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On Seder night, all of us are obligated to see ourselves as if we personally left Egypt: In every generation a person must see himself as though he personally had gone out of Egypt, as it is said: “And you shall tell your son in that day, saying: “It is because of what the Lord did for me when I came forth out of Egypt.”

The Rabbinical Alliance of America – the Igud HaRabbonim, representing over 950 American rabbis – stands in support and solidarity with Asian Americans and calls on all Americans to likewise stand up and condemn the recent violence perpetrated against Asian Americans. The tragic, cold-blooded Atlanta shooting this week by an evil, hateful individual claimed the lives of eight innocent people, possibly due to racism. Tragically, less than an hour later, four Asian Americans were murdered in a separate violent shooting.

This past Sunday afternoon, I had the privilege to join Assembly Member David Weprin on a stroll along Main Street to greet locals and interact with store owners ahead of Pesach.

The New York Police Department launched their Build the Block discussions for the community to voice their public safety concerns. Sector C of the 102^nd police precinct held their most recent meeting virtually on March 11. The meetings give residents the opportunity to interact with their Neighborhood Coordination Officers NCOs who are on the ground in the streets of the neighborhoods. Police Officer Scott Adelman and Police Officer Samantha Edelstein led the conversation and heard the concerns of the citizens. One issue that arose was widespread graffiti. The officers noted, “There has been an increase of over 100 percent in graffiti throughout the sector since the start of the pandemic.”

Met Council brought the largest pre-Pesach distribution of free, kosher food in the country to its Boro Park Chesed Center and to UJO Williamsburg at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Thousands of families received 768,799 pounds of food between the two locations, a $3.9 million investment by Met Council to ensure Jewish New Yorkers would not go without food this Pesach.

The past week saw the launch of season three for JYL, “Jewish Youth League of Queens,” where children learn to perfect their basketball skills while finding new ways to work in a team setting. With the pandemic restrictions now being eased, E-Squared was once again able to partner with local organizations to unite the Jewish youth of Queens. Once again, in partnership with Beth Gavriel Community Center, the renowned Chazaq Organization, Alliance of Bukharian Americans (ABA), and this season with a new affiliate, Rabbi Fitness, the boys are back, better than ever!