Chasunas: 

Vorts: courtesy of Simchas.net

 Hachosson Ari Polter to Hakalla Tova Oppenheimer 6:30PM at 1489 Pine Park Ave, 

 Hachosson Mordechai Rubinfeld to Hakalla Rivka Bracha Newman 7 pm at 618 Caranetta 

 Hachosson Shimon Schwab to Hakalla Bataheva Munk 7PM at  Ner Dovid 1414 14th St

Hachosson Yossi Silberstein to Hakalla Nechama Mendlowitz 7PM at 48 Sherie Ct, 

Hachosson Shimon Sturman to Hakalla Mindy Susna 7:30PM at Yeshiva K'Tana 120 2nd St, 

Hachosson Shmuel Tashman to Hakalla Malky Zeldes 7:30pm  at Bnos Brocha 1665 Corporate Rd West

Engagements: courtesy of Vivaser

Weather: Periods of rain. Morning high of 63F with temps falling to near 55. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near an inch. Locally heavy rainfall possible.

- Candle lighting 5:56 pm Shkia Sunset 6:14 pm Rosh Chodesh MarCheshvan Sunday & Monday

-Murphy: “There have been some big realities. And again, I will say that our working relationship with elected leaders, faith leaders and others in and around Lakewood has been outstanding, but there’s no escaping the fact that that’s been a hotspot.. But for the most part, I’ll use baseball terms, forgive me, this is a bunch of singles and doubles, small ball stuff that’s a little bit here, a little bit there.”

- New Hampshire and Massachusetts add the state NJ to a travel advisory as one of the states to quarantine for 14 days if you come from there.

- Cuomo's health commissioner  Howard Zucker admits in a brief in the Brooklyn Catholic Diocese case that “there is no specific percentage threshold to determine when an area should be designated as an orange or yellow zone.” Basically, Cuomo is making up rules and maps based on mood.(OJPAC)

- A "super-spreader event" near Monmouth University led to positive coronavirus tests for more than 100 students and forced the school into all-online classes, officials said Tuesday. The outbreak was traced to a single off-campus private gathering that resulted in 125 positive Covid-19 cases.

- Hamodia: -A group of Catholics and Orthodox Jews filed suit Thursday against New York’s recent COVID-19 restrictions, alleging unconstitutional infringements on freedom of speech, religion and assembly. This is at least the fifth lawsuit brought against the regulations imposed last week.

The federal suit was brought by a group of Catholic priests, Orthodox Jews, and Catholic-school and yeshiva parents, over Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s closure of schools and limitation of houses or worship to as few as 10.

The new filing lists a host of state and city officials as defendants, including Cuomo, State attorney General Letitia James, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, and the state and city health commissioners. (While the state enacts all closure laws, enforcement is mostly up to the cities).

“Seven months into the era of COVID-19, and nearly four months after this Court’s entry of a preliminary injunction protecting the original plaintiffs’ right to religious worship, New York officials simply couldn’t contain themselves,” the suit says. “Instead of respecting plaintiffs’ First Amendment rights and this Court’s crystal-clear injunction entered on June 26, 2020 … the State and City defendants, led by defendant Cuomo and defendant de Blasio, have suddenly done an about face. Less than one month before a Presidential Election and only hours after Cuomo promised Orthodox Jewish communities in Brooklyn that their houses of worship could remain at 50% of capacity — as this Court’s June 26 injunction requires — Cuomo last week imposed a new, draconian crackdown on religious worship and education throughout much of New York City and surrounding counties.”

The new restrictions, which also shutter “non-essential” businesses in the red zones, come after portions of the state, including sections with large Orthodox Jewish populations such as in Brooklyn, Queens, Rockland County and Orange County, have been seeing a COVID uptick in recent weeks.

Cuomo has frequently blamed religious gatherings, often particularly naming “ultra-Orthodox” Jews, for the rise in cases. At his press Oct. 6 press conference announcing the new restrictions, the governor said, “The new rules are most impactful on houses of worship, because the virus is not coming from non-essential businesses. That’s not what this is about. It may be spread by non-essential businesses. The virus is not starting in schools. It may be spread by schools. This is about mass gatherings. One of the prime places of mass gatherings are houses of worship. I understand it’s a sensitive topic, but that is the truth. Period. You want to solve the problem? Acknowledge the problem.” At a press conference Oct. 14, Cuomo said that “the enforcement from the local governments is very uneven, especially when its politically sensitive,” and “that’s what we’re running into with a lot of these ultra-Orthodox communities, who are very politically powerful – don’t kid yourself.”

