Israel Deaf Football Team Does Shabbat With Chabad at Wimbledon

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(lubavitch.com) Last Friday night Chabad House at Wimbledon hosted the Israeli Deaf Football Team, who had come to the UK to play Great Britain in the first leg of the European Deaf Football Championships qualifying games.

Moshe Ivgi, Director of the Israeli Deaf Sports Association, brought his team of 25 to enjoy a traditional Friday night meal.

The Shabbat dinner was hosted by Rabbi Nissan and Sarah Dubov and their family, together with Ronnie and Loretta Harris. Guests participated in animated conversation in Ivrit, English and sign language, interspersed with lively Shabbat song and dance. As the dinner drew to a close, several of the participants stood up and expressed their appreciation for the warmth and hospitality they enjoyed at Chabad, and the memorable Shabbat experience.

Passover Parade In Chicago

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(lubavitch.com) Sporting T-shirts with “This Passover, Experience Your Freedom,” 75 rabbinical students and schoolchildren packed into 13 fifteen-passenger vans last Tuesday on a parade that wove its way through downtown Chicago and its surrounding suburbs.

Stocked with Passover Matzos and informative literature, the students worked up a Passover spirit on the streets of Chicago.

Sponsored by Lubavitch Chabad of Illinois, the procession took place in advance of the late Lubavitcher Rebbe’s 108th birthday, which will be celebrated this Friday.

The convoy departed from the Regional Headquarters of Lubavitch Chabad in Illinois and slowly made its way towards downtown Chicago, catching the curiosity of pedestrian traffic and motorists.

“Our goal was to raise awareness about the coming festival [Passover] and to give everyone the chance to participate at the Seder,” rabbinical student Yaakov Feldman told lubavitch.com. The vans were posted information and invitations to Chabad’s communal Seders.

At the end of the parade, the vehicles dispersed to visit various suburbs in Chicago where they distributed 100 pounds of matzah, and Passover related literature

Oldest Synagogue in Siberia

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(lubavitch.com) After a long interruption, renovations on the Choral Synagogue in Tomsk, one of the oldest synagogues in Siberia, are well underway.The project, which began in 1999, came to a halt in 2004 because of lack of funding, and is now expected to be completed as early as September 2010.

Chief Rabbi of Tomsk and Chabad representative Levi Kaminetsky, says that about 20 million rubles (roughly $681,000 US) are still needed in order to complete the work. The overall cost of this renovation project is nearly 68 million rubles.

Plans for the synagogue, drafted by the Design Institute of Tomsk, include a sanctuary and mikveh, classrooms, libraries, children’s play rooms, and a kosher kitchen and café, making it a comprehensive JCC.

The Choral Synagogue dates back to the beginning of the 20th century, built at the time with contributions made by local Jews. In 1929, the synagogue was closed by state authorities and the building subsequently housed a cinema.

In 1999, the building was formally returned to the Jewish community. It is a mark of pride for this community, that once again, funds for the renovations were largely contributed by local Jews.

(source: FJC)