THURSDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2010 • 25 KISLEV, 5771 • CANDLE LIGHTING TIMES: FRI 4:58 – SAT 5:57 • CINCINNATI, OHIO • VOL. 157 • NO. 19 • SINGLE ISSUE PRICE $2.00
Quint Kaufman, 10, Rockwern — Winner of the 2010 Chanukah Cover Coloring Contest
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Rockwern Academy to search for new head of school As Rockwern Academy embarks on a comprehensive strategic planning process to identify opportunities for enhancing excellence, Head of School Peter Cline has elected not to seek a renewal of his current contract. Ben Schneider, president of Rockwern Academy, has announced that a committee has been formed to begin a national search for a new head of school and new director of Jewish life. “It is with much appreciation for the professional contributions of Peter Cline to the vibrancy of our school that we now look to the next chapter in the life of this outstanding center of Jewish and secular education for our community’s children,” said Schneider. “Our bold strategic planning process – headed by Rockwern Academy board member and P&G business intelligence professional, Guy Peri – was already in place and has begun in earnest with a broad survey of current and prospective parents. The respondents’ data will inform the development of the strategic plan— every element of which will be
measured against an unyielding standard of excellence.” Cline will remain at Rockwern Academy as head of school until the end of the academic school year. During this time, the board and administration will drive a quality, seamless transition as the search for a new head of school gets underway. “Because the school’s strategic plan will be developed on a parallel track with the leadership search, this is now an opportunity to identify an individual who possesses a skill set that is ideally aligned to execute every dimension of the strategic plan,” said Schneider. “Rockwern Academy already does an outstanding job of achieving our primary purpose – unleashing the full potential in every Jewish child through providing academic excellence, developing a strong Jewish identity, and making a difference in the lives of others,” noted Peri. “But in an ever-evolving, and increasingly challenging and competitive world, preparing our children for bright, productive futures means that we need to embrace and identify new and
NHS Sisterhood, Hazak host upcoming events Both the Sisterhood and HaZaK groups of Northern Hills Synagogue – Congregation B’nai Avraham will hold events in the coming weeks, the Synagogue has announced. On Sunday, Dec. 5, the Sisterhood is sponsoring a tour of the Cincinnati Art Museum’s special exhibit, “Wedded Perfection: Two Centuries of Wedding Gowns.” This exhibit unravels more than 200 years of the evolution of the wedding gown, paralleled with the social, economic and political status of the women they adorned. Over 50 gowns will be featured from the late 18th century to modern designers, including Vera Wang, Yohji Yamamoto and Geoffrey Beene. The Sisterhood’s reservation is for 11 a.m. On Wednesday, Dec. 8, Northern Hills HaZaK and Congregation Ohav Shalom will co-sponsor a showing of a video of Avi Hoffman’s hit musical, “Too
Jewish.” This award-winning revue showcases classics of Jewish-American song and dance numbers, including Borscht Belt, vaudeville and parodies. The program will take place at the synagogue, and begin at noon. Lunch will be served. “HaZaK” is an acronym, with the letters standing for the Hebrew words “Hakhma” (wisdom), “Ziknah” (maturity), and “Kadima” (forward). The HaZaK programs are for adults 55 and older. In addition to members of Northern Hills, many attendees have come from the Jewish Community Center, Cedar Village, Brookwood Retirement Community and throughout Greater Cincinnati. There is no charge for either program, and both are open to the entire community. For reservations or more information, please call the Northern Hills Synagogue office.
effective ways to consistently deliver on our promise of superior academics. That’s why this strategic planning process is so important. We are developing a robust set of strategies and building blocks to position Rockwern as a premiere school and a core partner in our Cincinnati Jewish community.” “I’ve been enriched by my association with our school community and know that we are on the verge of great things. I am certain that our faculty, families and board will take our school to the next level,” said Cline. “We are grateful for the support of our community partners during this transition,” continued Schneider. “In the coming weeks, we will continue to keep the community apprised of our progress in both the strategic planning process and the search for our new head of school. Our goal, of course, is to find the ideal candidate; and while we would prefer to have that person in place as soon as possible, an interim director may be necessary to ensure that we have ample opportunity to identify the best possible head of school.”
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New winter programs for kids at the JCC Registration has started for the new winter session of kids programs in drama, dance, art, sports and music at the Mayerson Jewish Community Center. Offered weekdays and on Sundays, the winter programs start the second week of January featuring new classes like “Just Us Kids” Musical Theater Co. for grades 1–3 and “Boys Club,” focusing on fun and healthy habits for boys, ages 3–5. A broad array of free and discounted activities, like the new Shabbat programs for families, will also be available at the JCC this winter. For many years, the JCC has run successful musical theater programs like “Center Stage” for grades 5–8. This winter, the JCC will launch a similar program called “Just Us Kids” Musical
Theater Co., which culminates in a musical production starring kids in grades 1–3. Professionals from Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, UC’s College-Conservatory of Music Preparatory Department (CCM Prep), and Young Rembrandts’ will also provide creative arts programs at the J this winter for preschoolers through teens. JCC youth sports programs are popular all year round. Mike Creemer, JCC director of sports and recreation; Matt Miller, JCC youth and family coordinator; and Danny Meisterman, JCC youth and teen coordinator, will introduce “Boys Club,” one of the new youth sports programs at the J this winter. This 11-class program features weekly-themed games, stories, and activities, followed by a healthy snack just for boys, ages 3–5.
