News

Central Queens Jewish Community Circle, CQJCC, founded in 2019 by Rebbetzin Mushky Mendelson of Congregation Machane Chodosh, began distributing the first of its 100 Thanksgiving/Chanukah gift packages to neighbors in Forest Hills and Rego Park earlier this week. The packages include Thanksgiving-themed challah rolls courtesy of Rashbag Challah.

Chazaq’s life-changing work is known throughout the Jewish community. Since their inception in 2006, tens of thousands of people from all backgrounds are inspired by their events and lectures each year. In fact, in the last 12 months alone, Chazaq organized over 545 lectures on a wide variety of topics from relationships to raising children, from anger management to overcoming addictions, and everything in between.

Assemblymember Daniel Rosenthal joined volunteers and community members to help distribute over 100 turkeys ahead of Thanksgiving.

Congresswoman Grace Meng has long been an advocate for Jewish causes, especially those affecting her constituents. Ahead of Chanukah, Rep. Meng hosted an annual Chanukah reception this past Sunday at Union Plaza’s Flushing-based outdoor balcony. Attendees ran every gamut of the Queens political scene. Much appreciation is due to Meng's Jewish liaison Rabbi Daniel Pollack and her congressional staffer Anthony Lemma.

The Coalition for Jewish Values (CJV), representing over 1,500 traditional, Orthodox rabbis in American public policy, called this week for 450 progressive rabbis, organized by the New York Jewish Agenda (NYJA), to apologize for endorsing lockdowns against New York’s Orthodox community last year. Though supposedly intended to stop the spread of COVID-19, recently released testimony revealed that Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods were declared “hot spots” by then-Governor Andrew Cuomo’s political office against the determinations of New York State’s Department of Health.

Torah Jewry is reeling from the passing of Hagaon HaRav Shmaryahu Shulman zt”l, a talmid chacham of our generation who had a vast knowledge of shas. Rav Shmaryahu ben Pinchas Eliyahu was regarded as one of the foremost talmidim of Rav Yaakov Yitzchok Ruderman zt”l, the late Rosh Yeshiva of Ner Yisrael in Baltimore, where he received his rabbinic ordination. As a bachur, young Shmaryahu was raised Brooklyn, learning then at Yeshiva Torah Vodaas, and later in Lakewood under Rav Aharon Kotler zt”l, when Bais Medrash Govoah was in its infancy. Over the years, Rav Shulman cultivated close relationships with a myriad of gedolim from the previous generation, including Rav Moshe Feinstein zt”l, the posek hador. Rav Feinstein was known to directly address Rav Shulman in many of his t’shuvos.