Thursday, June 30, 2016

Harav Mordechai Krausz, Zt”l, Rosh Yeshivas Ohr Hachaim

Hamodia-With the bare aron kodesh forming a stark backdrop, the aron of Harav Mordechai Krausz, zt”l, was carried into the Yeshiva Ohr Hachaim beis medash one last time Wednesday morning, scarcely a week since his indomitable voice had boomed through that very hall.

Rav Krausz, one of the two founding Roshei Yeshivah of the Kew Gardens Hills yeshivah, was niftar Tuesday night, shocking the estimated 1,000 talmidim he had taught over a nearly 35-year career in chinuch. He was 73. “We’ve lost our aron hakodesh,” cried Harav Doniel Lander, the Rosh Yeshivah who served alongside Rav Krausz since 1983, at the levayah.

Wednesday, June 29, 2016

The Charedi bashers dont miss an oppurtunity

A sad story of a 50 year old lady who took her own life. She was frum married had children and belonged to the gur chasidic movement. About 7 years ago she left the fold and as a result became estranged from her children. She had written a short autobiography describing the rigors of living within the Chasidic sect and the pain she felt when her daughters cut ties with her over her choice to give up religion. The media naturally had a field day blaming the charedim for her death and all that transpired. Nothing was further than the truth when her daughters spoke at the Levaya crying how sad they felt when their mother left and abandoned them at a young age. (See text of speech below article)There was no organized plot or ruling to cut ties with her, said the family it was their own decision. Veteran Israeli journalist Avishei Ben Chaim wrote a Facebook post debunking all the blame by the secular media on the family and charedim pertaining to this story. However the jury was out quickly. Never to miss an opportunity publicizing ills in the frum world Rabbi Yakov Horowitz on his Facebook page was quick to put up the story, he was kind enough to say he doesnt know  the details and cant comment but "children need both parents" as if to hint to some organized charedi alienation. The comments on the post are full fledged charedi bashing blaming gur, chasidim, charedim and what not. No need to check out facts the bias and bashers already made up their minds.
Hebrew text of the hesped at the Orthodox Levaya by one of the daughters.
 אמא
נזכור ולא נשכח
את שנות הילדות שחלק מאיתנו זכו לחוות בחיקך
את המשפחתיות והאהבה שהיו מנת חלקך
נזכור ולא נשכח
את השנים בהן גידלת אותנו
בחוכמתך הרבה הרעפת לכולנו

Monday, June 27, 2016

For frum Jews Brexit vote means less restrictions on Mitzvos

Prior to the Brexit vote which took place last week in England Frum Yidden living there asked their leaders how to proceed. For many Israelis living in the UK the results are not good since they hold passports from the EU. However in some frum circles the advice given to them was to vote with the leave party. The Rebbe of  Pshevorsk who lives in Belgium but has many chasidim and followers in London told them to vote in favor of leaving the European Union. He said the leaving the union will have an impact to lessen the decrees against shechita and Bris milah among others that were imposed by the EU. Other Roshei Yeshiva Rav Gurwitz in Gatshead England also advised their talmidim to do the same.

Sunday, June 26, 2016

A call to action on child abuse

"One out of every 5 children in our community victimized" hard to believe!!!!
Yated-The Novominsker Rebbe, Rav Yaakov Perlow, issued a call for action in response to the festering scourge of child abuse and molestation. As a result of his seminal address at the recent Torah Umesorah convention, several groundbreaking initiatives have been launched to ensure that our children are safe at all times.

Torah Umesorah is preparing to train hundreds of principals, rabbeim and mechanchos across the country. This training will provide them with tools not only to prevent instances of child abuse and molestation from occurring within their schools, but also to recognize symptoms among students indicating that they may have been molested outside the school setting. (Statistics show that perpetrators are rarely strangers; generally, they are people the child knows and trusts.) The training program is slated to begin this fall.

Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Hamodia exclusive- Rubashkin Rebuts Gov’t Reply

Hamodia Exclusive: In Powerful New Brief, Rubashkin Rebuts Gov’t Reply
By David Stern
NEW YORK - In what legal experts are calling an extremely powerful submission, the Sholom Rubashkin legal team, headed by Gary Apfel, an attorney in Los Angeles, and Stephen Locher, an attorney in Des Moines, Iowa, filed late Monday their Reply Merits Brief, a rebuttal to the governments filing of a month ago.

“The government… misstates the law on several crucial issues, misunderstands Petitioner’s arguments regarding the difference between Napue and Brady (often with the effect of turning Petitioner’s arguments into straw persons easier for the government to overcome), and otherwise seems to spend as much time distracting the Court from the relevant issues as addressing them,” the brief says.

Friday, June 17, 2016

NYT Orthodox Jews now eating Sushi enough With the Gefilte Fish.

