As details emerge about the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting attack, it becomes painfully clear that law enforcement personnel may not be able to respond quickly enough to prevent a massacre once a heavily armed gunman, intent on dying, has initiated an attack. more

He came from a small town in Argentina to New York, the big city, in 1961, with dreams of meeting and promoting, becoming a press agent, for Hollywood stars, the glitterati, and through hard work and perseverance, succeeded. Now a resident of the JASA houses in Far Rockaway, Santiago Pollarsky, 81, still dresses with panache, his scarf tossed casually around his neck, his hat stylishly askew, his spoken English fluid and colorfully accented. more

Most would agree that the rigors of college life, course work and all, would constitute a full plate, so to speak. Jeremy Rosenberg, 20, of North Woodmere has taken it to a different level. The 2011 North Shore Hebrew Academy graduate, who spent his post high year studying at Yeshiva Eretz HaTzvi in Jerusalem, serves as a mashgiach at Cornell University, where he is in the midst of his first year. more

The goal of Jewish education is not only to educate for life, but also to arm Jewish students with the knowledge to grow themselves, protect themselves, and have a positive influence on the world around us. A new program in its pilot year is tackling a part of this education: the “need to begin Israel education and advocacy training at an earlier age,” stressed Tahli Hanuka, the East Coast High School Programs Coordinator for the Stand With Us MZ Teens Internship. more

On Tuesday night, Great Neck Synagogue held an evening of reflection in response to the recent tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. Rabbis Dale Polakoff and Rabbi Avraham Bronstein hosted congregants at what keynote speaker Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinrib, Orthodox Union Executive Vice President, Emeritus noted was the “only synagogue community to convene in response to this unspeakable tragedy. more

A not-too-farfetched reading of the end of Chapter 45 can indicate that only one person intended to go down to Egypt to stay there. “… And bread and food for his father for the journey” (45:23). “He saw the wagons Yosef had sent to carry him…” (45:27) “Israel said, ‘My son Yosef still lives: I will go and I will see him before I die.’” (45:28) more

The recent launch of an Orthodox Jewish website combining scientifically researched measures of compatibility with rabbinic consent (haskama) has drawn interest from 20,000 visitors and over 2,800 registrants. more

Dec 21–22 Lawrence Congregation Beth Sholom Scholar in Residence Rabbi Benjamin Blech Internationally recognized educator, religious leader, author & lecturer. Talmud professor at Yeshiva University & Rabbi Emeritus of Young Israel of Oceanside. 7:45 p.m. Friday night Oneg at Congregation Beth Sholom: “The Sistine Secrets: Michelangelo’s Forbidden Messages” Shabbat AM: Drasha 4:15PM: “Confronting the Ultimate Crisis: A Rabbi’s Response” Congregation Beth Sholom is located at 390 Broadway Lawrence, New York 11559 more

For many reasons, this was a sad week in our country. The obvious reasons loom over Newtown, Connecticut and words cannot express how sad and empty we all feel. There are no good answers when children are harmed, much worse killed. They are the most vulnerable among us and they look to us; they rely on those older, wiser and hopefully more reasoned to keep them safe and guide them into adulthood so that they can do the same. We have failed in so many ways. more

What do a U.S. Senator, a boxer, a Rhodes Scholar and an A Cappella group all have in common? They are a few of the Orthodox Jewish All Stars on the latest production from Jew in the City, and part of a successful mission. more