Due to popular demand, several kids’ sports programs from previous sessions are being offered at the J again this winter, some with special rates. JCC Members can enroll their 3–5 year olds in “Slam Dunk” basketball for half price, and J Member children, ages 18 mos. – 3 years, can learn gymnastics in the “Tumblebugs” class for free. Other JCC youth sports programs featuring reduced member pricing include Quickstart Tennis for ages 3 – grade 3, indoor soccer for ages 3 – grade 7, and taekwondo for age 3 – grade 6. Parents with children, ages 15 and younger, can enjoy quality time together this winter in JCC family programs like family ceramic workshops, family taekwondo classes, “stroller pump” fitness classes, and “Music and
Motion” for parents with babies and toddlers. There are also free family programs at the J starting in January, like the new “Shabbat Welcome” celebration and “Shabbat Babies” class held on Fridays, as well as free family gym nights and free member movie nights. The Winter 2010 JCC Update program guide, featuring a full list of youth and adult programs at the Mayerson JCC on The Jewish Foundation of Cincinnati Campus, will start arriving in homes next week. Most JCC winter programs start between Jan. 9 and 16. Programs are open to the public, and registration started this week. All class registrations are due to the JCC before Sunday, Jan. 3. For more information, contact the JCC or visit their website.
and allocations, the planning and allocations committee was faced with making challenging decisions and recommendations for distributing the available dollars from the Federation’s 2011 community campaign which, at $5.1 million, remained about even with the 2010 campaign. The allocations process includ-
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ed numerous site visits to local agencies, interviews with agency personnel and clients, and program evaluations utilizing standardized rating process instruments. Finally, allocations recommendations of the three individual local councils were presented to the planning and allocations committee. It was determined that vital social service programs and programs that directly impact the quality of communal life would receive increases; while others would experience either a flat or decrease in their allocations. In 2011, local and national allocations will total $2,286,296. Local programs receiving increases in 2011 include: Jewish Family Service’s aging services and case management, JFS’s vital services (Kosher Food Pantry and Chaver Fund), the Mayerson Jewish Community Center’s senior adult social worker, JCC’s Meals on Wheels program, and the JCC’s senior adult transportation service. “The number of households visiting the food pantry has increased 134%,” said Beth Schwartz, executive director of JFS. “The amount of money given in special assistance has increased 157% and the number of people served has increased 65%.” The Ohio Jewish Communities Government Relations program was the only national program to receive an increase since their Columbus-based advocacy work results in hundreds of thousands of additional dollars to the community’s agencies. The allocations for four of the
VOL. 157 • NO. 19 Thursday, December 2, 2010 25 Kislev 5771 Shabbat begins Fri, 4:58 p.m. Shabbat ends Sat, 5:57 p.m. THE AMERICAN ISRAELITE CO., PUBLISHERS 18 WEST NINTH STREET, SUITE 2 CINCINNATI, OHIO 45202-2037 PHONE: (513) 621-3145 FAX: (513) 621-3744 publisher@americanisraelite.com editor@americanisraelite.com articles@americanisraelite.com production@americanisraelite.com HENRY C. SEGAL Editor & Publisher 1930-1985 MILLARD H. MACK Publisher Emeritus
Jewish Federation allocations approved for fiscal year 2011 The Jewish Federation of Cincinnati Board of Trustees approved the recommendations of the planning and allocations committee for 2011 at its meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2010. The allocations will take effect on Jan. 1, 2011. Under the leadership of Suzette Fisher, vice-president of planning
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six Federation’s partner agencies (Jewish Vocational Service, Rockwern Academy, Cincinnati Hebrew Day School, and UC Hillel) remained steady; while the Mayerson JCC and Jewish Family Service received increases. For 2011, 35% of the allocable dollars will provide funding for Israel and Overseas programs. Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA), the umbrella organization of the Jewish Federation system, funds these programs in partnership with the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI) and the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC). “Without an increase in the 2011 community campaign, the allocations process required that we assign priority levels to each local and national program requesting funds,” explained Fisher. “Vital service programs that have a direct impact on health, safety and quality of life for members of the community were given top priority. Second tier programs were those that most significantly impact the future of Cincinnati’s Jewish community. And while most of the remaining programs are valuable to the community, any increases had to be allocated to fulfill priority human social service needs only.” Many individual community campaign donors in the community also earmarked additional funding for specific local programs. These supplementary contributions helped to fund programs that otherwise would have received fewer dollars.
LEEANNE GALIOTO NICOLE SIMON Assistant Editors ALEXIA KADISH Copy Editor JANET STEINBERG Travel Editor STEPHANIE DAVIS-NOVAK Fashion Editor MARILYN GALE Dining Editor MARIANNA BETTMAN NATE BLOOM RABBI A. JAMES RUDIN RABBI AVI SHAFRAN Contributing Writers LEV LOKSHIN JANE KARLSBERG Staff Photographers PATTY YOUKILIS Advertising Sales JOSEPH D. STANGE Production Manager ALLISON CHANDLER Office Manager
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Cinti Zoo hosts menorah lighting for entire Jewish community A special “unity menorah lighting” will be taking place at the local Cincinnati Zoo this Saturday, Dec. 4 at 7:30 p.m. The event will begin with a grand menorah lighting at the
Peace Garden. There will be live music, along with food. “We want it to be really big this year, something that will bring the entire Jewish community together,” said Menachem Frank, the
coordinator of the event. “The theme of adding light to your life is something universal, something that we can all relate to.” The entire community is invited to join in the festivities.
