A sudden storm has shaken the community in Kfar Chabad, Israel with the abrupt closure by the Rabbonim of two popular wedding halls.
Following “incidents bordering on immodesty,” the Rav of the Kfar Chabad village, Rabbi Meir Ashkenazi, has ordered the closure of the Beis Zalata wedding hall in Kfar Chabad B Beis, a popular wedding venue. In response to Rabbi Ashkenazi’s letter, the administration of Beis Rivkah this morning announced the closure of both halls in Kfar Chabad Bet — Beis Zlata and the main hall.
The venue known as the Event Tent in Kfar Chabad will continue operating as usual.
Residents hope the matter will be resolved quickly.
Residents of Kfar Chabad were taken by surprise on the eve of Shabbos with an unusual and dramatic announcement from the local Rabbinical Office, signed by the village’s Rov, Rabbi Meir Ashkenazi.
The message, directed to the administration of the Beis Rivkah high school, stated that the Beis Zalata wedding hall in Kfar Chabad Bet is closed for holding weddings until further notice.
Here is the exact text of the letter:
Rabbinical Office of Kfar Chabad
Rabbi Meir Ashkenazi, Mara D’asra of Kfar Chabad
Erev Shabbos Kodesh Parshas Balak, 5785
To: The Administration of Beis Rivkah High School
Re: Beis Zlata Wedding Hall, Kfar Chabad Bet
Due to incidents that bordered on immodesty by the groom and bride during their event this week in the hall, and after attempts to resolve the matter which were unsuccessful, I hereby announce the closure of the Beis Zalata wedding hall for weddings until further notice.
Following the letter, the Beis Rivkah administration announced this morning that both halls in Kfar Chabad Bet — Beis Zalata and the main hall – will be closed.
The Event Tent in Kfar Chabad will remain open and operate as usual.
The strong wording of the letter has caused a stir throughout the village. Many residents have been discussing the matter and expressing hope that a swift resolution will be found – to restore modesty and appropriate decorum to simchas, and to enable the reopening of the halls.
Some noted, with a hint of relief, that the Three Weeks are beginning shortly – a time when weddings are not held – allowing additional time to resolve the issue to the satisfaction of both the Rabbinical authorities and the community at large.
Good for him!
At least we have some Rabbanim who are not scared to do the right thing and to stand up to what’s going on.
Our boundaries are almost non existent- what is going on at weddings and Simchas is shocking.
The amount of family’s who 10 years ago would of never done certain things are now doing them so openly and comfortably is very problematic.
I wish Rabbi Ashkenazi much success and I hope more Lubavitch Rabbanim take a stand like he is doing.
We either have a Torah or we don’t. End of story!!!
But that’s the only way people will understand. Everyone has their own way and connection to Hashem however when Hashem says no to immodesty their is no tzimzumim about it. No is no. You can say you are improving etc.. but at the end of the day be respectful for others who are holding tznuis as it should. Dress however you like at home or places who share the same level and are hopefully growing as it should be. Unfortunately I would like to add what rabbonim are never addressing: tznuis is about clothing, music and entertainment however tznuis is… Read more »
Thats how strong leadership
Behaves
It’s time that we all stand up and respect our standards as Lubavitcher.
Yeshar koach Harav Ashkenazi
I’m curious
From what I understood there was a DJ stand and the chosson and kallah both went up there and danced together
Its a Mitzva Tantz!
🤣🤣🤣
What does he expect maybe if he would do more then just think about how the other guys wife is dressed it wouldn’t happen
Is halacha
And your comment is extremely low class and inappropriate and actually false in terms of the halacha.
The biggest mistake anyone can make is when they convince themselves that just this time or just this little bit of change is ok according to halacha or any other rule you set for yourself that is in line with halacha.
Look up halachos of belittling what a rov says. Here it was not just belittled, but the rov themselves were besmirched.
You should probably ask mechila.
Respectfully from what I am understanding there wasnt outright inappropriate touching why is this becoming into such a big deal and why does a hall need to get shut down for this? This was their big day let them enjoy maybe it wasn’t the best thing to do but who are you guys , this is ridiculous….
Needs to follow the halachos of the Torah and the guidelines set by the Rabbonim of that community
Same
So irritated by lack of tznius at events and functions!
Remarkable, really — how these rabbis have turned the art of making our faith unappealing into a science, sowing discord where there should be achdus.
Bravo mullahs — masterclass in division.
What does implementing torah have to do with your obscene rant on the rabbanim what your saying is along the lines of the reform movements mantra
You really should think about what you wrote
Everyone in Kfar Chabad is living peacefully in their beautiful community, except for this one individual, whose fixation on women has become his life’s mission to harass them and create problems where none exists. His antics have nothing to do with Torah and everything to do with deeply warped psychological issues.
