Local news in brief

Posted Wednesday, October 26, 2011 12:00 am

Coinciding with Chol Hamoed Sukkot, the village of Merrick had a street fair on Oct. 16. With temperatures cooling and leaf colors changing, Rabbi Shimon Kramer wore a sweater, handing out calendars, brochures and literature to nearly 200 passersby.

Photo courtesy of Chabad Center for Jewish Life

By Sergey Kadinsky

Gourmet Glatt to host benefit for kidney donors

The gift of saving a life through a safe surgery at no cost has been the task of Renewal since 2006, with 127 transplants to the credit of the Brooklyn-based nonprofit. To pay for the cost of the operation for donors, the Gourmet Glatt supermarket in Cedarhurst is holding a food and wine tasting event on Nov. 1, where supporters can taste a variety of creative kosher products while learning about the valuable work of Renewal. “It is a gift that gives life and the procedure is safer than a hernia surgery,” said Renewal founder Mendel Reiner. “There are absolutely no financial reimbursements, it is done in total altruism through newspaper ads.”
Renewal posts the age and blood type requirements in Jewish community newspapers, and pays for the donor’s lost wages and out of pocket expenses related to the surgery. Insurance covers the surgery of kidney recipients. For more information on this event, contact 347-228-1281 or renewal@gourmetglatt.com

“Rebbetzin Kanievsky inspired our local women to say amen”

On Oct. 15, a renowned inspirational figure in the Orthodox world died. Rebbetzin Batsheva Kanievsky, 79, was known for welcoming countless women into her home seeking blessing and advice. The Bnei Brak resident was related to leading Orthodox rabbinic figures of recent times, a daughter of Rabbi Shalom Elyashiv and wife of Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky. For women in the Five Towns, she was the inspiration behind the Ohel Sara Amen Group. “There were lines of people outside her door and she welcomed them with compassion, taking down their names for tehilim,” said Rabbi Dovid Weinberger of Lawrence, the spiritual advisor for the Amen Group. “She davened vasikin early every morning with a group that responded in amen to each other’s brachos and some of our local women brought this concept home.”
Rabbi Weinberger spoke with Rabbi Elyashiv on the merits of this concept, which he strongly endorsed. Though Rebbetzin Kanievsky never visited Lawrence, she was familiar with its Amen Group. “She knew them all by name and always asked me how they are doing.”