Community Corner

 Night Seder America began as a small endeavor by a rebbe yearning to educate his talmidim, and soon evolved into a riveting nightly display of a remarkable kiddush Hashem. As the reality of the restrictions of the global pandemic set in, parents of elementary yeshivah boys in grades 6 through 8 sought an outlet to entertain their children in a manner that upholds their family values and maintains the fire of Torah. Night Seder America, NSA for short, led by Rabbi Ari Schonfeld, started on Thursday evening, March 19, by just word of mouth, and continues to shine as an innovative resource that has stepped up to bring 45 minutes of unique kosher content on a nightly basis via the Zoom videoconferencing platform.

Please recite Psalms 20, 30, 88, 121, and 130.

David ben Miriam

Binyamin ben Yehudis

Shortly after 7:00 in the evening on Friday, May 15, as the neighborhood of Kew Gardens Hills was preparing for Shabbos, two New York Police Department officers from the 107th Precinct were brought to the hospital with neck and back pain after their cruiser sailed into the front doors of the Lander College for Men / Beis Medrash L’Talmud. The college, a division of the Touro College and University System, located on 150th Street, just off of 75th Road, has several exterior crash bollards that narrowly missed the trajectory of the cruiser. The officers were briefly entrapped in their patrol car following the dangerous impact, requiring an immediate extraction. Hatzolah of Queens, EMS, FDNY, and NYPD all responded in force to protect the chaotic scene and save New York’s Finest.

 Alternate side parking (street cleaning) regulations are in effect May 18-20 and May 22-23. ASP is suspended May 21 for Solemnity of the Ascension and May 24 for Idul-Fitr (Eid Al-Fitr). ASP is also suspended May 25-June 7. Parking meters remain in effect. 

Someone once asked the Kotzker Rebbe, “Where is Hashem to be found?” He responded, “Where is G-d to be found? In the place where He is given entry!”

From the 1970s to the 1990s, New York City was considered by many to be a region of high crime, where nobody would keep their doors unlocked even for a few minutes and car doors were always double-checked to be locked. Today, with a population of over eight million, we live in comfort and relative safety, with an overall lower crime index. Because of this, many have regrettably become lax in various security procedures and are more prone to become victims of criminal activity.