Around the Community

from Baltimore Jewish Home - 5-12-22

Israel

The Jewish Community Softball League (JCSL) by “Shimz Cars” Returns for 4th Season

JCSL by Shimz Cars kicked off their fourth annual season at the Northwest Regional – by Fired Up Promotions fields.

Prior to opening week, the league’s 108 players were divided between nine different teams via a draft system, ensuring parity in competition. The nine teams are each named for their individual team sponsors: AMF Creative, Believe and Achieve Sports,

Donny Ankri Architects, KD Gold and Coin Exchange, LBSI, Levin & Gann, PsychCare, Stutman Chiro-

practic, and Worthy Insurance.

Following the draft, teams were provided with their team jerseys, sponsored by Web Interactive Technologies. Teams also came prepared for opening day by fully reviewing the highly detailed, Dr Stanley Markovitz Orthodontics League Rules and Regulations.

Teams shows up to the fields by 9:30 AM and were provided with league equipment to include bases, balls, catcher’s masks, etc. sponsored by Premier Financial.

All nine teams will compete for eight regular season games, with the top four teams facing off in a round of playoffs. The playoffs winners will then battle each other in the Camp Shoresh championship.

Continue below for some of the excitement from the first week of the season.

Stutman Chiropractic 16 PsychCare 15

Stutman Chiropractic opened their season with an exciting thriller.

Things looked concerning for the “back crackers” after PsychCare took a 6-0 lead in the top of the first. But the Chiropractors refused to be intimidated by PsychCare’s head games and cut the lead to 6-4 a few innings later. After trading lead changes throughout the game, PsychCare was up 1511 going into the bottom of the 8th. But that’s when things started to turn around.

In the bottom of the 8th, Stutman Chiropractic worked some pitch counts to load the bases on a series of walks and were able to end the inning only down one run. After holding PsychCare scoreless in the top of the 9th, the table was set for a walk off win for the “spinal adjusters.”

Stutman Chiropractic led off with a single followed by an Aron Meister double, putting men on 2nd and 3rd with no outs and the winning run on second. All-Star (and potential come back player of the year) Jeremy Lasson came to the plate and pulled a line drive in to left, scoring both runs for the exciting walk-off win.

LBSI 18 Believe and Achieve 14

During the long off-season, the LBSI front office primarily focused on the business of running a professional softball team. The first order of business was negotiating the reacquisition of the team naming rights from www. thecolumbiagroup.net.

With the identity of the team firmly re-established and purple shirts secured, management turned their full attention on re-building a contender to defend its 2021 JCSL championship title.

But all the positivity and momentum is as good as the next-day starting Pitcher and for the first 8 innings, Believe and Achieve’s Tali “The Strong Man” Strum completely shut down the former champs. Dominated by numerous Gold Glove plays from Meir Parry, Binyomin Goldenberg and Moshe Burr, as well as some relentless hitting by Avi Safren, Yaakov Spatz and Moshe Tuchman, LBSI found themselves down 13-7 going into the ninth inning.

However, things turned around for LBSI in the 9th as they sent 17 men to the plate in the inning, scoring 7 runs. LBSI is humbled and very thankful for the miraculous turn of events.

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Worthy Insurance 23 KD Gold & Coin Exchange 9

Worthy Insurance, an expansion team from Chicago, wasted no time introducing themselves to the league as they defeated KD Gold & Coin Exchange 23-9 in dominant fashion.

Pitcher Dany Donaty took the mound for Worthy in the top of the first, his first career start in the league, and didn’t give up a run. The Worthy bats came alive in the bottom of the first, scoring 4 runs on 6 hits, highlighted by a 2-run single from Asher Sondhelm and a 2-run double from Shalom Ryback. After Donaty had a 1-2-3 inning in the 2nd, Worthy scored 6 more runs in the bottom of the 2nd (on 7 hits), this time with RBIs from Eli Newman, Yoni Finkelstein, and Eli Dollman and a 3-run HR off the bat of Chaim Finkelstein.

KD got on the board in the top of the 3rd, scoring 3 runs. But Worthy scored 5 more (on 8 hits) in the bottom of the inning, with RBIs from Noson Berman, Danny Weissman, Yoni Finkelstein and 2 RBIs from Oren Bluman. With Worthy leading 15-3 in the 4th, KD showed some life. After an error, they had a few hits, a couple walks, and added 5 runs to cut the lead to 15-8. But the Worthy bats stayed red-hot in the bottom of the 4th. They scored 6 more runs on 7 more hits, this time with Navid Raoofian, Noson Berman, Michael Neuman, Eli Newman (x2), and Oren Bluman supplying the RBIs.

After another 1-2-3 in the top of the 5th, Worthy only needed to score 2 runs for the game to end with the Mercy Rule. Yoni Finkelstein led off with a single and advanced to 3rd after an errant throw. His brother (and Worthy Employee of the Month), Chaim Finkelstein, singled him home. Eli Dollman then doubled and Shalom Ryback scorched a ball to the outfield to walkoff the game. This was a true display of a team win as all 12 players scored and 11 players had RBIs for Worthy. As a team, they scored 23 runs on 32 hits in only 4+ innings!!

Donny Ankri Architects 22 AMF Creative 10

Donny Ankri Architects showed up for opening day ready to play. They got off to a hot start, scoring 5 runs in the first. AMF immediately answered with 5 runs of their own in the 2nd. However, DAA responded, scoring runs in almost every inning during the game. DAA’s two through six hitters went 17 for 22 hitting combined, as they cruised to victory.

