The following kosher establishments will be open Motzei Pesach:

• Bagel Shoppe
• Bar Sushi
• FishStix
• Unger’s

If you know of other establishments’ plans for Motzei Pesach, please email info@localjewishnews.com.

Heinens at Cedar & Green will be open on Motzei Pesach from 9-11pm for the convenience of the Jewish community.

Don’t forget to refer to Cleveland Kosher’s Guidelines for purchasing chometz after Pesach and list of recommended stores.

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From the article in the Cleveland Jewish News (https://goo.gl/99t41w):

After celebrating with friends and rabbis by reading the last page of the Mishna Berurah, Ramser is starting over from the beginning. Ramser said he hopes to have the book memorized one day.

Very nice photos at the Cleveland Jewish News website.

A lot of good photos at Cleveland Jewish News: https://goo.gl/jm7SH9.

From Cleveland.com (https://goo.gl/RwzK6B):

One person is in custody and preliminary indications show that the shooter and the victim knew each other. Police say as far as they know there is one victim.

Whether mall hours for Sunday are affected is not known.

(This photo credit David Petkiewicz on Cleveland.com, url above).

Click here to view this flier in hi-re s >> 

Excerpted from the Cleveland Jewish News. Full article can be read at https://goo.gl/cmEbNi:

Malka Rosenberg said her husband, who died in 2016, had no plans to sell the store. And she said she hasn’t found anyone to take over the store, but she knows the kind of person she is looking for. 

“Somebody who will do everything and anything,” she said. “Over here, you can’t just say I’m doing one thing, you can’t. If a customer walks in asking for something, you have to help. That’s the first thing, you have to take care of them at the register, you have to take care of their needs.” 

For now, Malka Rosenberg plans to continue helping customers every way she can, whether it’s passing on savings or providing “the best selection” of kosher wine in the area. 

10:31am

Update: alarm likely caused by dust on a sensor.

10:27am

CH City Hall at Severance circle being evacuated.

LJN received word from two parties that some residents who failed to schedule an appointment to have their meters upgraded to Clear Reads had their water turned off today. According to both parties this action was taken without warning or notice.

From a reader:

As you may be aware, Cleveland Water is upgrading water meters and customers need to schedule an appointment to have their meters upgraded.

I got a call from a tenant earlier this evening that her water was shut-off without warning since an appointment was not scheduled (she sent a picture of the notice and we pay the water bill so it was not due to non-payment). (They may have posted a door hanger on her door but no letter was sent.)

Many people (especially elderly) may have neglected to schedule this upgrade. You may want to let the community know to spare them the agmas nefesh of having their water shut-off. ( A Friday Shut-off means no water until Monday!)

Cleveland Heights Vice-Mayor Jason Stein forwarded the following link (http://www.clevelandwater.com/cleveland-heights-clear-reads-project) where you can learn more about the program. There is no specific way to schedule the appointment online, however, so unless you’re certain you’ve been upgraded or have an appointment to be upgraded, you’re best off calling Cleveland Water to make sure you didn’t miss any notices and aren’t scheduled for a shutoff. Their number is 216.664.3130. As per comments by Water Man and D Schwab, the best number to use is 844-379-9984.

(Click https://photos.app.goo.gl/KLVbFCdc9fyE264O2 to view more photos from the event.)

On December 13, the second night of Chanukah, Motorcars and Cleveland Auto Leasing hosted a party at Motorcars Toyota to benefit Bikur Cholim of Cleveland. Guests came in droves despite the wintry weather, shaking the snow from their boots. Bikur Cholim staff and volunteers stood at the door greeting guests accompanied by Matt Gile, general manager at Motorcars Toyota, and William Evans, owner of Cleveland Auto Leasing Midwest.

You could tell from the start this was no ordinary event. As each guest walked in, they received a coupon package for big bucks from the businesses sponsoring the event! The food was fun, light, and totally Cleveland; latkes, fresh salads, egg rolls from Sababah, and what was literally a wall of Ungers donuts! Matt Gile gave a tour of the facilities, (yes, we actually touched the cars!) and we raffled off awesome prizes including $400 certificates, free car washes, oil changes and games for kids.

The main event was a show by award-winning hypnotist, Jon Wayes. The audience alternately roared in laughter and gasped in amazement as we watched him hypnotize some of the guests before our very eyes! After the show we raffled off more valuable prizes, and then CLE Zemer arrived to capture the jubilant spirit with live musical entertainment. It was E-P-I-C.

Kudos to all involved, especially to two great companies, the Motorcars Group, and Cleveland Auto Leasing Midwest. Calling this event a success would be an understatement. Everyone who attended is still talking about it!

There are new stop signs on every corner on Maple Road from Bainbridge Road until Wood Road.

With a profound sense of appreciation, Agudath Israel of America gratefully welcomes the news of President Trump’s commutation of the sentence of Sholom Rubashkin.

The injustice of Mr. Rubashkin’s grossly excessive 27-year sentence was readily apparent to any fair-minded individual who reviewed the facts of the case. That is why so many Congressmembers from both sides of the political aisle, led by Senator Orrin Hatch and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, and well over 100 former high ranking Justice Department officials and other legal luminaries, have been publicly calling for executive clemency.

Through today’s action, President Trump has shown that he too understood that something went terribly wrong in the prosecution and sentencing of Sholom Rubashkin – and, further, that he would not allow this blot on our criminal justice system to stand uncorrected. The president deserves to be congratulated and thanked – not only by Mr. Rubashkin’s family and friends, but by all who care about fairness and justice.

Agudath Israel has long advocated that Sholom Rubashkin be freed from prison and reunited with his loving family. That day has finally arrived.

Baruch HaShem.

