A horrifying car crash a few weeks ago on the road from Tzfat to Tiberias in Israel killed eight members of the Atias family, leaving only one child alive. Although no one individual can possibly come to grips with the tragedy, questions of mechanical failure and safety were posed to a professor who researches highway safety and accidents at Ben-Gurion University’s Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, and to the American Automobile Association (AAA) to try to learn what might be done to survive a similar incident. more

They faced each other two years ago, but this time around, congressional hopefuls Francis Becker and Frank Scaturro are running in a significantly different district. On June 26, they will face off in the Republican primary in the 4th Congressional District, a seat now held by Democrat Carolyn McCarthy of Mineola. more

The 2012 New York Republican Senate primary is scheduled for June 26. The contenders hoping to challenge Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand in November’s general election are Wendy Long, Nassau County Comptroller George Maragos and U.S. Representative Bob Turner. The Jewish Star compiled information about the three candidates from their websites. more

This week’s portion, Shelach, contains one of the most challenging stories in the entire Torah: the story of the spies. “Sh’lach Lecha’ Anashim Ve’Yaturu …” “Send out spies for yourselves…” (Numbers 13:1) more

In his introduction to the book of Bamidbar, Nachmanides posits that the majority of the mitzvot of this book were commandments for the specific time period of wilderness travel and would not be applicable once they reached the land of Canaan/Israel. more

June 16 EMUNAH of America 5 Towns Chapter’s Annual Shabbat Tea June 16 4:00pm Honoring Shaynee Kessler and Renee Greenspan Guest Speaker Jackie Bitton on “Finding Inner Happiness” Special guest appearances by Yehuda Kohn of EMUNAH’s Bet Elazraki and Shmuel Ron of EMUNAH’s Achuzat Sarah At the home of Deedee & Mark Honigsfeld, 22 Willow Road, Woodsburgh To make a reservation, please contact: Mindy Weinstock: mindlstock@aol.com Shari Shapiro: jagealishus@aol.com Elana Oved: elanrep@aol.com Bini Dachs: soapfan5@aol.com or online at EMUNAH.org more

A few weeks ago, my son, Daniel graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. The feeling was surreal. As he walked on stage to receive his diploma, I stopped crying just long enough to clap and cheer with our family, as well as the parents of another graduate, whose son was called up earlier. They were so impressively loud that I secured their services to cheer on Daniel when his name was announced. more

Timely in its publishing date, Rabbi Shlomo Riskin’s commentary on Bamidbar continues his “Torah Lights” series being produced by Maggid Books featuring some of his finest Torah teachings for this time of year. As is his style, Rabbi Riskin blends together the sacred text with current history in the successful attempt to demonstrate the relevance that each plays in our lives. more

I’ve never cared much about cars; I am happy if they get me where I want to go and I don’t have to worry about the details. I’m amazed by people who can identify the makes and models whizzing by. My husband swoons over the E-type Jag, but in reality our choices have always been purely functional. I admit to a penchant for red, but otherwise pick cars for purpose and price and have stuck with each one until its duty was done. more

On June 16-17 Egyptians will cast ballots in a runoff election that will decide between the Muslim Brotherhood’s candidate Mohamed Mursi and former Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq, who served under former president Hosni Mubarak. more