Jack Gindi

Years ago, I brought a close friend into a successful business I had built. I trusted him like a brother and brought him in as a 50/50 partner. That decision was mine, made from love and respect, and I own it. What followed was a combination of decisions I wish had been different and the financial collapse of 2008 and 2009. Eventually, the business was gone, and we were both bankrupt.

I was angry. I felt betrayed. For a while, those feelings occupied a great deal of space in my mind. I replayed what happened, what he had done, what I should have seen sooner, and what I might have done differently.

Some of that was necessary. When something painful happens, I don’t believe the answer is to pretend it didn’t hurt. Anger can tell us something. Betrayal and regret can teach us something, too.

But eventually, the story wasn’t giving me any new information. The business was still gone. I was still bankrupt. What had happened had happened. I had to decide what would receive the rest of my energy.

Last month I wrote that acceptance is where mastering life begins. But acceptance isn’t the destination. Once we accept what happened and what we cannot change, another question waits for us…

Now What?

What is true right now? What do I still have? What belongs to me? What can I do from here?

There was something I had to own. I had brought this person into the business and had agreed to decisions along the way. Taking responsibility for my choices did not mean taking responsibility for his behavior. It meant I stopped waiting for something outside of me to change before I could begin rebuilding what was still mine to build.

The bankruptcy had already cost me enough. I had to decide how much more of my life I was willing to give it.

Every one of us eventually experiences something we didn’t choose and cannot undo. Maybe it’s bankruptcy, the end of a marriage, betrayal, illness, the loss of someone we love, or simply discovering that the life we expected is no longer the life we have.

The circumstances and pain are different, but eventually many of us face the same question: After something has already taken something from me, how much more of my life am I going to give it?

Recently, a friend shared a story that helped me see another side of this. Someone in her family had caused significant harm. For years, part of her mind kept searching for justice. Maybe he would understand what he had done, feel remorse, or face some consequence that would somehow balance the scales.

Eventually, she noticed something. Every road led to the same place.

His suffering would not restore what had been lost. She could not make him feel remorse or manufacture the ending her mind wanted. That’s when she stopped watching him and started watching herself.

She realized she was caught in a loop.

Break Out of the Loop

Her pain wasn’t the loop. Her anger wasn’t the loop. Wanting justice was not the loop. The loop was continuing to travel the same mental road after she already knew where it went.

We can appear to be moving forward while part of our energy remains tied to something behind us. We work, raise families, make plans, laugh, and accomplish things. Yet somewhere in the background, the same argument may still be playing or the same person occupying space in our minds.

That costs us something.

We only have so much attention and energy. When part of it remains attached to something that is no longer teaching us or creating a new possibility, that energy isn’t available for the life in front of us.

Perhaps this is another lesson we can teach our children. They will experience disappointment, unfairness, heartbreak, and loss. We can’t prevent that. But they can watch how we respond when it happens to us. Do we spend years fighting yesterday, or do we feel what needs to be felt, learn what needs to be learned, and eventually turn toward tomorrow?

Mastering life doesn’t mean denying pain, rushing grief, or pretending something terrible didn’t happen. Sometimes we need time before we even know what “Now what?” means.

But eventually, perhaps we need to ask ourselves: Where is my energy going? Is it helping me understand something I still need to understand, or am I paying for the same event again today?

I could not change what happened to my business. My friend could not change what happened in her family. But both of us eventually faced the same decision: how much of the life still in front of us would we continue giving to something behind us?

Maybe that’s the next lesson in mastering life: accept what is, and when you’re ready, ask: Now what?

Frieda Schweky

The summer was busy, busy, busy. For many of us, summer isn’t the time to organize the toy area, clean out the front closet, or finally start designing the website. All those housekeeping tasks that demand so much of our time and attention can wait until the weather turns brisk – when you don’t have FOMO over missing out on all the fun events and good-weather hangouts.

I have a lot on my plate both at home and for my business this winter. I’m going to actually have to sit down and decide the when and how of what awaits me, which is exactly what this list of tips is about.

