HTPD: We have already arranged to have the NJMVC Mobile Unit back at Police Headquarters on September 3rd from 10:00AM to 2:00PM! This is a by appointment only event. No walk-ins will be accepted.

Please see attached image in regards to the appointment process and the offerings.

The appointments are now available via the below link.

https://telegov.njportal.com/njmvcmobileunit/

New Jersey Natural Gas (NJNG) will hold its annual Energy Assistance Days throughout September, October and early November, bringing representatives to communities across Ocean, Monmouth and Morris counties to help customers access programs that can assist with their energy bills.

The company has scheduled 27 in-person events throughout the three counties. Customers will be able to meet one-on-one with NJNG representatives and local community action agencies to learn about available assistance programs, determine eligibility and receive help with the application process.

Customers who are behind on their natural gas bills may also qualify for payment arrangements to help bring their accounts current. Representatives will also provide information on ways customers can better manage their energy costs and improve home comfort.

“Every household’s situation is unique, and Energy Assistance Days events connect customers with resources that best fit their individual energy needs,” said Maria Delaplain, manager of Customer Outreach at New Jersey Natural Gas. “Many people are surprised to learn they may qualify for assistance.”

NJNG said that, for example, a family of four with a household income of up to $164,337 may be eligible for assistance. NJNG’s Energy Assistance team now processes applications for first-time applicants, making it easier for customers to access available support.

Bilingual representatives from NJNG and local community action agencies will be available to help customers navigate available grants and determine eligibility.

Programs include:

• Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)
• Universal Service Fund (USF)
• Payment Assistance for Gas and Electric (PAGE)
• NJ SHARES Energy Assistance Grant

Customers seeking assistance should bring current documentation, including Social Security cards for all household members, government-issued identification, proof of residence, recent natural gas and electric bills, and proof of income for all household members over age 18.

Income-eligible customers may also qualify for no-cost weatherization programs through the New Jersey Comfort Partners Program or NJNG to help reduce energy usage.

Ocean County

Lakewood
Friday, September 11, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Ocean County Library, 301 Lexington Ave.

Toms River
Thursday, September 17, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Ocean County Senior Services, 1005 Hooper Ave.

Jackson
Wednesday, September 23, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Jackson Township Senior Center, 45 Don Connor Blvd.

Brick
Friday, September 25, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Church of the Visitation, 755 Mantoloking Rd.

Toms River
Saturday, September 26, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Church of Grace and Peace, 1563 Old Freehold Rd.

Manchester
Thursday, October 1, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Manchester Township Town Hall, 1 Colonial Dr.

Toms River
Wednesday, October 7, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
St. Luke’s Catholic Church, 1674 Old Freehold Rd.

Little Egg Harbor
Thursday, October 8, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Little Egg Harbor Community Center, 319 West Cala Breeze Way.

Bayville
Thursday, October 15, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
St. Barnabas Church, Fr. Brennan Hall, 33 Woodland Rd.

Toms River
Friday, October 16, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
JBJ Soul Kitchen, 1769 Hooper Ave.

Bayville
Tuesday, October 27, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Berkeley Township Recreation Center, 630 Atlantic City Blvd.

Barnegat
Thursday, November 5, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Ocean Township Community Center, 239 11th St.

Monmouth County

Freehold
Wednesday, September 9, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Freehold Senior Center, 116 Jackson Mills Rd.

Long Branch
Thursday, September 10, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Long Branch Library, 328 Broadway.

Leonardo
Monday, September 14, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Bayshore Family Success Center, 945 Highway 36.

Asbury Park
Tuesday, September 22, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The Salvation Army, 605 Asbury Ave.

Keansburg
Tuesday, September 29, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Keansburg Fire Company #1, 13 Manning Pl.

Union Beach
Tuesday, October 6, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Municipal Building, 650 Poole Ave.

Freehold
Tuesday, October 13, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Elks Club, 91 Throckmorton St.

Neptune
Wednesday, October 14, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Neptune Township Senior Center, 607 Corlies Ave.

Howell
Thursday, October 22, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Municipal Building, 4567 Route 9 North.

Aberdeen
Monday, October 26, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Aberdeen Township, Cliffwood Beach Community Center, 651 Prospect Ave.

Oceanport
Wednesday, October 28, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Triumphant Life Church Assembly of God, 500 Malterer Ave.

Morris County

Mine Hill
Wednesday, September 16, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Mine Hill Community Center, 12 Baker St.

Parsippany
Monday, September 28, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Parsippany Senior Community Center, 1130 Knoll Rd.

Victory Gardens
Monday, October 19, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Nourish Victory Gardens, 347 S. Salem St.

Randolph
Thursday, October 29, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
YMCA West Morris Area, 14 Dover Chester Rd.

Customers can find additional information and the complete Energy Assistance Days schedule by visiting NJNG’s energy assistance information page or calling 800-221-0051 and saying “energy assistance” when prompted.

Drainage improvement work is scheduled to begin Monday, August 31, in the Brookwood 1 section of Jackson Township as part of the Township’s ongoing efforts to address aging infrastructure and localized flooding concerns, township officials said today.

The Township’s contractor is expected to conduct the work through Friday, September 11, weather permitting.

The project will include the installation of new drainage infrastructure designed to improve stormwater conveyance and help alleviate flooding concerns in the area.

Residents and motorists should expect temporary road closures and detours at various locations along Brookwood Parkway, including the intersections with Oregon Avenue, West Virginia Avenue and Montana Drive.

Motorists are urged to use caution, follow posted traffic control devices and allow additional travel time when traveling through the construction areas. Residents are also encouraged to use access points along South New Prospect Road as an alternate route whenever possible.

Following completion of the Brookwood 1 improvements, additional drainage projects are expected to move forward in several other areas of Jackson, including Flair Ridge Estates at Cambridge Drive and Timber Court, the southern cul-de-sac of Cortelyou Court, and the intersection of West Fish Road and Indiero Road.

The Township is expected to provide additional updates on the schedules for those projects in the coming weeks.

The drainage improvements are part of Mayor Jennifer Kuhn’s efforts to address aging infrastructure and improve drainage in various areas of Jackson Township.

https://buytickets.at/apex/2331010/r/tls

A major narcotics investigation by the Brick Township Police Department has resulted in the arrest of a Brick Township man and the seizure of significant quantities of suspected illegal drugs, authorities announced.

On Wednesday, August 26, 2026, members of the Brick Township Police Department Street Crimes Unit (SCU), following an extensive investigation into the alleged distribution of illegal narcotics throughout Ocean County, executed multiple court authorized search warrants.

According to police, detectives identified Charles Duffy of Brick Township as an alleged distributor of heroin and fentanyl operating in the Ocean County area.

During the investigation, detectives located Duffy and took him into custody without incident. At the same time, members of the Brick Township Police Department Special Emergency Response Team (SERT) executed a search warrant at his residence. An adult female, identified as Latasha Chaneyfield, was also present inside the home.

The search resulted in the seizure of approximately:

* 189 grams of suspected cocaine and/or crack cocaine
* 286 individual glassine wax folds containing suspected heroin/fentanyl
* 82 grams of suspected MDMA
* 57 grams of suspected fentanyl
* 29 grams of suspected oxycodone pills
* More than $2,500 in U.S. currency

Police also recovered alleged drug distribution and packaging materials, including a digital money counter, vacuum sealer, digital scale, suspected cutting agents and additional packaging materials.

Duffy was charged on a criminal complaint warrant with multiple offenses, including first degree possession with intent to distribute five ounces or more of cocaine/crack cocaine and first degree maintaining a controlled dangerous substance production facility.

He also faces second degree charges for possession with intent to distribute MDMA and heroin/fentanyl, as well as additional third degree charges involving alleged possession and distribution of oxycodone, Xanax, Tramadol and Adderall. Other charges include money laundering, two counts of endangering the welfare of a child, certain persons not to have weapons and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Duffy was transported to the Ocean County Jail pending his first court appearance.

Chaneyfield was charged on a criminal complaint summons with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute heroin/fentanyl, possession of heroin/fentanyl, cocaine and MDMA, and possession of drug paraphernalia. She was released pending a future court appearance.

The investigation involved the Brick Township Police Department Street Crimes Unit, SERT, Patrol Division and Identification Unit.

With the recent changes to the LSTA rules and pricing, thousands of Lakewood families were faced with a decision: pay the additional cost per child for transportation, or make alternative arrangements.

Now that the new school year is getting underway, we want to hear from parents:

Did you opt into the LSTA and agree to pay the additional transportation cost per child?

Or, did you decide to forgo the LSTA and arrange carpools instead?

For years, women have turned to JOWMA for trusted medical guidance.

Now you can keep that expertise on your bookshelf.

The Jewish Women’s Health Handbook- Now available for purchase!

This book was created with our community in mind- the questions frum women actually ask, and the values that shape how we answer them.

It includes clear, practical guidance to help women make informed health decisions for themselves and their families at every stage of life.

Written by leading JOWMA physicians and experts | Evidence based guidance you can trust.

Click HERE to purchase! OR visit your local Judaica store.

Halachos of Selichos & Rosh Hashanah Free PDF

To join via Zoom:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/645572066

📞 929-205-6099  ID: 645572066

Khal Hampshire Hills is led by R’ Yoel Marton Shlita.

Reb Leizer Yudel Finkel Shlita, Rosh Yeshiva of Mir Yerushalayim, attended the event.

Why are the RICH privileged to low mortgage rates while the POOR have to suffer with high rates?

There are three types of home mortgages:

1. A first-time homebuyer mortgage
2. A primary residence mortgage
3. An investor mortgage

The current system design would seem quite simple: We want first-time homebuyers to be able to afford their own home, so they have the greatest advantage of all, with the lowest rates. Someone who has another home but is purchasing a primary residence gets a higher rate, but still not the highest. Someone who is buying a home strictly for business investment purposes gets the highest rate of all.

However, once upon a time, if someone had enough money to afford a down payment on a house, their monthly mortgage payments were either equal to or lower than what they would be paying in rent. This made buying a house a great option, as you could put the money you would otherwise be paying toward rent toward building your own equity.

Today, however, due to the high prices of homes and high interest rates, there is a new category of people: people who can afford a down payment but cannot afford the monthly mortgage payments. However, they can afford to rent out the home and use that rental income to pay their monthly mortgage while remaining in the apartment or home they are currently renting, often for half the cost.

This gives these families the financial stability of owning a home, allows them to buy before prices go up, and gives them the hope of eventually being able to afford the mortgage so they can move into their home.

However, this category of first-time homebuyers, who cannot yet afford to move into their new home, falls into the current category of “investors,” who are subject to the highest mortgage rates. Meanwhile, only first-time homebuyers who can afford to immediately move into and pay the mortgage on their home are eligible for the lowest rates.

Legislation must be passed to differentiate between an investor purchasing a property strictly for business purposes and a first-time homebuyer who can only afford their first home by renting it out temporarily.

Please help your fellow families, friends, and children by reaching out to your local congressmen and government officials to address this issue immediately.

http://tinyurl.com/AirTransportReport

The multi-vehicle accident is on Rt. 70 westbound near the GSP.

Avoid the area.

A New Jersey assemblyman is pushing to direct the state’s expected windfall from a multistate settlement with Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, toward school districts that fall short of the state’s own funding benchmarks.

New Jersey is projected to receive roughly $700 million from the settlement. Assemblyman Alex Sauickie wants about $200 million of that sent immediately to the state’s most underfunded districts, with the remainder set aside for a multi-year funding commitment.

“This is an extraordinary opportunity to fix a problem Trenton helped create,” said Sauickie (R-Ocean).

Sauickie said many suburban and rural districts spend below the state’s calculated “adequacy” level, the amount officials say is needed to provide a thorough and efficient education, even as those districts raise property taxes and cut teachers, sports and arts programs. Some have closed schools altogether.

“Parents are paying more in property taxes while their children are getting less. That should be unacceptable to everyone,” he said.

He argued the state shouldn’t look for new programs to fund with the money.

“Put roughly $200 million into the schools that have been starved of funding and use the remainder to establish a multi-year commitment that finally gives these districts, their parents and their taxpayers some stability.”

Sauickie has introduced two related bills. A4750 would provide up to $50 million to districts whose property-tax levies have risen more than 9.9% over two years and that also face steep health insurance cost increases.

“These districts have already asked their taxpayers for far too much. The Meta settlement gives us the resources to absorb some of those costs instead of sending another bill to homeowners.”

The second bill, A4860, dubbed the “Fairness for School Districts in Development Restricted Areas Act,” would send additional aid to districts in the state’s Highlands and Pinelands preservation areas. State development restrictions in those regions limit commercial growth, which Sauickie said constrains the property-tax base available to fund local schools.

“If New Jersey imposes those restrictions for the benefit of the entire state, then New Jersey has an obligation to help fund the schools in those communities.”

Sauickie also drew a connection between the source of the settlement money and how he thinks it should be spent, noting the underlying case involved allegations of harm to children from social media use.

“There is no better way to put that money to work than investing it directly back into New Jersey’s children and their schools.”

He is calling for a dedicated school funding initiative that would prioritize districts with the largest funding gaps first, then use remaining settlement proceeds to provide several years of budget stability.

“A $700 million windfall is enough money to make a real difference. We can protect teachers, preserve sports and the arts, keep schools open, and give property taxpayers a chance to finally catch their breath. We have the money. We know which districts need the help. What we need now is the political will to put New Jersey’s children and taxpayers first.”

Year after year, Sukkos in Eden Gardens has become the destination families circle back to, and with dates filling up, now’s the time to lock in a villa for this Yom Tov.

VIP Kosher Villas has made a name for itself with families who want a Sukkos that’s actually restful… your own private home, sukkah already built and waiting, kitchen stocked, pool right outside. No last minute scrambling, no compromises. Just Yom Tov done right.

Everything’s Handled. Really.

The homes range from 4 to 12 bedrooms, so whether it’s your immediate family or the whole extended mishpacha, there’s a villa sized right for you. A kosher grocery and food truck on site, a gorgeous community park, minyanim nearby, and white glove service handling every detail… it all adds up to why so many families make this their Sukkos tradition year after year. The community itself has a following of its own; ask any family who’s spent Sukkos there and they’ll tell you why they’re already planning next year’s trip before this one even ends.

