Anonymous OP-ED: This is what I would tell my supporters, as a contestant in the Vaad Hakhol elections. It is purely hypothetical, as I unfortunately cannot see the value of spending time and effort in running for a seat, being that there is so much politics, name-calling and smearing going on. Full Article
“I Was Saved From Debt”
COLlive is proud to launch "The Shluchim Show," a weekly podcast featuring Chabad Lubavitch Shluchim who discuss their life and work, in coordination with TheCoolJew.com. This week: Head Shliach of Florida, Rabbi Avraham Korf reveals how he was saved from debt and the far-reach of summer camps. Audio
Spreading Ideas With Photos
Lubavitch photographer Michoel Ogince is using email and Twitter to spread Torah values and Chassidic teachings. Thousands receive his weekly photo and spiritual message. "G-d provides me with the picture and the Rebbe with the words," he told COLlive. Full Story, Photos
Ended: Live from Eastern Pkwy
COLlive and My Shliach ended their live coverage of the Tzivos Hashem Lag B'Omer celebration and rally held Tuesday in front of 770 Eastern Parkway in Crown Heights. Close to 2000 people tuned in for a program and concert with Uncle Moishy. Photos
A Wasted ‘Mazal Tov’ Wish
OP-ED: You run into a wedding to wish your best to the celebrating families. You push your way through the crush of people to the father of the bride and say "mazal tov." There's a very strong possibility that an acknowledgment is not being registered, writes Rabbi Shea Hecht. Full Story
Why Shluchim Don’t Whine
Op-Ed: The economic storm has taken its toll on charitable giving, particularly on hard-hit Jewish institutions. Among them Chabad and its thousands of schools, camps and synagogues has weathered more than its fair share of the damage, writes Rabbi Shea Hecht. Full Article
Revital’s Deathbed Letter
From the COLlive inbox: "I, Revital A., 19 years old, am standing on the threshold of death, so young, but already feeling all the gates of life shutting slowly before me. I am like a beautiful flower closing its petals." Full Story
You Know How to be a Mother?
Op-Ed: To become a healthy mother, you first need to be a daughter and sister. Only when you have received that unconditional nurture as a child, can you then imbue others with that unshakable sense of confidence and love, writes Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Jacobson. Full Story
Chumros Alert!
OP-ED: Anyone that ever spent Pesach as a guest knows that it is nothing close to a festival of freedom. The amount of 'chumros' piled up in orthodox and frum homes amounts to Pharaoh's decrees in ancient Egypt. Full Story
Brochstat Presents His Niggun
Following the others who have composed a niggun on the Rebbe's new chapter in Tehillim, the master Sholom Brochstat presents his own. As customary, a melody is written each year with the words of the Rebbe's Kapital which Chassidim recite daily from the 11th of Nissan. Audio
Hakhel Remake By Sparks Choir
COLlive DEBUT: Sparks boys choir is boasting a new remake of the "Hakhel" song, first performed by the Tzivos Hashem choir in Jerusalem in the Hakhel year of 1988. Arranged and composed by Israel Edelson, choir conducted by Danny Finkelman. Audio
The Furniture Store Jew
COLlive INBOX: Zalman Dubinsky and Nisson Friedman, bochurim at the Yeshiva Ohr Elchanan Chabad in Los Angeles, CA, visit an elderly man, in his mid-to-late eighties, every week at a furniture store. And have they got a story to tell... Full Story
Documentary on Chassidic Life
A nostalgic film documentary in English about the Kfar Chabad village in Israel was filmed by the Jewish Agency some 48 years ago. It documents the common Chassidic life: Learning, Farbrengens, work, shopping, children playing, travel by train and a Bar Mitzvah. COLlive now broadcasts the film on the web. Video
Bogomilsky, Kaplan Halacha talk
Yagdil Torah held a Morning of Learning at Getzel's Shul today, over 40 Crown Heights residents attended. Classes included "Seforim Case in Halacha," by Rabbi Moshe Bogomilsky, and "The Mitzva of Educating Children," by Rabbi Nochum Kaplan. COLlive presents exclusive audio. Photos, Audio
Lighting Menorah Before Battle
Minutes before leaving for Gaza on the eighth night of Chanukah, Shluchim from Chabad of Be'er Sheva joined a group of soldiers for a Menorah lighting. The shluchim gave warm words of encouragement, and joined the soldiers in a dance, finally ending the gathering at 2:00 am. COLLive was allowed to video, however the images were distorted by IDF request for security reasons.
“Chasoif”
Sruly Meyer, who recorded this new single, says, "I dedicate this song to Gavriel's HY"D passion and his warmth and of course, his smile. We should all have his mindset that nothing is too hard, and we should do everything with passion and with a smile on our face." The beautiful melody is sung by Yisroel Werdyger, Yitzy Spinner and Benny Friedman. Full Story
Shlucha: Please Adopt Me
From the COLlive Inbox: Mrs. Yehudis Bluming, a Chabad Shlucha in North Carolina, writes about a new initiative in memory of Mumbai's shluchim. "There are so many Shluchos who have no family in Crown Heights," she told COLlive in a phone conversation. What can we do to help? Full Article
Response to Chaya’le
Tzvi Freeman of Chabad.org writes to the COLlive inbox: Got a long letter from what sounds like a Beis Rivkah girl. Confused and scared. She said Tehillim non-stop, gave lots of tzedaka, now her dreams of shlichus are crumbling because she is so afraid of what might happen. Wasn't easy, but this is what I answered her. Full Story
OP-ED: What to Tell Children
When tragedy hits close to home, we need not expose our young children to every detail. We must bear in mind that a child may make inferences and draw conclusions that we never even dreamed of, even with all of our sensitivity. Generally, the more the issue can be obscured, the better - Rabbi Shea Hecht writes. Full Article
U.S. Shliach Spoke to Terrorist
EXCLUSIVE: A Lubavitch official in the U.S. had spoken with one of the Indian gunman who was holding hostages at the Chabad House in Mumbai, COLlive has learned. FBI and other negotiation experts in Israel were guiding him through the process which included six phone calls. "Please help, immediately, please," a woman's voice was heard. Full Story
OP-ED: Someone Else’s Kid
For all of the good, and all the kedusha that shlichus brings into the world, are we giving our blood, sweat and tears to reach and educate "someone else's" child while neglecting the education of our own children? Rabbi Shea Hecht ponders Full Article
OP-ED: Postville’s Real Victims
The downfall of Agri will do more than just destroy the town of Postville. The chain effect from such a large kosher company closing is enormous. Dozens of butcher shops, groceries and restaurants across the country will be forced out of business leaving hundreds jobless, writes Yaacov Behrman. Full Story
Op-Ed: On Being a Chossid
Chassidus says that one of the tactics of the kelipa of Amalek is to come in a "silk kapote" and try to discourage the Jew from becoming excited about a miracle story. He says: "Big deal! Why are you so excited? Of course Hashem can perform a miracle—he created the world and has absolute power over it!" Full Article
A Fax Could Help Rubashkin
From the COLlive inbox: R' Shalom M. Rubashkin and the Jewish families of Postville, IA, are in urgent need of your support today. We need personal letters that can attest positive things about us. More
Crown Heights Newspaper
This week's Crown Heights Community Newspaper features: Rebbetzin Rivkah's dream in connection with Chof Cheshvan, a profile of late chassid Reb Zvi Hirsh Gansbourg, Jewish heroes of old: Matisyahu, and a work of art's first steps. Download the PDF - here