THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2010 20 SHEVAT, 5770 SHABBAT: FRI 5:45 – SAT 6:45 CINCINNATI, OHIO VOL. 156 • NO. 28 SINGLE ISSUE PRICE $2.00
NATIONAL Campaign finance decision may hurt Jewish influence Page 7
INTERNATIONAL For Mengele survivor Eva Kor, forgiveness is freedom Page 9
Super Sunday raises $370,000, surpassing target This past Sunday, Jan. 31, donors surpassed the target of $250,000 as well as last year’s raise of $328,000. “There was a very positive feel,” remarked Danielle Minson of the Federation. “The overall sense of the economy among volunteers and donors this year was far more upbeat than this time last year.” Over 200 volunteers worked the phones, beginning at 8:30 in the morning. Of the total raised this year,
$50,000 were matching funds from PNC bank. “We are extremely pleased to know our match has encouraged many people to increase or make new gifts,” said Kay Geiger, president of PNC, who attended the event. Other VIPs at the event included U.S. Representative Steve Driehaus, State Senator Eric Kearney, State Representative Connie Pillach and City Councilmembers, Chris Monzel and Jeff Berding.
Ken Kabel, Fran Coleman, and Fred Kanter
World Wide Wrap, Ohav Shalom, Feb. 7 On Sunday, Feb. 7, the Men’s Clubs of Northern Hills Synagogue and Congregation Ohav Shalom will join with Men’s Clubs from Conservative congregations around the world for the 10th annual World Wide Wrap. Sponsored by the Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs, the World Wide Wrap provides an opportunity for Jews to practice and learn about the mitzvah of wrapping tefillin. This celebration will take place at Congregation Ohav Shalom. In celebration of the mitzvah, the Men’s Clubs of the two congregations will gather first for morning services. They will be
joined by students from 5th through 7th grades at Kehilla, the joint religious school operated by Northern Hills and Ohav Shalom. Instruction on how to wrap tefillin will be provided. Rabbi Gershom Barnard of Northern Hills and Hank Lerer, administrator of Ohav Shalom, will explain the importance of the mitzvah and lead discussions on the topic. The program will conclude with a complimentary breakfast. Jews wear tefillin at weekday morning services, in fulfillment of the Biblical commandment, as a sign and remembrance that G-d brought the children of Israel out of Egypt.
The commandment to wrap tefillin is mentioned four times in the Torah, twice in Exodus and twice in Deuteronomy. For example, in Exodus 13:9, it is written, “And it shall be for a sign for you upon your hand, and for a memorial between your eyes, that the law of the Lord may be in your mouth; for with a strong hand did the Lord bring you out of Egypt.” Also called phylacteries, a set of tefillin consists of two small cubic black leather boxes, containing scrolls of parchment inscribed with verses from the Torah, with leather straps. One is placed above the forehead, with the strap wrapped around the
head. The other is placed on the upper arm, with the strap wrapped around the arm, hand and fingers. “This year’s World Wide Wrap provides a great opportunity for members of both the Northern Hills and Ohav Shalom Men's Clubs to join together with students from our combined religious school, Kehilla. This will be a fantastic opportunity to pray, learn, and socialize together,” observed Jeff Gushin, co-president of the Northern Hills Men’s Club. The entire community is invited. For more information, please contact Northern Hills Synagogue or Congregation Ohav Shalom.
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by Bryan Schwartzman Guest Author PHILADELPHIA (Jewish Exponent) — If there’s any upshot to the misunderstanding that grounded a small aircraft last week in Philadelphia — and scared the wits out of two Jewish teenagers — it’s that the general public might now know a bit more about tefillin. A 17-year-old Orthodox Jew donned his prayer phylacteries to recite morning prayers during a Jan. 21 flight from New York’s LaGuardia Airport bound for Louisville, Ky. Unfamiliar with the prayer boxes — and fearful they could be a wired bomb — the captain decided to notify federal authorities of a disruptive passenger and land the plane in Philadelphia, according to FBI
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Wrapped in a dilemma: Set of tefillin, like these seen here, launched a scare on a Louisville-bound flight from New York when a Jewish teenager took them out to pray.
Special Agent J.J. Klaver, a local field officer. Within minutes, headlines on local and national news sites reported the “tefillin incident” as reporters scrambled to find out exactly what tefillin might be. (Tefillin are a set of small leather boxes containing scrolls of parchment inscribed with verses from the Bible, with leather straps used to wrap around the left arm and the forehead. They are worn by observant Jews during weekday morning prayers.) The plane landed at Philadelphia International Airport at approximately 8:50 a.m. and was searched by the Transportation Security Administration and the Philadelphia Police Department.
TEFILLIN on page 19