NYT  Gefilte fish, of course. Potato kugel, sure. But sushi?

Yes, sushi, which you won’t find in most 20th-century Jewish cookbooks, let alone the Torah, has become a runaway hit in the city’s Hasidic and other Orthodox Jewish precincts.

Orthodox Jews are eating dragon rolls, rainbow rolls, tsunami rolls and California rolls (using imitation crab) in sushi bars like Sushi Meshuga in Brooklyn or in more eclectic kosher restaurants and supermarkets. Weddings and bar mitzvahs aren’t complete without a sushi station, and a sushi platter has become the gift of choice for Hanukkah and Purim, or to congratulate parents who are marrying off a child.

Tuesday, June 14, 2016

Harav Chaim Zelig Fasman, zt”l

Hamodia- The Jewish community of Los Angeles mourned the petirah of its beloved Rosh Kollel, Harav Chaim Zelig Fasman, zt”l, 83, who was niftar this past Shabbos, Erev Shavuos. With his indomitable will, sincere dedication to others, and heartfelt ahavas haTorah, his personal influence, as well as the impact and ripple effects of the kollel that he founded and led of over 40 years, would be felt in nearly every aspect of Torah life in the kehillah.

Rav Fasman was born in 1933 in Chicago, but spent his early years in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where his father, Rabbi Asher (Oscar) Fasman, zt”l, served as a Rav. His rabbanus would take the family to Ottawa, Canada, before returning to Chicago. There, young Chaim attended Beis Medrash L’Torah, where the teachings and living model of Harav Mendel Kaplan, zt”l, then among the yeshivah’s most influential Maggidei Shiur, would play a formative role in his commitment to limud haTorah and mussar.

Chabad Rabbi in Orlando- "It was a miracle" terrorist could have attacked us

Chabad shliach to Orlando Rabbi Yosef Konikov spoke to Israeli media about the mass terror shooting that took place on the first night of Shavuos in Orlando. It was late shavuos night we were in middle of Tikkun leil shavuos when Police officers and ex Israeli soldiers came into the building looking for accomplices in the terror attack. Perhaps there was another gunman or terrorist that would come here. That is the first we heard of what was going on. Our shul is a few miles away and the gunman could have attacked us. We are very scared here said the Rabbi, its a small Jewish community. The Rabbi said he was checking to see if there were any Jewish victims that would need his services but as of now he does not know of any.

Friday, June 10, 2016

Lekovod Shavuos-Niggun kad yasvin as sung by the Siyum hashas 2012 and other versions.


 The stirring song is sung on several occasions in the jewish calender most prominntely on Shavuos and Simchas Torah there is great debate on who composed the niggun and where the lyrics come from some attribute it to the Chazon Ish, Rav Meir Shapira, others say the vilna gaon, click HERE for more. Article in Mishpacha Magazine HERE the story behind the song. Watch video below for a different niggun sung by Benny Frieman to the words of Kad Yasvun. Listen to kad yasvin HERE sung by the Werdyger mishpacha in 1969

כד יתבין ישראל ועסקין בשמחת התורה, קודשא בריך הוא אומר לפמליא דיליה חזו בני חביבי דמשכחין לצערא דילהון ועסקין בחדוותא דילי

Thursday, June 9, 2016

Starbucks Testing Kosher-Certified Dairy at 10 Stores in NY, NJ in Bid to Attract Jewish Customers

JP, Starbucks, the biggest coffee-drinks retailer with thousands of chain stores around the world, is testing the addition of Super Kosher (Cholov Yisroel) dairy in 10 stores in New York and New Jersey, and they will use Pride of the Farm Milk, which is certified Cholov Yisroel by STAR-K, in a move to attract Jewish customers. “As part of our commitment to bring our customers food and beverages that are locally relevant, in the neighborhoods where we do business, Starbucks is currently testing the addition of Super Kosher (Cholov Yisroel) dairy in 10 stores in New York and New Jersey. As a company, we often test products to gather feedback from our customers and partners,” a company spokesperson told JP on Tuesday.

Wednesday, June 8, 2016

Williamsburg pool women's hours debate

Hamodia.com -A city recreation center in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn has become the center of a mild national controversy over its policy of making its indoor pool available to women only for an hour and 45 minutes three times a week. Last week, the center announced the swimming sessions’ cancellation due to notification from New York’s Human Rights Commission that the separate hours violated non-discrimination laws. Amid an outcry from local activists and politicians, the city reversed its course and said that the women’s hours will remain in effect for the time being.

