Pesach Lifshitz, who has lived in Black Sea port Kherson, Ukraine, his whole life, can’t help but see the renovations of his hometown synagogue as historic.

As the High Holidays approach, Chabad-Lubavitch centers around the world are urging Jews everywhere to participate in a season of spiritual awakening and personal reckoning bookended by Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

Jewish educational institutions from Massachusetts to California dominated an online vote-gathering competition and stand to win a total of $6 million from a Kohl’s Department Stores charity.

Organized Jewish life returned to the Obuda section of Budapest Sunday as Israeli Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger and Hungarian Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjen presided over the rededication of the neighborhood’s historic synagogue.

Irkutsk, Russia, saw the opening of its first Jewish kindergarten as its oldest Jewish resident, 100-year-old Boris Gornykh, cut a ceremonial ribbon and welcomed students to their first day of classes.

Residents and leaders expressed amazement that a Saturday morning temblor that toppled historic buildings and destroyed some 20 percent of homes hadn’t resulted in loss of life.

As negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians continue in Washington, D.C., despite two terrorist attacks in as many days, Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria are lamenting an apparent return to the darkest days of violence.

Chasidic artist Michael Mordechai Cohen celebrated his East Coast debut as he unveiled a series of pop-influenced spiritual prints at the J. Klaynberg Gallery in the New York City neighborhood of Chelsea.

For the first time ever, New York Fashion Week – an annual tradition that showcases the spring lines of hundreds of the city’s top fashion designers – will coincide with the Jewish New Year of Rosh Hashanah.

The more-than 30-year tradition of bringing the shofar into the classroom helps students connect with and understand the importance of Rosh Hashanah.