Community Corner

Rav Uri Tieger shares never-before details of his 20-year friendship With The Sar HaTorah

Shushan Purim marked one year for the Jewish community without its Sar HaTorah, Rav Chaim Kanievsky zt”l. To honor the yahrzeit, I sat down with Rav Uri Tieger at the Project Inspire Convention for a fascinating conversation on his life and recollections of the gadol ha’dor. Incredibly, Rav Tieger was raised in Tel Aviv as a secular Israeli, rising to become one of Rav Chaim’s closest y’didim and a trusted editor of his s’farim. To date, Rav Tieger has published six s’farim on behalf of the Steipler Gaon’s son and has two others in the works.

Chaverim of Queens, founded in memory of world-renowned philanthropist Mr. Jack Friedman a”h, started with just 10 volunteers. That was 15 years ago, when calls were dispatched to volunteers via beepers. Today, Chaverim of Queens has over 130 volunteers who respond to calls rapidly via an app. The acts of chesed that the volunteers of Chaverim do daily does not go unnoticed by those who have benefited from the assistance provided.

The 2023 Project Inspire Convention, entitled “My Brother’s Keeper,” brought out the best of the Orthodox community, inspiring attendees to join the organization’s mission of connecting and uniting Jews of all backgrounds. Featuring world-renowned inspirational speakers, amazing cuisine, and exciting entertainment, the event held at the Armon Hotel and Conference Center in Stamford, Connecticut, lived true to tradition. The weekend’s underlying message focused on reaching out and sharing the beauty and wisdom of our common heritage with fellow Jews by first inspiring oneself to be able to share moments of glory with others. The world of outreach in the Orthodox community is guided by the convention’s messages and empowers everyone to take responsibility for sharing their Judaism.

This past Friday, February 24, the New York Police Department held a promotion ceremony that included the furtherance of three Jewish police officers. Phil Weisbord, President of the department’s Shomrim Society, and Joshua Zucker, Second Vice President of the fraternal organization for Jewish NYPD members were announced as detectives. For the past seven years, Weisbord has served the community on the NYPD in various roles including patrol, counterterrorism, and investigations, and joined the Shomrim Society in 2019. Zucker joined the NYPD in 2015 and worked patrol in Brooklyn’s 77^th Precinct until being assigned to the Forensic Investigation Division’s Latent Print Section in the Summer of 2021. He joined the board of the NYPD Shomrim Society in 2017.

Israel Heritage Foundation hosts the former VP’s book signing In NYC

“Let me say from my heart of hearts, from this small-town guy from the heartland of America, if the world knows nothing else, let the world know this, America stands with Israel,” proclaimed former Vice President Mike Pence at a book signing event held at Mike’s Bistro in Midtown Manhattan for his autobiography So Help Me G-d this past Wednesday evening, February 26.

Bringing into the limelight the fight against judicial activism and separation of powers in Eretz Yisrael

At Mike Pompeo’s recent book signing, hosted by Rabbi Dr. Joe Frager’s Israel Heritage Foundation, I became acquainted with Simcha Dan Rothman, Member of the Knesset from the Religious Zionist Party, and his detailed list of endeavors to reshape Israel’s Ministry of Justice, all aimed at bringing back trust and integrity to the Jewish state’s Supreme Court. For a quarter century, Israel’s Supreme Court has essentially run a coup d’état, yielding more power than the country’s prime minister, an oddity in a democracy. With the most right-wing party in power to date, an overhaul of Israel’s legal system is within reach. Israel’s public faith in the judicial system has plummeted to a historic low, and it is time to restore power back to the People, a largely conservative population, via the legislators they elected to office. The climate of the new Knesset favors our Orthodox ideals and values.