“The optimist thinks this is the best of all possible worlds. The pessimist fears it is true. ”

― J. Robert Oppenheimer

Rabbi Daniel Graber is an enthusiastic educator, learner, and community builder with a passion for making Jewish tradition and texts accessible and meaningful to modern readers. He completed his rabbinical studies at the Jewish Theological Seminary (‘19), having previously completed a Masters in Jewish Education at JTS’s William Davidson School (‘14). He is a native New Yorker, growing up in Queens, and holds a BA in political science from Stony Brook University, as well as a minor in theatre.

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Forest Hills Jewish Center, New York -

NY Metro Region Leadership and Forest Hills JC Rabbi Graber gathered together for a barbecue, scotch, friendship and camaraderie!

Visit the FHJC website to learn more about this wonderful synagogue community located in a pleasant niche just off Queens Boulevard! Chazak, Chazak, V'nitchazek! From Strength to Strength May We Be Strengthened!

Mazal Tov, Shea Lerner!

Incoming NY Metro Region President 2023-2025

Chazak, Chazak, V'nitchazek! From Strength to Strength May We Be Strengthened!

The Unrelenting Agony of Being a Depressed New Dad

(Men's Health) — Shortly before his daughter was born last year, Mo Greene, 35, then working in apparel sales, asked his boss if he could take paternity leave. The boss told him that if he did, he’d be fired. Then Greene’s daughter Aurora was born in July, and they fired him anyway, while restructuring the company. His wife had a complicated delivery, so Greene suddenly found himself having to support her and the baby while also trying to find a new job. “It really messed up my head a lot,” he says. A month in, he started having problems. He began drinking more at home. He and his wife started arguing more frequently, and he became so lonely that he’d look for excuses to go to the corner store just to talk to someone. “It was like I was like a completely different person,” he says...

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Jewish Red Bulls star Daniel Edelman could be the next face of US men’s soccer

(New York Jewish Week) — New York Red Bulls midfielder Daniel Edelman is something of a hero to American soccer fans — and Jewish soccer fans, in particular. The 20-year-old rising star, who is Jewish, won his Major League Soccer team’s Newcomer of the Year award last year, and, as captain of the under-20 U.S. Men’s National Team, he helped lead the team to the quarterfinals at the U-20 World Cup in Argentina in May.

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How to hatch a Jewish chicken farm in Uganda

(Jewish Journal) — For over 100 years, the Abayudaya (“People of Judah”) community has been devoutly practicing Judaism in their villages near the city of Mbale, in eastern Uganda. Their five synagogues cooperatively share an organization called the Abayudaya Men’s Club...

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A Jewish social service agency helped resettle young Ukrainians. Now the beneficiaries are giving back

(New York Jewish Week) — On a sweltering July afternoon, 15 Ukrainian young adults gathered in a meeting room at the Jewish Community House in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. They toss a small ball to each other as an ice breaker — a way to indicate who should introduce themselves next...

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In a first, Israel’s prime minister will visit Morocco

(JTA) — Moroccan King Mohammed VI invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to visit Morocco days after Israel recognized the country’s claim to the disputed Western Sahara. “The invitation was sent in a warm, personal letter in which His Majesty thanked the State of Israel for its recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over the Western Sahara,” Netanyahu’s office said in a statement it released Wednesday. “King Mohammed VI wrote Prime Minister Netanyahu that the visit would open up new possibilities for strengthening relations between their two countries.”

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Ask the Rabbis | What Does Israel Reaching 75 Mean in the Context of 3,000 Years of Jewish History?

(moment) For one thing, 75 years is how old our ancestor Abraham was when God called him to journey to the land that would one day be called Israel (Genesis 12:4). Thus began not our 3,000- but our 4,000-year history. In that context, 75 years demonstrates beyond question the miraculous nature of the Jew and the authenticity of our sacred writ. Not once did we relinquish our sense of self-value, neither as individuals nor as a people, even though year after year, decade after decade, century after century, there appeared no sign of the ancient promise heralded by our prophets...

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Rummage Sale!

August 6 - August 8, 2023

Sunday, August 6

10am to 4pm

Monday, August 7

10am to 4pm

6pm to 9pm

Tuesday, August 8 (Bag Day!)