I’m sure  you can come up with a long list of things around your home and work that are begging for some TLC. That’s the funny thing about the colder months – the very weather that keeps us indoors more also hands us the perfect opportunity to finally deal with things we’ve been avoiding for months. So, to help, I put together a few tips and tricks to check these big and small tasks off your list, at home or at work.

Pick One Task, Not Five

We all fall into the New Year’s resolution trap – the list of ten things we’re suddenly going to tackle the second it gets cold. The closet, the garage, the diet, the budget, the website, all starting on the same Monday. This plan never works, and by the second week most of it quietly falls apart. One project, actually finished, beats five that are half-started and haunting you every time you walk past them. Before you make your winter list, be honest with yourself and cross off everything except the one or two things that would genuinely make a difference if they actually got done.

Attach It to a Date

“I’ll do the closet when I feel motivated,” is a sentence that will still be true in April. Motivation is unreliable – it shows up for about ten minutes and then disappears the second something more comfortable comes along, like the couch, or more interesting, like the paper. A date on the calendar is different. It is purposeful.  Instead of waiting to feel ready, pick an actual day and write it where you’ll see it. “I’ll tackle the closet the Sunday after Hanukah,” is a plan. “When I get around to it,” is a wish, and wishes don’t empty out closets.

Make the First Step Small

The goal isn’t “organize the whole playroom” – it’s “clear off one shelf.” The goal shouldn’t be “get in shape,” – but rather, “put on sneakers and walk to the corner.”

Big projects feel impossible before they even start because we picture the whole mountain instead of the first step in front of us. The trick is making that first step so small there’s no real excuse not to do it. Once you’re moving, even a little, momentum tends to carry you further than you expected.

Tell One Person, Not Everyone

Announcing a goal to the whole world can actually kill your follow-through, because talking about it starts to feel like doing it, and the momentum fizzles out right there before you’ve made any real progress. Instead, tell one person you trust – a spouse, a sister, a friend – and let them be the one who checks in on you. One person holding you accountable, actually asking, “How’s the closet coming?” is often more effective than a hundred people liking a post and then never thinking about it again.

Keep Two Lists

One for today, one for the month. Whether it’s a notebook on your counter or a notes app on your phone, whatever you’ll actually use – make one list of what needs to get done today, and a separate list of the bigger things you want to get done by the end of the month. The daily list keeps you on top of the small stuff so nothing slips through the cracks, and the monthly list holds all those bigger projects that don’t fit neatly into one afternoon. Then, when you find yourself with an unexpected pocket of time in your day – the kids fell asleep early, a meeting got cancelled, whatever it is – drag one of those bigger items onto your today list and chip away at it right then. It keeps the big stuff from getting buried under the daily noise, and it turns “someday” into something with an actual entry point instead of a vague goal floating in the back of your mind.

Reward Yourself

We’re so quick to move straight from one task to the next that we skip the part where we actually acknowledge we did the thing. There’s no pause, no little moment of, “Okay, that’s done,” just straight on to the next item, which can make the whole list feel endless even when you’re actually making real progress. Build in a small reward for yourself when a task is complete – a coffee out, ten quiet minutes with your phone off, whatever feels like a treat to you. It doesn’t need to be big, it just needs to happen, so your brain starts associating “finishing” with something good, instead of just bracing for the next item on the list.

Give Yourself a “Done Enough” Line

Perfectionism kills more winter projects than laziness ever does. It’s easy to keep pushing a project off because it won’t be perfect yet, and “not perfect yet,” can stretch on for months. Decide in advance what “finished” actually looks like for you, so you’re not still fussing over it in March because it isn’t quite Pinterest-perfect. My website doesn’t need to be flawless to launch – it needs to be good enough to represent me and what I do, and I can keep improving it from there once it’s live and working for me instead of sitting in draft form.

