Local

The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America (Orthodox Union), the nation’s largest Orthodox Jewish umbrella organization, applauded the US Supreme Court’s ruling declaring unconstitutional the State of Maine’s policy that prohibits parents from using state tuition assistance payments at religious high schools. The ruling is in the case of Carson v. Makin with the majority opinion (6-3) authored by Chief Justice Roberts.

Hidden Sparks, the leading nonprofit focused on providing Jewish day school teachers with the tools to support struggling students in mainstream classrooms, is participating in a groundbreaking partnership with UJA-Federation of New York to offer their first training program on “Differentiated Instruction.”

David HaMelech says: “The sound of rejoicing and salvation is in the tents of the righteous... Open for me the gates of righteousness, I will enter them and thank G-d” (T’hilim 118:15, 19).  The word “ohel” [“tent”] signifies a non-permanent dwelling. A “bayis” [house] is a permanent dwelling. Rabbi Frand explains that the reason there is rejoicing and salvation, enjoyment and contentment, in the lives of the righteous is that their existence in this world is like that of a tent – temporary. In this world, we have work to do and mitzvos that must be performed. But our physical surroundings are only temporary dwellings – tents.

A kosher fish is halachically defined by its ability to swim upstream against the tide.  Rabbi Pinchas Stolper z”l swam upstream throughout his life, but no more so than as the Founding Director of NCSY. Rabbi Stolper developed, pioneered, and engaged in kiruv beginning in the early 1960s, when the Orthodox Jewish establishment was skeptical that a committed Torah lifestyle would resonate outside of the New York area. The Maharam Schick observed that the mitzvah of hashavas aveidah includes hashavas neshamos. Rabbi Stolper engaged in both hashavas aveidah and hashavas neshamos as the father, pioneer, and visionary of kiruv for adolescents in America

After five years at the Young Israel of Forest Hills, Rabbi Ashie and Rebbetzin Elana Schreier are going back to where they started: the Five Towns. Rabbi Schreier will become Assistant Rabbi at the Young Israel of Lawrence-Cedarhurst.

On Wednesday, June 8, a meeting of the minds was held at the Kew Gardens warehouse of the longstanding community stronghold, Tomchei Shabbos of Queens. The gathering welcomed Captain Jeremy Kivlin, the recently appointed commanding officer for the local 102nd New York City Police Department precinct (pictured far right). In attendance were Police Officer Scott Adelman, Community Affairs for the 102 (far right); Rabbi Daniel Pollack, clergy liaison to the police station; and Rabbis Aharon and Yitzchok Katz, the dynamic father-and-son team that runs the daily operations of Tomchei Shabbos of Queens.