Rockville Centre
HERALD Beauty gift bags donated to Mercy
Celebrating MSSN workers
RVC businesses await green light
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VOL. 31 NO. 21
MAY 21 - 27, 2020
Virtual send-off for Molloy grads, Dr. Drew Bogner By BRIANA BONFIGLIO bbonfiglio@liherald.com
Christina Daly/Herald
Fancy rides roll into Mercy A handful of local car clubs organized a vintage car parade for workers at Mercy Medical Center on May 9. Participants included the Long Island Corvette Owners Association, Long Island Vettes, the Long Island chapter of the National Corvette Restorers Society and the Centurion Cruisers Car Club. Mercy staff members gathered outside the lobby and waved to the passing cars.
Molloy College celebrated its class of 2020 with a virtual commencement ceremony via YouTube live-stream Monday night. Graduation speakers sent in pre-recorded video messages, which were compiled, linked with music and streamed online beginning at 6 p.m. More than 1,500 households viewed the video in real time, and some left comments congratulating the graduates in the chat section. The virtual ceremony was Molloy President Dr. Drew Bogner’s final commencement after 20 years of serving the institution. “I assure you that being in this
digital space and not in person is an experience I never wanted,” Bogner said. “I miss the excitement that fills the arena, the buzz of 10,000 voices, the joyful gathering of parents, spouses, children, relatives and friends. “I miss the pomp, the tradition-laden procession, the personalized mortarboards,” he continued. “I miss the hoots and hollers, the shoutouts. I miss the selfies. I miss your well-practiced and spontaneous victory celebrations. I miss the handshakes, all 1,200 of them. Frankly, I miss all of you.” Bogner spoke of the challenges of living during a pandemic, CONTINUED ON PAGE 3
Retiring RVC rabbis to be honored with car parade By JILL NOSSA jnossa@liherald.com
The two rabbis leading Central Synagogue-Beth Emeth, in Rockville Centre, are retiring at the end of June, and to mark the occasion, the congregation is giving them special send-off. A planned luncheon had to be canceled because of social distancing requirements, so the celebration on May 30 for Rabbis Marc Gruber and Elliot Skiddell will begin with a Torah study via Zoom, followed by a car parade. “This is a significant way to express what they’ve meant to us,” said James Gelman, co-president of the synagogue’s board
of directors. The two rabbis have a long history with the temple, and were instrumental in the consolidation of the two congregations. Gruber was hired in 2002, and is the second-longest-serving rabbi in Central Synagogue’s history. Skiddell joined Beth Emeth in 2006. For the past four years, the two have worked together to serve the united temple. Louise Skolnik was Central Synagogue’s president when the consolidation took place. She explained that Beth Emeth, a Reconstructionist congregation established in 1994, left its building in Hewlett in 2012 and rented space from Central Synagogue
of Nassau County, a Reformist congregation. Both are recognized as progressive Judaism, and Skolnik said there was “mostly synchronicity between the two movements.” As time went on, Skolnik said, members of the congregations started to interact more after services and got to know one another. They decided to hold services together, and began alternating books every Friday. In May of 2016, the congregations voted to consolidate, and with the approval of the New York State Supreme Court, the partnership became official that November. Each temple retained its rabbi, and a board of direc-
tors was created with co-presidents representing each temple. “It was a remarkable process from a theoretical point of view, and done in textbook fashion — if a textbook had been written for this,” Skolnik said, noting that the consolidation took two years of preparation. “Everyone worked together, and the rabbis were both committed to the pro-
cess. I admired and respected them both, and they should be celebrated for it.” Every Saturday morning, the religious service is combined with an hour of Torah study, and each rabbi offers his own perspective. “It is, for me, intellectually and spiritually stimulating, exhilarating,” Skolnik said. “We CONTINUED ON PAGE 3