Community Corner

(Courtesy of Cong. Anshe Chesed) It’s 7:45 p.m. on a Tuesday night in Linden, and the sound of things being cracked open fill the air: a fresh box of melty-chocolate-chocolate chip cookies, a plastic container of buttery croissants, a maroon bound gold-leaf Kitzur Shulchan Aruch, three bottles of Poland Spring and Diet Coke, an oversized Bava Kamma, a package of napkins and an Artscroll Shmuel Bet. Over 30 men of diverse backgrounds, ages 20-75 years old, fill the beit midrash and learn together for the next hour and a quarter.

Last Sunday evening, Kehilas Torah Temimah (KTT) brought rabbanim and over 100 young adults from four shuls together for an evening of learning and inspiration. Titled, “Kiyemu v’Kiblu: Capture Purim from Every Angle,” the shiurim addressed each of the four mitzvos of Purim day, with each of the rabbanim speaking about a different mitzvah. Hosted by KTT, their own Rabbi Elan Segelman joined with three other rabbanim of young professional minyanim: Rabbi Yussie Zakutinsky of Hashevaynu, Rabbi Etan Tannenbaum of Beis Midrash Zichron Shalom, and Rabbi Ari Lipsky of the KGH Young Marrieds Minyan. The event was specifically geared toward the community shuls that cater to primarily young memberships as an opportunity for peers to meet one another and to create a greater sense of achdus within the neighborhood. The goal was for participants to walk away feeling inspired by the different aspects of Purim and with a deeper understanding of the ultimate meaning of the holiday.

Despite drenching rain, on Sunday morning, March 31, an enthusiastic crowd of hundreds of members of the Great Neck community and beyond attended a grass-roots protest against anti-Semitism and hatred, held in the Great Neck Village Green.

Purim was very festive at Margaret Tietz, from the colorful tablecloths, delicious s’udah, mishloach manos bags donated for all, family participation with their loved ones in the Spirit of Purim, and the fabulous visit by the Lander College students who brought Purim to the next level. The music, the costumes, and the interactions with our residents made Purim here at Tietz the BEST! We send a very BIG Thank You to all for lifting everyone’s spirit.

President Donald Trump did not attend the National Council of Young Israel annual gala dinner last Sunday in Manhattan. But if he did, it was an affair where he would have certainly felt at home. At each table were red baseball caps emblazoned with the slogan “Build Israel Great Again.”

When a death is announced, there is mourning. Hidden from the public view are the preparations involving the deceased’s last wishes, the burial plot, and ensuring that the transition from life to death is conducted according to halachah. “These are topics that most people may not care about,” said Rabbi Elchonon Zohn, founder of the National Association of Chevra Kadisha (NASCK) at a presentation last Sunday at the Young Israel of Kew Gardens Hills. “Most people do not join this chevrah,” referring to the volunteer Jewish burial societies.