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Friday, September 29, 2006

Chaptzem! Exclusive - Missionaries chased out of Uman

Missionaries are chased out of Uman after distributing missionary literature in Uman on Motzei Yom Tov. Chased by a mob they ran through the streets of Uman receiving kicks and blows on the way. They called on the police to help them which did but they quickly melted back into the crowd allowing the missionaries to get bloodied up and their belongings destroyed. Finally they stepped in and rescued the pair from the crowds and escorted them out of Uman.
Incidentally, the Ukrainian Police tried to confiscate the camera. Only once they, mistakenly, believed the pictures had been deleted did they agree not to take the camera away.









11 comments

Thursday, September 28, 2006

The dispute is over, pictures of the Israeli Police at Uman, Ukraine

As reported by the Chaptzem! Blog, Israeli Police were used to help keep security in Uman, Ukraine during Rosh HaShonah. Though this information was repeatedly disputed, (by people that had not been there of course, but think they know everything nevertheless) here are the pictures that substantiate the report.



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Wednesday, September 27, 2006

Clinic’s Sabbath Closure Seen As Biased

In a case that could pit civil rights concerns against government-protected religious accommodation, the Rockland County chapter of the NAACP has filed a complaint against an Orthodox-owned medical clinic, calling on the facility to stay open on Saturdays, provide diversity training to its employees, and hire more staffers from the minority community.

The complaint, filed with the state Division of Human Rights by the NAACP of Spring Valley, accuses the Ben Gilman Medical and Dental Clinic in Spring Valley of “unlawful discriminatory practice.”

“The willful closing of the clinic on Saturdays serves no other business purpose than to impose the extremity of [the owner’s] religious beliefs in Hasidic Judaism on the community it serves which consists of predominantly African Americans and Hispanics,” the complaint states, adding that the clinic “engag[es] in disparate treatment of people who believe in a religion other than Hasidic Judaism, and … [fail]s to accommodate other religious beliefs.”

The defendant is Monsey businessman Mendel Hoffman, managing director of the Spring Valley clinic and of another in the area, about a mile away. The Spring Valley facility opened two years ago on Route 59, which is near large haredi and minority populations. The clinic has been closed on weekends since its began operations.

According to the complaint, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People took part in discussions last spring, conducted at the office of the Spring Valley mayor, with the clinic’s owner and management, to “reasonably accommodate” the needs of the clinic’s minority patients. Hoffman subsequently indicated that he could not open the clinic on Saturdays “as he did not get permission from his rabbinic authority,” the complaint states.

The complaint does not cite specific instances of discrimination. Willie Trotman, president of the NAACP chapter, who filed the complaint, said it is intended to make the clinic’s black and Hispanic patients feel more comfortable, and to make its services more accessible. “People get sick seven days a week,” he said. “We’re not alleging [discrimination]” against or specific harm to patients unable to receive treatment on Saturdays.

http://www.thejewishweek.com/news/newscontent.php3?artid=13045

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Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Mercedes R Class gets Sanitation sticker for not obeying alternate side parking rules

One bad deed leads to another. Read the full post on this.


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Monday, September 25, 2006

Israeli Soldiers patrolling in Uman, Ukraine

Due to the increased security risk and inability to handle the thousands of people in Uman over Yom Tov, the Ukraine Government has given permission for Israeli Soldiers to patrol the area and help with security duties.

5 comments

Friday, September 22, 2006

A K'siva V'chasima Toiva and A Git Gebentched Yur to all Klal Yisroel




May we all be zoiche to a wonderful and sweet year. A year of happiness, contentment, ashires in ruchniyes and gashmiyes and may we all be zoiche to realize the real derech and be able to follow in its way and be mekadish shem shomaim every single day.

Thank you for once again making the Chaptzem! Blog the most popular Heimishe Blog.

L'shana Haboh B'Yerushalayim!

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The rest of the story with Yudel Shain's rest of the story

This post is not meant to be anything more than a partial introduction of Yudel Shain.

