Community Corner

Over the past week, klal Yisrael united in prayers upon hearing about a rabbi in Virginia who jumped into the ocean to save a 13-year-old student and then was swept up by a rip current and out to sea himself. We held our collective breath during the dramatic five days of the search for him, first as a rescue mission led by the US Coast Guard, and eventually in a recovery mission. On Sunday afternoon, his body was finally found by a Misaskim boat off the coast of North Carolina. But who was this rabbi, previously unknown to klal Yisrael at large, who gave his life to save a student, who united us in prayer?

The National Council of Young Israel (NCYI) last week condemned Rep. Rashida Tlaib for remarks she made regarding the anti-BDS bill that is currently being considered in Congress.

A three-day Yom Tov can be a daunting undertaking, but the young women from Emet’s Step It Up program were ready for the challenge. Accompanied by Ms. Shira Fendel, Emet’s Women’s Director, 20 students embarked on a meaningful Shavuos experience in Lakewood, New Jersey. The group was joined by 20 girls who are students of Ms. Chevi Garfinkel, an acclaimed lecturer and educator. It was a Yom Tov full of learning, connecting, and inspiring one another.

Beginning September 2019, it may be time to start looking at new points programs. Here’s why.

When Rabbi Yechiel Benari first founded a yeshivah for college students, he knew it had to be warm, it had to be goal oriented, and it needed educators that embraced the path of Torah alongside parnasah. On Tuesday evening, July 2, community members, yeshivah supporters, and students celebrated the fourth year of Yeshivas Toras Halachah reaching those goals.

David HaMelech assembled Sefer T’hilim (the Book of Psalms) in five books, corresponding to the Five Books of the Torah. We find that the whole Torah is included and hidden in T’hilim. When David HaMelech would suffer, he would look in the letters and words of that tzarah in the Torah and compose a chapter of T’hilim, which was revealed to him through the light of the Torah. And each chapter of T’hilim certainly corresponds to a chapter in the Torah” (Degel Machanei Ephraim: Chayei Sarah).