on their years in Tiferes Bachurim and the lasting impact the yeshiva has had on their lives, whether in shlichus, their professions, or their communities around the world. The program then paused for a group photo before continuing with the dinner.

During the dinner, Rabbi Yaakov Wagner spoke about the yeshiva’s continued growth and the vision behind its expanding facilities. Rabbi Mendy Herson, Head Shliach of New Jersey and Dean of the Rabbinical College of America, followed with remarks reflecting on the yeshiva’s legacy and the mission established by its founder, his father, Rabbi Moshe Herson, a”h.

Rabbi Ari Weindruch of Chabad at Penn State also addressed the gathering, speaking about how the values learned in Tiferes continue to influence alumni in their shlichus, leadership, and everyday lives, while emphasizing the lasting achdus shared by graduates across generations.

Throughout the event, many alumni shared stories of their personal journeys and accomplishments since leaving yeshiva, expressing the strong sense of family and lifelong connection they continue to feel toward Tiferes and one another.

The evening concluded with a farbrengen led by Rabbi Tuvia Teldon and Rabbi Michoel Muchnik, members of the yeshiva’s inaugural class more than fifty years ago. They reflected on the vision upon which Tiferes Bachurim was founded and the generations of talmidim who have carried that mission forward ever since.

First-Ever Kosher Pop-Up Grill Opens in Jackson Hole for the Summer

For the first time, visitors and locals in Jackson Hole have access to a dedicated kosher pop-up grill, bringing fresh kosher dining to one of America’s most popular summer destinations. The Kosher Grill, which opened on July 5, is operating from the Chabad Jewish Center of Wyoming and is offering an exciting menu throughout the busy summer season.

While located at Chabad, the Kosher Grill is an independent venture operated by three Chabadniks from New York: Mayer Balkany, Tzvi Torenheim, and Yehudah Schultz. Chabad of Wyoming is providing the hashgacha and overseeing the kashrus.

The opening marks a significant milestone for the region, where the Jewish community is relatively small and kosher dining options have traditionally been very limited. Jackson Hole has become an increasingly popular destination for Jewish families exploring the nearby Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks. Until now, those seeking fresh kosher meals while in the area had few convenient options.

“One of the Rebbe’s well known mivtzoim campaigns was encouraging greater access to kosher food for Jews wherever they may be. Alongside his campaigns encouraging men to put on tefillin and women to light Shabbos candles, the Rebbe emphasized making kosher food more readily available to every Jew,” said Rabbi Zalman Mendelsohn of the Chabad Jewish Center of Wyoming. “We’re grateful that this initiative helps further that vision by making fresh, high quality kosher meals available throughout the summer.”

The seasonal Kosher Grill features a diverse menu of freshly prepared favorites, providing a new kosher dining destination in northwest Wyoming during the busy summer season. The project is especially noteworthy because it brings together three Chabadniks who traveled from New York, transporting equipment, supplies, and their culinary expertise across the country to establish the seasonal venture.

Beyond serving meals, the team is also committed to giving back to the Jewish community. Every Tuesday, the grill closes so its operators can travel throughout Yellowstone National Park and surrounding areas to connect with Jewish visitors. They will help men put on tefillin, distribute Shabbos candles, and offer opportunities for Jewish inspiration and connection, continuing the Rebbe’s vision of reaching every Jew wherever they may be. The weekly outreach reflects the team’s commitment to strengthening Jewish life alongside operating the Kosher Grill.

“We’re excited to bring quality kosher food to Jackson Hole and make it more accessible for Jewish visitors and the local community,” said Mayer Balkany. “We’ve put a great deal of thought into creating a menu that people will enjoy, and we hope the Kosher Grill becomes a welcoming place where guests can relax, enjoy a delicious meal, and connect with fellow travelers during their time here.”

The Kosher Grill is expected to operate throughout the summer, expanding kosher accessibility in one of the nation’s premier vacation destinations.

For hours, the menu, and additional information, JewishWyoming.com/Grill.

The Story That Moved Thousands – When the Shliach Chinuch Revealed His Harrowing Story

At the heart of the training event for 198 Shluchhey chinuch in Eretz HaKodesh, held as part of the historic gathering of Reshet Oholei Yosef Yitzchak Lubavitch, an inspiring film was shown, presenting the moving story of Rabbi Shlomo Chaim Lison, a Shliach chinuch from Haifa.

