Sign In Forgot Password

Rabbi’s Message: Remembrance & Independence + Tachanun

05/04/2022 12:50:34 PM

May4

Dear OZ family,       The calendar in Israel moves abruptly from one of the nation’s saddest days to one of its happiest. Today is Israel’s Memorial Day, Yom Hazikaron, in which she pays tribute to her 24,068 fallen soldiers and her 4,217 civilian victims of terror. The 52 military cemeteries perform ceremonies in memory of the soldiers who paid the ultimate price to assure Israel’s existence and independence. That independence is...Read more...

Rabbi’s Blog: Tov - the Power of 17

05/03/2022 06:32:48 PM

May3

Dear OZ family,


Those who complete the entire book of Tehillim on a monthly basis completed today’s recitation with chapter 17, which ends with a prayer to behold God and to see His countenance in an awakened state, in charity. Some actually have the custom of reciting this verse whenever giving charity.

By rights, we should all selfishly cling to our own means of survival and support, as early man did, and as...Read more...

Rabbi’s Message: Yom HaShoah & Commemoration

04/28/2022 05:17:03 PM

Apr28

Dear OZ family,

 

The choice of the 27th of Nissan for Yom Hashoah is underscored by its original name. The day to commemorate the horrors of the Holocaust was originally called Yom Hashoah Ugevurah, and was situated between the end of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising and Israel’s Independence Day, which we will...Read more...

Rabbi's Blog: Story of our Salvation...

04/13/2022 01:18:05 PM

Apr13

Congregation Ohab Zedek
Click HERE for Pesach Portal Dear OZ family,
​​​​​​​
The story of our salvation from generations of EgRead more...

Rabbi's Blog: Mitzvah Morning + More...

04/07/2022 10:46:04 AM

Apr7

Congregation Ohab Zedek
Click HERE for Pesach Portal Dear OZ family,

This is a special invitation to take part in this Sunday’s Mitzvah MRead more...

Rabbi's Blog: Keep the Dinner Spirit Going!

03/29/2022 05:47:30 PM

Mar29

Congregation Ohab Zedek
Click HERE for 2022 Journal, Videos, & Photos Dear OZ family,

Last night’s annual dinner was a magical event.It hRead more...

Rabbi's Blog: Reflections on Rav Chaim Kanievsky z'l

03/25/2022 10:26:45 AM

Mar25

Dear OZ family,   The family of Rav Chaim Kanievsky have risen from Shiva, and the Halachic world is searching for the replacement for the Gadol Hador.  At Rav Moshe Feinstein’s levaya, Rav Dovid Lifshitz said that the definition of a Gadol Hador is someone who doesn’t leave anyone behind who is on the same level. Fair enough, but Rav Chaim Kanievsky wasn’t on the level of the previous Gadol Hador at the time of that leader’s...Read more...

Rabbi's Blog: Shushan Purim 5782

03/18/2022 11:23:45 AM

Mar18

Congregation Ohab Zedek
Click HERE for Matanos Le'Evyonim Dear OZ family,
 
Ramban begins his comments to Masechet Megillah with an observaRead more...

Rabbi's Blog - Purim: History & Hester Panim

03/16/2022 10:06:10 AM

Mar16

Congregation Ohab Zedek
Click HERE for Updated Schedule Click HERE for Matanos Le'Evyonim Dear OZ family,
 
Megillat Esther is a story Read more...

President's Message - The OZ Annual Dinner

02/07/2022 01:19:00 PM

Feb7

Dear Friends:

I am happy to announce that the Annual Dinner & Community Celebration will be held on March 28, 2022. Look for invitations in the mail shortly.

We welcome David & Nicole Debora as our Guests of Honor & Couple of the Year - they have quietly been reliable supporters of our shul for many years. Esther Rimokh and Heather Conn have distinguished themselves by their leadership in selfless acts...Read more...

Rabbi's Blog: International Holocaust Remembrance Day

01/27/2022 05:04:30 PM

Jan27

Dear OZ family,

 

Today is International Holocaust Remembrance Day and it is commemorated annually at the United Nations on the anniversary of the liberation of the most advanced murder machine man has ever crafted. On this day in 1945 the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp stopped murdering 20,000 people a day. The...Read more...

