Did Lakewood Railroad R" Itche Meir Greenwald the Caterer?

 

Greenwald Caterers located in Lakewood, New Jersey started his catering operation in the kitchen of the Lakewood Cheder. The Cheder administration insisted that he be kosher certified by BMG’s KCL Hashgocha. Mr. Isaac Greenwald spoke to the Lakewood Roshei Yeshiva that when he opens his own commissary for the tri-State catering operation, he does not want to use the KCL, they agreed that he could take whomever he wants.

Greenwald Caterers opened his large catering commissary in Lakewood, and he took Rabbi Gornish from Brooklyn, New York, as he was an established Hashgocha for some large caterers in the Metro New York area.

BMG’s KCL started  a vicious campaign against Greenwald caterers to take the KCL. The Lakewood Roshei Yeshiva told Isaac Greenwald, “we know we told you that you don’t have to take the KCL for your hashgocha for your commissary, we changed our mind and you have to take the KCL, otherwise we will publicize that we will not eat from your catering establishment“.

Greenwald Caterers was forced to succumb to the threats and took the KCL and dropped Rabbi Gornish’s Hashgocha.

What is puzzling: at every affair, wedding, convention, etc. the Roshei Yeshiva attend and eat without even knowing if the caterer or Hashgocha are reliable; Yet by Greenwald, they will publicize that they don’t trust him because he does not use the KCL. A wake-up call?

Recently, at a Shabbos simcha catered by Greenwald, BMG’s KCL did not even send a mashgiach (Note: their mashgichim, often are not qualified). The host complained to one of the KCL Rabbonim, how come KCL did not have a mashgiach at my Shabbos affair? The KCL Rabbi got very upset on the host “one more complaint about the KCL the greatest Hashgocha, and we will remove our Hashgocha from Greenwald caterers”.

By the way, BMG’s KCL will never remove their hashgocha from anyplace, as long as they pay their fees and the additional “baksheesh”. BMG’s KCL has been milking heavy fees from Greenwald caterers among other certified establishments for the longest period of time. Isaac Greenwald is deathly afraid to get rid of BMG’s KCL, as the Lakewood Roshei Yeshiva will force him to close up. 

Related: Is KCL Really Kosher??

Posted by Yudel Shain- kashrusy@aol.com – I had shimush in Kashrus and Halacha by Reb Moshe Feinstein, Reb Yaakov Kamenetsky, Rav Neuschloss, The Debreciner Rav, Rav Pam, Rav Eliyashev, Reb Shlomo Zalman, Rav Shmuel Wosner, Z”L. I was appointed by Reb Shnuer Kotler as the kitchen Mashgiach in Bais Medrash Govoha (BMG). 

Over 160 future lone soldiers arrive in Israel with Nefesh B'Nefesh

 

A dozen future lone soldiers were among the olim who landed in Israel this week as  part of a Nefesh B'Nefesh flight, in cooperation with the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration, The Jewish Agency for Israel, Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael, JNF-USA and Tzofim-Garin Tzabar.

Some 160 lone soldiers from North America are making aliyah this summer, with approximately 300 expected to arrive by the end of 2021, the organization said.

"It is remarkable to see, that despite the obstacles and challenges over the last year and a half, these young men and women bravely pick up their lives and leave their families in order to contribute to the Jewish State," said Rabbi Yehoshua Fass, executive director of Nefesh B'Nefesh. "These future Lone Soldiers instill in all of us a huge sense of pride and embody the essence of Zionism by choosing to protect and serve the State of Israel."

Biden blowing America's reputation as world watches the Taliban's sick slaughter rampage

 

Afghan citizens face executions, forced marriages and other possible war crimes as the Taliban sweeps across the country, wrestling control from ineffective government forces as the U.S. troop withdrawal nears, according to U.S. officials and watchdog groups.

The militants have seized territory at an alarming rate while Afghan government troops and their allied militias fail to put up an effective resistance – surrendering at times without even putting up a fight.

