Local

Rabbi Judah Kerbel became just the seventh rabbi hired at the Queens Jewish Center since the synagogue’s establishment in 1943. Rabbi Joseph Grunblatt was their longest serving spiritual leader, from 1967 to 2006.

While schools were closed for the federal holiday last week, over 500 Jewish educators participated in an annual professional development conference for yeshivah and day school professionals. Teachers and principals from 14 schools in Metro New York attended the Annual Yeshiva Day School Day of Learning, run by The Jewish Education Project (formerly known as the Board of Jewish Education of Greater New York, or BJE).

Some Queens askonim and lay leaders met with Councilman Donovan Richards (Queens Boro President candidate) last week to discuss pertinent issues affecting the Queens Jewish community. As one of the attendees stated “Donovan answered our questions and had a positive vision of what direction he would like for Queens to go. It was a pleasure to speak with him.” 

The excitement was in the air for opening night of the second of the Queens Jewish Hockey League (QJHL). From the time the first puck dropped until the final whistle, there was cheering, high fives, and intensity.

My parents and grandparents came to the United States from the Soviet Union about 40 years ago. They sacrificed all that they had so that I could one day be born in the greatest country in the entire world. Growing up, my father would often tell me about his first few years in the United States, having to decide on some days whether to take the subway home or to buy himself dinner, as he could not afford to do both. His stories always ended with the same few words: “It was all worth it, because you were born an American.”