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Preparing for the chagim at Shulamith Early Childhood

CPR at Central

It was with great excitement that Central welcomed students and faculty back home last week! After a wonderful summer, we are back, refreshed, and ready for the best year Central has ever seen. While all Central teachers have exciting, enriching lessons and programs planned, our students in 10th grade and AP Chemistry began the year by participating in a special CPR training program. The students will be trained and certified in the lifesaving skills of CPR and other first aid tools. Aviva Kessock, a sophomore from Oceanside, explained that she’s grateful for the program because “these classes not only taught me how to act properly in a situation where CPR would be necessary but it showed me that you never know what can happen, so you should always be prepared.”

Our CPR instructor, Celia Sporer, is currently a part time NYC paramedic based at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn and full-time professor of Criminal Justice at CUNY. In addition to teaching private CPR and first aid courses regularly, she is an NYS Certified Instructor Coordinator working for a private EMT course provider and with Hatzolah in Monsey and New Square training their female volunteers. Mrs. Fried, science department chair, says that having this program is so important because “finding relevance in what we study creates a community of learners who are passionate about what they study, and are happy to come to school each day. Our students are thrilled to have the opportunity to apply the science that they study to their everyday lives.”

Talia Frankel, a 10th grader from West Hempstead, agreed, saying, “I can proudly say that I now have the ability to react properly in order to help save someone’s life if, chas v’shalom, needed. This is something that is so important for everyone to learn, at any age. I am so glad we were given this opportunity!”

A JEP/Nageela Rosh Hashana

PHOTO CREDIT: DANIEL KAY OF DANIEL KAY MEDIA

By Jen Reiz

In what has become a beautiful annual tradition, families made the trip to Camp Nageela to join as one mishpacha and celebrate Rosh Hashana together. The chagim take on new meaning as camp families come back to enjoy the ruach and energy displayed by Rabbi Dovid and Basi Shenker, Rabbi Yitzchok and Tzippy Wurem, Rabbi Moshe and Esti Katz, and more. Children of all ages and their parents have special time to bond, enjoy the delicious food, and participate in meaningful davening and learning at all levels.

“This was our second year at Nageela’s Rosh Hashanah program, and it was truly soul-awakening and inspiring for me and my children,” said Abigail Ruben. “I took home the messages about forgiveness, being more loving and giving. I’m so appreciative of what Nageela gives to us!”

Many families returned to Nageela for the uplifting Yom Kippur program this week. Help support JEP/ Nageela’s year-round educational and fun programs by calling 917-7152415 or visiting donate@jepli.org.

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MTA Talmidim Help After Storm

MTA talmidim were hard at work in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Ida, volunteering in their local communities. Talmidim helped families whose homes were damaged by the storm with clean up and debris removal.

“We are so proud of our talmidim, who are always willing to go above and beyond to help those in need,” said Director of Guidance Mrs. Tamar Sheffey. “At MTA, we work hard to instill the value of chessed within our talmidim, and it’s incredible to watch firsthand as they put what they have learned to use and make an impact on their communities.”

The students in Morah Shoshanna and Mora Sara’s class at the HANC Early Childhood Center in West Hempstead reenacted the story of Yonah and the whale before Yom Kippur

Investing in Israeli Innovation is Investing in the Future

By: Mendy Gelbord

Israel truly is the start-up nation of the world today. With over 8,300 active start-up companies and in excess of USD $107 billion generated in IPOs over the last decade, Israeli innovation is changing the world as we know it in almost every field imaginable.

Founded in 2012, the Besadno Investment Group, whose name in Hebrew represents the phrase “With G-d’s help, we will succeed,” recently launched the crowdfunding platform, InvestiNation. The platform is the first kosher crowdfunding investment platform that provides accredited American investors with access to multiple innovative start-ups in sectors ranging from PropTech, Mixed Reality, ConTech, EdTech, Medical, Aviation and Aeronautics.

Eliezer Gross, CEO and Founder of the Besadno Investment Group, identified the need to build a gateway between the American accredited investor and the multitude of innovative investment opportunities emerging out of Israel today.