Winter has a way of giving us exactly what summer doesn’t: quiet, indoor hours with nowhere else we’re supposed to be. It’s the season when the to-do list finally gets some real attention instead of getting shoved to “later,” when there’s no pool day or barbecue pulling us away from the things we keep promising ourselves we’ll get to. Between the closets, the website, the reels sitting untouched in my camera roll, and the course I keep meaning to promote, I’ve got my own two lists started already, my today list and my month list, both on my phone, and I’m not above bribing myself with a coffee run when I finally cross something off.

So, whether your winter project is a closet, a website, a workout routine, or finally sending out those family photos you’ve been meaning to print since July – pick one thing, put a date on it, and take that small first step. The future-you, standing in an organized closet or scrolling through a finished website, will thank you. I’ll let you know how it all turns out for me!

Wishing everyone a sweet and productive new year!

Until next month,

Frieda Schweky

Frieda Schweky is a community photographer, videographer, and writer. For photography & video inquiries or article topic suggestions, email her at [email protected] or follow her on Instagram @friedaschwekyphoto.

Eddie Esses

For our community and Jewish communities across NYC, the November election comes at a moment unlike any in the past.

The political landscape of New York has shifted dramatically. The Democratic Socialists of America and the broader socialist movement have moved from the political margins into positions of real power, with DSA-backed candidates winning major races and New York’s mayor emerging as one of the country’s most influential political figures. Recent elections have demonstrated that this movement is capable of defeating established Democrats and expanding its influence well beyond the few districts where it traditionally found support. 

For our community, that development sets off a greater alarm than any we’ve ever experienced. Frankly, they DSA put at risk everything we’ve built in Brooklyn over decades. 

The concern is not simply about political labels. It is about what a rapidly changing political establishment means for public safety, anti-Semitism, Israel, policing, taxation, our schools, and the neighborhoods our community has spent generations building.

This November, the campaigns of Sam Sutton for New York State Senate and Joey Saban for New York State Assembly present us our real opportunity to fight back. 

A New Political Reality

The mayor and his allies have promoted a radical vision for New York, one of: sky-high taxes on successful New Yorkers and businesses, a reduced police presence, homeless shelters in our neighborhoods, and a constant targeting of Zionist New Yorkers.

The DSA has continued expanding its political operation, while the mayor has helped elevate DSA-aligned candidates with major victories in this year’s primaries on not just a local but even on a congressional level.  

For our community, this presents an emergency unlike any we’ve ever faced before. The DSA’s radical agenda has already reached our neighborhoods. The question is whether we fight back.  

Anti-Semitism 

Perhaps nowhere are these concerns more immediate than on the issue of anti-Semitism.

Jewish New Yorkers have watched anti-Semitic demonstrations against Israel increasingly target Jewish neighborhoods and places of worship.

That is precisely why Senator Sam Sutton and Chief of Staff Joey Saban made their buffer-zone legislation a top priority.

The legislation ensured that Jewish families and other worshippers could enter their houses of worship without having to confront harassment or intimidation at the doors. It ultimately passed as part of the state’s budget and became the biggest legislative win for Jewish New Yorkers in years.  

Sutton has also secured approximately $20 million in security funding for religious institutions, while helping direct additional millions of dollars toward our community organizations such as SAFE and SBH.  

These accomplishments demonstrate the results of having a strong advocate in Albany. 

Public Safety

Another defining issue is the future of public safety. While the DSA works toward their long-term goal of abolishing the police, Senator Sutton and Saban have fought tooth and nail to support the NYPD and for stronger enforcement against hate crimes in order to protect our community  

Their platform also calls for reforming nonsensical bail policies, opposing homeless shelter placements in our neighborhoods, and ensuring that law-abiding families, not criminals, are the ones protected.

Protecting Our Schools and Institutions

Over the decades, our community has built an extraordinary network of yeshivas, synagogues, and nonprofit institutions. These critical organizations are, too, targets of the DSA, as showcased by their “Not on Our Dime” bill, which seeks to remove nonprofit status of organizations with a connection to Israel. 

