Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By simmons on June 22, 2017

President Rouhani made the remark in the session of the Council of Ministers on Wednesday, while inviting the entire Iranian nation to take part in Quds Day rallies.

"Quds Day is highly respected by Iranian people, all Muslims, and other nations around the world," said Rouhani adding that the issue of Palestine and the Holy Quds is very important to the world.

"It has been 70 years now that the people of the region, especially the people of Palestine and the neighboring countries are suffering from aggression by the occupying Zionist regime, Rouhani said, adding the issue of Palestine can never be forgotten, despite all attempts by the Zionist regime.

"Today, the Zionists' overt and covert intervention can be seen in almost every dispute among countries of the region," the Iranian president said.

He went on to add, "terrorists who sustain injuries in the region, are sent to Zionist Regime's hospitals for treatment. Terrorists are provided with arms and tasked with bombing the region to serve Israels interests. It is crystal clear that the Israeli regime is sponsor of terrorism in the region.

Rouhani further maintained that disputes in the region and the Islamic world, such as disagreements between Iran and Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Saudi Arabia, and Egypt and Turkey, are beneficial to Zionism and terrorism.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran has helped the Iraqi nation in their fight against terrorism and we hope to see Mosul liberated in the near future and serve as a symbol of victory of regional countries against the terrorists plots, he said.

Iran will not let terrorism to spread in the region, said Rouhani adding: "If the masters of terrorism decide to spread terrorist acts to the sacred land of Iran, they must know that the Islamic Republic of Iran will not let terrorists and their masters to do so".

The president warned terrorists that Iran would not allow them to carry out their inhumane acts inside the Iranian terrorist, adding "combatting terrorism is a decision made by the entire Iranian nation. Acting against terrorist headquarters has been decided in the Supreme National Security Council and we have given our armed forces even more authority for countermeasure.

He also said: ""We will not let terrorists to turn Iran into a battlefield. Their masters must know that Iran is different from other countries of the region," Rouhani continued.

"The new US administration must know that the Iranian nation will neither remain silent not tolerate any intimidation and pressure, but rather it will respond adequately, he warned.

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Regional, global disputes beneficial to Zionism, terrorism - Mehr News Agency - English Version

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Posted By simmons on June 22, 2017

In this weeks Torah portion, Korach, we read of simultaneous multiple rebellions against the regime of Moses, his brother Aaron the Kohen Gadol, and their silent partner, God. Strangely enough, although we know the rebellions failed to topple the leadership and we have more quotes from Korach and his cohorts than we often find from major figures in the Bible, we dont actually know what the content of their arguments was. Scandal yes. Revolt yes. Challenge withstood yes. But the essence of their arguments was as the talmud tells us of any dispute that is not for the purpose of heaven not destined to remain (en sofa lehitkayem).

Rabbinic midrashim, of course, go to town on explanations! We should (of course) be cautioned at the outset that there is a danger in seeing too much of contemporary issues in ancient texts, even for those living in the rabbinic period who projected their own concerns onto Biblical texts that predated their own times by more than a thousand years. Having said that, the method of combing the textual vicinity for hints is beautifully accomplished in this case. At the end of last weeks portion, the laws of the tzitzit with its requirement of ablue thread prompt the rabbis to challenge the law in the (virtual) voice of Korach: Why a thread of tchelet? What if the entire garment were dyed that shade of blue? Would it still require the addition of a blue string on the corner? Korach and his buddies, the midrash tells us, proceeded to make 250 totally blue tallitot. Considering that the requirement for a single blue string was discontinued in the Talmudic period because the particular dye was prohibitively expensive to obtain and use and too many poor people were substituting cheaper colors, one can only imagine how much those 250 royal blue garments cost! And what, said the Korach character, of a house filled with Torah scrolls z- does it need a mezuzah (with only two paragraphs from the Torah) on its doorposts? Again, we notice that the question seems ludicrous in an age before the printing press made publication of books affordable to anybody outside the most elite.

How can following the rules that Moses dictated to us satisfy Gods requirements when a more complete expression will not? Korach uses his best legal arguments to tear down Moses authority. Maybe people would not be swayed by such legalisms in normal times, but another midrash about Korach has him representing the case against Moses and Aaron brought by a poor widow and two orphan girls who are thwarted by their laws at every step they unfortunately take. Their subsistence depends on a small field, but Moses and Aaron demand they leave aside the corners, forgotten sheaves, and also that they pay ten percent to the Kohanim (maaser). They shear what few sheep they own to try to make a living selling the wool, but Aaron demands the first cuttings (reishit ha-gez), and when they decide that they cant afford to keep the sheep and that they would eat them instead, Aaron demands that which is due to the kohanim from all slaughterings. These poor ladies cannot catch a break, because at every turn, the system takes from them until helpful Korach comes along to argue their cause.