Even the vaad of Kfar Chabad had to step in to keep him under control.
well you obviusly have no clue what your talking about
Please keep your nefesh habehamis in your OWN home
Thank you
If that’s how you feel about basic halachic principle — No chassidiche Chumros — you should really reconsider what Yiddishkeit, not even chasisidishkeit, means to you..
Indeed the gemoro says to learn from Persians about tznius !!
And exactly the same way he went against Moshe rabeinu with chutzpo
And indeed the gemoro says to learn from Persians to be tzniusdik
Macht tshuve
According to Torah law, One who speaks deragatoraly against a Talmid Chochom is considered an apikores and has no share in the world to come. Do your research and beg michillah from Hashem and the Rabbanim. Teshuvah is always possible, but Don’t wait, You never know when your last moment is!!
i think he does. dont we all need to improve!??
Maybe we can bring him to ch and shut down Kingston avenue
What in the world…you are going to extreme
When you have this sort of “ban everything” mentality into chabad. Yemin mekureves is our way
That’s the problem that people think that Chabad is just niceties, but we also have standards and when those are breached the rabbi of the community should come to a decision based off his halachic understanding. I don’t understand it’s not so deep. You have to have a line if not we have what we have by sukos in ch unfortunately. You have to set boundaries even if seemingly strict to get a point across that Chabad doesn’t hold of this. Plain and simple.
We have the mostly beautiful and blended community. Instead of being so negative we need to have a chabad house for our own children and guests
Can he come to ch and shut down Kingston ave
The next Mayor of New York might take care of everything instead!
It’s about time!!
ממנו יראו וכך יעשו
for standing up for what is right
it is also the chatan and kala that will benefit, as their wedding day and how it is celebrated will bring them much bachot when it is done with proper holiness and respect to halacha
First what the chasson and kallah “did” is on them why is a hall being closed because of them?
Bc the Rov asked to stop the music and they refused
Sounds like the Chatan and Kallah were very chutzpahdig
But to shut the Hall??
Perhaps the hall should have shut the music down
Did the Rav ask the person in charge of the Hall to close the music if it’s offensive?
It would be interesting to know, then we could understand the picture..If the Manger of the Hall refused to comply with the Rav, then I can understand closing the Hall
So whose wedding was it ?
What happened ?
What’s so bad ?
Ok maybe ?
Well perhaps they should have !
Perhaps they shouldn’t have
No one should disparage anyone the point is perhaps valid but disparaging anyone is worse
Respect yourself and your neighbor
who cares? it is loshon hara. you are talking against disparagement and yet your question is openly inviting an issur doraisa! who cares who made the wedding? i’ll tell you who! a man and a woman who got on with their lives
What specifically happened? People may not realize that their behavior is immodest. Somebody who grew up with tznius would realize but others may not. Generalizations such as “immodest behavior” don’t explain what was going on. Was it dress? Language? Touching? What behavior was so serious that two venues needed to be shut down?
Million dollar question, wetting our lips and ears, dying to know
The people pushing carriages on shabbos don’t dress tznius it goes together no kabolos ol no heeding rabanim and halacha. We need a strong voice here in Crown Heights to stop the pritzus and chilul shabbos
We are doing Kiruv and all for the entire world but when we need to be patient and do Kiruv to our youth we are pushing them away and they live now far away …
Price of housing and no Eruv pushes many to live out, but who we are do judge others on their choices and standards?
We are all responsible for one another. The Rebbe opposed an eruv in Crown Heights. Maybe Hashem will bless the community with better housing prices when people respect the Rabbanim and halacha (who should take a stand on better housing prices).
I think the high tuitions and the real estate issues should come first. Families are drowning.
Unfortunately,theres noone representing the struggling majority that can relate.
I think that needs to be addressed first. Women who don’t have close friends and family accessible to them and have their husbands out at shul all day and have to stay home with the kids. There is a reason there is a mitzvah to build an eruv, and oneg shabbos is at the top of the list. It doesn’t go hand in hand with being lenient on other mitzvahs and its unfortunate that Chabad has created a taboo on the mitzvah that most all other chaerdeim think don’t make it such a big deal.
Wow. Kol Hakavod.
What happened?
חתן וכלה רקדו ביחד יד ביד מול מלא נשים!!!!
חתן וכלה עמדו ביחד על הבמה של המוזיקה מול כל הגברים!!!
Very good news BH!
