Susie Garber

On a cold Sunday morning, 28 women from Queens arrived at the American Dream Mall in New Jersey for an 8 a.m. starting time of a 5K run to benefit “Chesed 24/7.” This was the fourth year of this event. The 500 women participants included young teens through age 46, plus from all over the Metropolitan area. There were many walking participants as well.

On Wednesday evening, February 12, community members gathered at Congregation Ahavas Yisroel to hear a beautiful, inspiring shiur delivered by Mrs. Adina Mandel, Principal of Tichon Meir Moshe High School (TMM).

On Tuesday, February 25, a large crowd of over 500 people assembled at Terrace on the Park in Flushing Meadow Park to support the Queens Centers for Progress (QCP) and to enjoy an evening celebrating fine food. Wendy Phaff Gennaro, Director of Development at QCP, shared that this year was the first year that two kosher restaurants were added to the program, Union Bistro which included some famous Bukharin dishes, and Simcha Palace on Main Street in Kew Gardens Hills.

On Tuesday evening, February 11, the Navigating the Medical System Lecture Series, as always hosted by Congregation Etz Chaim of KGH, featured an informative virtual lecture on the topic of noninvasive, conservative treatment for spinal problems. Dr. Mel Breite, Founder and Director of the Lecture Series, greeted everyone and introduced the speaker, Nasim Chowdhury, MD, FAAPMR, Chief of Rehabilitation at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.

On Sunday night, February 23, Let’s Get Real with Coach Menachem featured a virtual lecture with Rabbi Daniel Lapin, author of Thou Shall Prosper: Ten Commandments for Making Money, as well as other books on this topic, and he is the host of the Daniel Lapin Show.

During the Super Bowl on Sunday night, February 9, Chazaq featured Halftime for Torah with four inspirational speakers. The first speaker, Rabbi Gavriel Friedman, well-known inspirational speaker, said that we don’t want to be ordinary. We want to be great. This game features greatness in football. How do we become great? You can become great if you understand what greatness means. In Parshas VaEira, the names of Moshe and Aharon are listed two different ways, with Aharon first and Moshe second, and with Moshe first and Aharon second. This is because they were equal like one. They were each the best they could be. “I have to be the best me.” Being great means maximizing who we are and fulfilling our purpose in this world. So, we have to make sure to work on growing each day to be the best we can be.