Thirteen years ago a Rabbi from Lakewood, New Jersey had heard about Rubashkin's shlachthouse in Iowa and their reputation of delivering affordable, Kosher and quality meats to the Jewish communities in New York. This Rabbi saw this as a potential opportunity to help himself and Rubashkin at the same time. He made a proposal to Rubashkin to import their meat to the oilem in New Jersey. Rubashkin was more than happy to oblige. The Rabbi however said that he would first have to inspect their plant personally to make sure that it was up to his Kashrus standards. Rubashkin obliged. The Rabbi came to Postville, Iowa and spent three full days inspecting the entire plant. The Rabbi heralded the Kashrus and efficiency of the Rubashkin operation, so much so that he proposed to begin his importing of the meat right away. Now only one thing was left to do, negotiate the specifics of the financials. This Rabbi was quite a businessman, only one problem, he was a bit too greedy. He wanted a full 10% commission of all meats important. Rubashkin was appalled by this request, saying that he did not work this way and that the 10% commission was out of the question. The Rabbi did not want to budge from his price and said that if he did not have his offer met he would not go through with the importing. Rubashkin made it clear that he would not either budge and thus the proposed business deal was absolved. The Rabbi from then on promised that he would make it his personal business to bring down Rubashkin. Can you guess which Kashrus buff from Lakewood the Rabbi is? Now you know the real rest of the story.

40 comments

Thursday, September 21, 2006

Thousands of Hasidic Jews to hold annual celebration at spiritual leader's tomb in Ukraine

Thousands of Hasidic Jews from around the world gathered Thursday in the central Ukrainian town of Uman to mark the Jewish New Year, or Rosh Hashana, at the tomb of their spiritual leader.

Some 12,000 Jews from the Bratslav Hasidic movement had gathered in the quiet town by Thursday to pray at the grave of Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav, who died in 1810.

Bearded and wearing black hats, participants began setting up giant tents and a big cafeteria to feed the 20,000 organizers were expecting before Rosh Hashana begins at sundown Friday.

They prayed, danced and recited psalms throughout the town, which was peppered with Hebrew posters during this men-only event.

"This is ... a chance to touch the living faith of our fathers," said Borys Varminshteyn, of Myrhorod in central Ukraine.

Nachman, the great grandson of the founder of Hasidism, is renowned for his mystical interpretations of Jewish texts, and promised on his deathbed to help anyone who came and prayed beside his tomb. Nachman taught that high spirituality could be achieved through prayer, meditation and good deeds.

His promise to hear the prayers of those who came to his burial place — and his suggestion that prayer carried more power during Rosh Hashana — has been drawing thousands of pilgrims yearly.

The officially atheist Soviet Union sharply restricted access, but Jews have been able to visit freely since Ukraine's 1991 independence.

Nachman's tomb — part of a destroyed Jewish cemetery — has been renovated, and a giant synagogue was built nearby. The religious visitors have had a noticeable impact on Uman, about 200 kilometers (125 miles) south of the capital, Kiev. There is a kosher supermarket and a new hotel that respects Hasidim's requirements — the rooms have no mirrors, and bathtubs are replaced with showers.

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/09/21/europe/EU_REL_Ukraine_Jewish_Pilgrimage.php

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Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Jewish law produces proper kosher wines for Rosh Hashana

Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, is one of the high holy days of the Jewish calendar. From sunset on Friday until nightfall on Sunday, Jewish families will gather for a traditional holiday meal to include apples dipped in honey and a round loaf of challah bread sweetened with raisins, in the belief that sweet foods will bring a sweet new year.

As with all Jewish holidays, wine is an integral part of the sacred celebration. For Jews who observe the holidays, this means kosher wine.

What makes a wine kosher? Not long ago, based on ignorance and a long-ago taste of Mogen David's finest, I would have guessed a kosher wine was concord grape juice concentrate with too much sugar, which had been blessed by a rabbi. I now know differently.

According to "The Oxford Companion to Wine" (2nd edition, page 388), the kosher laws are:

No wine may be produced from a vine until its fourth year.

The vineyard, if within biblical lands, must be left fallow every seven years.

Only vines may be grown in vineyards; no other fruits or vegetables are allowed.

There must be a symbolic ceremony in which just over 1 percent of the production is poured away in remembrance of the tithe set aside for Levites and priests in the days of the Jerusalem Temple.

From arrival at the winery, the grapes and resulting wine may only be handled by strictly Sabbath-observing Jews and only 100 percent kosher materials may be used in the wine-making maturation and bottling processes. (This applies only to those who handle the grape must or the wine itself.)

For a wine to be mevushal, a higher level of kosher designation, it must be cooked. Mevushal wines can be handled by non-Jews and are thus essential for kosher caterers and restaurants and public places where the wine might be touched by non-Jews. To reach this stage of purity once meant that the wine was cooked until bubbles appeared on the surface. Before modern technology introduced flash pasteurization, this process diminished the quality of the wine. Today, some experts claim it is impossible to taste any difference in a wine that has received the mevushal rating through the new pasteurization process.