Senator Sutton and Saban have made protecting private education and ensuring appropriate funding for yeshivas a foundational part of their work. They are crafting the responding bill to “Not on Our Dime,” which would target institutions with connections to terror organizations such as Hamas and Hezbollah.  

Why Representation Inside Albany Matters

This is perhaps the most important consideration of all.

Senator Sutton and Saban are under the Democratic Party label, which is what makes their presence in Albany all the more critical.  

In Albany the Democrats have a supermajority. The DSA’s influence is growing within that broader ecosystem. Recent victories have demonstrated that socialist-aligned candidates can increasingly shape Democratic politics rather than simply operate on its fringe. 

The question, therefore, is not simply whether someone will criticize these policies.

It is whether there will be strong voices inside the room willing to challenge them.

The Stakes Have Never Been Greater 

The most important lesson of the past several years is that civic engagement matters.

Our community’s increased voter registration and political participation have already produced major results. Greater engagement has given our community a louder voice in Albany and helped produce legislation, security funding, and the allocation of millions of dollars for our institutions.

But political influence cannot be taken for granted.

The DSA is organized, disciplined, and increasingly successful. Its supporters are organizing year-round, knocking on doors seven days a week, and are building major political power. Recent victories show that this strategy is working. 

That means disengagement carries enormous consequences.

The November election will determine what kind of voices represent our community, South Brooklyn, and Jewish New Yorkers at large as New York’s political landscape continues to shift. For community members concerned about anti-Semitism, public safety, education, taxation, and the growing influence of the socialist movement, the moment demands urgent attention.

Get Out and Vote

Our community has spent generations building something extraordinary. The question now is whether we will remain sufficiently engaged to protect it, and ensure that our voice remains impossible to ignore in Albany. Every single community member must get out this election and vote for Sam Sutton for State Senate and for Joey Saban for State Assembly.

Delivering for the Community

Senator Sutton has already established himself as a pragmatic and independent voice within the Senate Democratic Conference. Saban, after serving as Sutton’s Chief of Staff, is seeking to bring that same approach to the Assembly.

The duo would serve as an incredibly powerful team in Albany:

• Standing up against anti-Semitism and protecting Jewish institutions.
• Fighting for stronger hate-crime enforcement.
• Supporting the NYPD and public safety.
• Protecting private education and yeshiva funding.
• Securing additional security funding for religious institutions.
• Bringing millions of dollars to community institutions 
• Opposing policies they believe threaten neighborhood stability and affordability.
• Providing a strong moderate voice against the growing influence of the DSA.

Etan C. Harris remembers the smell of peppermint tea.

It was drifting off his former law professor’s desk the afternoon he walked into her office at Syracuse University College of Law to ask her to move a deadline. He’d smelled it before, two years earlier, when he’d sat in her class as a first-year student and said nothing at all.

That earlier silence is the part of the story Harris doesn’t always tell.

As a 1L, Harris had a writing assignment due that landed across two days of Passover. He didn’t ask for an extension. He didn’t mention it to the professor at all. He finished the work, on time, and moved on. Grades mattered too much that first year to risk complicating things with the person who assigned them.

By his third year, Harris was president of the Jewish Law Student Association, and a group of first-year students came to him with the identical problem: a paper due during Passover, in the same bell-curved class that grades students against each other, under the same professor. Afraid of the consequences, they asked him to raise the prospect of an extension with her.

“I almost said no,” recalls Harris. He had his own grades to think about, and job prospects were riding on the kind of record you don’t put at risk over a scheduling fight for students you barely knew. “But I thought about sitting in that same class two years earlier, just grinding through the shorter deadline without saying a word, and my duty as president of the Jewish Law Student Association. That last part finally pushed me to walk over.”

The door to her office looked more scratched than he remembered. He noticed it for no particular reason. Then he knocked.

The professor said no. She told him she was Jewish and worked on Passover; her students could do the same. When Harris said he’d take the matter to the dean, she told him, in essence, that she was the professor, he the student, and not to forget it.

