COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS

Community Highlights Column 

Flatbush Mourns the Petirah of Rabbi Chananya Yom Tov Lipa Margulies, Zt”l

The Flatbush community mourns the petirah of Rabbi Chananya Yom Tov Lipa Margulies, zt”l, at the age of 97. For more than 60 years, he was the Rosh Yeshivah of Yeshivas Torah Temimah. Born in Romania in 1924, he survived Auschwitz. After the war,  Rabbi Margulies managed to come to America where he learned at Yeshiva Torah Vodaath and later after his marriage at Beis Medrash Elyon. He helped mold thousands of students into bnei Torah in a dedicated career of more than a half century that has profoundly changed the map of Jewish life in Flatbush and throughout Brooklyn and the Tri-State area.

Williamsburg Attacks on Jews Generates Meeting of Top NYPD Officials 

In the aftermath of vicious attacks on Jews in Williamsburg in recent months, top ranking officials of the New York Police Department engaged with concerned activists of the Satmar community and Shomrim officials. The NYPD delegation was headed by Inspector Richie Taylor, commanding officer of the department’s Community Affairs Outreach. Taylor, the highest-ranking yarmulke-wearing officer on the force, said that hateful attacks can never become an accepted part of life. “We’ll never let this become normalized,” Taylor said. “Even one hate crime is one hate crime too many, especially when you have a real victim. That spreads fear — in the victim himself, his family, and the entire community … An attack on somebody because of their religious beliefs is an attack on everybody in New York City. Because first it can be on someone from the Jewish community, and then any other community may be a target.”

Petirah of Rabbi Yeruchem Kaplan, Zt”l, Mourned 

Members of both the Bais Hatalmud in Bensonhurst and alumni of the Sephardic yeshivah Mikdash Hamelech mourn the petirah of the beloved Torah scholar and Rosh  Yeshivah Rabbi Yeruchem Kaplan, zt”l, at the age of 84. He escaped the Nazis when his family fled to Shanghai. He was the son of the legendary Rav, Rabbi Mendel Kaplan, zt”l, who was a Rosh Yeshivah at Chicago’s Bais Medrash L’Torah and later the Philadelphia Yeshiva. Rav Yeruchem learned at the Mirrer Yeshiva in Flatbush and later at Bais Hatalmud. He was a talmid at Mirrer Yeshiva in Flatbush, and at Bais Hatalmud in East New York, where he was a chavrusah of the yeshivah’s illustrious founder and Rosh Yeshivah, Rabbi Leib Malin, zt”l, whom Rav Yeruchem would always consider his rebbi muvhak. He is still remembered by many students at Mikdash Melech for his concern that strengthened their commitment to yahadus.

Touro’s Lander College Produces 24 New Rabbis and Community Leaders

A chag haSemichah ceremony and gala dinner will be held on March 6th at the Terrace on the Park in Queens, NY to honor 24 graduates who are gaining semichah (rabbinical ordination) under the guidance of Rabbi Yonson Sacks, Rosh Yeshivah of the Lander semichah program. These new rabbis and community leaders come from all parts of the United States, Canada, and Israel. The semichah of the musmachim is the conclusion of years of study at the Lander College, following their demonstration of knowledge and dedicated commitment to serve Jewish communities around the world. Also being honored at the ceremony are Rabbi Moshe Bamberger, a mentor to students of Touro’s Beis Medrash L’Talmud; Rabbi Lavi Greenspan who after becoming blind passed the bar exam and teaches Torah daily; Rabbi Jordan Kaplan; and Ira Suss.

Met Council Emergency Rental Assistance to Landlords and Tenants

Do you still need help collecting rent denied to you by  your tenants? Are you a tenant that owes back rent? Met Council, the largest Jewish communal social safety net in America,  is offering assistance. For landlords, perhaps you have a tenant who has already applied or needs to apply for assistance with back rent. For tenants, perhaps you may owe rent and you already applied for Emergency Rental Assistance Program and are still awaiting a decision on your application. If you have been denied by ERAP, Met Council can assist you in filing for an appeal. For more details, call the Met Council hotline at 929-292-9480 or email help@metcouncil.org.

Joel Eisdorfer Appointed to Top Post in Adams Administrator

Boro Park resident Joel Eisdorfer, veteran Chassidic political activist and friend of New York City Mayor Eric Adams, has been appointed as a senior advisor to the mayor. He is tasked with working to provide a safe and equitable city for all New Yorkers, including the Jewish community. He served Adams as a member of the senior staff when the mayor was Brooklyn Boro President. Eisdorfer’s experience includes serving as a member of the Brooklyn Community Council and serving Boro Park for nearly 20 years.

Hachnasas Sefer Torah Honors First Yahrtzeit   of Heroic Russian Couple

One year ago, brothers Eli and Chaim Tovshteyn tragically lost both their parents, just one week apart, to COVID-19. Mordechai and Lina Tovshteyn fully dedicated themselves to their children and raised them to be proud Jews, even during Soviet anti-Semitic times when they were completely deprived of Torah. Last month, despite a gloomy forecast, the sun radiated onto a crowd of nearly 400 as the Tovshteyn families escorted a brand new sefer Torah from Eli’s home, where it was completed, to Mayan Yisroel on Avenue N. Every soul in the crowd felt the power and impact of the everlasting etz chaim. Lina and Marik were exceptional partners, parents, grandparents, friends, and community members. The Torah dedication in their honor exemplifies the legacy they left behind.