Book Now, Before It’s Gone

The best villas go early every season, and this year is no different. The next 5 families to book get their sukkah built at no cost, but with demand like this, that window won’t stay open long.

Families ready to reserve their Sukkos villa can call (407) 378-8244 or visit VIPKosherVillas.com.

As we approach Rosh Hashana and the Yom Hadin, just days away, perhaps we need to stop for a moment and think about what we are witnessing around us.

Chazal tell us that although the four misos Beis Din are no longer administered by a Beis Din as they were in the past, the din itself has not disappeared. The forms of misas Beis Din can still come about in different ways. Mi b’eish, mi b’mayim, mi b’chaya etc — the din remains very real.

Over the past year, we have unfortunately witnessed events that should shake us to our core. Tragedies, disasters and unimaginable suffering have unfolded in different parts of the world. When we see the most recent tragic events in Nepal, where lives were tragically lost and even many of those who were spared were left without their homes and possessions, it should not simply be another news story that we read and move on from.

These are things that should cause us to pause.

We don’t know the cheshbonos of Shamayim, and certainly cannot point to any particular person or event and say why something happened. But as Yidden, we are taught to look at what happens in the world and take a message for ourselves.

The Yom Hadin is approaching. We will soon stand before the Melech HaMishpat and ask to be written for another year of life, health, parnassah, nachas and yeshuos.

Perhaps the events we have witnessed throughout this year are meant to be a wake-up call.

The din is real. The world is not hefker. And the fact that we don’t see a Beis Din carrying out misos Beis Din in the way it once did does not mean that the concept of din has disappeared.

As we prepare for Rosh Hashana, let us not allow these events to pass by without internalizing the message. Let us use these final days to strengthen ourselves, improve our bein adam l’chaveiro, our bein adam laMakom, our tefillah and our commitment to Torah and mitzvos.

May we all merit to approach the Yom Hadin with genuine teshuvah and achdus, and may Hashem grant each and every one of us, our families and our community a kesivah v’chasimah tovah, a year of life, health, peace and bracha.

Kesivah V’Chasimah Tovah.

TLS welcomes your letters by submitting them to us via  Whatsapp  or via email  [email protected]

Instantly upgrade your wardrobe with our newest collection!

Shabbos, Simchos, and your go-to everyday shoes- we got it!

Get $10 off with code TLS10!

Click HERE to shop!

Visit us in our Cedarhurst and Toms River locations!

You’ve seen the plaque on the mikvah wall with someone else’s name.

You’ve heard about the bracha it brings. The lives that it has changed. 

And you’ve thought  “If only I could build a mikvah too.”                       

For as long as you can remember, the zechus of building a mikvah belonged to only a fortunate few.

Today, through Tomchei Taharah, it can belong to you. 

By choosing a donation amount that works for you, you become part of something far greater than any one person could accomplish alone.

Build a Mikvah Every Month.

Hundreds of ordinary monthly partners join together to build 12 new mikvahs every year, bringing taharah to communities across the world.

The Chofetz Chaim teaches that when people join together to give, each person is credited in Shamayim as if they gave it all. 

Click HERE to start your monthly partnership!

Imagine a world without Hatzolah.

Your two-year-old isn’t breathing.

The room freezes. Someone grabs him. Someone else starts crying hysterically.

Your heart is pounding so hard you can hear it. Your hands won’t stop shaking. Your mind goes blank. 

“Call someone!” Who?

“Tell someone to come!” Who?

“Get help!” From where?

For one terrifying moment, there isn’t an answer.

Thankfully, our community has one. 

The answer has been and always will be Hatzolah of Central Jersey. 

You don’t think about Hatzolah until you need them.

You simply know they’ll be there.

Give $1 a day. Keep Hatzolah on the way.

Click HERE to become a Hatzolah Partner!

There are sales and then there are SALES. This one is the latter. With all wigs priced from $600- $1800, the Sary Sidewalk Sale is worth a drive in from ANYWHERE.

Selling:  Discontinued favorites, final runs, and thousands of wigs in all styles and colors.

For the first time! Huge selection of Virgin Hair wigs, prices $3500- $4500!

This sale is ONE DAY ONLY! Don’t miss it!

TODAY! Sunday, August 30, 11am- 10pm.

Sary HQ, 12 America Ave 5b. The Avenue Shoppes.

A banner plane that took off from Lakewood Airport today accidentally dropped its banner, landing in a tree – pictured.

It was recovered by the owners.

Restaurants, bars and other eligible businesses in New Jersey can now permanently sell and deliver certain alcoholic beverages for off-premises consumption after Governor Mikie Sherrill signed legislation making the COVID-era rules permanent.

The law, Senate Bill 4384, allows businesses with retail consumption licenses, including restaurants, hotels and bars, to sell alcoholic beverages in their original containers, as well as mixed cocktails in closed and sealed containers for customers to take home.

Eligible businesses can also deliver mixed cocktails in closed and sealed containers, as well as beer, hard seltzers and other malted beverages in their original, sealed containers. Deliveries can be made by the licensed business or a licensed third-party delivery service.

The legislation also provides additional options for craft distilleries. Distilleries can sell mixed drinks made with distilled alcoholic beverages manufactured on their premises for on-premises consumption.

For off-premises consumption, craft distilleries can sell those mixed drinks in containers with tamper-evident seals. They can also sell their distilled alcoholic beverages in original containers when accompanied by nonalcoholic beverages or food products that can be combined to make a mixed drink.

The provisions had been scheduled to expire September 1 but are now permanent under the new law.

A Jackson Township woman has been sentenced to seven years in New Jersey state prison after pleading guilty to shooting a 79-year-old man last year, authorities said.

Marian Rojas, 34, was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Kenneth Palmer in connection with the October 24, 2025, shooting in Jackson Township.

Rojas pleaded guilty to aggravated assault on June 15, 2026. Her sentence is subject to the state’s No Early Release Act, requiring her to serve at least 85% of the sentence before becoming eligible for parole.

According to Ocean County Prosecutor Brad Billhimer, Jackson Township police responded to a residence on Jackson Pines Road at about 9:15 p.m. on October 24, 2025, after receiving a report of a shooting.

Officers found a 79-year-old man suffering from a gunshot wound to his shoulder. He was taken to Community Medical Center in Toms River for treatment of what prosecutors described as minor injuries and was later released.

An investigation determined that Rojas was the person who shot the victim before fleeing the scene, authorities said. Police broadcast a description of Rojas and the vehicle she was driving to surrounding law enforcement agencies.

About 45 minutes later, at approximately 10 p.m., Manchester Township police stopped a vehicle matching the description. Rojas was driving the vehicle and was taken into custody without incident, according to prosecutors.

Rojas was transported to the Ocean County Jail, where she had remained detained since her arrest.

Billhimer said the victim’s response to the case played a significant role in the resolution.

“This sentence reflects the extraordinary compassion and forgiveness shown by the victim throughout the pendency of this case,” Billhimer said. “The victim’s unequivocal desire to extend mercy to this defendant was a significant factor in the State’s willingness to resolve this case in this manner.”

Rojas will serve her sentence in a New Jersey state prison.

Two women have been charged in connection with Friday’s crash outside NPGS that killed nine-month-old Hayeled Yitzchok Rosenberg A”H.

Maria CobonGuzman, 20, of Trenton, was charged with manslaughter, operating a motor vehicle without ever having possessed or been issued a valid driver’s license while involved in a fatal motor vehicle crash, and two counts of assault by auto.

Ariadna Lazaro-Flores, 22, of Toms River, was charged with knowingly engaging in conduct creating a substantial risk of death to another.

Federal immigration authorities have also lodged immigration detainers against both women.

Police responding to the scene found that a mother and her two minor children, a five-year-old girl and nine-month-old boy, had been struck by a vehicle.

All three victims were transported to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune. The mother and her five-year-old daughter remain hospitalized in stable condition. The nine-month-old boy, Hayeled Yitzchok Rosenberg A”H, was pronounced deceased at the hospital.

According to the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, an investigation determined that CobonGuzman was driving a Ford Fusion through the parking lot when she struck the mother and the baby carriage carrying both children.

Investigators determined that CobonGuzman did not possess, and had never possessed, a valid driver’s license in New Jersey or any other state.

Investigators also determined that Lazaro-Flores was aware that CobonGuzman did not have a driver’s license but nevertheless permitted her to operate the vehicle.

Both women were taken into custody and transported to the Ocean County Jail, where they remain pending detention hearings.

The investigation remains ongoing.

We regret to inform you of the Petirah of Hayeled Yitzchok Rosenberg A”H (son of Pinchos, grandson of R’ Sruly of Sruly’s Mechanic), who was Niftar following today’s tragic accident in Jackson. He was eight months old.

The Kevurah is scheduled to take place at the Street Bais Olam, Chelkas Hayeladim, at 5:45 PM Erev Shabbos.

(NOTE: The child was Niftar shortly after arriving at the hospital, and we were well aware. However, messages about the Petirah were going around before the family at home was notified. TLS was directly in touch with Askonim and professionals dealing with the tragedy, and the above information was only published after the family was properly notified by Askonim and professionals.)

Baruch Dayan Ha’emes.

The NJMVC Mobile Unit will be in Lakewood next Friday for Real ID appointments. As well as New Title, Registration Renewal, Replacement Title.

Appointments can be made here: https://telegov.njportal.com/njmvcmobileunit/

This information was first published on the TLS Community:

https://chat.whatsapp.com/GGwlPaiG0d49MJTRLfHVPN

Attorney General Jennifer Davenport and the Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor (OIFP) announced today that a nurse admitted to assaulting and neglecting an elderly resident at a rehabilitation center in Ocean County, New Jersey.

Lisa L. Erikson, 57, of Manchester, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before Superior Court Judge Kimarie Rahill in Ocean County to second-degree aggravated assault, third-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, and third-degree neglect of an elderly adult. As part of the plea, she will permanently forfeit her nursing license, and the state will recommend 364 days in county jail as a condition of probation. Sentencing is scheduled for November 13, 2026.

“The conduct at issue in this case is deeply disturbing,” said Attorney General Davenport. “This defendant was entrusted with the care of an elderly resident and instead assaulted and neglected him. Such conduct is wholly unacceptable, and those who abuse or neglect elderly residents in their care must be held accountable.”

“Nursing professionals are entrusted with the care of their residents, and our office remains committed to protecting those residents from abuse and neglect,” said Acting Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Bernard J. Cooney.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court, on March 19, 2025, Erikson, a licensed practical nurse working at a rehabilitation and nursing center in Whiting, New Jersey, assaulted an elderly man with dementia, depression, and anxiety.

Erikson retrieved her personal oleoresin capsicum spray ― commonly known as pepper spray ― walked toward the victim and sprayed him at close range as he attempted to shield himself. She then sprayed him again before leaving him on the floor. He remained unattended for several minutes before he crawled to stand up and entered another resident’s room.

Erikson and another person then forcibly removed the victim from the other resident’s room, placed him inside his own room, and shut the door, where they left him without providing any aid. Police and emergency medical services later responded to the center, treated the victim, and transported him to a hospital.

As part of her plea, Erikson admitted using the oleoresin capsicum spray for an unlawful purpose and spraying the resident several times when she was not authorized to do so. She also admitted leaving the resident without care despite having a duty to provide care to him.

This case is being prosecuted by OIFP – Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) Deputy Attorney General Camille McKnight. The investigation was conducted by Detective Yvette Vasquez.

New Jersey MFCU’s total funding for federal fiscal year (FY) 2026 is $11.6 million. Of that total, 75 percent is awarded under a grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The remaining 25 percent is funded by the State of New Jersey.

If you suspect Medicaid fraud or elder abuse and neglect, report it at Medicaid Fraud or Elder Abuse & Neglect Reporting Form, or by phone at (609) 292-1272, or via email at [email protected].

UPDATE 5:05 PM: The baby, Yitzchok, was tragically Niftar.  

UPDATE 4:17 PM – TEHILLIM: The mother, Golda Chana bas Leah Shaindel, is going in for emergency surgery now.

Original report: 

Multiple pedestrians were struck moments ago at a shop in Jackson.

Among the injured, is a young patient.

At this time, it appears to be an accident.

UPDATE: Please take a moment to be Mispallel for Yitzchok ben Golda Chana (very serious injuries) and Rochel bas Golda Chana.

Developing story. 

MORE ON COMMUNITIES.

A fire broke out in a home on East 7th Street.

No injuries are being reported, but the home sustained severe damage.

The cause of the fire was not immediately released.

Four Lakewood firefighters, including three career firefighters and one volunteer, graduated Wednesday from the Toms River Fire Academy’s summer recruit class.

The class consisted of 16 firefighters from departments across the area, including six from Toms River, as well as firefighters from Lakewood, Brick, Howell, Point Pleasant, Oakhurst and East Brunswick.

Academy officials stressed during the graduation ceremony that this was one of the youngest academy classes they’ve ever had. Nearly half of the graduates are also following in their fathers’ footsteps, continuing proud family traditions in the fire service.

Lakewood Fire Chief Yahr served as the guest speaker and spoke to the graduates about the importance of firefighters looking out for one another, being there to help others when they are in need, and the responsibilities they now have to the public.

The four Lakewood firefighters who graduated are:

• Michael J. Santos
• John Cawley
• Dylan Dickenson
• Fraida Brogna

They will be sworn in at an official ceremony at an upcoming Board of Fire Commissioners meeting.

President Trump posted the following:

BREAKING NEWS!

TO: Office of the Secretary, Department of the Interior
FROM: Director, U.S. Geological Survey
RE: Lake America rename

Sir,

As of 4:30 pm today the U.S. Geological Survey has officially designated the former Lake Ontario to be renamed as Lake America in all official USGS electronic documents.

The change will begin occurring in printed documents over the next several days.

This change has also been made official in the Geographic Names Information System.

Should you have any further questions please contact me for clarification.

