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Bringing you the Buzz! on Savings & Events Volume 3, Issue 60 February 21 2016

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My Grandfather: Patriot & Traitor There’s a time to uphold the law and there’s a time to outright break it.

by Rabbi Ezra Adler

M

y maternal grandfather, JA Samuel, was a successful trader in precious metals, who helped to found the commodities exchange in New York City. Because of his wealth and influence, he was also very involved with trying to save Jewish lives during the Holocaust, including travelling with esteemed rabbis on Shabbos in an effort to raise money for this purpose.

My grandfather’s business, like most, was disrupted by the depression years, and later, the outbreak of World War II. On 9 December 1941, my grandfather unexpectedly received a call from the Japanese Consulate in New York. They wanted to place a huge order for various precious metals that they urgently required, an order which would have brought a very large profit to my grandfather in those difficult financial times.

What made the call rather unusual was its timing. Just two days earlier, on 7 December 1941, “a date that will live in infamy”, in a stunning surprise attack, the Japanese Navy had bombed Pearl Harbor, the United States naval

base located in Hawaii, causing massive destruction of both life and property and thrusting the United States into World War II. Over 2 400 Americans were killed and close to 1 200 were wounded as a result of the attack. The very next day, 8 December 1941, the United States declared war on Japan.

In spite of the much needed income, without any hesitation my grandfather told the Japanese Consulate that he was unwilling to do business with them, querying how, after President Franklin D Roosevelt had declared war on Japan, he, a citizen of the United States, could do business with the enemy. The Consulate responded that the US government had given them 30 days to leave, thus making such a deal entirely legal. My grandfather, in turn, responded that, even if this was technically the case, it was almost certainly not what the government had intended by providing such a generous grace period, which was likely only done in order for them to conclude their outstanding business and move things out – not for them to start up new business. Accordingly, he reiterated his position, firmly stating

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he would not do any business with them, and proceeded to hang up the phone.

I can only imagine the thoughts that went through my grandfather’s mind after he put down the receiver.

After all, with the country now at war and only beginning to emerge from the many difficult years of economic depression, money was already very tight and he no doubt thought hard about the many Jewish lives that such a sum could have helped save.

A Call from the White House And that was the end of it. Or so my grandfather thought. Unbeknownst to him, the US government had started listening to all of the calls going in and out of the Japanese Consulate and had overheard his entire conversation.

Imagine his surprise when, only a few hours later, he received a call informing him of this and instructing him to come to the White House for an urgent, private meeting with President Roosevelt, who wanted to thank him personally, as well as formally recognise his exemplary actions.

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Although he was an observant Jew, like many religious Jews of that era, my grandfather never wore a yarmulke at work. For his meeting with the president, however, he felt he needed to make an exception, as he wasn’t just representing himself, but every Jew – so he purposely donned his yarmulke for the meeting. In appreciation for my grandfather’s unwavering patriotism, President Roosevelt promised that, henceforth, any platinum which the government might need during the war would be purchased exclusively from him. My grandfather may have lost out on some material reward from the deal he had refused to make with the Japanese, but he more than made up for it with the spiritual reward he reaped from the tremendous Kiddush Hashem (sanctification of God’s name) that he created.

Saving Jewish Lives

come.

Eventually though, the immigration office decided that, after having completed the forms to sponsor several hundred applicants, my grandfather could not be allowed to sponsor anyone further. Left without any other option, my grandfather made the extremely difficult decision to hire someone to make a forged stamp and letterhead for him. With these tools in hand, he started sending

In spite of the much needed income, my grandfather told the Japanese Consulate that he was unwilling to do business with them.

the Jews in the concentration camps.

How can you call what this man did treason? This was an incredibly brave and humanitarian act!” With that, the judge dismissed the trial and my grandfather was released.

Close to a decade later, my grandfather travelled by ship to bury his father in England next to his mother, who had died and been buried there many years earlier. News of his trip made the local papers and, when the ship he was travelling on arrived at the dock, he was quite surprised to be greeted by a crowd numbering in the hundreds. They had all come out to meet him and to thank him for saving their lives. Although they hadn’t made it quite as far as America, the affidavits he had sent to them had made it possible for them to escape from the death sentence they surely faced in Europe.

Although we knew some of the details of the work that my grandfather had done, the real scope and impact of his actions didn’t really sink in until after he had passed away. From what seemed to be out of nowhere, hundreds upon hundreds of people turned up at the funeral and then at the shiva house to pay their respects to this man who had saved their lives and the lives of their families. Shortly after, my brother discovered among our grandfather’s papers some of the lists of the many names to which he had sent affidavits, both real and forged.

My grandfather taught us by his living example that sometimes circumstances require us to behave in a way that upholds the spirit of the law, even if our actions wouldn’t really be in violation of the letter of the law.

But he also taught us that sometimes, circumstances require us to recognise there’s a higher law than the one written by man, and we have to do everything in our power to uphold it.

My grandfather knew the difference and was willing to pay the ultimate price if it came to it.

As much as my grandfather’s patriotism couldn’t be bought, it was eventually trumped by his loyalty to his people. When it came to saving Jewish lives, he didn’t let any laws stand in his way and was even willing to give up his life if necessary. When the danger to the Jews in Europe became clear, he channelled all of his efforts into getting them to America.

My grandfather worked hand-inhand, from a private office in his house, with Rabbi Michoel Ber Weissmandl, z”l, who desperately tried to save Hungarian Jewry, including, at one point, begging the Allies to bomb the train tracks leading to Auschwitz.

Anyone who wanted to immigrate to America not only needed money and means to get there, but, in order to secure a visa, required a sponsor, who was required to complete an affidavit stating that he accepted financial responsibility for the applicant.

My grandfather spent an enormous amount of time and money obtaining the proper documentation for each person he sponsored, and he sponsored hundreds of individuals, including my father’s family. Unfortunately, not every person wanted to, or could,

out thousands of forged affidavits to those who needed them, knowing full well that this was an act of treason that could earn him the death penalty.

It wasn’t until people actually started trying to enter into the country using these forged documents that the government took note of what was happening and began to investigate.

My grandfather was subsequently arrested and put on trial. The day of the trial came and my grandfather braced himself for the worst. As the prosecutor began presenting his case, family legend has it that the judge interjected and said to the prosecutor, “If you had seen today’s papers you would know that that they just reported all of the horrific things that the Nazis have been doing to

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Operation Texas: LBJ’s Mysterious Mission to Save Jews Did Lyndon B. Johnson secretly rescue hundreds of Jews on the eve of the Holocaust?

On the evening of December 30, 1963, a little more than one month after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the newly sworn-in 36th President of the United States kept a promise he made to the congregants of a small Conservative synagogue in Austin, Texas. At the personal request of his good friend Jim Novy, a political ally and a central Texas Democratic Party fundraiser, Lyndon B. Johnson addressed the members of Congregation Agudas Achim at a dinner dedicating their new sanctuary.

This was Johnson’s first public speech since taking the oath of office to become acting president of the United States. However, before LBJ

stepped up to the podium to address a grieving congregation, he was first introduced by Novy, a self-made Polish immigrant and chairman of the synagogue’s building committee.

