Baltimore Jewish Home 1-22-15 by Moshe Rubin

Around the Community

Etz Chaim’s Inspiring “Day at Yeshiva!”

BaltimoreJewishHome THE

‫ טז׳ שבט‬- ‫ב׳ שבט‬

PAGE 15

Khal Ahavas Yisroel Tzemach Tzedek Holds Annual Siyum-Melaveh Malkah

PAGE 12

NCSY’s 40th Annual Isaac H. Taylor Jewish Music Festival Honors Rabbi Yitzchok and Edit Dinovitzer PAGE 10

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THE BALTIMORE JEWISH HOME JANUARY 22, 2015

CONTENTS COMMUNITY

THE BALTIMORE JEWISH HOME

JANUARY 22, 2015

Around the Community . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

JEWISH THOUGHT A Parsha Thought. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Parenting Today. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

HUMOR & ENTERTAINMENT Centerfold. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Notable Quotes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

COVER STORY Winter Staycation Guide. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 MY Friend, My Rebbe. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

LIFESTYLES In the Kitchen: A Winter Wonderland. . . . . . . . . . . . 35 30 Quick and Easy House Cleaning Tips. . . . . . . . . 39 A Closer Look at Some of Florida’s Newest Eateries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Forgotten Heroes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

NEWS Global News. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 National News. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 That’s Odd. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Dear Readers, This week is our vacation issue, as this week is midwinter vacation for many local schools. Some families will be heading to sunnier and warmer pastures. If you are, don’t forget to bring your BJH on the flight and check out the reviews on some of Florida’s newest restaurants. To me winter break always meant relaxing mornings and lazy days. Some years we would head out of town for a change of scenery, some years it was just small day trips. The destination wasn’t even the most important place; it was about being together with family and friends. For children, winter break is a respite from the monotony of their school schedule. It’s a time to spend more time with friends and family and a time to recharge and refresh during the long winter months. If you’re staying home this week, make sure to take advantage of the great ides some of our writers put together. There are great projects to do together, wonderful activities for friends to enjoy, and innovative ideas of how to make the days more fun. Be creative and let your imagination take flight! I bet you won’t be hearing any “I’m so bored!” this vacation. There is so much to do to fill the few days off.

ISRAEL Israel News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Have a great week and the time spent together, Yaakov

The Baltimore Jewish Home is an independent bi-weekly newspaper. Opinions expressed by writers are not necessarily the opinions of the publisher or editor. The Baltimore Jewish Home is not responsible for typographical errors, or for the kashrus of any product or business advertised within. The BJH contains words of Torah. Please treat accordingly.

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THE BALTIMORE JEWISH HOME

JANUARY 22, 2015

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Community

Rabbi Uri Zohar Visits Bnos Yisroel On Tuesday, Bnos Yisroel staff members and students in grade eight through twelve were privileged to hear a moving, inspirational message from Rabbi Uri Zohar. Rabbi Zohar,

who changed the entire course of his own life, and works to bring other Jews back to Yiddishkeit, urged our girls to also be “baalei teshuva,” and do something small each day to bring

themselves closer to Hashem. He spoke about having a real relationship with Hashem, which extends beyond the basic parameters of performing routine mitzvos. He concluded with a

meaningful bracha. Thank you to Mr. Jason Reitberger for his involvement in making this visit a reality.

”Chinuch Together” at Yeshivas Kochav Yitzchok/Torah Institute of Baltimore “Chinuch Together” is the theme of the Yeshivas Kochav Yitzchok/ Torah Institute of Baltimore 62nd Anniversary Banquet and indeed parents are coming together and showing

their support for their sons’ Chinuch. In the past weeks, close to 40 YKY/TI parents arranged three successful Banquet Call-a-thons, promoting the Banquet and raising funds for the Cheder. YKY/TI parents Mr. and Mrs. Dovid Feinberg and Rabbi and Mrs. Daniel Ely respectively hosted

the first two Call-a-thons, while the third was held at DC Dental thanks to YKY/TI parent Aaron Friedman, Vice President of Sales and Marketing, who serves on the Banquet Committee. “It was a great start to a much anticipated, and what is sure to be, successful Banquet” said Dovid Feinberg who hosted the first Calla-thon. Banquet Committee member Mickey Katz added “the ruach was really great!” Aside from promoting the Banquet, parents had a nice time getting to know each other while developing their leadership skills and working together to make an impact for their children’s Chinuch. During each Call-a-thon, participating parents enjoyed a delicious breakfast buffet which definitely added to the ruach. The Banquet is a time for parents, rebbeim, moros, teachers, staff, alumni, grandparents and friends to come together and celebrate the special partnership and connection they have with the Cheder and educating our community’s children. This year’s Banquet will have an exciting new program and feature the renowned Mezamrim choir from New York,

who will enhance the evening with beautiful and heartfelt zemiros. Rabbi Daniel Skurnik, YKY/TI ‘s Director of Development, commented that

“our Banquet Committee and subcommittees are devoted and talented individuals who have invested a great deal of time and energy into creating an uplifting and enjoyable event that will prove to be a memorable evening for our Cheder and community” This year’s distinguished honorees are Rabbi and Mrs. Shimon Hirsch and Mr. and Mrs. Asher Sondhelm. Rabbi Hirsch was a long-time beloved Eighth Grade Rebbi who dedicated himself to his talmidim and their growth. Eighth grade is an especially important time for talmidim, as they prepare themselves for Mesivta. Rabbi Hirsch, which his special mid-

Latte at Ben Yehuda Advisor-led sessions at latte produced thought-provoking discussions on various topics in Judaism, including current events and Jewish philosophies. It was a great turnout despite

the cold. We hope it continues into the next few weeks when our JTED students deliver their presentation on Jewish topics.

dah of “Deracheha Darchei Noam”, helped numerous talmidim and their parents navigate that journey. Rabbi Hirsch is now the Sgan Menahel for Grades 5-8 and is having a large impact for hundreds of talmidim and their Rebbeim daily. Mrs. Hirsch makes her own impact on Klal Yisroel as a devoted mechaneches in Bnos Yisroel High School. Asher Sondhelm’s involvement in the Cheder goes back over 30 years, when he himself was a talmid. After moving back to Baltimore from Eretz Yisroel in 2005, the Sondhelms chose to send their son to YKY/TI as they felt the Cheder resonated with a similar ruach to the chinuch of Eretz Yisroel. In addition, Asher cherished his relationships with his rebbeim when he has a talmid in the Cheder and wanted his son to share in that experience as well. Mrs. Sondhelm is an active community member and serves as the director of Bais Yaakov’s Ladies Auxiliary. For more information about the YKY/TI Banquet, please call 410.654.3500 x1011 or go to www. torahinstitute.org

THE BALTIMORE JEWISH HOME JANUARY 22, 2015

THE BALTIMORE JEWISH HOME

JANUARY 22, 2015

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NCSY’s 40th Annual Isaac H. Taylor Jewish Music Festival Honors Rabbi Yitzchok and Edith Dinovitzer BaltimoreJewishLife.com/Jeff Cohn The arrival of the Dinovitzer family kicked off the beautiful evening marking NCSY’s 40th annual Isaac H. Taylor Jewish Music Festival, Sunday night, January 4th 2015. Honoring Rabbi Yitzchok and Edit Dinovitzer and featuring the musical talent of Eig8th Day and Yeshiva Boys Choir, this NCSY concert was the most enjoyable yet! The event began with a beautiful VIP reception filled to the brim with NCSY supporters, all uniting for a shared passion for Jewish outreach and a deep sense of gratitude for the Dinvoitzers’ 30+ years (and counting!) of service to K’lal Yisroel. After greetings from Dana Sicherman,

Atlantic Seaboard NCSY’s Director of Institutional Advancement, the evening was turned over to the concert co-hosts, Jerry Wolasky and Dovid Meir Loeb. With brief remarks the VIP’s also heard a moving and emotional speech of thanks from Rabbi Dinovitzer, as well as from local teen, Jasmine Kerbel, who has been deeply impacted by the work of NCSY. Ending just minutes before the concert began, the VIP’s were ushered downstairs taking their seats among the 2200 other concert-goers in attendance. With a prompt on-time start at 6:30pm on the mark, the NCSY concert was kicked off with co-hosts Azi Rosenbloom and Atlantic Seaboard

teen regional president, Aaron Burstyn-with greetings from the chairman Dr. Michael Elman and NCSY Regional Director Rabbi Jonah Lerner. With a very brief program including an inspiring video about the Dinovitzer’s profound contribution to K’lal Yisroel, as well as a poignant tribute to the concert’s benefactor, Dr. Irving Taylor who passed away just weeks before, Eig8th Day enthusiastically began their performance by 6:45! The packed house was radiating energy as both musical acts had an interwoven performance. From their newest hits to the crowd-pleasing favorites, Yeshiva Boys Choir and 8th Day were incredible and left the con-

cert attendees cheering for more! While incredibly entertaining and enjoyable - the NCSY concert is about far more than a fun night out with great music. As Aaron Burstyn said in his brief remarks during the concert, “As I look towards the future I feel incredibly hopeful for what we, as a people, can accomplish—and what my role in that can be. I want to thank everyone here tonight for playing their part in making this incredible organization not only survive, but thrive. Because of my time in NCSY, I feel ready to take on all the challenges that lay ahead of me—and the future of K’lal Yisrael.”

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Khal Ahavas Yisroel Tzemach Tzedek Holds Annual Siyum-Melaveh Malkah BaltimoreJewishLife.com/Jeff Cohn On January 3rd, Khal Ahavas Yisroel Tzemach Tzedek, under the leadership of Rabbi Dovid Heber, shlita, held its annual Siyum Mishnayos Melaveh Malkah. This year, KAYTT honored Dr. and Mrs. Stanley Katz and Rabbi Aryeh Rosen. The evening started out with in-

dek. Rabbi Gross explained that the Tzemach Tzedek HaKadmon wrote that “tzemach tzedek” refers to limud haTorah, as there is growth and flourishing of Torah when the learning and the chiddushim are true.” “Ahavas Yisroel,” Rabbi Gross said, is required for more than just creating feelings of love and unity. In Hilchos Rosh Ha-

is to be blown are incorporated and the blowing will be same everywhere. The sensitivity to unity is important by Shofar as Hashem can only be a true king over Bnai Yisroel when they are united, and if we are to be “mamlich” Hashem on Rosh HaShana with the shofar, it needs to be done with unity. Aha-

occurred supernaturally. The growth of the shul, Rabbi Heber noted, with the efforts of individuals like Dr. Katz and Rabbi Rosen, is a continuation of the efforts of Rabbi Feldman zt”l, and contains the “lmaaleh min haTevah”

troductory remarks by the president, Rabbi Yehudah Prero. He noted that Dr. Katz, as a long-time talmid of founding shul Rav Rabbi Mendel Feldman zt”l, and Rabbi Rosen both demonstrate how one can take lessons from their youth and use them to positively influence and benefit others, Dr. Katz by his involvement as a shul “shammos” and candyman, and Rabbi Rosen as the shul youth director. Rabbi Rosen then made the siyum mishnayos, a long time shul tradition for Motzoai Shabbos Parshas Vayechi, begun by Rav Feldman zt”l. The assembled were then privileged to hear from Rabbi Pinchas Gross, Rav of Heichal Melech and one of the editors of Chiddushei Rebbi Yaakov Moshe Kulefsky, zt”l. Rabbi Gross noted that there were two aspects about the melava malka that were notable: that it was also a siyum mishnayos – a celebration of limud hatorah; and that it was a siyum made with the participation of the entire kehilla – a manifestation of achdus and ahavas yisroel. These two aspects, Rabbi Gross said, are actually alluded to by the name of the shul – Ahavas Yisroel Tzemach Tze-

Shana, the Mishna Berura quotes the Ohr Someyach for a reason as to why we have the custom to blow the shofar from the right side of one’s mouth. The Chofetz Chaim never quoted contemporaries in the Mishna Berura, and the reason for this exception according to the Chofetz Chaim’s family Rabbi Gross related, is that after a difference of opinion between the two Gedolim, the Chofetz Chaim wanted to be sure that the Ohr Someach knew that he had no “ta’aneh” with him, so he quoted him in his sefer. The fact that this display of “ahavas yisroel” is connected with Shofar is no coincidence. By Shofar, we blow a number of different sounds so that all opinions as to how the shofar

vas Yisroel is important to establish the melucha of Hashem as well, and Rabbi Gross concluded with a bracha to the kehilla that the limud haTorah with the sense of achdus will indeed accomplish that purpose. After a video presentation in which Dr. Katz and Rabbi Rosen expressed their feelings towards the shul and hakoras hatov, Rabbi Heber made the award presentation. He noted that the Melava Malka has traditionally been held on Motzoai Shabbos Parshas VaYechi. It is a Shabbos Chazak, and in between that week and the next Chazak at the end of Sefer Shmos, we learn of many incidents occurring due to Hashem’s blatant display of hashgacha, in a fashion “lmaaleh min haTeva.” Moshe was saved from death, Basya rescued him, and even the assembly of the Mishkan

element that is highlighted in the parshiyos in Shmos. He thank the honorees, wished them much hatzlacha, and presented them with tokens of appreciation from the shul. Much thanks is due to all those who made the evening a success, including the shul’s vice president, Mosi Treuhaft of the Knish Shop and his wife; Binyomin Waldman, who played the keyboard, N’shei KAYTT who prepared the room, and the young men who served as waiters. It was an inspiring evening, one that highlighted the role of a shul as a makom of Torah and Chesed in the lives of its members, leaving the attendees proud to be part of such a beautiful kehillah.