“Our investors are quicky understanding that investing in Israeli innovation is investing in the future. Besadno sits on the board of every company we invest in, giving our investors a sense of added security,” Gross explains. “We handpick early-stage start-ups after an extensive due diligence process. It’s not enough to have a brilliant piece of technology in hand, rather, one must be able to identify the market potential and turn it into a profitable business. Our team of advisors and experts assist the potential companies with market penetration and product development during critical growth stages.” One such promising company is Urban Aeronautics, who are currently developing emission-free “carsized” aircrafts that will be able to land in highly populated city areas. Major capitals around the globe are now passing legislation to allow for urban taxi aviation as early as 2025.

In the medical sector, Fertigo works to improve the success rate of IVF by performing continuous real-time in-vivo monitoring to determine the best possible moment for a successful implantation. The potential of such technology in the U.S. is astronomical as each IVF implantation costs between USD $11,000 - $12,000, with a success rate of only 37.8%. Fertigo’s technology aims to dramatically increase the success rate of these treatments.

StructShare, a construction tech company on the platform, is digitalizing the construction purchasing ecosystem. The company provides software that allows specialty contractors to connect with vendors and streamline the entire purchasing cycle, from planning through field orders, POs and deliveries, to an automatic account payable process.

“Trade contractors have seen savings of over one hundred thousand dollars in one year,” boasts Gross. “Often, the innovation we invest in makes such a small but critical change to an entire industry that we are left asking ourselves, how did the world operate without it?”

Besadno prides itself in offering only investments that have been approved for halachic compliance by the Badatz of the Eidah Hachareidis Yerushalayim.

“The Badatz review includes researching issues of ribbis, shemiras Shabbos, and kashrus related to FoodTech,” explains Gross.

“For the first time, InvestiNation provides the Orthodox market with the opportunity to be a part of the next Israeli innovation success story,” boasts the CIO of Besadno Group, Oded Eliashiv.

To learn more, visit: www.investination.com or contact a representative at (212) 603-9808.

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We Will Never Forget The Five Towns Commemorates 9/11

On Sunday, September 12, 2021, the Village of Cedarhurst held a memorial ceremony commemorating the tragic events of 9/11 at Andrew J. Parise Park. Scores of Five Towns residents came to pay their respects and share in remembering the horrific events that took place twenty years ago. Local politicians joined in the ceremony including County Executive Laura Curran, Supervisor Don Clavin, Councilman Bruce Blakeman, and State Senator Todd Kaminsky.

Cedarhurst Mayor Ben Weinstock opened the ceremony and thanked the heroes who selflessly ran into the burning buildings to rescue their American brethren. He thanked local law enforcement, firefighters,

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Hatzalah members, and Port Authority workers. The mayor urged residents to teach their children about the events of 9/11. He asked schools to include 9/11 lessons in their curriculum, but reminded listeners that children must be taught about 9/11 in a non-biased, factual way. Many in “Generation Z” never saw a video of the 9/11 attacks; he noted that seeing the footage would impact the way they viewed the events of 9/11.

John Feal, of the FealGood Foundation, lost part of his foot in the 9/11 attacks. He generously gave of his time to remind the audience of the need to thank their local heroes and to look past the color, religion, gender and political affiliations of others. He spoke of the unity felt after 9/11. And he told of the countless individuals who have died since the 9/11 attacks in 9/11-related illnesses.

Deputy Mayor Ari Brown, Trustee Myrna Zisman, Trustee Israel Wasser, and Trustee Daniel Plaut read the plaque markers, noting the time of the crashes of each of the planes on that fateful morning.

County Executive Laura Curran spoke of feeling gratitude for the country of the United States and for the heroes who protect us daily. Councilman Bruce Blakeman noted that his nephew perished in the 9/11 attacks and made the ultimate sacrifice for his country. He urged listeners to stand up for what the United States represents.

Around the Community YOSS First Days

September 1, 2021 marked the first full day of school for our Yeshiva of South Shore students. It was difficult to tell who was more excited – the students or the teachers. With all the preparations, inviting classroom décor, and exciting activities, both teachers and students were finally ready for the big day.

There are so many firsts when entering first grade. Mrs. Traube’s Firsties read the popular book David Goes to School by David Shannon. The class played an interactive game sorting different appropriate classroom expectations inspired by David’s story. The students completed their first directed drawing of the famous, lovable character, David, just like David Shannon. David’s character will inspire them throughout the coming year to make smart choices.

