By JLNJ Staff | March 11, 2021
(Courtesy of Ohr Yisroel) Ohr Yisroel is excited to welcome Rabbi Aharon Ciment to its administrative team as mashgiach ruchani. Rabbi Ciment has been the rabbi of Congregation Arzei Darom since 2004 and currently serves as a rebbe/mashgiach in the Stone Beit Midrash (SBMP) Program at Yeshiva University. In his new role he will present a daily shiur, meet privately with the talmidim and participate in a wide range of informal programs together with the yeshiva.
With the yeshiva’s enrollment approaching 50 talmidim, including the beis midrash program, Rabbi Friedman saw the need to add to their already stellar team of mechanchim. Finding a rabbinic leader who fits with the philosophy of the yeshiva, however, was extremely important to him.
Cantors World Hosts Virtual Online Pre-Pesach Chazanim Concert By Rabbi Aaron I. Reichel, Esq. | March 11, 2021
I may have been the only listener to the international pre-Pesach online Leil Shimurim concert of chazanim to enjoy the narration by the master of ceremonies, Cantors World co-founder Cantor Benny Rogosnitzky, more than I enjoyed the essence of the concert itself. However, that’s just a reflection on how little I know about chazanut and how much I appreciate the spoken word. Cantor Rogosnitzky’s remarks were spoken in both Hebrew and English, so I was able to savor each of his presentations twice as he wove a description of each chazan into a description of each piece to be sung.
David Mintz Changed The World, One Tofutti Cutie at a Time By Sandy Eller | March 10, 2021
His life was a lesson in persistence, his optimism and infectious smile a reminder that the impossible can become reality if you refuse to give up.
Tenafly resident David Mintz, who died on February 24 at the age of 89, opened up an entire world of new options when he created Tofutti nearly 40 years ago. While his Tofutti Cutie ice cream sandwiches are a staple for countless kosher consumers and his Better Than Cream Cheese has made many a parve dessert a decadent reality, the company’s market reach extends far beyond the Jewish community. Tofutti products can be found all across the United States and in more than two dozen foreign countries and, according to Grub Street, the $1.2 billion non-dairy ice cream market owes a debt of gratitude to Mintz, who spent 10 years finding a way to transform soybean curd into a delicious frozen dessert.
Wiesel and Imber Share Shoah Lessons By Pearl Markovitz | March 10, 2021
For the past 23 years, the American Society of Yad Vashem (ASYV) has sponsored a conference on Holocaust Education. Named in memory of Barbara Gutfreund Arfa, z”l, a child of Holocaust survivors and an advocate for teaching future generations about the lessons of hope, courage and resilience from the Holocaust, the conference has addressed thousands of educators and through them no fewer than 100,000 students to date. This year’s conference, entitled “History Repeats Itself: Making Sure Our Students Are Listening,” took place virtually on Sunday, March 7, and hosted nearly 200 educators from the tri-state area, 17 states and seven countries.