When Covid-19 forced UC Berkeley to cancel in-person classes this semester, Rabbi Gil Leeds knew it meant that he, too, would not be able to hold in-person events at his Rohr Chabad Jewish Student Center near campus. No Shabbats, no Jewish learning, no Taco Tuesdays.

Sunday on the Upper West Side, the Manhattan Jewish Experience held a service on the street instead of inside the synagogue. It allowed people to attend with social distancing in place.

This year, I spent the days leading up to the Jewish High Holidays not with a prayer book in hand, but with a power drill, as well as a saw and a sanding machine.

A week ago, the congregation was in need of desperation play when a local company could not meet the challenge of erecting a tent. The pressure was on because it was 72 hours before the Rosh Hashana service was to begin a week ago.

Between social distancing and political divisions, it can be easy to feel disconnected from fellow community members these days.

Teenager Aiden Nadell wanted to raise money for a playground at Fort Washington’s Chabad Garden. After doing that in three months, his sales of “Spread Smiles” shirts, masks and gadgets just kept going.

COVID-19 takes Yom Kippur ceremonies outdoors for local Chabad

One of my favorite actors and all-round good dudes explains his new project to ILTV (whose graphics person needs to learn how to spell ‘Jon Voight’)

Last Sunday Rabbi Berel stationed himself at North Point Park, the Monument and the USS Constitution, taking appointments from those who wanted to attend, and sounded the shofar in public safely and adhering to all COVID-19 protocols.

 Rinat Levy Cohen hadn’t planned to leave the city. But when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in March, she, her husband and her 5-year-old son decided to decamp for less crowded surroundings.

For decades, Chabad-Lubavitch, an international Jewish organization that firmly believes Jewish traditions and customs is a birthright of every Jew and that every Jew should have access to them, has made High Holiday services available free of charge, a model other synagogues and organizations around the world are now looking at to replicate.

Chabad has opened a synagogue and Jewish community space in Islington, filling a gap of more than half-a-century.