The film tells the story of his medical struggle and reveals the extraordinary dedication of a Shliach chinuch to his students – even in the most challenging moments.

Now, for the first time, the film is available for viewing by the broader Anash community.

Don’t miss it.

“Ashrei Adam Bote’ach Bach”

Video of the Day

At an event fare welling Sara Netanyahu as school Psychiatrist at a Chabad High School in Yerushalayim, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu can be seen watching a video of the Rebbe presented to the guests.

        View this post on Instagram            A post shared by שימי סגל (@shimisegal)

By Rabbi Efrem Goldberg

Earlier this week, while in New York, I made it a point to stop at the Ohel, as I often do. This isn’t something I grew up doing, nor was it a practice of most of my rebbeim. So I found myself wondering: What draws me there? Why do I keep going back again and again? The cookies, apples, and hot and cold beverages, all provided to make a beracha, are fantastic, but that isn’t it. So, what is it?

The simple answer is the opportunity to connect with the Lubavitcher Rebbe, his father-in-law, the Frierdiker Rebbe, their Rebbetzins, and other holy people buried there. Indeed, I am regularly inspired and moved by the Rebbe’s legacy, tenacity, what he stood for, what he accomplished, his energy, positivity, and his leadership, which unleashed an army around the world, including selfless followers who were only born after he passed away but nevertheless love him as their spiritual father. That is certainly a reason to go daven there once or occasionally, but it still doesn’t explain what draws me back regularly.

And then it occurred to me. The holiness of the Ohel comes not only from the righteous people buried there, but from the diversity of the living people who unite there. Men and women, people of all backgrounds, levels of knowledge, levels of observance, and modes of dress come together there. In that Ohel are people who have never felt more whole, happy, and grateful for something good that has happened, and people who have never felt more broken, wanting, longing, waiting, and desperately hoping. This diverse group is united in being drawn to this holy place, to connect with our Creator by leaning on the merit of these great people who loved all Jews unconditionally and who saw the best in us, believed in us, all while demanding the best of us and having expectations for us.

The Rebbe brilliantly lived and modeled for us how to be principled, steadfast, and unrelenting when it comes to Torah, mitzvos, and halacha, while being loving, welcoming, and open-minded when it comes to loving and seeing the good in fellow Jews. That combination is palpable in that place, and it energizes and obligates all who visit there.

At the Ohel, one’s eyes are easily drawn to the matzeivos, the tombstones of these extraordinary tzaddikim, and to think of them. But I believe they would remind us and encourage us also to look around, to see others and to make them feel seen, to connect with them, love them, and see the best in everyone gathered there, no matter how they are dressed, what they have on their head, or why they are there. Going to the Ohel is to daven at a holy site, but it is also to go to a gathering place for our holy people.

We find ourselves in the Bein HaMetzarim, the Three Weeks during which our people suffered countless calamities, most prominently the destruction of our two Batei Mikdash. Our prophets, and later our great rabbis, didn’t pull punches in telling us that what caused it was our mistreatment of one another, including judgment, dismissiveness, and divisiveness.

Starting with the Nine Days, countless siyumim will be celebrated across the Jewish world, marking the completion of a significant section of learning but usually motivated by the meat menu that goes with it. There is a fascinating Chabad custom, going back at least to the Rabbi Sholom DovBer Schneersohn, to make siyumim during the Nine Days but nevertheless specifically not to serve or eat meat at the meal. The Rebbe explained that a siyum is an opportunity to invite and bring together a group of Jews to celebrate and share in another person’s accomplishment. By having a siyum with no meat, one demonstrates that the purpose and goal are Torah and loving fellow Jews, with no ulterior motive, agenda, or personal benefit.

In fact, for that reason, the Rebbe strongly encouraged making a siyum every day of the Nine Days, even on Tisha B’Av itself (on a masechta permitted to be learned that day), and continuing through the 15th of Av. Meat is permitted anyway on Shabbos, and eating altogether is forbidden on Tisha B’Av, so clearly the goal of such siyumim is simply to come together and celebrate Torah and one another.

The antidote and answer to the Three Weeks, Nine Days, and Tisha B’Av is more Ohel in our lives. I don’t necessarily mean visiting there, but rather bringing its energy into our lives and our communities: to be unrelenting and inflexible when it comes to Torah, yet unconditionally loving of all Jews, and to find a way to be united despite our differences.