Chasen was a Hollywood story, in life and death By Rex Weiner The Jewish Daily Forward LOS ANGELES (Forward) — One time at the Ghent Film Festival, blond-haired and blueeyed movie publicity maven Ronni Chasen overheard an antiSemitic remark from an organizer of the festival. She went up to him and announced, “I’m Jewish,” in her unmistakable Bronx accent. The offender was stunned — and he apologized. “That was her. She was very proud of her heritage and who she was,” said Rabbi David Baron, recalling for the Forward a story he’d told while conducting the funeral of this Hollywood fixture on Nov. 21. “She was elegant — but blunt and direct.” Baron, rabbi of Beverly Hills’ Temple of the Arts, with which Chasen was involved for 20 years, is one of many friends and colleagues still reeling since Chasen, 64, was found by police in the early hours of Nov. 16, dying of gunshot wounds in her crashed Mercedes, the gruesome details providing forensic fodder for the nightly newscasts. Chasen was a Hollywood insider’s insider whose 40-year career as one of the film industry’s top publicists was all about getting out the story. Now her own story — how a Jewish girl from the Bronx rose to the pinnacle of her profession, only to end up riddled with bullets on a Beverly Hills street — is a Hollywood murder mystery. It has the Beverly Hills Police Department working around the clock, and Chasen’s Hollywood colleagues in shock. The publicist’s sudden passage also throws into relief the Tinseltown trends she promoted and epitomized. She was part of a wave of film machers who came west in the 1960s and ’70s — mostly from New York, and many of them Jewish — and created in the vacuum of the disintegrating studio system a new breed of inde-
Chasen had even invented a whole new category of story: about the film music composer as star, orchestrating the campaign that won Hans Zimmer an Oscar nomination for his score for “Driving Miss Daisy.” pendently produced films. Chasen publicized many of them, over time refining ways of improving their chances at the Oscars. Because of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ intricate rules (which disallow outright lobbying of members), the task required art and ingenuity — both of which Chasen eagerly supplied. A habituée of the red carpet in her perfectly coiffed golden bouffant, Chasen was a spokeswoman for top filmmakers, a key strategist for producers seeking Oscar gold, and a “hand-holder” to the likes of John Travolta and Michael Douglas — an important role here, where stars need someone to schedule and prepare them for interviews, guide them along red carpets and more. Journalists covering the movie business all knew Chasen: they either chased her for stories they needed or were chased by her for stories they often didn’t need but would write anyway. Chasen had even invented a whole new category of story: about the film music composer as star, orchestrating the campaign that won Hans Zimmer an Oscar nomination for his score for “Driving Miss Daisy.” She soon corralled nearly every important soundtrack composer onto her Chasen & Company roster. Chasen’s clients included producers such as Irwin Winkler, Mace Neufeld and Arnold Kopelson, part of the late-20th
century generation of producers turning out quirky movies like “They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?” passionate films like “Raging Bull” and “Round Midnight,” and blockbuster star vehicles like “Rocky” and “The Hunt for Red October.” CHASEN on page 21
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Reform looking at ways to reinvent the movement By Sue Fishkoff Jewish Telegraphic Agency SAN FRANCISCO (JTA) — After the Reform movement broadcast online its first session devoted to reassessing itself, in mid-November, the comments poured in. One viewer suggested that the movement create a network of schools, camps, shuls and seminaries focused on “tikkun olam,” the Jewish injunction to repair the world. Another said the movement should train five times as many rabbis and cantors to provide more entryways into Judaism through music, social action and prayer. Another wrote to express concern about the lack of civility in Jewish discourse, particularly concerning Israel. One asked how Jews could use media and technology to create community. It is exactly the sort of grassroots input that members of the reassessment team, called the Reform Think Tank, want as they take a hard look at where American Jewry’s largest religious denomination is today and where it ought to go in the future. “Five years from now, congregations won’t look like they do today,” Rabbi Eric Yoffie, the longtime president of the Union for Reform Judaism, told JTA in an interview. Yoffie, who plans to retire in mid-2012, is one of the major players in the movement’s reassessment project. The project is online and
Courtesy of Morgan Radmall
Rabbi Eric Yoffie, left, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, consults with members of the Reform Think Tank following the group’s online forum in Los Angeles, Nov. 21, 2010.
offline, top down and bottom up. Each of the three major Reform institutions — the synagogue movement, rabbinical association and seminary — nominated 10 members to lead the 18-month discussion, which will be punctuated by four live streaming forums devoted to specific topics. Each is being archived online. The first, held Nov. 21 in Los Angeles, dealt with the impact of social media on religious life.
About 300 individual viewers watched in addition to about 50 watching parties at Reform congregations. They could follow a blog and Twitter feed along with the broadcast, and sent in comments and questions to help direct the conversation. The team received more than 200 comments and questions even before the first forum, an organizer said. The second forum is scheduled for April in Cincinnati, a third for
December 2011, and the final for March 2012. “We’ve never done anything like this before,” Yoffie said. “It’s kind of scary,” said Steven Windmueller, a professor at the School of Jewish Communal Service at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Los Angeles and one of the co-organizers of the project. “Everything’s on the table. If we reinvent this whole thing, what will it look like? We’re not moving from one place to another in linear fashion—we’re experimenting.” Demographic changes, financial challenges, new family structures and the changing nature of social media and how people connect to each other are just some of the pressures forcing change upon a movement founded 200 years ago in Germany but that developed its institutions in North America following World War II, Yoffie said. Back then, the world and American Jewry had different needs and interests, he said. “We are primarily a suburban, family-oriented movement,” Yoffie told JTA. That’s one thing that must change if Reform Judaism is to appeal to the next generation, according to Yoffie. “We need more synagogues in the major metropolitan centers,” he said. The recent economic downturn already has forced changes, including the dismantling of much of the Union for Reform Judaism itself, where consultants have replaced many staff departments. That was in the works already, Reform lead-
ers insist; the recession just advanced the move quicker and gives a greater urgency to the reassessment project. “This is not an ivory tower think tank,” said Rachel Tasch, president of Congregation Beth Am in Los Altos Hills, Calif., and one of the 33 leaders selected for the Reform Think Tank. “We’re trying to make it a grass-roots thing, so people have a voice, a way to have real input.” Those who want to participate in the project can send in their comments anytime over the next year and a half. Pulpit rabbis involved with the project will take the conversation to their congregations and “take the pulse of the community” before the next forum, Windmueller said. The team also will consult with youth groups, synagogue presidents and other Reform activists. “Most of the questions we received were in line with the questions we ourselves have,” Tasch said after the first forum. “The nature of community in a world where everything is online; the tension between face-to-face communication and technology; the nature of membership; what does it mean to belong in a world where everything is out there and available?”