Thank you
Ned

Dr. Ned Mamula
Director, U.S. Geological Survey
United States Department of the Interior

Share YOUR pictures of the eclipse to have them posted too!

In an extraordinary appeal ahead of the Yemei Harachamim, Maran Rav Dov Landau shlita is calling upon Klal Yisrael to help families facing devastating illnesses and life-threatening medical crises.

These families are carrying crushing medical expenses while struggling simply to keep their homes afloat.

And now, Rav Dov Landau has given donors an extraordinary bracha:

May those who become partners in this special fund merit Divine protection and be spared from all troubles and illnesses — spiritually and physically — and be protected from harsh decrees and distress, at home and abroad.

May they be judged favorably and blessed with a good and sweet year, with abundant nachas from their children and descendants, parnassah b’revach, and success in all the work of their hands.

THE YESHUA — 391

ישועה = 391

Donate $391 and become a partner in bringing refuah and yeshuah to families desperately in need.

Every donor of $391 will receive a special shtar signed by Maran Rav Dov Landau shlita, promising this rare and powerful bracha.

Give $391 today.

Bring a YESHUA to a family in need — and may you and your family be blessed with protection, health, nachas, parnassah and a good and sweet year. DONATE HERE.

Two Sprinter vans collided with each other this evening in Lakewood, leaving one van on its side.

No serious injuries were reported in the accident, which occurred on Albert Avenue, near the intersection with Towers Street.

Submitted: Dear Town Officials/School Board Members,

I would like to propose an idea for improving school transportation while reducing traffic throughout our town.

Rather than having families pay transportation costs based on how far they live from the school, I believe every family in town could contribute a small, shared fee toward school busing. The cost would be spread among all families, regardless of where they live or whether they currently qualify for school transportation.

This approach makes sense because all residents pay property taxes to support our schools, regardless of whether their children are eligible for school transportation or whether they live close enough to walk to school. Since the community as a whole supports the school system through property taxes, transportation could similarly be treated as a shared community service.

The goal would be to make school transportation available to everyone while encouraging families to use the buses instead of driving their children to and from school or organizing carpools. With more students riding buses, we could reduce the number of cars on the roads during the busiest times of the day, helping to ease traffic congestion and make our streets safer.

Because the cost would be shared across the entire community, the individual fee could potentially be lower and more equitable than having families pay separately based on their location. At the same time, the entire town would benefit from fewer cars, less congestion, and a more efficient transportation system.

I hope the town and school district will consider this approach and explore whether a community-wide transportation fee could be a practical and fair solution for everyone.

Sincerely,
A Lakewood family

TLS welcomes your letters by submitting them to us via  Whatsapp  or via email  [email protected]

Get your tickets here.

We regret to inform you of the Petirah of Chaya Bas (Bracha) R’ Shimshon Herz A”H.

Chaya, a toddler, was hospitalized in December.

UPDATE: The Kevurah is scheduled to take place at 7:45 PM. Kevurah will take place in the Chelkah off Ramsey Avenue (off E. 7th Street).

Baruch Dayan Ha’emes.

In its continuous effort to improve local infrastructure and public safety, Lakewood
Township has completed two crucial infrastructure projects.

The key east-west artery of Pine Street – located near many residential neighborhoods
and office towers – saw New Jersey Natural Gas (NJNG) and New Jersey American
Water (NJAW) replace aged underground gas and water lines with new, higher capacity
infrastructure.

Subsequently, Pine Street was repaved and restriped between Route 9 and New Hampshire Avenue. The freshly paved road has brightly striped lanes; turning lanes; and crosswalks – plus a full added lane between Avenue of the States and Washington Avenue – in order to enhance traffic flow and safety.

Additionally, the extensive Arboretum Parkway project is now nearly complete, pending
some remaining landscaping touch ups. Work on the ground began in late 2025, stretching from 14th Steet through Teaberry Court.

The underground water drainage system along Arboretum Parkway was completely revamped, in order to increase its drainage capacity in rainy weather. The road was then freshly paved and striped; and the landscaping throughout the work area renewed.

A substantial amount of work on these projects was completed during the recent
summer weeks, when the traffic was light – and construction caused less disruption
than usual. During these weeks, substantial progress was also made on several other
major infrastructure projects throughout town – which are now closer to completion.

“Nobody likes road construction, but these utility and infrastructure upgrades are
precisely what Lakewood needs in the 21st century,” says Deputy Mayor Menashe
Miller. “I just wish that JCP&L would follow suit and upgrade their electrical infrastructure
as well, just as the other utility companies and Lakewood Township are doing.”

ICYMI.

The Lakewood Fire Department has announced the acquisition of a major new addition to its fleet – a brand-new 2026 Seagrave 75-foot AerialScope Tower Ladder.

The apparatus, which is a significant investment in Lakewood’s fire protection capabilities, was ordered in 2022 and arrived at the department this week.

The vehicle was first was ordered in 2022 and has been in the works for several years. Ahead of its delivery, a contingent of Lakewood Fire Department representatives traveled to Wisconsin to conduct a final inspection of the new apparatus and ensure that everything was in order before it made its way to Lakewood.

Chief of Department Jonathan Yahr and Board of Fire Commissioners Chairman Yakov Steinberg were on hand to accept the new truck and welcome it to the fleet.

The tower ladder was originally ordered with a price tag of approximately $1.6 million. However, supply chain issues during the manufacturing process increased the cost by roughly $200,000.

The new tower ladder will now head to a detail and upfit shop, where it will receive its department graphics and be outfitted with the necessary firefighting equipment.

Once the upfitting process is complete, the new truck will be placed into service, adding another important resource to the Lakewood Fire Department’s ability to respond to fires and other emergencies throughout the community.

In a statement, the department said it looks forward to putting the new truck into service and continuing to provide the best possible fire protection to Lakewood residents.

An 11-year-old girl was killed after the electric dirt bike she was riding on as a passenger collided with a pickup truck in Berkeley Township.

The crash occurred around 12:45 p.m. on August 26 near Moorage and Sherman avenues, according to Ocean County Prosecutor Brad Billhimer.

Authorities said an 11-year-old boy was operating the electric dirt bike with the girl as a passenger. The dirt bike failed to stop at a posted stop sign and entered the intersection with Moorage Avenue.

The dirt bike then struck the driver’s side door of a westbound Ford F-250 pickup truck, prosecutors said.

The boy was transported to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, where he was treated for his injuries and released.

The girl was transported to Community Medical Center in Toms River, where she was pronounced dead from injuries sustained in the crash.

The driver of the Ford remained at the scene. He had a valid driver’s license and showed no signs of impairment, authorities said.

A 73-year-old Brick man was killed Wednesday night and four others were injured in a motor vehicle crash on I-195 in Jackson Township, New Jersey State Police told TLS this morning.

According to a preliminary investigation, William H. Wright Jr., 73, of Brick, was driving a Ford SUV eastbound when the crash occurred around 9 p.m. on the I-195 near milepost 23.6. Wright lost directional control of his Ford and struck a Toyota SUV, as well as a second Ford SUV which was also traveling eastbound in the area.

During the collision, both Ford SUVs overturned.

Wright sustained fatal injuries in the crash. The passenger of the Toyota, the driver of the second Ford, and two passengers of the second Ford sustained minor injuries and were transported to an area hospital.

The crash remains under investigation.

I feel the carefree spirit of summer slipping away and my thoughts turn to Rosh Hashana. I think about all the things I have to daven for. And then I remember the first time I davened.

I was six years old, standing at the window and looking out at the empty, pebble-covered lot behind our apartment building on Sixth Street. The sky above it was clear.

I looked up. I knew Hashem lived in the sky. “Please make Abba better,” I said. “Please let him come home.” I didn’t know what more to say, so I just said it again and again.

Looking back, perhaps I remember the lot so clearly because it seemed to hold the same emptiness I felt without my father.

It was the mid 1960s, when a heart attack could mean six weeks in the hospital. Six weeks was an awfully long time for a small child.

My father was a builder who started work early in the morning and was usually home by mid-afternoon. Then we had our routine. He’d settle me on his lap, facing him, and sing the Yiddish songs he knew from the alte heim. My favorite was “Sha, Shtil, Mach Nisht Kein Gerider.” His voice was deep and melodious. With each repetition, the tempo grew faster and sillier, until we collapsed into laughter.

The window where I stood talking to Hashem was in my parents’ room—the same room where Abba and I sang together.

I remember walking hand in hand with my father to shul one Shabbos morning and asking if he would buy me a swing set. He didn’t answer. I asked again. This time he smiled and said, “One day.”

That was enough for me. If my father said, “One day,” I believed him. I never asked again.

At six, I didn’t understand what a heart attack meant. All I knew was that I missed Abba and didn’t know when he was coming home.

Each day felt the same. Instead of sitting on Abba’s lap singing “Sha Shtil,” I went to the window, telling Hashem how much I missed him and asking Him to bring Abba home.

I never stopped waiting. Then one day, he came home.

I remember that morning as clearly as I remember talking to Hashem at the window. My mother had taken out one of my father’s suits and left the apartment with it on a hanger. This time, I stood at the window facing the front of the house.

Our babysitter took a photograph as my father walked through the front door. We stood together in the doorway, his left arm draped around my shoulder, his right hand holding mine. I looked up at him, beaming. He looked down at me, his smile matching mine.

