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Chabad-Lubavitch in the Media
Stories and reports that have appeared in the media during the past two weeks
| For Shabbat, Chabad of Upper MoCo Delivered ‘Hugs’ Washington Jewish Week,Tuesday, May 19, 2026 |
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| Volunteers with Chabad Lubavitch of Upper Montgomery County delivered boxes with a Shabbat guide, electric tealights, a Kiddush cup, grape juice, challah and a cover to senior citizens who are unable to make Shabbat on their own or a family that doesn’t celebrate the weekly day of rest. “This is for unity, so all Jews, we all know we’re one together,” said Rebbetzin Chana Raichik, who spearheaded the effort at Chabad UMC. The original project, the “Shabbat Hug,” is an initiative by the nonprofit Chabad on Call, inspired by an elderly recipient’s grateful words. | ||||
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| Joint Kotel bar mitzvah held for 125 boys, orphans The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com,Tuesday, May 19, 2026 |
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| Over a hundred boys who lost a parent, including during the October 7 War, celebrated their bar mitzvah in a joint event at the Western Wall on Sunday, Colel Chabad Rabbi Sholom Duchman told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday. The 125 boys enjoyed a day-long celebration, proceeding down to the Western Wall, accompanied by their families, where they were called up to the Torah. According to a press release, before the Torah readings, Colel Chabad gave the boys new tefillin. A celebratory dinner and gala were later held at Jerusalem’s Binyanei Hauma International Convention Center. | ||||
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| CommunityChabad rabbis bond at annual kinus in North West province South Africa Jewish Report,Tuesday, May 19, 2026 |
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| I took the two-hour drive to Rutenberg last week to meet some five dozen friends and colleagues, fellow Chabad rabbis from across South Africa, emissaries of the Lubavitcher Rebbe. It was a long way to go, but towards a most meaningful destination: our annual get-together for a national kinus, a meeting of minds, hearts, and souls. For 48 hours, the world did not exist as we sat in the conference rooms of Hunters Rest. We strategised and debated, brainstormed and shared ideas, planned and discussed approaches. Most importantly, we studied Torah, shmoozed together, and bonded. | ||||
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| Teachings of rabbi killed in Bondi Beach terrorist attack live on with new book: ‘A profound gift’ New York Post,Sunday, May 17, 2026 |
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| He saved her life — now her mission is to save his legacy. Nikki Goldstein doesn’t remember the first time she met Rabbi Eli Schlanger in September 2022. She was comatose in a Sydney, Australia, ICU, battling pneumonia. Doctors didn’t think she would live to see the next day. Moments after her husband and daughter lifted their bowed heads resting over her hospital bed, they caught a glimpse of a man darting past the room wearing a yarmulke. Though Goldstein was a secular Jew who never went to synagogue, her husband Rowan asked the rabbi to give his dying wife a blessing. | ||||
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| Rabbi Yaakov Raskin | The 10 commandments: Unlocking the key to God's heart Jamaica Gleaner,Sunday, May 17, 2026 |
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| The ten commandments form the basis not only for Judaism, but for all Abrahamic religions and Western civilisation. They are core to what it means to live a moral and ethical life. How does the idea that "Love is my religion" square with the idea that we should obey these 10 commandments? Isn't it a contradiction to say "all you need is love" on one hand, and "thou shalt not" on the other? Not at all. The Ten Commandments aren't an imposition or a nuisance given by a tyrannical God. They were lovingly given to teach us how to express love and care for one another. | ||||
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| See what new Bergen center for Valley Chabad has to offer North Bergen Record,Sunday, May 17, 2026 |
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| For the past 25 years, since Valley Chabad opened in the borough as a hub of Jewish life and learning, the center has moved from one building to another while its community grew. What started in 2000 with a handful of people has expanded to a religious, educational and social center that serves several thousand people in the Pascack Valley and Saddle River communities. On May 17, surrounded by hundreds of North Jersey residents and community leaders, Rabbi Dov Drizin celebrated the groundbreaking for Valley Chabad's permanent new space. | ||||
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| Chabad of Sunny Isles Beach Brings the Community Together for an Inspiring Shavuot USA Today,Friday, May 15, 2026 |
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| Chabad of Sunny Isles Beach is preparing for the inspiring holiday of Shavuot with a full schedule of meaningful community programs, uplifting synagogue services, children’s activities, and acts of kindness that bring the entire community together. As the holiday approaches, excitement is building in our shul as families, children, and visitors prepare to celebrate the giving of the Torah with joy, unity, and gratitude. One of the central preparations this year is the Shavuot Food Distribution, ensuring that every family can celebrate Yom Tov with dignity. | ||||