Agudah applauds NY Governor Andrew Cuomo

Rabbi Chaim Dovid Zwiebel, Executive Vice President of Agudath Israel of America, to New York sent a letter to Governor Andrew Cuomo, following the organization's annual dinner this Sunday. At the dinner, with close to 1,000 participants, Rabbi Zwiebel quoted the Governor's description of his newly issued executive order from the podium, "If you boycott Israel, New York will boycott you," and the crowd rose to its feet to applaud.

Tuesday, June 7, 2016

BALTIMORE COMMUNITY ORTHODOX JEW STABBED DURING HOME INVASION

Baltimore, MD - June 7, 2016 - Baltimore Police report that at approximately 3:30 this morning there was a home invasion on Cheswolde where a local realtor from our community was stabbed once in the left side of stomach. The injury is non life threatening. Max Liskovich was transported to Sinai Hospital and is currently undergoing surgery. Pleae daven for Menachem ben Irina, l'refuah shlaimah b'soch sha'ar cholei Yisrael.

The suspect - who apparently entered through a window - is a black male bald, thin, wearing a light blue shirt.  Anyone having information should call Baltimore Police BJL

Monday, June 6, 2016

4 years since the Internet Asifa at Citifield- a look back

The internet Asifa at Citified took place 4 years ago on Erev Rosh Chodesh Sivan. A lot has changed since then. The asifa message keeps on changing as new challenges arise. Rabbanim are continuing with follow up asifos to the constant battle of the dangers of technology. The battle today is not the same battle as it was 4 years ago The asifa took place in 2012 now its 2016. Awareness was made regarding filtering devices and securing it from children. WhatsApp was not around back then, today it is used by many in the frum circles. Social media has now taken over the internet. The content of videos and jokes passed around daily has dulled our sensitivities and lowered the tznius bar. Frum news websites no longer report news or tackle the issues, they have become tabloids in a competitive market to provide non stop entertainment. Agudah which still does not have an official website, has used social media and the web in spreading their mission and marketing events and goings on. Live streaming shiurim, levayos r"l and other events online is now the norm and expected. Yet the battle over the yetzer hora continues as it always has for thousands of years. looking back, the message at the  Internet asifa may not be up with the times but the grandiose event in itself had an impact to always be on alert as new challenges arise.


Harav Moshe Schwab, zt”l

Hamodia
The Jewish community of Detroit deeply mourned the petirah of its beloved Rosh Kollel, Harav Moshe Schwab, zt”l, who was niftar Sunday afternoon. As the kollel’s founder, he was among the first in the country to introduce the idea of a community kollel and movement that had untold influence not only on the kehillah of Detroit, but on Jewish life around the country. He was 73 years old.

Rav Schwab was born in London in 1943. His parents, Mr. Herman (Chaim Tzvi), z”l, and Mrs. Betty (Baila) Schwab, a”h, both originally from Germany, were highly respected members of the community. As a young bachur, Rav Schwab first studied in the Yeshivah of Gateshead, where he distinguished himself for his great hasmadah.

Remember to recite Tefilas HaShela today Erev Rosh Chodesh Sivan 5775 תפילת השל"ה

The Shela HaKadosh says that Today Erev Rosh Chodesh Sivan is a special day to daven for your children's spiritual and material needs as well as those of their future spouses. He composed a special tefila for this. Tefila can be found  HERE for English translation HERE

   

Saturday, June 4, 2016

Oorah-Thon Live broadcast

                                                                  www.Oorahauction.org

Friday, June 3, 2016

Jewesses Bathing in Public Pools? New York Times Editorial Writers Can’t Stand the Stench

-Algemeiner The latest salvo in the New York Times campaign against Orthodox Judaism is an editorial condemning the New York City Parks department for accommodating religious swimmers — and, for that matter any other women who prefer not to be gawked at by men while bathing — by providing women-only hours at a public swimming pool in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

The Times complains of what it calls a “strong odor of religious intrusion into a secular space.” The classically nasty antisemitic trope of accusing Jews of emitting a distinctive odor has been in the news recently as the result of a Harvard law student asking a visiting Israeli lawmaker why she was so “smelly,” drawing a condemnation from the dean of the law school. The Times didn’t see fit to cover that story; if it had, perhaps the editorial writers would have been more careful in their word choice.

But poor word choice is only the beginning of the trouble with this editorial.

Thursday, June 2, 2016

Tragedy in Williamsburg: 5-Year-Old Boy Niftar

By Hamodia Staff  Thursday, June 2, 2016 at 2:49 am | כ"ה אייר תשע"ו

NEW YORK - Baruch Dayan Ha’emes.

We regret to inform readers of the tragic passing of five-year-old Shimon Yisrael Meizlish, z”l, who fell to his death from a porch in an apartment building in Williamsburg, Wednesday evening.

A Hatzolah ambulance rushed the boy to Brooklyn Hospital Center, where he was niftar.