Thousands packed into 770’s large shul for the annual central farbrengen in honor of the auspicious day of Hei Teves. Those gathered heard from Mara D’Asra Rabbi Yosef Yeshaya Braun, Rabbi Tzvi Telsner from Melbourne, Australia, Rabbi Shmerl Matusof of the Poconos, amongst others. The farbrengen eventually broke into joyous dance in celebration of the great victory of didan notzach. Images captured by photographer Dov Ber Hechtman • Photos

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz ruled Thursday evening that the restrictions recently imposed on air travel will be extended for an additional ten days, starting from next Sunday. Under the restrictions, all travelers returning to Israel – regardless of their vaccination status – will be required to enter quarantine upon their arrival at home, under the orders of the Health Ministry Director-General • Full Story

New York City Police Commissioner Dermot Shea said that more than half of the skyrocketing hate crimes in New York City target Jewish and Asian residents, citing the “mass amounts” of people who land back on the streets since bail reform was passed • Full Story

An American court has rejected an appeal by the Russian government, upholding a court ruling that Russia must return thousands of books to the Chabad-Lubavitch movement. The thousands books which sit at the heart of the dispute are mainly found in the Lenin Library, in Moscow; and cataloged as the Schneerson Collection • Full Story

The vibes of the auspicious day of Hei Teves can already be palpably felt, as myriad chassidim come in and out of the doors of Beis Chayenu, stopping at one of the many tables set up to sell seforim. As people were snatching up their traditional Hei Teves bargains, photographer Dov Ber Hechtman was on scene capturing several unique moments • Photos

Read it for yourself. The following article appeared in the New York Times of January 7, 1987 (6 Teves 5747), the day after the historic ruling of the seforim on the auspicious day of Hei Teves: The question of who owns a valuable Jewish library of more than 40,000 books and manuscripts was decided yesterday • Full Article

Bochurim Eliyahu Ezagui and Bentzion Kuravsky went to Moscow’s Lenin Library, where they said Tehilim, gave Tzedaka and learned Tanya in order to hasten the redemption of the holy seforim from our Rebbeim which are currently in captivity in Russia. Local Shliach Rabbi Yitzchok Kogan told over recently by a farbrengen that he would go from time to time to the steps of the library and recite Tehillim • Photos

New York City will become the largest municipality in the country to allow legal residents to vote if the legislation is approved as expected in December • Full Story

For the first time since the arrival of Shluchim Rabbi Yakov and Mrs. Hana Poliwada to the small Panamanian town of Boquete in 2016, the town’s Mayor Joswar Alvarado appeared at Chabad’s yearly public menorah lighting. “This is definitely a milestone and honor in the recognition of our work in the community”, said Rabbi Poliwoda after describing the joyous event that included sing-along music, dougnuts and latkes for all. Uniquely, the menorah remains installed all year-round in the town’s central park – a standing testimony of the good will between its Jewish residents and the broader community • Photos

Chanukah in Springfield, Illinois was one for the books! Chabad of Springfield, directed by Rabbi and Mrs. Mendy Turen, was full of action from the start of Chanukah until it’s final moments; from programs to house visits, from Menorah lightings to a Grand Menorah Parade. Images captured by Yisroel Rambach • Full Story, Photos

A 26-year-old woman was stabbed and seriously injured next to Kever Shimon HaTzaddik in Jerusalem at about 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday morning as she was pushing a stroller with her twin babies on the way to taking her three older children to school in the morning. The female terrorist fled the scene • Full Story

Chabad Lubavitch of Southwest Florida under the leadership of Shliach Rabbi Yitzchok Minkowicz held their grand community Chanukah celebration at the prestigious Castle Golf 18 Hole Golf Course with delicious Chanukah doughnuts, hot potato latkes & plenty of drinks, as well as clown & face painting with the highlight of lighting the grand Chanukah menorah by members of the community • Photos

The Jewish community of Dnipro, Ukraine converged on the city’s central square the seventh night of Chanukah for a large public menorah lighting. This comes just several days after the now well-known incident where anti-semitic vandals toppled the menorah overnight. Those gathered were addressed by the city’s senior Shliach Rabbi Shmuel Kaminetzky • Full Story, Photos, Video

Chabad on the Plaza was vandalized last week with electrical wires damaged, water lines broken, and items torn and strewn everywhere. The ark was found open, though the Torah was still inside. The space was deemed completely unusable. According to the Kansas City Police Department, on Nov. 30 at around 1:15 a.m., a caller reported a prowler around the building. The caller told police that he had seen an “unknown suspicious black SUV parked near the dispatched location and heard glass break in the immediate area.” The caller then saw the vehicle leave • Full Story

The giyur reforms of Religious Affairs Minister Matan Kahana has been widely condemned by almost all Rabbanim but there are members of the coalition who are dissatisfied for the opposite reason – they want the giyur reforms to be even more liberal • Full Story

A letter released by Rabbi Yitzchak Dayan, Chief Rabbi of Geneva, Switzerland, who inspected the manufacturer of popular vodka ‘Grey Goose’ personally, clarified once and for all that the vodka is indeed made from wheat, and is produced in a factory used only for wheat vodka. This comes following the fallout of an alert released last week from the Chicago Rabbinical Council and the Belz kashrus agency that the vodka was made from grapes • Full Letter

Low-to-moderate income homeowners in the state will now be eligible for up to $50,000 in coronavirus-related relief as a part of New York’s $539 million assistance fund, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Monday • Read More

In a unique project, led by the Federation of Jewish Communities of the CIS, tens of thousands of special Chanukah Kits were distributed to Jewish families in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and additional former Soviet Union countries. The kits were warmly welcomed, and brought the joy, delight and traditions of Chanukah to the most remote and isolated cities and villages • Full Story, Photos