6-30-06: Special Edition

Dear Friends,

I am happy to announce that Rabbi Ilan Weinberg will be joining our team to serve as Hebrew School principal and Youth Director for Chabad of Port Washington!

Rabbi Weinberg graduated the University of Pittsburgh in 1997, and then went on to explore the Talmud and Rabbinic Studies at the Rabbinical College of America in Morristown , NJ. In 2003 he graduated from the Rabbinical School at the Central Yeshiva “Tomchei Temimim” in Brooklyn.

Ilan comes to our community with extensive training and experience in youth programming. He spent two years as Youth Worker and Youth Mentor for Americorp, helping inner-city kids in Pittsburgh, PA. For the past four years he served with great success as Executive Director of Youth Action Movement (YAM) in Crown Heights , Brooklyn . We are very fortunate to be able to bring Ilan's considerable talent and experience to benefit the youth of our community.

Rabbi Weinberg officially begins his work at Chabad House on July 3rd. Feel free to stop by his office or call him with any questions you might have or just to say hello. Within the next few weeks he will be in touch with our Hebrew School families as per his plans for the new school year. He plans numerous new initiatives, including a special program for Hebrew speaking families or those wanting to give their children more in terms of Hebrew language. (Ilan has a special feeling for this program being that his mother is Israeli and he speaks a fluent Hebrew). He will also be in touch with families planning Bar/Bat Mitzvahs within the next year, as well as teens from CTC in terms of programming for the coming year. Rabbi Weinberg also plans to introduce a comprehensive Junior Congregation program for Shabbat mornings during the services. Stay tuned for all the details to follow.

We are planning an official community welcome of Ilan, his wife Devorah and their children, Yehuda (2) and Masha (1) on a Shabbat sometime during the summer. We will announce the date once it is confirmed.

Shabbat Shalom!
Rabbi Shalom M. Paltiel

Last Shabbat Rabbi Mendy and Devorah Lewis sponsored a Kiddush lunch in honor of their saying farewell after five years of dedicated service to our community, and celebrating their new post as Directors of a new Chabad House in New Jersey. Lunch was followed by a “farbrengen” – an informal gathering including L'Chayims and words of Torah. Rabbi Lewis shared insights on the special occasion of this week, the 12 th anniversary of passing of the Rebbe. He shared some personal stories of the Rebbe and encouraged the assembled to make a point of visiting the OHEL during this time period, especially around the Rebbe's Yahrzeit, which we observe today.