Novy’s remarks were recorded and later reproduced on a commemorative analog vinyl disc that was distributed as a souvenir to all who were in attendance that evening.

In his Texas drawl with a slight Yiddish accent, the diminutive and bespectacled Austin scrap-metal magnate greeted the congregation and thanked LBJ for his involvement in what has become a historical and political mystery, puzzling both academics and historians for more

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than 50 years. Jim Novy’s introduction that night lit a fire of conjecture regarding a questionable and often disputed chapter of American history that has been steadily smoldering to this day.

“I want to take you back as far as 1938 when I went to Poland and Germany with my son, Dave Howard,” Novy began. “Naturally, I asked the advice of President Johnson. He had given me a letter for the [U.S.] embassy in Poland and went as far as calling them long distance to tell them to get as many people out of Poland and Germany that we possibly can and of course, through the efforts of the President, and with a recommendation

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behind the scenes to circumvent the existing discriminatory U.S. immigration laws and saved hundreds of Polish and German Jews on the eve of the Holocaust.

Gomolak insisted that Johnson’s strong spiritual conviction and moral obligation fueled this clandestine undertaking. Gomolak named this episode “Operation Texas” in his dissertation. He was the first to theorize that LBJ, with the help of Jim Novy, orchestrated two large-scale covert rescue missions of European Jews, in 1938 and 1940, and several smaller isolated ones. All of these were implemented, Gomolak believed, without the knowledge of the U.S. Government, and without leaving any tangible evidence or a traceable paper trail. As evidence, Gomolak cited Novy’s dedication speech and Novy’s personal notes where he specifically referenced 42 Jews who were saved on his first mission to Poland. Gomolak also allegedly interviewed several of the rescued refugees who settled throughout central Texas and who were members of Agudas Achim.

Gomalak has been very tight-lipped regarding his sources over the years, and nowhere in dissertation did he identify these supposedly saved hundreds by name.

Since his dissertation first surfaced, Gomolak’s theory has been the subject of speculation and debate among historians and his academic peers. Claudia Anderson, supervisory archivist of the LBJ Presidential Library in Austin, first learned of Gomolak’s rescue theory when the library received a copy of the dissertation in 1989. Over the years, she has conducted her own extensive research and combed through State Department archives in an attempt to validate Gomolak’s findings. So far, she said she has yet to discover any “primary-source proof” to substantiate Gomolak’s theory, which has now been relegated to Internet folklore. “I didn’t initially think he had enough evidence to substantiate what he was saying,” Anderson said in regards to Gomolak’s research. “I think he draws

to the embassy, we were able to take many, many people out.”

In July, 1938, LBJ, with Novy’s help, allegedly set the wheels in motion to covertly rescue a group of Polish and German Jews, including Novy’s sister-in-law and her three children. When Novy took a business trip to Warsaw with his young son that summer, in his possession were the necessary affidavits and departure visas, provided by Congressman Johnson, that enabled 42 Jews to leave pre-war Europe and circumvent the United States’ existing restrictive immigration policy. These refugees supposedly entered the United States several months later through the port of Galveston, and were then resettled in central Texas. In 1940, before Germany officially declared war on the United States, Johnson and Novy may have orchestrated another clandestine rescue of hundreds more. As a result, these Polish and German rescuees were saved from the imminent systematic annihilation of European Jewry by the hands of the Nazis.

As Novy nervously continued introducing LBJ at Congregation Agudas Achim that evening, he moved two years forward in his story.

He explained how after the second wave of refugees were brought to Texas, they were housed and trained in Depression-era NYA (National Youth Association) work camps.

These “New Deal” camps, created for American citizens by the Roosevelt administration, were designed to teach new trades to America’s unemployed youth, and reintroduce them back into the work force.

Johnson was appointed state director of the Texas NYA by Roosevelt, and he hand-picked his successor, Jessee Kellam, after his election to Congress in 1937.

“All I can remember is that we did get a lot of refugees here, and which the state didn’t mind to lodge them and teach them trades,” Novy told an attentive audience, “but they [NYA] wouldn’t pay for their food. So, the Joint Distribution Committee at that time appointed me to get all the

groceries and all they needed to eat while the State of Texas taught them how to get along in life and to get away from a country where they couldn’t do anything [referring to Germany’s Nuremberg Laws].”

With Secret Service members standing at the back of the room and Lady Bird seated by his side, LBJ patiently waited for Novy to conclude his introduction before he stepped up to the podium to address the audience. Johnson then thanked the congregation for their continual support and only cryptically alluded to the surreptitious episodes mentioned by Novy that purportedly transpired during the freshman year of his eleven-year-term in the U.S. House of Representatives.

As he read from the speech prepared by Bill Moyers, White House special assistant to the President, LBJ never acknowledged the tale spun

by Novy in his introduction, nor did he deny it. He did, however, make reference to the diverse cultural and demographic melting pot of Austin’s 10th congressional district that afforded him his political career: “From many lands, from many cultures men brought their families here to escape oppression, to escape war, to search and seek their peace,” he said.

“I am grateful that my first nonofficial public remarks since November 22 can be made here in Austin and in conjunction with the dedication of a house of worship.”

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Controversial Dissertation This little-known dedication ceremony at Agudas Achim in Austin was all but forgotten until 1989, when word spread in academic circles of a dissertation submitted to the chair of the history department at the University of Texas by Louis S. Gomolak, an older-thanaverage doctoral student. In his dissertation, Prologue: LBJ’s Foreign Affairs Background, 1908-1948, Gomolak described how first-term Congressman Lyndon B. Johnson pulled the right political strings from

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conclusions that were not merited by the evidence.”

Anderson believes that Johnson sent Novy to the American consul in Poland in 1938 with a letter explaining that Novy had sponsors in the Austin community who had the financial means to support the refugees once they entered the United States and that they would not become public charges of the American taxpayers.

“That is what the State Department was so concerned with back then and used as a means to defend their anti-Semitic actions with regard to refugees and immigration,” Anderson said.

Anderson, however, is also skeptical about the number of Jews who were allegedly transported from Europe and brought, under the veil of darkness, into Galveston Bay: “I know that Novy was a big story-teller and I don’t know how closely he stuck to the facts,” she said. “Before I would buy into the story, we need at least some evidence of who these people [refugees] were or some evidence of another person who could corroborate that number – and right now, we don’t have that.”

Golomak’s dissertation noted that at the time of LBJ’s first purported rescue mission, during Franklin Roosevelt’s second term in office, foreign immigration into the U.S. was still determined by the harsh quota system of the National Origins Quota Act of 1924. Also known as the Johnson-Reed Immigration Act, it limited the annual number of immigrants admitted into the U.S. from any one country to 2% of the number of people from that particular country who were living in the U.S. in the year 1890. This discriminatory piece of legislation passed with overwhelming Congressional support, and was signed into law by 30th U.S. President, Calvin Coolidge.

