The Bolshaya Bronya community in Russia’s capital city, under the auspices of longtime Shliach Rabbi Yitzchok Kogan, held their yearly grand Chanukah event on Sunday, the first night of Chanukah. Many members of the community at large, as well as students in the Machon Ran Yeshiva, hosted in the shul, heard from the Shluchim Rabbis Kogan, Yehuda Segev Friedman, and Michoel Mishulovin. The program included a menorah lighting, live music, and a fire juggling show • Photos

At a Chabad house in the Ghanaian capital Accra, Eric Adams spoke about turning the pain of slavery into purpose, a message that he said was “personified” by “the Grand Rebbe of Crown Heights.” Adams, the outgoing Brooklyn borough president who also represented parts of Crown Heights as a State senator, talked about the Rebbe spreading “the energy and spirit of Judaism” by encouraging followers to open Chabad centers around the globe like the one in Accra • Full Story, Photos, Video

A Shliach found a bag outside his home on Friday morning containing a gun, a threatening note, and identity cards issued in a hostile country. “Local police forces arrived at the scene after a long wait and launched an investigation of the incident which is still ongoing. B’chasdei Shamayim, this incident ended without casualties” • Full Story

The first US case of the “Omicron” COVID-19 variant was found Wednesday in California, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention • Full Story

A menorah installed by Chabad of Eastern Queens at an intersection in Queens was toppled, prompting calls for action by Jewish community leaders as well as elected officials. A menorah erected at the same spot in 2014 was knocked over twice. No arrests were ever made in those incidents • Full Story

The lighting ceremony of the National Menorah took place this year in Washington, DC, with the beautiful weather setting the stage for a joyous celebration commemorating the first night of Hanukkah. The event reached a record number of people, with over 50 million seeing it on over 1,000 national and local TV newscasts in all 50 US states and around the world, according to professional news monitoring • Full Story

Rabbi Moshe Thaler, Shliach to the city of Berditchev, Ukraine, home to the resting place of the famous R’ Levi Yitzchok, lit up the night sky in the city’s main square with the lighting of a tall public menorah. Rabbi Thaler was joined on the cherry picker which elevated him to the top of the menorah with the city’s mayor Mr. Sergei Orliuk • Photos

A sizable group of bochurim headed to New York’s iconic Times Square where they promptly kicked off a night of mivtza chanukah, handing out menorahs and engaging Jewish passersby. The group linked up with Manhattan’s French-speaking community for a public menorah lighting, singing and dancing the night away in a great kiddush Hashem. Images captured by photographer Dov Ber Hechtman • Photos

This past Sunday marked the groundbreaking for Chabad’s new education center. Located in the North Miami-Dade neighborhood of Highland Lakes, Chabad Chayil has broken ground on a new five story building that is estimated to cost $12 million, with construction costing close to $9 million • Full Story, Photos

On Monday night, the chabad community joined together for a special Menorah lighting in front of “770 – Lubavitcher Rebbe Way” (Yeshiva). The event was joined by State Senator Louis Blessing. Tuesday morning, Rabbi Gershon Avtzon, Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivas Lubavitch, brought his family to City Hall where they lit Menorah with the Jewish members of City Council and brought Chanukah treats to the Mayor’s office • Full Story, Photos

As of tomorrow, December 1, anyone taking Canada’s federally-regulated modes of transportation has to prove they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to board. Canada announced this measure last month and introduced it on October 30. At that time, a grace period was provided allowing travellers to present proof of a negative COVID-19 PCR test instead of proof of vaccination, but this has now ended • Full Story

Central America’s largent Chanukah event was held Sunday night. Over 3,000 people filled the central park located near Chabad on the Mexican island of Cozumel. Local Shliach Rabbi Dudi Kaplin spoke to those gathered about them having the ability to bring the geulah to the world by using the opportunity to reach the over five million travelers that pass through Cozumel each year • Full Story, Photos

The Bris Avrohom organization, under the auspices of Rabbi Mordechai Kanelsky, has spearheaded pirsumei nisa in the State of New Jersey by erecting 140 public menorahs for millions to see. Among the locations displaying menorahs are Newark Airport, the George Washington Bridge, and along the New Jersey Turnpike • Photos

Hatomim Yaakov Milman, a bochur from the city of Dnipro, which boasts a Jewish community of upwards of 60,000 people, traveled to the town of Nikopol, just under two hours drive away, to erect and light a giant public menorah in the city’s main square. Nikopol, a city with a population of 100,000 people, boasts a small Jewish community • Photos

The New York City Parks Department approved the placing of a new menorah across from New York City Hall. Erected by Chabad Air and sponsored by Kamin Health, the menorah was dedicated in memory of Ari Halberstam hy”d, who was murdered on the Brooklyn Bridge, several yards from where the menorah was placed • Photos, Video

On Monday night, a Chabad house in Austin, Texas organized a Hanukkah menorah lighting in an unusual place: on a highway overpass looking out over the busy MoPac Expressway. They didn’t just pick the location so drivers would see the menorah on their evening commute. Instead, they wanted transform the spot, which had been the site of an antisemitic demonstration, into something brighter and better • Full Story

Many communities around Sydney, Australia joined together to commemorate and celebrate Yud Tes Kislev together. Following long stretches of Lockdown, Sydney’s Chabad Community, along with many friends and admirers of Lubavitch, united in honor of the Alter Rebbe, Rabbi Schniur Zalman of Liadi – the first leader of Chabad Chassidim. Images captured by Noel Kessel • Full Story, Photos

A large Menorah was toppled in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro, formerly Dniepropetrovsk. The act of vandalism was captured on security cameras that showed five people knocking it over. Dnipro’s Chief Rabbi Shmuel Kaminetsky said the incident was not typical in the country’s fourth-largest city, home to as many as 60,000 Jewish residents • Full Story, Photos, Video

When Rabbi Eliyahu Ezagui was standing outside the Chabad house in Moscow’s Bolshaya Bronya neighborhood on the first day of Chanukah he noticed a couple standing outside taking pictures. The man then approached Rabbi Ezagui and asked: “my wife’s not Jewish, but I am. Can I enter the building?” • Full Story, Photos, Video