Although kosher wines are being produced in every wine region in the world, Israel has become the leader in fine kosher wines made from European grape varieties. In recent years, the country has seen an enormous growth in boutique wineries that are striving to produce world-class wines. Many of the young winemakers have studied their craft in California or in France. The finest vineyards are in the northern part of the country that extends to the Lebanese border and incorporates the Golan Heights. The wine appellation of this region is Galilee.

http://www.jacksonholestartrib.com/articles/2006/09/20/features/enjoy/54a3d219dd9fa2d2872571ee006a4261.txt

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Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Fireworks and Jews 

An anti-Semitic video of some firecrackers being thrown at some hasidic jews in Upstate New York.

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Monday, September 18, 2006

Man inhabits dog?

A stray dog which refused to budge from the home of a recently deceased rabbi has finally moved on after a "redemption ceremony" at an Israeli cemetery.

The dog, pictured in Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper Monday, showed up at the house of the late Rabbi Nahman Dubinky.

Rabbis expert in Kabbalah, or Jewish mysticism, concluded the animal could be possessed by a tortured soul seeking redemption. Ultra-Orthodox Jews traditionally do not keep dogs as pets.

"Sometimes the souls of sinners, such as adulterers or people who slept with non-Jews, enter the body of a dog," Rabbi Yitzhak Basri, a Kabbalah scholar, told Israel Radio.

"It is known that when a righteous man dies, the souls of people in need of redemption come to him so they can be healed as a result of his death."

Basri said Rabbi Dubinky's family, along with a quorum of 10 mourners, carried out a "redemption ceremony" at a cemetery on Jerusalem`s Mount of Olives.

"Afterwards, the dog did indeed leave the house," he said.

http://www.zeenews.com/znnew/articles.asp?aid=323558&ssid=68&sid=LIF

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Sunday, September 17, 2006

Chappin' a Schmooze


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Saturday, September 16, 2006

Keren Ezras Shabbos capitalizes on treife chicken tragedy

Keren Ezras Shabbos, an organization that supposedly helps needy families for Shabbos, has decided to use the Monsey treife chicken tragedy to help them raise funds. The image below, which is in obvious bad taste, was posted on their site to hopefully persuade the people of Monsey, whom have been Nichshol with treifos, to donate to their cause. I wonder under what fuzzy logic this organization thought this would actually help them.


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Friday, September 15, 2006

Read the latest Chaptzem! column in the Tishrei issue of the Country Yossi Family Magazine

Catch the latest Chaptzem! column in the Country Yossi Family Magazine. From the first Heimishe blog comes the first Heimishe transition from blog to print. Enjoy reading Chaptzem! even on Shabbos. The Chaptzem! Blog has a printed column in the Country Yossi Family Magazine. Pick up your free copy of the Country Yossi Family Magazine to read the exclusive Chaptzem! column in living print.

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Zeh Chalifusi...


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Thursday, September 14, 2006

Your most interesting Kashrus story

Have you ever paid double for a product just because of the extra Kashrus sticker (besides the usual Hechsher) with the Yiddishe words on it? Tell us about it. Have you ever seen the Goy at the fruit store cut his treiffene sandwich with the same knife as he cuts up the watermelons? Tell us about it. If you have personal experience in the Kashrus field or in the food business dealing with Hechsherim and you've had an interesting occurrence, an ordeal or an experience, share your story. Whether your story is about a deficiency in the system or something commendable, post it here.

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Contrary to what is said on anti-Semitic sites; such as NYPDrant, Hatzolah does treat everyone.















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Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Goldberg's Grocery gets hit by false rumors

There is apparently someone that has quite a beef (no pun intended) with Goldberg's Grocery in Boro-Park. Over the past few days someone has been trying to create panic and falsely spread the word that low-priced Kosher Supermarket has been selling non-kosher chicken. The owners of Goldberg's Grocery do not know how or why this rumor has started, but they say that they have losing business because of it. According to a source in the grocery, Goldberg's has always been extra careful in making sure that their chicken and meats come only from places with the highest Kashrus standards and that they are extremely vigilant with the Kashrus in their store throughout the entire process in order to insure that their customers get the best Kosher meats.

Chaptzem! does not endorse and is not responsible for the Kashrus of the chicken or meats at Goldberg's Grocery.

11 comments

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Suspicious suitcase at Hatzlocho Grocery in Monsey turns out not to be a bomb

An abandoned suitcase discovered early yesterday morning outside a Monsey grocery store that has been rocked by a bogus kosher-meat scandal turned out to contain nothing that was explosive.

But for a few tense moments at 1 a.m. — just an hour into the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks — the Rockland County bomb squad was treating the suitcase with the utmost suspicion.

