To the Editor: The article “ Charity Watchdog Downgrades Leading Nonprofits”[Jewish Star, Sept. 28] reflects the realities of the heightened scrutiny to which all charitable organizations are now subjected. The past few years have seen the requisites with which the non-profits must comply significantly ramped up, and what sufficed a year ago will not necessarily constitute compliance today. more

To paraphrase Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof, “Lord I know we are your chosen people, but once in a while, can’t you have Mel Gibson choose someone else?” more

Sound of a shofar stirs a soul Honey activates taste buds Verbalized wishes for a sweet New year Health happiness success blessings more

The Facebook-driven election is on, with a wide variety of candidates vying to top the chart of this year’s Jewish Community Heroes, a contest sponsored by The Jewish Federations of North America. Among the 306 contenders are nine from Long Island, ranging from a challah baker to a collector of shoah survivor stories. more

The attendees at a lecture for Orthodox single parents were shy initially, but conversations developed, as they spoke of greater acceptance of divorcees in the community. more

Judaica Press has recently reissued the classic, “The Practical Guide To Teshuvah” by Rabbi Shaul Wagschal as an apt companion to Rabbi Wegbreit’s sefer. more

In his preface to this week’s review selection, “The Power of Aleinu” by Rabbi Asher Baruch Wegbreit [Judaica Press, 2011], Rabbi Yisrael Reisman stated that, “It is the custom of Klal Yisrael to recite Aleinu in the middle of the Shemonah Esrei on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. more

Rabbi Hanan Porat, 67, the iconic face of Gush Emunim settlement movement died on early Tuesday at Kfar Etzion, the prewar kibbutz that he helped reestablish after the Six Day War. A paratrooper in that war, he rose to lead the movement to settle the territories beyond the Green Line, serving in the Knesset as a voice of opposition to land concessions. more

Rabbi Hanan Porat was just another face in a crowd, and then it lifted him above their shoulders, as they demonstrated in 1975 for the right to build Jewish housing beyond the Green Line. Through his efforts, there is Elon Moreh, Kedumim and Shavei Shomron. But those are just the early communities, founded through Gush Emunim, the “bloc of the faithful.” Today, a half million Jews live in these communities, including eastern Jerusalem. more

Seems like President Barack Obama just can’t seem to catch a break in his efforts to maintain Jewish support ahead of his 2012 reelection bid. His speech before the United Nations and use of the veto power to delay Palestinian statehood have been noted in the Jewish community. more