Queens Jewish Link
Connecting the Queens Jewish Community 
Yes, it has already been a year. The Kansas City Chiefs are back to defend their title in Super Bowl 55 as they face off against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In a year of firsts, the Bucs will battle it out for the Lombardi Trophy in their very own Raymond James Stadium. The incredible quarterback Tom Brady will make his tenth Super Bowl appearance as he takes on Patrick Mahomes, a force to be reckoned on the Chiefs.
Smiles Through Cars and its founder Josh Aryeh, AKA Batman, spread cheer at Queens Hospital Center, a division of NYC Health + Hospitals, this past Thursday morning. The show of appreciation was planned to highlight the devotedness of our frontline workers who continue to risk their lives fighting COVID-19.
Chazal tell us that spiritual growth does not happen in leaps and bounds. The real battle, the choice between truth and falsehood, life and death, happens in the smallest possible steps – teeny, tiny, micro-movements, not miles.
Minnesota Vikings owner Mark Wilf is the son of Holocaust survivors who stays connected to Judaism. Ken Berger, a sports journalist, interviewed Wilf for Commonpoint Queens of Forest Hills at a Zoom presentation on January 21.
There are some kids who struggle in a class or two, but are able to get the extra help they need to stay in a mainstream Jewish Day School. For me, multiple subjects were challenging, and it was clear to my parents that I needed something more. I toured several schools and remember how nothing compared to SINAI. In one school I noticed that nobody wore a kippah, and at another the “special ed” class was in the basement of the building. Seeing SINAI at Joseph Kushner Hebrew Academy (JKHA) for the first time was an unforgettable experience. I can picture the light filled lobby, the atrium garden, and most importantly, the lively SINAI classrooms, which dotted the halls of JKHA and were not singled out as “Special Ed.” My parents were impressed with the SINAI philosophy that provides an individualized program based on the needs of each child.
The Coalition for Jewish Values (CJV), representing over 1500 traditional, Orthodox rabbis in matters of public policy, on Tuesday expressed grave concern regarding President Joe Biden’s Executive Order that requires federally funded schools to allow biological male students who identify as female to use women’s bathrooms and compete on women’s sports teams.