Photo Credit: Binyamin Ansbacher

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JANUARY 22, 2015

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BaltimoreJewishLife.com/Jeff Cohn

Baltimore community, a day to see up close the famed Yeshivas Ner Yisrael, a day to study in the Beis Medrash filled with hundreds of bochurim and Kollel fellows, and a day to gain an appreciation of the love and generosity that Ner Yisrael demonstrates towards all sectors of the Baltimore Jewish community and beyond. Organized by Rabbi Yisroel Porter and Rabbi Nitzan Bergman from Etz Chaim, with the help of Rabbi Boruch Neuberger of Ner Yisrael, the participants began with a delicious breakfast from Goldberg’s Bagels. During breakfast they had the opportunity to hear from the Rosh HaYeshiva, Harav Aharon Feldman, shlita, who addressed the group about the importance of a healthy self-esteem balanced with the all critical trait of humility. This, he explained, is only possible by understanding that everyone needs to understand that Bshvili Nivra HaOlam, the entire world was created for me. But this also obligates a recognition that another person you may encounter also is saying Bshvili Nivra Haolam, the entire world was worth creating just for me. Recogniz-

ing our self-value while recognizing that all of humanity is deserving our love and recognition allows us to synthesize these two important, yet seemingly contradictory values, and maintain a balance between them. The Rosh HaYeshiva then answered questions on a wide variety of questions. Making their way from the board-

room to the Beis Medrash, many expressed their excitement of entering such a renowned house of Torah for the very first time. Everyone was quickly paired up to learn with Kollel fellows and explored the portion of the Talmud (Brachos 14b) which discusses the reasons for the order of the 3 chapters of the Shema. This was followed by an exciting give and take on the topic led by Rabbi Nitzan Bergman, Executive Director of Etz

Chaim. Following the shiur, Rabbi Sheftel Neuberger, shlita, Menahel of the Yeshiva, gave a fascinating overview of the Yeshiva’s rich history. From Slabodka all the way to Baltimore, he stressed how the Yeshiva continues the tradition of every student being viewed as an individual and guided according their unique strengths. He

also spoke of the amazing growth of the yeshiva form a small handful of boys studying in the Tiferes Yisroel shul in Baltimore’s Forest Park area in 1933 to a vibrant yeshiva of close to 1000 students on a 96 acre campus in 2014. Everyone enjoyed his spellbinding presentation and truly appreciated having the opportunity to hear firsthand about the personalities that shaped the yeshiva to the way it looks

today. Dr. John Sorkin, a participant remarked “Some years ago I was fortunate to begin my journey through the vast sea of Talmud learning with Avi Honigsfeld at the Yeshiva. I hope that our visit will serve as an inspiration to all of us to begin, continue, or rededicate ourselves to our own personal journey. We are fortunate to have in

our community a yeshiva that opens its doors to anyone who has a desire to learn, no matter their level of Torah knowledge, from sheano yodeah l’shol through chacham.” Everyone left the campus with a deeper appreciation of what Ner Yisrael stands for, a deeper appreciation of how Torah is so vibrant and meaningful, and so appreciative of Etz Chaim for organizing such a wonderful opportunity. Allan Kaufman, another participant shared: “Thanks so much for inviting me to your special Ner Israel event where we got to meet and hear from two great leaders on the Jewish American scene: the Rosh Hayeshiva, the Dean of the Yeshiva Rabbi Aharon Feldman and Rabbi Sheftel Neuberger, the President of Ner Israel. They were both so inspiring to me that I look forward to hearing them again, hopefully sooner than later.” It seems that the one question lingering on everyone’s lips was: When will the Etz Chaim’s next “Day at Yeshiva” take place!?

JANUARY 22, 2015

For most teachers, professionals and businessmen, December 25th is a much anticipated day off, but for the participants of Etz Chaim’s recent “Day at Yeshiva” it was anything but a day off, it was a day on! For the more than 20 men from across the Baltimore and Columbia area it was a special opportunity to meet some of the great leaders of the

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Etz Chaim’s Inspiring “Day at Yeshiva!”

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JANUARY 22, 2015

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Opportunity to Invoke The Infinite Zechus of the Chofetz Chaim as Dirshu Prepares for First Daf HaYomi B’Halacha Siyum Exciting New Shiurim Established By Chaim Gold

What do Radin and Venezuela have in common? What is the connection between a new shiur before morning seder in one of Lakewood’s elite chaburos and the kever of the heilige Chofetz Chaim? What do a pre-davening shiur, an evening shiur in Monsey, new shiurim in Marine Park and Chicago have to do with the unique Sefer HaGibborim that will remain permanently at the kever of the Chofetz Chaim? Three questions with one answer! The answer is that they are all related to the mounting world-wide anticipation for the upcoming historic siyum of Dirshu’s first machzor of Daf HaYomi B’Halacha - its highly successful and popular daily learning program of Mishnah Berurah and the mussar sefarim of the Chofetz Chaim - that will transpire in just over two months. An Inseverable Bond and A Once-in-a-Lifetime Opportunity The bond between Dirshu and the heilige Chofetz Chaim, zy”a, is an inseverable one. Dirshu’s Daf HaYomi B’Halacha program of halacha and mussar - endorsed by Gedolei Yisrael worldwide - is devoted to learning the sefarim written by the Chofetz Chaim. The program has brought tens of thousands the world over to learn the Chofetz Chaim’s Mishnah Berurah and mussar sefarim daily. With Dirshu on the cusp of completing the seven-year program of the entire Mishnah Berurah and in the midst of preparations for the historic siyum, a momentous event will take place at the kever of the Chofetz Chaim. The event offers the wider public a unique, onetime opportunity to invoke the tremendous zechus of the Chofetz Chaim. On 12 Shevat/February 1, more than 15 Gedolei Rabbanim and Poskim together with a group of senior members of Dirshu’s hanhala will be travelling to Radin to participate in an exclusive maamad, a maamad that has

the power to immeasurably enrich the lives of both present and future Daf HaYomi B’Halacha participants. The trip, to be undertaken in advance of the siyum, will have a dual purpose. First,

the delegation will visit the Chofetz Chaim’s kever and say, “We are here at the kever of the Chofetz Chaim. We are about to complete the first machzor of daily Mishnah Berurah. In the merit of daily learning the Chofetz Chaim’s Mishnah Berurah and mussar sefarim, Hashem should answer our tefillos!” The Sefer Gibborim-An Opportunity to Access the Zechusim of the Chofetz Chaim The Gemara (Bava Metziah: 85) tells us that when one of the Amoraim was ill, he approached the kever of his Rebbi. Wanting to invoke the powerful zechus of his Rebbi, whose Torah he constantly learned, he approached the kever and said, “I learn your Torah!” The Gemara explains how in that merit, he was healed. Acting on the lesson learned from that Gemara, Dirshu will place the ‘Sefer Gibborim’ in a special place at the kever of the Chofetz Chaim where it will remain. What is the ‘Sefer Gibborim’? It is a sefer containing the names of all current Daf HaYomi B’Halacha learners, as well as any person who accepts upon himself to learn daily halacha with Daf HaYomi B’Halacha and

mussar. The names will be placed at the kever and remain there as an eternal merit for those inscribed in it. It is truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Elite Lakewood Chaburah Starts Daf HaYomi B’Halacha Shiur The public reaction to this opportunity in America, Eretz Yisroel, Europe and elsewhere has been overwhelming! Dirshu’s offices worldwide have been constantly receiving names of both veteran Daf HaYomi B’Halacha learners and countless new members that have undertaken to join now or in the future. The day by day increased public interest and enthusiasm for the Daf HaYomi B’Halacha program is a remarkable testament to its popularity. One of the manifestations of that growth is the numerous new Daf HaYomi B’Halacha shiurim that have opened at the request of the wider public. As always, Dirshu remains committed to opening a shiur for any group that desires one. Recently, additional shiurim have opened in Monsey and Lakewood, with anticipated openings in Chicago, Marine Park and numerous other locales. There is even a Daf HaYomi B’Halacha chaburah of some 25 yungerleit in Caracas, Venezuela! Yes, in far-off Caracas, a daily oasis of halacha and mussar can be found as Daf HaYomi B’Halacha is learned and monthly tests are taken religiously. One of the most exciting recent developments is that in Lakewood, 25 members of the elite Dirshu Chaburah led by Rav Moshe Pruzansky felt that they would gain tremendously from a daily shiur before morning seder in Daf HaYomi B’Halacha. Every day, 25 yungerleit come early, long before the official start of morning seder to get in their daily limud of Daf HaYomi B’Halacha. The maggid shiur, Rav Yisrael Zucker, is a close talmid of the well-known posek, HaGaon HaRav Shlomo Miller, shlita, Rosh Kollel of

the Kollel Avreichim of Toronto and Av Beis Din of the Bais Horaah of Lakewood. In Monsey, two new shiurim have recently begun. The first shiur transpires every morning immediately after Shacharis in Rav Yisroel Hartman’s shul. The story behind that shiur is the Dirshu Kollel that learns Gemara there every morning before Shacharis. The members of the Dirshu Kollel declared that they would very much like to bring practical halacha into their lives on a daily basis. Despite their busy schedules they felt compelled to make time after davening for a Daf HaYomi B’Halacha shiur. The maggid shiur is Rav Shmuel Adler. Another new Monsey shiur is given every evening by Rav Chaim Schabes, Rav of the Knesses Yisroel Shul and one of Monsey’s distinguished Rabbonim. Rav Schabes acquiesced to the request of several baalei batim who greatly wanted to bring daily halacha and the resultant bracha into their lives. Why Not You?! Now there is an absolutely unique opportunity to have your name inscribed for perpetuity in the ‘Sefer Gibborim’ that will be permanently housed at the heilige kever of the Chofetz Chaim! It is an opportunity to join Klal Yisrael’s newest Daf HaYomi, The Daf HaYomi B’Halacha and access the unending zechus of the Chofetz Chaim! The Daf HaYomi B’Halacha is marching and is already nearing the end of Chelek Vav. For seven years, thousands upon thousands of Yidden have taken approximately a half hour out of their schedules to bring halacha and mussar into their lives. Why not you?! To join Daf HaYomi B’Halacha or to access a shiur near you and to get your name placed in the Sefer Gibborim please call Dirshu at 188-5-Dirshu, extension 106, fax to 732-9873949 or e-mail, info@kolleldirshu.org

The Week World’s Richest Account for Half Global Wealth

global agenda, the gap between the richest and the rest is widening fast.” The richest people in the world are giants in the finance, health care, insurance, retail, tech and extractives (oil, gas) industries. Seventy of the world’s wealthiest are men. And 11 members of the elite 80 simply inherited their wealth. This week, the World Economic

Forum will be hosted in Switzerland. More than 2,500 of the world’s rich and powerful are expected to arrive on private jets. They will discuss financial markets and economic trends while dining on the finest food and wine at the Davos’ five-star hotels. More than 1 billion people on this planet live on less than $1.25 a day.

Terror Victim’s Father: Try to Love the Jewish People Even More

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JANUARY 22, 2015

Analysts expect that by next year just a few of the world’s wealthiest people will account for more than half of the world’s total wealth. A new report released on Monday by Oxfam warns that this expanding global disparity will create some preposterous statistics. Using research from Credit Suisse and Forbes’ annual billionaires list, the anti-poverty charity was able to determine that the richest 1 percent of the world’s population currently controls 48 percent of the world’s total wealth. If things continue in this fashion, Oxfam predicts that the most-affluent will possess more wealth than the remaining 99 percent by 2016, The New York Times reported. Eighty of the wealthiest people in the world possess $1.9 trillion, which is almost the same amount shared by 3.5 billion people at the bottom half of the world’s income scale. Thirty-five of those lucky guys are Americans with a combined wealth of $941 billion. Germany and Russia share the second spot, with seven uber-rich individuals each. “Do we really want to live in a world where the 1 percent own more than the rest of us combined?” Oxfam executive director Winnie Byanyima asked in a letter. “The scale of global inequality is quite simply staggering and despite the issues shooting up the

Yoav Hattab, Hy”d, 21, was one of the four victims killed last week in the Paris supermarket, Hyper Cache, after an ISIS attacker stormed in, taking hostages that included women and children. The other three Jewish victims were Phillipe Barham, Yohan Cohen, and François-Michel Saad, Hy”d; all four are buried in Jerusalem. On Friday, Hattab’s father published a letter that said that he knew his son had gone down fighting and that he wasn’t surprised. Hattab was killed after he snatched a rifle from the

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terrorist but the weapon jammed, and he was killed immediately. In a letter published on Chabad. org , Rabbi Binyamin Hattab, the chief rabbi of Tunisia, commended his son’s bravery and commitment to religious tradition. He wrote that last Friday, when the family was informed of the hostage crisis and were told several people had been killed, “I told those around me, in tears, that I was sure Yoav was one of them,” he wrote in Hebrew. “Because Yoav was not one to stand quietly, watch a terrorist try to kill others and let it pass in silence. I was sure he would fight, would do anything he could, even risk his life, to try and stop the savage murderer. And several hours later, it became clear my gut feeling was right.” Hattab also talked about his son’s deep love for Shabbas and how he would encourage his friends to observe it. His last text message before

he entered the Hyper Cache market was to a friend on that particular subject, added his father. “One of the last sentences he typed there was, ‘The situation for Jews in France is not good,’ try to do at least something [for Shabbat],” Binyamin Hattab wrote. Rabbi Hattab concluded with a request “to continue Yoav’s embrace of life, to perpetuate it, to be infected by his love and to try to love the Jewish people even more.”

Swedes Commemorate 70 Years since Wallenberg’s Disappearance

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aging demonstrators to light a candle “for all those who spread light.” Wallenberg was sent as a superior diplomat to the capital of Nazi-controlled Hungary in 1944, and by early 1945, he had issued Swedish papers to thousands of Jews, allowing them to flee the country and escape inevitable death. Just several months before the war ended, the Soviets invaded Budapest and summoned the Swede to their headquarters on January 17, 1945. Wallenberg disappeared and was never seen again. Over a decade later, in 1957, Soviet authorities created a document claiming that a prisoner by the name of Wallenberg had died a decade earlier, but researchers and his family reject this account. Wallenberg’s 93-yearold half-sister Nina Lagergren, who attended Saturday’s memorial, told AFP previously: “It is possible to find the truth.” In Israel, several streets are named after the diplomat and his legacy is commemorated at Yad Vashem, the country’s official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. The government honored Wallenberg in 1986 when he was granted honorary citizenship and named as one of the “Righteous Among Nations,” an honorific reserved for non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews in the Holocaust.

