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New York City has been wracked by a double crisis of preventable deaths from opioids and fires. Too many of our neighbors have had to grieve the loss of a loved one due to a deadly fire or an opioid overdose. Whether the cause is faulty e-bike batteries or drug-use, I am deeply committed to combating these preventable tragedies by educating and equipping the public to save lives. 

For roughly a dozen years, Shimon's Pizza was home to "Torah Study: Pizza And Parshah," a program of Queens NCSY and its sister group JSU, run by Rabbi Avrohom Walkin and his assistant Daniel Eisenberg. The program gave children in public school and some from Hebrew school the amazing opportunity to connect with their Jewish heritage. Today, Rabbi Walkin continues this effort as a Director of Chazaq's JWave Boys division. For pizzaiolo Mo Harary, hosting this program at his shop was a delight. "Mo could not be more thankful to us for using his store to spread Torah and inspire Hashem's children," explained Rabbi Walkin.

Chazaq and Congregation Tov put together an inspirational lecture on Wednesday, June 28, with the esteemed Rabbi Yaakov Rahimi of Lakewood. The event, generously sponsored by the Matayev family in memory of Rosa Tzivia bat Chusmi, drew an audience eager to gain wisdom and insights from the revered scholar.

In this week’s parshah, Pinchas demonstrated his zealousness for Hashem’s sake and was rewarded with the covenant of Shalom (Peace). This incident aligns with the Torah principle found in Makos 10b, which states that “in the way a man wishes to go, he is led.” According to this principle, if a person genuinely desires to grow spiritually and observe mitzvos (commandments), Hashem grants him the strength to fulfill those desires.

The Coalition for Jewish Values (CJV), representing over 2,500 traditional, Orthodox rabbis in American public policy, last Friday welcomed the Supreme Court’s ruling in 303 Creative v. Elenis, permitting business owners free speech in accordance with their religious beliefs. Colorado law would have forced Web designer Lorie Smith to express messages with which she disagrees, or to silence herself.

Coalition for Jewish Values (CJV), representing over 2,500 traditional, Orthodox rabbis in American public policy, welcomed last week's unanimous decision in favor of the plaintiff in Groff v. DeJoy, regarding a Sabbath-observant worker denied an accommodation for his religious observance. The Court said that "an employer must show that the burden of granting an accommodation would result in substantially increased costs in relation to the conduct of its particular business."