Baltimore’s Yeshivas Ner Yisroel Celebrates Hachnasas Sefer Torah

Photo Credits: Rabbi Eli Greengart

On Sunday, May 1st Yeshivas Ner Yisroel held an Hachnosas Sefer Torah on its campus. The new sefer was written in memory and in honor of Rabbi Herman Naftoli Neuberger zt”l, the long time President of Ner Yisroel. The sefer was dedicated by the family of Dr. and Mrs. Zev Munk of Houston, TX in memory of Dr. Munk’s parents. The elder Munk’s were Holocaust survivors who met and began their lives after WWII in Switzerland. As their family began to grow they made the decision to move from Switzerland to Ottowa, Canada. Dr. Munk recalled asking his parents why they decided to make this move as they had established a comfortable life for themselves. His parents responded that at that time the intermarriage rate in Switzerland was near 100% and that they had survived the atrocities of Europe with the hope continuing the Jewish tradition not to watch it fade away.

Festivities began with the writing of the final letters of the Sefer Torah by yeshiva Rebbeim, members of the Neuberger family, members of the Munk family and the Rosh HaYeshiva HaRav Aharon Feldman shlit”a. This was followed by a gala lunch held in the Yeshiva’s new simcha room. Members of the Yeshiva hanhala including various Rabbeim, Rabbi Boruch Neuberger and the Rosh HaYeshiva HaRav Aharon Feldman shlit”a joined the Munks to marvel at the beautiful new sefer. Divrei bracha were given by Rabbi Boruch Neuberger, Dr. Munk as well as by the Rosh HaYeshiva. After lunch the procession to bring the new sefer to the yeshiva beis medrash began. Hundreds of yeshiva talmidim led the procession from the dining room to the yeshiva beis medrash. Amidst live music and lively singing and dancing the sefer was brought to its new home inside the Ner Yisroel Aron Kodesh. Families and children from those who live on the Yeshiva campus as well as from the greater Baltimore community came to watch and participate in this event of Kavod HaTorah.

OCA’s Community Yom Ha’atzmaut Celebration

In Partnership with Congregation Shomrei Emunah

Ohr Chadash Academy (OCA) is proud to have partnered with Congregation Shomrei Emunah and host over 700 members of the extended Baltimore community for a special Yom Ha’atzmaut event, celebrating Israel’s 74th birthday!

The event started with a program and tekes which included Hatikvah and Misheberach led by Moishe Abramson, Dovi Ziffer, and Zevi Daniel, remarks by Rabbi Binyamin Marwick and Mrs. Deborah L. Rapoport, OCA’s Head of School, and a choir performance by OCA students.

After the program, everyone enjoyed a delicious BBQ dinner and a variety of Israel and Torah themed booths and games. Activities included pony rides, a petting zoo, moonbounces, a rock climbing wall, edible art, and so much more! Next year in Yerushalayim!

Around the Community Welcoming Meshulachim & More!

For some, welcoming a meshulach is usually quick process. You provide them with tzedakah and maybe a drink and then send them on their way. For others, especially, mothers at bedtime, it is a huge annoyance. But for some people like the Storch family, not only do they put out the welcome mat, but they also actually provide meshulachim who travel to Baltimore with a unique, “Welcome to Baltimore,” carry-on bag full of travel necessities and more.

Frank Storch explained, “As children, growing up with our parent’s open door and welcoming home to all those in need, we had the perfect role models to teach us what true tzedakah and chesed means. When the Covid pandemic began in 2020, while it allowed me to focus on providing tens of thousands of masks, gloves, and other PPE to our community and beyond through the Chesed Fund & Project Ezra, it also prohibited me from interacting with the hundreds of meshulachim who usually visit. For many years, I had always thought about creating a welcome kit for the thousands of meshulachim that come through Baltimore annually. Now, I finally had the opportunity to really work on it and consider what a meshulach might really need.”

Frank spent months ordering various travel items that are sometimes easily forgotten, and then compiling them into useful carry-on bags that easily slip on to the handles of a suitcase. Meshulachim will be delighted to find over 50 items, totaling in value of over $100. Items range from toiletries to a travel cup with hot chocolate, coffee, and tea. The bag also consists of rain hat covers, a pair of socks, a scarf, and much more. There is even a small gift for the meshulachim’ s wives for holding down the fort while their husbands are away. Any items that are not easily identifiable are labeled in both Hebrew and Yiddish so that non-English speaking meshulachim can easily understand what each item is.

So how does a meshulach get his welcome bag? When a meshulach comes to town and picks up his certificate from the Agudah of Baltimore, he will be informed that he can pick up a welcome bag at the Knish Shop. “Mosey Treuhaft of the Knish Shop has been kind enough to make his local shop available as a pickup spot,” said Frank.

Additionally, starting this project helped spur two more for The Chesed Fund and Project Ezra. Considering the travel safety needs of meshulachim, a handy international Hatzalah and Shomrim guide of phone numbers was developed and included in the welcome bag. The second important travel resource was an updated Interstate Chaverim card listing 41 Chaverim organizations across the country, dedicated in memory of Zalman Angster, a”h.

These important resources are not just for meshulachim but for everyone else too and can be obtained by visiting chesedfund.com for a free download, sending an email request to info@chesedfund.com, or contacting those organizations directly.

The “Welcome to Baltimore” meshulachim bag project is dedicated in loving memory of Mr. M. Leo and Hannah Storch, a”h, an exemplary couple who as legendary pillars of the Baltimore community, treated every meshulach who came to their door with tremendous warmth and respect.