The chapter presents a short biography and the shiur of the Rosh Yeshiva. It introduces the people who came to the Lower East Side, and the people who were born in the area, which created a network of institutions that has been gradually dwindling for decades. The chapter also tackles how Nasanel wound up at Mesivtha Tifereth Jerusalem (MTJ). Unlike some larger yeshivas, especially perhaps those in Israel, there do not seem to be any formal recruiting efforts at MTJ. Other than those who are from the neighborhood, people find their way to MTJ either because of the Rosh Yeshiva's reputation as a leading authority on Orthodox Jewish law, or because, like Nasanel, they have somehow gotten the sense that the place will be right for them. The chapter then takes a look at the lives of Yisroel Ruven in the Lower East Side, Asher Stoler, Rabbi Canto, both regular at the beis medresh, and the Orthodox Jewish community. Ultimately, it illustrates a neighborhood where the Jewish population has been declining for roughly a century, and where buildings to house Jewish institutions have been progressively emptied out.
COVID-19, Religious Coping, and Weight Change in the Orthodox Jewish Community