The dean was sympathetic – and pointed. He may have appreciated Harris’ effort to fight for his lower classmates, or he may simply have been worried about Title VI and the kind of formal trouble a discrimination complaint could bring down on the school. Within days, the assignment’s deadline moved by two weeks. Religious Jewish students got the accommodation they’d asked for; every student in the class got three weeks instead of one.

The professor’s warmth toward Harris cooled after that. He noticed it in private conversations, and once, unmistakably, in a comment she made in front of classmates that he took as aimed squarely at him.

The reaction from the first-year students wasn’t uniform, either. Some — Jewish and not — found him in the cafeteria afterward to thank him. Others said nothing. One of the students who’d benefited from the extension later told Harris he worked on Passover anyway, making it seem as if Harris’ sacrifice was pointless.

From Student Advocate to Candidate

Sixteen years into a law career, Harris is now running for Civil Court judge, with an election set for November 3. He still brings the story up when fairness comes into the conversation. “It’s not proof that principle always wins. It’s more a reminder that you sometimes have to get past your own fear if you want anything around you to change.”

Paid for by Friends of Etan Harris.

Our community mourns the sudden petirah of Hacham Leon Gindi, zt”l, a longtime rav at Shaare Zion and a distinguished talmid hacham, who was niftar at the age of 79 on Shabbat, September 19, 2026. The levayah was held Sunday morning, Erev Yom Kippur, before a standing room only crowd at Magen David Congregation in Brooklyn.

The petirah (passing)_of “Hacham Leon,” as he was reverentially known, occurred just as this issue was being prepared to go to press. Because of the timing, we are able to provide only this brief notice at this time. A fuller tribute to Hacham Leon, zt”l, – honoring his life, his Torah, and his many years of service to our community –– will, with Hashem’s help, appear in the November issue.

For decades, after arriving from Halab, Hacham Leon was a familiar and respected presence at Shaare Zion. He served the congregation as a rav, teaching Torah and providing guidance to his faithful students.

Beyond the position he held, those who knew Hacham Leon remember a man deeply devoted to Torah. His learning was not simply an accomplishment, but the foundation around which he built his life. He continued to learn, teach, and serve the community well into his later years.

There was a poignant significance to the circumstances of his petirah. Hacham remained actively engaged in the life of the community until the very end. He was delivering words of Torah before the congregation at the time of his sudden passing.

His passing, just before Yom Kippur, was particularly painful for the many people who had heard him speak and learned from him over the years. A rav who devoted his life to teaching and guiding others was taken suddenly as the community prepared for the holiest day of the year.

The son-in-law of Hacham Yom Tov Yedid, zt”l, the last Chief Rabbi of Aleppo, Hacham Leon was part of the distinguished rabbinic tradition that has long been a defining feature of our community, in which hachamim have served not only as shul rabbis, but as teachers, poskim, spiritual guides, and pillars of communal life.

He leaves behind his devoted wife, children, grandchildren, and a legacy of commitment to Torah, avodah, and service to the Syrian Jewish community.

We look forward to honoring his memory more fully in the November issue Yehi zichro baruch (may his memory be a blessing).

Jenna  Ashkenazi

It is a parent’s job to set up their children for a successful future. Often, this endeavor can lead to those children feeling intense pressure. They internalize the need to get the highest grades, to excel at sports, and to have the most and best-looking extracurriculars well before they can even understand what competition actually is, or why their parents feel it is necessary.

It is easy to see why parents might feel they must push their children considering the current reality of rising costs for tuition (let’s make this worth it!) and limited job opportunities, making hopes for even finding a job in the future uncertain. So, the parents inadvertently create  unreasonably high levels of competition between children and their classmates. But children should not be focused only on the future, and only on being the best. There is room for excelling and also room for simply being a kid. And it is up to the parents to make sure that their children understand that.

A Healthy Balance

This is not to say that a little competition is bad, or unhealthy. According to With You Allied Help (an allied health practice – meaning it is a clinical office or business where trained health professionals provide diagnostic, rehab, and preventative care – in Australia), there are many benefits to competition. These include, but are not limited to, motivating improvement in kids, building resilience, promoting goal setting, and encouraging teamwork and cooperation. When done right, competition can have tremendous positive effects on children’s development. The issue regarding competition arises when it becomes more pressure than fun.

