Inspiring a Nation with stories

Rabbi Lipszyc's Story of the Week #61 Still looking for a sponsor. To Sponsor the story of the week, Contact Mendy at 513-456-7595             The Center of Chabad activities in Michigan was in Oak Park, a suburb of Detroit. The shul was called Mishkan Israel – Nusach H’Ari. Although it was built before I arrived in Michigan, I had heard the general story of how it came to be. Rabbi Shemtov helped organize the merger of two struggling shuls, with the agreement of both that Chabad would maintain the continuance of the merged congregations in exchange for Chabad taking over ownership of the building. The non-Chabad Rabbi would continue in his position for a number of years, after which Chabad would have the right to bring in a Chabad Rabbi to take over. The women’s section of that shul was two elevated sections or balconies on either side of the sanctuary. Although the women were quite visible from the waist up, especially when they stood, it was tech...

Rabbi Lipszyc's Story of the Week 59.  We already told the story of how, while trying to get Rabbi Shemtov to open a Chabad House on the campus of U of M in Ann Arbor, Rabbi Kagan a”h and myself agreed to help with the fund raising. There’s a joke told that the Czar of Russia once wanted to personally experience how the different groups of citizenry actually lived their lives. So together with his wife they went out incognito and took up the different types of jobs that were available to the citizens. As they were finishing of this project, the Czar said to his wife that there was still one area that they didn’t experience. In answer to his wife’s inquiring glance, the Czar said that he was curious as to what it was like for the schnorrers to constantly be begging for money. The Czarina, perturbed, asked, “and how long do you want to be doing this?” The Czar seeing her reluctance answered, “just for 30 days, my dear.” And so the Czar and Czarina, dressed in rags and tatters went...

[15:54, 7/20/2018] Rabbi Lipszyc Weekly Story: Rabbi Lipszyc's Story of the Week #60 Still looking for a sponsor. To Sponsor the story of the week, Contact Mendy at 513-456-7595 [15:56, 7/20/2018] Rabbi Lipszyc Weekly Story: Rabbi Lipszyc's Story of the Week #60 Still looking for a sponsor. To Sponsor the story of the week, Contact Mendy at 513-456-7595             While in Michigan, in the 1970’s, a friend asked us to invite over for Shabbos a friend of his -- a precocious teenage girl that had a lot of questions about being Jewish. We’ll never forget the first Shabbos she spent with us.  I hadn’t been feeling well that evening, so I went to sleep and she stayed up to speak to my wife.  They were sitting on the couch, with Leah responding to her questions and telling her about how frum families live for hours.  Finally, in the wee hours of the morning, Leah said she was going to say Shema and go to sleep.  The girl asked her ...