Six candidates are on the ballot for three trustee seats on the Lawrence Board of Education.With Solomon Blisko not running for re-election, three candidates are vying for his seat: Jesse Lunin-Pack, Tova Plaut and Dov Herman, all first time candidates for public office.Incumbent Trustee Nahum Marcus is running for a third term. He is opposed by former board member Michael Hatten. Juan Zapeda petitioned to be on the ballot, then decided not to run at this time. His name remains on the ballot. Running unopposed is longtime Trustee David Sussman. All terms are three years and begin July 1 and end June 30, 2016. District residents can go to the polls to vote on the budget and for school board trustees on May 21. more

As part of their series “Legends of Air & Space,” the Cradle of Aviation Museum in Garden City, Long Island last Thursday presented El Al crew members to discuss their flight experiences and as ambassadors for Israel. more

On Wednesday, May 1st, Rabbi Shlomo Amar, the Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel, visited Yeshiva University-affiliated Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS). more

Rabbi Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld emigrated to Eretz Yisrael from Hungary in 1873 and settled in the Old City of Yerushalayim. Once settled, he meticulously refrained from remaining outside the walls of the Old City for more than thirty days. more

Rabbi Moshe Taragin, in an interesting essay entitled, “A Desert Gift” [vbm.org/Shavuot], writes an interesting thesis on the importance of the venue of the desert for the revelation at Mt. Sinai. One series of very perceptive observations caught my attention and I wish to share them with you. Quoting from the Midrash Bamidbar 1:1, Rabi Taragin cites the following: “Whoever does not transform himself into hefker as a desert cannot acquire the inner wisdom of Torah.” more

May 12 Young Israel of Woodmere 53rd Anniversary Dinner The Sands in Atlantic Beach Buffet Dinner at 6:30 PM Program followed by dessert at 8:15 PM For more information and reservations call: 516 295-0950 x2 more

On Erev Pesach 1944, the Plinkers, having fled Amsterdam for Brussels, were turned in to the Nazis, arrested, and sent to Auschwitz. Unusually so, most of the family survived - all, except for Moshe, who died when he was 18. After the war, a diary that he kept while in hiding was published. And it was over Shavuot that he wondered what it meant to be “the Chosen People” ... more

After the Torah describes the order and population of how the Israelites traveled in the desert, we are told of how the tribe of Levi was not counted with everyone else, nor did they travel amongst the people. Their camp was around the Mishkan, and their jobs focused on breaking down, carrying and reconstructing the Mishkan as per the travels of the nation. more

Seems like I was just writing my last article about my impending cruise and here I am back on my computer in my den…a far cry from the 4,000 passenger cruise liner I was on. For those of you who were never on a cruise ship, there are a variety of cabins you can choose from, the best being suites, then balcony cabins followed by cabins with portholes you can view the ocean through, and, finally, the “inside” cabin, with no sign of daylight, along with no room to move around in. more

With the counting of Sefirah just about to end, the festival of Shavuot commemorating the giving of the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai can not be too far behind. In fact the observance of this briefest of holidays is the exact culmination of the Sefirah count and the climax of the historic link between Pesach, the Exodus, and Shavuot and the giving of the Torah. more