Source: The Elp Blog
Alternate side of the street parking regulations for street cleaning purposes will be suspended today and Tuesday, April 1-2 for Passover. All other regulations, including parking meters, shall remain in effect.
You can download your own 2013 Alternate Side Parking Suspension calendar — in English, as well as in Chinese, Haitian Creole, Italian, Korean, Russian or Spanish (all PDFs) — from the NYC DOT’s website.
One of the Holocaust’s most enduring images, of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, which occurred 70 years ago today. Source: Wikipedia
Tonight at 6:54 p.m. begins the first night of the eight day Jewish holiday of Passover. There is no doubt that many of us, this time of year, have sat around a seder table with our loved ones — whether they are our family members or closest friends — and helped to retell the story of the enslaved Israelites’ exodus from ancient Egypt, whose Hebrew name, Mitzrayim, refers to a narrow, constricted place. Indeed, for the Hebrew slaves forced to build pyramids for the Egyptian pharaoh, Ramses, Egypt was a burdensome land of constriction.
Armed with our time-honored Maxwell House Passover Hagaddah, even the most secular of Jews has taken turns re-living the biblical story of Exodus. While we are commanded to never forget the story of how a reluctant, speech-impaired Moses led the Israelites through the Sinai wilderness to the Promised Land (though Moses himself was not permitted to enter), many of us can relate to the tale’s more universal, contemporary themes of enslavement.
How many of us are slaves to our jobs, our computers, or our smart phones, or are obsequious to deadlines, manipulative relationships, or even — don’t laugh — food? Personally, I am subservient to a gigantic Katz’s pastrami sandwich, though for the next eight days I would have to eat it on boards of intestinal-blocking matzoh, instead of bread, verboten foodstuff during this eight-day festival. There is a reason why matzoh is called the “Bread of Affliction.” Oy.
For those of you who feel enslaved to anything at all in your lives… whether it is the twinkling eyes and irresistible smile of the cheating boyfriend / girlfriend you think you can’t live without; a huge, honkin’ slab of Junior’s cheesecake, or compulsively checking to see who just left you a comment on Facebook…
Stop.
Now is the time to slow down (unless of course you have some angry Egyptians on fiery chariots chasing after you), take personal inventory, and just ‘Be.’ I’m not saying shut off your phones and step away from the computer — though, yes, if you are religious, you might want to do those things — but, stop, and reflect upon your freedom. Relish it.
Freedom is something many of us tend to take for granted here in the United States, since a lot of us have not experienced what it’s like to not have it. So that’s your assignment this Passover: Ponder the meaning of freedom (I’m talking to you, Mayor “Taker Awayer Of Things” Bloomberg!) And while the more religious among you give thanks to Hashem, all of us, throughout the year, should thank the men and women who wear the uniform of the United States, and who defend our nation so that we never have to know what it is like to live without freedom.
Tonight also marks the 70th anniversary of the brave uprising in the Warsaw Ghetto:
“…the Jews of the Warsaw Ghetto, inspired by the Passover story, rose up against the Nazis and demonstrated that a struggling community of half-starved Jews had the power to hold out longer than countries like Poland and France against the Nazis oppressors.”
“Thus, in honor of the brave Jewish resistance fighters, a passage was written for Jews around the world to read during their Seders: ‘On this night of the Passover Seder, when G-d redeemed the Jewish people from slavery and oppression in Egypt, we recall that night, 70 years ago, the first night of Passover 1943, when the Germans assaulted the Warsaw Ghetto. On that Seder night the remnants of the Ghetto, the remnants of the Jews of Warsaw, the remnants of the 1,000 year old Polish-Jewish community rose up against evil and the enemy. Imbued with the call of Moses, they too declared, ‘Let my people go!’’
May their brave sacrifices and struggles for enduring freedom never be forgotten.
To all who observe, and to all who cherish freedom: Chag kasher v’sameach, a Kosher and joyful holiday, and a zisen Pesach, a sweet Passover.
A non-sectarian image of springtime forsythias will have to do. Source: timloco / Flickr
Alternate side of the street parking regulations for street cleaning purposes will be suspended this Tuesday through Friday, March 26-29 for the holidays of Passover, Holy Thursday and Good Friday. All other regulations, including parking meters, shall remain in effect.
You can download — in English, as well as in Chinese, Haitian Creole, Italian, Korean, Russian or Spanish (all PDFs) — your own 2013 Alternate Side Parking Suspension calendar from the NYC DOT’s website.
