News Blog - Chabad Center of Sudbury

What Was He Looking for at the Western Wall?

Friday, August 29, 2025 - 5:47 PM

Dear Friends,

Last Friday Night at the Western Wall, I noticed among the thousands of people, a young man in his mid twenties, with a white Kotel Yarmulka, who looked a little overwhelmed in the crowd of thousands of people praying and singing.

I wanted to reach out to him, but I was thirty feet away and in between there were lots of people and I was in a section of the prayer when one can't speak. I then noticed a friend of mine, a fellow Chabad Rabbi, reach out to him and brought him into a circle of people singing.

I finished my own prayers and went over to him and we started chatting.

It turned out he was in a small Kibbutz just outside Gaza on Oct 7th, and spent 30 hours in the bomb shelter as a pitched battle too… Read More »

Shabbat Shalom & Updates from Jerusalem

Friday, August 22, 2025 - 4:48 PM

Dear Friends,

This week we have had so many profound encounters as we met with family members of hostages, wounded, many soldiers, and others that our community has helped over the last two years.

Earlier this week, I met up with Avi Ohana, the father of Yosef Chaim Ohana, who is still being held as a hostage. Avi asked me to relay to the community that he is full of hope and faith and he asks us to continue to pray and do Mitzvot on behalf of his son and the other hostages, so that they all experience the miracle they are waiting for.

We stock up on cold drinks on many of the days and have been giving them out to soldiers who are out doing guard duty in remote places out in the sun and heat. Along with the TShirts, gadg… Read More »

Hang them on the Door!

Friday, August 8, 2025 - 11:53 AM

Dear Friends,

Earlier this week, I was installing some Mezuzos on some homes of Hebrew School students with some beautiful Mezuzah cases that were made by the children, as part of a special project. In one of the homes, they showed me on their counter, a photo of one of the hostages, Yosef Chaim Ohana, along with a Prayer from Psalms, which was framed and sitting in the kitchen.

They explained to me how they prayed every day for him, and it won't be coming down, until he comes home.

It was very beautiful and special and I suggested that when we put up the Mezuzahs and say the prayers, we will have Yosef Chaim and all the hostages in mind.

I then shared a video with Avi, the father of Yosef Chaim, who responded with such… Read More »

The Negative & Good Visuals that are Shaping Reality

Friday, August 1, 2025 - 1:05 PM

Visuals are playing a huge role in how the world reacts and responds to situations. Indeed only this week, we have seen how fake visuals are being used and peddled even by mainstream media and politicians to spread a modern-day blood libel against Israel and the Jewish people.

In the 21^st Century with its fast-moving media cycles, social media and now AI driven and manipulated information, visuals have become weapons that are used to twist narratives and sadly are sometimes selectively used to advance and prolong suffering.

The visuals for example of the hostage video that was released yesterday, which once again shows a hostage in terrible physical condition, won't make it to… Read More »