We know from experience that no system works perfectly for everybody. Even more so, the mathematician Kurt Godel proved in 1931 that no system can possibly be complete. Try to work out all the rules to be efficient and consistent, and there will always be something that doesnt fit, that cant be proven, that destroys the completeness of whatever system of rules you may create. As Douglas Hofstadter analogizes in his classic book Godel, Escher, Bach; an Eternal Golden Braid, there always exists a phonograph record that when it is played on a turntable of sufficient fidelity will produce sounds that will destroy the machine. Any and every complete system can be manipulated in such a way that it can destroy itself by its own rules, even the system of halacha or the laws and rules and regulations that govern life in the United States.

According to this reading, Korach pushed the process along to bring the system crashing down, ostensibly to help the poor lady. No matter that Moses and Aaron, in following Gods laws, helped the entire Israelite nation survive (receive manna, be guided by a pillar of fire, win battles against enemies). If one person suffers, says Korach, better to bring the entire structure crashing down! Like Osama bin Laden, the trained engineer from the wealthy Saudi Arabian family who could have used some of his vast reserves of money to help poor Arabs whom he claimed to represent (so, too with Yasser Arafat and others), Korach found it suited him better to tear down an entire society rather than actually giving assistance to those who most needed it. The many suffer at the hands of these demagogues and saviors, ostensibly in the name of the few who suffer.

It is always easier to tear down than to build up, to destroy a system rather than improve it. As they greatest sages of their generation, the talmudic rabbis Rav Yosef and Rabbah are nicknamed Sinai and Uprooter of Mountains. Rav Yosefs knowledge was encyclopedic, full and useful. Rabbah, on the other hand, had a keen analytic mind, able to find chinks in every argument to riposte and ultimately, improve the clarity and strength of anyones thinking, especially in pursuit of the Truth. They were each outstanding academics up for leadership of the great academy of Pumbedita. In Horayot 14a, the question is raised as to which should be in charge, Sinai or Uprooter. The answer was that Sinai takes precedence because everybody needs a provider of grain. When, however, the position was offered to Rav Yosef, he turned it down. Rabbah served for twenty two years, after which Rav Yosef succeeded him.

It is always easier to stripmine all the beauty and profit from a system as Korach tried to do. But to build up and maintain a mountainscape, a community dedicated to what is true and good and helpful to those who most need it to build a Sinai is never easy. Ultimately, if they are of good character and join in the fray for the good of the community, both mountain building and gradual erosion serve to maintain a healthy and ever-improving balance in the world. When we can find the best in us all and dedicate ourselves to the hard work of perfecting rather than merely repealing or uprooting, we will always find Sinai to be a revelation.

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Korach: Strip-mining Mount Sinai - The Jewish Standard

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Posted By richards on June 22, 2017

Published time: 22 Jun, 2017 08:24 Edited time: 22 Jun, 2017 08:38

A Jerusalem synagogue was vandalized with Nazi swastikas spray-painted on the walls, police say, adding that the perpetrators also tried to burn holy books. A mentally unstable Ultra-Orthodox Haredi man was reportedly arrested in connection with the incident.

Worshippers discovered the vandalism in the Lelov synagogue in the Nachlaot neighborhood on Wednesday morning. The area is known for its many small synagogues.

Swastikas were spray-painted on the walls of a synagogue in Jerusalem. Also there was an attempt to set fire to books, the police statement, posted on Twitter, read.

The vandals tried to set at least three Torah books on fire, the Jerusalem Post reported, adding that there were at least four swastikas painted on the walls.

READ MORE: Vandals desecrate 80% Jewish graves at small French cemetery

Chief Rabbi of Israel David Lau described the incident to the Jerusalem Post as unthinkable.

It is unthinkable that worshipers come to a synagogue in the heart of the holy city and discover such a terrible sight, said Lau.

Following the incident, police also found the entrances of two residential apartments vandalized with swastikas in the neighborhood, the Times of Israel reported, adding that a preliminary forensic investigation revealed that they were painted by the same people.

