UJA Fed-NY

Soon after John Ruskay took over the helm of UJA-Federation of New York in 1999 he gave a major address based on the notion, then prevalent, that Israel had reached a point in its history when peace seemed imminent.

With the weather still hot, summer camp over and the children restless, the last week before school starts can be a challenge for many parents.

All the more so for haredi parents, who on average have more than three times the number of children as other New York Jewish parents, according to a recent UJA-Federation of New York study. While many of the children receive federally subsidized meals at camp and school, during that last week of summer — with no food programs — low-income families often struggle to get everyone fed.

Once upon a time there was Jewish unity.

Not all of the time, perhaps not even most of the time, certainly not in the biblical era, and not in the pre-Holocaust European era either. Nevertheless, “unity” was the Eleventh Commandment, if ever there was one.

Friday evening typically finds the community of Kehilath Jeshurun, a Modern Orthodox synagogue on the Upper East Side, at services, extending a traditional, tuneful welcome to the approaching Sabbath.

But in the fall, some of KJ’s clergy and congregants will begin celebrating Shabbat outside their accustomed settings, venturing forth to local spots like restaurants and bars to host “Sabbath salons.”