COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS

Community Highlights  

JCON Education and Careers Summit

The 2023 JCON Education & Careers Summit, organized by the PR Marketing firm and the JCC of Marine Park, will be held at The Palace on Sunday, May 7 from 9 A.M. to 4 P.M. It will provide career guidance to those starting out, leaving kollel, or struggling to find the right path for meaningful parnassah. The JCON Summit will showcase an array of interesting vocational courses, certificate programs, and higher education options as well as career coaching, mentoring, assessments, and guidance for identifying one’s strengths and interests. This full day program includes breakfast and will feature men’s and women’s track opportunities. For registration and more details please visit attendjcon.com. 

Mayor Adams Attributes Gun Violence to Lack of School Prayer

Mayor Eric Adams recently dismissed the doctrine of separation of church and state and drew a connection between the absence of faith and guns in schools, rankling some civil libertarians. “Don’t tell me about no separation of church and state,” Adams said at an annual interfaith breakfast of religious leaders in Manhattan. “State is the body. Church is the heart. You take the heart out of the body, the body dies. I can’t separate my belief because I’m an elected official. When I walk, I walk with G-d. When I talk, I talk with G-d. When I put policies in place, I put them in with a G-d-like approach to them. That’s who I am.” Adams told breakfast event attendees that the absence of faith contributes to a variety of societal ills, including domestic violence, guns in schools, and homelessness. “When we took prayers out of schools, guns came into schools,” he said.

Yeshivas Mir Yerushalayim Annual Dinner

Parents, former talmidim and supporters of Yeshivas Mir Yerushalayim attended the world-renowned yeshivah’s annual celebration dinner at Bell Works last month. Among those honored were Mr. and Mrs. Refoel Weiss, who received the Kesser Shem Tov Award. Others honored dinner, which celebrated 205 years of uninterrupted harbotzas haTorah, included Mr. and Mrs. Yitzchak Rosedale, Rav Chaim Mayer Roth, Mrs. and Mrs. Eli Rappaport, Mr. and Mrs. Dovid Seitler, and Mr. and Mrs. Mitch Zolty. The dinner committees were chaired by Ralph Herzka, Shlomo Yehuda Rechnitz, Zevi Schick, Ben Philipson, Yossi Snyder, Meilich Rubin, Eli Schron, Akiva Glatzer, Eliyahu Rosenbaum, Aaron Frankel, and Nechemia Jakobovits.

Flatbush Businesses Targeted by Credit Card Scam 

Flatbush Shomrim has issued a warning to businesses in Flatbush to be aware of a new credit card scheme in which the scammer claimed to have lost his debit card and requested to enter his card information directly into the business’ terminal. Instead of paying the bills, the scammer programmed the machine to send a refund to his debit card. The scammer kept the receipt because he claimed that he needed it for his records. Shomrim believe that the scammer used a stolen debit card. It advises businesses who allow customers to make purchases without presenting an actual card to only allow store employees to enter the credit or debit card details into their business terminals.

Hatzolah Member Honored for Rescuing JetBlue Passengers

Recently, Naftoli Schischa was honored by New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and the Rockland County Legislature for his heroic rescue of a fellow JetBlue passenger who collapsed on a flight to Florida. The Rockland County Legislature also honored Hatzolah member Heshy Leifer who assisted a passenger who became ill on a flight from Morocco to New York. Also honored by the Rockland County Legislature was a third Hatzolah member, Moshe Schuster, who together with Chaverim member Shloime Spira and Satmar bus driver Usher Wieder were able to rescue a nine-year-old boy who fell into a semi-frozen lake back in February. Rabbi Yechiel Kalish, CEO of Chevra Hatzolah, said that while numerous stories have appeared in the news recently, those accounts are par for the course for Hatzolah volunteers. 

Shatzer Matzohs Bakery Hopes To Reopen Next Year

For more than 70 years Shatzer Matzohs, an iconic Brooklyn institution serving New York City Jews, has made hand-baked shmurah matzah. This year, the matzah bakery has ceased operation, but they intend to reopen next year. Many in the kosher industry fear that this news coupled with the closing of many other matzah bakeries in Ukraine (due to the ongoing Russian invasion),  may cause a shortage of shmurah matzos. 

Frum Community Mourns Sudden Loss of Chaim Elefant, Z”l 

On Wednesday, March 8, the frum world was devastated by the sudden passing of Chaim Elefant, z”l, son of Lisa and Yaakov Elefant of Flatbush. Chaim was a 32-year-old husband, a father of four young children, and a beloved member of the Los Angeles community. The overwhelming support for his entire family from the community is testament to his impact on others.  May his family find a measure of comfort during this most difficult time. Yehi zichro baruch. 

                                                                                               At the Nachas Healthnet Purim concert with Benny Friedman on March 1st.

HaRav Don Segal imparting Divrei Chizuk at the Dirshu Kinyan Chachma Asifa.