Community Corner

“I have strayed like a lost sheep; seek out Your servant” (Psalms 119:176).

Hashem’s way is to call a person the moment He sees him straying from the path of good sense, asking him to turn back. He calls each person in the way most suited to him. To some, He beckons with a hint. To others, the summons is literally a cry. Some people kick, and He must strike them in order to call them. The Torah is Hashem’s voice calling and begging those who sin to return to Him.

As Hanukkah approaches, the New York-based Yeshiva University Museum (YUM) has announced that its upcoming exhibition will feature a hand-drawn illustration of the Temple Menorah from a manuscript that contains notes by Moses Maimonides (Rambam, 1138-1204), one of the great luminaries of Jewish history.

The Queens Jewish Center honored the memory of Rabbi Joseph Grunblatt with their annual memorial lecture, held on Zoom, on Sunday, December 11.

Rabbi Grunblatt was one of the giants of his generation, and “a rabbi’s rabbi,” said keynote speaker Rabbi Dr. Kenneth Brander.

“A Manhattan Supreme Court judge has denied two requests from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg to keep would-be terrorist Matthew Mahrer in jail, where he belongs. Threats against the Jewish community must not be taken lightly, let alone individuals putting plans into action and going as far as stockpiling weapons and equipment to execute an attack on New York City synagogues.

In a unique collaboration between YU and the Jerusalem-based World Zionist Organization (WZO), Azrieli’s expert teaching faculty hosted a day of professional enrichment for 85 Israeli educators serving in Jewish communities throughout the Diaspora. During the event, which was set on YU’s uptown campus, faculty presented teaching strategies and skills that will help participants convey the beauty and spirit of Israel and Judaism to American students.  

On Tuesday, the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America (Orthodox Union) - the nation’s largest Orthodox Jewish umbrella organization - welcomed yesterday’s announcement by The White House that President Biden is creating an interagency task force to focus upon and coordinate the federal government’s work to combat antisemitism.