Community Corner

It all started with a dream to introduce unaffiliated college students to the beauty of Torah and mitzvos. That dream blossomed and transformed the lives of thousands of young adults. The impact of the dream on the greater community was evident when nearly 600 alumni, students, their families, and friends gathered to celebrate Emet Outreach at their 20^th Anniversary Gala. “It was an evening to mark an unbelievable milestone, not only for Emet, but also for the countless individuals who have grown alongside our organization and embarked on their own spiritual journeys,” said Rabbi Akiva Rutenberg, Emet Co-Founder and Director.

Last week Project Lead held a memorable luncheon for 40 Holocaust survivors from the Central Queens area at Prestige restaurant.

More than 60,000 tickets were requested for the massive rally despite Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum holding only seats 16,000. Tens of thousands of the former president’s supporters couldn’t get inside the venue, many stuck around just to be near the Republican presidential nominee and watched his address on large screen displays outside.

On Sunday morning, September 22, the fathers of Yeshiva Tiferes Moshe's seventh grade were invited to spend the morning bonding with their sons in yeshivah. The morning began at 9:15 a.m. with a special seventh grade shacharis minyan. Afterwards, the fathers and their sons had the opportunity to participate in a scrumptious breakfast. The seventh grade rebbeim invited the fathers to join their sons in class for a special father-son shiur.

October 7, 2023, served as the beginning of another painful chapter in the history of the Jewish people. It is a chapter that has not yet ended and whose pages remain stained with the blood of our brothers and sisters. Throughout the ages, the Jewish response to crisis and challenge has been constant: prayer, Torah study, and turning to rabbinic leaders for guidance. This year, Jews across the globe have activated those strategies as they focused on the unfolding drama in Israel and around the world since the devastating attacks on October 7. The tragedies of the war, the hostages in Gaza, the international condemnations, and the marches on college campuses have all been personal, communal, national, and global.

The ten days between Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur is a time that is set aside for t’shuvah – a time when we are told to “seek Hashem when He can be found.” Many have asked: Why do these days not come before Rosh HaShanah when we stand in judgment before G-d? Wouldn’t it make sense to do t’shuvah first and then be judged? Additionally, Rosh HaShanah itself actually marks the beginning of the Ten Days of Repentance. Yet, there is no specific mention of t’shuvah in any of its unique t’filos or rituals.