Community Corner

Name: Moshe Vatch

Location: Queens

Position: Coordinator

Year Volunteered at Misaskim: 4

Coalition for Jewish Values (CJV), representing over 2,000 traditional, Orthodox rabbis in matters of American public policy, responded sharply today to the recent report produced by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), asserting that a series of mainstream Jewish and allied charities are spreading "Islamophobia" by opposing radical Islamic terror. The rabbinic group called the report both pro-terror and antisemitic.

On Wednesday, January 12, there was a community gathering at Chabad of Rego Park to discuss mental health challenges that unfortunately contribute to opioid abuse in our community. Our community, and particularly our youth, are facing a number of mental health challenges that manifest as severe depression, suicides, and drug overdoses. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of drug overdose deaths has quadrupled since 1999. Over 70 percent of drug-related deaths involve an opioid. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, 13 percent of young adults in the United States have major depression. Suicide is the second leading cause of death among individuals between the ages of 10 and 34. There are close to 5,000 drug overdose deaths among individuals between the ages of 15 and 24, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Roughly one-third of adults who have a substance use disorder also suffer from depression, according to Addiction Center.

In last week’s parshah, B’Shalach, the Jewish people were trapped between the sea on one side and the advancing Egyptians on the other. Moshe turned to Hashem in prayer, and Hashem instructed him to raise his staff and stretch his hand over the waters to part the sea. The Jewish people then entered the sea.

K’hal Adas Yereim of Kew Gardens hosted their annual Tu Bishvat Mesiba this past Sunday, January 16, at their Metropolitan Avenue beis hakenesses, Bais Bracha Simcha Hall. The 72^nd yearly event was a tribute to the meyased of the shul, Rav Yankel (Avraham Yaakov) Teitelbaum zt”l and Rav Shlomo Teitelbaum zt”l, who led the kehillah for over 50 years.

A few weeks ago, the Queens Jewish Link featured Rabbi Yossi Blesofsky on its cover, lighting the grand menorah at Queens Borough Hall. This event prompted me to learn more about the work of the rabbi, his influence, and his family. As it turns out, Rabbi Blesofsky is one of the senior Chabad emissaries in the borough. He is the chairman of the Council of Shluchim, where local ambassadors of Chabad Lubavitch report their updates. Nearly three decades ago, the rabbi, his wife Dina, and two children began their work in Bayside at the direction of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rav Menachem Mendel Schneerson zt”l. Three short years later, the Chabad of Northeast Queens (CNEQ) launched an early childhood learning center, and followed 15 years later with their STREAM Academy, a progressive model of education that uniquely combines the joy of Torah learning with a stellar multidimensional, engaging, hands-on approach to general studies programming.