Rabbi Avrohom Korf, Senior Shliach to the State of Florida, has distributed lekach to the Miami community Erev Yom Kippur for already 61 years. This year was no exception. Photos courtesy of Rabbi Immanuel Storfer • Photos

The final victim of the condo building collapse in Florida has been identified, more than a month after the middle-of-the-night catastrophe that ultimately claimed 98 lives. Estelle Hedaya, an outgoing 54-year-old with a love of travel, was the last to be identified, ending what her relatives described as a torturous four-week wait • Full Story

Jonah Handler, 15, miraculously survived the collapse of the Champlain Towers when he and his mother were among the few people rescued alive from the rubble. His mother, Stacie Fang, z’l, 54, died of her injuries shortly after she arrived at the hospital and was the first victim identified in the disaster. Jonah’s family filed a lawsuit against the building’s condo association last week, the latest in over a dozen lawsuits filed since the collapse of the building on June 24 • Full Story

The Chabad House, under the auspices of Rabbi Sholom Lipskar, has been at the forefront of the rescue and recovery efforts in Surfside, FL, following the tragic collapse of the Champlain Towers condominium building, raising both funds and collecting supplies for the families displaced from their homes and awaiting news of loved ones • Full Story, Photos 

A ceremony was held to thank members of Israel’s National Rescue Unit for their help in trying to find survivors in the mountain of rubble left behind where a condo building collapsed in Surfside, Miami. The Israeli team of seven from the IDF’s Home From Command flew out to the US and began working at the site three days after the building collapsed last month • Full Story

A few days after the terrible news that a building had collapsed in Surfside, Florida, and learning that one of the founding members Brad Cohen together with his brother Gary were among the missing or unaccounted for, I decided that if I am the empath I feel myself to be, then I have to visit with the families, and the Cohen family in particular • Full Article

A powerful picture made the rounds on social media this week. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and that’s certainly true here. In fact, this one picture captures the story of our nation—past, present, and future • Full Article

Officials announced Wednesday evening that the search and rescue efforts at the collapsed Miami Beach-area condo building would shift to a recovery operation, signaling the formal end of the search for survivors. With 86 people still unaccounted for, crews have not found anyone alive since shortly after half of Champlain Towers South in Surfside, Florida, crumbled into a pile of rubble in less than a minute early June 24 • Full Story

Crews searching the building collapse site in Surfside, Fla., have discovered four more victims since Tuesday morning, bringing the death toll to 36, according to local officials at an afternoon press conference • Full Story

Hundreds of people showed up to Beis Chayenu to pay their respects as the levaya of Tzvi and Itty Ainsworth, a Lubavitcher couple who tragically passed beneath the rubble of Champlain Towers in Surfside, drove down the service lane of Eastern Parkway • Photos

About 30 people packed into the living room and dining room of the white stucco house Saturday as a Torah scroll was laid on the bimah and the gabbai prepared to summon a kohein for the first aliyah. But there were no kohanim among them, because this congregation’s was in the rubble. “Ein kaan kohein,” the gabbai said. There is no Kohen present • Full Story

Four more bodies have been recovered from the ruins of the collapsed condo tower in Surfside, Fl., bringing the total death toll to 28. A total of 117 individuals remain unaccounted for, according to authorities leading the search and rescue operation • Full Story

Demolition crews set off explosives late Sunday that brought down the damaged remaining portion of a collapsed South Florida condo building, a key step to resuming the search for victims as rescuers seek access to new areas of the rubble. On Sunday, Miami-Dade police identified David Epstein, 58, as one of the two dozen people known to have perished in the fallen tower. His remains were recovered Friday • Full Story, Video

When I think of a safe, comfortable place to live, one of the first places that comes to mind is Miami. No earthquakes, terrorists, or tragedy … just warm weather, blue skies, endless ocean, peace and quiet. It’s irresistible. And I know I’m not alone • Full Article

As search and rescue operations at the site of a partial building collapse in Surfside, Florida, stretched into a tenth day Saturday, authorities announced they would pause operations to prepare for the likely demolition of what remains of the Champlain Towers South condo building. The list of names for Tehillim is at the bottom of this article • Full Story, Tehillim

As rescuers in Surfside, Florida, continue to search for survivors in the rubble of Champlain Towers South, officials have started planning for the “likely” demolition of the remaining structure, Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said Thursday evening. The list of names for Tehillim is at the bottom of this article • Full Story, Tehillim

As the search for survivors of a Florida condo collapse enters its second week, rescue crews and relatives of those still missing are scheduled to meet with President Joe Biden Thursday, in a visit many are hoping will provide some measure of comfort to a devastated community • Full Story

Hundreds have gathered every day at The Shul of Bal Harbour, a synagogue near the Florida condominium complex that partially collapsed last week, to pray that survivors will be found. Other members of Surfside’s Jewish community have offered food, water and emotional support to search and rescue teams digging into the rubble of the 12-story Champlain Towers South • Full Story

A week after the collapse of the  Champlain Towers South apartment complex  in Surfside, Florida, the Home Front Command’s search-and-rescue delegation continues to work to find and pull survivors from the rubble. “We still believe that there are survivors and we are working to rescue them,” said Col. Elad Edri, deputy commander of the delegation • Full Story, Video

Rescue teams are entering their seventh day searching the rubble of a collapsed building in Surfside, Florida — still holding out hope they will find the 149 people still unaccounted for. “I can tell you that none of us have lost hope,” said Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Capt. Eddy Alarcon • Full Story

Featured on Monday’s front cover of the New York Times, two women sit on the beach in Surfside, Florida reading Tehillim for the victims of the condo collapse tragedy

While families endure a fifth day of anguish waiting learn the fate of 150 loved ones, a sobering reality is setting in. “We know time is of the essence,” Maggie Castro of Miami-Dade Fire Rescue said Monday • Full Story

“Last night, when I did my late night pass at the building there was little girl. She’s about 12 years old and she was sitting by herself,” Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer Monday. “She was reading a Jewish prayer to herself, sitting at the site, by where one of her parents presumably is,” the mayor said • Full Story

We regret to inform you of the passing of Mr. Leon and Mrs. Christina Elvira (Rus) Oliwkowicz, 81 and 74 years old, respectively, who passed in the tragic Surfside collapse. Their daughter, Mrs. Leah Fouhal, is the administrator of Yeshivas Ohr Eliyahu – Chabad Mesivta in Chicago, IL. The levaya will be held today (Monday) • Full Story

Families of more than 100 people still missing after a partial condo building collapse in Surfside, Florida, received sobering news Sunday, when the death toll reached nine and a fire chief said the situation looked dire. It came the same day as CNN learned that a town building official told residents in November 2018 that the building was “in very good shape,” just days after receiving a report that warned of “major structural damage” to the tower involved in the collapse • Full Story