Community Corner

Another name for the month of Nisan is “Chodesh HaAviv” – the month of spring. The word Aviv can be separated into two words, Av-Yud Beis: The father of all twelve [months].

Six people assaulted and yelled anti-Semitic slurs at Sam Levy, 48, at the roundabout in Flushing Meadows Corona Park on Sunday, February 19 (Presidents’ Day weekend), at about 8:25 p.m. A 16-year-old has been charged with assault as a hate crime, according to the Queens District Attorney’s office.

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Antoine Blount has been charged with criminal mischief as a hate crime and aggravated harassment for allegedly drawing swastikas on the sidewalk in front of the Reform Temple of Forest Hills, a daycare center and residential building.

With a program that was both elegant and unique, the Young Israel of Jamaica Estates recently held its 44th Anniversary Dinner at Temple Beth Shalom in Roslyn. The synagogue at the center of the Jamaica Estates community used the occasion to highlight the talents of two couples who themselves have been integrally involved in the execution of the YIJE anniversary dinner for many years. Over the course of the last ten years, the YIJE dinner has gone from a typical shul fundraising event to an anticipated evening-out filled with good food, good friends, and engaging entertainment.

Met Council has launched an emergency fundraising appeal to ensure the organization can provide free food to the more than 325,000 Jewish New Yorkers who rely on the organization’s free food distributions for Passover.

The Coalition for Jewish Values (CJV), representing over 2,000 traditional, Orthodox rabbis in American public policy, last week announced the launch of CJV Missouri, to pursue its mission of promoting traditional Jewish values with legislators, media, and the public at the state and local level. It is the first state chapter of the CJV and will be chaired by Rabbi Ze’ev Smason, who has served as Midwestern Regional Vice President of the organization since 2020, and who recently retired after decades leading Nusach Hari B’nai Zion Congregation in St. Louis.