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WEEKLY Candle-lighting/Shabbos ends Friday, August 28: 7:16/8:15 Kew Gardens Hills • Kew Gardens • Forest Hills • Hillcrest • Briarwood • Jamaica Estates Holliswood • Fresh Meadows • Great Neck • Rego Park • West Hempstead • New Hyde Park Vol. IV No. 31 (#126) August 27, 2015 • 12 Elul 5775 Free Congresswoman Meng Stop Iran Rally: Queens Rabbis Sign On Honored New Yorkers To Protest To Historic Kol Koreh By Jewish Community Iran Deal At Senator On Reporting Abuse In Hillcrest For Resisting Kirsten Gillibrand’s Office Rally will feature US Senators Iran Deal Lindsey Graham and Joe Lieberman SEE STORY ON P. 30 SEE STORY ON P. 38 SEE STORY ON P. 27 Shabbos Inbox Financially Forward From Our Rabbinic Consultant Rabbi’s Musings For What It’s Worth Faith in G-d Opening Gates Are We Believe Vive G-d’s Faith To The Future Having Fun Yet? In Me La France By Eytan Kobre By Gerald Harris By Rabbi Yoel Schonfeld By Rabbi Dani Staum By Warren S. Hecht hile he still lived in veryone in the area friend of mine, a rabbi of amp is an amazing place. In told someone that I just London, R’ Yechezkel stopped to watch what a large congregation out- a certain sense it’s a fanta- came back from Paris and WAbramsky would de- Ewould happen. Would Aside of the New York area, Csyland where a camper can I his response was to ask liver a weekly Friday night class they really offer him some water? recently lost his mother, with the spend all day with friends, have whether there were any Jews to non-observant youth, inviting More importantly, would he re- burial and shiva held in a differ- a slumber party every night, and left. Before I left for France I them into his home and teaching ally drink it? This was not just ent country and a different time play sports and activities all day was told to wear a baseball cap them Torah. any person they were watching; zone. He told me that he was up long, without his parents hov- and not a yarmulke in public CONTINUED ON P. 11 CONTINUED ON P. 24 CONTINUED ON P. 27 CONTINUED ON P. 42 CONTINUED ON P. 25 SEE PAGE 7 18 SEE PAGE 2 2 QueensJewishLink.com • 917.549.6145 • [email protected] Vol. IV No. 31 (#126) • August 27, 2015 3 12 Elul 5775 • Vol. IV No. 31 (#126) QueensJewishLink.com • 917.549.6145 • [email protected] 3 4 4 QueensJewishLink.com • 917.549.6145 • [email protected] Vol. IV No. 31 (#126) • August 27, 2015 5 12 Elul 5775 • Vol. IV No. 31 (#126) QueensJewishLink.com • 917.549.6145 • [email protected] 5 Stories Of Greatness R’ Dovid Hoffman Unchained t the age of 28, R’ Mordechai Eliya- to call the woman into his office. able to locate his body. All they found was Then he asked, “But why then have you hu zt”l, – who would later serve as “What you are doing here?” R’ Eliyahu his wrecked car.” Her voice faded away as not entered the office to speak to us?” Athe Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel asked gently once she appeared before the sorrow overcame her. “Who are you?” responded the Sephar- – became the youngest rabbi in the Israeli him. “Can I help you in any way?” “Weeks turned into months and I was dic woman with an old-world flare. “You, rabbinate, when he joined the rabbinical In a thick and distinct Moroccan ac- told that I cannot remarry unless some- the rabbinate, are but messengers. I am court of Be’er Sheva in 5717 (1957). Even at cent, she said, “I just moved to Israel from one testifies that he or she actually saw praying to Hashem, the Creator of the that relatively young age, he was renowned Morocco. The government settled me in the corpse. No one ever has.” She turned world. He will decide if I should remarry as a brilliant scholar who was exceptional or I should remain an agunah!” in his care and personal attentiveness to R’ Eliyahu, admiring the woman’s strong the needs of all whom he met. He once no- “I am praying to Hashem, the Creator of the world. faith, traveled to Netivot, to the home of ticed a woman sitting outside the offices He will decide if I should remarry or I should remain an agunah!” the renowned Baba Sali, R’ Yisrael Abu- of the rabbinate reciting Tehilim with tears chatzeirah zt”l, who originally hailed from in her eyes. She recited the words with Morocco, to see if he could advise him on great intensity. This recurred for a number this city, and I immediately sought out the to look into the rabbi’s face. “In Morocco, where or to whom to turn. of days, and she only finished her recital local rabbinate. Back in Morocco my hus- nobody could help me. Now that I am in The Baba Sali listened to the story. Then and closed her Book of Psalms as the rab- band was a taxi driver. Ten days after our Israel, I thought that perhaps a rabbi could he said, “Go to Ramla and speak with my binate office closed its doors for the day. marriage he was driving from one city to assist me and permit me to remarry. That’s brother, R’ Yitzchak (the “Baba Chaki”). He R’ Eliyahu’s curiosity and concern was the next and I never heard from him again. why I have been praying here.” knows everyone and he will tell you who aroused and one day he asked his assistant They say he died in a crash but were un- The rabbi nodded with deep empathy. was in charge of burials in various Moroc- can cities.” R’ Eliyahu took a taxi from Netivot to Ramla, where the Baba Chaki resided. The sage from Ramla knew the city where the woman had lived and told him that two gravediggers from that city had both moved to Israel a few months earlier; one lives in Kiryat Ata and one lives in Dimona. He gave R’ Eliyahu the exact address for each. The rabbi continued on his journey to the closer of the two cities, Dimona. Upon arrival at the home of the gravedigger, he found a note on the door saying that the man had just passed away. R’ Eliyahu ar- rived just in time for the afternoon Min- chah prayer. He stayed awhile, prayed, and then shared some words of comfort with the family. Hoping that someone might be able to give him a clue to aid him in his undertak- ing, he decided to tell over the woman’s story. As he told the tale with the taxi and mentioned the deceased man’s name, an old man dressed in traditional Moroccan clothing jumped up in the corner of the room. “I am one of the gravediggers who buried that taxi driver. I remember the sto- ry well. No one could identify the driver other than the fact that he was Jewish. We were told to bury him in the Jewish ceme- tery. The man who passed away today was 6 the other gravedigger, and I am here in his home to console his family...” The rabbi immediately gathered two others, creating a mini rabbinical court, and they took this man’s testimony. The next day, under the auspices of the Be’er Sheva rabbinate, R’ Eliyahu delivered a letter to the woman, permitting her to re- marry. Relating to his fellow judges in Be’er Sheva’s rabbinical court what had hap- pened the previous day, R’ Eliyahu ex- claimed, “This is the power of a prayer that comes from a sincere heart.” Rabbi Dovid Hoffman is the author of the popular “Torah Tavlin” book series, filled with stories, wit and hundreds of divrei Torah, including the brand new “Torah Tavlin Yamim Noraim” in stores everywhere. You’ll love this popular series. Also look for his book, “Heroes of Spirit,” containing one hundred fascinating sto- ries on the Holocaust. They are fantastic gifts, available in all Judaica bookstores and online at http://israelbookshoppubli- cations.com. To receive Rabbi Hoffman’s weekly “Torah Tavlin” sheet on the parsha, e-mail [email protected] 6 QueensJewishLink.com • 917.549.6145 • [email protected] Vol. IV No. 31 (#126) • August 27, 2015 7 12 Elul 5775 • Vol. IV No. 31 (#126) QueensJewishLink.com • 917.549.6145 • [email protected] 7 PUBLISHED BY Queens Jewish Link, LLC Regular Features RABBINIC CONSULTANT 8-Day As I see it – Cynthia Zalisky . 22 Beauty briefs – Rissele Naimark . 55 Rabbi Yoel Schonfeld Blue and white – Shmuel Sackett . 26 MANAGING EDITOR Forecast Classifieds . 45 Naftali Szrolovits Community calendar – Rebecca Wittert . 40 SENIOR CONSULTANTS FRI • AUG 28 TUE • SEP 1 Community corner – Susie Garber, Sergey Kadinsky . 30-39 Yaniv Meirov Community snapshots – Aharon Katz . .33 84° 91° Cynthia Zalisky Dating today – Goldy Krantz . 41 Helen Hoffman 67° 70° Financially forward – Gerald Harris . 1 Jennifer Jaffe For what its worth – Warren Hecht . 1 Mostly Sunny Mostly Sunny ADVERTISING MANAGER Frontlines – Dr . Joseph Frager . 43 Yaakov Serle SAT • AUG 29 WED • SEP 2 The Fun side – QJL Staff . 60/61 COPY EDITORS Hooked on healing – Caroline Schumsky . 23 88° 91° House and home – Sarah Newcomb . 44 R’ Yisroel Benedek Message from our Rabbinic consultant – R’ Yoel Schonfeld . 1 Rivky Bergstein 68° 70° Rabbis musings & amusings – R’ Dani Stam . 1 STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Partly Cloudy Sunny A Shabbat thought – R’ David Algaze . 14 Aharon Katz Shabbos inbox – Eytan Kobre .