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Later on Wednesday, police said they arrested a 38-year-old man in connection with the act of vandalism, adding that he is also suspected of other, similar acts. Police, however, have not confirmed that he also desecrated the entrances to the residential apartments.

According to Israeli media, the man was a mentally unstable Haredi Jew. Haredi is a collective term for groups of ultra-Orthodox Jews who consider themselves most religiously authentic and reject modern secular culture.

Israeli Interior Minister Arie Deri said he was horrified by the incident, Arutz Sheva reported.

I was horrified to hear about the disturbing act of vandalism committed in the Lelov study hall [a part of the synagogue] in Jerusalem. This is a serious attack against all of us. It is hard to believe that a terrible hate crime like this against religious Jews could take place in the heart of the State of Israel.

READ MORE: We know where you live: Swedish Jewish center closed after Nazi threats

This is not the first time Israeli synagogues or places near them have been desecrated. In April this year residents of the city of the Petah Tikva were shocked to discover swastikas spray-painted near a synagogue and a market in two separate neighborhoods. In the 2000s, the Great Synagogue of Petah Tikva in the city center was vandalized on several occasions.

In November 2016, a Reform synagogue in the central Israeli city of Raanana was vandalized with threatening graffiti that included biblical passages, including death threats to senior Reform leaders.

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Jerusalem synagogue vandalized with swastikas, holy books burned - RT

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Posted By simmons on June 22, 2017

The Lower East Side synagogue torched in a May inferno cannot be salvaged, according to shul reps seeking to demolish what remains of the landmark structure.

Many locations cannot be shored in a safe or practical manner, said Bryan Chester, an engineer for fire-gutted temple Beth Hamedrash Hagadol.

There is a danger of some locations of partial collapse.

Chester and congregation rabbi Mendel Greenbaum need the citys blessing to tear down the 167-year-old synagogue, because it was landmarked in 1967.

A raging, three-alarm fire ripped through the building on May 14, causing the roof to partially collapse and sending up a thick column of smoke that could be seen as far north as 14th Street and even from across the East River.

Whats left is beyond repair, and the site is so unsafe that firefighters and city workers cant even go in to complete inspections, Chester told the local community board on Tuesday night, according to blog Bowery Boogie.

A Louisiana teen landed in jail after he reportedly shot...

At the end of the day, we werent even able to get investigators all the way in to finish the investigation due to the instabilities, he said.

In some places, only a single brick is keeping walls from collapsing, he said. But the shuls southern tower and back wall may be preserved, according to Chester.

The structure was built at the corner of Broome and Norfolk streets in 1850 and was first known as the Norfolk Street Baptist Church.

Beth Hamedrash Hagadol bought the building in 1885 for $45,000 about $1.2 million today and it became home to one of the nations oldest Russian Orthodox Jewish congregations.

But declining membership forced the shul to shutter in 2007.

The synagogue was nearing a deal to sell its air rights to the neighboring Chinese American Planning Council and use the cash to fix up the building.

Greenbaum estimates the property would be worth about $18 million if the synagogue can be demolished. He has said he is committed to re-establishing the shul, according to blog The Lo-Down.

Police picked up David Diaz, 14, in connection with the fire on May 16, but he was later released without charges.

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The torched landmark LES synagogue can't be saved - New York Post

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Posted By simmons on June 22, 2017

Due to an extensive renovation project, at the Community Synagogue of Rye will be holding its services at Rye Presbyterian Church for the next 14 months.

The Community Synagogue, located on Forest Avenue, will be undergoing construction from June 26 through August 2018. According to Rabbi Daniel Gropper, changes will be made to the sanctuary and more space will be created for communal gatherings.

During construction, the Community Synagogue required a new place to hold their services, leading them to rent out the chapel in Rye Presbyterian.

Gropper explained that the choice to rent out room for their services at Rye Presbyterian was easy.

[Theres] really a long, established friendship that we have with the folks of Rye Presbyterian Church, Gropper said. They were just a natural community to reach out [to].

Both Gropper and the Rev. Daniel Love, co-pastor at Rye Presbyterian, explained that the Community Synagogue and Rye Presbyterian have a history of working together.

In 2014, Gropper and Love led an interfaith trip to Israel where they took 55 members from both places of worship on a tour of the country.