"They X-rayed the suitcase and determined it was not a danger," Spring Valley police Sgt. Thomas Martin said. "It was some socks and a metal pill box."

It was unclear how much further detectives might investigate the case.

The scare started when an owner of the Hatzlocha Grocery on Maple Avenue noticed the abandoned suitcase on the sidewalk and called police.

About two weeks ago, the kosher grocery discovered that a butcher, Moshe Finkel, the owner of Shevach Meats, had been selling nonkosher meats as kosher to Orthodox Jewish families.

An investigation into the sale of the nonkosher chicken by the state's Department of Agriculture and Markets is expected to becompleted today.

With that controversy in the air, and the anniversary of the terrorist attacks, the owner did the right thing by calling police, Sgt. Martin said.

"I know that people are upset about the nonkosher meat, but what connection there is to that, I don't know," he said.

"We have it here," Martin said of the suitcase. "If no one shows up for it, we will probably throw it away."

http://www.thejournalnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060912/NEWS03/609120353/1019/NEWS03

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Monday, September 11, 2006

Thousands head to Breslover Shul



Thousands of people are rushing down to the Breslover Shul on 16th Avenue and 55th Street to get their free ticket to Uman. All the people that had applied for the free ticket were suddenly called and told that in order to receive their free ticket they had to show up in person at the Shul before 11:00 pm tonight.

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Shoplifter set free by NYPD in Boro-Park

A man was caught shoplifting in Boro-Park from two pharmacies, but was let go by the NYPD. The man who had first robbed Metro Drugs, making off with a few bag-fulls of merchandise, next tried to steal from Rite-Aid on 13th Avenue and 51st Street. People at the Rite-Aid had seen him taking things and alerted the management. They called Police and began to follow him. They managed to get the man to stop on 12th Avenue and 49th Street where they waited for Police to show up. The owner of Metro Drugs was alerted and he came down to the scene. Seconds before the Cops arrived, the owner of Metro Drugs took his merchandise back from the thief and left the scene. Rite-Aid was not willing to do the same so they asked to Cops to search his bags and arrest the man. However, for some interesting reason (probably blatant laziness), the Cops refused to search his bags, claiming that there was no probable cause. Even though witnesses came forward saying that they had seen the man shoplift, Police still refused to do anything and just let the man go and left the scene.




6 comments

Sunday, September 10, 2006

Jewish blood washes away easily in Boro-Park



Jewish blood has a new low price in Boro-Park. The price is just a little under $300 a month. That's right, now you can help support Germany and ride in comfort at the same time by leasing the brand new luxurious Mercedes R Class Sport vehicle for only a little under $300 a month. I'm sure that our grandparents were taken to gas chambers in vehicles as lovely and comfortable as these. Either way, now Boruch Hashem Quality Leasing and Exclusive Leasing are helping Boro-Park Yingerleit and the German Government at the same time, while spitting squarely into the faces of Holocaust survivors. The new beautifully designed Mercedes R Class vehicle is being brought into Boro-Park for such a low price that it is mammash an Aveirah not to get it. This is a sight that even some SS Storm Troopers never thought they would live to see, Heimishe Yingerleit with beard and Payos driving their very own Nazi machines, and without even a gun being put to their head. I just wonder if every time these wonderful Yingerleit put the key into the ignition and start up the motor of their dream car if they are able to hear the voices of six million Jews crying in unison. So if you happen to see someone step out of such a car, why not make him feel even more comfortable and give a nice smile and say, "Hail Hitler!"

53 comments

Saturday, September 09, 2006

Monsey Rosh Yeshivah, R' Moishe Green, seeks death penalty for Treife Butcher

R' Moishe Green, a prominent Rosh Yeshivah in Monsey, has publicly expressed how heart-broken he is over having unknowingly fed Treifes to thousands of his Talmidim over the years. His Yeshivah was a regular customer of Shevach Meats and they would purchase all their chicken for the Yeshivah Bocherim's suppers there. R' Moishe Green further said that if Beis Din would have the Koach today, they would be Mechayiv Missah to this butcher.

15 comments

Friday, September 08, 2006

A little background on the proprietor of Shevach Butcher Shop

The owner of Shevach Butcher Shop may have run away, but he can't run away from his past. According to a source who knows the owner very well, 'Mr. Shevach' comes from a very chushivah family. However, Mr. Shevach himself was always seen by his family as a trouble maker. When the family lived in Israel, Mr. Shevach, in an act of defiance and rebellion towards his family, joined the Israeli Army and served some time there. He left the Army later for the United States and moved to Monsey. Now once again Mr. Shevach has rebelled. Except this time it is against his religion and against the people of his community, betraying their trust and stabbing them in the back. He is now far away from here, in all senses of the word 'far'. I wonder if he re-upped in the Israeli Army.

