News

I heard the following story from Dovid and Chaya Stein. Their story began several years ago, when they moved into their new apartment in Israel. Their neighbors were all friendly and lovely people. As time went on, several neighbors wished to expand their apartments.

Recap: Dovid’s parents finally get through to a rabbi in Syria, so now they hope to be able to work on rescuing Jews. Dovid’s father is niftar. He doesn’t want his mother to keep working on this. She shows him a journal from a Jewish girl in Syria so he will understand how much the Jews there need help from Jews who can help.

New York News

 Powerhouse Arena, a Brooklyn bookstore, came under fire after a manager canceled a Jewish author’s book launch event due to the moderator’s pro-Israel views. The event, meant to feature author Joshua Leifer and Rabbi Andy Bachman, was abruptly canceled by the manager, Hannah Hayes, who stated, “we don’t want a Zionist on our stage.”

New York News

 Columbia University President Minouche Shafik abruptly resigned after less than a year in office, citing the toll of ongoing anti-Israel protests on campus as a primary reason for her departure. In her resignation letter, Shafik pointed to the “period of turmoil” and its impact on her family and the university community.

I heard an amazing, inspiring story recently from a friend of mine named Kalman. I had heard parts of his story before, but this past Shabbos he spoke about it at our shul’s kidush, which he sponsored as his yearly seudas hoda’a. He spoke and gave thanks to Hashem for all He has done for him. He was celebrating the anniversary of his rebirth.

So, we’ve gone through another Tishah b’Av, and Moshiach has not yet arrived. We still have all the unknowns and uncertainties of the current situations. Many are wondering: What has happened to all of the tefilahs that we’ve been saying? There are many answers to this question. We’ll share a few ideas.