Somewhere inside me is that little girl at the window who still believes her Father is listening.

~~~~

Michelle Halle, LCSW is a psychotherapist with a practice in Lakewood and writes about faith, family, and the experiences that shape us.

Sponsor a child and have a special Tefillah davened on your behalf by RAV SHIMON GALAY Shli”ta at the kever of the CHOFETZ CHAIM!

Donations must be submitted by September 3, 2026.

Don’t miss the oppurtunity for this incredible Zchus!

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by Rabbi Eliezer Sandler

The concept of the Yissachar-Zevulun Torah Learning Pact goes back well over 3,500 years, to the time of Yaakov Avinu and his sons. It is named for the Torah pact between two of his sons – Yissachar the scholar and Zevulun the merchant. Not only was it an equal pact but, Chazal explained, the deed of Zevulun/the Sponsor is considered even greater than that of Yissachar, because without the support of Zevulun, Yissachar would not have had the wherewithal to study Torah undisturbed.”

It is well-known that when it comes to learning Torah, people who sponsor the learning, often do so, not just as a donation. By financially supporting specific Torah scholars, they enter into a binding, written, signed and sealed learning partnership pact whereby the Sponsor (the Zevulun) is deemed by Halacha as if he personally studied the Torah completed by the Scholar (the Yissachar). (See below.)

Thus, those who support the Talmidei Chachomim at Shas Yiden via a Yissachar-Zevulun Pact merit a portion in every daf of the entire Talmud Bavli and associated texts that they study, and complete the entire cycle in the space of ONE year. Some of the Sponsors opt to continue sponsoring repeat cycles of Shas which accrue to them.

Sar Hatorah, Maran Hagaon Harav Chaim Kanievsky, zt”l, Nasi Shas Yiden, emphasized: The most mehudar Yissachar-Zevulun pact to support in our times is that offered by Shas Yiden – it comprises the entire Shas, Rashi and Tosfos – all in just one year!

Rav Chaim explained why this pact with Shas Yiden is the most mehudar. Chazal say that the highest level of learning is when one understands what he is learning b’iyun u’ve’amkus. However, even higher than that is when one remembers b’al peh all what he has learned. I have farhered the Shas Yiden avreichim geonim many times and can attest ZEI KENNEN SHAS (they know Shas)!

YES! YOU CAN MAKE
your OWN SIYUM on the ENTIRE
Shas, Rashi & Tosfos
IN JUST ONE YEAR!

The Yissachar-Zevulun Pact in Halacha

The Shulchan Aruch in Yoreh De’ah Chapter 246 regarding the efficacy of the Yissachar-Zevulun Sponsorship Pact for the Zevulun (the Sponsor) states clearly:  It is deemed as if he (the one sponsoring the learning) himself learned all the Torah studied under the pact. 

All the learning under the Shas Yiden Yissachar-Zevulun Pact is yours בעוה”ז ובעוה”ב (in both This World and the World to Come)! Concerning this, the Netziv of Volozhin comments that in Olam Habah, the Zevulun sponsor will sit together with the Gedolei Torah of the past and merit to participate in their discussions and pilpulim on all the Torah learned.

Achieve Almost 7 million Mitzvos in One Year

The Vilna Gaon in Shnos Eliyahu Pe’ah 41 states that one should hold precious every word of Torah that he learns because each word is considered a mitzvah of its own.

Thus, since in Talmud Bavli, Rashi and Tosfos there are 6,608,891 words, that translates into almost 7 million mitzvos accruing through Yissachar-Zevulun at Shas Yiden.

Official Shtar from Shas Yiden

Each Yissachar-Zevulun pact is confirmed by an official contract (shtar) from Shas Yiden specifying the learning of the entire Shas, and is witnessed by talmidei chachomim.

All who wish to enter into a Yissachar-Zevulun Pact for the entire Shas during ONE year should contact Shas Yiden to make arrangements: 718-702-1528.

The opportunity to complete the entire Shas has been a cherished way to honor family members and others as a prized achievement. It has also proven to be a source of comfort for mourners to obtain such a zechus for their dear ones during the year of mourning – a siyum of the entire Shas can be completed on the yahrzeit!

Yissachar-Zevulun Pact – Beyond the Grave

The legendary visionary and “Father of Yeshivos”, Reb Chaim of Volozhin, was the founder of the famous yeshiva in the town of Volozhin and the beloved talmid of the Vilna Gaon. 

Reb Chaim had an ongoing Yissachar-Zevulun pact with a local shoemaker – a man who was not learned but who dearly valued Torah learning. They had a ‘deal’ whereby the shoemaker would pay the monthly financial support needed for Reb Chaim and his family. For this financial support, the shoemaker would have an equal share in all Reb Chaim’s daily Torah study – both in the mitzvah of Torah study בעוה”ז and that the knowledge of the Torah learned would continue to be his בעוה”ב (in the World to Come).

One day the shoemaker passed away suddenly. During the shiva period, Reb Chaim was facing a perplexing halachic question and researched high and low for a solution. That night the shoemaker appeared to him in a dream and gave him the full solution that he sought. Reb Chaim was amazed and commented, “Azoi gich, Azoi Gich – So quickly, so quickly has he acquired the zchus and knowledge of the Torah that I have studied!”

In the words of Gedolei Torah:

Maran Hagaon Harav Chaim Kanievsky, zt”l, Nasi Shas Yiden:

“In just ONE year, through Yissachar-Zevulun at Shas Yiden, you can be zoche to the entire Shas forever – בעוה”ז ובעוה”ב (in olam hazeh and olam habah).

“Moreover, whoever supports Shas Yiden is zocheh to fulfill both Yissachar-Zevulun and support of aniyei (the poor of) Eretz Yisroel in the fullest sense of the word.

“Those who support Shas Yiden will be saved from chevlei (the travails of) Moshiach – spiritually and materially, and will be zoche to have ehrlicher bonim u’vanos yir’eishomayim ”

Maran Hagaon Harav Dov Lando, shlit”a, Rosh Yeshiva, Slabodka:

“Who compares to the Shas Yiden? Incredible talmidei chachomim geonim who raised the bar in limud Hashas b’iyun u’v’amkus. Blessed are those who enter a Yissachar-Zevulun pact with them.”

Hamashpia Hagadol Reb Meilech Biederman, shlit”a:

“Yissachar-Zevulun at Shas Yiden – best possible deal, and in just 1 year! 100% partnership! 100% Shas x 5 times! 100% Shisha Sidrei Mishna – בעוה”ז ובעוה”ב”

Sanzer Rebbe, shlit”a:

“A first in 2000 years of Jewish history! Until Shas Yiden, never a Torah institution where ALL the avreichim metzuyonim v’geonim know the entire Shas by heart”

Maran Hagaon Harav Yaakov Hillel, shlit”a:

“Therefore, the great mitzvah to support the efforts [of the Talmidei Chachomim] with generous donations in order that they should continue diligently with their studies to enhance the greatness of the Torah and its glory.

ShasYiden.com

The Lakewood Board of Education approved a resolution tonight rescinding its previous authorization to provide courtesy transportation to non-mandated public school students, citing the loss of municipal funding resulting from state funding cuts.

According to the resolution, the municipality advised the Lakewood Board of Education that it would no longer be able to fund transportation for students whose busing is not required under state law.

“As such the Lakewood Board of Education no longer has the funds to provide courtesy bussing for the non mandated students in the public and non public schools,” the resolution states.

The development represents another significant change to Lakewood’s transportation system following reductions in state funding to the municipality.

For years, Lakewood has provided courtesy busing to thousands of students who do not meet the state’s eligibility requirements for mandated transportation. The arrangement has allowed students living within the state-mandated transportation distances to receive bus service despite the service not being legally required.

Last week, blaming a loss of an expected subsidy from Lakewood Township, the Lakewood Student Transportation Authority (LSTA) initially announced a $945 annual fee for non-mandated students after the loss of municipal funding. Following discussions among the LSTA, local and state officials and community leaders, the fee was subsequently reduced to $675 per student, and local schools reversed an earlier recommendation that parents not opt into the program.

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In an extraordinary appeal ahead of the Yemei Harachamim, Maran Rav Dov Landau shlita is calling upon Klal Yisrael to help families facing devastating illnesses and life-threatening medical crises.

These families are carrying crushing medical expenses while struggling simply to keep their homes afloat.

And now, Rav Dov Landau has given donors an extraordinary bracha:

May those who become partners in this special fund merit Divine protection and be spared from all troubles and illnesses — spiritually and physically — and be protected from harsh decrees and distress, at home and abroad.

May they be judged favorably and blessed with a good and sweet year, with abundant nachas from their children and descendants, parnassah b’revach, and success in all the work of their hands.

THE YESHUA — 391

ישועה = 391

Donate $391 and become a partner in bringing refuah and yeshuah to families desperately in need.

Every donor of $391 will receive a special shtar signed by Maran Rav Dov Landau shlita, promising this rare and powerful bracha.

Give $391 today.

Bring a YESHUA to a family in need — and may you and your family be blessed with protection, health, nachas, parnassah and a good and sweet year. DONATE HERE.

The Orthodox Union (OU), the nation’s oldest and largest umbrella organization for American Orthodox Jewry, today announced the appointment of Rabbi Shmuel Silber to the role of executive vice president. Rabbi Silber will assume his new role as of November 2nd. As the executive vice president, Rabbi Silber will be responsible for representing the OU’s vision on both Torah and public policy and providing hashkafic and halachic guidance within the organization and beyond. The Baltimore rabbi succeeds Rabbi Moshe Hauer, zt”l, who’s petira last Shemini Atzeres left the community in shock. The OU is also clarifying its leadership structure. Rabbi Dr. Josh Joseph, currently EVP and COO, will assume the role of chief executive officer (CEO), with responsibility for the management of all OU programs and operations. Rabbis Silber and Joseph will both report directly to the OU Executive Committee.

Rabbi Silber joins the OU having served for the past 23 years as the mara d’asra of Suburban Orthodox Congregation Toras Chaim, building it into one of Baltimore’s most vibrant and dynamic kehillahs. Rabbi Silber is also the founder and dean of the Institute for Jewish Continuity (IJC), which provides contemporary limud HaTorah with Chassidic influences for adults at all levels. As the Founding Rav of the Berger Towers community in Katamonim, Jerusalem, Rabbi Silber oversees the community’s rabbinic leadership and hashkafic direction. Rabbi Silber received semicha from the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary at Yeshiva University and holds a master’s degree in secondary Jewish education from the Azrieli Graduate School.

As CEO, Rabbi Dr. Josh Joseph will continue to oversee the management, business strategy, and professional alignment of all OU programs and operations. During his six years at the OU, Josh has driven extraordinary organizational growth in these areas. Rabbi Moshe Elefant continues to lead OU Kosher, ensuring the highest standards of kashrut supervision worldwide. Rabbi Elefant became the chief executive officer of OU Kosher on July 1, succeeding Rabbi Menachem Genack.

The new leadership structure follows the unexpected loss of Rabbi Moshe Hauer, zt”l, last fall, who served as executive vice president since January 2020. Under the joint leadership of Rabbi Hauer, zt”l and Rabbi Dr. Joseph, the OU navigated unprecedented global upheavals including the aftermath of October 7, with steadfast calm, clear Torah vision, and integrity. Rabbi Hauer, zt”l served as a significant and impactful public voice of Klal Yisrael, testifying before Congress on critical issues like campus antisemitism and advocating passionately in Washington, D.C., with campaigns such as leading the delivery of 180,000 letters to the White House on behalf of the Israeli hostages held in Gaza. His legacy of profound Torah scholarship, extraordinary empathy, and unwavering commitment to the klal will continue to inspire and guide the Orthodox Union’s mission for generations to come.

After Rabbi Hauer’s passing last fall, OU President Mitchel Aeder appointed a search committee chaired by OU board chairman Yehuda Neuberger to advise on the OU’s professional leadership structure and to identify a candidate to succeed Rabbi Hauer, zt”l. With the addition of Rabbi Silber, in partnership with Rabbi Dr. Joseph, the OU has solidified its professional foundation to better serve Jewish communities across the US and Eretz Yisrael.

“I am honored to have this opportunity at such a unique moment for our community,” said Rabbi Shmuel Silber. “Rabbi Hauer, zt”l was a friend and a mentor, and I feel privileged to continue his holy work. Torah and Jewish life are thriving, yet we face difficult communal challenges. My sincere desire is to help create bonds of unity and continue elevating the holiness and religious experience of our community in the US and Israel. I look forward to partnering with Rabbi Dr. Joseph, our President Mitchel Aeder, and the entire OU family to serve the needs of the Jewish people.”

“It is a privilege to assume the role of CEO at this critical juncture. Over the past six years, in partnership with OU Kosher and with the support of the community, the OU has strategically scaled its core programs, expanded the number, reach, and impact of new initiatives and developed an incredibly strong culture of professionalism,” said Rabbi Dr. Josh Joseph, CEO. “I am excited to welcome my friend Rabbi Silber to the leadership of the OU as we continue to encourage more Jews to grow closer to Hashem and build sustainable pathways for individual and communal growth across the Jewish world.”

“The OU is in a position of tremendous strength, and as we look to the future, we want to ensure we have the structure and talent to sustain and expand our vital work. In Rabbi Shmuel Silber and Rabbi Dr. Josh Joseph, we are blessed with two world-class leaders who bring complementary strengths to their respective roles,” said Mitchel Aeder, President. “Together, alongside our dedicated lay leadership, they will continue to build a unified, professional, and disciplined institution dedicated to the physical and spiritual needs of our community.”

“Following the devastating loss of our beloved Rabbi Moshe Hauer, zt”l, we conducted an exhaustive national search to find a leader who could carry on his sacred work of spiritual guidance and public advocacy,” said Aeder. “Rabbi Shmuel Silber is a distinguished talmid chacham who possesses the rare combination of deep Torah scholarship, exceptional character, humility, and a warm, empathetic heart. We are thrilled to welcome him to the Orthodox Union as our EVP and are excited about the extraordinary potential of his partnership with Rabbi Dr. Joseph.”

Tomchei Shabbos of Lakewood held a ribbon-cutting and Chanukas Habayis ceremony this week to mark the dedication of its new Fischl Family Warehouse.

The warehouse, which is located on Summer Avenue in Lakewood, was dedicated by Mayer and Chaya Rivka Fischl.

Tomchei Shabbos, which was founded in 1986 and is the largest food pantry in New Jersey, assists thousands of families in the area every week.

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A full-scale emergency response exercise was held at Community Medical Center in Toms River in partnership with the Ocean County EMS Coordinators, and the Manchester, Jackson, and Lakewood EMS departments.

The exercise simulated an off-site Mass Casualty Incident (MCI), resulting in a sudden influx of patients and a significant surge to the hospital’s Emergency Department. Participants tested patient movement, communications, resource coordination, hospital surge procedures, and overall emergency response operations.

As an additional component, the exercise included a simulated Highly Contagious Infectious Disease (HCID) patient requiring advanced evaluation and care. Responders tested notification procedures, infection-control precautions, patient isolation, responder safety, and coordination between EMS, public safety, and hospital personnel.

Officials said full-scale exercises provide an opportunity to identify strengths, recognize areas for improvement, and ensure emergency plans and procedures can be effectively implemented during a real emergency.

The exercise brought together healthcare professionals, EMS, emergency management, and public safety personnel to strengthen inter-agency communication, collaboration, and operational readiness during large-scale emergencies.

We regret to inform you of the Petirah of Mrs. Chanie Jacobs A”H, wife of Reb Chaim Jacobs, Rebbe at Kamenetz and a Gabai at Reb Yanky Goldbaum’s Shul, following a prolonged illness. She was 62.

The Levaya is scheduled to take place at 6:30 PM at the chapel in Lakewood. Kevurah in Lakewood.

Baruch Dayan Ha’emes.

We regret to inform you of the Petirah of Rebbitzin Freida Fried A”H, who was suddenly Niftar at her home in Lakewood this afternoon.

She is the wife of Harav Psachya Fried Shlita. She was approximately 75.

UPDATE: The Levaya is scheduled to take place at 5:00 PM this afternoon at the Chapel in Lakewood. Kevurah in Bnei Brak.

Baruch Dayan Ha’emes.

As an integrative health practitioner — originally trained in Chinese medicine — I repeatedly saw patients struggling with what appeared to be very different problems. Some had skin conditions. Others had digestive complaints. Many suffered from heart issues, breathing problems, joint pain, brain fog, obesity, or diabetes. The list went on and on.

Over time, I began to notice something important. These were not isolated diseases. They were inflammatory conditions. The organ systems were different, but the underlying pattern was the same.

Once I recognized inflammation as the common thread, I began asking a deeper question: what is driving it?