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The Week

Close to 200 people congregated in Stockholm on Saturday to light candles and honor the 70th anniversary of the disappearance of Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg, who saved tens of thousands of Jews from the Holocaust. “It’s important to be here and to remember, not only because he saved the lives of Jews, but also because he is a model of civic courage,” said Lisa Ronnback, 42, who joined the memorial with her daughter. The commemoration was a tribute to “Raoul, and for all those who have made a difference,” said Michael Wernstedt, president of the Raoul Wallenberg Academy, a leadership program. “These past weeks, events have shown that it’s important to defend democracy,” Wernstedt said, encour-

UK Poll: AntiSemitism Keeps Rising

Recent surveys conducted in England show that almost half of British Jews fear they have no long-term fu-

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JANUARY 22, 2015

The Week ture in Britain or Europe. Not surprisingly, another poll taken shows that nearly one in two British people holds anti-Semitic views. The Council Against Anti-Semitism (CAA) conducted the second poll. Of the 3,411 adults surveyed, 45% believed at least one statement defined as anti-Semitic. A quarter of those polled believed Jewish people chase money more than other Britons. Additionally, 17% thought Jews had too much power in the media, and 13% said Jews talked about the Holocaust to garner sympathy from others. “The results of our survey are a shocking wake-up call straight after the atrocities in Paris,” said CAA chairman Gideon Falter. “Britain is at a tipping point. Unless anti-Semitism is met with zero tolerance, it will grow and British Jews will increasingly question their place in their own country.” The CAA said 2014 saw the most anti-Semitic incidents recorded by po-

lice since records began 30 years ago. Official figures from London’s metropolitan police showed anti-Semitic crimes more than doubled in the capital between November 2013 and November 2014, compared to the same period a year earlier.

As Violence Rises, So Does Saudi Wall

One way to keep your ISIS neighbors out? Build a thousand kilometer

In News wall around your country. Saudi Arabia is doing just that. The planned 600-mile wall will run along its entire northern border with Iraq. Work on the wall, a combined fence and six mile (9.6 km) ditch with watchtowers, radar and night-vision cameras, began last September but the kingdom was gripped by a new sense of urgency following an ISIS raid on a Saudi post earlier this month. The jihadist group, whose goal is to build a caliphate in the region and beyond, has set its eyes on Mecca and Medina, the two holiest sites in Islam located in Saudi Arabia. Earlier this month, Saudi Arabia’s Interior Ministry said that one of the attackers who launched a deadly assault on the security patrol near the Iraqi border was a Saudi national who belonged to a “deviant group,” the phrase commonly used by officials to refer to the Islamic State or al-Qaeda. A Saudi spokesman said that the other three gunmen were also Saudi nationals. All four died in the attack, which also killed three border guards. Saudi police have since arrested three Saudis and four Syrians in connection with the January 5 attack.

Muslims Continue Deadly Riots over Cartoon

of expression. With France still reeling from last week’s attacks that claimed 17 lives, jittery European countries stepped up security, with soldiers patrolling the streets of Belgium for the first time in 35 years. But anger mounted in several Muslim countries over the satirical newspaper’s caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed, with days of rioting erupting in Niger, a predominantly Muslim former French colony. Around 1,000 youths wielding iron bars, clubs and axes rampaged through the Niger capital, hurling rocks at police who responded with tear gas. At least eight churches were torched and the French embassy in Niamey urged its citizens to stay at home. “In Niamey, the tally is five dead, all civilians,” Niger’s President Mahamadou Issoufou said in a speech broadcast on state television, as he appealed for calm. The death toll from riots a day earlier in Niger’s second city of Zinder had climbed from four to five after a body was found “burned inside a church,” he added. Some 15,000 people also rallied in Russia’s Muslim North Caucasus region against Charlie Hebdo, which depicted on its most recent cover a weeping Mohammed holding a “Je suis Charlie” sign. The magazine, which has flown off the shelves in record numbers since the attacks, announced it would extend its print run to seven million copies. Before the assault on its Paris headquarters, Charlie Hebdo had a circulation of around 30,000, with only a handful being sold abroad.

Israel Iron Dome Readied for Attack The backlash over Charlie Hebdo’s cartoon of Mohammed is far from over. Five people were killed and churches set on fire in Niger in fresh protests against the French weekly, as France condemned the violence and asserted its commitment to freedom

The Week In News

Hamas Rebuilding Weapons Cache

U.S. Actor Receives Genesis Prize

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According to a recent report, Israeli intelligence officials believe Hamas is manufacturing a “new generation”

Actor Michael Douglas has been named the second recipient of the Genesis Prize, a $1 million award that recognizes great contributions to Jewish culture across the globe. Douglas accepts the award in Jerusalem on June 18 by both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Jewish Agency

JANUARY 22, 2015

of rockets and is reconstructing its cross-border tunnels. Citing unnamed officials, the report maintained that dozens of “high trajectory projectiles,” which constitute a “new generation of home-produced rockets,” have been tested since September. The rockets were recently fired at the Mediterranean in a series of drills. The report is not clear how the rockets are different than earlier models. “The indication suggests Gaza terrorists are experimenting in order to increase rocket launching capabilities,” the IDF said in a statement last year. The unnamed officials further said they believe Hamas was reconstructing the cross-border shafts that were destroyed by Israel during last summer’s war in the Gaza Strip. It said that the terror group was struggling to replenish its weapons supply, as ties between Iran and Sudan — formerly some of its main suppliers — have grown increasingly chilly. Hamas is also recruiting for a “popular army” and has so far signed up some 2,500 volunteers. The Gaza group has also begun restocking its depleted rocket arsenal, media outlets reported last month. According to the reports, Hamas has acknowledged the limited efficacy of its mid- and longer-range rockets, many of which were shot down by Israel’s Iron Dome defense system during the recent war.

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The IDF went on high alert along the northern border this week as the country braced for a possible retaliation for an airstrike that killed six Hezbollah operatives. IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz said the army was prepared and monitoring security developments in the region. The increase in defenses comes a day after an airstrike attributed to Israel killed a senior Hezbollah commander, several members of the Lebanese terror group, and a number of Iranian fighters. “The IDF is prepared, tracking all developments, and ready to act as needed,” Gantz announced. “This statement is not simply a speech — it’s a matter of real operational preparedness.” In the north, several IDF units deployed along the border that were set to go on leave were ordered to stay put. Additionally, several Iron Dome anti-missile batteries were deployed in northern Israel, according to media reports, indicating official fears Hezbollah may attempt to launch rockets at the country. Farmers in the far northern town of Metulla were instructed by the IDF to stay away from their fields that are next to the border. Sources in Hezbollah say that retaliation for the alleged Israeli airstrike was inevitable, but would be restrained enough to not provoke a war. At least six Hezbollah members, including a senior commander, were killed in a reported Israeli helicopter strike in the Syrian Golan Heights.

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The Week Chairman Natan Sharansky. The Genesis Prize is an initiative of the prime minister’s office and the Jewish Agency. Last year’s inaugural Genesis Prize was awarded to former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, himself a billionaire, in a move that raised hackles in some Jewish circles due to Bloomberg’s secular life. Bloomberg is “no more Jewish than the cop on the street who eats a bagel for lunch and picked up some Yiddish… What are these Jewish values that we so vaguely admire?” wrote Jane Eisner, the editor of the Jewish Daily Forward. Bloomberg used his $1 million, which was awarded by comedian Jay Leno, to establish a fellowship called the Genesis Generation Challenge, which is granted to young people seeking to do humanitarian work rooted in Jewish values. The selection committee for this year’s award in-

cluded Sharansky, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Elie Wiesel, Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein and Chief Rabbi of the UK (Emeritus) Lord Jonathan Sacks. This year’s awardee, Douglas, also serves as a United Nations Messenger of Peace and has done extensive work promoting gun control, human rights and nuclear non-proliferation. But his selection is likely to also raise some criticism; his children are not Jewish. In a press release, Douglas said, “I share this award with my family, who encouraged me in my exploration of the Jewish faith. I hope these teachings and values will be part of the legacy in the world that I leave for my children and those who follow.” He plans to donate his prize money toward projects promoting diversity and inclusiveness in Jerusalem.

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Air Attack Takes Out Hezbollah Operatives

An alleged Israeli helicopter airstrike near the Syrian border has killed six members of Hezbollah as well as six Iranian soldiers. Iranian general Mohammad Ali Allahdadi was among those killed in the strike, Iranian officials said. According to Israeli media, Allahdadi, who had previously commanded Iran’s forces in the country’s Yazd province, had recently been reassigned to Syria to provide support for Shiite militias fighting for President Bashar Assad. The operatives killed in the strike included Abu Ali Tabatabai, who was the head of Hezbollah’s offensive operations; Jihad Mughniyeh, the son of Imad Mughniyeh, a senior Hezbollah commander killed in Damascus in 2008; and Mohammed Issa, responsible for the organization’s operations in Syria and Iraq. Tabatabai was considered a central Hezbollah figure and was charged with planning the group’s offensive on Israel’s northern border in a future war — including the invasion and takeover of northern Israeli communities. Mughniyeh was reportedly under the command of Issa, who was responsible for Hezbollah’s forces and fortifications on the Israeli-Syrian border in the Golan Heights. The bases they commanded in Syria contained missiles belonging to the Syrian regime, as well as missiles sent by Iran and Hezbollah. Those weapons were to be used in “a new front” with Israel if Assad were to fall, media outlets said.

National Companies We Love to Hate

It’s ironic that the most hated companies in America still have millions of customers; some of these companies are the most recognized household names. Which companies do Americans love to hate? Well, when employees are unhappy with their jobs it can lead to poor customer service. For example, McDonald’s and Walmart have isolated workers with refusing to increase wages, and as a result customers are unhappy with the service they receive. Wall Street performance can also strongly effect a company’s reputation, a steep fall in share prices can tarnish a company for decades. Companies always have the potential to clean-up their act by fixing whatever “problem” caused their bad standing. Last year, several companies improved enough that the public’s view of them changed significantly and they were removed from the “most hated list”. Both J.C. Penney and Abercrombie & Fitch were able to sway people’s formerly bad view of them. In order to identify the most hated companies in America, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed a variety of metrics on customer service, employee satisfaction, and share price performance. Employee satisfaction based on worker opinion scores was also measured. In addition, any majorly public management decisions or company policies that hurt a company’s public perception were considered. So which companies are the most

The Week

After housing and tuition, most

gross income that is less than 130% of the poverty level, or a net income amount (gross income minus deductions) that’s less than 100% of the poverty level for their family size. According to these guidelines, a family of four may be eligible if they gross less than $2,584 per month ($31,008 per year). Not all things are equal, though. Each state distributes funds to residents who qualify, and the specifications vary from state-to-state. Here are the states (and one city) that have the most residents benefitting from food stamps: 7. Louisiana • Number of food stamp recipients: 868,192 • Percentage of the state’s population on food stamps: 18.67% • Total cost of SNAP benefits: Around $107.4 million

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• Cost of benefits alone per capita in this state: $23.10 6. Tennessee • Number of food stamp recipients: Just over 1.28 million • Percentage of the state’s population on food stamps: 19.58% • Total cost of SNAP benefits $158.7 million • Cost of benefits alone per capita in this state: $24.23 5. Oregon • Number of food stamp recipients: 791,222 • Percentage of the state’s population on food stamps: 19.93% • Total cost of SNAP benefits: $98 million • Cost of benefits alone per capita in this state: $24.66 per person 4. West Virginia • Number of food stamp recipients: 369,249

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Food Stamps Nation

would agree that food is probably the next biggest monthly expense. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, the average grocery bill for a family of four is about $965 per month. Consider kosher food and larger family sizes and it seems like we are unaccounted for in that statistic. Either way, Americans are spending a lot of money on food and many are requiring assistance simply to put bread on their table through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). As of September 2014, there were around 46.5 million individual food stamp recipients (22.7 million households) receiving an average benefit of $123.74 each (around $257 per household), according to USDA Food and Nutrition Service reports. In order to qualify for food stamp benefits, a household has to earn a

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unloved by Americans? General Motors takes the cake as the number one most hated company in the States. Sony Corp, DISH Network, McDonald’s Corporation, and Bank of America Corporation took the top five slots. Uber, Sprint Corp, Spirit Airlines, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. and Comcast Corporation rounded out the top ten.

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JANUARY 22, 2015

The Week • Percentage of the state’s population on food stamps: 19.96% • Total cost of SNAP benefits: Around $45.7 million • Cost of benefits alone per capita in this state: $24.69 per person 3. New Mexico • Number of food stamp recipients: 448,328 • Percentage of the state’s population on food stamps: 21.5% • Total cost of SNAP benefits: Around $55.5 million • Cost of benefits alone per capita in this state: $26.60 per person 2. Mississippi • Number of food stamp recipients: 650,911 • Percentage of the state’s population on food stamps: 21.74% • Total cost of SNAP benefits: Around $80.5 million • Estimated cost of benefits alone per capita in this state: $26.90 per person 1. District of Columbia • Number of food stamp recipients: 144,768 • Percentage of the state’s population on food stamps: 21.97% • Total cost of SNAP benefits: Around $18 million • Estimated cost of benefits alone per capita in this state: $27.19 per person

Easy on the Pizza

Kids love pizza, but just like all good things, pizza is best eaten in moderation. According to a new study published in the medical journal Pediatrics, eating pizza may contribute to higher caloric intake on those days when it is eaten. It can account for more than 20 percent of children’s daily caloric intake and an increase in the amount of saturated fat and salt in children’s diets.

Nutritionist Rachel Beller told ABC News’ “Good Morning America,” that pizza “plays a major role” in weight gain among children. “We are just having too much of some of the wrong ingredients,” she said. “Pizza can be great if it is done right with the right ingredients. It just deserves an upgrade.” Making pizza at home with a thinner crust, veggie toppings and a small amount of cheese can make it a healthier option. Don’t give up on this easy, yummy dinner, though. My advice? Have a slice or two—but don’t make it a daily habit.

In News might smack him,” she said. Phillips initially told Hayes that she was 19 and his family believed her. After dating for a few months, she finally told him she was only 13. When they left home, Hayes was already facing burglary and theft charges in his home country. On January 5 he was supposed to go to the local judicial center to see if the grand jury had indicted him, but by that time, he and Phillips has already fled.

The Best and Worst Schools in America

Crime Spree Teens Finally Found

After a nearly two week crime spree around the nation, Dalton Hayes, 18, and Cheyenne Phillips, 13, were finally arrested by police after being found sleeping in a stolen vehicle in Panama City Beach, Florida, late Saturday night. Hayes agreed to a quick hearing on Monday morning and will be returning to his state of Kentucky to face charges. He will face burglary, criminal trespassing and custodial interference charges, according to Grayson County, Kentucky, Sheriff Normam Chaffins. Phillips will face the same charges, “but she’ll be treated differently than Dalton because he is an adult,” Chaffins said Sunday. The pair is suspected of stealing three cars during a crime spree across multiple states. The teens were first found to be missing on January 3. Their parents say they do not know why they left home. Tammy Martin, Hayes’ mother, says she’s relieved that they have finally been found. “The first thing I’m going to do when I see him is hug him and tell him I love him, and then I

There’s been a lot of buzz about the Common Core State Standards; students are pressured by them, parents are frustrated with them, and teachers are overwhelmed by them. The Standards were compiled by the Council of Chief State School Officers and the National Governors Association. The goal of the Common Core is to ensure that all American children receive an equal opportunity to a quality and comprehensive education that will prepare them for their college and professional careers. According to this year’s edition of Quality Counts released by Education Week, the nation is on the right track to achieving that goal. This year, America received a C for its school systems, up from a C- last year. This year, no state scored a failing grade; last year, Mississippi did. Education Week’s grading rubric incorporates three components: chance for success, K-12 achievement, and school finances. According to Sterling Lloyd, senior research associate at the Education Week Research Center, the new index looks at a range of factors to assess education’s impact from “cradle to career.”

