With Sukkos here and the joy of Yom Tov permeating the atmosphere, we are surrounded with questions. More specifically, “What are you doing for Chol Hamoed???” With almost 5 days of Chol Hamoed, everyone is very excited talking about over 121 different options available. Well, before you take a trip to the 95th floor of the World Trade Center, or a Wednesday outing to the Bronx zoo, let’s keep in mind a few important items. 1) Making a kiddush hashem. As yidden, we know the world watches us. Let’s not give anyone a reason to make our Chol Hamoed outing viral. 2) Security: before you leave your house make sure to lock up your windows and doors. Set Shabbos clocks as needed and if you are leaving a car at home be sure to remove any visible items of value.

Dear Parents of Yeshiva and Seminary Students in Israel, We, the citizens of Israel, are so excited that your dear children have chosen to spend time connecting with their past and planning for their future. As we approach the first break of the yeshiva and seminary year, and your young adults spread out to hosts across the country, please review the below tips, which will help them avoid some unfortunate mistakes. Remember, your children are your responsibility. We are happy to help, and this nation is B”H built on chessed. So, please read the tips below and discuss them with your children. 1. Ask Early, Leave Early Supermarkets in Israel close around noon on Erev Shabbos and Yom Tov. The good sale prices are typically earlier in the week.

The recent release of the high-budget video production by JEM seeking to commemorate and celebrate the Rebbe’s monumental leadership and global impact over the past 70 years has certainly sparked robust and passionate discussion within broad segments of the Lubavitch community. This sincere discourse and debate reveals an opportunity for further in-depth dialogue on critical matters of spiritual sensitivity and religious tradition. First, providing proper context is important. The team of creative professionals behind this video invested what was clearly tremendous time, effort and financial resources into the research, writing, filming and editing required to produce this expansive documentary-style project.

Can someone please help me understand why we are all sitting back and just accepting that with little to no valid explanation, our meat bills will just go up between 30% and 80%? Imagine you are an an employer (perhaps you are one). You walk into your office and an employee comes by and says “You’ve been paying me $20 an hour until now, but because I want more money instead of a 3-10% raise, I want a 30-80% raise.” How would you react? I know that I would politely escort the individual out and inform them that there’s a faster chance that pigs will fly. Why is this any different? There’s certainly some difference. We rely on meat, so we can’t just say no; however, we can, should and must protest this. How? Very simply.

[By Freidy Orgad, Chabad Shlucha in Cluj-Napoca (Klausenburg), Romania] As we approach the vacation days, I decided to share something I’ve wanted to share for several years. I do not, G-d forbid, want to harm anyone, so it’s important to me that you read this with a positive attitude, and you are invited to comment respectfully. The summertime is when many people travel abroad and rely on Chabad houses around the world. I need to highlight a few important things that many people do not know about Chabad houses. So let’s begin: 1. Chabad houses are not funded by any governmental body, neither the Israeli government nor the Jewish Agency. Every Chabad Shliach needs to work very hard (very, very hard) and secure donations that will sustain their activities throughout the entire year. 2.

The position of President of the U.S. is deserving of kavod. So too, our Torah enjoins us to give honor to the elderly, and certainly not to mock and belittle them. I see it as unbecoming for a publication associated with frum jews like YWN to make fun of and belittle President Biden. This has nothing to do with his policies or his political affiliation. I have no objection to articles that challenge the substance of his policies. I do, however, feel it is very wrong to belittle the man. I would be shocked if any authorities would support your editorial ad hominem attacks, especially ones that belittle him for his stutter (remember Moshe Rabeinu?) or his age. We are all called to account for our actions.

A lot has been written lately about materialism and attempting to identify the root problem in our communities. Practically speaking, pointing a finger at materialism is a useless exercise because the issue is so deeply rooted within us that simply talking about is unlikely to make any difference. The truth of the matter is that the root of materialism stems from חטא אדם הראשון (see מ”נ פ”א) and is put right with the Mitzvah קדושים תהיו – פרושים תהיו – קדש עצמך במותר לך. However, by definition, the application of this Mitzvah will always be limited to the special individuals among us and will not include the masses.

As a member of a northern New Jersey Modern Orthodox community, it has been very interesting to read of the widespread concerns about scams plaguing the “mainstream” frum community. As someone who is a rather objective outsider, I want to give my two cents, if I may. I should note beforehand that I’m very familiar with Lakewood (I’m there often) and I work in an industry in which many “yeshivish” people do business, so I’m not completely clueless. That said, there was a recent mailbag article on YWN that decried materialism as the new Avoda Zarah, and lamented that too many people have bought into the concept that money equals happiness. However, the article didn’t provide a reason as to why this phenomenon is occurring.

WhatsApp is a useful tool that many of us frum Jews use. It enables us to communicate with our family, friends, rabbonim, and community in a secure and convenient way. WhatsApp was always regarded as relatively clean and kosher, compared to other social media platforms that are full of harmful and distracting content. But this may soon change with WhatsApp Channels, a new feature that will allow users to follow people and organizations they are interested in in a separate tab called Updates. WhatsApp Channels is a tool for admins to send text, photos, videos, stickers, and polls to their followers. Users can find and join channels through a directory they can search or invite links sent in chats, email, or online.

We have all seen and heard about the string of Ponzi’s and dishonest business dealings in the frum community. It’s been published and discussed on YWN, Lakewood Alerts, and now a magazine has placed it on their front cover. But have you wondered why? Why are we getting hit over and again by financial scammers? Did something happen, has something changed? There have been numerous frauds exposed in just the past few weeks; 20 years ago, five frauds being exposed in the frum community would take years. What happened to us? I’d like to suggest a theory which I think also serves as a serious bit of mussar for all of us, myself included. The theory is simple: Materialism has become our Avoda Zara, and the pursuit of it requires a literally endless amount of money.