“If we reinvent this whole thing, what will it look like? We’re not moving from one place to another in linear fashion—we’re experimenting.” Steven Windmueller
Yoffie believes that synagogues will continue to be the foundation of Jewish life in North America but must evolve radically to adjust to how people communicate and relate via technology. “Social media can be contentious,” he told JTA, “and congregations are not contentious places. It’s where you go for comfort and support. So how do we deal with the contention of modern media while preserving the congregation as a place of menschlikeit and mutual respect? “The truth is, we have to take risks if we’re not going to be irrelevant.”
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Lame-duck Congress jeopardizes school lunch program for poor, groups warn By Ron Kampeas Jewish Telegraphic Agency WASHINGTON (JTA) — The framers of an interfaith effort with the grand goal of halving American poverty in the next decade had a small but focused message this week: Keep those school lunches coming. At a meeting Monday on Capitol Hill at an event attended by congressional staffers, the framers of the effort spoke of a pending vote to reauthorize the Child Nutrition Act, the program which brings school breakfasts and lunches to needy children. They are concerned that Congress in its post-election session will rush through an agenda to have lawmakers home in time to prepare for the new Congress in January and neglect to pass an act that must be reauthorized every five years. “It’s a lame-duck Congress, but it has to be done,” said Rabbi Steve Gutow, the director of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, the Jewish public policy umbrella taking the lead in the Fighting Poverty with Faith initiative. “It has to be passed or else kids are going into Christmas hungry.” Both houses of Congress have passed the reauthorization, but now the House must pass the Senate version in order for the act to reach President Obama’s desk. Congressional insiders do not give reauthorization strong chances. Congress is expected to end its session this week and is grappling with funding unemployment insurance. Reauthorizing the act, although an immediate term goal, was emblematic of the broad measures envisioned by the Fighting Poverty with Faith initiative over the next decade. At the Capitol Hill event, which followed a day of lobbying, representatives of the three umbrella bodies — the JCPA, the National Council of Churches in Christ and Catholic Charities USA — joined Obama administration officials in outlining how faith groups could partner with government to reduce poverty. Census estimates show that 40 million Americans live at or below poverty level. The programs wedded government with church and synagogue in a way unimaginable before President George W. Bush launched a faith-based initiatives office. Obama has tweaked some of Bush’s programming, weeding out more obvious expressions of faith, but he has embraced the partnership in ways other Democrats have not. David Hansell, the acting assis-
tant secretary for health and human services, called on faith groups, for instance, to train volunteers in navigating the federal bureaucracy, and then in assisting the poor in obtaining available benefits they might not otherwise know exist. The supplemental nutrition assistance program, or food stamps, reach only two-thirds of those eligible, said Max Finberg, the director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture FaithBased and Neighborhood Partnerships. Faith groups could bring the $133 a month available under the program to another 20 million people. The question looming over the proceedings was how such initiatives would be treated by the new Congress, in which the House will be led by Republicans spurred by the cost-slashing Tea Party. “The great frontier virtue of self-reliance must be leavened with the equally as American virtue of compassion,” Hansell said at Monday’s meeting. He used Tea Party rhetoric, which perpetually references the founders, to make the point. Gutow said afterward he did not see the changed political climate as an immediate concern because both parties are dedicated to alleviating hunger. “Hunger is bipartisan,” he told JTA. Officials note that the new poor come from the ranks of a class that is politically engaged, making it an issue that Congress would be hardpressed to ignore. “We are now serving people coming in the front door who never envisioned in their lifetimes needing these programs,” Kevin Concannon, an undersecretary for agriculture, said of government relief programs. Much of the talk at Monday’s session was peppered with Jewish references, a sign of the disproportionate Jewish voice in the initiative. Non-Jewish speakers referred to the Passover Haggadah and to Hillel, in addition to Old Testament prophets, in making the case to alleviate poverty by 2010. This is the third annual fall mobilization for the initiative, culminating in a Thanksgiving-time call for change. Jewish groups often take the lead in the public initiatives to highlight poverty. This year, Detroit’s Jewish Community Relations Council joined a local Muslim umbrella body in organizing a day of free medical checkups for the poor. In New York, Hillels at New York University, Columbia
Courtesy of JCPA
Hillel members from several New York City universities interacting with the homeless community during a resource fair in New York, Oct. 17, 2010.
University and Yeshiva University joined to set up a homeless resource fair last month that provided blankets, clothing and food
for the homeless. “Our goal is to humanize the homeless community’s plight and inspire real reform to help these
individuals find food and shelter,” said Ilana Hostyk, the Yeshiva University student who organized the fair.