Chance for Success refers to data on family income, parent education and employment, child schooling, state’s graduation rates, and employment opportunities after college. The finances category incorporates metrics on cost-adjusted per-pupil spending and how equitably spending was distributed across districts in the state, and the K-12 Achievement category uses test score data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress. So which state received the highest scores for education for their children? Massachusetts Overall grade: B Per-pupil spending: $13,157 (16th highest) High school graduation rate: 86.0% (12th highest) New Jersey Overall grade: B Per-pupil spending: $15,421 (5th highest) High school graduation rate: 87.0% (9th highest) Maryland Overall grade: B Per-pupil spending: $12,435 (18th highest) High school graduation rate: 84.0% (16th highest) Vermont Overall grade: B Per-pupil spending: $18,882 (the highest) High school graduation rate: 93.0% (the highest) New Hampshire Overall grade: BPer-pupil spending: $14,561 (8th highest) High school graduation rate: 87.0% (9th highest) Connecticut, Wyoming, Pennsylvania, New York and Minnesota rounded out the ten states that offer children the best education in the nation. New York spent the fourth highest in in the nation per pupil: $17,326, and 78% of high schoolers graduated from the school system. Mississippi has the worst education in the nation for students in the state. It only spent $9,587 per student in the nation—the 15th lowest— and has the second lowest high school graduation rate—68%. Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Arizona rounded out the top five states with the worst education in the nation.

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JANUARY 22, 2015

The Week Cuomo Plans Trip to Cuba

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo will lead one of the first trade missions to Cuba from the United States since the Obama administration loosened travel and trade restrictions on the Communist-ruled Caribbean island. The Democratic governor will be promoting an initiative which seeks to attract foreign investment to New York

In News

State, spokeswoman Melissa DeRosa said. “As part of the Global NY initiative, Governor Cuomo plans to lead a trade mission to Cuba. This is one of several such trips promoting New York that he plans to take in the coming term,” she said. Cuomo will be among the first high-profile U.S. politicians to visit Cuba since last month’s policy shift. As of now, there are no specific details about his upcoming trip. The announcement came as Vermont Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy set off on the first congressional mission to Cuba following Obama’s announcement on December 17 that Washington would start normalizing ties with its old Cold War foe. A package of new rules came into effect on Friday implementing Obama’s policy shift by opening up the island to expanded U.S. travel, trade and financial activities.

Insight

More Gun Deaths Expected in 2015 than Car Deaths

In 2012, automobiles killed 33,561 people, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. It seems that cars may becoming more deadly than gunfire. Firearms killed 32,251 people in 2011, accord-

ing to the Centers for Disease Control’s data. But now, experts expect that this year gun deaths will surpass car deaths. According to a Center for American Progress report, which cites CDC data, guns will kill more Americans under 25 than cars in 2015. More than 25% of teenagers, 15 years old and up, who die of injuries in the United States are killed in gun-related incidents, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. In a similar analysis and forecast by Bloomberg three years ago, shooting deaths in 2015 “will probably rise to almost 33,000, and those related to autos will decline to about 32,000, based on the 10-year average trend.” The Economist, which wrote about the projection over the weekend said, “Comparing the two national icons, cars and guns, yields ‘a statistic that really resonates with people,’ says

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The Week

Delivering a Whole Lot of Thanks

Mama mia! That’s a whole lot of dough! When Rob delivered pizza to a group of real estate agents in Ann Arbor, Michigan, he got a whole lot of change. The group wanted to show their appreciation for someone in the service industry, so Rob was the lucky guy of the day. The group tipped him

Gorgeous People Eat Here Gratis Calling all pretty people. If you’re hungry, you’re in luck. Because now you get to have your cake and eat it too—and you won’t have to pay for it. In Jeju Island, a Korean restaurant in Zhengzhou, China, the 50 best-looking diners eat each day for free. Yes, you heard that right. If you’re beautiful, they want you to chow down at their eatery. Before eating, diners go to a special “beauty identification area,” where there is a camera and a touch screen pad. Guests are photographed and a panel of local cosmetic surgeons then evaluates their looks. Those deemed the most beautiful get to eat gratis. The rest of the guests? Well, maybe they haven’t won the beauty contest, but wait, they’re just there for the food, right? Believe it or not, this crazy concept is nothing new. Side, a boutique hotel in Hamburg, Germany, has a special that lets guests pay their weight in euros—the less you weigh, the less you pay. Leave it to the Germans to make you suck in your stomach when you’re trying to have a relaxing vacation. Back in China, officials have noticed that the restaurant’s promotion has been bringing down the city’s reputation and have demolished the eatery’s “Free meal for good-looking” sign last week. Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder and we all know that there’s no such thing as a free lunch— no matter how gorgeous you truly are.

Skirting the Issue It’s not easy shoplifting a flat screen TV, but a woman in Costa Rica had no problem nabbing the large item from a store while her friend stood guard. She calmly walked over to the boxed television, placed it between her legs and under her long, flowing skirt, and then sauntered out of the store. The duo was only in the store for 13 seconds and police are still stumped, asking the public for their help in catching the two who made off with the TV in November. Some have been calling her the “swallower of televisions.” A video of her ingenious theft has been viewed 600,000 times by incredulous viewers around the world who are marveling at their audaciousness. Wondering if she’s watching the video of herself on her new TV.

Man Dies After 3 Day Gaming Binge

Sometimes, too much play can be fatal. A Taiwanese man died after a three day gaming binge at an internet café this week. Sadly, this is not the first time this has occurred. It was the second such case this year. Hsieh, 32, was found slumped in his chair in the café in Kaohsiung city. Those around him first thought he was sleeping. When they finally realized

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That’s Odd

$2,084 for delivering just one pie. “All I did was deliver pizza,” a stunned Rob said. It wasn’t all cold, hard cash. Rob was the lucky recipient of a Visa gift card, lottery tickets and letters of encouragement. Brian LeFevre, delivery manager at Pizza House in Ann Arbor, says the delivery man was “ecstatic.” “That’s a pretty good day’s work” for just one pizza. Now that’s one special delivery.

In News

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Chelsea Parsons, co-author of the report for the Centre for American Progress. Resonance is certainly needed. There are about 320 [million] people in the United States, and nearly as many civilian firearms. And although the actual rate of gun ownership is declining, enthusiasts are keeping up the number in circulation.” The good news is that Americans are being safer when driving but this revelation also highlight America’s increasing gun problem. As fewer young people hit the roads and car safety technology improves, the number of fatalities on our streets continues to decrease. CDC data regarding firearms offers a more complicated picture. Gun deaths can include suicides, homicides, accidental firearms discharges, and even legal killings. While the number of firearm homicides fell considerably over a 20-year period ending in 2011, the percentage of violent crimes involving firearms has stayed fairly constant, according to the 2013 survey.

THE BALTIMORE JEWISH HOME

JANUARY 22, 2015

The Week he was not breathing, they rushed him to the hospital, but he did not survive. Doctors confirmed he had suffered cardiac failure, ruling it a “sudden death” from prolonged computer gaming, the report said. They also noted that he probably died a few hours before patrons noticed his motionless body. “Hsieh was a regular customer here and always played for consecutive days. When tired, he would sleep face down on the table or doze off slumped in his chair. That is why we were not aware of his condition in the beginning,” an employee said. The death came after a 38-yearold man was found dead at an internet cafe in New Taipei City on January 1 following five days straight of video game binging. In both cases police said that other patrons appeared nonchalant about the deaths, continuing to play even when tables were cordoned off for investigators to gather evidence.

Birthday Party No-Show Fee

In Britain, they take their 5-yearold birthday parties really seriously. If you miss them, well, you just better not miss them! Derek Nash related that his son Alex was invited to a birthday party at a ski center before vacation this year. He confirmed that his son could attend, but then realized that Alex had scheduled to go out with his grandparents and sister that day. Unfortunately, he did not call the hosts to tell them that Alex could not attend. On January 15, Alex came home from school with an invoice in his bag with an itemized “no show fee” bill for

his dad. He has to cough up $25 for not attending—and he may be facing a lawsuit for not complying. “I am lost for words,” Derek related. She should have spoken to Derek first, he said. “I would have sympathized with her about the cost of Alex not showing up, but I just can’t believe the way she has gone around it,” he added.

In News $100M: Most Expensive Apartment in NYC

It goes without saying that the birthday boy and Alex are no longer friends. You know what they say: every party has a pooper—that’s why we’re sending you this bill.

DWE

“License and registration.” “Officer, what have I done wrong?” “Well, you’ve been DWE.” “What?! I never heard of that! I’m not even doing anything!” “Sir, will you step out of the vehicle and put down the cheeseburger. I need to place it in an evidence bag.” “This is crazy!” Recently, a man was cited for distracted driving in Georgia while eating a cheeseburger behind the wheel. “Maybe I was enjoying the burger too much. I needed to tone it down,” driver Madison Turner admitted. “I was certainly willing to do so but I didn’t expect to be fined or punished.” Despite his exuberance while eating his lunch, his attorney expects the case to be overturned since many drivers eat and drive. “I’ve only seen something like this charge when there’s an accident,” attorney William Head said. “There was no accident here, so the fact that this man was charged with eating and driving is a first for me.”

Move over Ekaterina Rybolovleva. There’s a new kid in town. Last week, a mystery buyer dropped a jaw-dropping $100.47 million for the penthouse apartment at 157 W. 57th Street. The sale broke the record for the most expensive apartment ever sold in Manhattan. It’s the first single-family home to sell for more than $100 million in the city’s history. The crown jewel of “Billionaires’ Row” takes up the entire 89th and 90th floors of One57, the towering apartment tower that overlooks Central Park. Ekaterina Rybolovleva, daughter of Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev, held the previous record for most expensive NYC apartment. She paid $88 million for a condo at 15 Central Park West less than four years ago, around $13,000 a square foot. The new owner at One57 actually is only paying $9,000 a square foot—a bargain. The striking, 11,000-square-foot residence has six bedrooms, seven bathrooms (with custom Italian baths) and two powder rooms, along with magnificent views of Central Park and New York City, soaring ceilings and rosewood flooring. Residents of the tower are also able to use the gym, pool and Jacuzzi, a steam room, library and a screening room. At that price, let’s hope the gym can come to you.

A Pretty Penny

This penny is worth way more than one cent. Last week, a Beverly Hills rare coin dealer purchased a 1792 American penny for nearly $2.6 million, the most ever paid for a one-cent piece at auction. Named after its engraver, Robert Birch, the so-called “Birch Cent” was among the first pennies struck for the United States, part of a series of prototype coins. And they’re really rare: only ten are believed to exist and collector Kevin Lipton said the coin he purchased is in the best condition of those ten. “I felt elated, just wonderful,” Lipton, 65, of Lipton Rare Coins Inc. said last Monday of his winning bid. “I thought the coin would bring more money. This was a really good buy.” One side of the Birch Cent features the profile of Lady Liberty with flowing hair and the motto “Liberty Parent of Science and Industry.” The other side says “United States of America” and gives the denomination “One Cent” within a wreath. “It’s a gorgeous coin, breathtaking,” Lipton said. “And the history is important. This is our earliest depiction of what we thought of ourselves as a nation.” Jim Halperin, co-chairman of Liberty Auctions, said the $2,585,000 Lipton paid for the coin tops a record set the day before at the same auction: $2.35 million for a 1793 “chain cent,” named after the chains around the denomination. Before that, the record was $1.38 million, also for a “chain cent,” in 2012, Halperin said. Lipton, who plans to hold onto his new purchase for himself for now, said he was so excited to get the coin that the next day he spent another $2,232,500 for the “Wright quarter,” America’s first quarter. “For 26 cents,” he said, “I spent $4.8 million.” Makes a whole lotta “cents.”

Yeshiva break is here and with it comes a lot of scrambling – what do we do every day? Here are some delicious projects your children will enjoy – have them invite over a few friends – and for once, let them play with their food!

JANUARY 22, 2015

by Esther Ottensoser

THE BALTIMORE JEWISH HOME

Playing with your Food!

T h eTHE Jew i s h h oHOME m e n m ayJANUARY 2 4 , 201223, 2014 JEWISH

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T h e J e w i s h h o m e n m ay 2 4 , 2012

When I attended Kosherfest this year, it was with the intention of finding new and exciting products to pass onto my readers. To my delight I encountered the Paskesz candy company first. Right away I knew I was off to a good start! Once again Paskesz has put on the market a new and original candy that’s sure to be a big hit. For one who enjoys creative food crafting, these new Eats ‘n Crafts are a winner for you! (Not to mention they taste great, too!) Edible lanyard, lacing cookies, weaving, pom poms… the ideas are endless. The following are some actual samples that I have tried. Remember, the sky’s the limit—let your imagination soar!

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JANUARY 22, 2015

“lace” Cookies

Supplies: Cookie dough Large cookie cutter Straw Eats ‘n Crafts in multiple colors Directions: Roll out the cookie dough. Using your cookie cutter, cut out shapes. Before baking, use a straw to make holes for lacing. (Move the straw around a little in the hole in a circular motion to enlarge the hole. If the

hole closes up after baking, re-poke the hole as soon as you remove from the oven.) The holes should be approximately ¼” from the edge of the cookie. Once baked and cool, tie a knot at one end of the Eats ‘n Crafts and begin “stitching” around the cookie.

Cookie weave Supplies: Larger size sandwich cookie Melted chocolate Toothpicks Eats ‘n Crafts in multiple colors Directions: Open up the sandwich cookie and remove the cream filling. Place ½ tsp of melted chocolate in the center of one half. Arrange 12 toothpicks as in photo. Allow to dry completely. Place another ½ tsp of melted

chocolate over the toothpicks and cover the cookie with the other half of the cookie. Allow to dry completely. Knot together 8 strands of Eats ‘n Crafts. Begin weaving the Eats ‘n Crafts around the cookie, keeping all knots to the back. When done, tuck the end of the Eats ‘n Crafts to the back end.