But the plaintiffs argue that “At no time has Cuomo presented evidence that New York religious gatherings have been a source of viral spreading as opposed to all the other gatherings his one-man rule has permitted for the past seven months,” and that the restrictions particularly target religious practices, as they severely restrict houses of worship while permitting “essential businesses” to remain open without limits on rates of occupancy, which “endangers the government’s interest in ‘containing the virus’ at least as much as religious schools or houses of worship.”

When limiting constitutional freedoms to achieve a compelling state interest (such as curbing the spread of a disease), governments are required to narrowly tailor the restrictions so they are the least-restrictive possible. But the lawsuit says these COVID restrictions are overborad, and cites as evidence comments Cuomo made to Jewish leaders in a conference call hours before he imposed the guidelines, a full recording of which was obtained and published exclusively by Hamodia.com.

In response to a question posed on the call by Harav Yaakov Bender, Rosh Hayeshivah of Yeshiva Darchei Torah in Far Rockaway, about why schools must be shuttered completely, rather than taking a more nuanced approach, Cuomo responded, “I’m a hundred percent frank and candid. This is not a highly nuanced, sophisticated response. This is a fear-driven response, you know. This is not a policy being written by a scalpel; this is a policy being cut by a hatchet. It’s just very blunt. I didn’t propose this, you know; it was proposed by the Mayor [Bill de Blasio] in the City. I’m trying to sharpen it and make it better. But it’s out of fear. People see the numbers going up – ‘Close everything! Close everything!’ It’s not the best way to do it, but it is a fear-driven response. The virus scares people. Hopefully, we get the numbers down in the zip codes, the anxiety comes down, and then we can have a smarter, more-tailored approach.”

Cuomo’s office did not immediately respond Thursday evening night to Hamodia’s request for comment on this latest suit. There have been at least four other suits filed against the restrictions, including one Wednesday evening by three Rockland County shuls. In response to previous suits, Cuomo senior advisor Rich Azzopardi said last week, “We’ve been sued virtually every day for every action taken. We’re concentrating on reducing the virus in these hot spots and saving lives, period.”

- Chartered flights are heading to Israel the next few days with Yeshiva bochurim and Seminary girls going  to study and learn after not being allowed to enter. They will quarantine for 2 weeks upon arrival.

-39 new cases in Lakewood  totals 5706/204

-Tehillim Edison rosh yeshivas name has been changed. Please be mispalel for  Chaim Yaakov ben Faiga בתוך שאר חולי ישראל

- Rav Chaim Kanievsky responded to those who asked that they should open the chadeorim and  yeshivos ketanos starting tomorrow after failing to reach a deal with the state.

-NY Gov. Cuomo signed an order to stop a planned wedding this Monday for the grandson of the Satmar Rebbe Rav Zalman  It was expected to draw 10,000 guest and held in Williamsburg outside the color zones You can get married, you just can't have a thousand people at your wedding. You get the same result at the end of the day -- you're just married. It's also cheaper."Abc

- Coronavirus cases increased in 17 of N.J.'s 21 counties. Ocean County was the state’s biggest hotspot last week, adding 17.6 cases per 10,000, a 19% rise from last week. The county had curtailed its rate slightly after eclipsing 20 cases per 10,000 two weeks ago.

Weather: Partly cloudy. High 63F 10% chance of rain

-Authorities enforcing social distancing rules and mask wearing at simcha halls.

-NJ- The statewide rate of transmission declined to 1.15, even though number of cases jumped up. Essex County led the state in new cases Sunday, with 139, followed by Hudson (131), Ocean (121), and Union and Middlesex, both 107.

-117 New cases in Lakewood totals 5823/204

- Lakewood Vaad does not make an endorsement for president citing a decades long practice to focus on matters of local concern and not make endorsement in presidential elections. Lakewood was the Trumpiest town in NJ who voted in 2016. The vaad did express hakoras hatov to the president and have significant concerns about the policies of the Democratic contenders.

