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If you, a family member, or friend would like to receive emails from the Agudah email reception@agudah.org. | | June 14, 2020 - 22 Sivan 5780 News from the Agudah:
- Tens of thousands of children all over the country were devastated this Friday afternoon, upon hearing that New York Governor Cuomo shuttered overnight camp this summer. Please see below for the Agudah's statement on the matter, and that the Agudah is considering all other options available.
- Pirchei's Sunday Live program continues today at 5:00 pm EDT, featuring a special guest storyteller, Rabbi Avi Frank. Details below.
- Don't forget about all the other Pirchei programs! See below for the full week's schedule for Pirchei-ers.
- 13 billion dollars of federal aid was allocated in the CARES Act, and due to the lobbying of Agudas Yisroel and others money was allocated to nonpublic schools too. But maximizing that allocation for your children's Yeshivos and Bais Yaakovs is not simple, and Rabbi Avi Schnall, Rabbi Shlomo Soroka, and Rabbi A.D. Motzen hosted a webinar for school administrators this past week to educate them in the best ways to do that. More details and the video below.
- Bnos leaders faced some unprecedented challenges over the last months, keeping their Bnos girls engaged and growing without their weekly Shabbos afternoon meetings. In a special end-of-season get together, they got a big thank you - see below!
- The Yarchei Kallah on Inyanei Brachos continued today with a hachanah shiur at 11:00 am EDT, a shiur from Rabbi Asher Weiss on Din Amein Al Habrachos at 12:00 pm, and divrei chizuk from Rabbi Avrohom Schorr at 1:00 pm. See below for the Zoom and call in information, which is the same as tomorrow's, when Rabbi Yisroel Perlow will speak on the topic of iyunim b'birchas hamitzvos at 12:00 pm EDT.
- Finally, see below for this week's Night Seder America update!
| | Summer Camps Shuttered for 2020: Statement by Agudath Israel | | Agudath Israel of America expresses its deep disappointment in New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and his administration for shuttering overnight camps for tens of thousands of children. The news, released in a late Friday news dump in the form of a statement by State Health Commissioner Howard Zucker, will be a blow to the physical, socioemotional, and psychological well-being of children who have already endured forced quarantine for nearly three months, as well as their religious development. Especially troubling about this development is the fact that it comes at a time when cases of COVID-19 in NY have plummeted for six consecutive weeks. Further, among the nearly 8 million COVID-19 cases worldwide there have been few cases, and even fewer serious cases, among children. In an effort to minimize risk of infection in a summer camp setting, Agudath Israel and the Association of Jewish Camp Operators (AJCO) had proactively commissioned leading infectious disease doctors around the country to create rigorous, safe camping protocols for the COVID-19 era. Agudath Israel then brought this proposal to the Governor's office and intensively advocated for this cause. The proposal included, among other safety measures, rigorously testing children at multiple points before and during the summer and submitting documentation attesting to this. No positive cases would enter camp, and the camps would then completely lock down in a "protective bubble." Yet despite the strong support of this proposal by internationally renowned medical experts, Commissioner Zucker rejected it out of hand. This is not the only troubling use of Governor Cuomo's executive authority, and we have noted this before. Governmental power has also been used as a sword against religion, instead of the shield the Founding Fathers intended it to be. For example, all religious services in New York City are still strictly limited to 10 individuals per building. This cap is irrespective of the size of the building, number of floors in the building, and the wearing of PPE or implementation of social distancing. Nor is there any additional latitude afforded for outdoor services. In contrast, horse racing has no fixed upper limit on the number allowed to participate, up to 50% of maximum room capacity. Similarly, professional sports training is allowed statewide where occupancy is below 50% of maximum occupancy, with no arbitrary numerical ceiling. As of June 26th, outdoor graduations are allowed for up to 150 people. And it is no secret that mass protests of far greater than 150 people have been implicitly allowed. Yet Orthodox Jews cannot pray outside in numbers greater than 10. We respect that Governor Cuomo is forced to make difficult decisions in these difficult times. But his mantra has been to follow the data, follow the science, and follow the law. Sadly, his decisions regarding overnight summer camps and religious practices fall far short of this ideal. In light of today's development, Agudath Israel and other summer camp representatives will consider whatever remaining options may be available to them. | | Pirchei Sunday Live Hosted by Reb Hershel! This Sunday at 5pm EDT (4:00 CDT) Special Guest Storyteller Rabbi Avi Frank, Rebbe, Yeshiva of Spring Valley, Director, AI Campus Marshall IN Call in: (425) 436-6277 Pin: 533200