If you owned a car and it kept breaking down, you wouldn’t simply keep rushing it to the repair shop every few days. You would eventually want to know why it keeps failing. Are you putting in the wrong kind of fuel? The wrong oil? Are you driving with the emergency brake on?

That curiosity led me to what I now believe sits at the root of most modern chronic disease.

Diet.

There was a time in history when only a tiny fraction of humanity ate rich food every single day. Those people were kings, emperors, and aristocrats. Their tables were filled with foods that most ordinary people could only dream of tasting.

Today, in developed countries, many people eat in a way that would have astonished royalty centuries ago. Eggs and dairy at breakfast. Meat or fish at lunch. Steak or hamburgers for dinner. Cream in coffee. Butter on bread. Cheese as a snack. Dessert not as a rare celebration, but as a daily habit.

For most of human history, this kind of abundance was reserved for the elite. Yet the elite were not necessarily healthier for it.

The Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt

Egyptian royalty ate very differently from common laborers. While ordinary people lived largely on barley bread, lentils, onions, dates, and beer, the elite consumed fatty meats such as beef, duck, and goose, along with honey-sweetened pastries, refined white bread, wine, and rich dairy products.

For many years, historians assumed ancient Egyptians were spared the chronic diseases associated with modern living. But CT scans of royal mummies have told a different story. Research led by Dr. Gregory Thomas and Dr. Adel Allam examined mummies — many of them members of the elite — and found clear evidence of atherosclerosis, or plaque buildup in the arteries. Some of these individuals lived more than 3,000 years ago.

Heart disease did not begin with industrial food. It appeared among those who had access to concentrated luxury foods.

The Kings of England

Historical accounts of Henry VIII describe a diet heavy in roasted meats, meat pies, white bread, cream-based sauces, sugared desserts, and frequent ale and wine. Such foods were markers of status and strength.

By middle age, he was severely obese and suffered from chronic leg ulcers, likely gout, and possibly diabetes. He died at 55. While that age was not unusually young for the 1500s, he was hardly a model of robust health.

More broadly, medieval English nobility consumed far more meat, sugar, and refined grains than peasants. The average peasant diet consisted largely of oats, barley, beans, cabbage, and root vegetables — simple, fiber-rich foods with minimal animal fat. Gout became so common among the aristocracy that it was nicknamed “the disease of kings,” a reflection of dietary excess rather than genetic destiny.

The French Court

At the court of Louis XIV, meals were elaborate and theatrical. Multiple courses were served in succession, featuring game meats bathed in butter-rich sauces and finished with sugary pastries and confections. Culinary refinement became a symbol of political power.

Medical historians describe widespread metabolic illness among European aristocracy during this era. Obesity, digestive complaints, and gout were common. Excess served as a public display of wealth — the more animal protein and sugar one could afford, the more elevated one appeared.

Chinese Emperors

Imperial Chinese cuisine offered its own version of luxury. Emperors and high officials had access to fatty pork, organ meats, refined white rice, elaborate broths, and rare animal delicacies that were inaccessible to ordinary people. Meals were designed not merely for nourishment, but for prestige.

Meanwhile, rural Chinese populations subsisted primarily on rice or millet, vegetables, legumes, and modest amounts of tofu or meat. Before modernization, these largely plant-centered diets were associated with relatively low rates of cardiovascular disease.

It is especially striking that much of what we now call Traditional Chinese Medicine — including acupuncture and herbal medicine — was preserved, systematized, and refined within imperial courts. Classical texts such as the Huangdi Neijing were framed around the legendary Yellow Emperor, and throughout Chinese history emperors maintained official medical academies staffed by court physicians.

These physicians were tasked with managing the health consequences of imperial life. Digestive disorders, metabolic disturbances, inflammatory conditions, and stress-related illnesses were common among those living in excess. Advanced medicine developed, in part, to address the very imbalances created by luxury.

As someone trained in Chinese medicine, I find this contrast telling. Villagers relied largely on simple food, seasonal rhythms, and physical labor to maintain health. The courts required increasingly sophisticated medical systems to manage the consequences of abundance.

Again, we see the pattern: concentrated richness among the elite, simplicity among the masses.

A Repeating Pattern

Across cultures and centuries, a consistent pattern emerges. The wealthy consumed more animal protein, more refined grains, more sugar, and more rich dairy. Common people relied on whole grains, legumes, vegetables, and fruits, with animal products used sparingly.

The diseases of affluence — gout, obesity, cardiovascular disease — appeared first and most prominently among those who could afford dietary excess.

Today: Abundance for All

In modern societies, especially those transitioning from developing to developed status, the first visible dietary shift is increased access to meat, dairy, sugar, and processed food. What was once rare becomes routine. Animal products move from occasional to daily consumption. Sweets shift from celebration to expectation.

In many ways, entire populations now eat as royalty once did.

In my clinic, I saw the results daily. Different diagnoses, different organs, different complaints — but the same underlying inflammatory pattern. When patients shift away from a “royal” diet toward whole, unprocessed, plant-centered foods, inflammation often decreases. Energy improves. Weight stabilizes. Blood sugar normalizes. Joint pain lessens. The body begins to function with greater clarity and resilience.

The Blue Zones Contrast

Modern longevity research, including work popularized by Dan Buettner, highlights regions often referred to as Blue Zones, such as Okinawa, Sardinia, and Ikaria. Traditional diets in these regions are centered around whole grains, beans, vegetables, and fruits, with very modest amounts of meat and dairy and infrequent sweets.

These populations have historically demonstrated low rates of heart disease and diabetes, along with remarkable longevity and functional independence into advanced age.

Their diets resemble those of historical villagers far more than those of historical kings.

Perspective

It is natural to assume that abundance equals progress. For centuries, the ability to consume meat daily, indulge in desserts, and enjoy rich dairy signaled success. But history shows that such patterns were often accompanied by disease among those privileged enough to follow them.

Today, most of us have access to foods once reserved for monarchs. The question is not whether we can eat like royalty. It is whether doing so serves our long-term health.

The healthiest dietary pattern in history was not the one served in palaces, but the one eaten quietly in villages — simple, plant-centered, and modest.

Royalty had abundance. Villagers had resilience. And resilience, more than luxury, appears to sustain health across generations.

Until next time, enjoy eating simple, whole foods so you can be the healthiest and most energetic version of yourself.

A Practical Resource

For readers who would like a clear, evidence-based guide to implementing a whole-food, plant-based diet, I recommend Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease by Caldwell Esselstyn.

Dr. Esselstyn’s clinical work at the Cleveland Clinic demonstrated that patients with cardiovascular disease were able to halt — and in many cases reverse — disease progression through a strict whole-food, plant-based diet.

For a video introduction to his work, readers can watch the documentary Forks Over Knives at www.forksoverknives.com/the-film, which presents the science and real-world results of whole-food, plant-based nutrition in an accessible format.

It offers a practical blueprint for those ready to stop eating like royalty and start eating for long-term health.

New Jersey will receive at least $525 million as part of a landmark multistate settlement with Meta Platforms Inc. that requires the company to make sweeping changes to how Instagram and Facebook operate for children and teenagers, Attorney General Jennifer Davenport announced Wednesday.

The settlement, which is subject to court approval, could provide New Jersey with more than $752 million. The agreement is part of a broader settlement valued at between $12.1 billion and $17.1 billion, which state officials described as the largest state consumer protection settlement in U.S. history outside of the Big Tobacco settlements of the 1990s.

The agreement resolves claims brought by 47 states and the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands alleging that Meta designed its platforms with addictive features, exposed young users to serious mental health risks and misled the public about the safety of its products.

Under the settlement, Meta would be required to implement a series of new protections for young users on Instagram and Facebook.

Among the measures is a combined daily usage limit of two hours for Instagram and Facebook, with automatic pauses after 15 minutes of continuous use and additional pauses after 60 and 90 minutes. The restrictions would remain in place for five years.

If Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube adopt comparable restrictions, the daily limit would fall to 60 minutes and the provisions would remain in effect for 10 years.

The settlement also calls for overnight restrictions preventing young users from accessing the platforms between midnight and 6 a.m., as well as limited school-day access and push notifications between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. on weekdays during the school year.

New Jersey began co-leading a bipartisan multistate investigation into social media platforms in 2021. State officials said the investigation found that Meta designed Instagram features to encourage addictive use while internally documenting resulting mental health concerns and failing to adequately warn parents.

The multistate lawsuit was filed in 2023 and alleged that Meta knowingly developed features that encouraged excessive use among children and teenagers, disrupted sleep and distracted students during the school day, while misleading users and the public about the risks.

When fathers face serious legal battles, entire families live through the consequences.

Several Yiddishe fathers are currently facing legal battles with potentially devastating consequences.

But behind the lawyers and court proceedings are wives and children trying to live with tremendous fear and uncertainty.

There is also another reality: the staggering cost of experienced legal representation.

These expenses have become more than the families can possibly carry themselves.

Read the Rabbinic letters and help

That is why Rabbanim who personally know these families have stepped forward with an urgent appeal.

Rabbi Moshe B. Parnes writes of the tremendous stress these families are experiencing, “especially on their children,” and calls upon Klal Yisroel to open their hearts and help.

The rabbinic appeals invoke the tremendous mitzvah of Pidyon Shvuyim and emphasize the importance of helping these fathers obtain the representation they desperately need.

Whatever happens inside the courtroom, there are families outside of it who need us right now.

Several families are carrying an enormous burden.

Let’s make sure they don’t carry it alone.

Read the Rabbinic letters and help

I just bumped into the one and only Yaakov Shwekey at Kever Rochel and asked him to say a few words for the Scoop readers.

We regret to inform you of the Petirah of Reb Aharon Gertz Z”L of Lakewood, who was niftar this evening.

R’ Aharon was a longtime Mechanech in Yeshiva Karlin-Stolin of Boro Park, where he taught third grade for many years before moving to Lakewood.

The Levaya is scheduled to take place at 11:00 AM Wednesday at the Lakewood chapel, 613 Ramsey Avenue, followed by the Kevurah.

Shiva information will be published when it becomes available.

Baruch Dayan Ha’emes.

The chicken for Rosh Hashanah.

The fish for Shabbos.

The meat for Sukkos.

The eggs. The produce. The wine.

All the basic things that make up Tishrei and all the expenses that come with them.

For almost 3,000 families, it’s simply too heavy to carry.

So Tomchei carries it for them.

And carrying Tishrei for almost 3,000 families comes with a weight of its own: $4,000,000. 

We can’t carry it alone.

This Tishrei, tip the scales.

Help Tomchei raise $4,000,000 . 

PLEASE DONATE HERE.

Call to donate: 732.978.9901

To the Editor,

As the summer comes to an end and the new school year approaches, many parents in our community are once again receiving intimidating messages from school administrators regarding outstanding tuition balances.

The message is often blunt: Pay what is owed immediately, or your child will not be allowed to return to school. Registration documents, admission cards, class information, and other necessary paperwork may be withheld until the account is brought current.

The reason I am writing this letter is not theoretical. A very close friend of mine, who has devoted much of his life to helping other people, is currently experiencing serious financial difficulties. Despite everything he has done for others, he recently received precisely this type of threat from his children’s school.

The manner in which it was handled caused tremendous pain and anxiety for him and his entire family. The pressure became so overwhelming that he came close to requiring professional mental-health assistance. Whatever the school’s financial concerns may have been, no tuition dispute should be handled in a way that pushes a parent into that kind of emotional crisis.

Let me be clear: Schools need money to operate. Teachers and staff must be paid, buildings must be maintained, and countless other expenses must be covered. Parents also have a responsibility to pay the tuition they agreed to pay. A school cannot be expected to provide an education without collecting tuition, and parents should not simply ignore their financial obligations.

However, none of that gives a school the right to threaten, humiliate, or corner a family—particularly by using a child’s admission to school as a weapon.

There is an enormous difference between demanding accountability and treating struggling parents as though they are dishonest or irresponsible. If a family claims that it cannot afford the required tuition, the school has every right to ask the parents to come in, provide tax returns and financial information, explain their income and expenses, and demonstrate why they cannot meet their obligation.

That process should be serious and thorough. Parents requesting substantial tuition assistance should expect to answer difficult questions and provide documentation. Schools are responsible for protecting limited scholarship funds and ensuring that assistance goes to families that genuinely need it.

But the conversation must remain intelligent, civil, and respectful.

A family’s financial difficulties do not remove its dignity. Parents should not be made to feel as though they are criminals because they cannot produce money they simply do not have. They should not spend the final weeks of summer terrified that their children will be left without a classroom, a rebbe, a teacher, or a school simply because an administrator has decided that threats are the most effective collection method.

Most importantly, children should never be used as leverage in a financial dispute between adults.

The child did not create the unpaid balance. The child does not control the family’s income. The child should not begin the school year feeling rejected, embarrassed, or uncertain about whether he or she belongs in school. Even when a parent has handled tuition irresponsibly, schools must be extraordinarily careful not to punish or publicly humiliate the child.

There are also families whose financial situations cannot be understood by glancing at a salary figure. Medical expenses, debt, special-needs services, job losses, reduced hours, family obligations, and other serious circumstances can leave a family unable to meet tuition commitments despite appearing financially stable on paper. That is precisely why these matters require real conversations rather than threatening messages.

Schools should establish a fair and transparent process. Parents with outstanding balances should be required to meet with the appropriate administrator, disclose their finances honestly, and agree to a realistic payment arrangement. When parents refuse to cooperate or conceal information, the school may need to take a firmer position. But when a family is transparent and genuinely unable to pay, the response should be understanding and problem-solving—not intimidation.

Our schools teach children about compassion, dignity, responsibility, and proper conduct between people. Those values should not disappear when the tuition office begins making collection calls.

School administrators have a difficult job, and they should not be expected to finance families who refuse to take responsibility. At the same time, authority must be exercised with judgment and humanity. Threatening desperate parents and placing children in the middle is not an acceptable solution.

My friend’s experience should serve as a warning. Behind every outstanding tuition balance is a real family. We cannot know the emotional pressure people are already carrying, and a threatening letter or telephone call can do far more damage than the person delivering it realizes.

It is time for schools and parents to sit down like responsible adults, examine the facts, and work toward honest arrangements. Accountability is necessary. Humiliation is not. Tuition must be collected, but it must be done with dignity.