-Boro Park is holding a protest (yom tefilah) against the Cuomo lockdown on Monday, based on a decision tonight by rabbanim. This, according to my recall, is unprecedented. Never before has Boro Park sanctioned a protest. Then again, the governor's rhetoric these days is also unprecedented. (Yochonon Donn)

- Tehillim for שמעון בן הניא רייזל hospitalized with corona. רפאל אברהם יצחק בן גיטל, חיים יעקב בן פייגא בתוך שאר חולי ישראל

- Satmar releases statement it will hold wedding for close family only and blames media smear since the original plan was with social distancing guidelines.

 Election message from R' Harold Herskowitz VOTE STRAIGHT COLUMN A

"Please remember that when you see some, pardon me, idiots doing silly things, don’t paint us with that brush. We are really beating up on them, we are doing everything in our power to stop these people. At the same time, you know, one thing you mentioned earlier [that] you were sued without anybody talking to you – that’s one thing I feel is unfair. We wanted to meet with you. We wanted to speak with you. We didn’t get the time". 

 Hamodia: New York Governor Andrew Cuomo a held conference call with Jewish leaders Sunday night. Several askanim from Borough Park declined to be on the call, after the tensions that arose from the October 6th call, including the fact that the governor muted them during the call, and only talk several prearranged questions. However, on this October 18th call,  it appeared that questioners were able to talk freely, and one person involved described the conference to Hamodia as much more “conciliatory.”

Rabbi Yaakov Bender: This is Yaakov Bender from Far Rockaway, New York.

 weather: Partly cloudy skies. High 67F

-Case Update: On Thursday there was a hearing at the appeals court. It is estiated the judge will issue a ruling within 2 months. It is possible the judge will iy"h declare the case an unjustified prosecution and dismiss the entire case or ח''וshe will recommend that R Osher shlita be resentenced for a 12 year prison sentence ר''ל. Please continue to dave for Osher ben Chana Frumit. There will be weekly tehillim Thursday night 10:30 pm in Binyan Beren.

-Residents in Jackson speak up at meeting demanding closure of shuls video

  Patch- NJ - Ever since Governor Phil Murphy announced that the November election would be primarily vote-by-mail, there has been a flurry of concern about the voting in person which will be done by using a provisional ballot. According to Warren County Clerk Holly Mackey, in every election paper provisional ballots are supplied to the poll workers and are nothing new.

"They are commonly used for things such as a voter appearing in person but does not show up in the poll books, for a whole host of reasons, and for people who were issued a vote-by-mail ballot," Mackey said. "They are given the paper provisional ballot and the affirmation statement that they fill out."

Mackey said that after the election each provisional ballot cast is investigated by the Board of Elections and if the voter's registration is deemed valid, or the voter did not return a ballot in the mail, which would be voting twice, the provisional ballot is accepted.

Mackey noted that each county is responsible for their own ballot design, but in Warren County:

The paper Provisional Ballot looks exactly like the ballot we sent to you in the mail except "Provisional Ballot" or "Mail-In Ballot" appears in the upper right hand corner. Other than that they are identical.

Paper Provisional Ballots require the voter to fill out a form (affirmation Statement) to go along with the ballot. This form is what is used to investigate the eligibility of the voter.

Provisional Ballots are the last ballots counted in every election. This is because of the Vote By Mail program. The Election Board must wait until after the deadline to receive Mail-In Ballots has passed before they can conclude their investigation. This is to prevent a dishonest person from dropping their ballot off at a post office and then heading to the polls to vote a Provisional Ballot (voting twice). Once the deadline is closed, and if the voter did not return a ballot via mail, their Provisional Ballot is accepted.

For the Nov. 3General Election the deadline to receive ballots in the mail is November 10, so no provisional ballots will be counted before Nov. 11 at the earliest.

All Provisional ballots that have been investigated and deemed eligible get counted.

"The Executive order allows voters to return their mail-in ballots to their polling place on Election Day, this is new this election, and hand them to a poll worker," Mackey said. " These ballots are counted starting the day after the election, Nov. 4."

 Lakewood Zoning board meeting tonight Monday October 19 at7:00 pm

 Listen: Vote for a Better Lakewood

 Weather: Cloudy skies early, followed by partial clearing.

