Community Corner

If the frigid temperatures this past week are any warning of what lies ahead, we must brace for a harsher winter than last year. Last year’s storms led to many homeowners and motorists being stranded. Streets quickly flooded, causing basements and cars to become overwhelmed by water. Chaverim of Queens was just one of several organizations that stood up in a big way.

In Parshas VaEira, Hashem commanded Moshe to first warn Pharaoh about the impending plague. Moshe told Pharaoh that if he refused to free the Jews to serve Hashem, “so said Hashem, ‘In this you shall know that I am Hashem.’ Behold I am going to strike with the staff that is in my hand upon the water that is in the river, and it shall turn to blood.” After warning Pharaoh, Moshe is then commanded, “Tell Aharon, ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt…’” Why does Hashem specify that Aharon be the one to initiate the plague? In addition, this pattern is repeated with the next two plagues – Frogs and Lice.

Inspired by the Lubavitcher Rebbe, the Chabad of Rego Park (C.O.R.P.), run by Rabbi Eli and Shulamis Blokh, began operations in 1997 as a means to provide the growing Russian Jewish community of the area with a much-needed infusion of Judaism. The Blokhs moved from Crown Heights, launched a Hebrew school at the Lefrak Jewish Center, and held a public menorah lighting at Mesivta Ohr Torah, now home to the Beth Gavriel Community Center. Soon after, the rabbi took over the third floor of the Queens Jewish Center to operate Yamim Tovim services and head their Talmud Torah; this floor is now home to The Cheder of Queens.

This past Wednesday evening, Chazaq coordinated a communal unity Tehilim event for the neighborhood of North Woodmere. Over 150 attendees gathered in person at Congregation Ohr Torah, while well over a thousand more watched online on 5 Towns Central and Hamodia.com as neighborhood rabbonim took to the pulpit to recite the sacred words of Dovid HaMelech.

The meteoric rise in COVID cases has shaken New York City and the country at large. In an effort to keep the kol Torah alive on its campus, Yeshivas Ohr HaChaim, stepped up to provide testing prior to entry to its Kew Gardens Hills beis medrash facility. On the morning of Tuesday, December 28, a steady line of young men was seen outside awaiting results of tests being administered onsite. Onlookers were impressed by the adherence to safety that the administration has taken to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and the flu, which have been raging as winter sets in.

The Jewish community of Queens has a myriad of volunteer organizations that add to the betterment of our lives and those of our neighbors. Despite his untimely passing, the work of chaplaincy was beautifully showcased by the sincere devotion of Rabbi David Keehn z”l. Throughout the blocks of Queens there are ample chaplains – both men and women – ready, willing, and able to step up to help friends, neighbors, and brethren. The Queens Jewish Link took some time to speak with Rabbi Chaplain Mendy Coën, Director-General at the United States Chaplain Corps (USCC), and some of his team to get a better grasp of their outreach efforts to access and help others.