Community Corner

A month ago, many Jewish bookshelves around the world still had volumes of inspirational books that quoted children as an empowerment and teaching tool. When multiple allegations emerged that the author behaved inappropriately with women and children, Jewish institutions and homes worldwide tossed the books away. Then came the difficult part of explaining the absence of the once-popular books, the allegations against its author, the lives that were damaged, and preventing such incidents from happening to our children.

The practical pasuk in Parshas VaY’chi for all generations is found in last week’s parshah, VaY’chi, where two of our patriarchs speak of their own deaths. It signifies an awareness that life comes to an end, applying it towards logistics involved with estate planning, and ensuring that the body is brought into the ground in a halachic manner. “Yaakov realized that he was going to leave his world... He wanted something to be sure to happen,” said Rabbi Paysach Krohn. “He specifically asked Yosef to swear to him that he would be buried exactly where he wanted to be buried.”

When there is an open election that does not directly involve the voting public, political reporters search for the scoop that reveals how the next City Council Speaker is selected. Based on recent history, that choice depended on the Queens delegation and the borough’s Democratic Party chair. With Corey Johnson leaving office at the end of the month, two contenders from this borough emerged as the frontrunners, Francisco Moya from Corona and Adrienne Adams from South Jamaica.

What does it mean to be a New Yorker and have a say in its elections? According to a bill passed by the City Council last Thursday, December 9, only 30 days of residency is needed to allow an individual to register as a voter in local elections. “In a time where many states are passing voter suppression laws like we haven’t seen since the Jim Crow era, New York City must be seen as a shining example for other progressive cities to follow,” said upper Manhattan Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez, the sponsor of the bill.

Since her early childhood, Estee Ackerman has been climbing the charts as a champion in table tennis, never compromising on her observance of Shabbos. For more than a decade, the 20-year-old junior at Stern College has been making headlines for her stellar scores and then fleeing the court as the sun descended to the horizon on Friday afternoons.

 The community that walks humbly often keeps a low profile, avoiding interviews with secular media, which results in slanted reporting that depicts Orthodox Jews in a negative light. At last week’s annual Agudath Israel of America convention, three outspoken panelists sought to correct the narrative with examples from their experiences and advice on how to interact with editors and reporters.