Community Magazine September 2016

RALPH S. TAWIL, A''H Thank you for writing such an eloquent tribute about Ralph S. Tawil, a”h (“Lev Tov – The Large-Hearted Generosity of Ralph S. Tawil”). Mr. Tawil was truly one of the pillars of our fine community. His passing will be felt by almost every person in the community – by those who knew him, aswell as by thosewho never had the pleasure of knowing him but benefited from his enormous generosity. Ralph Tawil was a walking example of the power and the importanceof giving tzedakah . The generous giving of charity is oneof theextraordinary attributes of the Jewish people. Mr. Tawil’s generosity knew no bounds. He helped create and maintain our community’s infrastructure – schools, synagogues, hospitals, and orphanages, etc. We truly lost a giant of a man. Michael A. HACHAM YITZHAK YOSEF VISITS THE DEAL COMMUNITY The coverage of Hacham Yitzhak’s visit to our NJ synagogues was really beautiful. It was very nice to see so many photos of all different types of people from the communitywith the hacham. It brought a huge smile to my face to see such a diversified crowd so excited and eager to meet and greet him – from young children, to teens, to adults, to our community rabbis. All the photos were fantastic, but my favorite is of the one of Hacham Yitzhak shaking the hand of our community’s prominent centenarian, Moe Tawil. What a great shot! I definitely plan on keeping this issue for a long time! Sammy T NEVER FORGET Elie Weisel was one of the few people who stamped the reality of the Holocaust on humanity’s consciousness. He taught us the importance of keeping the memory of the Holocaust alive. His mission was, and still is, even in his passing, to make sure the atrocities of the Holocaust remain forever etched in our memory in order to ensure that they will never happen again. Unfortunately, looking at the events in the world – the rising anti-Semitism and insane hatred of Israel – it seems that this mission is still far from completed. So, howcanwe not only keep alive the memory of the Holocaust, but also make sure our pledge of “Never Again” remains true? This is possible only through our unbridled Jewish national unity and through our absolute mutual responsibility for one another. Joey S. RABBI DAVID OZERI SPARKS INITIATIVE TO RAISE SALARIES OF REBBEIM I agree that our children’s rabbis deserve a raise, and I applaud Rabbi Ozeri and the success of his initiative. But what about the salaries of the Morahs? So many Morahs today are supporting their families. Today, the role of a Morah to her students is just as important as the role of a rebbi to his students. Something needs to be done to ensure that competent teachers remain in our yeshivot to guide our children properly. After all, our Morahs are the teachers of the future matriarchs of our nation. They should get compensated accordingly. Mrs. Sophie B. AN ILLUMINATING TALE I loved the article that appeared in the July issue about the firefly (“An Illuminating Tale”). The message of recognizing the marvels of this little animated creature is so beautiful. As pointed out, it is amazing how the little firefly plies its way through life and generates the energy to become incandescent! The firefly also reminds me of the holy spark that every Jew possesses. Just because we don’t see the light flashing, it doesn’t mean it’s not there. It would be nice to know the reasons for every animal’s existence, and the message inherent in each one. Ruthie H.  VolumeXVNumber 11 Tammuz -Av 5776 August 2016 HACHAMYITZHAKYOSEFVISITSTHEDEALCOMMUNITY > P.36 PuttingOur Homes InOrder WORDSOF RABBIELI J.MANSOUR LEVTOV:THE LARGE-HEARTED GENEROSITYOF RALPHS.TAWIL, A”H . Kelly JemalMassry Safeguarding Jews From Genetic Disease: COMMUNITY DOR YESHORIM EXPANDS TO THE SEPHARDIC COMMUNITY AUGUST 2016 ISSUE Tell us what you really think! Send us a letter! Letters submitted become the property of Community Magazine and will not be returned unless accompanied by a self-addressed stamped envelope. Letters may be edited and revised for length, style and grammar before publication. All submissions are considered for publication unless otherwise requested. EMAIL: letters@CommunityM.com WEB: www. CommunityM.com FAX: 718-504-4246 POST: Community Magazine 1616 Ocean Pkwy Brooklyn, NY 11223 l tters 14 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE