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“OFFENSIVE AND WRONG”: New York Democrats Mondaire Jones and Jerry Nadler condemned the D.C. branch of a youth environmental movement that refused to march in a voting rights rally with groups that support Israel.
- “Refusing to participate in civic life with Jewish groups — especially those groups who are committed to social justice here in the US, in Israel and around the world — is misguided, unproductive, offensive and wrong,” Rep. Nadler said on Twitter.
- “I condemn the call for the exclusion of these Jewish organizations from this event,” Rep. Jones told Jewish Insider.
- Update: The Sunrise Movement said it did not have advance notice of the statement by its Washington D.C. affiliate, but said each of its affiliates “has the ability to act independently.” (JTA)
MONEY FOR SECURITY: New York State reopened the grant application period for nonprofits at risk of hate crimes; go here for information about the application, which must be submitted by Jan. 7, 2022.
BLESS THIS MESS: In 1860, Rabbi Morris Raphall of New York’s B’nai Jeshurun was the first rabbi to lead Congress in prayers in 1860. A recent book, “When Rabbis Bless Congress: The Great American Story of Jewish Prayers on Capitol Hill,” profiles Raphall and the 440 rabbis who followed. (j.)
CHEESECAKE VICTORY: A federal appeals court ruled that Michigan prisons must serve cheesecake and other dairy foods to Jewish prisoners on the holiday of Shavuot. (The Forward)
- Huh?: Eating dairy foods on Shavuot is a custom but not a requirement under Jewish law, a number of rabbis, including Rabbi Joseph Potasnik, executive vice president of the New York Board of Rabbis, told the Forward. “Would it enhance the joy of the festival? I am sure. But it is not a requirement,” said Potasnik.
BEYOND THE BOROUGHS
“THE STRANGER WHO RESIDES WITH YOU”: The Garden City Jewish Center on Long Island is helping resettle a 20-member Afghan family who recently arrived in New York, providing furniture, bedding, household items and money for food. (Garden City News)
ONLINE FUROR: The story of the Jewish teacher in Montclair, New Jersey who asked a Muslim girl to push her head covering off of her face keeps spiraling and spiraling. (New York Times)
REMEMBERING
Rabbi Baruch Saks, who served as the magid shiur – a revered Talmud teacher – at the Yeshiva of Staten Island for over half a century, and was the rabbi of the Zeirei Agudas Yisrael minyan in Borough Park for many years, died Monday. More recently he was the rabbi of the Pine River Village Nusach Sefard Minyan in Lakewood, New Jersey. (Hamodia)
SHABBAT SHALOM
Did Abraham fail God’s test when he was asked to sacrifice his son Isaac? Rabbi Jill Hausman of the Actors’ Temple in Manhattan says this week’s Torah portion is a case study of how loved ones learn to trust one another.
- More wisdom: Our columnist Rabbi David Wolpe welcomes the noise and interruptions that were a hallmark of in-person, pre-pandemic synagogue life.
NEWS QUIZ
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(Janice Hwang)
What do Zach Hyman, Jack Hughes, Adam Fox, Jason Zucker and Josh Ho-Sang all have in common?
- They are the members of ZBT, a new K-pop style Jewish boy group.
- They are all rising Jewish stars in the National Hockey League.
- They are the 20-something inventors of “DigiTallis,” a new Jewish crypto-currency.
- They are the winners of a Jewish book award for a novel they wrote together and published under the pseudonym “Susan Yifat-Trachtenberg.”
(See answer below.)
WHAT’S ON
YM & YWHA of Washington Heights & Inwood presents an in-person screening of the first episode of “The New Jew,” followed by a conversation and Q&A with series creators Guri Alfi, Asaf Nawi and Moshe Samuels. “The New Jew” is a four-episode TV documentary series showcasing the cultural and political influence of the Jewish community in the United States from the perspective of a secular Israeli comedian. $10. For trailer, details and tickets, visit here. Sunday, 5:30 p.m.
Answer to news quiz: 2. For other sports news, subscribe to JTA’s new weekly newsletter, The Jewish Sport Report.
CANDLELIGHTING, READINGS
Friday, October 22, 2021
Cheshvan 16, 5782
Light candles at 5:47 p.m.
Saturday, October 23, 2021
Cheshvan 17, 5782
Torah Reading: Vayera: Genesis 18:1 – 22:24
Haftarah: Kings II 4:1-37
Shabbat ends 6:45 p.m.
Photo, top: Students at the Yeshiva of Central Queens show off the clouds they created in a project learning about the importance of rain. The current month of Cheshvan on the Jewish calendar is the traditional beginning of the rainy season in the Land of Israel. (YCQ)