Sunday Learn and Live! GRAND FINALE THIS SUNDAY 7:00pm – 8:00pm (EDT) SPECIAL GUEST RABBI BINYOMIN WIELGUS!! Zoom ID 442-229-4679 Password 613 Call in 646 558-8656 pin 613 Pirkei Avos With Geshmak – Rabbi Yonasan Posnick There will NOT be a shiur this Sunday. | | Agudah Webinar for School Administrators Provides Clarity Amidst the Confusion | | "Crystal Clear. Productive. Informative. Helpful." Those were just some of the words used by school administrators and other participants to describe Agudath Israel of America's recent webinar. Clarity in this case was critical, as the presentation focused on $13 billion of federal funding included in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which has confused public and private school officials alike. Rabbi Avi Schnall, director of Agudah's New Jersey office was the main presenter and explained, along with practical suggestions, how nonpublic schools can maximize their share of the funding for their students and teachers. School administrators from more than a dozen states participated. The Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund, which was included in the CARES Act, was created by Congress to address the impact of COVID-19 on educational services across the nation. Thanks to the advocacy efforts of Agudath Israel's Vice President for Government Affairs and Washington Director Rabbi Abba Cohen and others, the CARES Act included language that required states to give nonpublic school students and teachers an "equitable" share of the funding and services. As explained on the webinar by Rabbi Shlomo Soroka, director of government affairs for Agudath Israel of Illinois, a dispute has arisen between the U.S. Department of Education and some state superintendents as to how the equitable share of funding is calculated. Guidance from the US Department of Education stated that both public and private schools were able to use their share of the funds for all students and teachers and funding should therefore be based upon the total population of participating nonpublic school students. If participating private school students make up 10% of the school age population in a district, the private school students and teachers should receive 10% of the available funding. Some states are objecting to that interpretation and are only agreeing to give funding based on the number of low-income students attending nonpublic schools while others are holding the difference in escrow. Agudah strongly supports the interpretation of the US Department of Education and Rabbi Soroka advised schools on how they should respond to local school districts that are refusing to comply with the federal guidance. After explaining the differences between the CARES Act funding and other forms of federal funding, Rabbi Schnall offered practical suggestions on how nonpublic schools can maximize their funding allocation and addressed ways to receive funding for summer programs, technology, and instructional staff. Even veteran school administrators appreciated the invaluable advice. The presentation was followed by a question and answer session which included the input of Agudah's Yeshiva Services division and regional directors. A link to the presentation and the presentation slides can be found here. | | Pirchei - Weekly Programming Roundup | | Pirchei Hotline 24/6 (718) 663-0212 Stories, Divrei Torah, Contests and more!! Ten Minutes of Tehillim Nightly Tehillim at 6pm from anywhere. Say Tehillim for 10 minutes. Call the hotline and press option 9 and leave your name and phone number to be entered into a raffle Daily Dose of Pirchei Sunday - Thursday 5:30pm (978) 990-5000 Pin: 161062 Pirkei Avos With Geshmak – Rabbi Yonasan Posnick For 2nd and 3rd Grades Sunday, Wednesday and Thursday Evenings 7- 7:45pm (EDT) (Not this Sunday, though, sorry!) ZOOM INFO: 989 0262 1799 Password: GESHMAK (all Uppercase) Call in 646-558-8656 Meeting Id 989 0262 1799 PIN: 456572 Mishnahboyz - Rabbi Aharon Wahl For 4th thru 6th Grades Monday - Thursday! 