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Timing, noodging advance new push for Jonathan Pollard By Ron Kampeas Jewish Telegraphic Agency WASHINGTON (JTA) — A combination of timing, diplomatic considerations and, above all, good old-fashioned noodging has culminated in the biggest push in years to free Jonathan Pollard. Insiders associated with the push, which resulted last week in a congressional letter to President Obama asking for clemency for the American Jew convicted in 1987 of spying for Israel, say the main factor was one man: David Nyer, an Orthodox activist from Monsey, N.Y. Nyer, working under the auspices of the National Council of Young Israel and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, repeatedly called dozens of congressional offices and pressed Jewish groups asking for a leader to take on the case of Pollard, the former U.S. Navy analyst who has spent 25 years in prison as part of a life sentence — the longest sentence for spying for an ally. Congressional staffers described Nyer as “relentless,” and he eventually struck gold: Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), who chairs the U.S. House of Representatives Banking Committee, agreed to sign on. That prompted a total of 39 signa-
Courtesy of Office of Rep. Steve Rothman
Rep. Steve Rothman (D-N.J.) speaks at a news conference on the day that he and another 38 members of Congress sent a letter to President Obama appealing for clemency for Jonathan Pollard, Nov. 18, 2010.
tures — all from Democrats — to the letter sent to Obama. Getting Frank was a coup, one congressional insider said, not only because he has a leadership position, but because his pronounced liberalism in other arenas adds credibility to an effort that has been identified in recent years with the Israeli and pro-Israel right. Frank took up the cause because he long has believed that Pollard’s life sentence was disproportionate to the crime, his spokesman said. “It is something he feels strongly about,” Harry Gural told JTA. Launching the initiative at a Capitol Hill news conference Nov. 18, Frank listed two factors that made the matter timely: Pollard’s 25 years in prison as of Sunday and the parlous state of the IsraeliPalestinian peace process. “The justification of this is the humanitarian one and the notion that the American justice system should be a fair one,” Frank said. “We believe that clemency after 25 years for the offenses of Jonathan Pollard would do that. “My own hope is that if the president would do this, it would contribute to the political climate within the democracy of Israel and would enhance the peace process.” Frank alluded to Obama’s low popularity in Israel where, fairly or not, the president has been saddled with a reputation as cool to Israeli interests. “There are clearly people in Israel who are concerned about the nature of the American-Israeli relationship,” Frank said. “An affirmation of that relationship would go forward” to alleviating such concern. Frank was joined at the news conference by Reps. Steve Rothman and Bill Pascrell, both of New Jersey, and Anthony Weiner of New York. Pascrell met with Pollard in 1998 at Butner, the federal facility in North Carolina where he is imprisoned. Another initiator of the letter was Rep. Edolphus Towns of New York. The letter’s emphasis is on what it says is the disproportionate length of Pollard’s sentence. “We believe that there has been a great disparity from the standpoint of justice between the amount of time Mr. Pollard has served and the time that has been served — or not served at all — by many others who were found guilty of similar activity on behalf of nations that, like Israel, are not adversarial to us,” the letter says. “It is indisputable in our view that
the nearly twenty-five years that Mr. Pollard has served stands as a sufficient time from the standpoint of either punishment or deterrence.” It also emphasizes that Pollard is guilty. “Such an exercise of the clemency power would not in any way imply doubt about his guilt, nor cast any aspersions on the process by which he was convicted,” the letter says. The absence of Republicans on the letter was striking. Frank said he had reached out to Republicans and had delayed sending the letter until after the elections in order not to make it a political issue. Speaking on background, Jewish organizational officials — some of them allied with the most conservative groups — confirmed that was the case. Pro-Israel figures in some cases called the Republicans and said not signing would stain otherwise spotless pro-Israel records, but it didn’t help. Two congressional Republicans known to have been on Nyer’s call list did not return calls from JTA seeking comment. Nyer said he had secured the endorsement of conservative figures known for their closeness to the party, including Gary Bauer, the president of American Values, and John Hagee, the founder of Christians United for Israel. Hagee had reached out to Republicans, Nyer said, but to no avail. Among the Jewish groups backing the effort were the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, the National Council of Young Israel, B’nai B’rith International, the Religious Action Center of the Reform movement, the Zionist Organization of America, Agudath Israel of America and the Rabbinical Council of America. Other mainstream groups stayed out — a signal of how sensitive the matter of a Jew spying for Israel remains. One official at a pro-Israel organization said the multitude of groups backing the initiative shows how much the American Jewish community has moved on from the anxieties that beset its reactions to the revelations in 1985 that Israel had run a spy in Washington. Now, the official said, Pollard’s proponents are more vocal and more numerous. Pollard’s backers in Israel are aware of the change and are encouraging activists like Nyer to mount an active offense. POLLARD on page 22
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20 Jewish cantors walk into a church—it’s no joke By Ruth Ellen Gruber Jewish Telegraphic Agency ROME (JTA) — Can Jewish sacred music sung in a Roman Catholic basilica help relations between Christians and Jews? For the Reform movement’s American Conference of Cantors, the answer is a resounding yes. Twenty Reform cantors from across the United States traveled to Rome this month for just that purpose, performing a unique concert of Jewish prayers and sacred texts at the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri, a cavernous church adapted by Michelangelo from the ancient Baths of Diocletian. “We are here as spiritual emissaries, not political emissaries,” said the president of the cantors’ conference, Susan Caro of the Wilshire Boulevard Temple in Los Angeles. “We recognize the power of music to transform as well as reach across cultural and religious lines.” The concert, titled “To God’s Ears,” was organized by the New York-based Interreligious Information Center in cooperation with Cardinal William Keeler, the emeritus archbishop of Baltimore, who is the basilica’s cardinal priest. “Presenting music of the synagogue in churches in order to reach the laity could develop into something very, very worthwhile in interfaith relations,” said the Interreligious Information Center’s executive director, Gunther Lawrence. Lawrence said several cathedrals in the United States and Britain already had expressed interest in similar concerts. The Nov. 16 performance featured a range of prayers and texts set to both traditional melodies and music by composers dating from the Renaissance to the present day. In welcoming remarks, Monsignor Renzo Giuliano, the regular priest of the basilica, introduced the 90-minute concert as a journey into the “profundity of the liturgy,” saying it was “very important to be here together and praising our God.” The cantors, about half of them women, hailed from California, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, Georgia, Florida, Arizona and Texas. Dressed in black, but each wearing a sometimes colorful tallit, they sang in a vaulted side chapel against the backdrop of a crucifix, flickering candles and a wall-sized painting of the Madonna and child. Before each piece, a cantor stepped forward to describe the selection, explain its place in the Jewish religious service and provide information about the musical setting. “Our goal was to educate people in Jewish culture and Jewish
Courtesy of Ruth Ellen Gruber
Cantor Lauren Bandman of Temple Beth Am in Los Altos Hills, Calif., introduces the first piece in the cantorial concert in Rome — “Shalom Aleichem,” by William Sharlin, Nov. 16, 2010.
