Community Corner

Israel’s first king

Was Saul;

He was mighty, noble

Brave and tall,

The Young Israel of Kew Gardens Hills, the Queens Jewish Community Council, the Kew Gardens Hills Civic Association, and the Queens Jewish Link invite the wider community to the Dr. Simon Lopata Shavuos Forum for a lecture, Antisemitism Today.

The bonfire was with the participation of the mara d'asra Rav and Rebbetzin Yaakov Yitzchak Friedman, the Ulemer Rav, and his family. Thanks is extended to Queens Shmira's Meshulem Lisker for once again manning the bonfire.

Starting a week when Iran’s president died in a helicopter crash, the International Court of Justice issued an arrest warrant for the leaders of Israel, and the war in Gaza continues, Rep. Anthony D’Esposito, 42, visited West Hempstead on Monday evening to update the Jewish community on his efforts to combat anti-Semitism and crime, and to strengthen border security.

The pasuk from T’hilim (Chapter 3:2-4) poignantly captures the emotional turmoil and the profound faith of David HaMelech. He begins with an expression of distress: “Hashem, how many are my tormentors! The great rise up against me. The great say of my soul: ‘There is no deliverance for him from G-d,’ Selah. But You, Hashem, are a shield about me, my glory, and He Who raises up my head.” Despite the severity of his trials, David acknowledges that Hashem is his protector and the source of his dignity and strength.

On Sunday, May 19, at 4:45 p.m., Rabbi Schaye Schonbrun was driving home with his wife Malka from visiting their grandchildren in West Hempstead. As their car proceeded slowly south along Union Turnpike between Queens Blvd. and Park Lane, suddenly the driver’s side window violently exploded, spraying hundreds of glass shards over the couple and all over the car’s interior. Despite the shock, Rabbi Schonbrun kept driving, while noticing an obvious bullet hole in the remnants of the shattered window. It is suspected that the shot was fired at random from a window on the east side of Union Turnpike. An investigation is ongoing. Thank G-d, the couple were not physically harmed.