Susie Garber

Mrs. Dina Schoonmaker, well-known speaker in Eretz Yisrael, is offering an inspiring series of in-depth classes on the sefer Mesilas Yesharim by Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto, the Ramchal (1707-1746). The following is a summary of some of the key points from the shiur on Tuesday, October 25, that focused on Z’rizus in the sixth chapter of Mesilas Yesharim. Z’rizus means alacrity. This includes alertness, being time-conscious, and being focused on what you are doing. We are all supposed to strive to possess this midah.

Parents worry how they can help their son grow to be a healthy Jewish man with the proper perspective on matters of k’dushah. There was a huge need for a book that would guide parents and educators on how to help their boys navigate the challenging issues of growing up today with a healthy well-rounded understanding of the Torah way in k’dushah, while the world is saturated with all types of problematic information and information sources.

On Motza’ei Shabbos, October 15, Chazaq hosted all-night learning for Hoshana Rabbah at Yeshiva Ohel Simcha. Speakers included Rabbi Mordechai BenHaim, Rabbi Daniel Glatstein, Rabbi Reuven Ibragimov, Rabbi Yaakov Rahimi, Rabbi Uri Lati, Rabbi Igal Haimoff, Rabbi Eliyahu Maksumov, Rabbi Yaniv Meirov, and Rabbi Meir Gabriel Elbaz.

On Sunday night, October 2, Rabbi Moshe Meir Weiss shared an inspiring live shiur at Congregation Nachlas Yitzchok. The shiur was hosted by Chazaq and Chickens for Shabbos.

Our community is blessed with incredible Torah learning that permeates the atmosphere. On the night of Hoshana Rabbah, Chazaq and the Bukharian Jewish Congregation of Briarwood featured all-night learning at the Bukharian Jewish Congregation of Briarwood.

In the early 1950s, when Mrs. Esther Lopata moved to Kew Gardens Hills, there were no places on Main Street to buy esrogim or lulavim. There was no Sukkah Depot or Home Depot. Her brother-in-law had a lumber business and they used wood boards from him to build their sukkah. It took two men and her husband to put it up. In those days, men would cut their s’chach from groves of willows that grew near the spot where Yeshiva Chofetz Chaim is now standing.