The U.S. embassy in Kabul said Wednesday that it was receiving reports that Taliban members were executing surrendering Afghan troops and unlawfully detaining some members of the government, including military leaders, provincial officials and police officers.

The executions "could constitute war crimes," the embassy tweeted.

A Taliban spokesman denied that the group was executing prisoners to the Wall Street Journal earlier this week, even as witness accounts contradicted that claim. The Taliban has also denied allegations that its militants have demanded conquered territories provide them with females aged 15 and older as brides.

"The Taliban’s statements in Doha do not resemble their actions in Badakhshan, Ghazni, Helmand & Kandahar," Ross Wilson, the U.S. chargé d’affaires in Kabul, wrote on Twitter, referencing stalled peace talks going on in the capital of Qatar. "Attempts to monopolize power through violence, fear, & war will only lead to international isolation."

Biden Begging Taliban Terrorists To Spare U.S. Embassy In Kabul

 

Democrat President Joe Biden’s administration is reportedly pleading with Taliban terrorists to spare the U.S. Embassy in Kabul as the the extremist group has rapidly regained control of the majority of Afghanistan.

“American negotiators are trying to extract assurances from the Taliban that they will not attack the U.S. Embassy in Kabul if the extremist group takes over the country’s government and ever wants to receive foreign aid,” The New York Times reported. “The effort, led by Zalmay Khalilzad, the chief American envoy in talks with the Taliban, seeks to stave off a full evacuation of the embassy as they rapidly seize cities across Afghanistan.”

The news comes as the Taliban seized Kandahar and Herat on Thursday, two of the largest cities in Afghanistan. The Taliban now controls 12 of Afghanistan’s 34 provincial capitals, an estimated two-thirds of the country, and has cut off a critical highway linking Kabul to the nation’s southern provinces. U.S. officials suggest that Kabul could fall to the terrorists in a matter of weeks.

Convicted conman sues his NYC victims — and wins $12M

 

A convicted thief has successfully sued a family for more than $12 million — after robbing them of $1 million, his victims claim.

The Queens conman — who raked in more than $1 million by swiping the IDs of six unsuspecting family members more than a decade ago — could now walk away with an even bigger pile of cash after convincing a Manhattan jury that his victims were to blame for his criminal conviction, according to court records.

The victims claim they had no idea the lawsuit filed against them by ex-con Jacob Milton had gone to trial, until getting an Aug. 5 letter telling them they owed him a whopping $12.5 million.

“How can victims of his fraud ‘repay’ him this amount when their financial lives are still hurt by this?” said Kate Alvarez, a family member of one of the victims.

Milton, 55, was a Queens mortgage broker who pleaded guilty to grand larceny and served three years behind bars.

He was accused of taking out hefty mortgages and running up huge credit card bills on behalf of more than half a dozen unsuspecting victims in the 2007 scheme, six of whom are related. In 2010, Milton was sentenced to two to six years in prison, according to the Queens District Attorney’s Office.

About a year after Milton got his freedom back, he lodged a $50 million lawsuit against the people he stole from — claiming they’d wrongly accused him, court documents show.

The family — Mayra Macias, Juan C. Alvarez, Juan B. Alvarez, Lorena Alvarez, Martha Viteri and Hector Sandoval — initially hired lawyer Noah Goldstein to fight the case.

But when Goldstein later dropped out of the case, they failed to hire a new lawyer or respond to orders from the judge directing them to appear at court.

“The family said they had no idea a trial was scheduled and held, and a judgment awarded until last week,” said Goldstein, who has reconnected with the family. “The jury, seeing an empty defendant’s chair, probably [thought] they [were] supposed to believe Milton and give him what he wants.”

Milton’s lawyer, John DeMaio, told the court in 2017 he’d mailed the victims various documents alerting them to the proceedings as the case dragged on, legal papers show.