BDE: Hatomim Ziv Moshe Schulman, 17, OBM

With great sadness we report the passing of Hatomim Ziv Moshe Schulman OBM, a bochur at the Lubavitcher Yeshiva in Rechovot, EY who collapsed yesterday while at the Yeshiva. He passed away on Tuesday, the 22nd of Tammuz, 5786.

He was 17 years old.

The Chabad community worldwide came out to say Tehillim after his collapse.

He is survived by his parents Eyal and Meirav Yakira Shulman.

Boruch Dayan Hoemes

Ziv Moshe Shulman, a 17-year-old Chabad Yeshiva bochur passed away on Tuesday, 22 Tammuz 5786.

Shulman was the son of Eyal and Mrs. Shulman, active members of the Chabad community in the city of Rechovot in Israel.

Shulman was beloved by his friends and acquaintances and has been dedicated to learning with diligence and taking an active role in Mivtzoim.

Two days ago, he suddenly collapsed in the courtyard of the Chabad Yeshiva in Rechovot, where he studies. He tragically passed away today.

The levaya will be held this evening in Rechovot.

Baruch Dayan Haemes.

A Yid living with ALS could no longer communicate the way he once had. Speaking became impossible, and even the simplest interactions required tremendous effort. But the Torah inside him was still alive, and his chavrusa, his family, and his community still needed to hear what he had to share.

That is where CSB CARE stepped in. With eye-tracking communication technology, customized computer access, accessible Torah materials, and ongoing support, he could once again express what was inside. Using only his eyes, he could communicate with his family, continue learning with his chavrusa, and share divrei Torah.

What looked like technology was really something much deeper: dignity preserved, connection restored, and a life of Torah that could continue.

When we come together as a community, blindness cannot prevent learning. ALS cannot silence Torah. And disability cannot separate a Yid from tefillah, family, or connection. This A World of Light campaign, you have the opportunity to make that possible for thousands of individuals and families who depend on CSB CARE every day. Please give generously and help bring the light of Torah, communication, and hope to those who need it most Donate Here.

Residents and passersby in Crown Heights were startled Tuesday morning as numerous FBI agents descended on an office building at 361 Kingston Avenue at the corner of Carroll Street.

The early morning operation drew significant attention as multiple marked FBI vehicles, along with several unmarked cars, lined the block while agents carried out the raid.

FBI personnel at the scene declined to comment on the nature of the investigation or identify who was being investigated.

COLlive has learned that the investigation is focused on a Jewish office tenant who rents space in the building from Hamafitz Stam. However, it remains unclear what the individual is being investigated for, and no official information has been released regarding the case.

The large federal law enforcement presence prompted concern among local residents and those arriving at nearby businesses, with many stopping to watch the unfolding operation.

COLlive will provide updates as more information becomes available.

Over 125 people gathered at the newly dedicated Beit Shvidler building in Rockland County, New York, on 10 Tammuz for an evening focused on the imprisonment and miraculous liberation of the Frierdiker Rebbe.

Hosted by Igud Anash together with local Anash shuls, the program featured Rabbi Yechiel Krisch in conversation with author Rabbi Dovid Eliezrie. His recent book Undaunted, the result of four years of research, draws on letters, sichos, maamarim, memoirs, and previously inaccessible archival material to present a deeper account of the Frierdiker Rebbe’s arrest and leadership.

Rather than offering a conventional historical overview, the discussion emphasized the personal and practical lessons emerging from these events. Rabbis Krisch and Eliezrie explored questions often overlooked in standard retellings, including why the Rebbe stressed that Jewish observance remained legal under Soviet law, how his years in Latvia shaped the educational infrastructure later developed in America, and what mesiras nefesh can look like in contemporary communities.

The conversation also highlighted the Frierdiker Rebbe’s model of leadership—firm in conviction yet collaborative in approach—and its relevance for today’s communal life.

Excerpts from Undaunted were woven throughout the evening, featuring firsthand accounts of rescue efforts, support for Torah institutions, and the Rebbe’s unwavering focus on investing in Jewish youth.

The program concluded with audience questions, a book signing, Maariv and a beautiful farbrengen that continued late into the night.

“This unique setting brought together people from across Rockland, including members of Anash as well as the Litvish and Chassidishe communities,” said Rabbi Levi Tiechtel, the organizer of the event. “Many attendees shared that the evening was informative, enjoyable, and most importantly, inspiring.”