According to Gomolak, this statute was designed to exclude nonAnglo-Saxons – specifically, people from eastern and southern Europe – from entering the U.S. A widespread

climate of xenophobia and antiSemitism existed at the time, and many Americans viewed all immigrants as subversives who threatened America’s social and political stability. The nation was still recovering from the Great Depression, and most Americans favored restrictive laws that protected scarce American jobs and maintained wages for the jobs that still existed.

In the 1930s, the average U.S. citizen condoned America’s isolationist policy, and was only somewhat aware of the oppressive treatment inflicted on Germany’s Jewish population by the Nazis.

Articles about the Nurenberg Laws and Kristallnaucht were usually buried in the back pages of America’s daily newspapers. Hitler did not officially declare war on the United States until December 11, 1941, four days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. One day after what Roosevelt referred to as “a date which will live in infamy,” the Nazis experimentally gassed hundreds of Polish Jews in the northern town of Chelmno, as a dress rehearsal for what would become the “Final Solution.”

Gomolak further noted that LBJ first learned the nuts and bolts of how to navigate the bureaucratic maze of America’s immigration policy while he was still an aide to U.S. Congressman Richard Kleberg of Corpus Christi.

Johnson discovered that German and Polish entry quotas into Cuba, Mexico, and South America went largely unused, and that he could bring refugees from Europe into those countries. After a period of time, those refugees could then obtain entrance visas into the U.S. and apply for residency. Johnson put this knowledge to the test after he was elected to Congress.

Rescuing Erich Leinsdorf In March of 1938, another one of LBJ’s good friends and political constituents approached him for a favor. Charles E. Marsh, publisher of the Austin American-Statesman,

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asked Johnson to intervene in the case of Jewish-Austrian conductor, Erich Leinsdorf. At the time, Leinsdorf was working in the U.S. on a six-month visa for the New York Metropolitan Opera. After being offered a twoyear contract with “The Met” and learning of Germany’s Anchluss (the annexation of Austria), Leinsdorf applied for an extension to stay in the U.S. The United States Immigration and Naturalization Service denied his request, but Johnson, according to Gomolak, devised a plan to have Leinsdorf’s immigration status changed from visitor to permanent resident. Johnson then instructed Leinsdorf to leave the U.S. for Havana and reenter under the German immigration quota. By 1942, Leinsdorf would become a naturalized American citizen and serve his newly adoptive country in the United States Armed Forces during WWII.

The Barber from Warsaw Not all of LBJ’s isolated rescues were as high profile as Eric Leinsdorf’s, nor were they all discovered by Gomolak while researching his dissertation. According to family folklore of the Diskins of Houston, one rescuee in particular, their family patriarch, left pre-war Poland with the help of Johnson and Novy before the borders closed, and immigrated to Texas in a very conventional, yet ambiguous manner.

On September 26, 1938, the M.S. Batory, a Polish merchant ocean liner, arrived at Ellis Island in New York harbor after eleven days at sea that included stops at Copenhagen and Cherbourg, France. Listed on the ship’s Manifest of Alien Passengers Bound for the United States were a group of more than 100 Polish nationals of the “Hebrew” race who departed Gdynia, Poland eleven days earlier. All of their exit visas were issued in Warsaw in the previous months of August and September, and all but two of these Jewish passengers, a rabbi and a Polish government official, told their Ellis Island inspectors when they

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disembarked that they were seeking permanent residency in the United States. They also said they would not be returning to Poland.

Among the passengers who passed through Ellis Island that day was 26-year-old Icek Diskin, a barber from Warsaw, who reinvented himself as Murray Issac Diskin. Years later, he would become a multi-term city council member and popular clothing retailer (Diskin’s) of Brookshire, Texas. After answering “no” to the obligatory questions asked by Ellis Island immigration as to whether he was a polygamist or an anarchist, Diskin indicated to the immigration officer that he, too, “would not” be returning to Poland. He listed his final destination as Georgetown, Texas, just north of Austin. There, his older sister and her husband, who had paid Diskin’s passage to the U.S. and his train ticket to Texas, were residing.

Diskin’s sister, Celia Neuman, and her husband Ben, were prominent members of Austin’s Jewish community and Congregation Agudas Achim. In 1938, they learned of fellow congregant Jim Novy’s rescue mission to Poland and asked if he could include her younger brother in his plans. Diskin had never immigrated to the U.S. like his older sister, and chose to remain in Warsaw with his mother.

Although Diskin’s widow, Bernice Diskin Reichstein, maintains that LBJ and Novy helped save her husband, neither she, nor her four adult children, know very much regarding the extent of LBJ’s behindthe-scenes involvement. Nor do they have any credible information of how this episode transpired or the logistics of the purported rescue.

Like so many other of LBJ’s rescuees, Diskin neglected to share the details of his story with his immediate family.

“When it comes to father discussing his past,” said Diskin’s oldest son, Ira, “he always conveniently had amnesia.”

Honoring LBJ’s Moral Courage In 1995, the Holocaust Museum Houston established the Lyndon

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Baines Johnson Moral Courage Award one year after it opened its doors.

According to the museum, recipients of this award are individuals, like Johnson, who exhibit moral courage, take personal responsibility and are willing to take action against injustice.

The award is part of the HMH’s annual fundraising activities and outreach program. Since its inception, the museum has bestowed this honor on 15 distinguished individuals and one deserving European country for altruistic acts that benefited all mankind. Dr. David P. Bell, a longtime member of the HMH board of trustees, believes that Lyndon Johnson, as a congressman, stretched the limits of his authority and risked his political career to rescue European Jews from the Holocaust – a mission based on his moral imperative. “The basis of why we honor LBJ at the museum is because he was a first-term congressman, with his whole future ahead of him, and he took extraordinary risks that would have jeopardized his political career on behalf of people he didn’t know,” Bell said.

When the HMH first learned of Operation Texas in the early 90s, Bell said that the board asked him to travel to Austin to meet Gomolak and investigate his claims about Johnson. Bell was initially convinced that Gomolak’s findings were largely accurate. Now, he said, he is not so sure, and believes that Gomolak may have embellished his research. Bell finds it frustrating that no paper trail regarding Operation Texas exists, plus, there is a reluctance on the part of those rescuees who are still alive to step forward and be acknowledged.

Bell, however, has his own theory why Operation Texas has been so difficult to confirm, and why rescuees are reluctant to make themselves known.

“This has been such a hard story to document because so many of the people who were brought into the U.S.

by Novy and LBJ were led to believe that what happened was illegal,” Bell explained. “Therefore, even years later you find very few people who were

willing to talk about it in fear that they will be sent back.”

On October 3, 1965, as a symbolic gesture, LBJ signed the Hart-Celler Act into law at the foot of the Statue of Liberty. This statute forever abolished the U.S. Government’s attempt to unjustly restrict immigration. And as the 16mm black and white film cameras documented this event for the three major television networks, Johnson addressed the American people: “This [old] system violates the basic principle of American democracy, the principle that values and rewards each man on the basis of his merit as a man, and it has been un-American in the highest sense, because it has been untrue to the faith that brought thousands to these shores even before we were a country.”

