Community Corner

Part III

The following is the transcription of an in-person interview conducted in March 2018 by Rebecca Rushfield Wittert with Rabbi Fabian Schonfeld, discussing his path to building the neighborhood of Kew Gardens Hills many decades ago. It has been slightly edited for brevity. This is the third and final installment.

The get-together was virtual, but the ruach certainly wasn’t.

Fleetwood Synagogue hosted a community-wide menorah lighting and latke fry on Zoom to celebrate Chanukah “together” as best as possible, given the circumstances.

Chanukah, the holiday of light, just ended, and on Wednesday, December 16, a light went out. After a brave battle with a dreaded disease, our friend and colleague at Astor Brokerage passed away. Ora Natanelova-Babaev, as her name personifies, was that light. She was buried in Yerushalayim.

Chanukah is always a very special time for the Mishkon family. Although COVID has forced us to celebrate differently, celebrate we did!

The National Council of Young Israel (NCYI) last week expressed its appreciation to the Trump administration after US Customs and Border Protection put into effect an order that mandates that products made in areas of Judea and Samaria (otherwise known as the “West Bank”) controlled by Israel and exported to the United States shall be labeled “Made in Israel.”

Midrash L’man Achai, a close-knit high school under the leadership of dean Rabbi Shmuel Z. Kleinman, took its annual weekend trip to New Square, NY, this past Shabbos, Parshas Vayigash.