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Supplies: 3 or 4 strands of Eats ‘n Crafts Directions: Knot the strands of Eats ‘n Crafts together on one end. Each one of the strands will “take turns” wrapping the other strands. Take one strand

of the knotted Eats ‘n Crafts and wrap it around the other strands (about 1”). Next, take another one of the strands and wrap it around the other strands. Continue until pattern is complete. Knot all strands together at the end.

My grandmother taught me to crochet with my fingers when I was 5 or 6-years-old. I used basic yarn to make bracelet after bracelet. Learning how to make a crocheted chain is the first step in learning how to crochet. This is a fun and easy stitch to teach young children. Directions: Make a slip knot at one end of a strand of Eats ‘n Crafts. Place your finger in the knot and pull the longer string to make sure the loop is snug. Take the longer string and wrap it over your finger, above the loop and around. Carefully bring the bottom loop over the top loop until it is all the way over. Use the longer string to ensure the remaining loop is snug around your finger. The new loop you formed will now be the bottom loop. Repeat the process, pulling the bottom loop over the top loop.

Zipper Stitch Supplies: 2 strands of Eats ‘n Crafts for core strands (zipper tracks) 1 strand of Eats ‘n Crafts for working strand Directions: Tie all strands together at one end. Turn the working strand over the first core strand and under second core strand toward the right. Pull taut.

Then turn the working strand over the second core strand and under next core strand toward the left. Pull taut. Repeat until you reach desired length. Tie a knot at the end.

JANUARY 22, 2015

Easy Finger Crocheting

THE BALTIMORE JEWISH HOME

Here is a fun, easy and impressive-looking design. As a young girl, I used to enjoy doing this with telephone wires.

T hTHE e J e JEWISH w i s h h oHOME m e n m ay 2 4 , 2012 JANUARY 23, 2014

indian Bead Stitch

9268 JANUARY 23, 2014

T h e J e w i s h h o m e n m ay 2 4 , 2012

In the Kitchen

t h e n i K s i e t i c k h o e o n C

THE JEWISH HOME

THE BALTIMORE JEWISH HOME

JANUARY 22, 2015

Kids home from school this week? Why not spend a few hours in the kitchen and whip up some yummy cookies? Try something that suits their fancy or maybe even try them all! And after all that work, reward them with a tall, refreshing milkshake. Sounds like a great vacation day!

Soft ‘n Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Thumbprint Cookies

Ingredients 1/4 cups flour ½ teaspoon baking soda 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter or margarine, room temperature ½ cup sugar 1 cup packed light-brown sugar 1 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 large eggs 2 cups (about 12 ounces) semisweet and/or milk chocolate chips

Ingredients 1 cup butter or margarine, room temperature ½ cup sugar 1 egg 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Pinch salt 2 cups flour 1 cup chopped nuts, optional ¾ cup raspberry jam or your favorite jam

Preparation Preheat oven to 350°. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and baking soda; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter with both sugars; beat until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low; add the salt, vanilla, and eggs. Beat until well mixed, about 1 minute. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips. Drop heaping tablespoon-size balls of dough about 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake until cookies are golden around the edges, but still soft in the center, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven, and let cool on baking sheet 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, and let cool completely.

Preparation Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Cream the margarine or butter and sugar until well incorporated. Separate the eggs. Add the yolks and vanilla and mix well. If using nuts, place the egg whites in a shallow dish and whisk until bubbly and frothy. Add the flour and salt. Mix until just combined. Place the dough in the fridge for 30 minutes. Roll the dough into 1-inch balls. If using nuts, dip dough into egg whites and then rolls in nuts until covered. Press down with your thumb to make a small well in the center of the cookie. Fill with ½ teaspoon of jam. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until slightly firm. Allow to cool before moving to wire rack to finish cooling. For a fun time, you can put a small square of chocolate or caramel in the center instead of the jam. Yum!

Cover Story

s d n e i r F n ‘ n u F

Staying home this vacation? Spend the day No problem! indoors and h ave a great tim e with your frie with these am nds azing stay-cati on ideas!

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Scavenger Hunt

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we’re going on a treasure hunt, we’r e going on a treas hunt! with just a ure little bit of prepar ation, your day ca be filled with lots n of fun! the night before, plan the hu with your parents. nt they can help you with the clues, usin pictures or cute rid g dles. don’t listen in—you want to en the fun, too! whe joy n your friends com e, split up into team and search around s the house for “bur ied treasure.” whe each clue is found, n a small prize is give n to the team that found it first. the last clue holds the treasure—filled w small toys and prize ith s for everyone! X marks the spot!

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when having a sn ack, keep up the th eme by playing “i you can give ever spy.” yone a turn by go in g around the circle and giving each pe rson a turn to be th e “i spy” leader.

manicures and pe dicures! bottles of nail polish in diffe colors can create ho rent urs of fun! experim ent with different designs, alternate colors of polish, an d then start again! sure to keep loads make of nail polish remov er within reach an place a mat on the d floor to prevent sp ills. have a stack cheap flip flops on of hand, and keep tw o small fans and m zines on the side fo agar your “drying stat ion.”

AC TIvIT y #2:

beauty salon beau ties—your friends will love to have th hair blow dried an eir d curled. know ho w to french braid or make a twist? take turns making each other’s hair curly, straight and fantab ulous! make sure to take pictures so yo can remember yo u ur handiwork!

JANUARY 22, 2015

Spa Day

THE BALTIMORE JEWISH HOME

THE JEWISH T h e J e wHOME i s h h o mJANUARY e n m ay 23, 2 4 ,2014 2012

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JANUARY 22, 2015

The Observant Jew My Friend, My Rebbe

Reflections on the Life and legacy of R’ Dovid Winiarz z”l (The Facebuker Rebbe) By Rabbi Jonathan Gewirtz Some people become Rebbes because they are natural-born leaders. Dovid Winiarz became a Rebbe because there are so many people who need to be led. I won’t write about his early years growing up in Columbus, Ohio because I don’t really know much about that time in his life. I won’t try to tell you what he was like as a boy because I didn’t know him then. This article is not a biography and I didn’t interview people for it. Instead, this is going to be the feelings and insights of one man – me – about the person who became my best friend (as he was for so many others) in just a short time for far too brief a period. I’m not exactly sure when or how I first met Dovid Winiarz. I believe it was on Facebook, (a large social media virtual community) where I was gratified to find someone whose values and hashkafa I shared, who seemed to effervesce with Simchas HaChayim and whose core values were truth, justice, and the Torah way. Like a shepherd watching over his boss’s flocks, Dovid would gently guide people back to HaShem by sharing words of Torah, jokes, smiles, and answering questions. With a background in Kiruv, he saw Facebook as a dangerous land which he hoped to help people navigate. He knew people were getting lost and would need someone to show them the way back home to their loving Father in Heaven. With guidance from his Rebbi, R’ Reuven Feinstein Shlit”a, and a bracha that he remain safe online (one which he renewed annually) Dovid opened up shop as the Facebuker Rebbe (to stay under the radar of Mark Zuckerberg who had previously shut down Dovid’s page as a Facebook “Rabbi.”) I must have happened across his page and made some comments or sent him messages. He didn’t remember it that way and was sure we must have met offline, in the “real” world,

perhaps after he saw a copy of my Migdal Ohr parsha sheet. I don’t re-

call, but it doesn’t matter. We became close friends instantly. With Dovid, it was always that way because everyone who came in contact with him (well, ALMOST everyone) immediately felt the love he had for them. (There were those in certain online groups who didn’t want guidance, who were angry at HaShem or Yiddishkeit for what some people had done under the guise of “frumkeit,” and though Dovid tried to reach them, they resisted. Even they, however, acknowledge that he was never rude or insulting to them.) He had been a campus rabbi in College of Staten Island, a community of which he was a huge pillar, though I don’t know if everyone would realize to what extent. He and his wife ran a food pantry and when he won a contest at a local ShopRite, that $250 gift card went straight towards that food pantry. He was a known personality in his community who was renowned for his constant smile which he somehow managed to maintain no matter how many people he shared it with. He loved to make people happy and that’s why they loved him. He loved HaShem and wanted people to feel just how loved they were by HaKadosh Baruch Hu. He believed in me. He encouraged me. He made me realize that I could do so much and had so much to offer

Klal Yisrael and the world. These are not just my thoughts, but the thoughts of a myriad of friends and acquaintances that he had. I take that back. I don’t know if he had acquaintances. I think once you knew him, you felt he was much closer; your friend, supporter, and staunch ally. Others will tell you stories of his efforts to make people smile, his gloriously excruciating puns and coffee references, with a little bit of politics mixed in. They will talk of his work in helping people find rides, shidduchim, jobs, and how, when he found a product or service that one of his friends provided, he would share that with so many people, always happy to help someone make a buck, and not asking for a cut, even when he needed it himself. He confided in me that when the mortgage market bubble burst, he was one of the casualties. He was pained that he could no longer write the tzedaka checks of the size he used to. But through that pain, he kept smiling. I recall one day when we spoke and he shared a glimpse of the burdens he was carrying. It was a conversation that lasted maybe a minute or two but his biggest concern was, “I’m finding it a challenge to keep smiling today.” But smile he did. Each week, when I sent him a copy of my Parsha sheet, he would see how many of the items he could share with his diverse group of followers. Sometimes I’d hit a double or a triple, and sometimes he’d message me, “Home run! I posted your Dvar Torah and the story, the Did You Know is going up at 3 o’clock, and I’m going to tweet your Thought of the Week.” Those were times I felt on top of the world. He made me feel like I was special and the fact that he was sharing this Torah with others was of little consequence. I sent him some of my articles and he helped me figure out which ones to put in my book, The Observant Jew. He, through the auspices of Survival

Through Education, his kiruv organization which provides books of worth helping the Chosen People choose, helped me publish it, and kept a number of copies to share with people who “won” his online contests, ones they never even realized they’d entered. I was touched to hear from his son, Shaya, that from the day that he received the book, R’ Dovid read one section each week at the Shabbos table for the family. He believed in me, and made me believe in myself more. When the car he was riding in to a Kiruv convention skidded across the median on an icy road and collided with another vehicle, Dovid was called to the Home Office and the truth about just how much he did came out as we, the friends he left behind, compared notes. I’m out of space but not out of memories. The legacy that Dovid Winiarz left with me, which I want to share with all of you, is that each of us can do amazing things, and that we should try to see the amazing side of those around us too. A smile goes a long way, and believing in someone goes even further. We will try to “Stay great,” Dovid. Yehi Zichro Baruch. Did you like this article? There’s plenty more where that came from! Pick up The Observant Jew, a compilation of some of the best articles from the first ten years of this column, at your local bookstore or order it online and bring the inspiration home. Jonathan Gewirtz is an inspirational writer and speaker whose work has appeared in publications around the world. He also operates JewishSpeechWriter. com, where you can order a custom-made speech for your next special occasion. Sign up for the Migdal Ohr, his weekly PDF Dvar Torah in English. E-mail info@ JewishSpeechWriter.com and put Subscribe in the subject. © 2014 by Jonathan Gewirtz. All rights reserved.

THE JEWISH HOME

In The Kitchen

In the Kitchen

A Winter Wonderland

Esther Ottensoser

Naomi Nachman

Soup-er Soups to warm your family on cool fall nights

There is nothing like the magic of hot soup to warm your soul and fill your belly. I have always loved soup. Tip: Be prepared—the ingredients are These easy-to-make, hearty soups will keep you warm and satisfied any night ofall thenon-perishable, year. but the weather is I try to make a lot of different soups on one day so I have ready to go meals in the freezer on those chillysodays. unpredictable, make sure to stock up! My kids love having a bowl of soup waiting for them when they come home from school.

This soup is great for a Thanksgiving dinner and is perfect for fall with all the seasonal root vegetables.

Red Lentil Vegetable Soup

Sledding Snowmen

You will need: 4 (Mann brand) chocolate covered wafers 2 medium size marshmallows Regular size and mini chocolate sandwich cookies 2 candy canes per snowman Melted baking chocolate to be used as the “glue” Edible markers

Ingredients 1 cup red lentils, sorted and rinsed 4 cups water Bay leaf Salt 2 TBS olive oil 2 onions, diced 4 cloves garlic, minced 2-inch piece ginger, minced 2 tsp cumin 1 tsp curry 2 tsp dried coriander 2 cups butternut squash, cut into ½ inch dice 1 cup zucchini, peeled and cut into ½ inch dice 1 medium parsnip, peeled and cut into ½ inch dice

2 carrots, peeled and cut into ½ inch dice 1 TBS lemon juice 1 bunch baby spinach Pinch cayenne pepper Preparation Add lentils, water and bay leaf to a medium saucepan. Cover and boil on a simmer for 20 minutes until lentils are tender. Add 1 tablespoon salt and remove bay leaf; puree lentils in a blender. Add onions to a skillet and sauté until onions are soft. Add garlic, ginger, cumin, curry, and coriander and sauté for a few more minutes. Add butternut squash, parsnip, carrots, zucchini, salt, and 1 ½ cups water simmer for 10 minutes until vegetables are soft. Stir lemon juice and spinach into pureed lentils, then add the vegetables and stir to combine. The heat will wilt the spinach. Add pepper and salt if necessary.

Directions: Directions: Using your melted chocolate to “glue” four wafers Frost cupcakes with marshmallow fluff. Use your together to form the base of the sled. edible markers to draw a snowman’s face. Create a hat “Glue” the candy sticks on. See picture. caters individuals Five Towns and neighYou will weekly need: and Shabbat/ Yom Tov meals for families andby using a within dab ofThe chocolate to connect a mini sandAllow toNaomi dry. Nachman, the owner of The Aussie Gourmet, boring communities, with a specialty in Pesach catering. Naomi is a contributing editor to this paper and also produces and hosts her own weekly radio show wich cookie to half of a large sandwich cookie. AtUse a drop of melted chocolate to “glue” two Cupcakes on the Nachum Segal Network stream called “A Table for Two with Naomi Nachman.” Naomi gives cooking presentations for organizations and private groups Fluff tach the hat snowman usinginanother dab of melted marshmallows together theYork/New snowman. throughout thefor New Jersey MetropolitanMarshmallow area. In addition, Naomi has been a guest host on the QVC TV network andtohas been featured cookbooks, Colored sour belts chocolate. Using your edible markers, decorate your snowmagazines as well as other media covering topics related to cuisine preparation and personal chefs. To obtain additional recipes, join The Aussie Gourmet on Smallthrough and regular sized sandwich cookies Use a toothpick to attach the marshmallow to the men. Facebook or visit Naomi’s blog. Naomi can be reached her website,www.theaussiegourmet.com or at (516) 295-9669. cupcake. Cut the sour belt to size and drape it across Create a hat by using a dab of chocolate to connect Medium size marshmallows the snowman for his scarf. a mini sandwich cookie to half of a large sandwich Edible markers Toss some mini marshmallows around the snowcookie. Attach the hat to the snowmen using another Melted baking chocolate to be used as the “glue” man to finish off your winter scene. dab of melted chocolate. Glue the snowmen to the sled.

