Assemblyman Steven Cymbrowitz, a second generation Holocaust survivor, presented awards to the top prize winners of the Ninth Annual Holocaust Memorial Art, Essay and Poetry contest during the Holocaust Memorial Committee’s annual memorial ceremony in Sheepshead Bay’s Holocaust Memorial Park, recently. The contest attracted over 600 entries from throughout southern Brooklyn and included submissions from elementary, middle and high schools. Public schools and parochial schools, as well as yeshivahs, were represented among the winners as is indicated by the diverse ethnicities of the entrants and winners.

The smell of summer is in the air, and that Barkai spirit is everywhere! It’s going to be a Barkai summer, and what better way to bask in the beautiful, salty, Jersey air than being a part of the Young Guns Tournament. Young Guns, headed by Joey Barnathan, will be the first ever elementary school tournament, featuring a special NBA guest (TBA). The games will commence on the corner of Park and Ocean Avenues on July 12th—but the hype has already started. With a list of hundreds (and counting) of children participanting, there is much to look forward to!

Magen David Yeshivah spent a beautiful spring day enjoying Lag Ba’Omer. With plenty of activities planned for every age level, the day was a huge success!

What could be hotter than watching dozens of competing chefs grilling, cooking and baking in the summer sun? Maybe being the person who has to judge their creations. In any case, August 11th promises to be an exciting night: Barkai Yeshiva’s Top Bun competition!

Top Bun, the annual fundraiser for Barkai Yeshivah, is a very unique event which is unparalleled in our community, where dozens of teams compete for titles of best food dishes. The event will take place at the home of Ricky and Jamie Cohen. Last year’s event was attended by over 1,000 community members who all had a great time while showing their support for Barkai Yeshivah.

Jr. Maccabi delegation

Adelegation of 13 young athletes from the JCC of Greater Monmouth County in Deal participated in the 2009 Jr. Maccabi Games recently in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The swim team brought home 11 medals, including four gold, six silver and one bronze.

“Coming from the Jersey Shore, it is very fitting that our swim team be top-notch. As representatives of our JCC, our athletes demonstrated superb athletic ability and excellent sportsmanship in all their events,” said Shlomo Weiss, JCC’s Health and PE Director. “Our team enjoyed the camaraderie with Jewish athletes from all over the northeast, once again making the annual games a memorable experience for all.”

Kol Israel Congregation recently held a barbeque in celebration of Lag La’omer. Over 50 men gathered for delicious food, followed by a night of learning.

The Kingsway Krushers pose with their trophies after winning the Intermediate Division Championship of the National Council of Young Israel Basketball League. The championship team was joined by League Commissioners Judah Rhine (far left) and Irv Bader (far right)

On a recent Sunday, the National Council of Young Israel Basketball League’s season came to a successful close with an exciting and competitive Championship Tripleheader.  The day featured championship games in the Junior Division (6th 7th and 8th graders), Intermediate Division (9th and 10th graders) and Senior Division (11th and 12th graders). Under the direction of Commissioners Irv Bader and Judah Rhine, the synagogue-based National Council of Young Israel Basketball League is comprised of 23 teams from the tri-state area.  The season runs from January through May.

The opening game of the day was the Junior Division Championship featuring Flatbush Park and the Shaare Zion Wildcats.  The game was extremely competitive during the first half, with Shaare Zion leading at halftime by a score of 30-22. Flatbush Park stayed close for the first part of the third quarter when Shaare Zion pulled away and won by a score of 66-44.  Leading the way for Shaare Zion was Jeffrey Pardo with 24 points and for Flatbush Park, Don Ben-Ami with 23 points.

Couples bowling tournament

The serenity and peaceful nature of the summertime gives us all a chance to take a step back and relax for a few months. With that in mind, Magen David Yeshivah’s PTA has coordinated efficacious and productive summer events that are uplifting and enjoyable at all levels.

As we look forward to the summer, we look back on a successful school year, which benefited our children tremendously. Thanks to dedicated committee members, each event became memorable. So many events catered to the children on all age levels.

We saw the ovens of the crematorium, the guard towers, the barbed wire fences, the foundations of barracks that once held people in the most unimaginable conditions. These sights have not lost their horror with the passage of time. More than half a century later, our grief and our outrage over what happened have not diminished. I will not forget what I’ve seen.

I’ve known about this place since I was a boy, hearing stories about my great uncle, who was a very young man serving in World War II.  He was part of the 89th Infantry Division, the first Americans to reach a concentration camp. They liberated Ohrdruf, one of Buchenwald’s sub-camps.

On Monday of Memorial Day weekend, yet again, DSN gave our families a place to be! At Deal School on Roseld Avenue, Deal Sephardic Network threw a fun event to get the summer started right!

“DSN really nailed it this time!” said Elliot Braha. The all day event began in the morning with a Zumba-thon for the women—one and a half hours of music, 3 instructors, and a basketball court filled with ladies— and that was just in the morning!

Recently, Congregation Shaare Shalom held their 10th anniversary dinner in honor of Rabbi Joseph Dweck, in the elegant hall of the Sephardic Lebanese Congregation. Members of the synagogue and other well-wishers from the community filled the room, excited to be there to show respect for Rabbi Dweck and to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Shaare Shalom.

The congregation was established 10 years ago as a small minyan in a house. As soon as young Rabbi Dweck became hazan, it began to grow. Torah classes immediately followed and the youth minyan was formed.

Lottie Chalom A’H

In hospitals and health care systems in many parts of the world, medical centers are not sufficiently staffed to care for all the patients’ needs. Family and friends come to the hospital to give moral support and to keep patients company.

In Israel, except in extreme cases, the health care system is inherently based on family and friends of the patients assisting with their basic needs, which necessitates the full time presence of a companion to be with the patient 24/7.

Celebrating Jerusalem Day at the Western Wall

At a Jerusalem Day celebration commemorating the events of 42 years ago that reunited Israel’s capital, a vast array of Israeli political and rabbinic leaders vowed to support a united Jerusalem. The highlight was when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu forcefully declared that Jerusalem will not be divided. The event took place at Yeshiva Merkaz Harav Kook, where eight young students were brutally murdered on March 6, 2008 by an Arab gunman.

My son Abe is an adorable, smart and active child who attended one of the local yeshivahs. Things weren’t going well though. I was getting reports from the school that Abe couldn’t sit through circle-time or complete his assignments. No one knew what to do with him. He was not benefitting from his setting. With guidance from the school, I knew what I had to do. SEAD was the answer.