While parents and teachers have so much to do for the big day, our students have a whole set of other worries –first day jitters! To ensure a smooth transition Mrs. Berenholz’s second graders read First Day Jitters, by Julie Danneberg. This helped the students address their own jitters and recognize that even teachers can be nervous about the first day of school. Each student received a personal Jitter Juice beverage to celebrate the first full day of school.

What is courage? Mrs. Weiss’s third grade class tackled this theme when approaching the sensitive topic of 9/11. Using the mentor text, Courage, by Bernard Waber, the students discussed how courage can be applied to their lives just as courage was used by our 9/11 heroes. The boys designed a personal art piece depicting various daily acts of courage.

What better way to get to know one’s students than through art? Every student in Mrs. Zicherman’s fourth grade class had the opportunity to showcase their strengths and unique character traits through creating their own personalized robot! It was an introduction to their exciting STEM unit in which they used every day materials to represent themselves in robotic form. The robot designs reflected athletes, scientist, scholars and mathematicians. Fourth grade is ready to steam ahead into STEM!

Mrs. Gross’ and Mrs. Kastriner’s fifth graders created an acrostic poem which emphasized their individual unique qualities. Each boy answered a questionnaire about themselves and responded by tracing their hand and filling the traced fingers in with their interests. The fifth graders have a diverse range of strengths and hobbies.

We’re building talmidim, leaders, our future!

Hundreds of Shuls Will Pray for Return of Bodies of IDF Soldiers

Hundreds of synagogues across North America will join in solidarity on Yom Kippur and Sukkot to recite a special prayer for the return of the bodies of fallen Israeli Defense Forces Lt. Hadar Goldin and St.-Sgt. Oron Shaul. The movement is being led by the Religious Zionists of America-Mizrachi (RZA), and also includes and online petition to learn more about the soldiers and advocate on their behalf.

During the group’s recent rabbinic mission to Israel, participating North American rabbis had the opportunity to meet with Drs. Leah and Simha Goldin, the parents of Hadar Goldin. Before the pandemic, the Goldins traveled regularly to plead their son’s case to government authorities abroad. Unfortunately, the pandemic limited not only their ability to regularly work on their son’s case through high-level meetings, but also caused his story to slip from the minds of the officials with the power to apply meaningful pressure on Hamas to release his remains.

“No parent or family should ever have to experience the loss of a child. All the more so, no parent should ever have to live a life in limbo, hoping and praying for the return of their child’s body for the ability to bury them,” said RZA-Mizrachi America CoPresident Rabbi Leonard Matanky. “We hope to join together on our most holy of days to storm the heavens in prayer to ask Hashem to bring them home.”

The prayer, which beckons Hashem to empower the return of the remains of both soldiers, was written by Goldin’s family. It loosely translates to “Merciful Father who dwells on high; May He, in His great mercy, remember with compassion the holy and pure soldiers who laid down their lives for the sanctification of His Name.” It goes on to describe, “They were swifter than eagles and stronger than lions in carrying out the will of their Maker, and the wish of their steadfast G-d, with courage and humility.” It closes by asking Hashem to remember them for good, together with the other righteous of the world, and bring them to their final resting place amidst their people, Israel. “After meeting with the parents of Hadar Goldin, we returned from the trip inspired to take action. We immediately set up a petition to help raise the profile and awareness of the situation across our congregations and have since expanded those efforts to other congregations and communities, of all Jewish denominations,” said RZA-Mizrachi America Executive Vice President Rabbi Ari Rockoff. “It was only natural to look to our tradition and prayer as the high holidays approach and even more natural to remember and pray for our brethren on our most holy of days.”

The petition, which was written by RZA rabbis in partnership with the Goldin family and their advocates, has already garnered thousands of signatures. Addressed to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, it calls on the United States’ leading diplomat to increase pressure on Hamas to return the remains of the two soldiers’ bodies and the live civilian hostages it currently holds, Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed. The petition reminds Blinken that Goldin was killed and captured during a U.S.- and U.N.-mandated ceasefire and thus it is the opinion of the undersigned, and the families of the victims that both parties share the responsibility to secure the repatriation of his remains. Those interested in reading and signing the petition may do so at www.rza.org/bringthemhome.

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PHOTO CREDIT: WEINTRAUB STUDIOS