No Substantive Evidence Although Operation Texas makes for an intriguing story, no hard, substantive evidence proves or disproves the existence of these clandestine rescue missions. According to Anderson, official Lyndon Johnson biographer, Robert Caro, is well aware of the mystery surrounding Operation Texas. Nevertheless, Caro has never written a single word about this supposed episode of LBJ’s life in any of his four published volumes.

And as time passes, hope of any living person coming forward with firsthand knowledge or tangible proof diminishes.

At the time of this writing, neither the reclusive Dr. Louis S. Gomolak, now a retired college professor at Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos (renamed Texas State University), nor LBJ biographer Caro, has responded to my requests for an interview. Former LBJ staff member, Bill Moyers, told me via email he had no recollection of a speech he wrote for Lyndon Johnson or the dedication of the Agudas Achim synagogue in Austin where it was delivered on the evening of December 30, 1963 – a little more than one month after the assassination of John F. Kennedy.

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MatzaFun’s is proud to announce transportation for teens to Great of customer service. Jay has the great our 15th year of the Perfect Passover Adventure on NSCY day, Headline advantage of meeting all his guests featuring elegant Passover Seders, evening entertainment and non-stop and knowing their special requests gourmet glatt kosher cuisine and non noshing at the Ocean View Tea room, and needs before they arrive at Ocean stop fun filled activities for your entire FUN Family Theme nights with Place. It’s easy since all OP guests make family! Don’t Passover this Passover. Western BBQ and Oriental Nights, their reservations exclusively with Jay. Make it a MatzaFun Passover. With midnight buffets and “Viennese” Jay is also the owner of International one phone call you can book a Passover Oneg Shabbat, wine tasting, kashrus Travel Exchange, a travel agency based holiday and Celebrate with a pampered under Rabbi Zushe Blech, children’s in Philadelphia.

Passover. day camp, children’s shows and MatzaFun Tours provides About Jerry Abramson’s Matza everything you and your family Fun Tours needs for the best Passover holiday For over 28 years, Jerry ever- gourmet glatt kosher cuisine, Abramson’s MatzaFun Tours has elegant Seders and services, worldbeen providing the ultimate in service class entertainment, non-stop and kosher cuisine for their Passover activities, spas, and four-star resorts. resort guests. The hallmark of their At the Ocean Place Resort & Spa, successful programs is their attention you and your family can escape to an to detail and innovative cuisine elegant oasis of white sand beaches, that only comes through decades gentle breezes, and enchanting of personal hands-on experience. waterfront views. Located on a Their combined backgrounds cover pristine stretch of the New Jersey the culinary arts (Jerry began his Shoreline, Ocean Place is a premier classical training as a master chef in Jersey Shore hotel between New Europe), marketing (Shelly began York and Atlantic City. At Ocean her sales career at one of the nation’s Place there is a world-class European interactive indoor children’s Carnival top food products companies), kosher spa, heated indoor pool, fitness center, Extravaganza.

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Matza Fun Tours makes your exclusive Glatt products and delicacies Guests can pamper themselves in the Passover at Ocean Place the ultimate to the industry. Shelly and Jerry are European spa, stroll along two miles family vacation - peaceful and both very active members of the of boardwalk boasting the “ PIER refreshing. To learn about Passover Cherry Hill Jewish community, serving VILLAGE”, enjoy a game of golf, with Matza Fun at the Ocean Place as volunteers and board members of dive into the sports and recreational Resort & Spa Package visit us at www. several institutions. facilities, play in the 150-foot sandy matzafun.com or call Jay Press at beach directly in front of the resort: or 800.752.6050 or 215.332.2444 http://www.matzafun.com/ http://www.facebook.com/pages/ spend the day exploring Atlantic City, MatzaFun-Tours Six Flags Great Adventure, or Tinton Jay Press Falls Outlets.

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Making Growth the Goal A few months ago, the world was lining up to purchase lottery tickets for a chance to win the $1.5 billion Power Ball jackpot. Many of you can relate to the following afterthought: I didn’t win the Power Ball! I had it all planned out: what I would do with the money, how my life would be different, all the good things I would do, etc. I wish I had been the winner.

Today I find myself at the same old job, living in the same old house, wearing the same clothes, driving the same car, etc. The dream of winning filled me up so much and made me feel happy. Now the dream is gone, and I feel empty.

It’s difficult to accept reality, at least when that reality doesn’t give us what we want. We find ourselves traveling down the road in one direction, and we expect it to continue on and take us to our desired destination, but REALITY takes a different turn. Sometimes we even flat out deny that the road has changed course. To begin with, we become angry and frustrated. We stress about where our actual road is leading, and we feel sad and depressed that the path is not going our way. In a certain sense, we continue to travel in the same direction in our fantasy, and miss the turn off. This equates to real conflict and dissonance, because our wishful path diverges and strays further away from our actual path of reality.

There are different levels of acceptance. At the one extreme, we tolerate and bear reality, because we must. The unstoppable flood waters of life rush forward. Despite our having built walls upon walls of sand bags, we are powerless to stop the oncoming waves, and eventually to some degree we must accept it. The other extreme is to completely embrace and welcome that which life gives us. Such a lofty level indeed requires a lifetime of work, however it behooves us to place this ideal on our map. We must know the optimum to strive towards.

Changing our goal

When we’re fixated on where we

Power Ball Dreams want our road to lead, we’re getting stuck on a goal that no longer fits. We see only what we want to have, to attain, or to accomplish at the end of that road.

We lack the flexibility to change our direction as well as our goals. It may be too difficult to just stop wanting what we want, and thereby accept REALITY. It’s often more practical to target the part of the equation that is easier to change.

In the book Flow, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and his colleagues studied happiness in thousands of people around the world. They wanted to know how some individuals were able to attain happiness and optimal experiences despite facing adversity, in what he calls Flow. One colleague studied a group of people who suffered from paraplegia. He noted that “. . . a large portion of the victims mentioned the accident that caused their paraplegia as both one of the most negative and one of the most positive events in their lives. [The] tragic events . . . presented the victim with very clear goals . . . The patients who learned to master the new challenges of their impaired situation felt a clarity of purpose they had lacked before.”

Similarly, Csikszentmihalyi examined people who work happily in monotonous jobs and barren environments. He found that those who succeeded to do this changed “constraints into opportunities for expressing their freedom and opportunity.” In other words, they changed their focus and goal.

The common theme in all these studies is that happiness does not depend on external events and circumstances, but on how we interpret them. To many, this concept sounds foreign, almost like a fairy tale. After all, “If I had won the power ball, I would’ve been happy.” However, even if that happiness were sustainable and would last (contrary to studies that find that winning the lottery soon leads to depression and misery), such external

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circumstances are not necessary for us to feel happy and fulfilled in our life as it is now.

The Lobster As time passes, the lobster continues to get larger and larger inside its shell.

However, the shell is composed of dead material that doesn’t grow along with the living tissues contained inside it. When the lobster gets too tight and constricted, it sheds its old shell and grows a new one. Analyzing this phenomenon, we observe what prompts the lobster to shed its shell and grow a new one: pain and discomfort. When it becomes too tight and uncomfortable in the old shell, only then can growth of a new shell occur.