“I have no reason to believe Defendants will ever appear,” he wrote in one 2018 filing.

The case landed in front of a jury in Justice Doris Ling-Cohan’s courtroom in March 2019.

Alvarez insisted that “no letter was ever received stating any court date or document saying they had to show up or else. Instead they receive this first letter stating he won his case and [they] have to pay 12 million.”

The victims can go back to court and try to wipe out the judgment, or appeal, said Lucian Chalfen, spokesman for the state Office of Court Administration.

Milton, a Bangladeshi immigrant with a bombastic personality who once had a public access television show in Queens called “We Are The People With Jacob Milton,” has maintained his innocence despite his guilty plea.

Reached for comment, Milton claimed to The Post that the prosecutors who handled his case misrepresented evidence, and repeated his allegations that his victims in the criminal case had falsely accused him.

Goldstein told The Post he is expected to meet with them Monday. The victims declined comment to The Post.

In Ponovitz the New Zman Opened Up "In Full Swing" Learning Mesectas "Makkos"

 

Why people keep sending their children to this swamp, I'll never ever know. 

There are two camps in this Bais Hamedrish that sports a beautiful golden Aron Kodesh. 

One group follow Rav Kahanaman, and the other group consist of the "Auerbach Terrorists" headed by a guy named Harav Hatzaddik Hagoen Markowitz Shlita who issued a fatwa against his opponents giving them a signal to let loose and they beat the crap out of Rav Kahanaman's son.

It used to be when someone heard the word "Ellul" in Yeshivois the talmidim would shiver from fright worrying about the upcoming "Yom Ha'din" 

But now when the talmidim in Ponovitz hear the word "Ellul" they shiver from fright wondering when someone will beat the living daylights out of them.

On the other hand, there is a silver lining; because since they are busy bashing each other,  they are off the streets and not protesting and blocking traffic.

Viznitz Chassidim Falsify "Green Covid Passport" Get Caught and Yell "Zionist Rashuim"

 Those of who learned in  Chareidie Mosdois are not surprised by this huge Chillul Hashem, as we remember how the Yeshivos would regularly rip off the government with their false  "Lunch Programs"  the "Summer Youth Programs" and then recently when the government gave away free computers to every single child, and the "Moisdois" took millions of dollars and never bought the computers. We remember The College Programs where the "moisdois" registered  as "colleges" and then took in millions in grant money and didn't teach the required courses. etc etc.

But this latest massive fraud took things to a new level. 

The Monsey Visnitzer Rebbe's son took 21 of his Tzaddikim to the Zionist State of Israel for a visit, and instead of going thru the normal channels of getting vaccinated they forged "Vaccination Green Passports" and got caught at Ben Gurion airport. 

What is interesting is, that Israel has no requirement of being vaccinated in order to enter, if you are not vaccinated you must take a rapid covid test prior to the flight and if you test negative then you can enter Israel. There are of course other restrictions, which have nothing to do with Covid itself.

So they could have all entered Israel with this covid test but instead, feeling entitlement, and believing that Zionists are a bunch of fools they decided to try to beat the system. We who went thru the Chareidie School system are very familiar with these antics.

When they got caught, they started screaming "SHMAD" "SHMAD" which just shows that these Visnitzers are a bunch of hypocrites. We all know that Visnitz takes money from the medina, but now they are screaming that they were set up by the Zionists.

Now the leader of this gang of 22 "tzadikim" is the Vizniter Rebbe's son who will after 120 years of his father's reign, take over as rebbe.

This will be the role model of the future Visnitzer Chassidus,

You Can Now Access all the Smithsonian research centers for free

 

Smithsonian Open Access, where you can download, share, and reuse millions of the Smithsonian’s images—right now, without asking. 

With new platforms and tools, you have easier access to more than 3 million 2D and 3D digital items from our collections—with many more to come. 