Melted Snowman Cupcake

JANUARY 22, 2015

The serene beauty of winter. The snow so magically falls, the everyday hustle and bustle comes to a slippery halt, the children are busy making snowmen and sledding down the hills, and...school is closed! With the children home from school (due to a snowstorm or midwinter vacation), here’s a winter-themed activity that will entertain and bring this beautiful, snowy scene indoors (without the wet boots and gloves!).

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T H E J E W I S H H O MJANUARY E n M AY15, 2 42015 , 2012

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A Parsha Thought

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JANUARY 22, 2015

Bo – Creating Your Light Rabbi Shmuel Silber

In this week’s Parsha we are given the first national Mitzvah, “HaChodesh HaZeh Lachem Rosh Chodashim, This month will be for you the first of all months ... (Shemos 12:2).” God gave Moshe the instructions for establishing the lunar calendar. After “disappearing” toward the end of the month, the moon reappears and signals the beginning of the new month. The Talmud

explains that after receiving the testimony of those who saw the new moon, the Jewish court proceeded to declare the new month and dispatched messengers to inform the greater Jewish community. One would imagine that a great deal of Divine thought went into choosing the first Mitzvah to be given to the fledgling Jewish nation. This first mitzvah would set the tone and serve as the foundation for our national consciousness. If we are honest - we find ourselves a bit surprised by God’s decision. There are so many dramatic, meaningful, covenantal mitzvos - Bris Mila (circumcision), Shabbos, belief in God and yet, the first mitzvah God gives to us is something that most people are not directly involved in. Kiddush HaChodesh (sanctification of the new moon) is a technical, calendrical necessity that does not appear to carry incredible meaning for the common

man. Why did God choose this mitzvah as our first? In order to answer this question we must examine the juxtaposition of the plague of darkness (choshech) to the mitzvah of Kiddush HaChodesh (sanctification of the new moon). The Torah states, “They did not see each other, and no one rose from his place for three days, but for all the children of Israel there was light in their dwellings (Shemos 10:23).” The Chizkuni (Rabbi Chizkiyah ben Manoach, 13th century) points out that the word “dwellings” teaches us that wherever the Jews went they had light. Wherever they established their “dwelling” the light followed. By the previous plagues if the Jew wanted to escape the Divine wrath he had to remain in Goshen. If he ventured out into Egypt proper, he ran the risk of being harmed by the plagues. However, when it came to darkness, the Jew had light wherever he traveled. But why was the plague of darkness different than the previous ones? The Ohr HaChaim (Rabbi Hayyim b”r Moshe ibn Attar, 1696-1743) explains that the plague of darkness was an external manifestation of an internal state of disrepair. The Egyptians were so overcome by anger, animosity, rage and hatred that darkness filled their souls. And this inner darkness became so intense that it flowed out and darkened the world around them. Yet, in the very moment when the Egyptians were blanketed by their internal darkness, u’lchol Bnai Yisroel haya ohr b’moshvosom, the Jewish people had light in all of their dwellings. The fledgling Jewish people made a decision to focus on the good. They made a decision to gird themselves with optimism, dreams and hope. Life was far from idyllic, they still bore the emotional and physical scars of barbaric slavery - but they made a decision to focus on the light. There were many obstacles both present and future. They knew not what awaited them but they knew that God loved them and would take care of them. They knew that their leaders Moshe and Aharon would lay down their lives for them. They knew that they were the children of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs and as such were heirs to a great spiritual destiny.

The nation of Israel suffered loss, humiliation and defeat. They would have been within their right to become bitter and filled with resentment. But they didn’t. They made a decision to focus on the positive. They made a decision to create luminescent light. The truly amazing thing is that when you decide to create your personal light, it follows you wherever you go and illuminates even the darkest of paths. Rashi (12:2) explains that Moshe had difficulty seeing the new moon during that fateful night in Egypt. The Midrash (Shir HaShirim Rabba 3:2) explains that no matter how much Moshe strained himself, he saw nothing but darkness. God turned to Moshe and He said, “HaChodesh HaZeh Lachem, this month is for you; if you want light, lachem, you must create it yourself.” Moshe was waiting for God to light up the night; God reminds Moshe, you must create your own. This is the deeper meaning of Kiddush HaChodesh. God gives us time, God gives us opportunities, but God doesn’t give us the light, we must produce it ourselves. At the beginning of each new month we walk outside, we look heavenward and it is dark. We look up and it is difficult to see the light. We walk into the darkness and we pledge to ourselves to do our best to create new and beautiful light. We vow to be like our ancestors in Egypt who illuminated the dark night with their internal luminescent optimism and hope. Life is difficult, life is challenging, life is often an uphill struggle but we have the ability to create light within the darkness. If we focus on the positive, if we choose to see the good, we can illuminate even the darkest of circumstances. Too often we wait for others to provide us with happiness, fulfillment and light. If you want to dispel the darkness – the power is in your hands. “HaChodesh HaZeh Lachem Rosh Chodashim, This month will be for you the first of all months ...” is not simply a technical mitzvah for the measurement of time, it is the mandate for successful living. The world is often dark – find the courage to create your own light.

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JANUARY 22, 2015

Parenting Today

77 Rabbi Chaim A. Morgenstern

Chinuch Workshops: Practical Torah Guidelines and Strategies for Achieving Successful Chinuch

Workshop 5

Role Modeling – A 24 Hour Job

he influence of role modeling on children is very unique because it places a new responsibility on parents: being constantly aware of what they’re doing – 24/7. From the time parents get up until they go to sleep, their children observe all their actions, such as washing negel vasser, saying brachos, davening, how they talk, eat, interact with others, etc. Knowing that everything they do and say will make lasting impressions on their children should keep parents constantly on the alert to properly fulfill mitzvos and to utilize middos tovos in their interpersonal relationships. This concept of parents being constantly aware of their conduct is underscored by Chazal who state that a child should never see his parents do or say anything disgraceful (Tanna D’vei Eliyahu Rabbah, Ch. 21). Thus, even if parents are not able to spend as much time as they would like with their children, they can compensate for the lost time by being a good role model. (However, role modeling alone is insufficient if it’s not accompanied by appropriate chinuch methods in other area of child raising as will be mentioned in the forthcoming articles.)

the Torah must be the most important thing in the world.” The rebbi was shocked by Yossi’s story, and after a moment’s thought he retorted, “Now, Yossi, you know that can’t be true. Do you mean to say that if your father had a choice between learning with his chavrusa or eating cholent, he would eat a bowl of cholent?” Yossi thought a moment and replied, “I’m sorry rebbi, but you must be referring to his Torah. That is more important than cholent, not my Torah!” When Yossi’s father learned of what

had happened in school, he immediately changed the whole atmosphere at the Shabbos table. From then on, whenever any of the children said a dvar Torah, he stopped the meal and required everyone to listen intently. He then briefly summarized the dvar Torah to ensure that the entire family understood it and warmly thanked the child for teaching the family something new. Eventually, Yossi’s attitude changed toward his father, and he came to realize that Torah was indeed more important than cholent.

Main points to work and focus on for the next week: > In the event that parents are unable to keep the spiritual standards, they should never say to their child “I’m different.” Instead, that they should be able to explain the reason, as noted in the previous article. > Even if parents are unable to spend as much time as they would like with their children, they can compensate for the lost time by acting as good role models. Rabbi Morgenstern does family counseling and lectures extensively in Israel and abroad on shalom bayis, chinuch habanim, family communication, shidduchim, dating and personal growth, and has produced a popular CD series on these topics. His articles on these topics and Jewish hashkafa have appeared internationally in Jewish newspapers and magazines. For more information or to schedule a lecture, contact Rabbi Morgenstern in Israel at 952236-4197 or at rabbi@toras-chaim.org. You can also request to receive his weekly Parsha Pearls and chinuch articles by e-mail. Please include your name in the request. Articles are dedicated to the memory of his parents, Reb Yerachmiel Yisroel Nesanel z”l and Leah Gittel a”h. T.N.T.B.H

Voice Lessons

with Cantor Allan Berman

All Baalei Tefiloh, Singers, Teachers, Rebbeim... Trouble with high notes? Hoarse?

Graphics by Leah Mostofsky

Cholent! The following story aptly depicts how even a simple remark from a parent can have a very negative effect on their children. A cheder rebbi once asked his class, “What is the most important thing in your lives?” One student answered, “Saying brachos and benching slowly with kavana.” Another boy said, “Cleaning up and brushing your teeth after each meal.” A third boy said, “Wiping your shoes from rain and mud before entering the home, and being careful to remove soiled shoes before sitting on the couch.” (Note how each child repeated what his parents had taught him — consciously or subconsciously — about what’s important and

meaningful in life.) Suddenly, Yossi, who was seated in the corner, shouted out, “Cholent!” causing the entire class to burst into laughter. The rebbi turned to Yossi and asked, “Did I hear you correctly? Did you say cholent?” “Yes,” replied Yossi, with a straight face. Once the rebbi realized that the boy was serious and not looking for attention, he decided to wait until recess before speaking to him so as not to disrupt the lesson. When the rebbi approached Yossi, he asked him, “Tell me, Yossi, where did you pick up this wild idea that cholent is the most important thing in one’s life?” The boy shrugged his shoulders and refused to answer. But the rebbi persisted, and finally, with a bitter look in his eyes, Yossi blurted out, “My father!” The rebbi couldn’t believe what he heard. “What!” he exclaimed. “Do you mean that your father taught you that? I have known your father for years, and I can’t believe that he would ever say such a thing.” Still, Yossi sat in silence, and again the rebbi persisted to get a proper explanation. Finally, Yossi opened up and started to talk. “Even though my father never openly said so, it’s the truth and I’ll prove it to you. Every Shabbos, we take turns saying what we learned about the parsha at the Shabbos meal. My turn is during the daytime cholent meal after the entrée is served. Sometimes when I have a lot to say and my father is anxious to eat the cholent, he screams to my mother, ‘Cholent, nu, where’s the cholent?’ Even when he eats the cholent, he not interested in what I’m saying. He just nods his head and says, ‘Yes, yes,’ to whatever I say. He’s not even bothered by the fact that no one else is paying attention to what I’m saying. If my father can interrupt my dvar Torah for the sake of his cholent, then it is quite obvious that cholent is more important than the Torah. Therefore, anything that is more important than

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about $5 for a two-pack. Clean as You Go: Fill your sink with hot soapy water as you start dinner. Place used dishes and pans in the filled sink so they’ll be soaking while you eat. Also, wipe up any spills immediately—don’t give sauces, oils or spices a chance to sit around. Zap the Sponge: We all know that sponges can be a breeding ground for bacteria. Disinfect yours every night by squeezing it out and microwaving it on high for a minute. When it’s shredded and smelly, replace it. Bathroom Boosters Make Doors Shine: Rubbing a teaspoon of lemon oil on glass shower doors twice a month causes water to bead up and roll off. Or, try Rain-X Original Glass Treatment, a car-care product made to keep rainwater off your windshield. Use it twice a year. Get a Cleaner Liner: Mold and mildew attacking your shower curtain liner? Throw it in the wash with a few towels, which will help scrub it clean, then hang it back up to dry. Tame the Toilet: Drop a teaspoon of Tang Drink Mix in the bowl. The citric acid acts like a scrubber…and it’s nontoxic, in case the dog takes a sip. Let it sit for a few minutes, then swish and flush. And if you cringe at the idea of getting splashed by toilet water (ugh!). Push the toilet brush in and out of the trap before you begin. This lowers the water level, allowing you to safely swish away. Corral Strays: Keep drains free of hair and clogs by using a product like Drano or Liquid-Plumr to make sure potential clogs are gone, then pour boiling water down drains once a week to keep problem-free. Get rid of those annoying stray hairs on the floor by sweeping them up with a damp wad of toilet paper every morning. Use Bedtime as Clean Time: While the kids are washing up at night, wipe down the tub, toilet and mirrors, and toss out clutter. When they’re finished, quickly wipe down the sink and floor. Bathroom done. Sweeping Solutions Cleaning should always be done top to bottom. That way, any crumbs or dust that fall to the floor while you’re working get picked up last. And believe it or not, there’s a right way to sweep. Pick the Right Broom: For indoors, choose one with finer bristles to pick up smaller dirt particles. For outdoors, go for

stronger, stiffer bristles, which work better to clear porous surfaces. Get Swept Away: To sweep, hold the broom like a canoe paddle, with one hand on top of the handle and the other toward the middle. Push your hands in opposite

directions to get the most out of every sweeping stroke. Sweep from the outside in so that you don’t miss any spots, and move the dirt to the center of the room, where it will be easy to pick up. Super Storage: Store brooms with the handle down. It makes them easier to find and protects the bristles. Banish Dust Bunnies: Pick the proper dustpan. Minimize that annoying line of dust by choosing a dustpan with a rubber edge. Bedroom Secrets Start with the Bed: If your bed is made, your bedroom looks neat. When you wake up, pull the covers up to your chin, then scissor-kick your way out of bed so it’ll be half made. Finish the job before you walk away. Address Your Drawers: Most people have drawers full of clothes they don’t wear, and their dresser tops then become repositories for things they can’t store. Get rid of things you haven’t worn in a year and vow to put away your clean laundry each week. Keep Just the Essentials: Have a “pamper basket” next to your bed with a book, some moisturizer, your knitting or something else you like to do in bed. Then keep your clock, a lamp and a box of tissues on your nightstand. That’s it. Conquer Laundry Stave Off Static: Since fabric softener and dryer sheets can strip towels of their absorbency, add ¼ cup white vinegar to the rinse cycle or throw two (new, clean) tennis balls in your dryer to get rid of static electricity, soften fabrics and eliminate the need for dryer sheets. Switch on the Cold: Most everything can be washed in cold water (better for your bills and the environment). But use the hottest water possible for sheets, towels and underwear. Take special care with undergarments, putting them in the dryer as soon as possible to stop bacteria growth

