COL has photos of a visit to Rabbi Groner by Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Aharonov, Chairman of Agudas Chassidei Chabad and head of Tzach in Israel, who is currently visiting Australia. He was accompanied by Levi Edrei and Yisroel Naparstek (of Melbourne).
Please keep saying tehillim for the Refuah Shleima of HaRav Yitzchok Dovid ben Menucha Rochel.
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From The Age
Well, at least one community is getting into the Elul spirit and working out their differences. Thanks to Tzippi Oliver and Eli Feldman, the long time feud between brother and sister Yossel Gutnick and Pnina Feldman and her husband Rabbi Pinchas Feldman is finally over. The announcement and other related news can be seen in CrownHeights.info here along with some happy snaps of community members.
I do not know what this means in a practical way but can only hope that this reconcilliation will lead to much better things for the Sydney Chabad community as well as the general Jewish community.
My next suggestion is for Tzippy to try her hand at settling things in Adelaide. It appears that she has a gift for solving seemingly lost causes which she is using well.
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I initially saw this news article on Mentalblog but it has appeared all over the internet. Apparently this 8 year old boy was forgotten by his father when visiting the Dead Sea with number of families from Meah Shearim. This poor young thing was floating for 6 hours until found by rescuers. Arutz Sheva has a version which is a little more "human" in its reporting.
This story reminded me of one my grandfather used to tell which still bothered him in his later years. When he was a young boy - possibly the same age as the boy in the above story - his father left him in shul after ma'ariv one evening. Fortunately the shammas lived upstairs from the shul and heard crying coming from the locked and empty shul. According to my grandfather his father only realised that he was missing when the shammas knocked on the front door with my grandfather in tow.
Some people have said to me that this "forgetfulness" results from having large families. Chas VeSholom! It comes of being self-absorbed and is certainly not a chassidishe way to behave. Boruch Hashem this story ended well.
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The Age on Friday and today had a number of articles about shechita and halal slaughtering (here, here and here with an editorial here). That paper accused Moslem and Jewish communities of cruelty to animals by claiming that they do not stun the animals before, or after, slaughter in at least one particular abattoir in Victoria.
There are at least two obvious mistakes in those articles. One is that there is currently no export of sheep or beef to Israel from Australia. The other, more glaring and obvious error, is that sheep are not stunned during slaughter in any case. Large cattle such as beef are shechted and then stunned in accordance to Australian law. It is true that there are rabbinic authorities overseas who do not agree with this practice but, from what I understand, all rabbis in Australia
accept that this is OK.
The killing of animals is not pleasant but, unless we all become vegetarians, it is a fact of life. According to chassidus we are elevating the food that we eat by making a brocha and using the energy to do mitzvos. There are numerous laws in Judaism prohibiting cruelty to animals and shechita is one of them. The Age assumes that Judaism is some sort of ancient, barbarous religion and isn't as enlightened as their editors. It therefore follows, according to their reasoning, that our ritual killing of animals must be cruel and antiquated. They are sorely mistaken.
Maybe the Jewish News journalists should read this...“The matter of inspections carried out or not carried out by Rabbi Engel has been pursued and completed and we are satisfied that the current situation regarding the advertised SA products is acceptable,” Kosher Australia’s rabbinic administrator, Rabbi Mordechai Gutnick, responded on Sunday June 17.The sensational headlines in the AJN just prove that they function like any other newspaper in playing up a story by twisting the facts. The headline of one story, "SA scandal threatens Australian kashrut", is worthy of the worst of tabloid journalism. The supposed question of the kashrus of 3 minor products certainly does not threaten kashrus in this country. Another headline, "South Australian producers' kosher confusion", is more than likely just ignorance. The Jewish News shows each week that their journalists know very little about Judaism and even less about Orthodox Judaism. Because some non-Jewish food manufacturers know and understand little about kashrus doesn't carry any weight halachically.
“We have also been satisfied for some time now that, in practical terms, there have thankfully been no breaches that have occurred that have compromised the ultimate kosher status of the products listed as endorsed by Rabbi Engel/AHC.