The Community Synagogues temporary change of location to the Boston Post Road church was signified with a parade, also known as Hachnasat Sefer Torah, which was held on Sunday, June 18. The event included the transferring of the sacred ritual objects, the Torah scrolls and eternal light, from the Community Synagogue to Rye Presbyterian.

Gropper explained this type of ceremony is part of a public demonstration meant to serve as an announcement of the transfer.

It involves the whole community, [and] becomes sort of a public demonstration, Gropper told the Review.

The Torah scrolls were carried by members of the synagogue under a huppah, or wedding canopy, throughout the streets of Rye along with the eternal light, carried by Gropper.

Love said that the church ended their worship services early on Sunday morning to be able to welcome the Community Synagogue upon their arrival, estimating that the celebration brought in more than 140 people.

Members of Rye Presbyterian gathered outside, clapping at the arrival of the parade, while children held signs saying, Welcome to our church.

Everybody spilled outside to welcome [the Community Synagogue], Love said.

Gropper said that the event was very moving and very joyous.

The location change will not affect the Community Synagogues days of worship, which are Friday evenings and Saturday mornings.

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Community Synagogue moves place of worship - Home Town Media Group

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Posted By admin on June 22, 2017

Audio version of the story.

The Smith Hill neighborhood in Providence has seen waves of immigrants over the years. The Irish were first, in the early 19th century. Now the neighborhood is almost half Hispanic and Asian, according to the 2010 census. But at one time, it was the center of a sizeable Jewish community.

Between about 1890 and 1910, an influx of Jews from Russia came to the eastern part of Smith Hill, driven largely by increased persecution by the Russian government. As their numbers increased, they built several synagogues in the area, including one for the Congregation of the Sons of Jacob, on the corner of Douglas Avenue andOrmsSt., in 1906.

One hundred and eleven years later, it still stands, a solitary reminder of the thriving Jewish community that once existed there.

Inside the Sons of Jacob synagogue on a recent Tuesday, the president of the congregation, Harold Silverman, described how he came to this place, became its leader and also its caretaker, more than 30 years ago.

I came here when I was 10 years old, and we settled in South Providence, he said. And when I lost my mother in the mid-70s, I needed a synagogue to say Kaddish, which is the solemn prayer that you say for a departed person. You say it for 11 months, and then theres another portion you say for the last month, which is 12 months."

At the Sons of Jacob Synagogue, Silverman found house of worship where he could follow the traditional Jewish mourning ritual, and he soon felt right at home.

So, grateful for that," Silverman said, "a lot of the 'old timers' said, 'lets give this guy the mantle.' So I took it over around the mid-80's, and Ive been here since.

Silverman estimates the congregation included about 75 to 80 members when he joined in the 1970s. At its peak, Sons of Jacob had as many as 300 families, but that was earlier, probably in the 1940s. By the 50s and through the 60s, demographic changes in the neighborhood spurred a reduction in the Jewish population, and the construction of Interstate 95 brought about almost complete elimination of the commercial district around the synagogue.

I asked Silverman to describe what the neighborhood was like back in its heyday, and he took out a list of dozens of establishments that existed at the time along Douglas Ave.

"Torgans drug store, Bermans candy store, Harans butcher shop, Cohns dairy," Silverman read out loud, and the list went on and on.

As he spoke each name in turn, it was as if he were reciting Kaddish for the departed neighborhood.

These days, the Sons of Jacob synagogue sits isolated on its corner, facing a highway overpass. Everyday, no matter what the weather, Silverman opens the doors for services, but there are many mornings he prays alone.

Still, there is reason for hope, in the form of a plan for a Rhode Island Jewish Museum, to be housed in the Sons of Jacob synagogue. President of the effort, Joshua Jasper, says the need is there.

I know where the hole in the Jewish community is, said Jasper. And theres really no history gallery, history museum, art gallery. That doesnt really exist within the Jewish community per se in Rhode Island.

Jasper says the effort has already been launched to bring this about. Funds are being raised, and plans are being drawn up to combine an active synagogue with a museum and community space.

My vision for the building, my personal vision, is that you look at it as a piece of art," said Jasper. "What does it represent? It represents, in three words, Jewish, immigrant, Providence.

The Sons of Jacob Synagogue is on the National Register of Historic Places, due in part to a surprising and rarely seen second-floor sanctuary, with high ceilings and historic murals depicting animals and the mystical Jewish zodiac, all lit by a crystal chandelier.