7pm -8pm (EDT) Zoom ID 442-229-4679 Password 613 Call in 646 558-8656 pin 613 Night Seder America for 6th – 8th Grades Sunday – Thursday 8pm -9pm (EDT) Zoom ID 897- 063- 4419 or 719-1358-9090 Password for both 5780 Call in 929 436-2866 Meeting ID #1 Or 929 205-6099 Meeting ID #2 See below for more details. Class Codes Program Many Yeshivos have signed up to this wonderful program Your Rebbe will announce 5 daily codes during class. Write down the codes and call 718-307-2955 to be entered into daily and weekly raffles | | Virtual Bnos Leaders' Event Unites Girls Around the Country | | Anyone who has worked as a Bnos leader can tell you that it's not an easy job. And in the last few months Agudah's Bnos leaders rose to the additional challenges that COVID-19 brought by doubling their efforts and providing the homebound girls in their community with meaningful, virtual engagement. Which is why Mrs. Chana Baila Hass, National Director of Bnos Agudath Israel, put together a special event for her Bnos Leaders. "We wanted to use this event to end this Bnos season on a high," she said. "This was an opportunity to highlight the struggles and successes of a virtual Bnos program, and we are extremely proud of what our leaders have accomplished under the current circumstances." The virtual event connected and united one thousand Bnos leaders from all over the country. The event's focus was simple: applauding their efforts and accomplishments during the COVID-19 era. At the event, after recitation of pirkei tehillim, Mrs. Dubby Garfinkul detailed her journey to becoming a frum individual, and the importance of leadership, especially in difficult times. Then, Bnos leaders from all over the country presented to their peers unique methods they came up with for virtually engaging their charges. Although the audience may have been miles apart, the connection between these girls was much closer. The idea of belonging to a community of girls all struggling to be the best leaders they could possibly be, provided great comfort to the responsible teenagers. Bnos Agudath Israel is proud to end this unique season of Bnos with the chizuk of their peers leading the way to a successful, and with Hashem's help COVID-free, upcoming season | | Night Seder America Weekly UpdateA | | Dear Parents and Masmidim,
Tov L'hodos L'Hashem!! Words are not sufficient to express our feelings of Hakaras Hatov to Hashem for the nightly Kiddush Hashem/AKA NSA.
This coming week, Iy''h, once again we are TAKING NSA ON THE ROAD! We will be in Far Rockaway Sunday night. The boys who won the raffle have already been notified (we will be enforcing the strict social distancing guidelines set forth by the Gov't officials and Rabbonim). If that goes well, we would like to visit other communities as well (Passaic, maybe. Chicago, doubtful :-)) so we can connect on a more tangible level with at least some of the Masmidim. Iy''h one day we will be able to get together to celebrate together with every member of NSA... Amen!
We will let you know on Monday of our plans for any other "Road Trips" coming up.
See below for next weeks schedule. We were unable to attach shiurim this week.
Have a great Shabbos,
Rabbi Schonfeld P.S. We will discuss our summer plans sometime this week. ZOOM MEETING ID: 8970634419 or 71913589090 (Password for both is 5780) CALL IN OPTION: 929-436-2866 (followed by first meeting id) or 929-205-6099 (followed by second meeting id) Sunday- Thursday 8pm-8:45pm(EST) Limud Gemara (Rosh Hashana, 4th Perek). 8:45pm-9pm: Nightly contest. Going forward, we will be having guest speakers only on Thursday. This weeks contests: V'haarev Na - We will continue to raffle off (courtesy of Vhaarev Na) a set of a personalized Cross pen/pencil every night to the boys who write notes and teitch in their Gemara. T.M.P. (you control!!) (That's My Psak!)- We will choose at least 2 contestants a night who will try and answer 6 multiple choice questions correctly. Each correct answer leads to a larger gift card, with the top prize being a Segway (gevaldig, gevaldig, gevaldig!!...) Phone participants can participate as well. We are excited and honored that Pirchei Agudas Yisroel has partnered with us to help sponsor T.M.P. This week, there will be 6 categories of questions. 1- Tanach 2- Jewish history 3- Jewish music 4- Gemara 5- NSA trivia 6- Audio. You will decide when you want to be asked each category. NEW- The power of a Niggun - We sang and learned the powerful words of Tov l'hodos this week. It was treat to hear from the original composer, R' Yo Eisenstark. There will be a raffle sunday night to anyone who sings this niggun over shabbos for a blue tooth speaker. (Mazel tov Pinny Sommer on winning the speaker last week.) Nightly trivia - Of course we will continue our nightly trivia on the Gemara we learned. Chazara/Chazara+ - We have a raffle every night for all those who reviewed the previous nights Gemara. Once a week we will have a raffle for those that reviewed from the beginning of the 3rd and 4th Perek.
KEEP SHTEIGING!! | | | | | | |
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