synagogue culture,” said Cantor Roslyn Barak of Temple Emanu-el in San Francisco, who helped coordinate the event. “We feel that through music you can heal, make friends, touch people, reach out.” U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican Miguel Humberto Diaz called the initiative “a wonderful opportunity.” “Any kind of art, especially music, is a way to bring people together for the sake of the common good,” he told JTA. Diaz and the Rev. Norbert Hoffman, the secretary of the Vatican’s commission on religious relations with the Jews, were among the few dignitaries in attendance. Highlights of the concert included an arrangement of the “Adon Olam” prayer by the Renaissance Italian Jewish composer Salamone Rossi and a stirring rendition of “Sim Shalom” by the Berlin-born 20th century composer Max Janowski, which featured Barak as soloist. The concert also included the world premiere of “Mah Ashiv Ladonai-Quid Retribuam Domino,” a setting of Psalm 116, with words in Hebrew and in Latin, by Cantor Erik Contzius of Temple Israel in New Rochelle, N.Y. Contzius, a member of the American Conference of Cantors, did not take part in the concert. Jewish secular artists have performed on a number of occasions at Vatican events, but traditional cantors probably would not perform in a church. Longtime observers of Jewish-Catholic relations said it was likely that the concert marked the first time that a cantorial group had performed such a concert in a Roman church.
“Italian traditional cantors would not, as far as I know, perform in a church, and I know of no instance when this ever happened in the past,” the Italian Jewish musicologist Francesco Spagnolo, the curator of collections at the Magnes Museum in Berkeley, Calif., told JTA. The concert was the centerpiece
of four days of meetings in Rome organized by the Interreligious Information Center for the cantors and more than two dozen accompanying family members and other members of their congregations. The group met with seminarians at the Vatican’s Pontifical North American College and attended Pope Benedict XVI’s
weekly public audience. They also toured Rome’s ancient Jewish ghetto and met with Rome’s chief rabbi, Riccardo Di Segni. That meeting also was a form of religious dialogue. Italy’s Jewish community is Orthodox, and although there are a few small Reform congregations in the country, the Reform denomination is not recognized by the Italian Jewish communal organization. Di Segni did not attend the concert. Cantor Claire Franco of Port Washington, N.Y., one of the coordinators of the concert, said Di Segni had been gracious to the group and answered its questions. “But he was clear that there are boundaries that they won’t cross,” she said. “We are Reform cantors and we are very proud of this. That’s who we are — and half of us are women.” Several cantors noted that interreligious matters were part of their hands-on experience as Reform cantors, as many members of their congregations were intermarried. Franco noted that she was the child of a Christian father and Jewish mother. “I grew up as one of the few Jews in a small town in Florida,” she said. “I knew what being a minority was, what it meant to have to explain who we are. So I am committed to teaching community.” To watch a video of the cantor’s concert, visit them online.
