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As we daven for the r’fuah sh’leimah of Rabbi Paysach Krohn, the maggid of Queens, we recognize the many things he does for our people as a lecturer, author, and guide to Jewish history. In the latter role, he’s taken people on tours of kivrei tzadikim in Poland and cemeteries closer to home. Although I’ve never taken his tour of the cemetery belt on the Brooklyn-Queens border, I had the opportunity to visit Union Field Cemetery last month for the k’vurah of Marilyn Goldsmith, a resident of Fresh Meadows and mother to a close friend.

The future of the country rested not only on Michigan and Pennsylvania, but also congressional districts where polls could only predict a tossup. New York’s Fourth District on the south side of Nassau County was one such example. While Donald Trump carried the majority of Long Island’s vote, in this district his party’s incumbent Rep. Anthony D’Esposito lost to Democrat Laura Gillen by 1.7 percent. Truly every vote mattered.

The evening following Shabbos VaYeitzei was scheduled for a melaveh malkah at the Hebrew Academy of Nassau County, the yeshivah in West Hempstead. Unknown to the faculty, parents, and students was the news that its founder, Rabbi Meyer Fendel, 94, died in Jerusalem. Upon learning of his passing, Rabbi Ouriel Hazan, the principal of HANC, expressed pride in the founder’s determination to create a yeshivah in West Hempstead, which made the community a magnet for Orthodox families.

In the course of this year’s presidential election, as was the case in the past two elections, hyperbolic and patently false statements shared by Donald Trump receive their 15 minutes of coverage but without any harm to his poll numbers. These stories fade away and then another story emerges.

For over three hours on Monday, members of the New York City Council questioned CUNY chancellor Felix Matos-Rodriguez on the uptick in anti-Semitic incidents in the country’s largest public urban university.

Among the shuls where readers can find the international HaMizrachi magazine of the Religious Zionism movement is the Young Israel of West Hempstead, whose members are closely following Israel’s war against Hamas. Last Sunday, one of the voices in this movement, Rabbi Moshe Taragin, spoke at the shul to introduce the documentary Serving on All Fronts, on the participation of Yeshivat Har Etzion and Migdal Oz students in this war.