News

District 24 is once again formally represented in the New York City Council. James F. Gennaro, a Jamaica Estates resident, was sworn in this past Thursday, February 18 – 6,970 days after he was originally sworn in back in early 2002.

Beginning on February 11, 3,600 students from six states around the country came together to celebrate Go Purple Day, a day that Shalom Task Force established to promote awareness around healthy relationships, as well as domestic abuse within the Jewish community.

Some time ago, I was at a shiur in which the speaker asked, “Why is Pirkei Avos called Pirkei Avos (Ethics of Fathers) and not Pirkei Tzadikim or Pirkei Chasidim (Ethics of the Righteous)?” I honestly do not remember the answer. What I do remember is thinking how lucky I was that in all the years I knew my father, Rabbi Mendel Kaufman zt”l, it never once occurred to me to ask that question.

In the spirit of Purim, celebrated this year on Friday, February 26, the BACH Jewish Center in Long Beach will be delivering 100 holiday-themed care packages to the residents of the local Grandell Rehabilitation and Nursing Center. The group chose the number 100 to symbolize its growing membership, which has jumped by more than ten percent amid the pandemic. As part of the project, each synagogue member family will connect to the holiday traditions of sending food packages to neighbors (Mishloach Manos) and giving charity (Matanos LaEvyonim).

A citywide mainstream media headline that shook Queens was first reported in the Queens Jewish Link’s WhatsApp groups. This past Wednesday afternoon, shortly after 3:30 p.m., a pedestrian noticed despicable graffiti scrawled on public-facing signage alongside the entranceway to the Rego Park Jewish Center at 97-30 Queens Boulevard. Outraged, the individual found confidence in calling Avi Cyperstein, Chaverim of Queens’ co-founder and a City Council candidate in the district of the hate crime. Cyperstein wasted no time in jumping into action, first alerting Queens Borough Safety Patrol-Shmira of the incident and arriving on-scene shortly thereafter.

This past week, Shalom Task Force began beating a new path in the world of dating and relationship education. In partnership with YU Connects and JLIC Connects, STF launched the “Dating with Purpose” group for men in shidduchim. This unique group, a combination of education workshop and discussion group, gives young men “in the parshah” the opportunity to come together with their peers, learn about relationship dynamics, the psychology of the dating process, and what they can do to make the most of their experience in this often confusing and challenging time of life.