“We are further satisfied at this time that any alleged shortcomings that may have existed in past inspection schedules of those products have now been rectified. No updates or warnings, as suggested by you, were therefore necessary.
“We are continuing to monitor the situation – and the matter has for some time now not been 'an issue'.”
I have refrained from mentioning this extremely uncomfortable subject for a number of weeks but now believe that it is time that we extracted our heads from the sand and recognised this sad situation. What I am talking about is the current fiasco in Adelaide where Rabbi Yossi Engel has refused to leave his pulpit despite his contract not being renewed. To add to this is the accusation that he received money from the government under false pretenses for a school which didn't exist. And to make matters worse the Sydney and Melbourne Batei Din seem powerless to resolve this and the London Beth Din, who have been called in as a last resort, appear not to want to become embroiled in this bun fight.
There is another aspect of this situation which is also worrying. Rabbi Engel and the Adelaide Hebrew Congregation have taken this case to the secular courts. The courts have ruled on two occasions that this is a civil matter to do with his contract and not one that can or should be decided by Jewish law.
What we have been seeing in the Jewish and secular press appears to put Rabbi Engel in a bad light. I am more than happy to present his side of the story as I do not believe that he has had a fair go in the press - this could be because, so far, he has refused to give his side.
But whatever his side may be the facts are that this dispute, and the revelations about his school, have caused much hurt and damage to the Adelaide Jewish community. This is an extremely small community which is not growing as the youth tend to leave for Sydney or Melbourne when they reach university age. This community needs all the support from larger Jewish communities as we can give them.
Despite the fact that the courts have ruled that this is purely a contractual dispute, I strongly believe that the Sydney and Melbourne Batei Din should be working overtime to ensure that there is a resolution to this matter which is acceptable to both parties. Even if it was proven that Yossi Engel was unfairly dismissed there has been too much damage done for him to stay on as Rabbi. The Adelaide community needs a new Rabbi so that they can begin the healing process and get back on a stable footing.
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Joe Salter and Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Binyomin Cohen
There are some interesting photo essays of people "commemorating" Tisha B'Av at the Kotel on Arutz Sheva and COL. Arutz 7 claims that there were over 100,000 people at the Kotel on Monday night and Tuesday. With all these people remembering and mourning the loss of the Beis Hamikdosh isn't it about time that this day was wiped off the calendar??!! We want Moshiach now!
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Sholom Cunin, Berel Lerman and Fiji resident Peter BottA pair of Chabad-Lubavitch rabbinical students printed what is suspected to be the first Hebrew book to ever be published in the republic of Fiji.
The two students came to the island nation to reach out to its tiny Jewish community as part of Chabad's summer peace corps-like program.
While there, they commissioned a printing of the Tanya, the foundational chassidic treatise penned by Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, the first Lubavitcher Rebbe. The printing represents the 5241st time the Tanya, the second-most printed book in the world has been published.
While most of the Jews there were surprised by the students' visit, says Berel Lerman, they "were always ushered in to their home or office with a smile."
Following the printing, the pair gathered together some of the local Jews and studied from the Fiji edition of Tanya.
"Community members were excited when they heard about the printing of the first Hebrew book on the Island," reported Sholom Cunin.
How the Third Beis Mamikdosh will look in situ The new Shluchim were appointed by Rabbi Dovid Dubov of Chabad of Mercer County. HATZLOCHA RABBA! The new Shluchim can be reached via e-mail @ unclekiv@hotmail.com The Grossbaums were appointed by Rabbi Mendy Cohen of Chabad of Sacramento and Rabbi Shlomo Cunin head Shliach in California. HATZLOCHA RABBA! The new Shluchim can be reached via e-mail @ yyg770@gmail.com
From Shmais:
SHMAIS.com has learned that Rabbi and Mrs. Kivi Greenbaum of Crown Heights will IYH be moving on Shlichus to Ewing, NJ where they will establish on a new Chabad House the College of New Jersey campus.
Also from Shmais about a month ago:
SHMAIS.com has learned that this coming summer, Rabbi & Mrs. Yossi Grossbaum of Crown Heights will IYH be moving to Folsom, CA to establish a new Chabad house serving the Jewish Community.
Painting by Zalman Kleinman
