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Barukh Dayan HaEmeth, what a loss for Kelal Yisrael! The Hakham, Rabbi Ya’aqob Menashe (Ya’aqob Eliyahu ‘Abdallah Faraj Hayyim ben Rahel) a”h, founder and spiritual leader of Midrash Ben Ish Hai (named for Hakham Yosef Hayyim a”h of Baghdad), was laid to rest in Eretz Yisrael on Har Hazetim on the morning of the seventh of Ab (Tuesday, July 28, 2020). Rabbi Menashe’s passing is a tragic loss not only for the Great Neck community, but for Jewish communities as far as India where the Hakham kept the Jewish community functioning, as well as Australia, England, and across the globe, where his teachings are shared with adults and a new generation of children alike. On Monday afternoon, people from all walks of life joined in cars and in person, with social distancing, in the oversized parking lot at the Great Neck Synagogue, to remember the life and legacy of Rabbi Menashe a”h with hespedim.

Just over a year has elapsed since the untimely passing of Dr. Tali Skoczylas a”h, on 7 Sivan 5779. The Queens Jewish Link spoke with Rabbi Yaakov Aaron Skoczylas, who now resides in the Sanhedria Murchevet neighborhood in Yerushalayim, to learn more about what made his father so special, and the unique father-son bond the two shared.

Back in March, as the reality of the lockdown set in, a caller to the Shalom Task Force (STF) hotline shared her fears about being trapped with her husband. After safety planning with her, we encouraged her to call back. She explained that she didn’t know if she could, in the presence of her abusive partner. Throughout the past several months, the increase of family abuse has surfaced as the pandemic within the pandemic. Leaving some more vulnerable than ever, and those who were unsafe calling a hotline were finding alternate ways to reach out for help. “I was presenting on a webinar with a panel of other professionals, when one participant used the private chat feature to reach out to me for help,” recounts Dr. Shoshannah Frydman, Executive Director of Shalom Task Force. “This highlighted the need to offer expanded means to reach out.”

This week’s parshah begins with the verse, “Behold, I set before you today blessings and curses” (D’varim 11:26). Moshe Rabbeinu was conveying a simple yet profound message to our ancestors. Life is filled with choices and there are blessings and curses. If you follow in the way of Hashem, blessing awaits. If you ignore your spiritual responsibilities and engage in negative behaviors, there will be consequences. Each and every day, these two paths are in front of us and we must choose which one to travel.

NewYork-Presbyterian Queens has received the Mission: Lifeline^® Gold Receiving Quality Achievement Award for implementing specific quality improvement measures outlined by the American Heart Association for the treatment of patients who suffer severe heart attacks.

Please recite Psalms 20, 30, 88, 121, and 130.

Chaim Avraham ben Shifrah Zisel

Yehudah Yudel ben Miriam Gittel