TLS welcomes your letters by submitting them to us via  Whatsapp  or via email  [email protected]

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For decades, “Yankie Meyer” was a household name. He was the ultimate askan of a generation – a man whose address was wherever a Yid needed help and whose hours were whenever the telephone rang. And it always rang: minutes before Shabbos, on Yom Kippur, during the Pesach Seder, and while everyone else was on vacation.

Sometimes it was a single Yid sitting frightened in a police station. Sometimes a family had suffered an unimaginable tragedy. Sometimes an entire community needed someone who could accomplish the seemingly impossible. The scale changed. Yankie did not.

The key to understanding Reb Yankie Meyer zt”l lies in one apparent contradiction: Yankie never took no for an answer. Except when the “no” came from Daas Torah.

The Roots of an Askan:

While Misaskim would eventually make Yankie famous throughout the Jewish world, Misaskim did not make Yankie an askan.

As a young bochur, he spent Thursday nights delivering Tomchei Shabbos packages. He later joined Hatzalah, where his radio number B41 became synonymous with the complex calls that required far more than standard emergency response. When dispatch called for B41, everyone listening knew: this was no ordinary call, and it would need no ordinary response.

His askanus grew through foresight. After witnessing horrific highway accidents, he launched community safety campaigns, promoting seat-belt awareness and placing Tefillas Haderech signs at camps and bungalow colonies targeting those traveling to and from the Catskills.

Along the way, Yankie built an unprecedented network: police departments, medical examiners, the Port Authority, and state and federal officials at the highest levels. His Rolodex became legendary. But Yankie wasn’t collecting powerful friends for status – he was collecting avenues to help Yidden. A police chief mattered because someday a Yid might need that chief. A government official mattered because minutes before Shabbos, a situation might arise that only that official could resolve.

Tell Yankie something couldn’t be done, and the conversation had only just begun. A bureaucracy said no? Call someone else. An agency said impossible? Find another route. Were there five minutes left before Shabbos? Then there were still five minutes to get it done.

Seeing What Others Didn’t:

Eventually came Misaskim. The original concept seemed straightforward: a niftar needed dignity, an aveil needed low chairs, a shivah house needed basic equipment. But Yankie saw what others missed. The chairs were only the beginning.

He would walk into a grieving home and notice the electric shutoff notice accumulating on the counter after a parent’s prolonged illness. He noticed furniture that needed replacing, a refrigerator that needed filling, and children who needed quiet comfort. He understood that a tragedy didn’t end when Hatzalah left, nor after the levayah, nor even when shivah concluded.

Misaskim expanded into a vast chesed operation encompassing kavod hameis, navigation of medical examiners’ offices, long-term support for yesomim and almanos, and dedicated initiatives like Project Yedid.

Yechiel Kasirer, coordinator of Misaskim Central Jersey, describes Yankie’s guiding principle: “Boots on the ground.” No matter how large Misaskim grew, Yankie refused to become an executive sitting upstairs reading reports. He wanted to know the reality inside the home. What does this family actually need right now? What are we missing?

An organization could deliver chairs; Yankie made sure someone brought snacks for the children. An organization could deliver food; Yankie made sure someone mopped the floors before Shabbos. He commanded an army of volunteers, but the general remained on the battlefield. As Kasirer notes, even as Misaskim expanded globally, every chapter retained its local character: “Yankie understood that the needs of a Kiryas Yoel yosom were different from a Lakewood yosom.”

When “No” Meant No:

Yet the man who refused to accept “no” from police chiefs, state agencies, or foreign dignitaries became entirely subservient in the presence of Gedolei Yisroel. Yankie’s relationship with Gedolim was never ceremonial – it was pure hisbatlus.

Kasirer recalls a story Yankie shared himself. Yankie had invested tremendous time and effort into developing a major communal project and eventually presented it to a Rosh Yeshiva for his haskama. The Rosh Yeshiva looked at the proposal and said no.

Yankie accepted the decision instantly, without a word of pushback. The Rosh Yeshiva was almost taken aback – was Yankie not going to argue his case? Explain the immense resources and time already invested?

No. The Rosh Yeshiva had spoken. That was the end of the line.

This was Yankie Meyer: the man who made it his life’s work to find a second door when the first was slammed shut. But in front of Daas Torah, there was no second door.

The Mashgiach’s Driver:

Nothing illustrated this hisbatlus more clearly than his relationship with the Mashgiach, Rav Mattisyahu zt”l.

Yankie had hundreds of volunteers at his call and a phone that rang constantly with life-and-death emergencies. Yet every Thursday night, Yankie set everything aside to personally drive the Mashgiach from Lakewood to Brooklyn to deliver his shiur.

He could have delegated the drive to anyone. He didn’t. The man managing a vast chesed operation gladly became the personal chauffeur, because serving a Gadol was not an errand – it was a holy privilege. Their bond ran deep; when Yankie passed away, the Mashgiach zt”l, despite his illness and frailty, made the effort to attend his levayah in person.

Similarly, when Rav Aharon Leib Shteinman zt”l visited America, and later when Rav Dov Landau shlita made his historic first trip to the United States, Yankie did far more than clear customs through his role as a Port Authority chaplain. He personally chauffeured them throughout their stays. It was as if his operations ceased, his phones went silent, and his organization didn’t exist. For those days, the renowned askan was simply the driver.

Nishmas: Acknowledging the True Source:

After a major breakthrough or complex crisis resolved through extraordinary siyata d’Shmaya, Yankie had a set ritual: he gathered the people involved to recite Nishmas.

Whether following the massive Tehillim asifah during the Aseres Yemei Teshuvah or resolving a delicate, high-stakes medical examiner case, he never viewed success as proof of his own capability. The Ribbono Shel Olam had granted the miracle; Yankie was merely the shliach.

Mendy Carlbach, New Jersey State Police chaplain and longtime askan who worked side-by-side with Yankie, recalls that rare combination of high-level authority and deep personal humility. Yankie could negotiate at the highest levels of government, yet remain completely focused on the individual Yid for whom those connections existed.

His access was never about prestige. At a disaster scene, if officers ordered everyone behind the yellow tape, Yankie stepped behind the line, even when an officer said, “Yankie, we didn’t mean you.” The rules were never beneath him. His special access existed solely when Klal Yisroel required it.

The Lakewood Model:

Lakewood held a special place in Yankie’s heart. As a talmid of BMG, he maintained a profound connection with its Roshei Yeshiva and Rabbanim, making the Lakewood and Central Jersey branch one of Misaskim’s most vital early expansions.

Among the projects closest to his heart was a pre-Shabbos initiative that reflected his signature attention to detail. When tragedy strikes a family with young children, volunteers enter the shivah house shortly before Shabbos. They quietly remove the shivah chairs, mop the floors, reset the furniture, restock the kitchen with food and snacks, prepare the meals, and even prepare the Shabbos candles.

For a few precious hours, the house of mourning is restored into a warm Shabbos home. Then, on Motzaei Shabbos, volunteers return and silently set the shivah back in place. No headlines, no fanfare – just boots on the ground noticing what hurts and fixing what they can.

COVID-19: The Final Chapter:

When COVID-19 struck, it became one of the final, defining chapters of Yankie’s life. The pandemic brought loss on an unimaginable scale, and Yankie worked tirelessly to help families navigate death, kevurah, hospital logistics, and bureaucratic gridlock.

Yet another dimension of that period revealed the true core of his mission. For decades, he had painstakingly built trust across government and law enforcement agencies. Those relationships took a lifetime to cultivate. Yet when the Daas Torah he followed required putting those hard-earned relationships on the line to preserve Torah and tefillah, he did not hesitate.

He worked relentlessly to ensure that the sounds of minyanim and learning continued to reverberate in the shuls and yeshivos. The legendary Rolodex, the titles, the political access, and even Misaskim itself were never the ultimate goal – they were simply tools. The goal was always Klal Yisroel, Torah, and chesed.

The Shlichus Continues:

Perhaps one story, which took place after Yankie was no longer here, says more than anything else about the legacy he left behind.

Longtime Lakewood askan Meir Lichtenstein relates that New Jersey was considering a regulation that could have had serious ramifications for kavod hameis, particularly in cases involving the deaths of young children.

A delegation from the Lakewood Chevra Kadisha and Misaskim, together with Lichtenstein, arranged a meeting with the Chief Medical Examiner of the State of New Jersey to present their concerns and register their strong opposition.

They were not particularly optimistic about the outcome. As the group headed to the meeting, they felt that the odds were heavily against them. Still, they were going because they had an obligation to make the case – to stand up for kavod hameis – regardless of what they expected to accomplish.

Then, on the way, they passed the cemetery in Woodbridge, New Jersey, where Yankie zt”l is buried.

Lichtenstein had a thought. “Why don’t we stop at Yankie’s kever,” he suggested to the members of the group, “and invite Yankie to the meeting?”

They pulled into the cemetery. Standing at Yankie’s kever, they said several kapitlach Tehillim. Then they continued on to the meeting.

The meeting went even better than they had anticipated. The group presented their concerns and explained the implications they believed the proposed regulation could have for kavod hameis. Lichtenstein recalls that, as they spoke, they felt a certain sense of Yankie’s presence in the room.

“We were able to work within the confines of the regulation and some technicalities to get the desired results, which we were not expecting to be simple in any way, shape, or form,” Lichtenstein said. What had seemed like a daunting meeting turned out to be a meaningful opportunity to make their case.

For Lichtenstein and the others who had stopped along the way, the experience carried a poignant message. For decades, whenever kavod hameis was threatened, Yankie Meyer was the person you wanted in the room.

And on this occasion, even though he was no longer physically there, they felt that in some way, they had brought him along too.

And once again, “no” wasn’t the final answer.

The Shliach

On 13 Elul 5782, Reb Yankie Meyer z”l passed away at the age of 59, but the echo of the calls he answered still reverberates.

Today, thousands carry forward pieces of his legacy. A volunteer walks into a shivah house and notices a detail no one thought to mention. An askan faces a shut door and makes one more call. An advocate fights fiercely for kavod hameis. A volunteer checks in on an orphan long after the shivah chairs have been packed away. And in communities worldwide, volunteers quietly walk into homes before Shabbos and ask the quintessential Yankie Meyer question: “What else does this family need?”

The chesed network he built endures, but his greatest legacy remains the derech he forged: Be relentless when a Yid needs you. Keep your boots on the ground. Notice the small details. Never confuse access with importance. Say Nishmas when Hashem grants success.

And above all, know whose “no” is final.

A bureaucrat’s “no” was an invitation to negotiate. An agency’s “no” was a reason to appeal. An official’s “no” meant finding another phone number. But when a Gadol b’Yisroel said “no,” Yankie stopped instantly.

For all his brilliance, resourcefulness, and ability to move mountains, Reb Yankie Meyer understood the ultimate truth: He wasn’t the one in charge. He was a shliach. And years after he answered his final call, that shlichus lives on.

TLS is once again the Official Media Sponsor of the event.

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Shabbos Mode: Are You Sure?

What does “Shabbos Mode” actually do—and what doesn’t it do? Rabbi Shmuel Katz, Rabbinic Coordinator at the cRC, joins R’ Yitzy Hisiger for an important discussion about the halachic realities, potential pitfalls, and different types of Shabbos modes found in today’s ovens.

View it in its entirety at: https://www.kashrusawareness.com/post/shabbos-mode-are-you-sure

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https://mytat.me/o112

https://www.kosher.com/shows/lets-talk-kashrus-73

CLICK HERE to watch more episodes of Let’s Talk Kashrus

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We invite your questions, comments, or feedback. If there’s a specific kashrus topic you’d like to bring to public attention, feel free to contact us by email: [email protected]

Message or call: 678-8-Kosher

You can also visit our website www.kashrusawareness.com for a growing list of resources, timely conversations, and to watch episodes of the Let’s Talk Kashrus audio-visual series.

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Transcription

Hello and welcome back to Let’s Talk Kashrus, presented by the cRC, the Chicago Rabbinical Council. Today I am privileged to be joined by Rabbi Shmuel Katz, rabbinical coordinator at the Chicago Rabbinical Council. Rabbi Katz, welcome to the Let’s Talk Kashrus studio.

Thank you for having me here.

It’s a pleasure to have you here all the way from Chicago to discuss a very pertinent topic, something that comes up a lot, and that’s the topic of Shabbos mode on ovens. So just so that we proceed through this conversation responsibly, could you define for our viewers and our listeners, what does _Shabbos_mode do on an oven and then we’ll get into the practical and halachic ramifications? So what is Shabbos mode? Okay, so that’s a very loaded question, what is Shabbos mode? And that’s where the misunderstanding start immediately. Appliances have been hitting consumer houses for about a hundred years. The shailos from the poskim are about a hundred years old already.

These been building on each other, but appliances are not static. They’ve changed. They’re not the same thermostat that Rav Shlomo Zalman wrote his teshuvos on. It’s a very different product today.

And even from Shabbos modes in their twenty-five plus year history have been solving different problems. So in the original days, they were more convenience-based. They’ve morphed at some point into severe halachic shailos and then the psakim involved have also kept up. And now there’s multiple Shabbos modes available on the market for the consumers to be able to get to.

So on a practical level, and correct me if anything I say is not accurate, but the way I understand it is that the chief _Shabbos_mode addresses certain electrical issues on an oven. If it’s an electrical oven where, you know, you have lights that will go on or numbers that will change and things of that sort. Once it’s in Shabbos mode, that gets solved and now the oven can be opened and closed without triggering any of anything electrical. It didn’t sound so sophisticated, but does that make sense? So yes, but the answer’s going to really depend on the model and the oven.

It’s going to be crucial to look at the instructions from the certifier on how to use it properly. For example, some models, they may have a freezer may have an ice maker that’s not connected to the main computer. Some ovens have a light that’s not connected to the main computer. So they’ll have a Shabbos mode and it’ll solve a lot of problems, but it can’t solve the light in the oven or the ice maker in the freezer because it’s not connected to the main computer.

If it’s not connected to the computer, they have to be disabled separately. And these instructions you’ll be able to find from the certifier in their instructions on how to use that model properly. So obviously it’s very important to know what the rules are from the certifier and how to use the Shabbos mode properly and what it does or doesn’t solve is very important. When you say certifier, you mean that an actual _kashrus_organization is certifying the Shabbos mode on an oven? Is that usually the way it works? That should be the way it works.

Okay. But it’s a very important first step is to find out if there is a certifier. At this point, almost all models on the market are going to have some form of a Shabbos mode. Some of them don’t have a certifier.

So there’s no one who’s looked at this from a _halachic_standpoint and said this is kosher to use at all. So the company did that on their own volition? They decided to have a Shabbos mode to attract Orthodox consumers? So for one reason or another, sometimes it’s there because it was designed at one point with a kashrus agency and then they no longer work with that or they stuck it on a model that they couldn’t fully solve and an agency can’t certify. So the first step is to make sure there is a certification agency. If there’s no certification, no certifier on the Shabbos mode, there’s no way to know that it’s working properly unless you do extensive testing yourself, which is above the average consumer’s skills.