This includes images and data from across the Smithsonian’s 19 museums, nine research centers, libraries, archives, and the National Zoo.

What's in a Covid Vaccine?

Well.... it's actually in an apple ....so will you stop eating apples?

Politician Fatally Shoots Man In Russia, Says He Mistook Him For Bear

 

Russian politician and millionaire Igor Redkin shot and killed a man that he mistook for a bear on Aug. 2 and eventually confessed to the crime four days later, according to CNN.

Redkin was sentenced to two months of house arrest for accidentally shooting a man, who later died in a hospital, near Ozernovsky village outside of a dump, CNN reported Thursday. The politician allegedly confessed to the crime after it had been reported on Aug. 6 by the regional CEO of the Investigative Committee, the federal investigating body of Russia, according to the outlet.

“In the evening, I learned that a bear was wandering around a landfill in the village of Ozernovsky and was threatening local residents,” he said, according to the Moscow Times. “I took a gun and decided to scare it away. I shot at the bear at dusk. I later learned that a local resident was wounded in the area around the same time and died in the hospital.”

Redkin has been expelled from the United Russia party, which is led by Russian President Vladimir Putin, CNN reported.

Scotland will let pupils change gender aged FOUR without their parents' consent

 

Children as young as four will be able to change their gender at school without their parents’ consent under guidance introduced in Scotland.

Any pupil who decides they want to switch gender must be supported and listened to in school following the Scottish Government advice.

The guidance applies in primary schools, where the youngest children are only four or five, because ‘recognition and development of gender identity can occur at a young age’.

It also tells teachers not to question a child who says they want to transition to live as a boy or a girl - and instead ask for their new name and pronouns. 

Primary and secondary schools have also been told to put books featuring transgender people on the curriculum, allow pupils to choose which changing room or toilets to use, and consider introducing a gender neutral uniform.

But the guidance was branded ‘shocking’ and led to concerns that children are being allowed to make life-changing decisions at too young an age.

The advice says: ‘Some young people are exploring their gender identity in primary school settings. Primary schools need to be able to meet the needs of these young people to ensure they have a safe, inclusive and respectful environment in which to learn.’

How "Frum Moroccans" date

 

Zera Shimshom Parshas Shoiftim

 

New book dredges up Warsaw Ghetto ‘police’ who sent fellow Jews to their deaths

 

Already suffering from disease and hunger, Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto started to be rounded up for deportation to the Treblinka extermination camp in 1942. The German authorities directed the operations, but they also relied upon Jewish policemen in the ghetto — a group formally called the Jewish Order Service — to round up the Jews.

A painful chapter of Holocaust history, the narrative of the Jewish police in the occupied Polish capital is the subject of a new book, “Warsaw Ghetto Police: The Jewish Order Service During the Nazi Occupation,” by historian Katarzyna Person.

“It’s a topic of great emotion, even more so after the war,” said Person, who currently works at the Warsaw-based Jewish Historical Institute. She told The Times of Israel in a Zoom interview, “It’s a topic that linked, after the war, collaborators with their actions against their community during the war.”

“I felt it’s something we should talk about,” she said. “Nobody has really carried out a proper look into it.”

First published in Polish, the book has been translated into English by Zygmunt Nowak-Solinski and released by Cornell University Press in partnership with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

New York City 1900-1919 In Color

 

Color Footage of Berlin July 1945 Days After Germany Surrendered

 

IDF Girl Sodiers Donate Their Hair to children With Cancer

 

Crazy World as a White CEO Calls a Black Conservative Author a "racist"

 

I am calling for a public apology from @ABAbook and Allison Hill. It is an act of unspeakable, explicit racism for a white woman to send around an e-mail slandering and denigrating an autobiographical book from a black woman who came from nothing.
We cannot accept this racism. https://t.co/0aCk47Xbvd

— Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) August 11, 2021

"Romance is Sheker" Rav Avigdar Miller

 

Watch as "Heimishe Yiddin" Blow up a Tractor that was working on the New "Light Rail"

 

These gangsters are sophisticated arsonists who are not experts in Torah but are outstanding in causing damage worth millions of shekels..

זו תורה וזו שכרה

I'm sure that they are shukling a way a storm saying לדוד ה' אורי... 

These are not guys that work for a living so the money they used to buy sophisticated material came from "schnorring" for their holy "moisdois"

This is the 5th Tractor they blew up....

however that will not stop the Zionists from continuing to beautify and expand Yerushlayim

כאשר יענו אתו, כן ירבה וכן יפרץ

Elderly Jewish plumber knocked to the ground in Borough Park

 

An elderly resident was viciously assaulted at approx 12pm, on 39th Street and 12th Avenue. Our volunteers were on scene and a report was filed with @NYPD66Pct. If you see him, please call 911 and the #Shomrim hotline 718-871-6666. #YourCityYourCall pic.twitter.com/JC8GVsHFl6

— 𝐁𝐨𝐫𝐨 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐫𝐢𝐦 (@BPShomrim) August 11, 2021

An elderly Jewish plumber was slapped in the face and knocked to the ground by a resident of a home in Brooklyn, New York who accused the man of parking his van so that it was slightly sticking out in front of his driveway.

The strong blow also caused the Hasidic man’s kippah to fall off his head.

The Orthodox Jewish Public Affairs Council said that the assailant became so enraged after noticing that the back of the plumber’s van was slightly obstructing the end of his driveway that he assaulted him, the Daily Mail reported.

The incident, caught on video, took place on 12th Avenue and 39th Street in the Borough Park section of Brooklyn, with the victim telling BoroPark24 that a shirtless man came out of his apartment and screamed at the plumber to immediately move his van.

When the plumber offered to move his vehicle when the man needed to use his driveway, the shirtless man became agitated and that was when he slapped the plumber hard enough to knock him to the ground. He then threw a hose at the driver’s truck.

The victim blacked out briefly after being hit. He ended up with a bruise under one eye and a cut mouth. He was examined by emergency medical services and has since been released.

In the video of the incident, the plumber appears to be loading equipment into his van when the attack takes place.

Before the shirtless man came outside to scream at the Jewish man, a woman had asked him to move his van, according to the Daily Mail.

Shortly afterwards, the shirtless man screamed at the elderly plumber, yelling at him to “get off my property” and pointing angrily at him.

“You disrespected my woman!” the shirtless man yells in the video.

“I told her I'm gonna move,” the Jewish man replies.

'You told her no!' the man yells.

The NYPD knows the assailant’s address, according to BoroPark24.

An investigation was opened by the NYPD who, along with Boro Park Shomrim, are currently searching for the perpetrator. 

Christians Answer Ariel Gold the "Self Hating Jew" that Tweeted "Zionism is one of the greatest tragedies of our long history"

Sounds crazy ..yes? 

She is actually saying nothing different than Satmar & Neturei Karta ideology, and now the "non-working" Litvishe like the "meraglim" have jumped on the bash Israel campaign.

 Should we surprised when an ignorant fool like Ariel Gold parrots similar lines?

So now we are offended because she isn't a chusid, but if she covered her hair with a non- lace sheitel and wore bullet proof stockings and spoke a "heimishe" Yiddish than she would be praised by the holy Chassidim and Lakewood.

We now need a Christian group to defend Israel...what a shame!

 

Watch "Fake News" Media Fawning Over Cuomo

 

Never forget how cable news spent an entire year fawning over Gov. Cuomo
pic.twitter.com/n2XJZYhITk

— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) August 10, 2021

Dad murders his toddler and Infant over fears they had ‘Serpent DNA’

 

A California man influenced by “QAnon and Illuminati conspiracy theories” confessed to killing his two young children with a spearfishing gun in Mexico because they inherited “serpent DNA” from his wife and “were going to grow into monsters.”

