Community Corner

This year’s Israel Day had an extra sense of meaning and purpose at Camp Kaylie. Israel Day began with a powerful video introduction, featuring reflections from our upper staff and campers about what makes living in Israel so special. Their personal stories and emotional insights painted a vivid picture of the love and pride they feel for living in our homeland.

American and Yiddish newspapers about the Kennedy assassination, the moon landing, and the 1969 New York Mets; a Newsweek magazine about the Entebbe rescue; and obituaries of Torah luminaries like Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson and Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik. These are some of Herb Schonhaut’s historical collections.

Shabbos Nachamu, named for the haftarah that begins with “Nachamu, nachamu, ami” – “Take comfort, take comfort, my people” – signifies a profound shift from mourning to consolation. This haftarah, the first of the seven “haftaros of comfort,” follows Tish’ah B’Av and brings a message of hope and reassurance.

Of the many camps that MTA talmidim attend, the most popular option seems to be Camp Dora Golding. Every year, MTA takes a very full group picture with current and former talmidim, and this year some prospective talmidim as well! It is always a fun visit, as Rabbi Konigsberg, principal at MTA, is also the assistant head counselor at Dora Golding, so he brings his unique ruach to the time spent there.

After a six-hour-long contentious hearing in Mineola, the Nassau County Legislature just passed the “Mask Transparency Act,” which was introduced by Legislator Mazi Pilip, which makes wearing a mask in public spaces for the purposes of hiding your identity a misdemeanor. A packed chamber was the grounds for open debate between legislators, a rowdy viewing crowd, and at least one arrest.

As he prepares to step down from his post as the outspoken Ambassador for Israel to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan attended a festive evening in his honor. Present at the program were incoming (and former) Ambassador to the post Danny Danon and esteemed guest Rabbi Pesach Lerner, Chairman of the Eretz HaKodesh Party in the World Zionist Organization (WZO).