For Queens residents, Sunday, April 10 was branded Community Kashering Day in conjunction with the Vaad Harabonim of Queens’ (VHQ) annual pre-Pesach kashering event. This year, neighbors were invited to the Young Israel of Queens Valley to bring their utensils, dishes, cutting boards, glasses, and other kitchen instruments to be made kosher. The shul’s mara d’asra, Rav Shmuel Marcus, is President of the VHQ. “Over 100 families participated in the program,” stated Rabbi Chaim Schwartz, VHQ Executive Vice President. The program brought out all ages and ethnicities represented in the thriving Queens Jewish community. Children attended with their fathers and grandfathers, daughters with their mothers and grandmothers, newlyweds, and seniors - all for the momentous mitzvah of preparing for Pesach in the days that follow Shabbos HaGadol. The Vaad provided trained mashgichim to facilitate the kashering process.
By Shabsie Saphirstein