By Jack Matsas
This year, the most important election in Brooklyn is the democratic primary for the Surrogate Court. This election encompasses the entire borough of Brooklyn. What happens in the Surrogate Court is of vital importance to the Jewish Community.
A great deal of money from Jewish decedents comes through Surrogate Court. The judge in the Surrogate’s Court is called the Surrogate, who handles deeply personal issues pertaining to families in most vulnerable times of their lives, such as burial arrangements, property disputes, adoptions and guardianships, among others. It is deeply important that we elect the Surrogate who understands our values, traditions and customs. Surrogate Court needs an independent Judge who will protect our estates, institutions and Jewish families. Together with your vote, Judge Elena Baron will be the 1st Jewish Immigrant Brooklyn Surrogate Court Judge!
Judge Elena Baron has a reputation of genuinely caring about matters involving our community such as closures of Yeshivahs and Synagogues. She has a track record of using the judicial process to help people resolve issues in the most amicable manner. For over a decade Judge Elena Baron worked in five courthouses in New York City on a wide variety of cases involving guardianships, credit card disputes, residential and commercial property matters, fiduciary appointments, personal injury matters, corporate and partnership disputes, labor law and small claims. “Judge Baron’s independence and her well-diversified experience working in NYC Courts for over a decade will make her a very effective Surrogate, able to create personalized solutions to many individual family situations that come before the Surrogate Court,” said Yana Saffian, an attorney who practices before the Surrogate Court.
“I am particularly suited to serve as Brooklyn Surrogate Judge,“ states Judge Baron, “as I possess the knowledge and diversified expertise to handle cases involving family issues, generational wealth, and the preservation of what a person worked all his life to protect. I am always mindful of Torah values to take care of the widows and orphans, to protect the children and the seniors.”
“In my courtroom, the small cases are just as important to me as the larger ones,” says Judge Baron. “I love to make a difference in people’s daily lives, always mindful of delicate situations. I work hard to resolve conflicts in the most balanced way, helping both sides walk out of the courthouse feeling that they’ve resolved their problems, setting them free, to go about their regular business and lives.” Judge Elena Baron has handled many detailed legal issues involving family affairs, money, wealth, protection of family assets, and taxes, with sensitivity and compassion, and she has the ability to create tailored solutions. “I understand the issues and I respect the issues,” Judge Baron said. Judge Elena Baron has a reputation for having a strong work ethic, and runs an efficient court-room, making sure attorneys show up on time, and that expected work gets done properly.
Judge Baron immigrated to Brooklyn twenty-five years ago from Rostov-on-Don, the city where great Rabbi Sholom Dovber Schneerson, the fifth Lubavitcher Rebbe, lived during his final years and is buried. Rostov is of special importance to the Chabad movement. It is home to an estimated 10,000 Jews and is unique in Russia based on the level of communal involvement of Jewish teenagers and young adults. Rostov is also a site where 27,000 Jews were killed by the Nazis in 1942. Judge Baron’s grandparents were decorated World War II veterans, who lost their family members in the Holocaust. Elena Baron, is an active participant in Jewish life, who serves on the board of Congregation B’nai Jacob in Park Slope, gives tzedakah generously and volunteers to fund and feed the Jewish poor, and the elderly. Judge Baron’s oldest son Daniel is Yeshivah educated.
Judge Baron is grateful for endorsements by Rabbi Shea Rubenstein, Rabbi Shea Hecht, Rabbi Shimon Hecht, Rabbi Chaim Yosef Pinkesz, Rabbi Avraham Reich, Rabbi Tzvi Twerski, Rabbi Aaron Raskin, Rabbi Bernard Freilich, Rabbi Mendy Hecht, Rabbi Meir Fund, Rabbi Eli Cohen, Rabbi Yehuda Levin, Rabbi Moshe Levin, Rabbi Tamir Zalsman, Baron is the only Jewish candidate running for Surrogate Court. “Growing up in the former Soviet Union, under the corrupt and frightening rule of the Communist Party, there was no opportunity for me to explore my Jewish identity or to receive a formal Jewish education. That is why I sent my son to Yeshiva, to learn our traditions, family values, and a commitment to public service. My grandmother, a doctor, saw more than 100 patients a day, and still found the strength to volunteer, visiting the sick in their homes.”
Very few people are expected to vote in the June 25th primary election. It is the civil obligation of every Jew to vote and if you are going away, make sure you vote by an absentee ballot. If you are going to your summer home before June 25th you must vote by absentee ballot. The number to order an application for an absentee voting ballot is 866-Vote-NYC. Once you receive in the mail and mail back the Board of Elections will send you back a voting ballot that must be filled by June 25th Primary Day.
Come out to the polls and vote in this Democratic Primary to elect Judge Elena Baron for Brooklyn Surrogate! She has taken on the remarkable challenge of running for Surrogate Judge because she believes that there is no greater service that she can render to her community. Each vote is important. Your vote is important.
VOTE IN THE DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY ON JUNE 25TH FOR JUDGE ELENA BARON FOR SURROGATE JUDGE!
You can’t vote if you are not registered – CH needs a SERIOUS Voter Registration Drive !!
My understanding is that it is “better” to register as a Democrat – even if you plan to vote Republican in general elections. Maybe someone with knowledge of politics can explain that…. Moshiach should come first but every eligible voter (that includes our kids who learn out-of town but could vote thru Absentee ballots – many hundreds of votes right there) must be able to vote in 2020. Please don’t tell me I should organize this – I am a Bubby BH.
Dear Bubby, To answer your question on why CH Jews should register as a democrat and vote Republican if they wish in the general, one must understand the election process. The Democratic primary is an election which determines which democrat candidate will run for office in the general election. Since the local district is overwhelmingly black and democrat (approximately 75% black and 90% democrat), the winning candidate will be black and democratic in the general. Based upon statistics from Community District 9 (CH), 76% of people are African-American and 11% are white. The goal is for the Jewish community to… Read more »