Community Corner

On Wednesday, November 9, Assembly Member Daniel Rosenthal and Council Member James F. Gennaro co-hosted the annual Veterans Day Luncheon at Queens College in Kew Gardens Hills honoring our nation’s brave men and women in uniform – the veterans who have dedicated their lives to protecting our freedoms. The event celebrated World War II combat veteran Arthur Grabiner.

The Coalition for Jewish Values (CJV), representing 2,000 traditional, Orthodox rabbis in American public policy, on Monday called upon former President Donald Trump to repudiate the anti-Semitic rhetoric of two leading purveyors of anti-Semitism, Kanye West and Nick Fuentes, after Trump met with them at his Mar-a-Lago resort. Endorsing comments made by the Hon. David Friedman, former United States ambassador to Israel, CJV urged Mr. Trump to recognize that “You are better than this.”

The often-quoted number one rule in real estate is “location, location, location,” and the same holds true for impactful Shabbatons. Jamaica Estates was the place to be when the Women’s Division of Emet Outreach hosted their first Shabbos experience there. While Emet regularly welcomes students to Shabbatons, this optimal location meant that many of the girls could spend Shabbos at home in their beloved community. “Hosting a Shabbaton like this was something we’ve wanted to do for a while, especially for the girls who normally can’t get away. Instead of coming to us, we brought the kedusha of a Shabbaton to them,” said Ms. Adina Fendel, Women’s Director. “There was an amazing excitement, and the girls were really proud to be in their community.”

The Young Israel of Jamaica Estates continued its tradition of making Thanksgiving special for those less fortunate. This past Sunday’s Family Mitzvah Morning, 60 Thanksgiving centerpiece packages were made for the Queens Commonpoint Thanksgiving deliveries. Special thanks to Ruthie and Charles Merrill for sponsoring to show gratitude to the YIJE community.

The Kew Gardens community once again united this past Thursday for a yarchei kallah at K’hal Adas Yereim in celebration of Rosh Chodesh Kislev. For 73 years, the kehillah has stood strong as a staple neighborhood beis medrash. Their legal holiday shiurim have become a recourse for many members on their day off. This past Thursday’s program focused on topics that the popular Oraysa limud is learning in the beis medrash.

When describing the miracle of Chanukah, the Talmud in Maseches Shabbos, speaks primarily of the miraculous oil that burned for eight days. The Talmud does not make mention of what most would consider a more significant miracle, the military and spiritual victory of the Chashmona’im. They not only defeated the mighty Syrian-Greek Empire, but they restored a Torah way of life for thousands of Jews who had assimilated into Greek culture and society. The obvious question to be asked is: Why are our Sages choosing to highlight the miracle of the oil over the miraculous military victory? Why all the emphasis on the oil miracle?