I would also add that generally, if you’re buying your appliances from a frum purveyor of appliances, usually that frum proprietor will be able to tell you which appliances have, you know, I’ll use Town Appliance as an example, one of the largest provider of appliances to the frum community. I know that they’re very well versed in the Shabbos mode options in various appliances. So, you know, that’s a place to start, but like you said, you have to verify with each individual whatever agency it is that’s certifying it. Now, from what I understand, which is absolutely mind-boggling, is that tremendous michsholim have come out of the Shabbos mode, strangely, because Shabbos mode is there to solve _Shabbos_problems.

But unfortunately, either due to ignorance or just, you know, assumptions or lack of awareness, people have made assumptions about Shabbos mode. For example, there’s an issur of bishul on Shabbos. You’re not allowed to cook on Shabbos. No matter how your oven is designed, you can’t cook on Shabbos.

But are people not realizing that Shabbos mode may solve an appliance issue, but you still can’t take food and cook it in an oven even if it has a Shabbos mode? If you could elaborate on that. Yeah, so that’s very important. When the first _Shabbos_modes came out, they called it Shabbos mode, and then it was discovered that people were using it to cook on Shabbos. Putting it into Shabbos mode meant that the oven is now solved.

So it’s crucial to remember the regular halachos of an oven apply, the regular issur of bishul is going to apply. The shehiya is still going to apply, which means you can’t leave raw food in an oven from before Shabbos without a blech, and ovens don’t have a blech. Chazara, you can’t put stuff back into an oven on Shabbos even if it’s fully cooked, again, because it needs a blech. So most ovens do not have a system to have a blech.

Even in a lot of, even in Shabbos mode, they may not have a system that allows for that. And those halachos continue to apply as well. Shabbos mode has also introduced new angles to various challenges, which means depending on how the Shabbos mode was built, certain activities may or may not have been allowed in doing it. The Star-K in a lot of their models, they say very clearly that after you open the oven door, you can’t close it with any food still inside on Shabbos.

And this is related to the original psak of _Rav Shlomo Zalman_and the original machlokes with thermostats, but it’s since then morphed into the way they’ve designed their _Shabbos_mode. So you’re saying, you’re saying to clarify, this Star-K caveat, even if the food is fully cooked, there are certain ovens that once you open it up, you can’t close it on Shabbos. That’s what you’re saying. That is correct.

And the Star-K makes this clear in their, in their manual, that that is not allowed to close it. So these, the consumer needs to be aware of what the Shabbos mode is, how the _Shabbos_mode’s working, and what it does or doesn’t allow even with things as simple as what you may have been used to doing for many years is to have your soup in there and your chicken for Friday night and have your cholent for Shabbos day in there, and you take your soup and chicken out and close it and leave your cholent in there for Shabbos day. That may not be allowed even in certain Shabbos modes. Depending on, depending on the model.

This would depend on the model and how the Shabbos mode itself was built, so it’s going to depend. Got it. So basically we can’t give a blanket statement about any appliances here because you’re saying it varies from appliance to appliance and from certifier to certifier. So unfortunately we like to give practical advice, but as much as we like to do that, we can’t do that, you’re saying, because it varies.

It does vary model to model, it does vary also from certifier to certifier. The new GE models, just to give very practical advice, GE has two things. Number one is that some of their ovens actually have two Shabbos modes together. So you can get a GE, a GE oven, and it’ll have two Shabbos modes available for it.

And one is going to be completely uncertified and the other one is certified by the OU. Doing the same exact thing or doing… They are working differently. They’re two separate settings, two separate modes on the oven.

The way to access them would be different. But you can buy a GE model and assume that it has and end up in the wrong Shabbos mode that’s completely uncertified. So with GE ovens, the ones that are completely uncertified, we don’t, no one knows what they do. No one from our community has been checking on that.

But on the certified version with the OU, it’s certified by the OU and it has, they’ve solved a lot of problems and you can read their instructions for it. So they have, they do solve a lot more issues in certain ways, but it does have a different type of Shabbos mode than a lot of other brands that have a regular Shabbos mode. The Star-K also has an additional _Shabbos_mode called what they call the New Shabbos mode, which also solves some of the old problems and also another very different way. So if I had to break it down, there’s let’s say four Shabbos modes available on the market right now in, and this is for the American USA consumer.

Obviously in Eretz Yisroel it’s a whole different parsha, which is not, we’re not going to discuss here. But there’s four Shabbos modes. One is the company’s own engineer stuck the name on and no one knows what it does. Number two is the Star-K, who’s been the real pioneer in Shabbos modes in building that relationship with appliance manufacturers, their regular Shabbos mode.

The Star-K more recently has come up with something they call the New Shabbos mode, which also solves problems that a lot of people wanted to be solved as the shailas got more severe. And then GE has a relationship with the OU where they have their own what they call Enhanced Shabbos mode. So yeah, it does sound a little similar, the names. A regular Shabbos mode versus a New Shabbos mode or an Enhanced Shabbos mode or or just a Shabbos mode that’s not certified at all.

Now we’ve been talking largely about ovens and when people hear Shabbos mode they think of ovens, but there are _Shabbos_modes for other appliances. There are Shabbos modes for other appliances as well. Like refrigerators? Refrigerators and ice makers, freezers, or right, refrigerators, freezers, some other small appliances. The biggest michshol happens in ovens, which is why the focus today is specifically on ovens because the biggest michshol is on ovens.

Got it. Any other thoughts on this topic before we wrap up that you would share with our viewers? So there’s three things that need to happen when you’re getting an oven: is to verify that there is a certifier. There is the second thing is to verify what the certifier says is allowed. And there’s a third thing we didn’t have a chance to discuss yet which is: it’s crucial to figure out if your rov will tell you to follow the psakim of the certifier.

And that is a crucial step in this. The Shabbos modes are built based on the certifiers’ psakim that they have, and they may not be universal. Sometimes I give the example of CholovStam. It’s certified, but it still remains Cholov Stam.

So if you don’t eat Cholov Stam and it’s not Cholov Yisroel, it won’t be for you. It won’t be for you. Right. So it’s crucial to understand that there are psakim involved in this.

The way they’re solved is not always universally accepted, and therefore it’s worth speaking with your own rov based on the Shabbos mode you have and how it works to figure out what may or may not be acceptable for you in your house. I want to point out something also which we didn’t mention before is the Shabbos, but there’s also Yom Tov. You know that people and again you’ll tell me if this is correct, but on Yom Tov you may be allowed to cook, right, bishul‘s mutar on Yom Tov, but you’ll still need your Shabbos mode on your oven to solve other issues like the electrical issues and lights and so on and so forth. So you mention bishul sheyei chazarah and things like that.

Those may not be issues on Yom Tov, but a Shabbos mode is still going to be vitally important and you have to speak to your possek or whoever it is, the certifier, to find out what the parameters are for Yom Tov use. Correct. So to discuss a specific sheilah that’s on ovens, which would be very _nogeiah_for Yom Tov and are really very nogeiah for Shabbos, is in more recently, it’s not recent as in the last five years, this has already been going on for well over ten years or longer, they’ve put a door switch on. So we’re used to door switches from our fridges and from our ovens.

We open the oven door, the fridge door, the lights go on, and then we close it, the lights go off. So thirty years ago, forty years ago, we just unscrewed the light bulb, and that was the only thing the door switch did. Since then, these door switches have started controlling a lot of various parts of the fridge and oven. And to focus on ovens specifically, a lot of door switches today when you open the oven door, it turns off the heating in there.

So until now, the sheilah has always been when you open the oven door, the cold air comes in and turns the fire on. What’s happening now in a lot of ovens or almost maybe even most ovens, you open the oven door, the oven says, “Hey, the door’sopen, there’s no purpose in heating this, let’s turn it off until they close the door.” So there is a bit of a safety element there, it’s also much more efficient that way. So when you open the oven door, you’re turning the oven off, and almost even more severely, when you close the oven door, you’re not just closing the oven door, you’re actually turning the oven back on. And this is not happening by magic, it’s happening by a physical door switch.

So with the oven door closing, you’re pushing a button which tells the oven, “Please turn yourself back on.” And obviously, pushing a button directly on Shabbos to turn your oven on is going to be assur according to everyone. But that is one of the most severe sheilahs on ovens, and that will be a problem on Yom Tov as well. Happens to be in the oven that I have in my house, which we purchased from Town Appliance, we got a magnet from them. They supplied it for us to put on the I guess it’s the door switch that de-compresses the button so that it stays pushed down and it won’t trigger anything.

But that’s just one example of addressing that problem. Right, and the various Shabbos modes solve that problem differently of a door switch. The various Shabbos modes solve it differently, and some rabbonim recommend even in _Shabbos_mode to make sure you have that magnet. Right, exactly.

In my case, we still need to put the oven into Shabbos mode. So you really need to do multiple things. You do both. You’re putting the oven into Shabbos mode because of a whole series of issues that it solves, and then you’re putting the magnet on essentially because your own rov is saying this one particular issue we don’t like the way the Shabbos mode solves it and therefore you should use a magnet to disable that manually and independently.

So sometimes when you have an oven, so the Shabbos mode will tell you you need to put it into Shabbos mode plus do this, and sometimes your rov will give you an additional step of putting a magnet over the door switch, which is very common that a lot of rabbonim give that psak to do that. Additionally, some people will do it for practical reasons because if you want to leave food in your oven on _Shabbos_and the Star-K Shabbos mode solves it in a way that doesn’t allow for that, the magnet may help for that. Leave food in the oven in the oven on Shabbos. Again, all with the guidance of your rav on what’s appropriate for leaving food in the oven on Shabbos and opening and closing the oven door on Shabbos.

Got it, Rabbi Katz. Thanks for joining us. Thank you for informing us about the Shabbos mode issues. Again, to our viewers and listeners, without a doubt, they should consult their rav and posek and speak to the respective certifiers of various appliances to get the full picture of what’s necessary.

But thank you for being here and giving us this information. We greatly appreciate it. Thank you for having me. Behatzlacha in shmiras Shabbos and behatzlacha for KlalYisrael.

Continued hatzlacha. Thank you.

U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew is accusing New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill of responding to questions about New Jersey’s voter registration system with political attacks rather than providing answers about how thousands of people who identified themselves as noncitizens were placed on the state’s voter rolls.

Van Drew, a former Democrat who switched over to the Republican party several years ago, said in a statement that he and members of the Republican Study Committee initially sought information about the voter registration issue to determine how the system failed and what safeguards are in place to prevent similar problems in the future.

The congressman said New Jersey’s admission that thousands of people who identified themselves as noncitizens were registered to vote — and that some individuals registered through the error later cast ballots — warranted a thorough investigation.

“For years, those of us who raised concerns about the integrity of our voter rolls were dismissed as conspiracy theorists,” Van Drew said. “Then New Jersey admitted that thousands of individuals who said they were not citizens were registered to vote.”

Van Drew said his letter did not blame Sherrill for the problem, which he noted occurred under former Governor Phil Murphy’s administration. Instead, he said, the lawmakers asked how the registration error occurred, why existing safeguards failed to prevent it and what steps are being taken to ensure it does not happen again.

He accused Sherrill of failing to address those questions in her response.

“Instead of answering those questions, Governor Sherrill responded with Democratic talking points, attacks on President Trump, and personal attacks against me and the Republican Study Committee members who joined me in seeking answers,” Van Drew said.

Sherrill, a Democrat, has pushed back against Republican claims surrounding election integrity and has criticized efforts that she views as undermining confidence in New Jersey’s elections.

Van Drew said the issue should not be viewed as a partisan dispute.

“This was never about Governor Sherrill or any one political party,” he said. “It is about New Jersey and the integrity of our country’s elections.”

Van Drew said he and his Republican colleagues will continue seeking information about the voter registration error and will press state officials for accountability.

“Our mutual constituents deserve fair and secure elections, and they deserve the truth about how something this serious was allowed to happen,” he said. “We will not give up until the people of New Jersey get the answers they deserve.”

Michael Safdie, host of the Daily Bitachon Hotline, is set to speak in Lakewood today, August 25, on the topic of Emunah and Bitachon.

The event will take place at Yeshiva Gedola South Lakewood (Rav Korbman’s), located at 715 Marlin Ave., beginning at 5:30 p.m.

A question-and-answer session will follow the presentation.

The event is open to the public.

A 43-year-old man has died from injuries he suffered after being struck by a vehicle earlier this month in Manchester Township, police said.

Richard J. Fescharek was hit at about 9:37 p.m. on August 9 at the intersection of County Route 530 and Swift Circle in the Whiting section of Manchester Township.

Fescharek sustained multiple life-threatening injuries in the crash and was airlifted to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in critical condition.

Police previously said Fescharek entered the roadway in front of a westbound 2013 Toyota Camry, resulting in the collision, which propelled Fescharek approximately 50 feet.

Police sah improper crossing by a pedestrian appears to have been a contributing factor at this time, though the investigation remains ongoing.

The crash is being investigated by Patrolman Anthony DeBlasio of the Manchester Township Police Department’s Traffic Safety Unit.

UPDATE – CHASDEI HASHEM: Sources tell TLS the Sefer Torahs were not directly exposed to the fire, and they’re expected to be okay.

UPDATE: The fire has B”H been extinguished, and they’re hoping the safe has withstood the fire.  

Earlier report:

TEHILLIM: Crews are battling a structure fire at Mordy’s Shtiebel in Lakewood.

The fire broke out shortly before 6:00 AM.

Due to the flames, firefighters are unable to access the Sefer Torahs.

A Jewish man from Toms River has passed away, and has no known Frum family.

The Levaya is scheduled to take place Tuesday at 11:00 a.m. at Beth Israel Cemetery in Woodbridge, NJ.

Volunteers are needed to help form a minyan and ensure he is accorded proper kavod hames.

If you live or work in the area, or are available to attend, please call or message Rabbi Wahl at 732-552-8838.

Tizku l’mitzvos.

Amazon plans to begin delivering packages by drone in parts of New Jersey this fall, with operations expected to launch in mid-October from its facility in West Deptford Township.

According to a notice sent to Mantua Township officials, Amazon’s Prime Air operating area will extend roughly 15 miles from the facility. The proposed delivery area includes nearly all of Mantua Township northwest of Pitman, as well as the Borough of Wenonah.

The drones will operate at altitudes below 400 feet and will be permitted to fly from 15 minutes before sunrise until 15 minutes after sunset.

The Prime Air service is designed to deliver smaller packages weighing up to 5 pounds. Amazon has been expanding the program as it seeks to incorporate drones into its broader delivery network.

On Thursday, August 20th, Rep. Chris Smith (R-Manchester) met with Manchester Twp. Mayor Joseph Hankins, Director of Public Works Al Yodakis, and Ocean County Commissioner Rob Arace to discuss their mutual opposition to the development of AI data centers in the Township—and Ocean County overall.

Today, 8/24/26, outside Town Hall

“AI data centers pose critical environmental risks and impose undue stresses on local resources—including water and electricity—which place significant financial burdens on ratepayers and residents,” said Rep. Smith.

Congressman Smith meeting with Manchester officials on Aug. 20

