Community Corner

The Rabbinical Alliance of America – Igud HaRabbonim, representing over 950 American rabbis, applauds President Joe Biden’s stance against anti-Semitism and calls him to fill the role of Special Envoy for Anti-Semitism. In a May 28 statement, President Biden denounced the avalanche of anti-Semitic attacks on the American Jewish community and demanded that they stop.

The Yeshiva Ketana of Queens is extremely pleased to be honoring Dr. and Mrs. Ellie Bennett at this year’s dinner reception on June 8 at the Young Israel of Queens Valley.

The Coalition for Jewish Values (CJV), representing over 1,500 traditional, Orthodox rabbis in American public policy, commended four House Democrats – Reps. Josh Gottheimer (NJ), Kathy Manning (NC), Dean Phillips (MN), and Elaine Luria (VA) – for rejecting the silence of Democratic House leadership to call for action against anti-Semitism. In a letter sent last week to President Biden, the four signatories both stated the need for an “all-of-government effort to combat rising anti-Semitism,” and repudiated accusations of “apartheid” or “terrorism” leveled against Israel as “anti-Semitic at their core.”

In Sefer Tehilim (95:7), it’s written that we are Hashem’s people, “today, if you hear His voice.” But, what does it mean in a practical sense to “hear” Hashem’s voice? What exactly are we supposed to be listening for? A Bas Kol from Shamayim? And [Hashem] said: “Go out and stand in the mountain before Hashem, Behold! Hashem passes, and a great and strong wind splitting mountains and shattering boulders [goes out] before Hashem. ‘Hashem is not in the wind.’ And after the wind, an earthquake. ‘Hashem is not in the earthquake.’ After the earthquake, a fire. ‘Hashem is not in the fire,’ and after the fire, a still thin sound [literally: “voice”].” Melachim I 19:11-12

In a year where nothing seems to be normal, Bnos Malka Academy’s annual dinner will be an extraordinary event. A typical dinner focuses on a couple of well-deserving honorees who have demonstrated their devotion to the school. During the pandemic and the remote learning of a year ago, the partnership between teachers and parents was strengthened.

This week’s Torah portion is Shelach, where the mitzvah of tzitzit – and the blue string of Tekhelet that hangs from them – is recorded. To mark that, Ptil Tekhelet is running a Shabbat HaTekhelet campaign in which numerous Rabbis and educators from around the world will be giving classes and sermons to highlight the importance of Tekhelet. We met up with Dr. Baruch Sterman, co-founder of Ptil Tekhelet and author of The Rarest Blue: The Remarkable Story of an Ancient Color Lost to History and Rediscovered, to find out more about this initiative.