10am to 4pm

Rose Feiss Boulevard honors a ‘small but mighty’ maven of the South Bronx

(JTA) — In the industrial Port Morris neighborhood in the Bronx, a 10-block stretch of Walnut Avenue bears the name Rose Feiss Boulevard, honoring the Jewish immigrant woman who lived, worked and touched the lives of many in the borough...

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The first-ever Borscht Belt Festival celebrates a bygone Jewish era

(New York Jewish Week) — After a dozen-plus years in the making, the Catskills Borscht Belt museum is set to open in 2025. But for those who can’t wait another two years, the museum is launching a festival to honor the history and culture of the “Jewish Alps” this summer. The first-ever Borscht Belt Fest will debut on July 29 in Ellenville, New York, about 90 miles from Manhattan. 

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The Jewish story behind ‘Oppenheimer,’ explained

(JTA) — Moviegoers are planning to fill theaters across the United States to see Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” biopic. But to fully understand the physicist, biographers have looked for clues in his belief system — an ethical code grounded in science and rationality, a fiery sense of justice and a lifelong ambivalence toward his own Jewish heritage.

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Chanteuse: A new musical spotlights the Nazi persecution of LGBTQ+ people

(New York Jewish Week) — Some 50,000 gay men and women were imprisoned by Nazis during the Holocaust. Of them, approximately 10,000 to 15,000 were held in concentration camps, and nearly all of those who were sent to the camps died there. And yet, many stories of LGBTQ+ people who died in Nazi prisons are left untold...

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Sheldon Harnick, the lyricist who made Jewish longing universal in ‘Fiddler on the Roof,’ passed away at 99

(JTA) — The moment when Sheldon Harnick realized that his new musical might be something special came when he sang the lyrics he had just composed for a new song: “Sunrise, Sunset.” 

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A new kosher restaurant in Midtown will sell a $175 gold-plated burger

(New York Jewish Week) — Dining out in New York City is expensive — especially at a kosher restaurant. But Mocha Burger Lux, a forthcoming Midtown restaurant, is upping the ante with its “24K Gold Plated Golden-Burger,” which has an eye-popping price: $175.



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The ‘Grand Cru Jew’ pours fine wine at Michelin-starred Japanese restaurant in the West Village

(New York Jewish Week) — Imagine an Upper West Side seder like any other: adults praying, haggadahs dappled with brisket juice, matzah ball soup a little too salty. Only that’s not a Manischewitz bottle on the table. That’s a magnum of Cru Beaujolais...

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Viral TikTok series ‘Keep the Meter Running’ makes a very Jewish visit to the 2nd Avenue Deli

(New York Jewish Week) — An Egyptian-American comedian and a Bukharian Jewish cab driver broke bread together at New York’s 2nd Avenue Deli last month, a meeting that’s been viewed more than 700,000 times on TikTok. As part of his online series “Keep the Meter Running,” comedian Kareem Rahma hails a yellow cab and tells the driver: “Take me to your favorite place and keep the meter running.”

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Cilantro’s Jewish Roots

(Tablet) — On the cold afternoon of Jan. 7, 1486, in the main square of a town called Teruel in eastern Spain, the Court of the Holy Inquisition sentenced to death the converso Juan Sánchez de Exarch for his Judaizing activities. Among the heretical practices mentioned in the Inquisition records were his adherence to Judaism, his repudiation of Jesus in favor of Moses, and his Hebraic foodways—such as the preparation of a Sabbath pot by the name of adafina...

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The phrase "repairing the world" lies at the heart of what Brandeis is all about

(Brandeis University) — The expression derives from the Hebrew — tikkun olam means "world repair" — and reflects Brandeis' Jewish roots, though its meaning today is secular and universal. Mostly, it signifies the university and its community members’ commitment to making the world a better place. It is often associated with political activism and a dedication to social justice, but others see it as an obligation to behave ethically and treat others with dignity and respect...

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Garlic and Jews:

6 Little-Known Jewish Facts

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Do you have any trivia or interesting facts that you would like to share for the newsletter? Please contact Lisa at assistant@fjmc.org

Letters to the Editor

If you have an article of interest, a special event happening at your Men's Club or other news for the New York Metro Region newsletter, please forward them to Lisa Pollack at assistant@fjmc.org

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