Smith noted that he strongly supports a resolution recently agreed to by the Ocean County Board of Commissioners—“Encouraging Ocean County municipalities to undertake comprehensive due diligence and adopt appropriate land-use safeguards before approving Data Center development”—which highlights the environmental and resource-based concerns and impacts associated with data center construction and operations.

“The people who will have to endure the negative consequences of data center development in their communities deserve to have their voices heard,” continued Smith. “The reasonable concerns of local residents must no longer be steamrolled by tech companies seeking profit over Americans’ quality of life—not on my watch.”

During the meeting, the municipal, county, and federal officials also discussed current roadway, environmental, and safety issues impacting Manchester Township, and what steps the federal government can take to better assist.

A close call on Pine Street when a bicyclist rides into traffic. Luckily, they both managed to avoid an accident at the last second.

Over 130 additional Lakewood area residents are now on the path to receive property tax relief for 2026, following their successful filing at the special ANCHOR event held Sunday at the Westwood office complex, near the Lakewood-Toms River border.

Despite it taking place on a weekend – to enable maximum public participation – a team of New Jersey Department of the Treasury officials were on hand to advise applicants, one-on-one, regarding the program and to facilitate their filings on the spot. The ANCHOR, and related Senior Freeze and Stay NJ programs, offer benefits up to $700 for renters; up to $1,500 for homeowners age 64 and under; and can run as high as $6,500 for senior homeowners.

This event was hosted by the C.A.R.E.S. organization; and co-sponsored by Lakewood Township, and other business and non-profit partners. Lakewood Mayor Ray Coles and Township Committeeman Meir Lichtenstein joined the event; and thanked the organizers and State team for helping bring this pivotal financial relief directly to local families – in an efficient, hassle-free manner.

“Thank You to Lipa Klein and State Treasury Department officials for working together to make this event a great success,” said Committeeman Lichtenstein. “Events such as these are uniquely effective in helping local residents understand and benefit from the government programs available to help them.”

“It is a privilege to have once again successfully helped local families get the financial relief they deserve,” said C.A.R.E.S. Director Lipa Klein. “Thanks to the NJ Treasury Department; Lakewood Township; and other co-sponsors for going out of their way to make these events possible.”
A similar C.A.R.E.S. property tax relief filing event is scheduled for Sunday, October 25th, in the Oak Street area. Details to follow. In the interim, residents can reach out to C.A.R.E.S. for assistance via email, at [email protected].

Letter: Everyone saw the first number that was floating around for the extra bussing fee and everyone lost it.

My phone was blowing up. WhatsApp groups on fire. Bashing the askanim, bashing our local politicians, “they don’t care,” “they sold us out” – you know the drill.

Then today the Igud puts out an update. The fee is down to $290 per kid. And the instruction is now to opt in – portal opens today at 2pm.

So what happened? The askanim were working. That’s what happened.

While we were all busy typing, they were sitting in rooms with the LSTA, with Trenton, with our local elected officials, all working hand in hand – the Igud, the askanim, the mosdos, and the politicians – trying to bring that number down and make sure we have buses on day one.

This is the part we keep forgetting. Lakewood is not a small town anymore. We are a massive, growing city. There are so many moving parts behind the scenes to keep things running – bussing, housing, infrastructure, all of it. It’s not simple. There are negotiations, legal issues, funding issues, things that take time.

Not everything can be explained in a WhatsApp message in real time.

We have become so quick to bash everyone. If something doesn’t go our way for five minutes, we turn on our own askanim and our own local politicians – the same people who are actually picking up the phone for us at 10pm.

We need to learn to trust the process a little more. When they say “please take no action, we are working on it” – let them work. There is a reason they are saying it.

Is $290 extra something anyone wants to pay? No. But it’s a lot better than where we started, and it means our kids will have bussing.

So let’s go opt in today starting at 2pm and get it done.

And next time, maybe we give the people who are working for us 24 hours before we decide they failed.

A Lakewood Resident.

The Lakewood Student Transportation Authority (LSTA) has cut its newly announced fee for non-mandated student transportation, backing away from a $945 annual charge which sparked an intense backlash and led to fears that the entire system could collapse.

With the fee now reduced, the Igud Hamosdos has reversed course and are asking parents to opt in to transportation.

In a message distributed to local schools, the Igud said the reduction followed meetings and discussions with the LSTA, local and state government officials and askanim, saying the goal was to ensure that busing for the upcoming school year could begin on time.

“At this point, our recommendation has changed,” the message said, instructing schools to advise parents to opt in for transportation. The new recommendation replaces the previous direction to take no action.

The $290 fee, which is on top of the original $385 fee, is due immediately.

There are approximately 13,650 non-mandated children attending Lakewood area schools.

The LSTA’s online portal will be open from 2 p.m. this afternoon, while its office would remain open until 10 p.m. for walk-in assistance.

The fee reduction comes amid growing concern in Lakewood over the impact of the loss of municipal funding for non-mandated busing. The funding was eliminated after the state significantly reduced municipal aid to Lakewood as part of the fiscal year 2027 state budget, as well as a decision from the Trump administration to deny New Jersey’s FEMA application which could have recouped $6.5 million of the 8 million dollars the township spent on snow removal and cleanup after last winter’s snow storms.

However, the underlying funding issue remains unresolved.

While the LSTA’s decision may allow the consortium to continue operating, it does not restore the government funding that previously supported the program.

That leaves Lakewood facing a larger question about how non-mandated transportation will be financed in future years.

Last week’s dramatic announcement from the Lakewood Student Transportation Authority (LSTA) that they will be raising the fee for non-mandated children to opt into the busing program has raised questions about why the reduction is happening now and what prompted the township to make the cut so soon before school started, when the state budget was approved in late June.

Asked for comment, Township officials tell The Lakewood Scoop that the subsidy reduction only came after the State Local Finance Board rejected Lakewood’s request to raise an additional $12.9 million in property tax revenue above the state’s 2% cap, which would have allowed the township to raise and spend additional property tax revenue.

TLS first reported on that decision earlier this month.

With that request rejected, officials say the township has been forced to make difficult reductions to its budget — and more cuts could be coming.

The Local Finance Board voted 4-3 against Lakewood’s request for $12,927,234.41 in cap relief after board members expressed concerns about the township’s repeated reliance on cap waivers and the long-term sustainability of its finances.

With the waiver now rejected, township officials say they are being forced to make additional reductions, including the approximately $2.75 million cut to the LSTA.

The latest development follows a broader reduction in state funding for Lakewood. The state’s fiscal 2027 spending plan provides $1 million in discretionary municipal aid to the township — a restoration from the governor’s original proposal, but a sharp decline from the $8 million and $7 million provided in the previous two state budgets.

Township officials and local lawmakers have argued that Lakewood’s rapid population growth has placed extraordinary demands on municipal services while state funding formulas have failed to keep pace.

The township is now facing the challenge of balancing those demands while remaining within the state’s tax cap.

At the Local Finance Board hearing, township Administrator Pat Donnelly outlined a series of steps Lakewood has already taken to reduce spending, including a hiring freeze, limiting replacement of retirees and restricting promotions to positions considered necessary to maintain staffing levels.

Donnelly also told the board that Lakewood has begun preparing a potential layoff plan and is examining ways to reduce costs and potentially scale back certain services.

“We recognize that there’s areas that we just need to financially find a way to kind of stuff as much as we can inside this envelope,” Donnelly said.

Township officials tell TLS that the LSTA reduction should therefore not necessarily be viewed as an isolated cut, and more cuts may be coming.

The township is continuing to examine its budget and municipal operations in an effort to close the gap created by the loss of anticipated revenue and state funding.

The financial pressure comes as Lakewood continues to experience significant population growth and increasing demands for police, public works, emergency medical services, road maintenance, snow removal and other municipal services.

Snow removal alone was cited as a major unexpected expense this year. Donnelly told the state board that Lakewood spent approximately $8 million following an unusually severe winter, compared with roughly $1 million to $2 million in a typical year.

The township also sought federal reimbursement for some of the storm-related expenses following the state of emergency declared by the governor, but those efforts were rejected by the Trump administration, which the state is appealing.

Local Finance Board members acknowledged the unusual pressures facing Lakewood but said the township could not continue indefinitely relying on large cap waivers.

For now, the township must operate within the revenue limits imposed by the state, and officials say that means difficult decisions about municipal spending — including the LSTA subsidy — are likely to continue.

The $2.75 million LSTA reduction is thus the latest visible consequence of the state’s decision not to grant Lakewood the additional $12.9 million in property tax authority it sought.

And according to township officials, it may not be the last.

Dear School Administration,

I am writing to express my deep frustration and concern about the pressure placed on parents to pay for outside therapy and other services intended to help children meet a particular standard of behavior, performance, or development.

Many families are already struggling to afford the basic necessities of life. Adding the expectation that parents must pay for private therapy creates an enormous financial burden. Where are parents supposed to find this money? How are families who are already stretched financially expected to pay hundreds or even thousands of dollars for additional services simply because the school believes their child needs to be “perfected”?

Children are not projects that need to be perfected. They are individuals, each with different personalities, abilities, learning styles, challenges, and strengths. The goal of education should be to teach, support, encourage, and help children grow—not to make every child conform to one particular idea of what a “perfect” student should look or behave like.

If a school believes that a child requires additional support in order to succeed in the school environment, then I believe the school has a responsibility to provide meaningful support and reasonable accommodations within the educational setting, rather than placing the financial responsibility entirely on families.

Parents should not have to choose between paying their household bills and paying for services that a school believes would make their child more acceptable or successful. Not every family has access to the same financial resources, and requiring expensive outside services can create an unfair divide between children whose parents can afford them and children whose parents cannot.

I would also ask the school to consider what message this sends to children. They should be taught that they are worthy and capable as they are—not that they need to be fixed in order to belong or succeed.

If the school truly believes that children need to be “perfected,” then perhaps the school should also be willing to take responsibility for providing the resources it believes are necessary to accomplish that goal, rather than expecting families to bear the cost.

Schools should consider incorporating therapeutic and life-skills support/lessons directly into the curriculum which is included in the tuition paid by the parents. This could include speech and language, social-skills development, organizational and executive-functioning skills, emotional regulation, and other areas that help students succeed both academically and personally. Providing this support within the school setting would make them more accessible to students and families while helping children develop the practical skills they need to thrive. You can consider it another subject and teach it to the whole class during the school day. I’m sure everyone can benefit from these lessons.

Parents would prefer you spend some time teaching children functioning skills and shorten other subjects so it is included in the tuition. We simply cant afford it in addition to tuition.

I respectfully ask the school to reconsider how these expectations are communicated to parents and to recognize the very real financial pressures families face. Our children need support, understanding, encouragement, and education—not the burden of being made to feel that they are somehow not good enough.

Sincerely,

Representing many parents

A client of mine originally came to me because his marriage was in trouble. Every disagreement spiraled into another painful cycle, and much of our work centered on helping him understand himself, communicate differently, and bring peace back into his home.

After months of hard work and lots of siyata dishmaya, the volatility had largely subsided. For the first time in years, he had the emotional bandwidth to focus on other parts of his life — parts that had gone neglected while all his energy went toward keeping his marriage together.

One session he said, almost in passing, “My learning has really taken a back seat.”

I asked him to rate it on a scale of 1-100.

“Twenty-five,” he answered without hesitation.

“What would a seventy-five look like?”

“I’d finish Shas,” he replied. “And I’d finally finish the sefer on Chumash I started years ago, back when I was in kollel.”

Then he stopped himself. “But honestly, I don’t have much motivation to finish Shas — I already did it once. And that sefer project, I dropped it the day I left kollel. So also, little motivation.”

I interrupted him.

I told him there’s a line I eventually share with almost every client, no matter what they’ve brought into my office. I don’t remember where I first heard it, but it never left me.

“Professionalism is the ability to keep going after the inspiration wears off.”

Inspiration is great, I explained, but temporary. It gets us started; it rarely gets us to the finish line. The people who accomplish things aren’t the ones who stay inspired — they’re the ones who keep going even after the inspiration is gone.

He thought for a moment. “So what — I should keep going because I want to be a professional? Is that supposed to motivate me? Is that what I want people to say about me — that I am a professional?”

He had a point. He didn’t want to be a “professional.” He wanted to be successful. That same desire had carried him through the hardest months of rebuilding his marriage — not the wish to be seen as disciplined, but the wish for a peaceful home and a harmonious relationship.

So I rephrased the line to match what actually drove him: “Success is given to those who carry on without inspiration.”

That one resonated. It fit with something we’d discussed before — that highly successful people spend their discretionary time on things important but not urgent, with no deadline forcing their hand. What gives them that discipline? They don’t wait to feel inspired or desperate. They know where they want to end up, and they keep moving anyway- slow and steady.

“But what if the goal itself is overwhelming?” he asked. “Shas is enormous. That sefer already feels like a mountain.”

I had another line for that, which I borrowed from the coaching world: “Enjoy the process and forget about the outcome.”

When a goal feels impossibly distant, stop staring at it — staring at a mountain from the bottom rarely makes anyone want to climb. Build a process instead. Decide what today’s step looks like, then let the finish line fade into the background.

These two ideas sound contradictory, but they’re two tools for two different problems. When inspiration fades but the goal still feels manageable, lean into the goal. When the goal feels overwhelming, drop it and focus only on today’s step. Knowing which tool the moment calls for and how to toggle between the two is what sustains discipline.

We then discussed practical next steps for him to take to get back into learning in the way he aspired to.

The therapeutic goals began with a husband wanting a better marriage. It eventually transitioned into a discussion about learning and success. But they weren’t really different conversations — the same principles that rebuilt his home will Be’H help him finish Shas and his sefer.

Anyone can do things when they’re inspired. The real test comes after the inspiration is gone.

*Details may have been changed to protect confidentiality and to enhance the story line.

Yaacov Weiss, LCSW, specializes in helping men find healthier and more stable footing in marriage. He can be reached at [email protected] or 732-552-5087.