Yeshivas Lubavitch Northwest Florida concluded a beautiful and successful year filled with growth in learning, Chassidishkeit, and achdus.

The bochurim celebrated the end of the year with a special trip and Shabbaton in Tallahassee, warmly hosted by Rabbi Schneur and Chanie Oirechman. The Shabbaton was a fitting culmination to a year of tremendous effort, as the bochurim completed a Maamar in honor of Gimmel Tammuz. Along with the learning and inspiration, they enjoyed swimming, rock climbing, and spending quality time together, creating lasting memories.

Back at Yeshiva, families and friends gathered for a meaningful Mechina Graduation and Shiur Aleph Siyum, celebrating the accomplishments of each talmid and the strong foundation built throughout the year.

With much gratitude to Hashem, Yeshivas Lubavitch Northwest Florida is excited to continue growing. For the upcoming 5787 year, the Yeshiva will be offering:

* 8th Grade Mechina
* Shiur Aleph Mesivta
* Shiur Bais Mesivta

Limited spots remain available for the coming year. Families interested in joining our unique environment of serious learning, Chassidishe warmth, and personal growth are encouraged to reach out and apply at www.YeshivasLubavitchNWFL.com.

IY”H Looking forward to another incredible year of raising Chassidishe bochurim!

At the Simchas Torah 5736 farbrengen, the Rebbe said, “Those who have already obtained semicha for “Yoreh Yoreh,” should add and commit to finishing, by next year, semicha on “Yadin Yadin” too.

Machon Limud Halacha, Lemaan Yilmedu, offers a comprehensive course designed to prepare students for the prestigious Yadin Yadin semicha. This enables those for whom this is pertinent, to have a methodical course of study to earn the most reputable semicha certificate for Yadin Yadin.

Rabbi Tuvia Kasimov, moreh tzedek in the Crown Heights Beis Horaah, and well-known maggid shiur, who has an excellent reputation for giving shiurim in halacha on a high level with the utmost clarity, runs the program. The learning includes the entire chain of halacha, starting from learning the Tur and Beis Yosef in depth, and then the piskei Shulchan Aruch and the nosei keilim, down to the practical application. An emphasis is placed on how to decide what to do with questions that arise in our modern era.

This is a four-year program. In the first year, the halachos from Orach Chaim and Yoreh Deah are studied. In the second year, the halachos from Even HaEzer. In the final two years, the halachos from Choshen Mishpat.

As mentioned, this course is for those who have already successfully studied for semicha and are prepared to invest the time in studying the halachos needed by dayanim. The course is especially suited for shluchim who run kehillos or young men who see themselves leading kehillos and paskening halacha for the members of their communities.

Course Details:
Start date: 22 Av 5786, August 5, 2026
Course Duration: 4 Years
Course Days: Wednesday
Class time: 8:00 – 10:00 pm

Have a look: https://www.lemaanyilmedu.com/product/dayanus-program

Early Morning FBI Raid Targets Office On Carroll and Kingston

by CrownHeights.info

Carroll and Kingston, in the heart of Crown Heights, saw officers of the FBI in an early morning raid Tuesday morning, allegedly targeting a second floor office on the corner.

Details remain sparse but no arrests were reported, despite both the FBI and HSI reported on scene.

By a mother

How to market your child?
How do I show the worth?
Of a charming splendid diamond,
There are so many on this earth.

Each mother searching diligently.
Their son needs perfection.
All these girls wandering the globe.
Need a total inspection.

Are they pretty?
Are they smart?
Is there money?
Is there land?
Is there fame?
Are they classy?
Are they perfect all around?

Are you looking for a wife for your son, who, of course, is magical?
So many girls, so many gems, each one a queen, an angel.

As these girls float around, their sincerity, with depth,
Girls with voices, girls with faith,
Girls majestic full of taste.
These girls are praying hard.
These girls hope for a future soon.
They are playing all their cards.

Dear G-d, the king of all these princesses,
I’m sure you want more homes.
Homes built of purity and beauty,
Homes divine, full of sanctity.

We need a palace for each to be queen.
They’ve been alone for far too long.
They are looking for their partners,
They’ve sung to every song.

Dear G-d, as a father,
Dear G-d, as a king,
Please help your precious daughters,
to acquire their wedding rings.