-Ocean county down to #8 in List of cases in NJ with 55, led by Union 132. Middlesex 117, Essex 114, Bergen 103, Hudson 87, Passaic 67, Morris 60, who all have more cases. None of these counties are vilified by the Murphy administration as they did to Ocean county.

- 13 new covid cases in Lakewood totals 5886/205 + 1 death.

-Pizza on Wheels free lunch program daily 11:00 am - 1:00 pm

-NYC mayor Bill de Blasio expressed regret on how the city overreacted in terms of enforcement on the jewish communities, and that it would enforce compliance in more measured ways.(BP24)

- Numerous car accidents around Lakewood this morning due to slippery roads

-Tefillos for Harav Dovid Soleveitchick  shlita who suffered a bad case of pneumonia please daven for Meshulam Dovid ben Alteh Hendel for a refuah sheleima

-Tefilos for Rav Aharon Chodosh  shlitamashgiach  Mir Yerushalayim who was taken to hospital after not feeling well his condition is stable they tested him for covid19. Please daven for Aharon ben Tzivia for a refuah shleima

 Engagements: Courtesy of Vivaser Daily

 Weather: Cloudy skies early, then partly cloudy in the afternoon. Areas of dense fog. High 74F.

-Cuomo makes adjustments to some zones but Brooklyn the red zone remains the red zone. The orange zone will go to a yellow zone .Rockland county red remains red. Yellow remains yellow. Orange county red remains red. Yellow remains yellow.

-An atrocious antisemitic message was discovered at a Costco woman’s bathroom yesterday in Ocean Township, NJ.

Living off bloodstained money

Live stream HERE or below 1:30 pm

Petirah of Rav Yosef Weiss Z"l, Menahel of Yeshiva Sha'agas Aryeh  in Lakewood who went into cardiac arrest after suffering from an illness. Levaya at the parking lot of Lake terrace hall at 1:30 pm Kevura at the Lakewood Bais Olam. The Levaya will be live streamed see below for the live feed. Phone hook up 1- 857-356-3300 or 612-398-0330

From Matzav- Rabbi Weiss served as the menahel at Yeshiva Shaagas Aryeh, as well as the principal of the Satmar Cheder of Lakewood. A veteran mechanech, Rabbi Weiss devoted himself to the field of chinuch with great dedication for decades. Rabbi Weiss was also the author of the popular Visions of Greatness series, published by CIS. Visions of Greatness contains hundreds of inspiring stories that have been enjoyed by thousands.

 The 38th world Jewish Congress is meeting this week for its annual conference. They meet every 5 years in Yerushalayim and this year are holding the proceeding online. The WZO was founded in 1897 at the World Jewish Congress by Theodor Herzl. After the WZO elections earlier this year The right-wing and Orthodox coalition increased their delegates led by World Likud and includes World Mizrachi, Shas, Yisrael Beytenu and Eretz Hakodesh. The progressive groups are fighting back with Hadassah president denouncing the WZO coalition agreement and Masorti director threatening  that they will leave Zionist institutions and establish new ones if we have no place at the table

 The progressive reform and conservative groups such as Hadassah, other groups delayed right-wing takeover of World Zionist Congress after a  Power shift at the World Zionist Congress may strip progressive and center-left parties of influence, unless a compromised is reached. Legacy Jewish groups like Naamat, Maccabi, B’nai B’rith International, the Women’s International Zionist Organization and Emunah stepped in to delay the contentious vote

-JTA — A coalition of Jewish groups including the likes of Hadassah and B’nai B’rith International has

The top positions have until now been filled in consultation with all constituent bodies, allowing liberal groups a say on spending related to religious pluralism in Israel, minority communities in the country and settlement activity in the West Bank. The right-wing coalition believed it had a chance to take sole control of WZO spending because of its strong showing in this year’s election of the U.S. portion of the World Zionist Congress. The liberal groups who stood to be disenfranchised include affiliates of left-leaning Israeli parties, the Reform and Conservative movements, and Hatikvah, a slate of prominent US liberal Zionists.

They pressed a cadre of legacy Zionist groups that rarely participate in the partisan political fray to step up and vote to keep the takeover from taking place. Many of these groups share donors and members with the liberal groups. This year’s World Zionist Congress is taking place online because of the coronavirus pandemic.