Grieving Family Blessed With Triplets
Reuven and Devorah Ginzberg of Beitar Illit, Israel, recently celebrated the birth of triplets – two girls and a boy – a half-year after losing two children, Tzvi and Efrat, age 2 and 4, respectively, in a fire that consumed their home.
In an interview with Channel 12, the Ginzberg couple revealed that they found out about the pregnancy a day before the fire and were told to expect triplets shortly after.
During the conversation, they tried to describe how their hearts could contain great mourning and great joy at the same time. Mrs. Ginsberg said, “When I arrived [at the hospital] to give birth, they asked me, ‘How many children do you have?’ I answered, ‘Five.’ I always answer five. I say, ‘Two in heaven, three here.’ They are still mine.”
A large-scale shalom zachor was arranged on Friday night, May 17, for the boy, with many locals showing up to celebrate the occasion. The boy’s bris was postponed due to his low birth weight, but the girls were given their names last week: Miriam and Yehudis.
Jewish Groups Condemn Monsey Gathering
During his speech at a recent Monsey gathering of Jews opposed to vaccinating their children, Rabbi Hillel Handler said, among other things, that New York Mayor Bill de Blasio is “a very, very sneaky fellow” who has hidden his German heritage along with his family’s last name (Wilhelm).
Last Wednesday, leaders of the Satmar community in Williamsburg posted signs in Hebrew condemning those who “speak out, in the name of the ultra-Orthodox communities of New York, against government laws and health guidelines, and specifically about vaccines that protect our children against measles.”
The letter went on to say: “We were shaken by the speaker at the gathering who came out to besmirch the government of our city and humiliate the mayor of the great city of New York with outright lies. This has also caused a desecration to the name of Heaven and His holy Torah before all the nations.”
Agudath Israel of America released a similar statement. “Of particular concern to us,” it stated, “were assertions made by a presenter speaking as a rabbi, a long-time agitator on behalf of controversial causes.” The statement ends with the following: “His assertions are nonsense, and his personal attack on Mayor de Blasio is deeply offensive. It is unfortunate that he is allowed to share his imaginings with others.”
Jewish Kids Help Clean Public Areas in Ramapo
Last Sunday was designated “2019 Community Clean Up” day in the Town of Ramapo (Monsey). Fliers were hung up in advance advertising that any child who fills a bag with trash will receive a free ice cream. According to a tweet from Aron Weider, a county legislator, the event was a grand success as hundreds of Jewish children showed up to help clean the area of Lake Suzanne.
Mashgiach of Slobodka Celebrates Engagement
Last Tuesday, Rabbi Yosef Hillel Weinberg celebrated his engagement to Yehudis Beagle of Afula.
Rabbi Weinberg is the son of the late Rabbi Noach Weinberg, who founded Yeshiva Aish HaTorah of Jerusalem. He is currently the mashgiach ruchni in Yeshivas Slobodka of Bnei Brak and is the former mashgiach ruchni of Yeshivas Even Yisrael in Jerusalem. He lost his first wife Baila two years ago after 36 years of marriage.
His fiancé is the widow of Rabbi Moshe Yehuda Beagle, who was a rabbi in Afula until his untimely passing three years ago.
Separate Beach Sold to Private Owner
Charedim in Chadera, Israel were dismayed recently to discover that the partition that had blocked local mixed beaches from the separated beach had been dismantled. A posted sign stated that the beach is now private.
When several people called the municipality, they were told that the separate section of the beach had been sold and is now private. Several members of the city’s administration, however, have vowed to do whatever is possible to reinstate the separate beach for local charedim to enjoy.
Autistic Boy Beaten by Police
Last Wednesday, an Israeli border police took down an unarmed, autistic boy as he was heard yelling, “Mommy! I want to go home!”
In video footage captured by a bystander, the boy is seen standing in the midst of a protest in Mekor Baruch, Jerusalem before he is suddenly assaulted and wrestled to the ground by four officers. His bloodied face is visible as neighbors inform the police, to no effect, that he is autistic.
Many, including several Knesset members, have expressed outrage at the excessive force displayed by the police.
The special-needs child is a grandson of the Viznitz dayan in Haifa, Rabbi Dovid Shlomo Zoldan, and Rabbi Shmuel Rosenberg, a well-known figure of the Viznitz community of Bnei Brak.
A spokesman for the Israeli police stated that a preliminary investigation into the event revealed that the boy had attacked a female officer. “While resisting arrest he became wild and was injured in his face,” the spokesman said.
ALUT (the Israeli Society for Children and Adults with Autism) had this to say: “We are talking about a terrible incident of excessive force against a person on the spectrum that cannot happen again… ALUT will be turning to the police to refresh their policies and guide them in ensuring that such incidents never be repeated.”