Problems arise when competition is over-emphasized, is constant, or is linked too closely to a child’s self-worth. In cases like this, competition can lead to anxiety, low self-esteem, and a reduction in motivation. Unfortunately, we are seeing more of the latter than the former. Kids get compared to their siblings or classmates, creating a breeding ground for resentment and toxic behavior. Environments where these things happen can harm children’s mental health, diminish motivation, and lead to behaviors like cheating, lying, or quitting entirely. Children may also carry the experiences they suffered in highly competitive environments into adulthood, developing beliefs that self-worth is only earned through achievement

The Challenge of Competition

Actually, we are hardwired to compete. Christina Lee, MD, is a psychiatrist and Regional Medical Director for Mental Health at Kaiser Permanente in Baltimore, Maryland. According to Dr. Lee, “Competition can be a very positive drive to motivate you to do better and to learn to improve your performance. But the problem is in children who have underdeveloped brains and the inability to necessarily temper [emotions], impulsive competitiveness can spiral into the negative aspects like self-criticism.”

Excessive competition can lead children (and adults!)  to burn out and potentially to lie about accomplishments in order to seem accomplished. “Excessive pressure [and unhealthy competitiveness] raises the risk for depression, anxiety, panic attacks, and sleep issues,” says Dr. Lee. “It can sometimes even lead to substance misuse in adolescence.”  And let’s look at the impact social media has on competitiveness in children. Dr. Judy Krause EdD serves as Provost and Vice President of Academica Affairs at CIAM, the California Institute of Advanced Management, at the University of La Verne. According to Dr. Krause, “These platforms often foster a sense of competition. While online, teens compare themselves with others, wanting to be popular. Peer pressure leads them to participate in virtual trends, which can be harmful.”

What’s a Parent to Do?

So, how can parents help foster healthy competition, while still reminding their children that it is okay to fail, and to not always be the best? The first step is to understand your children. Remember that each child is different, with different needs and skills. It is okay to push your kids outside of their comfort zone, but still keep in mind that there are some areas where your child simply has little to no skill or, more importantly, has no interest. Even if your child is skilled in a certain area, say, sports, if they have no interest in pursuing a different skill, forcing them to do so will only foster more animosity and burn out. It is also important to take a step back and ask, “Are we encouraging or pushing our kids because it’s in their best interest, or is it something we’re doing for ourselves?”

The second step is to manage expectations. Sometimes our expectations can become outsized, too. Parents who are very motivated to get their children into college might already be thinking of signing up for the right extracurriculars and getting the right GPA when their children are still years away from filling out an application. Being pushed towards a goal so far in the future can lead kids to feel resentful of that prospective future. Being told the only option is to go to college, and that the only way to get to college is to have near-perfect grades and a full list of extracurriculars can lead to a desire to do anything else, especially if the child feels that they are not meeting their parents’ expectations.

Focus on Your Child in the Present

Children who are feeling overwhelmed or burned out might benefit from an approach that focuses more on the present. Praise your children’s successes and new skills for their own sake. Keeping children’s mindset in the present rather than the future is a good way to help prevent burnout, and remind children that they are allowed to have a childhood to enjoy without having to look to future success. Lastly, remind yourself that the experiences you had in your childhood, whether good or bad, do not need to be repeated in your child’s adolescence. Alternatively, if parents have great memories of something from their youth, they may try to push their kids to do the same thing, whether it’s joining the track team or writing for the school newspaper.

Dr. Janine Domingues is a clinical psychologist at the Child Mind Institute in New York City, where she serves as a Senior Psychologist in the Anxiety Disorders Center. She warns, “I always tell parents the things that motivate us might not necessarily motivate them.” Think back on your own life, and ask yourself, if my parents had pushed me in the way that I feel I need to  push my kids, would I be better off?”