Borough President joined the Warbasse Congregation leadership to celebrate Hannukah in December. (Source: Gabrielle Shnayderman)
The Warbasse Jewish Heritage Congregation, located inside the hard-hit Warbasse housing complex, continues to bounce back from Superstorm Sandy – this time by helping their Jewish neighbors with free food for Passover this weekend.
The congregation escaped the worst of Sandy, only taking on a few inches of water, but was without power for months after the storm. Now they’ve received a large donation that will supply 500 people with food for the holiday.
Rabbi David Okunov and volunteers will be passing out free boxed food for Passover on Sunday at 11 a.m. It is a first-come, first-serve basis. The address is 2790 West 5th Street.
A traditional Passover seder table. Source: Wikipedia
Five hundred needy people and seniors will join the Be Proud Foundation and friends during the fourth annual Passover Food Distribution at Aqua Health Rehabilitation Center, 2753 Coney Island Avenue, Thursday, March 21 from 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.
According to Raisa Chernina, founder of the Be Proud Foundation, a non-profit organization started by immigrants from the Russian-speaking community:
“Passover is the best time for us to show that we care about our neighbors. By giving out food we are going to share our happiness with those people who count on us more than ever in this current economic climate.”
Destitute individuals looking to make a Passover seder will receive matzos, considered to symbolize salvation and deliverance, as well as other Passover foods.
To learn more, contact the Be Proud Foundation at (718) 788-7773.
Photo by Erica Sherman
The following is from an email we received from the Met Council on Jewish Poverty about Kosher for Passover food distribution this year:
For Brooklyn communities recovering from Hurricane Sandy, celebrating Passover will be a struggle this year. That’s why the Met Council on Jewish Poverty will deliver more than 2.5 million pounds of Kosher Passover food to families in need.
Many families can no longer afford the expensive Kosher food for their Passover seders and the holiday’s eight days. Last Passover, Met Council served 55,000 households — this year, following Sandy, the need is even greater.
Here are Kosher for Passover food distribution sites you can visit in our area:
An RSVP is required for both food distribution events. To RSVP or learn more about Met Council’s food program, call (718) 763-5318, email food@metcouncil.org and visit them on the web.
Alternate side of the street parking regulations for street cleaning will be suspended today, April 12, through Saturday, April 14, for the observance of Holy Thursday (Orthodox), Good Friday (Orthodox), and Passover. All other regulations, including parking meters, shall remain in effect.
You can download a copy of the city’s 2012 Alternate Side Parking Suspension Calendar here.
Photo by nolastname
It’s so rare that Easter and Passover actually line up, putting two of the most important holidays of two of the largest faiths (in our coverage area) in sync. Since it feels like it almost never happens, I was looking for a truly appropriate photo for this post that would balance out both holidays. Maybe a bunny eating some matzoh. Or a bunny with a yarmulke. Or, I don’t know… a bunny escaping some ancient Egyptians.
But, alas, the pool of creative commons-licensed photos was not quite that large. Luckily for us, reader nolastname sent in the above photo, taken this morning, that’s quite appropriate. It’s got a cross in it. And a star. Some people call it the sun, but I think it’s actually the Star of David. Creative license. Work with me, people.
Have a terrific weekend and a happy holidays, dear readers. We’ll see you Monday, and you can tell me about all the amazing food you didn’t invite me over for.
Street cleaner by Banksy. Source: Dan Brady / Flickr
A reminder for all the automobile-endowed readers of Sheepshead Bites: Alternate side of the street parking regulations will be suspended for street cleaning, April 5 to 7 (Thursday through Saturday) for Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Passover. All other regulations, including parking meters, will remain in effect.
New York City Comptroller John Liu joined the Be Proud Foundation yesterday afternoon, as the organization handed out more than 500 bags of kosher food in advance of Passover.
It was the third year in a row in which Be Proud organized the event, hosted by Aqua Health Rehabilitation Center at 2753 Coney Island Avenue. The group gave out Aqua Health tote bags stuffed with matzoh, Kedem grape juice, macaroons and other traditional Passover goodies, to a crowd dominated by seniors hailing from the former Soviet Union.
“Passover is the best time for us to show that we care about our neighbors,” said Raisa Chernina, founder of the Be Proud Foundation. “By giving out food we are going to share our happiness with those people who count on us more than ever in this current economic climate.”