| KU Chabad partners with K-State for Jewish programming Kansas City Jewish Chronicle,Thursday, May 14, 2026 |
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| For more than 20 years, KU Chabad has served as a vibrant hub for Jewish students in the KU community, and its mission has always extended beyond campus boundaries. KU Chabad has also made it a priority to support Jewish life at Kansas State University, home to a small but strong Jewish community. With approximately 75 Jewish undergraduate students and 150 graduate students, the campus may not have the numbers of larger universities, but it offers something equally powerful: a close-knit and dedicated group of students building Jewish life together. | ||||
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| First Jewish chaplain appointed to AFP Australian Jewish News,Thursday, May 14, 2026 |
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| Melbourne Rabbi Yaakov Glasman has been appointed as the first Jewish Chaplain in the history of the Australian Federal Police, filling a gap in Jewish chaplaincy representation that has existed since the AFP’s establishment. The St Kilda Hebrew Congregation spiritual leader was confirmed in the Honorary Chaplain role following a VAJEX commemoration ceremony last month. “I am deeply humbled to have been appointed as an Honorary Chaplain to the Australian Federal Police,” Rabbi Glasman said. | ||||
| After Federal Lawsuit And Temporary Spaces, Valley Chabad Will Soon Have A Home Pascack Valley Daily Voice,Wednesday, May 13, 2026 |
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| On May 17, at 11 a.m., the Jewish center that serves residents in Saddle River and the Pascack Valley will hold a groundbreaking and cornerstone-setting ceremony for its brand-new 2,000-square-foot facility at 530 Chestnut Ridge Rd. Rabbi Dov Drizin says the move marks the beginning of a long-awaited new chapter for the Jewish outreach organization that has served residents in the area for more than 25 years. “It has been a real spiritual home, a place of learning and connection and a lighthouse for the community,” Drizin said in a call with Daily Voice Wednesday, May 13. | ||||
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| 'Only my best friend knows I’m Jewish': French teens speak out The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com,Wednesday, May 13, 2026 |
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| A private meeting between Jewish teenagers from across France and US Ambassador Charles Kushner exposed the daily reality facing young Jews in French public schools, where some said they hide their identity, remove visible Jewish symbols, and wait all week for the chance to reconnect with Jewish peers. Nine members of CTeen France, Chabad’s global Jewish teen network, visited Kushner and his wife, Seryl, on May 4 at the official US ambassador’s residence. The teenagers, ages 14 to 18, came from CTeen chapters around the country and spoke with the ambassador for two hours. | ||||
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| Mitzvot Are the Norm at Chabad of Owings Mills Baltimore Jewish Times,Tuesday, May 12, 2026 |
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| While all Chabad houses cater to a wide range of Jews, Chabad of Owings Mills does so to a degree even more than most. The nondescript office space at Crondall Corner Shops Shopping Center is situated near residential neighborhoods, but it is also adjacent to Stevenson University. So while it is not the Stevenson campus Chabad, similar to those at Towson University or University of Maryland, it often effectively feels that way. The result? A diverse group of attendees come to Chabad of Owings Mills from all walks of life. | ||||
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| IKEA designer leads renovation of historic mikvah in Gothenburg, Sweden Israel & Jewish News - JNS,Tuesday, May 12, 2026 |
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| Sweden’s Jewish community has unveiled a newly renovated mikvah in Gothenburg designed by Ikea designer Olga Popyrina, according to the Chabad-Lubavitch movement. Popyrina, who worked designing lighting fixtures and glassware for Ikea, collaborated on the project with Rabbi Alexander and Leah Namdar of Chabad Lubavitch Sweden. The mikvah will feature a sink housed for more than 40 years at Chabad World Headquarters in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, N.Y., which the Namdars brought with them to the Scandinavian nation. | ||||
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| Valley Chabad to celebrate groundbreaking for new Woodcliff Lake home May 17 — Pascack Press & Northern Valley Press Pascack Press & Northern Valley Press,Tuesday, May 12, 2026 |
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| WOODCLIFF LAKE, N.J. — Valley Chabad will hold a groundbreaking and cornerstone-setting ceremony Sunday, May 17 at 11 a.m., for its new community home at 530 Chestnut Ridge Road, marking what the organization describes as a joyful and historic milestone for Jewish life in the Pascack Valley and Saddle River communities. The approximately 20,000-square-foot facility will include a sanctuary, social hall, library, Hebrew school, preschool, and teen lounge. Construction is underway, with completion anticipated in early 2027. | ||||
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