while they sit damp in the washer. Mess-a-Laneous Time It: If you actually time how long it takes to do certain chores, you won’t mind them as much. Believe it or not, most chores only take 10 minutes. Multitask: You can make tasks go faster by doing two things at once. While on the phone, you can fold laundry, fluff pillows, pick up stray magazines and books, do dishes, and sweep or dust. Know the Hot Spots: Papers, odd toys and other things usually pile up on the dining room table or kitchen counter. Once you’ve got your table cleaned off, file papers or toss them. Go Corner to Corner: When you’re vacuuming, begin in the farthest corner and work toward the door, using slow, repetitive front-to-back motions in an overlapping sequence. As you look over the freshly vacuumed floor, you shouldn’t see any footprints. Velcro Away Clutter: Label the bottom of each electronic game controller (Xbox, for example), and then Velcro it to the console. You’ll never search for them again. Make a Lost-and-Found: Every house needs one. Use a cute vintage lunch box or lidded storage container to stash lost game pieces, stray screws and buttons, and similar small items. When you need the item, you’ll know where to look first. Do Quick Rescues: Do a 5-minute sweep through each room, taking a laundry basket with you. Place in it anything that doesn’t belong in that room, then put away the stuff that does belong there. Stop Clutter at the Front Door: Mount a plastic or cloth shoe rack inside your front entry closet door, and use it to stash all kinds of living room and family room miscellany—toys, hats, gloves, magazines. You can even designate one of the pockets for mail you’re not sure whether to save or toss. VacancyFillers.com is a Baltimore based tenant placement company that specializes in finding tenants for landlords. Using their professional and simple systems, VacancyFillers. com effectively and quickly finds quality tenants, allowing landlords focus on their families and careers! Founded by Ben Schwartz in January of 2014 in response to the needs of landlords who lack the proper time and resources to find tenants by themselves, VacancyFillers.com has already assisted in the signing of over 65 leases! For more information, please visit: www.vacancyfillers.com

JANUARY 22, 2015

You love a spotless house—but you don’t want to spend the bulk of your time actually cleaning. Well, fret no more. Here are some methods to make chores easier, more effective and much less time-consuming, so you can have a tidy, sparkling home in no time flat! In The Kitchen Circle Your Way Around: Always begin on the right side of your stove, then move clockwise around the room. The stove is typically the dirtiest part of the kitchen, so ending with it keeps you from spreading dirt and grease. (First, soak drip pans and knobs in warm soapy water. By the time you’ve worked your way around, they’ll be easier to clean.) Sanitize the Sink: It’s hard to believe, but your dirty kitchen sink has more bacteria than your toilet seat. Use a product labeled as an EPA-registered disinfectant, or make your own. To disinfect, clean your sink with soap and water first, then spray a mist of vinegar followed by a mist of hydrogen peroxide, and let air-dry. (Don’t mix the vinegar and hydrogen peroxide together—spray one after the other.) If your sink is stainless steel, make it sparkle afterward by putting a few drops of mineral oil on a soft cloth and buffing. This prevents water buildup, which deters mold and keeps the sink looking clean longer. Do Dishwasher Duty: Once a week, shake baking soda on a damp sponge and wipe around the machine’s edges to remove stuck-on food or stains. To clean the inside, run an empty cycle with Dishwasher Magic, a product designed to kill bacteria like E.coli. During cold and flu season, add a quarter-cup of bleach to the regular dish cycle to kill bacteria. The dishes will be safe and sanitized after the rinse cycle is finished. Love Your Oven: Keep the heart of your kitchen clean by lining the bottom with a nonstick oven liner. It can be wiped with a paper towel, put in the dishwasher, and reused over and over. Disinfect the Disposal: To get rid of odors, drop in a cut-up lemon, some salt and a few ice cubes. The lemon deodorizes, and the ice and salt clean away residue. Or try Disposer Care (DisposerCare. com), which is specifically designed for the job. Crumple Paper Towels…Forever: Use microfiber cloths instead. When wet, they sanitize and clean floors, counters, glass and tile, and eliminate the need for other cleaning products. They’re reusable (machine-wash, hang to dry) and cost

THE BALTIMORE JEWISH HOME

30 Quick and Easy House Cleaning Tips

A Closer Look at Some of Florida’s Newest Eateries BY BRENDY J. SIEV

South Florida has some great restaurants, but the two we have featured here offer food that is



JANUARY 15, 2015

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exclusive to this tropical paradise. It’s worth the

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trip: you won’t savor these tastes anywhere else.

PHOTO CREDIT: GREAT KOSHER RESTAURANTS

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JANUARY 22, 2015

Backyard BBQ & Brew Backyard BBQ & Brew 9460 Harding Avenue, Surfside, FL 33154 305-763-8818 backyardmiami.com

What

makes Backyard BBQ & Brew unique and different is not the steak: it’s the smoker. Ribs, chicken, and brisket smoke slowly for hours—we’re talking between 3-and-a-half and 12 hours—to bring fallingoff-the-bone flavor to your table. This means that the food is delicious and atypical. The smoker’s scents of hickory and applewood linger on the meat. The menu offers four kinds of ribs; the longest and most popular short rib is aptly named “the Dinosaur.” We enjoyed slow-smoked ribs that melted in our mouths. The brisket was not reminiscent of a high holiday; we smelled a light waft of wood while we savored its tenderness. The spare ribs were braised and smoked as well, with a mild molasses flavor. We also enjoyed popcorn chicken, made with dark meat. It was excellent and perfectly fried; it came with a hot sauce on the side. The French fries

with truffle mushroom sauce was different from the usual fries with ketchup. For those who like sausages, share an appetizer of three flavors of sausage. You’ll certainly enjoy. If you do not want to waste a rib on someone whose favorite food is ketchup, the kids’ menu offers inexpensive options (a burger for $7; a hot dog and fries for $5). For those over the age of 21, the bar offers wine and beer options, with 12 microbrews on tap. The wait staff (shout out to Richard!) was excellent and attentive. Our water glasses were never close to empty, and the servers knew the menu well. The ambiance is warm, with real country music playing in the background. The decor, like an upscale, converted barnyard, includes fun lighting, high ceilings, and an open bar. The walls are paneled in reclaimed wood, and chairs are painted in various colors to match the reclaimed look. Various seating options are available, including outdoor tables near the palm trees. Offy Shifman, the owner, is there every night, a break from his usual job: he owns Kosherica cruises. He opened Backyard BBQ because of his cruise experience. “I’m always in tune with food trends, especially in the non-kosher world,” he told us. Barbeque and smoking are particularly big now. But more than that, Offy said, “I love barbeque myself. I’m the neighborhood barbeque guy.” His efforts have paid off. The restaurant, even late at night, is full, and the reservations keep coming. In fact, a quarter of the restaurant’s customers’ are non-Jews. Most love it and come back after their first meal. You can check out the full menu online. Be sure to make a reservation: most nights, the line stretches out the door.

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JANUARY 15, 2015

Sushi & Tapas is the dining experience so many of us have been waiting for: excellent food that’s different, delectable, and perfectly balanced, delivered with fabulous service and great drinks. This is Asian-Peruvian fusion, and every food on the menu offers a perfect balance of heat, acidity, and sweetness. The food is light and flavorful: you finish your meal full but not heavy. Many dishes are crafted from Peruvian specialties including aiolis and potatoes from Peruvian vegetables. The menu is unlike any other kosher restaurant; it’s worth a plane trip. Every detail has been attended to, down to the water in your glass: diners have the option of regular or Vero water, a sparkling water option that comes with unlimited refills. Glasses are always full; plates always cleared; crumbs quietly wiped. The servers are particularly accommodating and attentive without hovering. They are extensively knowledgeable about the menu, down to the details about its preparation, key to 26’s success: most kosher diners are unfamiliar with the food on the menu and the servers explain and recommend the top food options. The full bar offers not only the usual kosher wine menu, but excellent mixed drinks. We enjoyed an espresso martini and a cucumber margarita. The margarita was reminiscent of a pisco sour, with a great combination of salty, lime, some sweet, jalapeno, and tequila. The passion-rita included a bit of cayenne pepper and salt on the edge of the glass to balance the sweetness. Some delicious examples of excellent dishes: Hamachi Tiradito, a sashimi with lime, cilantro, and serrano peppers. It was excellent and needed no wasabi or ginger. The Tuna Tower was beautiful, with crispy onions on top of masago and shiitake mushrooms. The Sunshine Salad was served in a hulled half of a grapefruit, featuring tiny, perfectly cubed pieces of tuna, avocado, and grapefruit. Our favorite: the Nikkei Hamachi Tacos. The tacos featured the

We also recommend:

• Cafe Emunah: Different and delicious, with a funky, spiritual menu. Worth the trip to Fort Lauderdale—or visiting if you’re up there anyway. • Fuego: An excellent new grill with interesting sides and sliders. We’ve enjoyed the burgers, steak, and yucca with sauce. • Fresco: Light and pleasant for a lunch or dinner. Enjoy some shakes, sushi, and great salads.

sweetness of pineapple with the acidity of lime, the crunch of the taco (freshly made in-house), and the soft texture of the fish. We also loved the causita, a popular Peruvian specialty, the testones topped with ceviche, the papa huancaina that featured Peruvian potatoes. The Peruvian Trilogy featured salmon anticuchos. For this, the chef rubbed the salmon with aji-panca, a Peruvian pepper, before serving it with a yellow pepper aioli. The salmon was coated in toasted sesame seeds for crunch and served on a stick. That night included some specials, including mahi-mahi saltado with huancaina noodles. The noodles were suffused with the richness of a cheese sauce and the mahi mahi was excellent. Another special we sampled was pan-seared branzini with a white truffle risotto, cooked in a fish base. The fish was moist with a crisp crust, and the risotto was Chef Ramsey-worthy. The presentation, it goes without saying, was beautiful and inviting. Even the dessert, churned ice cream with crunch, was presented in two perfectly symmetrical spheres on a bed of crunch. We met the chef. Chef Fernando Chang grew up in Peru to immigrant Asian parents. He takes great pride in the menu that he personally designed and created. Chef Chang meets with diners each night. Since his fusion food is incomparable, you can almost envision celebrity chefs on the Food Network nodding as they taste the cuisine. Really. And Chef Chang’s children are formidable chefs in their own right. Valerie has cooked at the Venetian in Las Vegas; Fernando, Jr., has also cooked in well-known kitchens. The black and white decor is complemented by dark-stained wood and richly glazed tiles. The lighting keeps the trendy ambience. Most important are the acoustics. At times we have gone out to popular, packed restaurants where we have shared great food but little conversation: we had to shout to hear each other. But acoustic engineers were part of 26’s planning. The restaurant, even with a full house, sounds lively, but, magically, you can enjoy a conversation at a normal tone with those at your table. Overall this atypical menu, with balanced flavors and textures, will make you rethink your dining experience. Flavors are savored and do not overpower each other; your palette will experience recognition of flavor—sweet, sour, spicy—and the firmness or softness of each bite. 

• Grill Time: If you’re taking the whole family out, including the kids, the food is consistent and the portion sizes large. • House of Dog: For great beer, hot dogs, and burgers. • Levy’s Deli: Good deli and schwarma and nicesized portions. We have it on good authority that even non-Jews love the food.

• Kosher Subway: Despite those enticing billboards, this is not a real kosher deli. But Subway’s sandwiches are inexpensive and made to order. The daily special costs $4.50 for a sixinch sub; you can also get a $7.50 meal, including a six-inch sandwich with a soda and chips. If you’re on a trip or need a quick, cheap meal, you can drop in and not drop a lot of cash. Note: Because it’s on the JCC campus, you’ll need to have your ID ready to show to the guard at the gate in order to get in.

JANUARY 22, 2015

26 Sushi & Tapas 9487 Harding Avenue Surfside, FL 33154 305-570-2626 26sushitapas.com

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THE JEWISH HOME

26 Sushi & Tapas

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JANUARY 22, 2015

42 78

You Gotta be

Riddle!

Kidding!

As a master text messenger, your job is to figure out what ^*$%@#&?! means. The nine letter text message code can be translated into two English words that are opposites. What are the two words? To assist you, each symbol stands for one of five letters: ! stands for Y, E, G, P, or T @ stands for F, B, A, Q, or T # stands for R, E, A, N, or Z $ stands for F, E, N, S, or H % stands for S, T, Y, M, or W ^ stands for P, D, E, H, or C & stands for U, K, H, T, or B * stands for O, J, G, I, or Z ? stands for E, L, D, N, or C

Jimbo went to the doctor with two burned ears. “The phone rang, and I accidentally picked up the iron,” he explained. The doctor asked him, “What about the other ear?” Jimbo replied, “They called back.”

Answer on next page

Cell Phone Phacts • Cell phones went on sale in the U.S. in 1983 and cost approximately $4,000. • In 2012 Apple sold more than 340,000 iPhones per day, which is around 4 per second. • Cell phones have 18 times more bacteria than toilet handles. • Smartphones have more computing power than the computers used for the Apollo 11 to land on the moon. • 70% of mobile phones are manufactured in China. • More than 90% of adults have their mobile phone within arm’s reach all the time. • More than 4 billion people own mobile phones. But only 3.5 billion use a toothbrush.

• According to Guinness World Records, Sonim XP3300 Force is recognized as the toughest phone. It survived an 84 foot drop without any operational

“Life is wh at when you happens rc is charging ell phone .”

damage.

• The Philippines is ranked number one globally in usage of text messages with about 1.4 billion text messages being sent every day. • Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak was the first owner of the phone number 888-888-8888, but it proved unusable as he was receiving over 100 wrong numbers a day, mostly from babies playing with phones. • The average person unlocks his or her cell phone 110 times a day.

• 90% of text messages are read within 3 minutes of receipt.

• The average American cell phone user will have about three unused or outdated cell phones in possession.

• In 1985, 45-year-old communications researcher Friedhelm Hillebrand defined the length of a standard text message. He typed random sentences on his typewriter and almost all of them were under 160 characters long.

• Most Americans will only use their mobile phone for about 12-16 months before getting a new one. • Texting came into existence 21 years ago. • The first photo to be shared using a cell phone was taken by Philippe Kahn in 1997. He sent pictures of his daughter Sophie from the maternity ward. Kahn is a French inventor who developed the world’s very first camera phone.