A project of LEC’s Mesivta Lubavitch Miami – The bochurim at Yeshivas Kayitz Miami have jumped into the summer with real excitement and energy, and the first week has already been jam-packed with incredible learning and exceptional fun.

From the very beginning, the talmidim have kept up a solid learning schedule with their devoted Mesivta Magidei Shiur who stayed on through the summer to keep the shiurim at the highest level. The steady hashgacha has brought a visible sense of stability and strength to the daily sedorim and tefillos, providing structured grounds for success. “The davening is reminiscent of Tomchei Temimim of Amohl,” said one of the balabatim that joined for Shachris.

At the same time, the bochurim have been treated to a full list of meaningful, fun experiences.

On the first day, they enjoyed a fantastic water skiing trip on the beautiful Miami waters, followed by a lively Seder Sichos including inspiring times with the Shluchim and special farbeisin. The same week included a full draft, launching the sports segment, a delicious schnitzel baguette evening bash, and a tasty pre-fast fleishig wrap gala, that had everyone satisfied.

A major highlight was the memorable Shabbaton in Key West. Before Shabbos the bochurim cycled along the stunning Overseas Highway, taking in the breathtaking views of the Keys. They were warmly hosted for Shabbos by Rabbi and Rebbetzin Zucker of Chabad of Key West, where they spent the entire Shabbos and were Zoche to a special farbrengen with Rabbi Zucker all Shabbos afternoon, where he shared personal special memories of the Rebbe and many Shlichus stories. Motzei Shabbos brought a lavish barbecue with fireworks on the beach, and on Sunday they wrapped up the trip with an exclusive sailing training session on the stunning waters of the southern-most point of the USA.

All week long, the talmidim have thrown themselves into several meaningful mivtzas. The campaign for adding in Chassidishe hanhogos comes with great merch incentives, a separate Mivtza Torah is encouraging extra accomplishments in learning and completing Mesechtos, and the Mivtza Shmiras Hasedorim is rewarding punctuality, all with prizes and rewards to recognize and celebrate the Bochurims efforts and hard work.

The incredible Mesivta Shluchim invested beyond their all to make every part of the summer top-notch — from the sports activities, the mivtzoim and Mivtzas, the delicious food menu, to the voluntary learning sedorim and constant chavrusos with bochurim. They’ve left no stone unturned to give the bochurim an unforgettable, meaningful, and fabulous summer experience.

The staff has spared no energy to create what is shaping up to be the summer of a lifetime. In an environment steeped in limud hatorah, ahavas Yisroel, and the warmth of Tomchei Temimim, the bochurim are thriving — growing simultaneously in yidishkeit and chassidishkeit, while enjoying rich experiences and creating memories together that they will cherish for years to come.

State Department and CAM Honor 250 Years of Jewish American Heritage at Historic Shabbat Dinner

On July 3, Under Secretary for Economic Affairs Jacob Helberg and Ambassador Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun hosted America’s 250th Birthday Shabbat Dinner in partnership with the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) at the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace. Nearly 200 ambassadors, senior U.S. officials, and Jewish leaders participated in this historic kick-off to the Freedom 250 celebrations in Washington, DC, during the holiday weekend.

Ambassador Kaploun underscored why broadening appreciation for Jewish heritage remains a critical tool in the fight against global antisemitism. “The history of the Jewish people in America is a strong one, a resilient one,” he said. In his speech, Kaploun also highlighted the Lubavitcher Rebbe, noting him as one of the great Americans of this nation’s history.

Arie Lipnick, Chair of CAM’s US Advisory Board, announced that CAM will partner with the U.S. Department of State to launch a new educational initiative aimed at educating young audiences globally about the contributions of 250 notable Jewish Americans.

A Foundation Phantom humanoid robot interacted with guests, representing the role which technology will play in shaping the next 250 years of Jewish American history.

Bobruisk: Restoration Efforts of Historic Jewish Cemetery Nears Completion of First Stage

A major restoration project at the historic Jewish cemetery of Bobruisk, Belarus, is nearing the completion of its first stage, following nearly two years of gradual work led by the local Jewish community together with descendants of Bobruisk families around the world.

The cemetery, located near Minskaya Street in the Mogilev region, was established in 1921 and remains the city’s only surviving Jewish burial ground. Thousands of Jews from Bobruisk and the surrounding region are buried there, including Rabbi Shmariyahu Noach Schneerson of Bobruisk, the city’s Chief Rabbi and founder of the cemetery, whose resting place has survived to this day.