Audio of Rubashkin’s son conveying the good news
Text of press release from whitehouse.gov

Today, President Donald J. Trump commuted the prison sentence of Sholom Rubashkin, an action encouraged by bipartisan leaders from across the political spectrum, from Nancy Pelosi to Orrin Hatch.

Mr. Rubashkin is a 57-year-old father of 10 children.  He previously ran the Iowa headquarters of a family business that was the country’s largest kosher meat-processing company.  In 2009, he was convicted of bank fraud and sentenced thereafter to 27 years in prison. Mr. Rubashkin has now served more than 8 years of that sentence, which many have called excessive in light of its disparity with sentences imposed for similar crimes.

This action is not a Presidential pardon.  It does not vacate Mr. Rubashkin’s conviction, and it leaves in place a term of supervised release and a substantial restitution obligation, which were also part of Mr. Rubashkin’s sentence.

The President’s review of Mr. Rubashkin’s case and commutation decision were based on expressions of support from Members of Congress and a broad cross-section of the legal community.  A bipartisan group of more than 100 former high-ranking and distinguished Department of Justice (DOJ) officials, prosecutors, judges, and legal scholars have expressed concerns about the evidentiary proceedings in Mr. Rubashkin’s case and the severity of his sentence.  Additionally, more than 30 current Members of Congress have written letters expressing support for review of Mr. Rubashkin’s case.

Former High-Ranking DOJ Officials Who Have Expressed Support for Review of Mr. Rubashkin’s Case

Attorney General Bill Barr

Attorney General Edwin Meese III

Attorney General Michael Mukasey

Solicitor General Seth Waxman

FBI Director Louis Freeh

Current Members of Congress Who Have Expressed Support For Review of Mr. Rubashkin’s Case

Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA)

Senator John Cornyn (R-TX)

Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT)

Senator Mike Lee (R-UT)

Senator Rand Paul (R-KY)

Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS)

Representative Yvette Clarke (D-NY)

Representative Mike Coffman (R-CO)

Representative Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL)

Representative Eliot Engel (D-NY)

Representative Louie Gohmert (R-TX)

Representative Steve King (R-IA)

Representative Jerry Nadler (D-NY)

Representative Richard Neal (D-MA)

Representative Tom McClintock (R-CA)

Representative Tom Marino (R-PA)

Representative Carolyn Maloney (D-NY)

Representative Bill Pascrell (D-NJ)

Representative Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)

Representative Ted Poe (R-TX)

Representative Jared Polis (D-CO)

Representative Mike Quigley (D-IL)

Representative Tom Reed (R-NY)

Representative Tom Rooney (R-FL)

Representative John Sarbanes (D-MD)

Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL)

Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL)

Representative Brad Sherman (D-CA)

Representative Albio Sires (D-NJ)

Representative Chris Smith (R-NJ)

Representative Nydia Velazquez (D-NY)

Click here to read letters expressing support for review of Mr. Rubashkin’s case.

From Rabbi Abba Cohen, Agudath Israel’s V.P. for Federal Affairs and Washington Director

Agudath Israel of America, a national Orthodox Jewish organization, recognizes that an omnibus tax bill such as H.R.1, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, cuts along various lines in an economically-diverse population. Its effects on the Orthodox Jewish community will, therefore, be felt differently by its different segments. However, as many Orthodox Jews fall within the moderate to low income brackets and find themselves financially strapped by the high costs of Orthodox Jewish life – including the expense of providing their children with a Jewish education – we are hopeful that the legislation will fulfill President Trump’s and Congress’ stated goal of easing the burden on the nation’s middle class.

As a threshold matter, we are deeply disappointed about the bill’s elimination of the deductibility of personal exemptions and the limitations placed on the deductibility of state and local taxes. As a high percentage of Orthodox Jews have large families, and reside in areas that are highly taxed, these changes will likely have a dramatically negative effect on large numbers of our community.

At the same time, we are pleased that some of Agudath Israel’s top priorities were included in the bill:

In regard to education related matters, the expansion of “section 529 savings plans” – championed in the Senate by Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) – to include tax benefits for various elementary and secondary education costs, including private school tuition, will encourage parents to put away their own money so they can provide a Jewish education for their children. This initiative represents an important victory for educational choice.

The retention of “qualified tuition reduction” benefit will help Jewish schools continue to hire high quality teachers and staff at competitive salaries and help parents by keeping tuition costs down.

Our constituency has a great stake in the child/family tax credit. The final version of the bill enhances this credit – thanks in substantial part to the diligent work of Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) – as it will raise the credit amount and the income phase outs, and add other qualifying dependents, in a way that could bring additional relief to our families.

We are gratified that the tax bill retains the deductibility of charitable contributions. But we share the concern of the nonprofit sector as to how the doubling of the “standard deduction” might affect such giving. We are disappointed that Senator James Lankford’s (R-OK) proposal, providing an above-the-line charitable deduction, did not succeed. We must continue to find ways to ensure that charitable giving grows so nonprofits can continue to step up and help address society’s many needs.

Finally, we commend Congress for retaining the Johnson Amendment, which for decades has insulated religious entities and members of the clergy from the inevitable pressure and division they would face by being injected into political campaigns. Keeping partisanship away from the house of worship has been positive for the political process and has been especially beneficial for the autonomy of religious communities and institutions. We believe it should remain that way.

Action alerts sent by Agudath Israel and some of its national partners generated tens of thousands of calls and emails to Congress on these issues. We thank each and every one of our grassroots supporters for taking the time to weigh in on the tax bill.

As H.R.1 has now been passed and will be signed by the President into law, we must all continue to monitor how its provisions affect the individuals and institutions it is intended to help. Federal, state and local governments must think creatively, and adopt legislation, regulation and policies that best allow the new tax bill to live up to its stated promise.