Any student who refrained from talking during davening the entire year would receive a Shas

N

early 30 years ago, Rabbi Ezzy Newhouse a”h, a beloved longtime Lakewood resident and marbitz Torah who passed away earlier this year, created an incentive program for his students at the Lakewood Cheder not to talk during tefillah. Any student who refrained from talking during davening the entire year would receive a Shas. Many boys happily participated and were duly awarded with their promised seforim at the end of the year.

In time, the initiative became an annual program synonymous with Rabbi Newhouse. He eventually left the Cheder to take a position at Mesivta Keser Torah of Belmar but would nevertheless return to the Cheder each year to continue the program.

Earlier this year, Rabbi Newhouse passed away. At the shivah, many men — some of them from the original group of eighth graders — shared that in all these years they have not talked during davening. Last week, the next generation of Newhouse sons stood in front of a packed beis medrash in the Lakewood Cheder and renewed their father’s offer: Commit to not talk during davening for a full year and receive a Shas at the end, upholding and renewing their father’s legacy of silence, albeit one that speaks volumes of chinuch for kevod hatefillah.

Open for Business

At the headquarters of Masbia, the Brooklyn-based charity dedicated to feeding the needy, the past few weeks have taken on the intense pace usually reserved only for the days before Pesach. With the federal government’s SNAP program temporarily halted, private organizations like Masbia have had to elevate their operations to full holiday-preparation mode.

“The only difference,” noted Reb Sender Rapaport, Masbia’s executive director, “is that this time we’re distributing chometz.”

Masbia’s longstanding collaboration with the delivery platform DoorDash has proven invaluable during this period. As a token of friendship, DoorDash committed to completing 11,000 deliveries on Masbia’s behalf — free of charge — for the month of November. In just the first week following the SNAP pause, Masbia had already sent out 6,000 deliveries, and they have no plans to slow down until the federal assistance resumes.

Because government halls may close, but the Jewish heart remains forever open.

100 Weeks Later

After October 7, Jews throughout the world accepted resolutions to grow in some area of avodas Hashem. For his part, Reb Yeedle Schwartz, a businessman in Lakewood, NJ, launched a modest weekly halachah shiur, given by Reb Naftali Gurwitz, as a zechus for Klal Yisrael during this difficult time. More than two years later, the shiur is still going strong. Last week, a small event was held to mark the 100th shiur.

It was the celebration of a small group of Jews sharing a common commitment to the Torah and the People it protects.

(Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 1086)