Its not fancy on the outside, said Jasper. But it sort of sticks with you, you want to see it, you want to go inside. Personally, I see the building, inside and out, as one giant art piece.

The public will have a chance to see the building, inside and out, on Sunday, June 25th. The organization Doors Open Rhode Island is holding an open house from 12 to 3, for anyone interested in seeing this unique space. Sundays event also features klezmer music and President Harold Silverman, ready to talk about the synagogues history, and its plans for the future.

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Sons Of Jacob: Inside The Last Synagogue On Smith Hill - Rhode Island Public Radio

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Posted By richards on June 22, 2017

The Beth Hamedrash Hagodol synagogue was largely destroyed in a massive fire. View Full Caption

DNAinfo/Janon Fisher

LOWER EAST SIDE The historic Beth Hamedrash Hagodolsynagogue will likely require a full demolition after being ravaged by arson last month, said an engineer hired to evaluate the charred remains but the synagogue's rabbi has committed to saving as much of the structure as possible.

The 167-year-old house of worship at 60 Norfolk St. is in dire condition after May's massive fire,an engineeratHoward Zimmerman Architects explained at Tuesday night's Community Board 3 Landmarks Committee meeting. Henoted thatmuch of the facade is beyond salvation, though parts may be salvageable pending a more thorough investigation.

"At the end of the day, the application is going to go in for a demolition," said structural project manager Bryan Chester. "The rabbi and the congregation are committing to try their best to save as much as they can. I dont think anybody on this table or elsewhere wants to see the building go it's just the reality of the situation that it'sprobably going that way, but we will do our best."

The committee ultimately passed a resolution stating that the synagogue and investigators determine which parts of the structure can safely be preserved. A general demolition application has already been filed with the Landmarks Preservation Commission, which must sign off on any plans to demolish the landmarked site.

The building's front facade is extremely unstable, with wide cracks running through the two towers,Chester noted.The side facing Broome Street is also on the verge of collapse, andfirefighters apparently saw it swaying while spraying it down to tame the blaze, he added.

The building's rear is in "relatively good condition,"but investigators haven't been able to get a close enough look to make a determination, Chester explained. Portions of the building's south-facing side, neighboring a senior center, may be salvageable as well, though parts are significantly deteriorated.

The synagogue's rabbi, Mendel Greenbaum,echoed the engineer's commitment to saving as much of the original building as possible, and pledged to re-erect a synagogue at the site regardless of the fate of the ruins.

But the arrangement that would facilitate thatrebuilding is now partiallyup in the air.

Greenbaumsaidhe had been in talks shortly before the fire to sell the synagogue's air rights todeveloper Gotham Development, an arrangement that would ensure repairs for the house of worship. The deal would alsofacilitate the development ofaffordable housing and a community center on a neighboring property owned by the Chinese-American Planning Council, which runs the senior center next door.

The Council still intendsto pursuea similar arrangement with the synagogue, said the organization's general counsel, though it is unclear whether Gotham is still on board.

The developer did not return a request for comment.

"We, the Chinese-American Planning Council, remain committed to working with the synagogue... to working with all sectors of the community to put in place as close to the original plan as we can, to restore a place for the synagogue, to create additional affordable housing," said CPC General Counsel Alan Gerson, adding the groups are partially "back to the drawing board" in terms of hammering out a final arrangement with a developer.

The building was constructedin 1850 as a Baptist church, and in 1885it was acquired by the synagogue,the oldest Russian Orthodox congregation in the country, according to LPC documents. It was designated a city landmark in 1967.

The structure's deterioration began in 1997 with a wind storm, as the rabbi previously told the Lo-Down, and worsened in 2001 by an electrical fire. Greenbaum chose to shutter the synagogue in 2007 due to the unsafe conditions and began battling for funds to restore the structure. And though he briefly considered demolition as the best course of action at one point filing an application for demolition claiming hardship he ultimately decided against it, he said at Tuesday's meeting.

The tentative deal with the Chinese-American Planning Counciland Gotham was the long-awaited realization of that goal, he said.

Community members at the meeting lined up to lament the synagogue's destruction and implored all groups to preserve as much of it as possible. Alocal urban geographer further requested that whatever developments come out of an air rights transfer benefit the community.

"This building andits memorializationis very important," said Elissa Sampson, a lecturer in Cornell University's Jewish Studies program. "Saving what can be saved is very important. But we also need to know the public benefit and who the money goes to, because these are not small thingswhen people trade on history of the Lower East Side."

