YI of Kew Gardens Hills Plans Tribute to Rabbi Schonfeld, z l By JLNJ Staff | May 13, 2021
(Courtesy of YI of Kew Garden Hills) On Sunday June 6 at 1 p.m. Easterm time (8 p.m. in Israel), the Young Israel of Kew Gardens Hills will hold a virtual memorial tribute to its founding rabbi, Rabbi Fabian Schonfeld, z”l, who passed away in December 2020.
Rabbi Schonfeld, an erudite man who was at home in many worlds and known around the world, built the Young Israel of Kew Gardens Hills from a minyan in the basement of the Saperstein home into a bustling shul with multiple minyanim. He built Kew Gardens Hills into a center of Orthodox Jewish life and insured the viability of Jewish life in Queens by founding the Vaad Harabonim of Queens.
By Rabbi Haim Jachter | May 06, 2021
Nakdimon ben Gurion triggered a fantastic miracle! The Gemara (Ta’anit 19b-20a) describes how Nakdimon cried out to Hashem in desperate times to demonstrate that Hashem still loves the Jewish people. In response, Hashem caused the sun to shine after it had set (translation adapted from Sefaria.org).
The Sages taught: Once, all the Jewish people ascended for the pilgrimage Festival to Jerusalem and there was not enough water for them to drink. Nakdimon ben Gurion, one of the wealthy citizens of Jerusalem, went to a certain Roman officer [hegemon] and said to him: Lend me 12 wells of water for the pilgrims, and I will give back to you 12 wells of water. And if I do not give them to you, I will give you 12 talents of silver. And the officer set him a time limit for returning the water.
Dubai: In an historic first, Jewish communities in the Gulf will hold a joint virtual Lag B’Omer/Iftar celebration hosted by the Association of Gulf Jewish Communities (AGJC), the people-to-people network of Jewish communities from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries that are developing Jewish life in the region. The event will include a panel discussion with Jewish and Muslim ambassadors focusing on how interfaith and co-existence is propelling the GCC region forward.
On Thursday, April 29, at 7pm in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia and 8pm in UAE and Oman, the AGJC will host a webinar moderated by the American Jewish Committee’s International Director of Interreligious Affairs Rabbi David Rosen featuring Sheikh Abdulla Rashed Al Khalifa, Bahraini Ambassador to the United States; Yousef Al Otaiba, UAE Ambassador to the US; and Marc Sievers, Former Ambassador of the United States to Oman. Bahrain’s Ambassador Houda Nonoo will speak during the program as well.
For the first time, Jewish communities from Gulf countries to hold joint Lag B Omer/Iftar celebration ejpress.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from ejpress.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
By Rabbi Haim Jachter | April 15, 2021
A talmid in his late 30s called and asked me if he is permitted to shave his entire head in what he calls a “preemptive strike” against his increasing baldness.
While shaving most of the head is not a problem, shaving the head’s corners runs into the Torah prohibition for a Jewish male to round out the corners, or peyot, of his head (Vayikra 19:27). Fortunately, my older son Binyamin and I have prepared a soon-to-be-released book dealing with this topic at great length. The book is titled “Halachic Haircutting Handbook: A Breakthrough Exposure of an Obscure Mitzvah.”