Far away from the courtrooms and art galleries that are the focus of an international custody dispute, bookshelves hold treasures hearkening back to the origins of the Chabad Lubavitch movement. But even with 15,000 volumes, the curators feel a void in the priceless collection. more

Great Neck’s North Shore Hebrew Academy (NSHA) Lions and Little Neck’s Har Torah Hat Trix middle schools hockey teams, of the Metropolitan Yeshiva Junior High Hockey League (MYJHHL), faced off in a doubly exciting game Saturday night, February 19th, at Yehiva Har Torah to benefit OHEL’s Hewlett House. more

The Sasson V’Simcha catering hall on Coney Island Avenue has seen many weddings. On Feb. 17, it hosted a matchmaking event of a different nature, as some 700 job seekers packed the hall for interviews. more

He was called Pickles, The Yeled, The Little Guy and K’tantan, but this week surrounded by family and loved ones the miracle baby was named Avraham Natanel Libin. On Monday as the Woodmere community gathered for morning minyan at Young Israel, one of the youngest of Israel exemplified faith and prayer to the congregation. more

With his wild hair, bushy beard and American background, journalist and author Gershom Gorenberg could be mistaken for a West Bank settler. He has written numerous news stories and books on the territories. more

They call it “Hitting the Wall.” Three or four months after arriving in Israel many first-year Yeshiva students feel morose, anxious, even depressed. I hit the wall back in December. more

We all know that Lashon Harah is “gossip” and the “evil tongue.” And we all know that the Torah actually, and almost uniquely, assigns a specific punishment for Lashon Harah; it is leprosy. And we all know that you don’t see much leprosy around anymore even though Lashon Harah exists. more

David F. Nesenoff: So how is Israel doing? Joel Lion: Baruch Hashem. From an economic point of view we are doing quite well. We achieved membership in the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation … more

I was among some 80 bloggers invited to cover the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington DC last week. CPAC is more than an opportunity to interview political figures and report on politics. It’s like a Star Trek Convention for political geeks. Instead of carrying phasers and putting on pointy ears, we carried laptops and wore fedoras. more

How did Nathaniel Hawthorne dream it up? How did he come up with his short story “The Minister’s Black Veil?” The Puritan minister of an old New England town one day inexplicably covers his face with a black veil that casts a shadow of gloom between him and his community to the day of his death. Hawthorne read this week’s parshah, no doubt. more