BPC’s Center Spirit Magazine Features Benny Friedman, Chayala Neuhaus, and a Peek at the Kitchen that Serves 504 Residents: 365 Days a Year

by Yehudit Garmaise

     Boro Park Center’s (BPC) Summer issue of Center Spirit Magazine has hit the newsstands, and it is packed with fun, informative, and page-turning articles that can be enjoyed sitting in the warmth of the sun or relaxing in the breezy shade.

     After the Berko Brothers brought the house down at Boro Park Center on Lag b’Omer with two hours of separate concerts at which the musical sensations sang Benny Friedman’s latest hit, “A Yid,” which was written by Chayala Neuhaus, Raizy Pavlov, BPC’s director of recreation and the magazine’s editor, wanted to know more about how this inspiring song came to be.

     Friedman, who is Center Spirit Magazine’s cover story, explained why he thought “A Yid,” which instantly went viral, resonated with so many Jewish music lovers this year.      

     “We thought we were releasing a song about something that had passed,” said Friedman, speaking of the hardships of the COVID pandemic. “But for reasons unknown to man, more disasters hit Klal Yisroel, and the song that was supposed to be a comfort for yesterday’s pain, ended up being like a kind of therapy for a new, current tragedy.

     “After the calamity in Meron, [‘A Yid’] became a profound source of comfort and support. People reached out to [Friedman] from across the globe, from every community, telling him how much the song meant to them,” said Neuhaus, the song’s composer and lyricist, who since age 9, has been creating songs into a tape recorder she carries with her.

     Also, in the summer issue, Chaim Brull, BPC’s food service director, gives readers a “behind-the scenes look” into how he and his 62-member professional staff work together like a well-oiled machine to serve 504 residents and hundreds of additional family members and staff three times a day, plus snacks, 365 days a year: a task that might give pause to even the most seasoned balabuste.

     In addition to its fascinating features, Center Spirit Magazine provides other great reads, such an article about the recently passed 45th anniversary of the Israeli Defense Force’s raid on the Entebbe Airport in Uganda, when four members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine hijacked a plane that was flying from Tel Aviv to Paris and took 100 passengers hostage on July 4, 1976.

     On a lighter note, Center Spirit Magazine also offers tips on how to stay hydrated in the summer, how to make healthy food more fun and appealing for children, how to avoid slips and falls at home, and fascinating and entertaining fiction.

     Mrs. Pavlov encourages readers to pick up their free copies of the magazine’s summer issue at newsstands today.