Hostess Gayle Krost

Recently, the Ezra Abraham To Life Foundation held an elegant fashion show and Chinese Auction at the magnificent home of Gayle and Brian Krost. With a beautiful day and an admirable cause to support, a tremendous turnout resulted.

Ezra Abraham A”H started the To Life Foundation by selling green rubber “pray for Ezra” bracelets. One of Eddie’s goals was to raise money to support the causes that helped him. With the firm belief that one person can make a difference, Eddie’s spirit showed that no goal is out of reach. The foundation is currently completing their first To Life Teen and Young Adult Room in Monmouth Medical Center, which will be equipped with computers, arcades, ping-pong tables and all sorts of fun and interesting things for the patients. The room will provide the patients with a place where they can establish social groups with other teens who face the same challenges as they do. A program has also been developed to provide various therapies to patients and their families. The next project will entail decorating the children’s hospital rooms.

Soldiers assembling a mortar at the army base in Nothern Golan, which is right on the Syrian border

Many teenagers in our community are counselors at camp each summer, while others work in the city. This summer, I did something different. I spent 10 days in Israel on an advocacy program called Write On For Israel. (WOFI). WOFI is an intensive two-year program that trains high school students to become advocates for Israel through journalism. The program consists of seven Sunday seminars held at Columbia University that are taught by top educators and journalists along with appearances by PR executives, IDF officers and Israeli officials. Students participating in WOFI gain knowledge of ancient and current Israeli history as well as the confidence and skills needed to make Israel’s case on college campuses and in the world of media and politics. The summit of the program is the 10-day Israel mission that provides a hands-on look at Israel’s political and security issues.

The Israel Cancer Research Fund (ICRF) held an Evening of Cancer Awareness recently at the Deal residence of Lisa and Isaac Oved. Several hundred members of the community came to listen and learn from leading cancer specialists who were honored for their important work in the fight against cancer.

Sadie Jemal-Meyers, a member of the community and recipient of the 2008 ICRF Tower of Hope Humanitarian award, joined the Oveds in welcoming guests. Mrs. Meyers was presented with an award for her outstanding commitment to ICRF’s mission by Dr. Yashar Hirshaut, ICRF Chairman.  Charles Ben Dayan, ICRF Trustee, presented a special award to Lisa and Isaac Oved for their generous support of cancer research in Israel.

And Hashem took the man and put him into the Garden of Eden, to work it and to protect it.

“In order to serve G-d, one needs access to the enjoyment of the beauties of nature, such as the contemplation of flower-decorated meadows, majestic mountains, and flowing rivers. For all these are essential to the spiritual development of even the holiest of people.”
Rabbi Abraham Ben Moses Ben Maimon (1186-1237)

Nature plays a significant role in traditional Jewish liturgy, from the creation story, to our everyday prayers upon rising each day and blessings over food—from blessings upon seeing natural wonders and trees in blossom for the first time in a season, to our cyclical holidays marking harvest festivals, the birthday of trees, the waxing and waning moon, and light in the darkness. Indeed, our most sacred Torah is understood as a “tree of life” that contains within its scrolls important mitzvot that prohibit against purposeless destruction and waste, and when given the choice of life and death, blessing and curse, we are commanded, “Choose life, that both you and your offspring may live.”

It has been more than 60 years since the Holocaust in Europe, more than 60 years since the world declared “Never again,” more than 60 years since the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and declared genocide a crime, and yet the large-scale killing of one group of humans by another continues with no end in sight.

Some believe it is impossible to stop genocide. The Auschwitz Institute for Peace and Reconciliation agrees: Genocide, once begun, is fiendishly difficult to stop. But it can be prevented.

Some people are afraid of flying. Others are afraid of snakes. Now meet Sarah, a third grader in a local school. Sarah has a very uncommon fear. She’s afraid of recess.

On the surface Sarah is a bright and intelligent young lady who gets good grades on her tests and excellent report cards. Inside, she’s miserable. That’s because she has a major problem dealing with social situations. She becomes awkward and shy whenever she has to interact with classmates or potential friends. So during school hours she can bury her head in her books and perform reasonably well. But during recess she is a social mess.

A classroom at Allegra College

Today is the first day of the rest of your life. It’s a saying we have all heard and at different times in our lives relied on for guidance. But it is true—we all experience different phases of our lives, starting as children and on through adulthood.

One of these phases is the amazing time in many women’s lives when they go from the never-ending, full-time job of motherhood to when their youngest is in school full-time and they start to wonder, “What do I want to do now?”

This summer, the second annual Iron Chef cook-off tournament for Nesach Yisrael took place at the home of Audrey and Stevie Shalom. The tournament was accompanied by a fully-stocked barbecue and an exquisite Chinese Auction. All proceeds were given to Nesach Yisrael, a school for underprivileged and disabled children in Eretz Yisrael, founded and run by Rabbi Victor Harari.  With Hashem’s help and the help of our devoted committee, the night started off without a glitch.

This summer, Rabbi Naftali Besser, dean of students at the Yeshivah of Flatbush High School, led the first Flatbush alumni hesed mission to Israel. Everyone who joined the mission agreed it was a unique experience; even those who have been to Israel many times have never experienced the country in this way. We were all touched and moved by this phenomenal vacation.

Rabbi Besser has been running a hesed mission to Israel with YOF students during winter break for the past eight years. The idea of an alumni hesed mission came about casually at Rabbi Besser’s weekly ladies’ parashah class. With his immense passion for hesed, Rabbi Besser was ready to run with the idea. Of course, leaving our family and children at home, as well as missing work for a week was challenging. However, we realized, what better example could we set for our children, family, and friends than to take a special trip to Israel to help others? After many emails and phone calls we were 20 people committed to going: six couples including Rabbi Besser and his lovely wife Safreda, and eight college-age singles.

The first Monday night of August was definitely one for the books. If you were able to hear the blasting Hebrew music and smell the succulent, mouth-watering aroma of Chinese food in Long Branch, it was coming from the 1st Annual Jesse Dweck Learning Center Summer Party, held at Yaakov Shwekey’s house.

It was definitely a night to remember, as we had the pleasure of dancing to music from world-renowned Yaakov Shwekey, as well as hearing Divre Torah and words of mussar from our community rabbis: Rabbi Shlomo Diamond, Rabbi Eli Mansour and Rabbi Meyer Yedid.

Guests

Recently, Congregation Magen David of Union Square (also known as MDUS) held a brunch at the home of David and Julienne Dweck in honor of its generous donors and sponsors. Although MDUS was founded in 2001 to serve an ever-growing contingent of community members residing in downtown Manhattan, many community members in attendance were introduced to MDUS for the first time.