Community Corner

There are some kids who struggle in a class or two, but are able to get the extra help they need to stay in a mainstream Jewish Day School. For me, multiple subjects were challenging, and it was clear to my parents that I needed something more.  I toured several schools and remember how nothing compared to SINAI.  In one school I noticed that nobody wore a kippah, and at another the “special ed” class was in the basement of the building.  Seeing SINAI at Joseph Kushner Hebrew Academy (JKHA) for the first time was an unforgettable experience.  I can picture the light filled lobby, the atrium garden, and most importantly, the lively SINAI classrooms, which dotted the halls of JKHA and were not singled out as “Special Ed.”  My parents were impressed with the SINAI philosophy that provides an individualized program based on the needs of each child.

The Coalition for Jewish Values (CJV), representing over 1500 traditional, Orthodox rabbis in matters of public policy, on Tuesday expressed grave concern regarding President Joe Biden’s Executive Order that requires federally funded schools to allow biological male students who identify as female to use women’s bathrooms and compete on women’s sports teams.

Smiles Through Cars and its founder Josh Aryeh, AKA Batman, spread cheer at Queens Hospital Center, a division of NYC Health + Hospitals, this past Thursday morning.  The show of appreciation was planned to highlight the devotedness of our frontline workers who continue to risk their lives fighting COVID-19.

Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology, part of the Yeshiva University system, has been training mental-health professionals for over 50 years. The school will introduce a new program this fall focusing on marriage and family therapy. The Marriage and Family Therapy MS (MFT) degree joins the four other highly regarded programs within the school, including: Clinical Psychology (PsyD), School Clinical Child Psychology (PsyD), Clinical Psychology Health Emphasis Program (PhD) and Mental Health Counseling Program (MA). 

Minnesota Vikings owner Mark Wilf is the son of Holocaust survivors who stays connected to Judaism. Ken Berger, a sports journalist, interviewed Wilf for Commonpoint Queens of Forest Hills at a Zoom presentation on January 21.

Tu BiSh’vat is a Jewish holiday in the Hebrew month of Sh’vat that marks the “New Year of the Trees.”  Tu BiSh’vat is not mentioned in the Torah.   Its source can be found in the writings of our Sages in the Mishnah, in Maseches Rosh HaShanah: “There are four new years: The first of Nisan is the new year for kings and for pilgrim festivals; the first of Elul is the new year for tithing of cattle; the first of Tishrei is the new year for years, for sh’mitah and yovel, for planting and for vegetables; the first of Sh’vat is the new year for trees, according to the ruling of Beis Shamai.   Beis Hillel, however, places it on the 15^th of that month.”  We follow the rulings of Beis Hillel for two main reasons: