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On May 2, 2021, a beautiful neshamah was returned to Hashem. That neshamah was Mollie Vancier, our Ima and Savta.

Teach Coalition to Offer Government Funding Hotline for Yeshivos and Jewish Day Schools in New York and New Jersey.

Last Wednesday, Teach Coalition announced the launch of its new “Government Funding Hotline” service, available for free to all yeshivos and Jewish day schools in New York and New Jersey. Any government funding inquiries sent into the hotline phone number, email address, or webpage will receive a rapid response from Teach Coalition’s expert Government Maximization Services Team.

The Queens Jewish Link and its feature article “KGH Civic Petitions for Library Reopening” set into motion a series of events that led to a press conference this past Thursday afternoon, May 6. Those gathered felt that their work was not quite done with regards to getting the library back open, and invited NY1 News to share their plight citywide. City Council Member James Gennaro also deemed the library’s continued operation as a NYC Health & Hospitals site unnecessary, considering the drastic decrease in positive COVID case numbers.

A hotly contested open seat race in eastern Queens could be decided by the Jewish community, as seven candidates seek to take the seat being vacated by Barry Grodenchik. The top two fundraisers represent platforms that vary greatly in regard to Israel. Jaslin Kaur has the endorsement of the DSA, which asks its favored candidates to boycott trips to Israel. In contrast, Linda Lee speaks proudly of her visit to the county in 2008, when she rented a car with her sister and they explored Israel on their own.

Shavuos is the culmination of the seven-week-long “counting of the Omer” that occurs following Pesach. The very name “Shavuos” means “weeks,” in recognition of the weeks of anticipation leading up to the Har Sinai experience. Shavuos commemorates Hashem giving the Torah to B’nei Yisrael. During the holiday prayer services, we read the story of the Revelation at Mount Sinai and the giving of the Ten Commandments. On the second day of Shavuos, we read Megillas Rus (the Book of Ruth).

Queens Borough President Donovan Richards declared April 27, 2021, as Rabbi Fabian Schonfeld Day on the occasion of the Evening of Inspiration held at the Margaret Tietz Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. The event coincided with the widespread display of an inspirational talk under the same title featuring Rabbi Noach Isaac Oelbaum and Rabbi Eytan Feiner. The program included the participation of the center’s CEO Alex Solovey, its administrator Kwang Lee, presiding rabbinic authority Rabbi Zavel Pearlman, director of public affairs Linda Spiegel, US Representative Grace Meng, Council Member James Gennaro, State Assembly Member David Weprin, executive director of the Vaad Harabonim of Queens Rabbi Chaim Schwartz, and Rabbi Yoel Schonfeld and his wife, Rebbetzin Peri Schonfeld, who accepted an honor on behalf of the Schonfeld family.