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Raising Money, Teaching Kids: Jewish Hiring Rebounds Slowly By Joy Resmovits The Jewish Daily Forward ST. LOUIS (Forward) — It was February 2010, and like many jobless Americans, Rabbi Avi Greene found himself in a bind. His digital day school startup venture had only half the funding it needed. He had been laid off from an administrative position at a Los Angeles Jewish day school almost two years earlier. So, with America’s unemployment rate at 9.7%, he set out on a job search After his start-up folded, Rabbi Avi Greene found a job as a day school principal. “I was very nervous,” he recalled. “I was worried that I had waited too long.” That winter, Greene applied to several posts, and ended up as the principal of Epstein Hebrew Academy, the day school he attended while growing up in St. Louis. Though Greene fretted about the timing of his search, it turned out to work in his favor. Greene and others who scrutinize the day school world noticed a virtual hiring freeze among day school administrators around late 2008, as institutions reeled from the recession’s losses. But by earlier this year, hiring picked up. “Families have not left day schools in droves, and the job market seems to be leveling out,” said Greene, now 37. There is no big boom, but the moderate growth is better than the forecasted bust. Day school leaders worried that the financial crisis would mean that parents could no longer shoulder high tuitions, but many alternative sources of funding were found, including from philanthropies. “There were cutbacks over the last two years,” said Joel Paul, president of the executive search firm The Joel Paul Group, which specializes in recruiting day school leaders. “I see for this coming year fewer cutbacks and even a lot of new positions starting to be created. It slowed down, but there really seems to be a comeback.” This situation is representative of the big picture of hiring in the Jewish employment nationwide. “Hiring has picked up in the last six months,” said David Edell, president of Development Resource Group, an executive
search firm that specializes in Jewish organizations. “Particularly in the fall of 2010, there is a definite and very strong upswing. We’re seeing it in many fields: national organizations, health services, education, across the board.” As the economic recovery remains at the top of voters’ concerns, the Forward is taking a look at where jobs in the Jewish world have been lost — and where they are to be found. The recession took a toll on Jewish employment, and industry experts estimate that about 10% of Jewish jobs were shed. The lion’s share of these job losses stemmed from foundations that shuttered and cut back significantly because investments were lost to Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme. While there is no centralized tally of employment among Jewish organizations, signs from different pockets of the hiring world point to a moderate increase in hiring at large. The overall Jewish job market seems to trend with the not-for-profit world: that is, it follows the United States employment map, except it’s more extreme at its peaks and nadirs. The pockets of movement are most pronounced among day school administrators, executives, fundraisers, assistants and advocates. This series will look at this shifting landscape through the eyes of people recently hired to these posts. Benjamin Brown, who runs a centralized job-posting website for the Jewish world, said his site slowed down during the financial crash. “In September 2008 things really stopped instantaneously,” he said. “Since then, things have continued to improve. The number of job postings is back to about half of what came before the crash.” Postings on Brown’s site show that schools, communal organizations, synagogues and federations are doing the bulk of the new hiring, with advocacy, Israel-oriented organizations, health services and museums forming a second tier. Though many job openings come from the need to fill vacancies, companies are also creating newer posts, primarily ones that involve fundraising and newmedia skills. RAISING on page 22
Courtesy of Flash 90
Sufganiyot, like those seen here, have been on the mitzvah menu for Elie Klein of Beit Shemesh in raising thousands of dollars for charity.
Doughnuts, draft dodgers and sexy paranormalists By Marcy Oster Jewish Telegraphic Agency JERUSALEM (JTA) — Here are some recent stories out of Israel that you may have missed. Dough for doughnuts It’s hard to hate Elie Klein of Beit Shemesh, even though he’s been chowin’ down on sufganiyot without gaining a pound. As of Sunday, the still-slender Klein, 30, has raised more than $4,000 for three dozen charities just for eating the Israeli doughnuts — 39 of them. Via his Facebook page, Klein has asked family and friends in Israel and abroad to donate a certain amount per sufganiya he munches. He has raised more than $100 per puffy fried confection for 37 causes. The gorging mitzvah grew out of a friendly rivalry among several friends to see who could eat the most sufganiyot, a traditional Chanukah food. The sponsors decide where the pledges go. Klein, who had a doctor check him out before starting the sufganiyot marathon, told The Jerusalem Post that he’s been balancing his goodies by having plenty of salad. He told Ynet that he is “blessed with a crazy metabolism” and has not gained any weight yet as a result of his binging. Draft-dodging women caught on Facebook Memo to Israeli women: If you claim to be religious to avoid army service, don’t update your
Facebook status on Shabbat. And don’t post photos of yourself in immodest clothing. The Israel Defense Forces is using the social networking site to help catch draft-dodging women and reportedly has nabbed 1,000. Military investigators looking for women who lied about being religious to evade mandatory army service have found young ladies posting photos of themselves in immodest clothing, dining in nonkosher restaurants and responding to invitations to parties taking place on Friday night. Some 42 percent of Jewish women in Israel do not serve in the army — 35 percent of them signed a declaration that they are religiously observant. The army has 60 days to challenge the declaration, according to The Jerusalem Post. Israeli men at 18 and finished with high school are required to serve three years in the Israeli military; women are required to serve two years. Sexy entertainer One of the sexiest men alive, at least for the year 2010, lives in Israel. Israeli paranormalist Lior Suchard was named to People Magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive list for 2010 representing his age group, 28, on the Sexy at Every Age list of 100 men. “I still can’t believe that I’m on the list; I’m in shock,” Suchard, who is currently performing his Uri Geller-esque act in Las Vegas, told Ynet. “I got all sorts of text messages from people telling me that
I’m in the magazine, so I immediately ran to the store to buy it. “On the one hand I’m a little embarrassed, but on the other hand this is very exciting. It was never my goal to be on it, but it is definitely cool to be included in the distinguished list.” ‘Traffic Light’ passes Emmy muster “Ramzor,” an Israeli sitcom about three longtime friends and their romantic relationships, won the International Emmy Award for best comedy. The Emmy was awarded Nov. 22 in New York at an International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences ceremony. “Ramzor,” which means “traffic light” in Hebrew, defeated entries from Thailand, Mexico and Britain. It was selected as a finalist by a panel of 700 judges from 50 countries. Earlier this year, the Fox network bought the rights to the show, which is being called “Mixed Signals” and is scheduled to air starting in February. The American version will be written by Bob Fischer, who wrote the Fox TV series “Married with Children” and the film “Wedding Crashers.” Russia also has purchased rights to the show. The Hebrew version will be aired in several other countries, including Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Ukraine and Georgia, Ynet reported. ISRAEL on page 22
SOCIAL LIFE
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2010
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A N N O U N C E M E N TS BIRTH isa and J. Tyler Griebling of Chicago, Ill. announce the birth of their son, Joshua Sol on Nov. 16. Joshua is the grandson of Sue and Steve Griebling, Lorie
L
Kleiner Eckert and Stefan Eckert, all of Cincinnati. He is the greatgrandson of Mary Lou and Charlie Griebling, Joan Ubbing and the late John Ubbing, the late Rose and the late Morris Kleiner, and the late Sylvia and the late Sol Eckert.