Very impressive leadership
כל הכבוד
It’s fine for a community to set standards, have rules etc. and ppl can make weddings elsewhere, live elsewhere etc. BUT, if this is so important, please be aware that if it reaches this point, digging deeper, having real conversations about how this point has been reached is the only way to actually start to fix any of this.
I’ve been at a wedding in OT where extremely inappropriate music was played and if only we had someone with the backbone who would’ve shut it down
The Tznius or lack of Tznius at an average wedding in OT leaves a lot to be desired.
What is OT in this context? Out of Town?
Oholei Torah how u a bochur and not know lol
In the time of the צמח צדק, the young men of Vilna would seek to marry young women from Lubavitch, as they were known for their Tznius and Yiras Shomayim, which was the opposite at the time for their Vilna counterparts.
Today, the opposite is the reality… We are the laughing stock of the frum world in regards to both these attributes, which should be the minimal prerequesits of being a Kosher Yid, let alone a Hasid…
if it was the hall itself ok, but the musician comes from outside. why shut a hall coz of one musician? surely ban that musician, why close the hall?
if it was the hall itself ok but the musician comes from outside. so ban that musician from coming again. but why close the hall
how many halls are there and how many musicians are there? maybe think for a second.
The hall was closed because the event wasn’t considered tznius. But let’s be honest — the issue runs much deeper than one gathering.
We live in a community where double standards are everywhere. Lavish simchas, flashy fashion, pressure to perform — while others quietly struggle. Even our kids feel the contradictions.
Closing a hall might send a message, but will it create lasting change? Real tznius starts in the heart — with sincerity, empathy, and awareness of others. Not just with rules, but with example.
nothing is going to bring “lasting change” this is just a way to shake you up a little
Was it the music? The dancing?
We also need a Rov to review the Tznius rules for the summertime becuz we need
Tons of yeshuois & refuois from the A-R!!
The Rabbi wrote that it ‘bordered’ on ‘complete’ lack of modesty. What is this even supposed to mean!?
This isn’t strong wording, it’s confused wording.
I’d guess that any ambiguity is to protect the details of the parties involved so as to not shame anyone too much.
anyone can find out any of the details in todays world
Boarder means it almost but didn’t breach tznius. The rov should also boarder on closing the hall.
B”H for a Rov who is ready to stand up for Halacha. How many countless times did the Rebbe speak about Tznius (including Parshas Balak — mah tovu oholecha goes on camps and bungalows)? The fact is that in my opinion, this is the number one nisayon of Lubavitch in today’s day. I have many friends from Chassidishe communities who actually truly respect and love Lubavitche and Chabad chassidus, but they simply cannot bring their kids to Crown Heights to expose them to the lack of tznius in our streets. There are many who would come closer to Chabad chassidus… Read more »
A Rov is a Rov, very impressed with the action taken.
ממנו יראו וכך יעשו
In the early years in america, when even chassidim were shaving beards and mixing became “normal,” there was a chossid who’d crash simchas with mixed dancing and walk around with his pants down to make a macha’a. Crazy? Maybe. But it worked. Today, people cry over a hall getting shut down in Kfar Chabad for ignoring basic tznius?! That’s not “extreme,” that’s the bare minimum. If we don’t stand for basic judaism what are we even doing here?
Please get the details of a story right before you write a comment for all to see.
No, there was never someone who walked around taking of his pants by mixed weddings.
Reb Michoel threatened to take his pants off if there wouldn’t be separate seating
Yes, what he says it 100% true. It was Reb Mechoel Teitelbaum
The horaah for shiva asar b’Tamuz is to fix the breach in the wall.
Oh Rebbe, oh Rebbe, we need you.