7943

Answer YES or NO to each of the following questions to test your addiction level:

1. You plan your day around known charger locations.

16. You can text faster than you can type on a keyboard.

2. You occasionally feel your thigh vibrate out of nowhere.

17. You think that “Social Security Number” means your iPhone lock screen code.

3. You have tried to swipe open a book.

18. You get upset when your kids ask to play on your phone… because you want to play on your phone.

4. You judge people by the pattern on their iPhone case.

6. You justify being on your phone all the time because you “might miss a work email.”

19. If you left your phone in your office (before the weekend) and realized when you arrived home, you turn around and drive an excess of an hour each way in order to retrieve your phone. 20. When airport TSA tells you to put your phone through the security check, you get a slight panicky feeling and wonder how you will retrieve it if it gets stuck in the machine.

7. At least once a week you panic that you can’t find your phone, and then realize it’s in your hand. 8. When you close your eyes, you see Candy Crush combos. 9. You keep your phone on while flying, despite the fierce warnings of the captain to shut your phone.

21. When you don’t feel your phone in the pocket you thought it was in you quickly give yourself a rapid and fierce pat down, as if you are arresting yourself.

10. This year you have spent more time arbitrarily scrolling through your Camera Roll than doing anything else.

Your Addiction Level

11. When you wake up in the morning, you check your phone while still in bed. 12. Books make you twitch with anxiety. 13. When packing, the first thing you pack is your phone charger. 14. You try to turn down the brightness on the sun. 15. You get excited when you’re at a restaurant and your friend goes to the bathroom.

Answered YES to: 15-21 statements: You are totally addicted to your…hold on, I just have to grab this call. 8-14 statements: Not bad. Just wait until you get the iPhone 4S, it’s totally 2015! Comm Let the 0-7 statements: So how is that ission er dec phone that you ordered from ide Send y the back of the Smithsonian our st ads@b u ff altimo magazine? Had BIG NUMBERS, cenrteejrefowis to fi v hhom e t ownsjew ld@ huh? e.com ish

GO FUNNT Y?

home.c om

JANUARY 22, 2015

5. When your phone is dead, and someone asks you what the weather is like, your first instinct is to say, “I don’t know,” rather than look outside or simply open the front door.

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Cell Phone Addiction Test

ANSWER TO RIDDLE: Construct and Dismantle

THE BALTIMORE JEWISH HOME

JANUARY 22, 2015

Notable

Notable Quotes

Quotes

Compiled by Nate Davis Compiled by Nate Davis

“Say“Say What?” What?” A guy had a job and it turned out he didn’t show up for 25 years. Finally, his boss discovered he wasn’t showing up and fired him. So let this be a lesson to you kids out there. If you don’t go to work for 25 years, you’re gonna get fired. – David Letterman

Days after Mitt Romney announced he is considering a 2016 presidential campaign, his former running mate Paul Ryan announced that he will not run. Ryan won’t say who he’ll support. He just wants the best man for the Jeb . . . job, I mean job.

Nike announced that this year it will sell self-lacing tennis shoes. By the way, if you’re too lazy to lace up your tennis shoes you’re really going to hate tennis. - Conan O’Brien I think everyone has their own secret Dawn Wall to complete one day, and maybe they can put this project in their own context. - Kevin Jorgeson, one of two men who became the first to free-climb the sheer granite face of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park, in an interview with The New York Times

A Saudi Arabian prince has said that oil may never again rise above $100 a barrel. He said it’s gotten so bad he can’t afford to buy his wife her own car that she’s not allowed to drive. - Conan O’Brien

– Jimmy Fallon Yesterday, during his domestic abuse trial, NASCAR driver Kurt Busch said he believes his exgirlfriend is a CIA-trained assassin. I guess those are just the kinds of thoughts you have when you drive in circles for four hours. - Seth Myers

During President Obama’s [State of The Union] speech, one cabinet member will be asked to stay behind to run the government in case there is a crisis at the Capitol. At least that’s what they’re telling Biden. - Jimmy Fallon

We don’t want any of our fellow New Yorkers to feel like second-class citizens. - Mayor de Blasio on NPR talking about giving state ID cards to illegal immigrants

Over half of the people on disability are either anxious or their back hurts. Join the club. Who doesn’t get a little anxious for work every day and their back hurts? Everybody over 40 has back pain. - Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) addressing federal disability programs during a stop at a New Hampshire diner

Senator Rand Paul reflected on Mitt Romney’s potential 2016 campaign and said, “It’s sort of what Einstein said— that the definition of insanity is to do the same thing over and over again and expect a different result.” When someone told him Einstein didn’t actually say that, he said, “In the words of Gandhi, ‘My bad.’” - Jimmy Fallon

Edward never uses an iPhone; he’s got a simple phone. The iPhone has special software that can activate itself without the owner having to press a button and gather information about him; that’s why on security grounds he refused to have this phone. - Edward Snowden’s Russian lawyer Anatoly Kucherena in a recent interview with a Russian news outlet

According to the magazine U.S. News and World Report, the best job in America is being a dentist. Which is interesting because a dentist’s office is the only place where people still read U.S. News and World Report. - Jimmy Fallon

We have not chosen to use the label because it doesn’t seem to accurately describe what has happened. - White House press secretary Josh Earnest, refusing to say radical Islam was to blame for the killings in Paris

MORE QUOTES

Mitt Romney is reportedly putting his 2012 election team back together. And somehow, miraculously, none of them were busy with other stuff. – Jimmy Kimmel Fidel Castro, who hasn’t been publicly seen for more than a year, wrote a personal letter referencing current events to prove he is still alive. And nothing says “I’m alive in 2015” like writing a letter. - Seth Myers

In Florida, a teenage boy was arrested for posing as a doctor. After hearing about it, Dr. Phil said, “Wait, it’s illegal to pose as a doctor?” - Conan O’Brien

Seattle was down 16-0 at the half. They came back to win in overtime. It was a devastating loss for Green Bay fans. And let me tell you something. There is no sadder sight than a man shedding a tear with a giant piece of cheese on his head. – Jimmy Kimmel Mitt Romney will reportedly address the Republican National Committee on Friday to talk about a possible third presidential run. It’s never a good sign when you have to start your speech with “Hear me out.” - Seth Myers

Fifteen states across the country have gas prices that have dipped below $2. That means it’s now cheaper to buy a gallon of liquefied dinosaurs than one cup of coffee at Starbucks. – Jimmy Fallon

Police are looking for a woman who stole $3,000 worth of cat-grooming supplies at an airport baggage carousel. Police describe the suspect as “single.” - Seth Myers

– Conan O’Brien It’s rumored that Chris Christie and Mitt Romney are planning to meet to overcome any lingering awkwardness from the 2012 election. Incidentally, “Lingering Awkwardness” was actually Mitt Romney’s Secret Service code name. - Jimmy Fallon

Section 3. Due to the relationship between the Green Bay Packers, their fans, and cheese, the possession of and/or consumption of cheese or cheese flavored products shall be banned in Bainbridge Island City Hall on Friday, January 16, 2015. - A portion of an official executive order issued by the city manager of the City of Bainbridge Island, in Kitsap County, Washington, before the Seattle Seahawks played the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship game

New York’s JFK Airport has plans to open the world’s first airport terminal for animals next year. Not to be outdone, LaGuardia has announced plans to finally open a terminal for humans. – Jimmy Fallon

11:24 Yoav: Try to make the Shabbat as soon as you arrive 11:52 Friend: That is to say? 11:53 Friend: This Shabbat is very stressful, I have exams tomorrow morning, and I’m taking a flight, but after the Shabbat 11:53 Yoav: This is a difficult time in France for Jews ... At least try ... 11:53 Yoav: Do not do everything but at least try to do something 11:54 Friend: Ok, don’t worry; of course I’ll do it 11:54 Yoav: You’re the bomb 11:54 Friend: Lol thank you

JANUARY 22, 2015

The day before my husband died of cancer in 1997, he told me, “Don’t stop cruising.” So here I am today living a stress-free, fairy tale life. - Lee Wachtstetter, an 86-yearold Florida widow, explaining why for the past seven years she has been permanently living aboard the Crystal Serenity cruise ship at a cost of $164,000 per year

An NFL player was arrested in Florida on gun charges. The news was shocking to anyone who knows nothing about the NFL or Florida.

The last message that Yoav Hattab, 21, sent shortly before entering the Paris kosher supermarket where his life was cut short in a brutal act of terrorism, trying to convince a friend to observe Shabbos:

THE BALTIMORE JEWISH HOME

Could you find a group of more self-consumed people, that on a day like that they’re writing about themselves? Do you think the public cares a whit whether they got into a private meeting? By the way the other private meetings they’ve had with me, which they’ve had within the last month, they didn’t report on that, did they? ... So listen, if they want to act like children let them act like children. That’s the way it goes. - Governor Chris Christie on a radio interview responding to criticism by local reporters that they were excluded from a meeting that he held with national news outlets before his State of the State address

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JANUARY 15, 2015

THE JEWISH HOME

THE BALTIMORE JEWISH HOME

JANUARY 22, 2015

Forgotten Heroes

Avi Heiligman

Ion Degen

Master Tanker

or most of the major wars during the 20th century, tanks have been part of the battle plan. For WWII warriors having a reliable tank in large numbers was vital to their success on the battlefield. The Americans had the Sherman tank that, while inferior to many German tanks, had the advantage of numbers. The Germans had several versions of their tanks, called panzers, which included the feared Tiger tank. For the Russians, it was the second-most produced tank in history—the T34. In the hands of skilled operators, the medium tank, a well-protected tank with an 85mm main gun, was a brutal weapon against the Germans. One of these operators was Ion Lazerevich Degen, a Jewish soldier who became a renowned doctor in Israel after the war. Ion Degen, who later went by the name Yonah when he made aliyah, was only 16 when the Germans invaded Russia during the summer of 1941. After finishing ninth grade, he joined the army as a volunteer. He had several useful skills like a skilled marksman and horseman so he was sent to the 130th Division. Along with many underclassmen, he was sent into battle right after the invasion. His youth rifle platoon consisted of 31 boys in high school, 27 of which were Jewish. The fighting from the onset was fierce and at times was hand-to-hand combat. Degen’s division was surrounded and the Germans were slowly closing in on their positions. At one point, he knocked a German sergeant out of his senses by hitting him with the butt of his rifle. When he came around he began cursing Jews and Degen shot him instead of taking him prisoner. He was separated from the rest of his unit but along with another soldier they managed to continue fighting using German weapons that they had found.

Degen was wounded in the leg, and for the next nineteen days, his friend cared for him as they tried to escape. Sadly, his friend drowned in a river they were crossing. Degen came to a Ukrainian village and the locals cared for him even though the Germans announced that anyone harboring Jews or Communists would be shot. After being transferred under cover by the locals, he soon was sent to a Russian hospital. The doctors wanted to amputate his leg but he refused. He soon regained full use of the leg. Only four soldiers from Degen’s original unit survived the attack and all were wounded. A few years after the war, to his astonishment, he saw his friend that he thought had drowned. It turned out that he survived but lost a leg during the Battle of Stalingrad. After spending five months in the hospital and several more wandering the country trying to recover, Degen rejoined the army. This time he was in a reconnaissance unit in a battalion of armored trains. During the battles in the Caucuses in the summer of 1942, his commander was killed and Degen was chosen for the leadership position based on his mathematical skills that came handy during battle. The night of October 15, 1942, his four man (actually the radio operator was a woman) recon unit was returning from a mission when they ran into two German sentries by a river. Both were killed with knives but other Germans heard the commotion and fired. One Russian was killed and Degen was wounded in the leg for a second time in his military career. There were many battles on the eastern front that have for the most part been lost to history. In his memoirs, Degen recounts the heroism of individual tanks and soldiers that gave

the Germans a taste of their own medicine. He knew about a tank crew that destroyed seventeen German tanks and a self-propelled gunner who singlehandedly destroyed seven of the best Nazi panzers. Degen soon became a member of the exclusive tank aces (destroying at least five enemy tanks) group. Degen was released from the hospital and joined the 21st Tank Training Regiment. He was then transferred to the First Kharkov Tank School where he graduated with the rank of junior lieutenant after a year. In the spring of 1944, he was given a new T-34-85 tank and a crew that was new to battle. His “green” crew was soon thrown into the war, and by war’s end, Degen had lost two full crews as casualties. They went into the 2nd Guards Tank Brigade which was a famous unit that was known for being in thick of big battles. Most tankers didn’t survive two offensives with the 2nd Guards. After surviving two major battles and knowing that he had been wounded severely twice before, other tankers gave Degen the nickname of “Lucky.” In June 1944, the 2nd Guards were part of the offensive to take Vilnius, Lithuania. They soon were in the thick of battle and Degen’s three tank platoon was shot up but managed to kill many Germans. By the end of the war, he had killed twelve tanks and four self-propelled guns. Eight of the tanks were Panthers and one was the dreaded Tiger tank. In addition to the vehicles, he also personally took out many Nazi soldiers and numerous weapons like machine guns. In one battle, he was in charge of three tanks that were supposed to be sent to the rear. However, over a score of German Panthers was advancing and scared the daylights out of most Russian crews. A general pleaded with Degen to push back the Germans and promised the tankers medals galore.

Even though they didn’t have to go back into the fight, they did anyway. Noticing that the Panthers were exposed from the sides, each of Degen’s tanks shot up six German tanks. They even managed to capture one intact and bring it to the Russian rear. Degen and his fellow tankers were given medals for their heroism but he was twice rejected for the rank of Hero of the Soviet Union because he was Jewish. January 21, 1945: Degen was wounded yet again which ended the war for him. In a frontal attack, a shell exploded in his face and he was sent to hospital for six months. This time, both of his legs were smashed and seven bullet holes pierced the arms of his shirt. Another tank unit saved him from capture and brought him to the rear. After the war, even though he had very little formal education, he decided to go to medical school. De-

The legendary T-34 tank

gen became a trauma orthopedist and was one of the first doctors to replace limbs. Writing close to a hundred medical dissertations, he became an expert in the field. In 1977, he immigrated to Israel and was honored by the Jewish nation for his role in WWII. His record made him one of the best tankers of all time and a true hero.

Avi Heiligman is a weekly contributor to The Jewish Home. He welcomes your comments and suggestions.for future columns and can be reached at aviheiligman@ gmail.com.

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