Inspiring a Nation with stories

[17:50, 12/7/2017] Rabbi Lipszyc Weekly Story: Rabbi Lipszyc's Story of the Week #44 Dedicated in honor of Yud Tes Kislev, Rosh Hashana LiChasidus In honor of Chanukah we are printing an amazing story, once again out of chronological order. This story took place while we were living in Birmingham, Alabama. It is a very long story and thus will break it up into two parts. The Most Miraculous and Unique Menorah In order to fully appreciate the miracles and hashgacha Elyona involved, I need to preface the story with a description of the layout of the city, the general attitude of the Jewish establishment in Birmingham, and their feelings towards any changes in their community. Alabama of course is a southern state. In fact during the Civil War, Montgomery, Alabama was the capitol of the Confederacy. The south has always been known for its “southern hospitality.” What isn’t known, however, is that the hospitality consists of “how can we assist in helping you to move on to so...

In a previous story, I mentioned that after we opened the Chabad House at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, my next project was opening Chabad of West Bloomfield. How that came about was in itself interesting. The main center of Chabad of Michigan was on Nine Mile Road in Oak Park, a suburb of Detroit. Most of the Chabad Anash and shluchim lived around that center. Rabbi Yankel Kranz a”h, was the rabbi of that center. He was very sharp, and he too taught me a lot and had a strong influence on me, in my early years of shlichus. He was a dynamic, charismatic rabbi who influenced many special people in returning to their Jewish roots. The lawyer Shaya Levine, who played a major role in both the acquisition of the Farmington Cheder Building together with the Labor Zionist Organization as well as in the purchase of the Ann Arbor Chabad House, (two previous stories,) was brought to Yiddishkeit through Rabbi Kranz. There was a group of seven very talented girls, who were dubbe...

[2:58 AM, 11/19/2017] Rabbi Lipszyc Weekly Story: Rabbi Lipszyc's story of the week. Sponsorship open Story#43.                                                                                                                              It was Yom Kippur 1976. It was the first Yom Kippur, since my having come to Michigan (in the summer of 1970,) that I spent yom tov at Chabad headquarters in Michigan, on Nine Mile Road in Oak Park. Rabbi Kagan a”h and I yblcht”a, had just finished our involvement with the latest three projects of expansion, Chabad House at U of M (Ann Arbor), Chabad of West Bloomfield, and Chabad of Grand Rapids. The three of us, Rabbis Kagan, Shemtov and ...