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There is perhaps no other holy site in Israel that is more emblematic of the Jewish people’s bond with their religion than the Kotel. Ancient stones that have endured for millennia are testament to the eternal link between the Jewish people and their Creator. It is no wonder that the Kotel is the repository of tears and prayers from Jews the world over.

This past Friday morning, January 21, the Queens Jewish Community Council (QJCC), Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, Queens College, and The Ibrahim Program hosted a breakfast forum at the Student Union Building Ballroom of Queens College welcoming Ambassador Asaf Zamir, the Consul General of Israel in New York.

The relationships that Rabbi Simcha Krauss zt”l, 85, fostered over his 25 years of influence in the Hillcrest community led to lifelong friendships and an everlasting mark on Modern Orthodoxy. From a career that began with pulpit rabbi positions, Rabbi Krauss rose above to make an everlasting mark on p’sak, Torah strides, and opportunities for women. His lifelong work concluded this past Thursday, January 20, with his p’tirah, following a stay at a Yerushalayim-based hospital.

Who will go up to the mountain of G-d, and who will stand in His holy place? (T’hilim 24:3)

In just four months, Queens’ Cheder Moshe Rayah Mehemina has changed the landscape of Sephardic Torah in the borough. Their open house and community reception on Sunday, January 9, attracted an impressive dais, including the presence of the Mosholu Rebbe, rabbanim, and roshei yeshivos from the Greater New York area, who all were strengthened by the large representation for the growing Sephardic movement of creating elite Torah scholars as an everlasting proof that we have risen above the sharp decrees of Communism and Socialism to allow Torah to spread with a divine fury.

A week of Torah study and friendship was on the agenda when students in Emet’s Men’s Division headed to Arizona for winter break. Led by the dynamic team of Rabbi Reuven Kigel, Rabbi Michael Fuzaylov, Rabbi Yaakov Musheyev, and Rabbi Ari Hertz, the trip was geared towards those who have completed Emet’s Fellowship program and are ready for more advanced learning.