Modern Orthodox Shul Community

One of the most compelling of the seventy-plus commandments that comprise the compressed compendium of this morning’s portion is the two-verse, life-prolonging mitzvah of “shiluach hakein” (22:6-7): sending away the mother bird if one wishes to take the eggs or young.

         Herewith some avian avant-garde views from the high-flying, wide-winged, and eagle-eyed Rabbi Sorotzkin–at the beak, er, peak of the interpretive pecking order!

         Sorotzkin opens with an anomaly.  Although the Torah regularly equates beasts and birds (see “Achrei Mot” 17:13, for example, regarding covering the blood), shooing away the mother applies only to birds.  If we find, say, a doe lying with her young, we may, without hesitation, take both her and her young.  Why the distinction?

         The nature of birds, explains Sorotzkin, is fundamentally different from that of other beasts in God’s cr

David Ben-Gurion likened reading a great work in translation to kissing one’s beloved through a handkerchief.  Likewise, I’d say, for relying on distancing snippets and slight snapshots in lieu of the splendidly picturesque panoply of the original.  Discursive excerpts, however wise, can nowise come close to immersive exploration of the genuine jewel.  So I remind my readers of my weekly dilemma: Discussions in this column are perforce disjunctive; yet even a sip of Sorotzkin may slake their thirst–a swill, however, would be truly swell!  But will they essay?

         My intermediary insecurity in this project is prompted to a degree by the Torah’s clarion call at the beginning of our portion: “Justice, justice shall you pursue…!” (16:20).  Well, I want to do justice to Rabbi Sorotzkin’s profound production–which, though, is hard to do with only selected extracts on display (for splendid example: the repeated “justice” in the aforementioned mandate points, says Sorotzkin, to a stern requirement of righteousness from both the adjudicating judge and the executing officer!).

         The Israeli violin virtuoso Yitzhak Perlman, having contracted polio at the age of 4, has had to wear metal braces on his legs and walk with crutches.  On one occasion, when he began tuning the violin under his chin, one of the strings broke.  Unfazed, he proceeded to play the concerto on three strings, commenting after the standing-ovation performance:  ”Our task is to make music with what remains.”

         “That was a comment,” remarks the British Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, who cites this and similar stories in his To Heal a Fractured World (p. 222),”on more than a broken violin string.  It was a comment on his paralysis and on all that is broken in life.”

         A similar theme of thwarting–indeed, transcending–the paral

Dear Friends,

It is our pleasure to invite you to the annual Fleetwood Synagogue Journal Dinner, to be held on Sunday, June 6, at 5:00PM at the synagogue.  This year we will be honoring as our “Eishet Chayil” (Woman of Valor) Barbara Morris.

Barbara has lived in our community since 1988.  Shortly after she and David were married, they became members of our synagogue. Barbara became actively involved almost immediately, and after 22 years her enthusiasm has not waned.  Barbara’s warmth, caring, and energy can be observed throughout the many functions in which she has chosen to be involved.  Her leadership role in our Shabbat morning Children’s Services, her administration of our Gemilat Chesed Committee, (she coordinates the distribution of food to those in mourning, to those who recently gave birth, and to families new to our community), her nurturing of  and involvement with the boys of the Yatzkan Center Residential Program of Mount Vernon, her ongoing role as Corresponding Secretary on our Executive Board, and her representation of our synagogue as a participant in the Westchester Chevrah Kadisha (Holy Burial Society)—these are just a few of the many reasons why Barbara is a major presence within Fleetwood Synagogue.

Article in The Jewish Week:

When Phillip and Aviva Angel felt priced out of Park Slope, Brooklyn, and wanted to find a Modern Orthodox community where they could put down permanent roots, they searched the Internet for Jewish housing incentives.

“Being Modern Orthodox and the father of sons, I didn’t feel there were really any options for affordable Orthodox Jewish education in Brooklyn,” said Angel, a self-employed architectural consultant. “We were also looking for a suburb where you can commute affordably to New York City.”

Angel’s brother in Florida, who was also looking for such an incentive, e-mailed him a link to the Web site of the Fleetwood Synagogue in Mount Vernon, a Westchester community looking to lure young families.

Read the full article

Need more space? 

Want to live near the city, but in the ‘burbs? 

Need help to buy your dream house?

Fleetwood Synagogue is a small, friendly Modern Orthodox shul, 25 minutes by train to Grand Central.

Fleetwood Synagogue, located in southern Westchester County, is a wonderful and warm congregation: small and undiscovered.  When you are looking to relocate to a Modern Orthodox suburban setting, we want you to consider Fleetwood as one of your options, and an interest-free forgivable loan program is an added attraction for you. 

Holocaust Remembrance in the City Council Chambers of Mount Vernon’s City Hall.

The program begins April 12 at 7 p.m

Histories are more full of examples of the fidelity of dogs than of friends, the English poet Alexander Pope observed.  Our commendable canine comrades fare less well, however, in the category of Kashrut.  Four centuries pre-Pope, the Spanish exegete Rabbeinu Bachya (1263-1340), in his commentary on our portion concerning the non-kosher status of the pig (11:7), noted that the same shunned standing holds true for dogs–to wit, they, too, possess only one kosher sign as non-ruminants: They have split hooves, but don’t chew their cud.