Matthew Taylor Coleman, 40, made the statements to federal investigators after being arrested at the border in the wake of Monday’s double filicide, court documents show.

Coleman was reported missing by his wife on Aug. 7 after he left his Santa Barbara home with his 10-month-old daughter and 2-year-old son without a car seat for the infant and took them to Rosarito, according to the documents.

He allegedly shot them dead through their chests with the spear gun and was arrested by Customs and Border Patrol as he tried to reenter the US alone two days later, an FBI affidavit said.

The border cops “observed what appeared to be blood” on paperwork in his vehicle, and Mexican police found the bodies of young victims matching the description of Coleman’s kids in a ditch, according to the document.

The suspect waived his Miranda rights and told the feds “he believed his children were going to grow into monsters so he had to kill them,” according to the affidavit.

He was charged with the foreign murder of US nationals and was slated to appear in an LA court on Wednesday.

After Six Hours, Missing Yosef Shapiro Found In Marsh Near Atlantic Ocean

 

After a frightening six hours, missing Yosef Shapiro was found by search volunteers – just 25 feet away from the Atlantic Ocean, in a marsh, unable to walk.

Sources say that a Hatzolah member searching near the beach heard a child saying “Tatty”. In the pitch dark, additional resources were sent to that location. Sure enough, Yosef was found. He was taken to Maimonides Hospital for observation, and is in good health. He was being discharged at around 11:30PM.

Hundreds of volunteers broke out in dancing as they sang “Chasdei Hashem” when he was brought out to his mother and a waiting Hatzolah ambulance.

The incredible out pouring of Achdus was felt by everyone involved as hundreds upon hundreds of volunteers joined forces to find him.

Many Jewish organizations and community Askonim worked together in what was a very stressful few hours. The call for help was first made to Flatbush Shomrim, who immediately responded with a group of volunteers, and immediately notified the NYPD. Shomrim responded in force from Boro Park, Williamsburg, Crown Heights, Far Rockaway, and Staten Island. Dozens of volunteers from Flatbush, Canarsie and Boro Park Hatzolah responded as well as many volunteers from Chaveirim, Misaskim and Achiezer.

The community owes a debt of gratitude to NYC Mayor Bill DeBlasio who was on the phone countless times with Pinny Ringel, personally asking for updates, and making sure that as many resources as possible responded.

No words can thank NYPD Chief Ruel Stephenson XO, PBBS, whose sincere devotion during the entire incident was obvious to all who were there. His sensitivity was remarkable, and he should be commended for that.

The 'Seminary Girl' Whose Parents Are Antisemitic

 

“You’re making a huge mistake.”

These were the words Sarah heard over and over from her friends and family in Holland. They couldn’t understand why a girl from a good Christian family would choose to be an Orthodox Jew. And Sarah had stopped trying to explain. Her heart was set. And so she began the journey that would eventually lead to being disowned by her loved ones, all in the name of the pursuit of Truth.

When Sarah Zanderheiden came to Israel for a visit, she was blown away by how different it was from her native Holland. Her home country is one of the capitals of European Western values in the world. As a child she had always felt something was missing. As Sarah timidly stepped forward to the kotel for the first time, and saw the Jewish women around her deep in prayer, she felt an inexplicable urge to cry. This was the truth she had been looking for.

For two years, Sarah studied Torah and she recently became officially Jewish. Next he is set to tackle her greatest dream yet: Building her own Jewish family and home. Sarah is engaged to a young man who has also had his share of challenges: He is an orphan who spent his childhood being passed from foster family to foster family.

The couple have no family, no money, no security - and they could not be happier.

https://thechesedfund.com/vaad-ha-rabbanim/sarahskallahfund?aff=27

I want to thank DIN readers who up to this point contributed over $10,000.00 to this campaign... 