Do our difficult and painful situations prompt us to grow? We don’t like hearing this, and wish it wasn’t that way. I personally noticed how all my children grew and got a little older each time they fell sick and then recovered. The struggle shaped and matured them. As the saying goes, “If it doesn’t kill you, it will make you stronger.” This pattern can be applied to all of life’s struggles and sufferings: when we experience difficulties, when we are squeezed like a lobster, we grow if we choose to. Making growth the goal can always fit, even with our most difficult circumstances.

Addiction and growth In any tough life situation, the fitting question to ask is “How should I work to grow from this?” People can even grow from their addictions.

In his book Recovery Zone, Patrick Carnes develops Csikszetmihalyi’s observation that addicts use their brains in ways similar to successful achievers.

While achievers focus intensely on accomplishing their goals, addicts obsess about the substances, relationships and processes they are addicted to. With proper guidance, work and growth, addicts can actually learn to harness their addictive patterns and use them for success. In fact, they must do this for sustained recovery to

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occur.

Limited perspective It makes good sense to check our goals and see if they fit with where our path is actually leading. In addition to our often not being in control, we want the path to lead to certain destinations because of our limited perspective. We imagine it would be best to win the lottery, to have the luxury car, to make that business deal, etc. We feel so certain that these things will be good for us, but reality doesn’t take into account our limited perspective.

We perceive the world with only a mere 5 senses; our 2 eyes see in only 1 direction, and only the present moment that is in front of us; we are blinded by many things, such as bribes, desires, fears, and idealization; we even see things that aren’t there; we aren’t privy to how today’s suffering will shape us and make us grow; we don’t perceive which of our actions the suffering at hand is correcting; we don’t see our future; we don’t know about past lives, that may be driving and directing current happenings and events. This list is just for starters.

Rav Eliyahu Dessler gives the metaphor of a scribe involved in writing, who is being viewed through the keyhole of the room’s door. From this limited perspective, the onlooker can conclude that the quill and hand attached to it are moving by themselves. If the viewer can expand his perspective, though, and see the whole picture, he will realize that there’s a person who’s directing and moving the quill.

Just being aware that our perspective is limited helps us already to accept reality. We can admit that we don’t see the whole picture and can’t truly know where our path should lead. When reality takes a different turn, modifying our goal allows us to get back on the right track. Choosing to make our goal to growing from situations always fits, even if we can’t see why the quill moves the way it does. We don’t have to even know where our path is leading in order to choose to grow from that path.

Try it on I encourage the reader to ponder this perspective. Think about how your life would be more fulfilled and full if you always asked yourself how you could grow from your situations and made that your goal. Consider where you would be by now and what you would have accomplished. We don’t like hearing that “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” Often, though, we have no choice. “Life happens,” to all of us. I invite you try out this perspective, to work towards acceptance, by making growth the goal. If you get stuck, speak to others about it, or you can contact me. Here’s to your growth! ________________________________ Kalman Canant, LCSW, CSAT-c is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker located in Brooklyn NY, where he maintains a private practice in Ditmas Park. He works with various issues, such as trauma and PTSD, depression, anxiety, and couples issues. He specializes in working with relationship and intimacy issues, and related addictions. You can learn more about his approaches at kalmancanantlcsw.blogspot.com. He can be reached at 347422-6268, or by email kacanant@gmail.com.

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I

By Chaya Sarah Schlussel

f you were offered the gift of one supernatural ability, what would you choose?

For me, I would choose the humble ability to turn back the hands of time. To revisit special moments with a loved one who is no longer here; whose every word would now be counted as a treasure, whose every action would be infinitely cherished. Having lost my own father just over a year ago, I can well relate to Shlomo Kugel as he recounts nostalgic memories of his beloved father R’ Shimon a’h, a man whose supernatural strength had nothing to do with brawn and everything to do with incredible inner fortitude. His heroism was reflected in unshakeable faith, unswerving values and uncompromising principles.

R’ Shimon Kugel. To know the man, was to know his music. As a child prodigy, R’ Shimon rose to melodic stardom with the rare tone of timber of his voice. He had years of vocal training, beginning at the Academy of Musical Cantors in Jerusalem, where he learned from such musical greats as R’ Zalman Rivlin, R’ Zalman Pollak, and R’ Leibele Glanz. As his training intensified and his skill and acumen increased, R’ Shimon branched out even further into the sparkling stadium of song. He became good friends and musical confreres with R’ Shlomo Carlebach and world renowned tenor Luciano Pavarotti.

But one of his greatest musical victories was achieved through surrender. Hailed as an up-andcoming sensation by none other than Brian Epstein, the talented showbiz promoter and manager who propelled The Beatles to superstardom, R’ Shimon Kugel was offered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that any aspiring singer would swoon for. As Epstein’s protégé, he was offered the chance to participate in an upcoming Eurovision competition – the single most prestigious annual European musical event. During the contest, countries compete for the best new song,

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and the championship is watched by millions of viewers. Representing England as the country’s premier young talent, Shimon was on the fast lane to instant fame and fortune, guaranteed a recording contract should he win.

A few years ago, Mishpacha Magazine published the story of R’ Kugel’s remarkable challenge, as written by Barbara Bensoussan: “Shimon was slated to perform two pieces by composer/singer Paul Anka, in front of an audience glittering with stars and paparazzi.

Everything was set: The songs were recorded, tickets to the competition in Belgium purchased, the hotel reserved.”

But then he found out that the final rehearsals would take place in Knokke – a famous Belgian beachfront resort – and they would

take place on Shabbos. On top of that, Epstein made it crystal clear that launching a brilliant musical career under his direction would require working on many Friday nights. Suddenly, the young, talented, newly launched Shimon Kugel found himself facing a daunting spiritual dilemma; one that would have broken many a weaker soul. Should he put his religion on hold while he pursued his dream of musical glory? Or stand strong in the wake of such enormous temptation? That’s where Shimon’s heroism came to the fore. He would not concede or capitulate to the lure of riches and renown. He would not desecrate Shabbos for all the money in the world. Instead, he steered his career in a holier direction – less lucrative, but far loftier. He became a chazzan. Parenthetically, the song

he was to sing was performed by another singer by the name of Jack Jones, and it went on to win the contest.

He served as chazzan for 17 years in Panama, where he took the title of shliach tzibbur very seriously.

He considered it a tremendous responsibility to affect and influence the quality of Yiddishe davening. And when he davened, he made sure that the tune truly connected to the words in a way that defined and depicted them.

When he sang ‘Hashamayim shamayim laHashem,’ he raised his voice toward the heavens, and when he intoned the word “haaretz” he pitched his voice lower in perfect translation. R’ Shimon was a genius in nusach of chazzanus. He didn’t only have a ‘nice voice;’ he was a baal tefillah in every sense. Many

But then he found out that the final rehearsals would take place on Shabbos...

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On many occasions R’ Shimon would get a burst of inspiration on Shabbos, and compose a new tune for zemiros by memory. and hum it all Shabbos inorder to not forget it and immediatly record it Motzaei Shabbos congregants approached him to comment on how deeply his tefillos had stirred them, elevating them in concentration and devotion. To this day, his son Shlomo regrets never having recorded the entire nusach, because it epitomized his father’s unique format.