I was in CH recently. I waited outside a men’s clothing store for my husband & I was shocked to see out of maybe 30 women who passed me, only ONE was wearing below elbow sleeves, stockings and a sheitel. I felt like a freak until she passed by. In the pizza store a woman well into her 70’s (yes I know her) wasn’t wearing stockings either… so what can we expect of young women? Wild dancing, raucous, crude music are part of the wedding problem. But how can you expect a chosson & kallah NOT to dance with each… Read more »
A 1000 percent i am so so embarrassed to be part of this community. I was walking with my husband in Boro Park – I was actually so so jealous. everyone looks so tznius! so beautiful, so yiddish, so malchus, so so real. Crown heights looks like an off the derech town. we need change and we need it fast! I really think the schools should start enforcing and being very very strict about their standards. Principles!! please take a stand and save the future doros!!! Please take matters in your own hands and stand up for what’s right!! Absolutely… Read more »
You know what? I feel so bad for your kids and they are probably the teenagers going off the derech. The extremeness in this comment is beyond , and this is not the way. Who are you to tell everyone to dress like boro Parker’s? MOVE TO BORO PARK AND BECOME CHASSIDSHE!! It’s disgusting, no long hair? Where in the Torah does it say that? This is a very big reason why teens go off the derech because they are being suffocated by extreme psychotic parents, which also can turn into abuse from the way I am reading you write… Read more »
Its actually not true. Rules are not suffocating. No one goes off the deresh from rules. On the contrary, people will eventually feel a certain security and commitment when following tznius rules. lets be honest – teenagers that go off the derech – its because their emotional problems run way way way deeper. Its usually a lack of security from her home or school. Everyone needs a saf environment where they feel needed and appreciated. Some get it from home, some from school, and some are lucky enough to get it from both. dressing not tznius is just to cover… Read more »
I agree with what you’re saying 100% , you just might have misinterpreted what I meant. Usually girls going of the derech stems from deeper issues but some of the time it is from being in a very constricting household, where the parents are straight up extreme not only in tznuis matters. But from the way this women was writing her comment those were the vibes I got and it really bothered me and when one is so extreme or strict in a very sickening way it obviously does not help the children in fact it goes to the opposite… Read more »
Also I never said rules are suffocating. Rules are important, necessary, mandatory and like you said even brings a sense of security. What I meant is when the rules fly out the window and become into extreme ridiculous things that instead of bringing a sense of safety it can actually bring the child to feel unsafe
Not sure when you were there, but I’m general this is absolutely not true
To be a community that holds up to respectable standards is a package deal. There’s a tznius crisis but also a poverty crisis,housing crisis and tuition crisis. Yes,expect people to respect the tznius values but also fund the yeshivas,schools and youth programs within crown heights.
Go down form the olimpus, community is splitted for many many little groups… no one cares how the other fellow jew is doing… all monitirized.. you say Boropark is tznuis yes maybe, but they dont pay so much for the yeshiva or camp, and yes if you poor their you are being helped, and you dont need to stand in line to get a food package before yom tov like a shmata, your grocery account has a little bit money to buy something discrectly and with dignity or food is delivered to your door… you know how hard is for… Read more »
B”H
I am speakig to the lady who wrote the comments above.
If you really care so much, do
something about it. Don’t just tell people off. Open a Chabad house in
Crown Heights from your own home
or wherever you live. There are plenty
of people who would love taste of
Yiddishkeit without the telling off.
It’s really simple. Draw them in and not away.
Looking forward to seeing your new Chabad House.
Yes, it is an area we need to work on, however it is important to point out that while it may be true that when you go to other neighborhoods the Tznius is overall much better on the streets, but that’s also because many people in their communities who are more “modern” don’t live there because they don’t feel comfortable to. Another thing to point out is that many from these communities seem to have their own halachos all of a sudden when they go on vacation. So while I’m not saying we don’t need to work on Tznius, there’s… Read more »
Shouldn’t the Rov simply remind the community that we aren’t permitted to do whatever it is that was done? Why would thousands of people’s lives have to be turned upside down to rearrange chassunas with all of the attending logistics because there was one or a few incidents that require some intervention?
Why doesn’t the rov after communicating to the community in a loving way discuss this with those who perpetrated the troubling act(s)?
There needed to be something drastic that would get the point across. ‘Simply’ making a reminder, won’t prevent this kind of thing from becoming normalized
This was done as a macha’a because nobody was doing anything about it.
I agree to all that has been said above
May we merit only simchas in klal yisroel that no kids should frei out chvs and may moshiach come now
Bye
in the end this is a just a disruption from the satan
moshiachnow!
As an outsider looking at Chabad, I genuinely see so much real Yiddishkeit there. It’s beautiful and deeply inspiring, especially the teachings and example of the Rebbe. But I have to be honest — there’s something that really troubles me. One of the most fundamental values in Yiddishkeit, across all generations, has always been modesty (tznius). Yet I see that in many Chabad communities, modesty doesn’t seem to be kept with the same seriousness. It honestly hurts me, because I get so uplifted by everything else — the warmth, the ahavas Yisrael, the devotion — but this area feels so… Read more »
I would like to add my comment about this issue. Since Crown Heights is the home of our Rebeim , Kan Tziva, and the kedusha is very great, the Sitra Achro also works even harder than in other places. This one of the reasons that the issue of Tznius is lower. But that is not the whole picture. If you look at the Lubavitch population, in Europe, Israel, Russia North America, etc. you will find that the tznius all around the world is according to Halacha. We definitely need to rectify the situation in Crown Heights and at this point… Read more »
they listen to their Rabbonim!
crown heights should listen to Rabbi Braun or whoever