Two sisters and a friend save a life at a Beit Shemesh pool

 

On Tuesday afternoon, just after 3:00 p.m. a man in his fifties was swimming in the community pool in Beit Shemesh. The man began to feel faint and grabbed one of the ropes on the side of the swimming lane showing signs of distress. Another swimmer coming from the opposite direction in the lane saw the man in distress, got out of the pool, and pulled the man up out of the water and onto solid ground. The helpful swimmer called the lifeguard over and a defibrillator was attached as eye-witnesses called emergency services for help.

United Hatzalah volunteers who live and work in the vicinity received the emergency alert. Among them were two sisters Yocheved Bienenstock and Susan Ducker, who both made aliyah to Israel from Toronto, Canada, and a close friend of theirs Sara Zimbalist, who also immigrated to Israel from Teaneck, New Jersey.

The three women arrived in quick succession just moments after the emergency call was made. The trio rushed over to the collapsed man and checked his vital signs. Finding no pulse the team initiated CPR. Yocheved began compressions as Susan and Sara worked on inserting an airway, attaching oxygen, and administering assisted ventilation. They spent five minutes alternating between compressions and assisted breathing before an ambulance showed up. During that time other EMTs from United Hatzalah arrived and joined in the effort.

When the mobile intensive care unit arrived, the paramedics hooked the man up to a heart monitor and found that his pulse had returned, the CPR had been a success. The combined team prepared the man for transport, loaded him into the ambulance which rushed the man to the hospital.

“I don’t know what happened to the man afterward,” said Yocheved, formerly a Wohlgelernter, “but I know that we did everything we could to save his life including bringing his pulse back.”

Susan added, “It wasn’t quite clear what caused the man to suddenly feel ill. From what we were told by the man who pulled him from the water he had grabbed the rope, began to struggle to catch his breath, and then looked like he was going to drown. Based on the lack of a pulse it seems that this may have been a cardiac arrest. One thing we know for certain, we gave him a fighting chance at life and I’m thankful that I was able to be there and to help. Doing so with my sister made the feeling even greater. I feel that Yocheved always has my back so I am more confident responding to emergencies knowing she is with me.”

Sara spoke about how special it is to have the opportunity to save lives in Israel: “My family and I just celebrated our 16th Aliyah Anniversary last week. To be part of United Hatzalah and taking part in a successful CPR in Israel is not anything I would have imagined being part of when I made Aliyah. But being here and being able to help others is truly very special to me.”

Susan concluded by adding a similar sentiment and said, “When I was living in Toronto, I never thought I’d be responding to medical emergencies. Living in Israel builds a strong sense of social responsibility and a desire to contribute to the larger community as a whole. Canada is a beautiful place but Israel has my heart.”

What Jews in NY need to know about Kathy Hochul the New Governor

 

Kathy Hochul, who will succeed Andrew Cuomo as governor of New York, is no stranger to the New York Jewish community.

Cuomo resigned Tuesday, a week after a state investigation concluded that he sexually harassed 11 women. He had faced intense pressure to step aside, including from President Joe Biden, or face impeachment.

Cuomo enjoyed a warm working relationship Jews across the denominational spectrum. As Cuomo’s surrogate, Hochul has made it a point to keep up with the issues and concerns of Jews, local leaders say, visiting Jewish day schools, meeting regularly with Jewish community officials and touring Orthodox neighborhoods with local community leaders.

Was the world's first printed Hebrew Book published by a woman?

 

As the High Holidays approach, the National Library of Israel is displaying a 550-year-old printed Selichot prayer book that is believed to have been printed by a woman in Italy.

The first printed Hebrew books, produced at the end of the 15^th century, were mostly study tests, but one daring printer decided to move forward and print prayer books, as well. His name was Rabbi Meshulam Kuzi, and he founded a small printing business in the Italian town Piove di Sacco.

Kuzi printed his texts in stunning "Ashkenazi letters" and intended to publish many books, but his business published only two – a book on Jewish law and commandments, and the Selichot prayers, in an Ashkenazi version.

According to the National Library of Israel, "This Selichot prayer book is effectively the first Hebrew prayer book ever printed, around 1475."

Another interesting aspect of the book is the role women played in its production. Curator of the National Library's Judaica collection. Dr. Yoel Finkelman, explains that Rabbi Meshulam's wife is believed to have been active in publishing the work.

"We know that Rabbi Meshulam passed away before it was published, and his widow, Devorah, completed the work," Finkelman notes.

"Because the precise date of the publication of the Selichot prayer is unclear, it's very possible that Devorah might have finished the work on it … It's clear that Devorah was familiar with the printing process, and it's likely that she helped her husband while he was alive," Finkelman says.

The pages of this copy of the book include evidence it was used by at least two other Ashkenazi women, who made notes about their husbands. On the first page appears a sentence signed "Mrs. Esther, daughter of Rabbi Asher," which was apparently written not long after the book was published.

"The owner of a book must write his name on it, so no one can come and make claim to it, saying 'It is mine," Mrs. Esther wrote.

Another woman wrote her name on one of the last pages, a few hundred years later.

"We know nothing about these two women, but it appears that saying Selichot before Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur was of particular importance to them. As we can see, the Christian censor worked to erase sentences that debated with Christianity or mocked it, but in the margins we can see the work of cantors and worshippers who added the missing words," Finkelman says.

Ukraine to allow Jewish worshippers to Uman on Rosh Hashanah

 

Ukraine's deputy health minister, Dr. Ihor Kuzin, said on Monday that his country would work to ease restrictions on the annual Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year) pilgrimage to the grave of Rabbi Nachman of Breslev in the city of Uman, Russian news agency Interfax reported.

According to Kuzin, a special directive allowing religious pilgrims to enter the country under certain pandemic-related restrictions has been approved and will also apply to Hassidic Jews visiting Uman.

"The directive consists of basic steps for the prevention of pandemics, such as the requirement to wear protective masks, checking body temperature, and oversight of the public transportation used by pilgrims. Additionally, border crossing protocols are well-defined now and the instructions are clear and unequivocal," said Kuzin.

Kuzin also said that informational pamphlets were ready for distribution at the country's airports and that volunteers from Ukraine and Israel have been recruited to facilitate expeditious testing of Hassidic visitors.

Ukraine's deputy health minister added that some 50,000 rapid coronavirus testing kits have been allocated by the ministry for those arriving in Uman from Israel and that around 190,000 protective masks and 19,000 hand sanitizer bottles have already been purchased to protect the attendees.

Israeli girl finds ancient coin at Talmud-era village of "Tzippori"

 

A scavenger hunt at a Talmud-era village in northern Israel took a surprising turn on Tuesday when an Israeli girl found a 1,500-year-old bronze coin.

The girl and her family were visiting the Korazim archeological park, near the Sea of Galilee, The Times of Israel reported.

During the game, the girl found the coin on the ground.

According to Korazim Park director Dekel Segev, the coin dates to the Talmudic period, between the fourth and fifth centuries CE. The park's website quotes Segev explaining that Korazim is a Jewish village some 2,000 years old, which reached its heights during the time of the Mishnah and Talmud.

According to Dekel, what makes Korazim special is not only its wealth of archaeological artifacts, but how intact it is. Korazim is one of the only sites in Israel that shows visitors an ancient Jewish farming community that boasts a synagogue, homes, a mikveh, olive oil presses, and a wine press.

In addition to refurbishing walking paths and creating the scavenger hunt activity, the park also offers curious visitors a chance to get their hands dirty by digging with a professional archaeologist in a program it calls "Digging Through Time."

Segev praised the girl for immediately handing the coin over to the park authorities.

"The young girl and her family showed good citizenship and brought us the coin because it is a national treasure," he said. "The piece will be forwarded to the Israel Antiquities Authority for further research and preservation."