Rabbi's Blog: A Historic Day at the UN

01/20/2022 04:47:29 PM

Jan20

Dear OZ family,

 

Today was an historic day at the United Nations. For only the second time, an Israeli led resolution passed in the General Assembly with 114 co-sponsors, declaring holocaust denial an international crime. Very moving supportive statements were made by the Russian Federation, Germany, the European Union, The United States, Czech...Read more...

Rabbi's Blog: Yisro & Amalek

01/19/2022 05:32:29 PM

Jan19

Dear OZ family,

 

The juxtaposition of Amalek’s attack at the end of last week’s Parsha and the appearance of Yitro at the beginning of this week’s Parsha is no coincidence. They lived side by side in the desert. (Yitro’s descendants appear in the Haftara of Parshat Zachor as well). Amalek and Yitro saw and heard the same things. They read the...Read more...

Rabbi's Blog: Tu B'Shevat is Here...

01/17/2022 02:52:29 PM

Jan17

Dear OZ family,

 

Tu B’shvat in a leap year always seems to take us by surprise. We’re hardly thinking of nature’s renewal when sunset still starts with a '4' and sunrise is at 7:16 am. Even Israel is experiencing an unusually cold and wet spell this past week. But with Adar just around the corner we know...Read more...

OZ: Community Responses to Colleyville, TX

01/16/2022 04:18:58 PM

Jan16

Dear OZ family,


Our redemption is finally complete with the crossing of the Yam Suf in today’s Torah reading. Yet, as the harrowing details of today’s standoff in the  Texas synagogue makes clear, Amalek often lurks in the shadows ready to do us harm. Amalek is a coward. He attacks the weak and the ones he deems defenseless. All the more reason for us to buttress our own defenses. The security that protects the shul...Read more...

Rabbi’s Blog: Mitzrayim - Preserving the Past & Forging the Future

01/11/2022 12:26:30 PM

Jan11

Dear OZ family,

When we left Egypt in Parshas Bo, we were still runaway slaves until we crossed the Yam Suf in Parshas Beshallach.  Our daily prayers recall that we saw Egypt itself die on the shores that brought us to safety. That was when our full belief in God and Moshe was manifest in the singing of “Az Yashir” that closes our daily praises of our...Read more...

Rabbi’s Blog: Messages & Mitzrayim

12/31/2021 01:40:00 PM

Dec31

Dear OZ family,

 

There are many messages and lessons that emerge from the entire Yetziat Mitzrayim saga, and one begins early in our Parsha regarding the 10 plagues. Paroah had demonstrated callous disregard for the slaves, and brazen disrespect of God. The story begins to unfold with spectacular acts from...Read more...

Rabbi’s Blog: Old Friends & New Friends

12/30/2021 01:00:00 PM

Dec30

Dear OZ family,


As you already know, I am sorry to announce the passing of an old friend, Irving Polsky. I met Irving a few weeks before starting at OZ back in 1988, when he was sitting shiva for his mother. Their son, David was a little boy and Irving was sitting with his younger brother, Daniel.

 

Irving and Daniel were both very intelligent and artistic and they both demonstrated the finest qualities of...Read more...

Rabbi's Blog: Personal Covid Update + Mishnah Yomi

12/23/2021 02:16:28 PM

Dec23

Dear OZ family,

Today I finished my 78th straight semester of classes at Yeshiva University. (You’d think by now I would graduate.) I had planned to travel to Israel with the Rebbitzen to finally meet our youngest grandchild, but Israel’s door is now shut. Plan B also has palm trees and I took a Covid test this morning to prepare for a visit to Ellie & Carly in Florida. An overabundance...Read more...

Rabbi's Blog: "...Legs off the Ground" + Personal Message

12/15/2021 02:39:13 PM

Dec15

Dear OZ family, 

 

Let’s try to picture what the last moments of life were like for the patriarch for whom our people and nation are named. Israel alighted up to his bed from which he would not descend alive and blessed his children with the predictions that would determine their futures. He knew the exile...Read more...