How does one define a legend?

What transforms a singer into

a star? In secular pop culture, celebrities are catapulted to fame if they have the right externals: great stage presence, radical beats and a trendy style. On the frum stage, however, it takes a lot more than that to resonate with an audience.

We’re a much harder crowd to please. Because to become a star in our lexicon, a singer needs to reveal something of himself that is internal: a depth of emotion, a tone of sincerity, a whisper of the neshama that penetrates the hearts and minds of all who listen. By that definition, Shimon Kugel was a legend of infinite caliber.

When R’ Shimon first came to America, he was offered a very profitable job as cantor for a shul in Chicago. They offered to fly him from NY to the Windy City once a month, to be chazzan there for Shabbos Mivorchim. And they were

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willing to pay $150,000 a year for the privilege of having him sing – a veritable fortune back in those days. The only catch? The shul was…

Conservadox. It had a mechitzah, but not a 100% kosher one. And there was a mike hidden behind the bimah so the congregation could better hear the tefillos on Shabbos.

Tackled with another formidable spiritual test, he triumphed once again, exposing his steel core of belief and conviction. His words: “I’m not selling my neshama for money.”

On many occasions R’ Shimon would get a burst of inspiration on Shabbos, and compose a new tune for zemiros by memory. Since he couldn’t record it on Shabbos, he would sing it all throughout the day, then run to get his tape recorder right after Havdalah. At other

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times Shlomo remembers his father waking up at night and humming a new tune that he had just dreamed about. R’ Shimon would rejoice with those mid-night revelations, feeling as though they were min hashamayim.

Music may have been his talent, but kindness was his trademark.

Shlomo remembers his father often coming home from Shacharis after 2-3 hours. He wondered what had taken his father so long to daven, but it wasn’t until years later that he found out. R’ Shimon had befriended an unaffiliated Russian

On another occasion R’ Shimon came home after a concert and related that a person in the audience had come over to thank him after the show. The man said, “I’m not religious, but after such an inspirational concert, I’m going to start putting on tefillin first thing tomorrow morning.” Such was the power and poignancy of R’ Shimon’s niggunim. People who were broken, spiritually or emotionally, would often draw comfort and encouragement from his

who called to thank R’ Shimon for creating the kind of music that gives him reason to keep on living – R’ Shimon’s reputation as a sensitive human being and a skilled songster quickly spread. Poor people came every week to R’ Shimon’s house, asking for tzedakah for Shabbos.

He always gave what he could and greeted each individual b’sever panim yafos.

There was a family living in Flatbush whose eight-year-old daughter Yafit became seriously sick. Someone introduced R’ Shimon to

1967 Shimon first LP Shimon Kugel with his eldest son Shlomo Jew, and asked if he would like to put on tefillin. After putting tefillin on the man, he said Krias Shema and brachos with him, then gave him some money. That Russian yid had many friends, all of whom he referred to Shimon Kugel for donning tefillin. One guy told another and before long, there was a line of Russian Jews in shul, waiting for R’ Shimon to pray with them, be mekarev and mechazek them each morning.

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wellspring of song.

His melodies were never loud or raucous, only lyrical and resonant.

There was a special, infectious charm that exuded from R’ Shimon Kugel, drawing many to his sweet smile and warm demeanor. He was a father figure to many – a compassionate and attentive listener who truly cared for every Yid. From the Dayan in Gateshead who called every week from England just to extend his kind regards and praise, to the old man in the nursing home

the family, and he would go every Motzei Shabbos to sing for the girl.

When she was admitted to the hospital for chemo, Yafit requested that R’ Shimon come and sing for her there. He went to the hospital and when he got there, he found Yafit feeling listless and nauseous.

The chemo had gotten her down.

Yafit asked everyone else to leave the room, leaving only R’ Shimon and his guitar. He sang. He played.

And when he left, there were tears in his eyes. Yafit had started eating

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Performing at one of his last memorable concerts

again, and a renewed spark of life was reflected in her eyes.

She passed away a few months later, and the Ribnitzer Rebbe’s wife from Seagate went to visit the grieving family. R’ Shimon Kugel was already there.

The Rebbetzin was reciting Tehillim, when she found a posuk that perfectly matched the full name of the nifteres: “Yafit Bracha Chein.” The posuk was “Yafyafit mibnei adam hutzak chein besifsosecha al chein berachecha Elokim l’olam.” As soon as R’ Shimon heard this, he went into another room and immediately created a beautiful song, within minutes, using those very words. He recorded that stirring rendition on one of his many albums, and it continues to inspire thousands.

R’ Shimon Kugel passed away a year ago. He is buried on Har

There was a special, infectious charm that exuded from R’ Shimon Kugel, drawing many to his sweet smile and warm demeanor.

He was a father figure to many – a compassionate and attentive listener who truly cared Hazaysim, and both Shlomo and his brother Benyamin recruited a yeshiva in Eretz Yisroel to make a siyum on the entire Shas Bavli as a merit for his neshama. If only we had the supernatural

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ability to turn back the hands of time, we would get to see him give one more smile, watch him wrap one more strap of tefillin, and hear him sing one more chorus. Instead, we will have to wait until R’ Shimon will herald the coming of Moshiach, bimhera biyamenu, in song.

Incredibly, the yahrtzeit of R’ Shimon Kugel is Yud Zayin Shvat – which fell on Shabbos Shira.

With his youngest son Benyamin Kugel

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R’ Shimon Kugel (L) 18 years old with legendary Cantor Moshe Kosevitzky (R)

The Legacy of Shimon Kugel A’H By: Sandy Eller

Living

as we do in 2016 and enjoying our cornucopia of all things Jewish, it is important to take a step back and remember that the vast selection that we enjoy today all started somewhere, with pioneers in each field paving the way for the many who would follow in their footsteps. When it comes to Jewish music, one of those innovators was Shimon Kugel a’h who passed away unexpectedly just over a year ago, leaving stunned fans and heartbroken friends and family members mourning the man whose beautiful music was the mirror of his soul.

Much like Chasidishe rebbes including the Chozeh of Lublin, the Kozhnitzer Maggid and Reb Elimelech of Lizensk were considered the second generation of great leaders, following in the heels of the Baal Shem Tov, Shimon Kugel represented the second generation of great musicians, according to Rabbi Yaakov Klass, Torah editor of The Jewish Press.

“Most of today’s generation can’t even begin to understand what

He was that good. I remember hearing a tape of a Shlomo Carlebach kumzitz where he said that Shimon had the sweetest voice in the world.

Shlomo Carlebach was, but Shimon lived what Reb Shloime was, although he definitely had his own identity,” said Rabbi Klass. “He was able to connect with a song and a tale in a beautiful way. He was a singer, musician and a storyteller all wrapped up into one.”

Rabbi Klass who wrote a music column for The Jewish Press titled The Top Chai, noted that Shimon was a significant contributor to the contemporary R’ Yaakov Klass Jewish music world, whose style is often copied today. But despite his talents, music wasn’t Shimon’s greatest accomplishment, according to Rabbi Klass.

