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In the forefront of the stripped classical architecture of Queens Borough Hall in Kew Gardens, and with his hand firmly on a Bible, Donovan Richards, Jr. was ceremoniously inaugurated this past Friday, December 31. It is within these walls that the Queens Borough President centers the operates of civic life for all of Queens.

The punch in the eye that Blake Zavadsky received on Monday followed the assailant’s asking, “Why are you in our neighborhood?” The victim was wearing a hoodie with the logo of the Israeli Army while shopping at a Foot Locker in Bay Ridge with his friend Ilan Kaganovich.

Tu BiSh’vat is a Jewish holiday in the Hebrew month of Sh’vat, which marks the “New Year of the Trees.” Tu BiSh’vat is not mentioned in the Torah. Its source can be found in the writings of our Sages in the Mishnah, in Maseches Rosh HaShanah: “There are four new years: The first of Nisan is the new year for kings and for pilgrim festivals. The first of Elul is the new year for tithing of cattle. The first of Tishrei is the new year for years, for Sh’mitah and Yoveil, for planting and for vegetables. The first of Sh’vat is the new year for trees, according to the ruling of Beis Shamai. Beis Hillel, however, places it on the 15^th of that month.” We follow the rulings of Beis Hillel for two main reasons:

Havurat Yisrael, the Forest Hills synagogue led by Rabbi David Algaze, celebrated its 40^th anniversary at a Gala Dinner held on Sunday, December 12, at Congregation Beth Sholom in Lawrence. The Rabbi and his wife were honored for his founding of the synagogue and his long leadership. Honored also were four of the founding families, David & Ruth Better, Jack & Shulie Goldhaber, Bruce & Miriam Jacobs, and Stuart & Judy Rosen. These families were at the founding of the synagogue and continue to serve as leaders of the congregation.

In a first for the Knesset, the Eretz Hakodesh Party, which represents the Jews of chutz laaretz, started a Knesset lobby to strengthen Israel’s bond with the Jews of the Diaspora.

This January, the Orthodox Union Women’s Initiative will be celebrating the culmination of its first two-year Nach Yomi cycle, featuring shiurim from women scholars, with a series of celebratory events in New York, Israel, and across the country. The Torat Imecha Nach Yomi program began in January 2020 and has featured daily downloadable audio shiurim on Nach (the Prophets and Writings).