Community Corner

US Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY), Vice Chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations – which has oversight of State Department programs and funds – announced Sunday that she held a virtual meeting with newly appointed Israeli Ambassador to the United States and United Nations Gilad Erdan.

Turbulent pregnancies and infancy loss are more common than we realize. Families do not advertise miscarriages, nor do they share when they occur again and again. Families do not discuss difficulties conceiving or the emotional toll of the ordeal. The entire process of a loss is unfortunately still taboo. There are a handful of organizations that have sprouted to give comfort and guidance to these couples, but what you are about to read is one local family’s plight and pledge to keep unity in times of uncertainty. You will see how harmony in the face of hurt led to a dream realized for a cause of helping those who suffer in silence, building a legacy of healing and everlasting hope.

Rosh Chodesh Nisan begins on Motza’ei Shabbos. Another name for the month of Nisan is “Chodesh HaAviv” – the month of Spring. The word Aviv can be separated into two words, Av Yud-Beis: the father of all twelve [months]. The month of Nisan is the first month because of its great significance. It reminds us about our miraculous departure from Egypt, which was a clear demonstration of the oneness of G-d and His dominion. Pharaoh worshipped the kid [lamb] and relied on it for his success, counting on the protection of the month of Nisan, which has the astrological sign of the kid. Instead, he was defeated during this month by the Jewish people who offered the Paschal Lamb, using a kid, illustrating that it is Hashem who is the Master of heaven and earth. It is He who controls all, and Whose divine providence shapes our lives. No other entity possesses such all-encompassing power. (Aruch HaShulchan, Orach Chayim 429:1-2)

Touro Hosts Online Shiur Presented by HaRav Asher Weiss shlita

More than 600 medical professionals and medical students tuned in last month to hear a special Zoom shiur presented by HaGaon HaRav Asher Weiss shlita, focused on halachic guidance and inspiration for those on the frontlines during COVID-19. HaRav Weiss is the inaugural recipient of the Rabbi Raphael Zalman HaKohen Levine Distinguished Talmudic Scholar Award, presented by Touro and generously endowed by Mr. Joel Margolis of Albany.

HaGaon HaRav Yechezkel Roth zt”l, the Karlsburger Rav of Boro Park, 86, was a sought-after poseik whose reach around the globe will never be fully known. He authored the nine-volume Sh’eilos U’T’shuvos Eimek HaT’shuvah, which contains many of his savored responsa. His sudden passing shocked the Torah world, especially those who knew him best, including one of his closest talmidim, HaGaon HaRav Yigal Haimoff shlita, the mara d’asra of Yeshiva Ohel Simcha.

The Bukharian Jewish Congregation of Briarwood, housed below the Young Israel of Briarwood, organized a series of siyumim paying tribute to the life of community founder and rav of the Young Israel, Rabbi Mendel Kaufman zt”l. The program on Monday evening, February 15, coincided with the rav’s first yahrzeit and was a most appropriate way to remember a man who embraced the Briarwood k’hilah and towered over its budding blossoms.