The Chabad-Lubavitch regional headquarters in Houston, Texas, announced the recent acquisition of approximately two acres of land adjacent to its current property. The acquisition will enable the center, under the direction of Rabbi Shimon Lazaroff, to undergo a major expansion and renovation to house a series of programs, including separate men’s, women’s and utensils’ mikvahs, adult education facility, synagogue, day school and Hebrew school. ...

Descendants of the Alter Rebbe, Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, gathered at the headquarters of the Chasidic movement he founded for a family reunion-of-sorts in honor of the day of passing, the 24th day of the Hebrew month of Teves. The conference in the Chabad-Lubavitch neighborhood of Crown Heights in Brooklyn, N.Y., examined the Alter Rebbe’s teachings and revealed stories about his life. ...

A winter-camp in the desert hamlet of Oracle, Ariz., for the children of Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries printed for the first time in its history 100 copies of the Tanya, the fundamental work of Chabad Chasidic thought written by the Alter Rebbe, Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, in 1798. Since its first printing, the Tanya has been copied in hundreds of locations around the globe fulfilling a directive of the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, of righteous memory, that its dissemination worldwide brings a spiritual light to its physical surroundings. ...

Rabbi Schneur Zalman Kurant, director of Chabad-Lubavitch of Gan Yavne, Israel, joined the many Lubavitch Chasidim who received ribbons for their service in the Israeli Defense Force during the Second Lebanon War. In a ceremony at the army base outside of the northern village of Misgav where he was stationed during the brief 2006 war, Kurant was pinned with the ribbon that is being given to all active IDF personnel who served during the war. After the ceremony, he recalled putting tefillin on fellow soldiers at the base, and promptly asked if anyone in the audience wanted to don the sacred items. Several took him up on the offer. ...

A grand banquet attended by hundreds of supporters marked 17 years of Chabad-Lubavitch outreach around Great Neck, N.Y. At the event, Rabbi Yoseph Geisinsky, who with his wife Chana co-directs Chabad of Great Neck, looked back at almost two decades of activities and announced a new building campaign to support further expansion. ...

More than 300 Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries in Israel and its surrounding areas gathered in a northern kibbutz for their annual convention this week. Organized by the Lubavitch Youth Organization in Israel, the gathering explored modern issues in Jewish law and highlighted the expansion of Jewish outreach in the Holy Land. ...

The Connecticut Jewish Ledger named Chabad-Lubavitch Rabbi Shlomo Yaffe of Congregation Achudas Achim in West Hartford one of its "Jewish Movers & Shakers for 2007." In its endorsement, the weekly newspaper noted that Yaffe has earned a national reputation as a scholar, author and lecturer, and serves as a scholar-in-residence at Chabad-Lubavitch of Midtown Manhattan. In addition, as that founder of the Connecticut Symposium on Contemporary Legal Issues and Jewish Law, Yaffe leads a monthly lecture series at the Institute of American and Talmudic Law. ...

In an event organized by Israel's National Insurance Institute and the Chabad-Lubavitch Youth Organization's Terror Victims Project, the Mediterranean resort town of Netanya welcomed a new Torah scroll written in memory of those killed by terror attacks and in the merit of a speedy recovery for those injured. ...

Registration for the upcoming International Conference of Chabad-Lubavitch Women Emissaries opened this week. As part of the conference, attendees will tour Chabad Houses throughout New York's tri-state area to see first-hand developments in teaching strategies and community programming. ...

Almost 500 people turned out for the 20th anniversary celebration of the Chabad House in Malvern, Australia, directed by Rabbi Shimshon and Rivkah Yurkowicz. In his remarks, community leader George Halasz expressed amazement at how Jewish life in the community had been transformed since the Yurkowicz’s arrival in 1987. “For a moment, reflect on the possibility, as I do, that we are living a modern day miracle,” said the child psychiatrist. “Each great journey starts with one step. And most of us [who are] part of the Chabad family fave our personal stories of our amazing journey.” ...

Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky, vice chairman of Merkos L’Inyonei Chinuch, the educational arm of Chabad-Lubavitch, met with Israeli Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar this week to discuss issues of shared concern between Chabad emissaries in Israel and around the world, and the country’s chief rabbinate. During the meeting, Amar praised the world of the emissaries, remarking that in all of his travels he is inspired by the work of Chabad-Lubavitch in building up Jewish communities around the globe. ...

A supporter of the Chabad House of Migdal near the Israeli city of Tiberias is helping Chabad Houses throughout the Holy Land to hold farbrengens in honor of the 24th day of the Hebrew month of Teves, which falls out this coming Wednesday. The day marks the passing in 1812 of the Alter Rebbe, Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, of righteous memory, who first disseminated Chabad-Lubavitch Chasidic teachings. To aid in on greater observance of the Alter Rebbe’s yahrzeit, the philanthropist is disbursing 1,000 NIS grants to each Chabad House that holds a farbrengen, or festive Chasidic gathering, on the day. ...

The Federation of Jewish Communities in Russia released a report showing a decrease in the number of reported cases of anti-Semitism this year. While federation official Rabbi Boruch Gorin was happy about the report’s conclusions, he urged authorities to do more to combat xenophobia and anti-Semitism in a region still beset by high-profile attacks against Jews. ...