Shabsie Saphirstein

The safety of our community always comes first. The safety of our children and the educational institutions built to disseminate Torah is paramount. At Bais Yaakov Academy of Queens, the safety of the girls has long been discussed when entering the Kew Gardens campus at 85^th Road and Metropolitan Avenue.

Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson zt”l was niftar 28 years ago. The Rebbe’s final resting place is a short 12 ride from Kew Gardens Hills, at Old Montefiore Cemetery, in Springfield Gardens. I know this trip, as I have visited the site at the oddest of hours as a volunteer provider of vehicle services on behalf of Chaverim of Queens, and have taken the time to engage in personal reflection at the kever. The Rebbe left no will and as such, no predecessor was ever named. To mark the yahrtzeit, tens of thousands of his Lubavitch followers descended on the site to pay their respect.

With the start of this summer in full swing, Rosh HaShanah preparations are far from our minds. However, the scene was quite different one year ago, when more than 30,000 Yidden prepared for the annual pilgrimage known as the Rosh HaShanah Kibbutz to the kever of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, the great-grandson of the Baal Shem Tov. Rebbe Nachman spent the last eight years of his life in Bratslav, Ukraine, prior to moving to Uman, where he perished in 1810. His legacy of an intense joyous love with our Creator, which anyone can obtain through his own will, continues today by his myriad of followers.

A walk along Main Street in Kew Gardens Hills has become the right of passage for elected officials in the State and City of New York. This past Tuesday afternoon, June 21, Congress Member Tom Suozzi, a commonsense Democrat in the race for governor, visited the neighborhood. His tour began at the Met Council / Chazaq Lev Aharon Community Food Pantry, where Suozzi spoke to the neediest of our community to hear their concerns. “Everything I’ve done in my career has prepared me for the job of Governor of New York,” related Suozzi. “I have a heart for the people and the skills to do the job. While touring the pantry, Suozzi received a phone call informing him that The Jewish Press was formally endorsing his race for governor. I first met Rep. Suozzi at Assembly Member David Weprin’s kickoff event held in New York City earlier this year. It was then that he captivated an audience with his commonsense approach to leadership in New York State and announced his run for governor just days later.

On Sunday morning, June 26, the weather in Forest Hills was picture-perfect for a lavish hachnasas sefer Torah celebration. The Chabad of Forest Hills North, under the direction of Rabbi Mendy Hecht and his wife, coordinated the grand event held in an expansive tent at the Touro College/Bnos Malka parking lot on 112^th Street. A delicious hot dairy buffet was catered by Main Street Appetizing. Friends and relatives came from far and wide to celebrate alongside the Fischman family for the festivities.

With graduation and summer plans in high drive, Shavuos might be in our rearview mirror. But for the almanos who were recipients of Misaskim’s generosity, the Yom Tov will remain a warm reminder of the caring in the Orthodox Jewish community.