Rabbi Yeruchim Silber, Director, New York Government Relations at Agudath Israel of America, spoke to the high school boys at Yeshiva Tiferet Tzion in Queens on Wednesday, February 1, about the importance of voting. The talk coincided with the Agudah Voting Project, which aims to register high school seniors. New York State law allows 16- and 17-year-olds to pre-register as voters, allowing them immediate voting privileges on their 18th birthday. “The goal of this project is for the Agudah to register as many New York City students as possible in advance of the New York City primary elections this coming June,” said Rabbi Silber.

In this week’s parshah, following the revelation at Har Sinai, when the people of Israel committed themselves to upholding the Torah and received the Ten Commandments, Hashem proceeds to communicate to Moshe Rabbeinu the rest of the mitzvos of the Torah. The Ramban explains that the monetary laws of this parshah were taught immediately following the giving of the Torah on Har Sinai. Why was this so?

A Parent’s Story

Our weekly parenting group meeting was rolling along as it usually did---chit-chat, joking, complaining, noshing---when my phone rang, and I immediately excused myself to speak in private.  It was our daughter Racheli’s genetic counselor, and she had news that changed everything for us in an instant.