“זה היום עשה ה’ נגילה ונשמחה בו!” With these words from Hallel, in a voice brimming with emotion, Deganit Ronen, Westchester Torah Academy’s Head of School, gave thanks to הקדוש ברוך הוא before welcoming an assembly of esteemed Westchester rabbis and government dignitaries, WTA teachers and administrators, parents, students, family members and friends, all of whom were gathered beneath a bright blue October sky for the חנוכת הבית dedication ceremony that took place this past Sunday, October 17, on the verdant and expansive grounds of the new WTA-Yeshivat Netzach campus in New Rochelle.
New Rochelle Sephardic Minyan Completes a New Torah By Judy Berger | May 13, 2021
On May 9, the Sephardic minyan at the Young Israel of New Rochelle welcomed a new sefer Torah. The Sephardic-style Torah was commissioned by Sephardic minyan members and dedicated l’ilui nishmat Meyer ben Haim, Meyer Ouaknine, z”l.
Festivities, held at the home of Steven and Nataly Neuwirth, began with a traditional Sephardic Shacharit. The Torah’s sofer, HaRav Bensadoun, brought his handiwork from Israel to complete the final 26 letters of the Torah. Twenty-six members of the community were honored with writing these letters.
Nataly Neuwirth said: “My dad is present in my life now more than he ever was. He is my angel. He has taught me and my siblings so much about how to be a human being. More importantly, he taught us the true meaning of kibud av v’em in the way he honored his own parents. We cannot duplicate that, even if we tried. While the idea of a mor
By Judy Berger | March 10, 2021
March 3 marked the one-year anniversary of the Young Israel of New Rochelle’s quarantine by the Westchester County Health Commissioner. The YINR community gathered via Zoom to mark the occasion and receive a message of chizuk from Rabbi Fink.
Current YINR President Andrew Wurzburger highlighted Westchester County Executive George Latimer’s press release, “At the direction of Westchester County health commissioner, Dr. Sherlita Amler, I had to inform Young Israel of New Rochelle to halt all services immediately and for the foreseeable future, due to potential COVID-19 exposure connected to the man who tested positive today. Additionally, congregants of the synagogue who attended either services on February 22, or a funeral or bat mitzvah at the temple on February 23, must self-quarantine until at the very earliest March 8. Those who do not self-quarantine will be mandated to by the County Department of Health to do so.”