The truth is there is no correct way to go about this. There will always be competition in our lives. It is nearly impossible to not compete with others to a certain degree. The question is how much does competition need to be encouraged in the lives of adolescents? Consider – how much competition is too much? And, of course, remember to ask Hashem to guide you in all childrearing areas.

Ezra R. Dayan, MD

Last month, Jersey Shore Hatzalah partnered with the Linda Grunin Simulation Lab at Monmouth University to conduct a first-of=its-kind Mass Casualty Incident (MCI) training exercise, providing members with a unique opportunity to prepare for one of the most complex situations an emergency medical service can face.

The exercise was designed to simulate a real-life mass casualty incident from the initial response through triage, treatment, transport, and arrival at the hospital. Hatzalah members were challenged to manage multiple injured patients at once while coordinating resources and communicating across multiple agencies and levels of care.

To make the experience as realistic as possible, the simulation incorporated live patient actors, high fidelity medical manikins, and professional moulage (artistic creation of realistic-looking simulated injuries). Members were tasked with assessing the scene, performing mass casualty triage, prioritizing patients, initiating treatment, and coordinating their evacuation and transport.

Coordination Par Excellence

A major focus of the drill was continuity of care. Participants practiced patient handoffs between Jersey Shore Hatzalah BLS crews, ALS paramedics, flight medical crews, and hospital emergency department staff. An RWJBarnabas Health LifeFlight helicopter also participated in the exercise, allowing members to experience the additional coordination required for aeromedical transport.

The Monmouth County Office of Emergency Medical Services also brought its Medical Ambulance Bus (MAB) to the drill. Members had the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the MAB and its capabilities, including the important role it can play in the treatment and transport of multiple patients during a large-scale incident.

The training tested much more than clinical skills. Members were challenged to communicate effectively, work as a team, establish leadership roles, make rapid decisions, and manage limited resources in a complex and evolving environment. Hatzalah dispatchers were also actively involved in the exercise, practicing emergency communications and resource coordination under the pressure of a high-stress, rapidly evolving MCI scenario.

While incidents of this magnitude are thankfully uncommon, being prepared for them requires training that goes beyond the classroom. Exercises like this allow responders to experience the challenges of a large-scale emergency in a controlled setting and help ensure that Jersey Shore Hatzalah members are prepared to respond effectively should, Heaven forbid, such an event occur in the communities they serve.

Kudos

The event was made possible through an extensive partnership between Jersey Shore Hatzalah and the Linda Grunin Simulation Lab at Monmouth University. Jersey Shore Hatzalah extends its tremendous appreciation to the Simulation Lab and its staff, particularly Dr. Violet Kramer, Billie McNally, and Elissa Naglieri, whose countless hours of planning and preparation were instrumental in creating such a realistic training experience.

Special appreciation is also extended to RWJBarnabas Health LifeFlight, the Monmouth County Office of Emergency Medical Services, Dr. James Martin and Dr. Elizabeth Gilman of the Monmouth Medical Center Emergency Department, and Dr. Harry Kopolovich, Chair of Emergency Medicine at Jersey Shore University Medical Center. Their involvement and expertise helped recreate the coordination between EMS, flight crews, and hospital staff that would be essential during an actual mass casualty incident.

The exercise was planned by Dr. Ezra Dayan, Medical Director of Jersey Shore Hatzalah; Samuel Sitt, Field Coordinator; Ari Gass, Training Coordinator; and Joseph Torkieh, Rutgers University medical student and Liaison to Monmouth University. Their efforts brought together the many agencies, personnel, and logistical components needed to make this training possible.

The MCI exercise represents Jersey Shore Hatzalah’s continued commitment to advancing the education and preparedness of its members while strengthening its relationships with the healthcare and public safety agencies with whom it works.

By training together before an emergency occurs, responders build the skills, communication, and relationships needed to work together when every minute matters.

Jersey Shore Hatzalah thanks all of the organizations, instructors, volunteers, patient actors, dispatchers, and participants who helped make this landmark training possible.