Rabbi’s Blog - Nov. 18: On Being Thankful

11/18/2021 01:28:59 PM

Nov18

Dear OZ family,

With the conjunction of Thanksgiving weekend and Chanukah just around the corner, it behooves us to remember that for Jews every single day is cause for giving thanks. “Thanks” is the first word on our lips every morning when we declare gratitude for another day, and contemplate the  opportunities of what the day has in store for us.

That word is “Modeh”...Read more...

Rabbi’s Blog - Oct. 22: Divine Hospitality

10/22/2021 12:31:30 PM

Oct22

Dear OZ family,

 

Everyone knows that we derive from this week’s Parsha that given a choice between receiving a Divine visit and hospitality, we should choose the latter. Avraham puts God on hold in order to serve three strangers, and our sages judged this apparent chutzpah favorably. The Maharsha (Shabbos 127A)...Read more...

Rabbi’s Blog - Oct. 15: Mesopotamia, Mazel Tovs, and More...

10/15/2021 12:30:00 PM

Oct15

Dear OZ family,

 

Rashi was quite the Zionist in his commentary. He dedicated his very first comment to justifying our place in the Holy Land in light of the claims of the nations that we usurped it from the Canaanites. This week’s Parsha informs us that when Avraham arrived in Canaan after his trek from...Read more...

Rabbi’s Blog - Sept. 27 - Scroll Reversal

09/27/2021 01:27:00 PM

Sep27

Dear OZ family,

 

Moadim L’simcha!

 

There is a Simchas Torah custom of holding up the Sefer backwards for Hagbah, quite a difficult task, since the entire scroll is all to one side. The reason for this custom is...Read more...

Rabbi’s Blog - Sept. 24 - Shomer Yisrael

09/24/2021 11:56:46 AM

Sep24

Dear OZ family,

 

Moadim L’simcha!

 

Our representatives have spoken. Yesterday’s House vote of 420-9 has demonstrated the very broad support that Israel enjoys across the board of our government. The Iron Dome...Read more...

Rabbi’s Blog - Sept. 23 - The Iron Dome

09/24/2021 11:55:45 AM

Sep24

Dear OZ family,

 

Moadim L’Simcha!

 

As is so often the case, the venomous hatred of those who despise Israel is stronger than their support for the people they purport to favor. This was the case when these haters...Read more...

Rabbi’s Blog - Sept. 23 - The Iron Dome

09/23/2021 11:52:45 AM

Sep23

Dear OZ family,

 

Moadim L’Simcha!

 

As is so often the case, the venomous hatred of those who despise Israel is stronger than their support for the people they purport to favor. This was the case when these haters...Read more...

Rabbi’s Blog - Erev Yom Kippur 5782

09/15/2021 05:18:15 PM

Sep15

Dear OZ family,

 

The 1st Temple was completed just before Yom Kippur and Tanach relates that King Solomon celebrated this achievement for two weeks (Melachim Aleph 8:65). Divrei Hayamim Bet (7:10) relates that these two weeks of celebration  ended on the 23rd of  Tishre. Our sages understood this to mean that the Temple celebrations overrode the...Read more...

Rabbi's Blog: Sept. 10 - Prelude to 9/11

09/10/2021 05:58:15 PM

Sep10

Shabbos Bulletin: www.OZNY.org/Happening

Rabbi Schwartz will host 2 Shuva Drashas:

In-Person: Shabbos, Sep. 11 @ 7:05pm - 9/11, Repentance, and Reflection: Looking Back to Move Forward (following Shalosh Seudos and Mincha) On Zoom: Monday, Sep. 13 @ 8:00pm - Jonah & Hosea: Finding Meaning in the Readings of Yom Kippur...Read more...

President's Message - New Year's Message

09/06/2021 02:37:54 PM

Sep6

Dear Friends of OZ

 

This is my last Rosh Hashana message as president. Thank G-d, right?

 

It is very difficult to be president - it doesn't fit well with my personality. (I'll never forgive Mendy Gross for encouraging me to do it!). I don't like asking anyone for money; like Ben Shapiro, I believe that "facts don't care about your feelings," so I tend to ignore emotional factors when engaging in any...Read more...

Mon, May 29 2023 9 Sivan 5783