Dear Fellow Relatives of Corona Patients, I am reaching out to you not as a medical professional but as the daughter of a beloved father who is now on a ventilator in the ICU. My father had a temperature for a little over a week. His coughing wasn’t bad – but it did get stronger […]
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Dear Hatzolah Wives, Over the past 3 weeks our lives have turned from the usual to the unexpected. As wives of Hatzoloh members we have the unfortunate ability to see the dire situation from an entirely different angle. As the entire world is closing themselves into their homes away from any human contact our husbands […]
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We’ve all laughed but what was once a harmless joke it’s just not funny any longer. Today with the explosion of social media, there’s really no such thing as a ‘private’ joke. Nothing is private and a joke is no longer just innocent. Sadly it’s not us but the times we live in. A cute or semi insulting picture or WhatsApp post often finds its way onto social media and is immediately misconstrued as frum Jews being racist, xenophobic or worse. The unthinking actions of one individual, cause many of us to shake our heads & hide in shame. We can & must do better. It’s no longer just a “Frum” thing. By now we really should understand that every action, big or small, has a potential reaction.

On Thursday, I went to a briefing about NYS Homeland Security grants that are being made available to New York non-profit residential children’s camps. With all that is going on these days, the hall was packed with representatives from camps. We learned that the proposals are due at the end of February, and heard about all the complex forms and information that needs to be presented in order to qualify to be considered for a grant. With close to $50M being offered, you are probably relieved to hear that camps will be much more secure this summer. Well, you would be wrong. We were told that there is virtually no chance that these grants will be decided in enough time before the summer.

Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, the former chief rabbi of England, once described anti-Semitism as a virus and sickness of the soul, which has no logic. “Jews were hated because they were rich and because they were poor; because they were capitalists and because they were communists; because they held tenaciously to an ancient faith and […]
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Dear YWN, I am a mispallel in R’ Rottenbergs Shul and live around the corner. We were at a family Chanukah chaggiga at my sister-in-law down the block from our house when this all occurred. Clearly this was a shocking event and we all have been hit with a tremendous sense of vulnerability. Of course […]
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(By Zvi Gluck) Ask a first grader in any yeshiva what Chanukah is all about and he/she will tell you how a small container of pure olive oil that had somehow been overlooked by rampaging Greek soldiers miraculously burned for eight days and nights. But as the yom tov of Chanukah is upon us, I […]
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You know the expression, time heals all wounds? Or, forgive and forget? Well, sometimes that just doesn’t happen, try as you may. When I was a young teenager, I was enrolled in a new Yeshiva high school that had just formed a couple of years prior to my enrolling. My young, recently married teacher was also our Rosh Yeshiva. The yeshiva was very resolute in establishing a reputation in being second to none, and would thus place burdens upon the students to perform at very high levels. Yeshiva’s schedule was approximately from 7 am until 9 pm. I couldn’t learn at that level of intensity, so-needless to say-my minutes weren’t fully maximized. The vibes that I received from the faculty were that I was a liability to the institution. A pariah, if you will.

Dear YWN readership, I went shopping today in Brooklyn at Bingo, and parked in the Bingo parking lot using a handicapped parking spot with proper identification. I am multiply handicapped and the fact that in Bingo they have handicapped lines that are not dedicated to the handicapped, and that they do not pack for a handicapped person, even when asked, is the subject for another post. As I was packing my car with my many purchases, a car pulled in to the handicapped spot next to mine. The couple got out without placing a handicapped placard in the windshield, and without handicapped plates. They were not elderly, nor did they appear to be infirm. I told them that they were using a handicapped parking spot. The woman responded with an “oh” – and it sounded like she was surprised.

Who is guitarist Avi Singolda, and why is this important?
I will explain.
Avi Singolda was introduced to the Jewish music industry around 25 years ago by arranger and producer Mona Rosenblum.