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An unlikely friendship we formed Hard to define or explain Never bound by rules or age Rather by mutual ideas and thoughts

An unlikely friendship we formed Hard to define or explain Never bound by rules or age Rather by mutual ideas and thoughts

In his lifetime, he was a positive influence on so many, always inspiring others to be better while at the same time, working on his own character.

I was deeply saddened by the petira of Mrs. Irene Klass, a"h, wife and daughter of Rabbi Sholom Klass, z"l and Mr. Raphael Schreiber, a"h, founders of The Jewish Press. Although our paths only crossed once - and just for a minute - that one very brief encounter had a lasting, positive impact on the quality of my life. The handful of words that Mrs. Klass, a complete stranger, said to me ignited a flicker of light on the gloomy road I was on, a light that was to grow stronger and brighter with the passing of time. Almost comically, this encounter took place over 25 years ago in a swimming pool at the Homowack Hotel in the Catskill Mountains of New York.

It was with profound sadness that I absorbed the news last week that the petite, charming Irene, wife of Rabbi Sholom Klass, and publisher of The Jewish Press, returned her soul to her Maker.

It was with profound sadness that I absorbed the news last week that the petite, charming Irene, wife of Rabbi Sholom Klass, and publisher of The Jewish Press, returned her soul to her Maker.

The Gemara in Sanhedrin, Daf Mem Zayin, Amud Alef, concludes that a hesped or eulogy is in honor of the deceased, and not the living, so as such even though I am not worthy of being maspid you, I will say something nevertheless.

The Gemara in Sanhedrin, Daf Mem Zayin, Amud Alef, concludes that a hesped or eulogy is in honor of the deceased, and not the living, so as such even though I am not worthy of being maspid you, I will say something nevertheless.

It's another Chanukah miracle: a small group of Jewish men defy the odds and emerge victorious. But this time there was no war, no bloodshed and instead of an army of Maccabees, the conquering heroes are the a cappella group Maccabeats, 14 current and former students from Yeshiva University. Their hit song "Candlelight," a take-off on Taio Cruz's "Dynamite," has gone viral and reached over two million hits on YouTube in just 10 days.

The first time I met Irene Klass, of blessed memory, was in Israel. I was an olah hadasha (new immigrant) in 1971, and she had come to visit her daughter Naomi, who at that time lived near me in the Jerusalem suburb of Kiryat Moshe. "What do you do?" she asked me. "Well, I'm a writer, but haven't found much work in Israel. In Australia, I was helping my husband in his pharmacy as a Revlon Beauty Consultant."

The name de Sola appears prominently in the annals of Spanish Jewish history. The de Solas may have settled in Andalusia (in southern Spain) as early as the sixth century.

I was in Brazil, speaking to the Jewish community of Sao Paulo, when the sad news of the petira of Irene Klass reached me. Many memories, many scenes, many conversations and experiences flashed through my mind. With Irene's passing, a whole era - a whole way of thinking, of values, of goals, of idealism - disappeared. Irene had a sense of mission and never allowed politics, petty jealousies or territorial considerations to influence her.

As someone who was intimately involved with the trials and tribulations of this newspaper for over a decade, both as a reporter and editor, I was privy to many of the fascinating stories that revolved around Rabbi Sholom Klass, zt"l, and his rebbetzin, Irene Klass, a"h.

Irene Klass, the cofounder and publisher of The Jewish Press, the first nationally-distributed Orthodox Jewish newspaper in the U.S., died last week. She was 94.

On Monday November 21, the 15th day of Kislev, at 11:00pm, Mrs. Irene Klass, the Publisher of The Jewish Press and Editor Emeritus of The Jewish Press Magazine section, passed away. At the same time, her daughter, Naomi Klass Mauer, was at the airport, getting ready to escort the aronof her husband, Dr. Ivan Mauer, to his final resting place in Eretz Yisrael. Mrs. Mauer wrote the following hesped for her mother while on the airplane.

Zevi Kaufman is not your typical singer/songwriter. While most singers find themselves in and out of the recording studio in the final weeks before the release of their album, Kaufman finds himself in and out of the Beis Medrash at Yerushalayim's Yeshivas Aderes Hatorah, where the 20-year-old Flatbush native is currently learning.

Throughout the centuries, following the Jewish people's exile from the land of our forefathers, when the name Rachel was evoked, the word "Imeinu"- our mother -was attached to it. Traditionally, Jews cry out to "Mother Rachel," one of the nation's four matriarchs, asking for her help in alleviating whatever woes we are enduring; beseeching her to petition Hashem on our behalf for relief and succor. Many have risked their lives to visit her burial place, known as Kever Rachel, in Bethlehem.

It is with profound sorrow that we address the death of Mrs. Irene Klass - publisher of The Jewish Press, wife of Rabbi Sholom Klass, zt"l, the newspaper's founder and longtime publisher, and daughter of Raphael Schreiber, a"h, the paper's co-founder.

It seems like yesterday that we were shuddering in shul on Yom Kippur, pleading with Hashem to forgive our sins, wrongdoings and transgressions. Especially those that involved unethical and mean-spirited treatment of friends, relatives and strangers alike.

Lydia Maria (nee Francis) Child (February 11, 1802-Oct. 20, 1880) was educated at home, at a local "dame school" and at a nearby women's seminary. After her mother died when she was twelve, she went to live with an older sister in Maine for some years. She is little known today, but in her time she was a famous anti-slavery activist. She was also a novelist, editor, journalist and scholar. She is best remembered for her poem "Over the River and Through the Woods," which recalls her Thanksgiving visits as a child to her grandfather's home.