I waited until after Tisha B?Av to respond to the letter, Love Your Fellow Crown Heightser as Yourself, lest I be accused of inciting sinas chinom on Tisha B?Av. Other websites and individuals have now taken up the issue as well. Sinas chinom is not the goal of this letter. Rather, this is a wakeup calls to the Lubavitch community to remedy the situation in a way that is both effective and sustainable. Acceptance is beneficial for peace and improving society, but it does not better the lack of tznius and observance in Lubavitch.

The assertion that it is the Lubavitch way to do things with Ahavas Yisroel is correct. Ahavas Yisroel should guide how individuals in the community act toward one another, especially to the point of helping others achieve a better level of spirituality. Even when correcting the bad actions of others, Ahavas Yisroel is mandatory.

A front-page story in The New York Times of July 10 reported that federal immigration authorities in the Obama administration have adopted a “new strategy” to replace the military-style raids that were conducted in the Bush years to find and arrest illegal aliens.

“Stop asking me to vote--bug off!”

That's what someone told one of my colleagues yesterday when asked to vote for a school to win $500,000 in the Kohl's contest.

My first reaction was, “Wow, is it really that annoying? Now that I am on the asking end of it I didn't think of that.” But then I remembered back to a year ago when Devorah Benjamin asked people to vote for her amazing organization, Keren Simchas Choson V'Kallah.

In response to the recent op-eds on CrownHeights.info, a resident emailed us a letter addressed to the whole community. She reminds everyone, as Lubavitchers we must love every Jew, whether we understand or agree with them.

From the inbox: Rabbi Bentzion Elisha writes of the horror of being awakened on a Friday night, and being informed that his 2-year-old son went missing, and was found by a volunteer in Shomrim. At 4:00am.

With elections for a new Vaad Hakahal successfully behind us, I think our community should take a moment to reflect on our accomplishment, and to congratulate ourselves on a job well done.

The idea for these elections?as mandated in the recent psak din that resolved all outstanding community disputes?was that we should have a Vaad Hakahal universally accepted by all segments of the community. As in any election, there will always be some people disappointed by the results, but?since virtually every eligible voter in Crown Heights participated?there can be no doubt that those results are the legitimate will of the people. True, ?the people? aren?t always perfect; there?s always the possibility of winding up with an outcome that is less than objectively ideal. But democracy is the best system we have, and it was endorsed by the Rebbe, so, once a valid election has been held, we can all feel good about the results. It?s part of the system that, if things don?t turn out as expected, there will be another election in a few years and we will be able to choose again.

RETRACTION AND APOLOGY: a previous version of this letter alleged that the op-ed in question was slanderous. The letter writer retracts the allegation being that it was hyperbole. The letter writer also apologizes that the letter was taken as a personal attack on the op-ed author's. It was not intended as character attack, rather as a sharp criticism of the op-ed author's ideas. It has been edited in this new version for clarification.

An Open Letter to Mottel

Dear Mottel,

Your op-ed, A Fire Burns in Crown Heights: An Essay on Religion, Modernity and Pizza, was based on false pretenses. You and your sympathizers misunderstand everyone attacked in your long and erroneous expose (with its ensuing comments) on the current tensions between the so-dubbed zealots, the restaurants, and the men and women on the streets of Crown Heights. Your view of the situation is narrow; your ability to influence is limited; and your solutions may be effective in Nevel or Never Never Land, but not in Crown Heights. Your advice is not helpful.

Despite all the talk about Community Council elections lately, I find I can?t really bring myself to care too much about who?s in and who?s out. My apathy is partially due to the fact that I don?t really know what the Community Council does, but I think the bigger reason might be that like other women in Crown Heights, I can neither run nor vote in these elections.

First of all congratulations and a hearty Mazal Tov to the newly elected Vaad of Crown Heights, you were voted in by an election that was held with the participation of an overwhelming majority of the residents of the Rebbe?s Shchuna, and we all pray for you and for your success on behalf of the residents of Crown Heights.

We live in a dual culture - pulled by the Jewish, Chassidic, and uniquely Lubavitcher traditions that bind us, we also seek on some level to integrate into the society around us. Our use of innovations in technology, our homes, and even our clothes, are all the result of the modern world's influence on our lives. [Note to those that take issue with the belief that any modernity has seeped into our Lubavitcher meta-culture: Our mode of dress - be it the short jacket, the choice of a more modern fedora over the more traditional Russian kasket, or even the relatively modern design of the Kapote (based on the Victorian Prince Albert frock) are all signs of our organic adaptation to the modern world]. The calls of modern life offer a lot of potential. They also give room to incredible danger. It is the tension of spanning this spiritual chasm that we must address if we are to remain viable as a group.