A MESSAGE FROM THE WESTCHESTER BOARD OF RABBIS

A MESSAGE FROM THE WESTCHESTER BOARD OF RABBIS

The Westchester Board of Rabbis is shocked and saddened by the tragic events of December 14, at Sandy Hook Elementary School.  Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims and with the residents of Newtown, Connecticut.  Our tradition teaches that every human life is sacred for we are all created in God’s image.  We stand committed to this belief and will work toward insuring a better, safer world for all of God’s children.

We pray that the 20 children and 6 educators, who were so cruelly and senselessly killed, will be wrapped in God’s eternal embrace.  We pray that their memories will be come to be blessings.

The Westchester Board of Rabbis

President:  Rabbi Jaymee Alpert

Executive Committee:  Rabbis Morris Barzilai, Sandy Bogin, Lester Bronstein,

Jonathan Morgenstern, Mara Nathan, Gordon Tucker

Immediate Past President:  Rabbi Joshua Davidson

Day School Affordability

Rabbi Shmuly Yankolowitz writes in an article this week in The Jewish Journal about the affordability of day schools.

According to Yanklowitz, "Rising school costs along with a continuing recession have combined to create a crisis in the survival of Jewish day schools."  In his opinion, "The day school system is potentially the most powerful way of educating, empowering, and activating our Jewish youth base to grow as global Jewish leaders, and is therefore crucial to the future of the Jewish community."

Read the full text of the article here, then join us on December 4th at 7:00 p.m. at the Solomon Schechter School of Westchester as they co-sponsor a community forum on day school affordability in conjunction with the New York State Catholic Conference, UJA-Federation of New York, the Jewish Education Project, the Office of the Superintendant of Schools for the Archdiocese of New York, and the Westchester Jewish Council.

RSVP for the event by emailing Deb Merola.

B'nai Mitzvah Blues?

In a New York Times article, author Bruce Feiler reports on a new trend in B'nai Mitzvah preparation:  teaching children how to behave during the service and at the party.

What are we seeing here in Westchester?  Are centerpieces being routinely dismantled, as the article suggests?  Or are we fortunate enough to have the only well-behaved thirteen year olds in the nation?  And if we do have a similar issue here, do you think the problem needs to be addressed by the parents or by the schools?

Read the complete article here, then let us know what you think.  And while you're browsing, stop in for a visit with Alia Ramer at Our Tribe and Joy, whose original blog post kicked off the article.