“He was a really exemplary person,” said Rabbi Klass. “He was good with everyone. I never saw Shimon Kugel without a smile on his face. Even if he was walking around with problems of his own he always appeared to be content.”

said Rabbi Cohen.

“He had a list of people he called every single week.

Sometimes he would call me with a dvar Torah. Other times he would call to share a good joke with me. We would sing on the phone together and do duets. I looked forward to those Friday calls.” r e Rabbi m e m b eCohen red Shimon as the kind of person who

Rabbi Yitzchak Cohen of Dallas grew up with Shimon in Israel and the two sang in choirs together and studied music under renowned cantorial composer Zalman Rivlin.

“I always admired him even as a kid,” recalled Rabbi Cohen. “His talent was immense. He was a composer, a singer, a neshama. He was mamash everything all in one.”

Rabbi Cohen described Shimon as a true “yedid nefesh,” saying he thought of Shimon as a brother. Asked to summarize Shimon, Rabbi Cohen found himself momentarily stumped.

“He was a man beyond description because he had all the maylos a person should have,” said Rabbi Cohen. “He was a talmid chochom, a tremendous musician and a great singer, but above all he was the greatest mentsh in the world. I promise you if you were to look in the dictionary for the definition of the word ‘mentsh’ it would say ‘See Shimon Kugel.’”

Never a Friday went by when Rabbi Cohen didn’t receive a weekly “Good Shabbos” phone call from Shimon.

“He called every week without fail and he always called with a niggun,”

he looked at Shimon as a role model.

Once when MBD was visiting our home in Eretz Yisroel “He recalls telling me and my father that he studied his LPs inside and out,” said Shloime Kugel. “He said he knew every single one of my father’s songs by heart before he ever even thought of becoming a singer.”

Nesanel Gantz, director of Lev L’achim remembers growing up on a steady diet of Shimon’s music.

Son Shloimy Kugel remembers Mordechai Ben David saying he knew every single one of my father’s songs by heart before he ever even thought of becoming a singer.”

“He had one tape called ‘Little Bird,’” said Gantz. “When I was a kid I literally wore out the tape from listening to it so much. It came to the point where you couldn’t even heard it anymore and I had to copy it to another tape so I could continue listening to it. I can honestly say that his was the only music that I loved as a kid.”

Even years later, Gantz has high praise for Shimon’s music, which he hopes will continue to live on.

always went out of his way for others and who loved doing favors for people.

“He always worried about everyone else,” said Rabbi Cohen.

“Years ago I was in the hospital for two months. Not a day went by that he didn’t call my wife and when I came home he would call me every day. He was just unbelievable.

Above all, I miss him. I miss him terribly.”

As an early luminary in the Jewish music world, Shimon’s music helped shaped many others.

Son Shloimy Kugel remembers Mordechai Ben David saying how

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R E T N E O T E LAST CHANC

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humble. He always struck me as being very sweet.”

One of Shimon’s last appearances on Talkline took place over Pesach at a Miami hotel, with a kumzitz that was broadcast on air. Brenner recalled the event as “very inspirational.”

Singer Chaim Kiss also spent Pesach at hotels with Shimon and remembered being regaled with stories about Shlomo Carlebach.

“He was one of the top entertainers

Williger. “He didn’t care who went on stage when. He just wanted to go out there and make people happy.”

Williger sang with Shimon shortly before his petira, an experience he remembers very clearly.

“He just wowed the audience,” said Williger. “He was that good. I remember hearing a tape of a Shlomo Carlebach kumzitz where he said that Shimon had the sweetest voice in the world.”

Shimon’s versatility gave him the ability to impress on many levels, according to Jewish music personality Nachum Segal.

He was a sweet, sweet man with a voice to match

With Avraham Fried

as far as Carlebach for many, many years,” said Kiss. “He was one of the originals, one of the leaders and had such beautiful music.”

Kiss hailed Shimon as a trailblazer in his field.

“His music was timeless,” observed Gantz. “Every single song that he did, there was always a message and it was always inspiring. His tremendous sense of simcha comes across in every song.”

Talkline radio host Zev Brenner said would play Shimon’s song Hamavdil on his website after Shabbos and that he had interviewed Shimon on numerous occasions.

“I enjoyed having him on the air,” said Brenner. “He was likable and down to earth. Sometimes performers can have a big ego but he was very

“I would go out of my way to give him kavod whenever I saw him out of respect to the talent that brought music to the Jewish world. Everything we have now in Jewish music is because of the guys who laid the groundwork years ago. Shimon was a big contributor to Jewish music and a pleasure to work with.”

Appearing on stage with Shimon gave performer Srully Williger an up close and personal look at the well known singer.

“He had no airs about him,” said

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“He could be a folk singer, Carlebachian or a cantor,” said Segal.

“He could offer you all types and all genres of music and that was among the greatest musical talents that he had. In addition, he had such a warm personality, which when it accompanied his music, made his presentation even more heartwarming and more meaningful.”

Shimon may have become a household name because of his musical abilities, but to those who knew him well, the talent was just the tip of the iceberg. Despite his lengthy list of accomplishments, friend Marsha Motzen summarized Shimon and the legacy that he leaves behind in just 11 short words.

“He was a sweet, sweet man with a voice to match.”

Shimon’s eighteen albums span a period of 41 years, with another previously unreleased album to be released in the near future. His most recent album came out in 2009 and is titled Forever, a fitting tribute to a legendary individual whose good name, wonderful music and inspiring legacy will, indeed, live on forever.

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Kugel!

This is the perfect potato kugel: crispy brown on the outside and rich and creamy inside.

Five amazing recipes of this iconic Jewish dish.

by Dr. Yvette Alt Miller

I

had Shabbos dinner with Cohn.

He served kugel… So related the famous German poet Heinrich Heine in a letter dated December 19, 1825, to his friend Moses Moser. Moser had established a lofty journal for the study of Jewish culture, but Heine had a simpler take on what it meant to be Jewish: “I ate this holy national dish, which has done more to preserve Judaism than” all the journal issues Moser ever published, he asserted.

Kugel, one of the most iconic Jewish dishes, has the power to transport us back to memories of Shabbat and holiday tables. Over the past thousand years, it has spread to virtually every corner of the Jewish culinary world, but kugel’s origins are in Germany and – surprisingly – in China.

In the Middle Ages, the practice of cooking noodles or dumplings – dough boiled in a liquid – spread from China to Italy, as merchants traded spices and other goods along the Silk Road.

From Italy, Jewish traders brought the practice of making dumplings to Germany, and soon it became popular as a Shabbat dish. Jewish housewives started dropping balls of batter into

4 eggs Salt and Pepper 4-5 T chicken fat or light vegetable oil 1 large mild onion, grated 3 lbs. (1 ½ kg.) potatoes In a bowl, lightly beat the eggs with the salt and pepper, the oil, and the onion.

their weekly Shabbat stew, Peel and grate the potatoes (you may use a food to be prepared on Friday processor) and stir them quickly into the egg afternoon and simmered mixture (if you don’t do it quickly, they will overnight.

