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This past Sunday, on the second day of yom tov, my uncle, Moshe ben Efrayim Zalman ve’Bracha, passed away in his 94th year. He was born in Krakow, fled as a child from the Nazis to Soviet occupied Poland, then again eastward when the Nazis attacked again in 1941. He spent the next four years in a refugee camp at Ksil Orda in Kazakhstan. He returned to Krakow with my father and their parents in 1946, but soon was sent to a yeshiva/orphanage near Versailles where he lived until the rest of the ...
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I’ve engaged in genealogical research for over 30 years. My lineage, as is the case with many who are descended from well known rabbinic families (Horowitz, Margulies, Treves, Loew etc) allows me to trace my ancestors’ movement over time, going backwards from Poland through Austria, Bohemia, the Rhineland, Ile De France, Languedoc, Spain, Rome, and ultimately back to Israel. One of the places that several of my ancestors lived, taught and led in was the city of Narbonne in southwestern France...
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At their annual gala on Sunday, October 11th, Rockland Jewish Family Service (RJFS) will be honoring the memories of two pillars of the Rockland Jewish Community, Judge Alfred Weiner z’l and Doris Renée Weiner z”l.
Al and Renée were very active in so many aspects of Jewish life in Rockland County. Al served as president of RJFS for five years and was also on the Boards of Jewish Federation of Rockland County and Rockland County Israel Bonds. Renée was an active RJFS board member and serv...
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Hello Friends,
I know that for many Jewish families, this is a wonderful—and sometimes hectic—time of year, with the major holidays happening so close together. We’ve just celebrated Rosh Hashanah, and I wish you all a happy, healthy, prosperous year.
We are now in the Ten Days of Repentance leading up to Yom Kippur. For me, this is a very meaningful time. It is an opportunity to slow down, look inward, and build on that self reflection.
Our lives move so quickly - between work, family, re...
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Today, we observe the 25th anniversary of 9/11. Today is also Erev Rosh Hashanah, the eve of our New Year 5787. We typically see the period of time from Rosh Hashanah through Yom Kippur as a time of reflection, repentance, and aspiration for a happy year to come. Though this time is sometimes solemn, it is also celebratory, and not a period of mourning - making today’s anniversary disconsonant, but undeniably imprinted on our souls.
And yet, in a way, the catastrophic experience of 9/11 and ...
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A beautiful version of an excerpt from the Shabbat Candlelighting prayer came up in my instagram feed this past month, and I haven’t been able to stop listening to it. The song is ‘V’Zakeini’ “May I merit”.
An individual, usually the mother lighting candles on erev Shabbat, says the prayer quietly as she gathers her thoughts and focuses on her household, her children, and our collective future. As with several such prayers, I find it a very intimate opportunity to communicate our needs and d...
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Rockland County Synagogues
Testimonials
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One of the most important values in all of Jewish life is unity (achdut in Hebrew). And one of the supreme institutions that strives in the finest ways to insure unity in our Jewish community and b...
Kfar Silver
The connection between Rockland’s Jewish Federation and Kfar Silver Youth Village is a recent one when a group of Rockland County residents visited the school, which is supported by ORT. The agricultural/residential school located just eight miles from Gaza is part of the Zionist dream to make the Negev bloom.
Students come from all over to Kfar Silver, some born in many parts of the FSU…former Soviet Union, as well as students from Ethiopia who were airlifted to Israel with their parents. One third of the student body—750 students—live on the campus. Many come from low socio-economic and single parent families, the disadvantaged part of Israeli society. By the time these kids graduate and move on to the IDF and further educational opportunities, Kfar Silver will have given these kids a leg up they might otherwise not have had.
Rockland County’s Jewish community supports Israel in many ways. Federation’s direct support of Kfar Silver is as much about supporting Israel as it is about supporting a special project we feel a connection with…one we have grown to love.
Adult Jewish Education
- For those who stopped learning about what it means to be Jewish during their last Sunday school session before their bar/bat mitzvah…
- For those who have studied Jewish customs, religion, and culture on their own, but are hungry for more…
- For those who want to be educated about who they are and where they came from, but know little or nothing of what it means to be Jewish…
- For those who aren’t Jewish but are fascinated with Judaism in all its many forms and want to learn about it…
Rockland’s Adult Jewish Education classes are for you. Background doesn’t matter. Level of education doesn’t matter. A desire to learn and participate in riveting, fascinating classes is all you need. Join our classes taught by fascinating, articulate teachers and enjoy!
Got questions? We have answers.
PJ Library
For young moms and dads, reading stories to their children is something many do every night at bedtime…or even in the middle of the afternoon! PJ Library, which is a program of the Harold Grinspoon Foundation, is underwritten in Rockland County by Rockland’s Jewish Federation. It provides Jewish-themed books for children, ages 2-8 every month and gives those moms and dads a wonderful way to help them understand and appreciate what it means to be Jewish…even at a young age.
PJ Library books are wonderful additions to every Jewish family’s library. It doesn’t matter what the family’s background, knowledge or family make-up or observance is. There are PJ Library books for every kind of Jewish family.
But PJ is not only about books. It’s also about Jewish-themed activities…like Zoom classes on cooking for the holidays. And outings where young Jewish families can meet and make friendships with other young Jewish families.
Leket Israel
Leket Israel is the largest food bank and food rescue organization in Israel. Rockland’s Federation has had a long-standing relationship with Leket because we know how important it is to take care of the most basic need of making sure people who struggle to feed themselves and their families have food to put on the table each and every day.
During the year of the pandemic, Leket Israel had to change the way it feeds people in need. It went from rescuing good, nutritious food from restaurants, hotels, and even the IDF, and feeding more than 200,000 Israelis per week, to buying 12,000 meals a day because just like here in Rockland County, the need for food increased tangentially as the Pandemic worsened and people lost their jobs.
Here in Rockland County’s Jewish community, we have a strong relationship with Leket Israel. It’s a special project we support directly and that has come to mean a lot to us. Through donations to Jewish Federation, we can see the difference those donations make in the lives of those who are helped by Leket Israel.
Community Relations Council
If you see something…
The Community Relations Council is Federation’s advocacy arm. One of its prime roles is as the Rockland Jewish community’s voice with elected officials at every level from national to local. The CRC has developed relationships with many of these people and will contact them when there’s an issue that is of concern, and must be addressed. From gatherings the were highly visible, such as the one that occurred after the Monsey stabbings, to those that are strictly behind-the-scenes, the CRC takes a strong and active role in combatting antisemitism no matter where it occurs.
The CRC makes sure our elected officials understand the pernicious effects the BDS (Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions) has on the State of Israel, and the hateful rhetoric that is too pervasive on certain social media channels and group pages in and around Rockland County. When the CRC becomes aware of such hate speech or any violent threats against the Jewish community, it makes sure our local officials are aware of them so they can be dealt with.
Community Weaving
The most important role Jewish Federation plays in the community is in community weaving. Federation has built a platform where all organizations and individuals can come together to share common concerns. Through Community Weaving, Federation brings synagogues and organizations together to work for the common good of Rockland’s Jewish community.
Whether it’s to learn how to apply for security grants, or the PPP during the pandemic, or learning how to set up endowment funds for the financial security of an organization through Life and Legacy, Federation has made Community Weaving the important initiative it is for the community.
