As the sea of bikers eagerly waited to set off for their rides, their exuberant energy was breathtakingly uplifting. Their vivacious blue and yellow matching bike shirts provided a most perfect preview to the colorful day ahead.

Recently, Sammy and Poopa Dweck celebrated the annual Jesse Dweck bike-a-thon in memory of their son, Jesse A”H, along with family and friends. The Bike-a-thon raised funds for The Jesse Dweck City Learning Center, an organization that provides Torah classes for community members working or living in New York City and Deal, New Jersey. The Center serves an important and unique purpose by directly enhancing our community’s growth in Torah and providing students with a sense of belonging and community. Event volunteer, Rachel Sabbagh said, “I admire the family for all their hard work and broadening our community’s spiritual scope.”

Elliot’s Legacy recently held their Fourth Annual Kites for a Cure fundraiser. Hundreds of decorated kites floated above Ocean Avenue, and the happy carnival and smiling faces below, at the home of Ricky and Jamie Cohen. The jubilant scene was enough to make anyone smile and the kites simply took your breath away.

Elliot Chalme A”H, was blessed with a beautiful family, one that continues to go above and beyond to honor his memory in an awe-inspiring display of love and generosity. His wife Robin, and their three sons, Ray, Hy, and Richie worked diligently with extended family and friends to make the day a success.

The award-winning Blue Moon Hotel was the site of the Aleh Foundation’s 2011 Cocktail Reception. Randy Settenbrino, and artist, architect and real estate developer whose vision turned the landmark 19th century lower east-side tenement into one of the nation’s top-rated boutique hotels, graciously made the Blue Moon available for the evening’s festivities. Proceeds from the event will go toward equipping a music therapy room and purchasing specialized equipment.

John Napoli compares the voids in a child’s knowledge of mathematics with the holes in a piece of Swiss cheese. Napoli, director of the new Mathnasium Learning Center in Ocean, NJ, says the holes represent the missing elements in a student’s math understanding. It could be challenges with multiplication facts, fractions, algebra, or even geometry.

On August 16th and 17th, community members are invited to enjoy a dynamic showcase of talented performers at the historic Count Basie Theatre, Red Bank’s most enduring arts building. This grand theater possesses a warm feeling of elegance from a bygone era.

One of the most challenging issues facing our community is the high cost of living an Orthodox lifestyle. Especially in these difficult economic times, when so many are either unemployed or underemployed, the financial demands often seem overwhelming.

The number-one expense for most frum families is, of course, yeshivah tuition. It is not unusual for families with an annual income of as much as $200,000 (only 3.5% of Americans earn more) with four or more children in yeshivah day schools to have difficulty paying tuition bills that exceed their mortgage obligations. This situation creates enormous pressure on our struggling day schools and yeshivahs as they strive to deliver quality Torah and secular educations to our children. It also causes tremendous stress on families, reducing simchas hachayim (joy of life) and even leading to shalom bayis (happy home) problems. Most troubling is the alarming number of students who are transferring from day schools to charter or public schools. This problem has been decades in the making, and we now are facing a broken and unsustainable system. Our success in dealing with this issue will determine what Orthodox Judaism in America will look like 25 years from now.

Over 500 of New York’s most influential policy makers, Jewish community advocates and leaders joined Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty (Met Council) recently for their 35th Annual Legislative Breakfast at the Roosevelt Hotel.

There were many celebrations throughout the United States and Israel to honor Israeli Independence Day this year. Philadelphia, the birthplace of our nation, had a special event which drew 6,000 spectators to their waterfront.

Family, friends and community members recently gathered at Congregation Beth Torah to celebrate the sixth commencement exercises of the Allegra Franco Sephardic Women’s Teachers College. The graduates, Barbara Laniado Blanco, Violet Galapo, Grace J. Timsit and Adelaide Sabbagh Yadid, represent a cross-section of community women. They have spent the past several years mastering not only the vast content of the Judaic studies curricula of our yeshivahs, but the latest pedagogical techniques as well. Each graduate interned in one of the community schools under the guidance of a mentor teacher, recognized by that school as a master educator. In addition, they participated in several skill-building workshops on topics of current educational interest. They will now join previous graduates of Allegra, who are employed as Judaic studies teachers, Qriya (Hebrew reading) and Ivrit specialists, coordinators of student activities, mentor teachers, guidance personnel, and Judaic studies principals in community schools.

Hundreds of people recently participated in the Eighth Annual Lena Cymbrowitz Community Health Fair, sponsored by Assemblyman Steven Cymbrowitz, Maimonides Medical Center, Beth Israel Medical Center’s Kings Highway Division and Kiwanis International.