31 comments

Thursday, September 07, 2006

Rush on to 'rekosher' after chicken scare



















Hundreds of people brought plates and silverware to a temple Wednesday because they are concerned non-kosher food tainted them.
It happened in Spring Valley, Rockland County, where many bought what they thought was kosher chicken. But the birds were not Kosher. They had bought chicken with the wrong label on it. Now they're trying to figure out how it happened.

Eyewitness News reporter Marcus Solis has more on the story.

It is one of the most deeply held principles in Judaism, that kosher food must be handled and prepared in a very specific way. Spring Valley residents say they were devastated to learn some of the food people handled and ate was non-kosher.

Hundreds of Orthodox and Hasidic jews turned out Wednesday to have their pots, pans and silverware dipped in boiling water. It's a process called "koshering," which makes the materials rekosher, and is usually done on a smaller scale during Passover. But in Spring Valley, this is an emergency.

"The house has to be kosher," one resident said. "If the pots aren't kosher we can't cook or eat anything."

http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=local&id=4535720

0 comments
Discount Bus Companies Tangle Over Territory

The number of competitors to Greyhound Lines with inexpensive fares has soared in recent years, expanding well beyond the no-frills buses based in Chinatown in Manhattan and setting off fierce battles for riders. In fact, in the booming world of discount travel, there is apparently no room for two Hasidic-owned companies on the same route.

A dispute between the two bus companies that are vying for riders from New York to Washington, Vamoose and Washington Deluxe, has landed in court. As a result, some customers have been confused in recent days by Vamoose’s Web site, which first said the company was temporarily out of business, then said it was running again, but with fewer stops.

The Vamoose-Washington Deluxe dispute, in which Washington Deluxe says that Vamoose trespassed on its route, is a small scuffle in a more tumultuous struggle that has transformed travel in the Northeast. Involved are more than 30 discount lines that pick up people curbside.

The lines, whose fares are much lower than the cost of air or train tickets and have led to discounts by Greyhound, the nation’s largest carrier, have won over thousands of devoted customers. But the industry’s short history also includes accidents, regular breakdowns, lawsuits and even violence.

The discount bus lines began springing up in Chinatown in the late 1990’s with a handful of operators picking up passengers on haphazard schedules. The new lines had an advantage over more established bus companies because they did not pay for space or employees at the Port Authority Bus Terminal or other bus stations.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/07/nyregion/07buses.html?_r=1&ref=nyregion&oref=slogin

0 comments

Wednesday, September 06, 2006

Ticket blitz in Boro-Park

Boro-Park is being hit with yet another round of ticket blitzing. The blitz had started a couple of days ago as more and more residents have been returning from the country. The Cops are targeting mainly people that park at the crosswalk. Being that a crosswalk ticket carries the steepest fine of $165, this is the quickest way for them to generate revenue for the city.

17 comments

Tuesday, September 05, 2006

NYPD security camera on the street



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Monday, September 04, 2006

BREAKING NEWS - Hamodia Newspaper writes about controversial issue

In an extremely rare, against-type occurrence, the Hamodia Newspaper printed information that may, by some, be seen as entering into an issue of controversy. The English language Jewish newspaper, which routinely reprints Associated Press articles in their pages and is usually devoid of all opinion and originality, has decided to mention the Treife chicken situation that is taking place in Monsey. The newspaper did not by any means write all that had actually transpired at the morally bankrupt butcher shop, but did at least advise people on how to approach rectifying their defiled dishes. I guess the boss is still on vacation, boy will heads be flying when she gets back.

14 comments
A truck gets stuck going from the BQE onto the Prospect Park Expressway




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Sunday, September 03, 2006

Car accident on the BQE




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Saturday, September 02, 2006

Anti-Semitic graffiti on the Williamsburg Bridge


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Friday, September 01, 2006

R' Mordche Dovid Unger buys Balkany's and Temple

R' Mordche Dovid Unger has bought off the long troubled Balkany building and adjacent landmark Temple at the corner for $14 Million. The property formerly belonged to a Satmare Dayin who took sides in the Stamar fight (obviously the wrong side) and was unable to handle the property, especially because the Temple has landmark status and can't be knocked down and built over. R' Mordche Dovid plans to make his main Shul and base operations over there.

15 comments

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