News

Among the shuls where readers can find the international HaMizrachi magazine of the Religious Zionism movement is the Young Israel of West Hempstead, whose members are closely following Israel’s war against Hamas. Last Sunday, one of the voices in this movement, Rabbi Moshe Taragin, spoke at the shul to introduce the documentary Serving on All Fronts, on the participation of Yeshivat Har Etzion and Migdal Oz students in this war.

On the upstate map, there are places such as Gilboa and Bethel, named by Christians for whom the Catskills scenery was reminiscent of the Holy Land. In a valley next to State Route 28 is the village of Fleischmanns, named for a Jewish industrialist who pioneered Jewish settlement in these mountains. Knowing little about its history, I only knew it as a spot on the map and, on my recent family vacation, curiously departed from the main road to drive through it.

The story of Estee Ackerman’s rise to table tennis stardom began in West Hempstead when she was seven and her father Glenn sought to provide his children an alternative to electronics by installing a table in his basement. Since then, she’s beaten Rafael Nadal at the game at age 11, and appeared in Jewish and secular media for her refusal to play on Shabbos.

At the moment when I was writing this column, social media and traditional news outlets are focusing on Vice President Kamala Harris’ choice for running mate as she runs to succeed incumbent President Joe Biden. Had this sentence been written a year ago, let alone a week ago, it would seem preposterous to read.

Security and healing were highlighted at One Israel Fund’s annual fundraiser barbecue in West Hempstead last Thursday, noting that the expansion of the war to Judea and Samaria is prevented by the blessing of our Creator and support from participants at this event.

Among the rites of passage in the summer for overnight campers is Visiting Day, when parents spend many hours on the road to reach campsites in the backwoods of the Catskills or Poconos. With my daughter having her first summer away from family in the distant town of Gilboa, I did not want to devote the day merely driving to see her and then returning home. Leaving very early, I had time for my own sightseeing last weekend. As we’ve done with our Chol HaMoed guides, perhaps this quick list of Catskills destinations can offer parents and grandparents their own experience with nature, if only for a day.