The current stage of restoration has focused on making the cemetery accessible and safe: paths and passageways are being cleared, overgrown vegetation and debris removed, protective treatment applied to prevent renewed wild growth, and unstable trees identified and removed where necessary. Future stages are expected to include new paths, shaded areas and drinking fountains for visitors.

“The condition of the cemetery was very painful,” said Rabbi Shaul Chababo, Chief Rabbi of Bobruisk and Chabad emissary to the city. “It was almost impossible to walk between the graves, and the feeling was very difficult. This initiative is being carried forward by Jewish families around the world — people born in Bobruisk and descendants of families who lived here throughout its history — who have taken responsibility for preserving this sacred place.”

Among the leaders of the initiative is Felix Gurevich of Florida, a native of Bobruisk, who formed a 15-member board of trustees and, together with the local Jewish community, began raising the resources needed for the cemetery’s rehabilitation.

Bobruisk was once one of the largest and most important Jewish centers in Belarus; in 1897, more than 20,700 Jews lived in the city, making up about 60 percent of its population. The cemetery also holds deep Holocaust memory, with several memorials standing there in remembrance of victims from Bobruisk and nearby communities.

In recent decades, after years of neglect, emigration, and incidents of damage and theft, the restoration has become an urgent act of dignity, remembrance, and connection — ensuring that one of Bobruisk’s most significant Jewish heritage sites can once again be visited, protected, and honored.

Today, Shliach Rabbi Moshe Spalter joined the growing number of shluchim who have gone the extra mile by donating a kidney to save the life of someone they had never met—giving the ultimate gift of life.

Originally from Costa Rica, where his parents serve as shluchim, Rabbi Spalter now leads Chabad of Lake Forest and Lake Bluff in suburban Chicago together with his wife.

Kidney donation had been on his mind for years. When his brother-in-law needed a transplant, he volunteered to be tested and viewed becoming a match as a clear sign from Hashem. A father of three young children, he hopes his decision will inspire others to consider the gift of living donation.

Just last week, Renewal celebrated its 1,500th kidney transplant—each one representing a life saved, hope restored, and the extraordinary impact of living donation.

If you are interested in learning more about becoming a living kidney donor or would like to begin the confidential screening process, please contact Renewal at [email protected]

https://collive.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/vid-20260706-wa0080_1.mp4

https://collive.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/vid-20260706-wa0079.mp4

Another Shliach Makes The Ultimate Gift Of Life

Today, Shliach Rabbi Moshe Spalter joined the growing number of shluchim who have gone the extra mile by donating a kidney to save the life of someone they had never met—giving the ultimate gift of life.

Originally from Costa Rica, where his parents serve as shluchim, Rabbi Spalter now leads Chabad of Lake Forest and Lake Bluff in suburban Chicago together with his wife.

Kidney donation had been on his mind for years. When his brother-in-law needed a transplant, he volunteered to be tested and viewed becoming a match as a clear sign from Hashem. A father of three young children, he hopes his decision will inspire others to consider the gift of living donation.

Just last week, Renewal celebrated its 1,500th kidney transplant—each one representing a life saved, hope restored, and the extraordinary impact of living donation.

If you are interested in learning more about becoming a living kidney donor or would like to begin the confidential screening process, please contact Renewal at [email protected]

We’re pleased to share a new episode of “Lemaan Yishmeu,” the weekly halacha podcast with Rabbi Yosef Yeshaya Braun, Mara D’asra, and member of the Crown Heights Beis Din, brought to you by AskTheRav.com in partnership with the Lemaan Yilmedu Halacha Institute.

Each week, Rabbi Braun explores fascinating halachic questions across a wide range of practical topics — real inquiries that have reached his desk, along with his clear and insightful responses.

You can listen to the podcast on all major platforms, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, 24Six Amazon Music and Pocket Casts

The podcast is also available at https://asktherav.com/podcast/#ep15, where you can see extensive marei mekomos for the answers.

In this week’s episode, the topics discussed by Rabbi Braun include:

Kiddushin ring alternatives

• When the chassan’s ring is lost, is it preferable to use a borrowed ring or a coin?

• May a paper bill or contemporary coin, which have no intrinsic value, be used for kiddushin the way a valuable coin could?

• What are the halachic advantages of using a ring specifically?