READ MORE:

Teen Accused of LES Synagogue Arson Released Without Charges, City Says

'Suspicious' Footage Shows 3 Fleeing Area Near Synagogue That Burned: NYPD

Historic LES Synagogue Fire Believed to Be Arson, NYPD Says

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Rabbi Pledges to Save as Much of LES Synagogue as Possible After Fire - DNAinfo

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Posted By richards on June 22, 2017

The Jerusalem Post

Iconic New York synagogue to marry interfaith couples - Diaspora ... The Jerusalem Post The percentage of Jews who marry people who are not Jewish is very high so we have to find a way to hold on to those people, because they really don't want to ... Rabbis to Officiate in Intermarriages at Prestigious NYC SynagogueThe Jewish Voice all 4 news articles »

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Iconic New York synagogue to marry interfaith couples - Diaspora ... - The Jerusalem Post

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Posted By richards on June 22, 2017

Almost six weeks after he suggested on Twitter that he might have tapes of conversations with former FBI Director James Comey, President Donald Trump on Thursday acknowledged that he did not make and does not have any such recordings, which had drawn interest from lawmakers in Congress. James Comey better hope that there are no tapes of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press! the President tweeted just three days after firing Comey last month. But in a pair of tweets on Thursday afternoon, Mr. Trump said if there are tapes, he doesnt have them. whether there are 'tapes' or recordings of my conversations with James Comey, but I did not make, and do not have, any such recordings. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 22, 2017 The question of whether there were tapes of conversations between the President and Comey had roiled the Congress, and the investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 elections. Asked about it during his testimony earlier this month before the Senate Intelligence Committee, Comey said, Lordy, I hope there are tapes, as he said it would be fine to release them to the public. Several committees in Congress had asked for the tapes as well. Comey: Release all the tapes. Im good with it. https://t.co/FbmTfZFI1g NBC News (@NBCNews) June 8, 2017 The White House had for weeks refused to directly answer questions about whether the President had a taping system that he used in the Oval Office, and if he did, whether it had recorded conversations with Comey. The President had plenty of opportunities before today to say there were no tapes; at a joint news conference with the leader of Romania earlier this month, Mr. Trump sidestepped a direct answer about tapes, and simply promised to let reporters know his answer in the future. Im not hinting about anything, the President said, saying he would let reporters know the answer in a short period of time.

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Rabbi accused of impregnating teen from Maitland synagogue ... - News965

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Posted By simmons on June 22, 2017

The 1-acre tract on Brook Avenue in Passaic where Congregation Emek Yehoshua has proposed building a synagogue, school with dormitories, community center and banquet hall.(Photo: Richard Cowen/NorthJersey.com)

PASSAIC Plans for a synagogue won unanimous approval from the Passaic zoning board recently under the condition that the developers clean up the contaminated site before construction begins.

Congregation Emek Yehoshua first came before the board in March 2016 with its applicationto build a synagogue, banquet hall, senior center and Talmudic school with dormitories at 41 Brook Ave.near River Drive.But whenthe state Department of Environmental Protection declared the site contaminated a month later, hearings were tabled until a study of the grounds was conductedand a remediation plan was submitted.

In January, a report from Reach Associates Inc., an environmental consulting firm hired by the applicants, stated that, while the contamination levels are below DEP levels for contact soil remediation standards, they do exceed impact to ground water standards. The land was the site of a long-shuttered engraving business.

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Though much of the contamination is due to historic fill, chromium and cyanide are present because of tanks that the former businessused in the embossing process, the report added.

Neighbors and zoning board members were also concerned that the applicants had downplayed the possible impact the complex could have on traffic.

Earlier this year, Rabbis Yeshia Buxbaum and Daniel Simon assured the zoning board that the congregation had only 35members, and that students attending the school were required to live on campus and not allowed to keep a car on the site.

That requirement was included within last week's conditional approval, which also puts a 32-student cap on the school's admissions, and limits rental of the banquet hall to Yehoshua's members.

Commissioners also limited event attendance to 125 persons, and stipulated that any event must be over by 1 a.m.

The rabbis said the hall would most often be used for a bris, bar or bat mitzvah, about five times a year.

"The intent of the board," said chairman Menachem Bazian, "was to take an eyesore and put it to use by the community."

"The property is contaminated," he added. "It will be cleaned up."

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Passaic board OKs synagogue for contaminated site - NorthJersey.com

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