The resulting tarnish). Pour into a wide, shallow baking dumpling was a delicious treat, dish brushed with oil. Bake at 350 degrees F served alongside the stew (180 degrees C) for about 1 hour. Then turn the after synagogue on Saturday heat to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C) for 5-10 morning. In fact, “kugel” means minutes, or until browned. Serve hot. ball in German, reflecting its dumpling origins.

Serves 6-8. (Recipe from The Book of Jewish Soon, however, Jewish Food by Claudia Roden, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., women experimented with 1996.) cooking kugels by themselves, varying the ingredients. In eastern Jewish communities, Jewish women incorporated potato kugel. local ingredients like rice, spices, The first published recipe for kugel and dried fruits into their kugels. In in the United States seems to hail Europe, noodle kugels soon became from Western Europe: a sweet noodle popular. After the introduction of the version, the recipe given in Esther potato to European soil, Jewish cooks Levy’s groundbreaking 1871 American in Eastern Europe began making Jewish cookbook called for homemade kugels with the new vegetable. A noodles, raisins, eggs and sugar. popular Yiddish song captures both Since then, kugel has undergone the limited diet of impoverished a transformation: pineapple, Jewish communities – and the special cranberries, cream cheese all feature in place that kugel held as a special modern kugel recipes. Yet the classics Shabbat dish: remain ever popular and kugel is even Sunday potatoes, Monday becoming trendy. In 2015, Bon Appetit potatoes, Tuesday and Wednesday magazine even hosted a noodle kugel potatoes, Thursday and Friday cook-off, reflecting a new popularity potatoes, but Shabbos, for a change, a of this traditional dish.

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Jerusalem Kugel This sweet and spicy Israeli kugel is said to have arrived in Israel’s capital in the 1700s with the followers of the Jewish sage the Vilna Gaon, who encouraged Jews to resettle in Israel. (Thanks to the Vilna Gaon’s influence, Jerusalem soon became a majority-Jewish city again, for the first time since the Roman destruction.) Traditional versions call for Jerusalem Kugel to be cooked overnight, along with the Shabbat stew; this wonderful recipe gives you the option of baking it for only hour only, if you prefer, instead.

6 cups water 2 1/2 t salt 12 oz capellini or other thin spaghetti 1/2 t freshly ground black pepper 3 large eggs, lightly beaten 1 cup sugar 1/3 cup vegetable oil Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. Bring 6 cups water to boil, add ½ t salt, and cook the noodles for about 5 minutes, or according to package directions, until al dente. Drain, rinse in cold water, and place in a bowl. Add the pepper,

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remaining salt, eggs, and 2/3 cup of sugar. Mix well.

Heat the oil in a small saucepan and add the remaining 1/3 cup of sugar. Stirring constantly, cook over medium heat, until the sugar melts and starts to turn brown. (Keep an eye on this, for once it begins to caramelize, it darkens quickly) Pour the caramelized sugar over the pasta, mixing well. Grease a Bundt pan with vegetable oil and pour the noodle mixture in. Cover with tin foil and bake overnight.

Alternately: bake kugel in a 350 degree F oven for one hour, uncovered.

For an old Sephardic Jerusalem variation, add to the cooked pasta the following ingredients: 2/3 cup of plumped raisins (soak them in hot water for 15 minutes to plump them), 3 chopped and sauteed onions, 3 T light brown sugar, 1 clove crushed garlic, ½ t ground cinnamon, ¼ t ground nutmeg, 1/8 t ground allspice, 1/8 t ground cloves, and 1 t salt. Proceed as above.

Serves 6-8. (Adapted from The Foods of Israel Today by Joan Nathan, Alfred A. Knopf, 2001.)

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Broccoli Kugel This easy, delicious kugel becomes an instant favorite of everyone who tastes it. I was first given the recipe long ago by a dear friend, who’d just received it from her sister and was raving about how wonderful it was. I started making it every week, and even included it in a book I wrote about Shabbat. Years later, the same friend who’d passed along the recipe to me walked into her mother’s kitchen before Shabbat to find her consulting a copy of my book; she’d discovered this wonderful Broccoli Kugel recipe in it, she explained to her bemused daughter, and often made it for Shabbat!

4 large stalks broccoli (or 4 10-oz boxes of frozen chopped broccoli) 1 cup mayonnaise 2 T onion soup mix

4 eggs Dash of white pepper (or black pepper if you don’t have white) Boil broccoli until very soft. Drain, cool, and mash with a fork in a bowl. Add remaining ingredients and mix until well blended. Pour into a lined 8-inch or 9-inch baking pan and bake uncovered at 350 degrees F for 1 hour. cool Let cool, then cut into squares. Serve hot or cold.

Serves 8. (Recipe from Yvette Alt Miller’s Angels at the Table: A Practical Guide to Celebrating Shabbat, Continuum, 2001.)

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Shabbos Noodle Kugel This amazing Noodle Kugel contains no dairy ingredients – so is suitable to serve with a meat meal – yet I’ve had guests time and again who insisted that it must be made with the richest cream and butter. I came across it in a fun children’s book about young kids who try to help their Bubbe (grandma) make her Shabbos Kugel. My kids loved it when they were toddlers, and always clamored for me to make this delicious Kugel recipe, which was included in the book.

8 oz medium noodles 3 eggs, beaten 4 T margarine 8 oz crushed pineapple ¼ cup honey Cinnamon and Sugar

(Note: I often alter this recipe by combining sugar and cinnamon in with the noodle mixture, then sprinkling just a little on top before baking. The recipe leaves the amounts up to you, so you can make this Kugel as sweet as you like.)

(Recipe from Once Upon A Shabbos by Jacqueline Jules, Illustrated by Katherine Janus Kahn, Kar-Ben Copies, 1998.)

Boil noodles and drain. Add rest of ingredients. Pour into greased baking pan. Sprinkle top with cinnamon and sugar. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes or until set. Recipe may be doubled.

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Rice Kugel British Jewish cookery doyenne Evelyn Rose explains that this rich dairy kugel recipe was given to her by a Russian cook whose family used to make it before World War II, and represents a culinary link with the past.

6 oz (175 g / ¾ cup) Carolina (short-grain or pudding) rice 3 oz (75 g / 1/3 cup) butter 2 eggs 4 oz (125 g / 1 cup) raisins or sultanas (white raisins) ½ t vanilla essence ½ level t cinnamon

allow to cool. Meanwhile, set the oven at Gas No. 3 (325 degrees F / 160 degrees C) and put the butter in an oven casserole about 3 inches (7.5 cm) deep to melt it.

Whisk the eggs, add the sugar and carry on whisking to a creamy consistency. Mix in the raisins, flavorings and rice. Swirl the butter round the casserole to coat the sides, then pour the surplus into the rice mixture. Stir until thoroughly blended, then pour into the casserole.

Bake for 1 hour, until golden brown. Serve plain or with melted syrup.

(Recipe from The New Complete International Jewish Cookbook by Evelyn Rose, Robson Books, 1997.)

Cook the rice in a large pan of boiling salted water until very tender (about 20 minutes), then strain and

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Save the Date!

Sunday Night, april 3, 2016

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