• Is it an option to use both a coin and a borrowed ring together, or would that backfire?

Sending a Shabbos Goy to prevent a kashrus mishap

• May one ask a non-Jew to drive on Shabbos to warn people about milchig dessert at a sheva brachos?

• Can a non-Jew be asked to do a melacha d’oraisa for a mitzvah need?

• Does “michshol derabim” justify asking a non-Jew to do melacha?

• What is actually the true nature of the michshol in the case of an unknown milchig dessert or torn eruv?

• Does the possibility that one of the participants might be dangerously allergic to dairy create a pikuach nefesh justification?

Making up tachanun and v’hu rachum

• If tachanun and v’hu rachum were skipped by mistake, e.g., in the mistaken belief that a bris would follow, must they be made up later, such as at mincha?

• Does the Alter Rebbe’s ruling that one who was genuinely exempt (as in a mourner’s home) need not make them up apply equally when the omission was simply an error?

• Does the status of v’hu rachum being a direct continuation to Shemoneh Esrei depend on the nusach, whether v’hu rachum is recited before or after tachanun?

• If the chazzan mistakenly recited Kaddish instead of tachanun, should he go back and say tachanun?

Mezuza placement on a side door

• For a side door, as opposed to the front door, is the mezuza placed according to heker tzir (the way the door opens)?

• Was the Rebbe’s printed response on this a definitive ruling, or did the Rebbe in fact leave the matter as an open question, illustrating the broader concern that printed ma’anos can contain copying errors?

“HaMerachem” vs. “VeHaMerachem” in Modim

• Why does the Chabad nusach say HaMerachem on weekdays but veHaMerachem on Shabbos and Yom Tov?

• Does the veHaMerachem form extend to the mussaf of Rosh Chodesh and Chol HaMoed?

• What variances in this regard do we know from the practice of the Rebbeim?

Eating meat during shiva and on Shabbos

• Is the practice in some communities to refrain from meat throughout shiva (beyond the period of aninus) a legitimate minhag, and would someone who kept it need hataras nedarim to eat meat?

• What is the common minhag in our circles regarding this?

• What is the significance of eating meat on Shabbos as an expression of simcha, such that we do so even when Tisha B’Av falls on Shabbos?

Marking fifty years since the Rebbe’s call to study Hilchos Beis Habechirah during the Three Weeks, Crown Heights is seeing what organizers describe as a record number of shiurim taking place in neighborhood shuls.

Coordinated by the Lubavitch Youth Organization (Tzach), the initiative has expanded across the community, making it easier than ever for Chassidim to fulfill the Rebbe’s directive to learn about the Beis Hamikdash during this time of mourning for its destruction.

The Rebbe placed special emphasis on the Midrash Tanchuma (Vayikra 14). When Hashem instructed the Navi Yechezkel to teach Klal Yisroel about the design of the future Beis Hamikdash while they remained in Golus, Yechezkel questioned the value of studying its structure before it could actually be built.

Hashem’s response established a timeless lesson: the study of the Beis Hamikdash is itself considered an act of building. “Should the construction of My House be neglected because My children are in Golus?” Hashem declared. “Occupy yourselves with learning its design, and I will regard it as though you have built it.”

Following the Rebbe’s hora’os, the daily shiurim cover a broad range of sources relating to the Beis Hamikdash, including the Torah’s sections on the Mishkan, Yechezkel’s prophecy describing the Third Beis Hamikdash (chapters 40–43), Masechtos Tamid and Midos, and the Rambam’s Hilchos Beis Habechirah.

The Three Weeks initiative also includes daily Siyumim throughout the Nine Days. To facilitate participation, Tzach has produced a sign for each participating shul featuring a schedule where community members can sign up to make a Siyum on a specific day.

The Rebbe repeatedly encouraged arranging Siyumim during the Nine Days, following the custom of the chassidim of the Baal Shem Tov. In addition to increasing Torah learning, these Siyumim introduce an element of permitted simcha during this period and strengthen the hope that our efforts will hasten the end of the present Golus and the rebuilding of the Beis Hamikdash.

This year’s Three Weeks and Nine Days programming is dedicated l’iluy nishmas Rabbi Shmuel Menachem Mendel ben Horav Schneur Zalman Butman a”h, the longtime director of Tzach, who was dedicated to strengthening the study of Hilchos Beis Habechirah throughout the community.