Daniel
Keren
July 3, 2017
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Daniel
Keren
Children and their parents from the neighborhood and beyond enjoyed the JCCMP’s summer safety fair last month that included musical entertainment, magic show, carnival games and rides, helmet giveaway and free bicycle etching to help recover bikes in case of theft. Free ID cards for kids were also distributed. It was a great way to celebrate a break from the school routine and prepare for a more relaxing and SAFE summer. Participants are already eagerly anticipating the next MPJCC sponsored street fair, which will welcome everyone back to school in September.
Have you ever wanted to or needed to give a presentation in public, but were terrified of the prospect? Join the club. Last month, more than a score of men and women took advantage of coaching sessions to combat this fear with Rabbi Eliezer Blatt, arranged by the Marine Park JCC. Rabbi Blatt is renowned in the Jewish world for helping hundreds if not thousands of participants in his session master the three essential aspects of powerful public speaking deliveries by understanding the important techniques of vitality, visual and vocal. So if you are surprised to hear an incredible presentation by a close relative, friend or neighbor, ask if he or she took part in last month’s public speaking course at the JCC.
Hundreds of parents, alumni and community supporters attended the 29th anniversary dinner of the Sinai Academy Yeshiva High School at the Kingsway Jewish Center. Sinai Academy has inspired hundreds of boys, many who are immigrants from the former Soviet Union, to overcome years of enforced atheism to rediscover the beauty of Judaism and the pleasures of learning Torah, while at the same time gaining an excellent academic education to help them succeed both in society and as proud members of Klal Yisroel. Sinai Academy is guided by its Menahel, Rabbi Aryeh Katzin, and its executive director, Mordechai Blaustein. Dr. Isaac J. Kreizman was the dinner’s guest of honor and Rabbi Shmuel Friedler was honored with the Harav Elya Svei zt’l Memorial Award. Other honorees included Betzalel Stern, Mr. and Mrs. Yakov Yitzchok Bohensky, and Yosef Rosenfeld. A special memorial tribute honored Moshe Aharon ben Yosef Handler, a”h.
Rabbi Yosef Eisen was the guest speaker at the 27th Annual “Garden” seudah shelishis on Parashas Shelach to publicize the kiruv work of Project Raanana. The gathering for men was held at Yeshivas Veretsky Hall and included zemiros by mezamrim and was sponsored by Pomegranate. More than 800 students of the Project Raanana Ganim and elementary school, as well as hundreds of families in the HaSharon region of Eretz Yisroel, have been brought under the kanfei HaShechinah. Members of our community have supported this project for almost three decades. Rabbi Heshy Arem, Menahel of Yeshiva of Brooklyn was the Master of Ceremonies and the seudah shlishis was dedicated to the memory of Rabbi Naftali Soloff, z”l.
Mr. Jason Dov Greenblatt, an assistant to President Donald Trump and special representative for international negotiations, received an honorary Doctor of Law from Touro College and delivered the keynote address at this year’s commencement ceremony for hundreds of graduates that took place at the David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center in Manhattan. Mr. Greenblatt spoke about his own remarkable history and the unlikely journey he, the son of a Holocaust survivor and a Hungarian refugee, took to the halls of the White House. Touro College President Dr. Alan Kadish stated that the keynote speaker clearly demonstrated the “Jewish values of honesty, humility, kindness, and integrity … that Torah study and shemirot hamitzvot is not a challenge to success in one’s career but the foundation to what one creates and achieves.”
On a Shabbos afternoon in late May an 8-year-old-girl was the victim of a hit and run by a speeding driver, on East 31 Street, between Kings Highway and Avenue P. Boruch Hashem she is recuperating; it is miraculous that she even survived. This is the second accident on this block in a year. It’s a long block, with many cars speeding as young children play on sidewalks with nothing but a stop sign on the corner to protect them. The community had tried for years to have a speed bump installed, only to have their requests rejected. Following this latest accident, the Flatbush Jewish Community Center contacted the mayor’s office who requested the NYC Department of Transportation implement an immediate installation of a speed bump to slow traffic down and improve safety. The installation commenced the next morning. “We applaud Mayor Bill de Blasio for his swift action and consideration, together with DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg, as well as the efforts of the Mayors’ Senior Community Liaison Pinny Ringel to protect the safety of the children in our neighborhood. It is only through the united community and working with our partners in government that we can accomplish this,” stated Josh Mehlman, chairman of the FJCC.
Flatbush Shomrim is once again warning members of our community to be on the alert for suspicious people who come to you and your neighbor’s doorsteps There have been numerous reports of packages left by UPS, the USPS, FedEx and even supermarkets that have been pilfered by package thieves. On May 28, a notorious package thief was apprehended by the NYPD as a result of film taken by a drone. Many other thieves in the past have been identified from security cameras of private homes. Shomirim urges everyone to be vigilant not only for their own packages, and to report to the NYPD suspicious activities of strangers you see going door to door in search of valuable packages. If you are staying in town, keep an eye out for outsiders who seem to be sizing out houses on your block, and call the Flatbush Shomrim at (718) 851-3927 and 911 to alert your local precinct.
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Yeshiva Ruach Chaim’s eighth-grade graduation ceremony
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