R E F UA H S H L E M A H Lindsay Fisher, 11, Rockwern
Micah Bachrach, 11, Rockwern
Frieda Berger Fraida bat Raizel
Pepa Kaufman Perel Tova bat Sima Sora
Daniel Eliyahu Daniel ben Tikvah
Murray Kirschner Chaim Meir ben Basha
Edith Kaffeman Yehudit bat B’racha
Ravid Sulam Ravid Chaya bat Ayelet
Roma Kaltman Ruchama bat Perl
Edward Ziv Raphael Eliezer Aharon ben Esther Enya
Anna Schneider, 11, Rockwern
ANNOUNCEMENTS ARE FREE PLACE YOUR ANNOUNCEMENT IN THE AMERICAN ISRAELITE. E-MAIL: articles@americanisraelite.com Quinn Davidson, 8, Rockwern
Oliver Wittenbaum, 7, Rockwern
Micah Kraus, 11, Rockwern
with “Announcement” in the Subject Line
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Olivia Vigran, 7, Rockwern
Adam Firestein, 8, Rockwern
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Elegant Treasures For people looking for Jewish and Hebrew items, this custom embroidery shop offers elegant Jewish treasures. Indeed, the heart of Elegant Treasures from beginning has been to bring Jewish art into homes. Owner Karen Schiffer was motivated to create objects for the
home and infuse them with beauty after being inspired by a book of Jewish art. In business since 1999, Schiffer started her operation with home equipment bought at Kramer’s Sew and Vac. Elegant Treasures has since expanded into commercial equip-
ment in order to handle the demand for her work that continues to grow, even in this troubled economy. Today, they are capable of subcontracting work and screen-printing, and enhancing designs with rhinestones and rhinestuds. TREASURES on page 21
Kramer’s Sew and Vac Since 1947, Kramer’s has been in Cincinnati. At its store on Montgomery Road, in the Kroger anchored shopping center across from the Camargo Cadillac, Kramer’s offers a comprehensive array of products and services for those who love to sew, embroider and quilt. They also carry
a complete line of sewing furniture. Included in their services are classes in all sorts of fabric crafts as well as access to designs. Every month Kramer’s offers a full calendar of classes and events. Coupons to many of their products are also offered. In addition to sewing products
and services, Kramer’s stocks 40 different models and nine brands of vacuums. Trade-ins are welcome, and warranty work is done in the store. They repair and service most major brands of sewing machines and vacuums,
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Israeli wines for your Chanukah table In the last 25 years, Israeli wineries have pursued quality winemaking defined by their unique, ancient soils and a spirit of innovation. Golan Heights Winery (producer of the Golan and Yarden wines) and Galil Mountain Winery, both located in northern Israel and imported by Yarden, Inc., have led the pioneering trend in Israeli winemaking. Founded in 1983, after local kibbutzim started planting vines in
the area seven years earlier, the Golan Heights Winery is based in the small town of Katzrin. The weather in the mountainous Golan region is ideal for growing grapes with warm, dry summers and cold, snowy winters. The topographic and climatic conditions in the Golan Heights are considered a rare asset by wine experts both in Israel and abroad and contribute to a wide WINES on page 19
KRAMER’S on page 19
Supreme Nut and Candy Company For 26 years, family-owned and operated Supreme Nut and Candy Company’s Montgomery Road location has been providing Cincinnati with a wide variety of nuts and candy. There are a total of four loca-
tions and a main warehouse around Cincinnati. Supreme Nut and Candy carries a wide selection of kosher candies. They specialize in bulk candy, nuts and sugar-free candy and gifts perfect for clients, family and friends.
You can easily take care of your gift giving for people in Cincinnati and around the country, because gift baskets of any size can be delivered anywhere through UPS. President Keri Cravens grew up in Cincinnati.
New for Hanukkah—Israel bonds introduces Mazel Tov bond gift card With a theme of “Celebrate the Miracle of Hanukkah and the Wonder of Israel,” the Israel Bonds organization has launched a new campaign to strengthen the connection between the events celebrated during Chanukah and modern Israel. The centerpiece of the campaign is the introduction of a gift card to facilitate the purchase of State of Israel Mazel Tov bonds. To simplify the process, the card comes with a detachable investment form, making it easy to purchase the
bond. Then the gift card can be presented to the recipient. Bonds President and CEO Joshua Matza observed, “Connection to Israel is a special gift. Many parents are seeking ‘values’ gifts to present on one or more nights of Hanukkah, and one of the strongest Jewish values is our bond with Israel.” The combined gift card/investment form was designed to be a hassle-free gift-giving experience, as well as a meaningful alternative
to games, electronics and other items considered to be “conventional” gifts. Mazel Tov bonds are a significant, personal means of expressing pride in Jewish heritage and optimism for the future. The cards are available in multiple locations, including Israel Bonds offices, synagogues and Jewish community centers. For additional information, contact your local Israel Bonds office or visit their website.
Frozen Tabatchnick Soups, healthier choice for Chanukah feasts Frozen foods get a bad rap, says a noted nutritionist, but some frozen foods are a healthier choice for your Chanukah feasts. “Frozen foods continue to try to live down a bad reputation,” says nutritionist Vicki Koenig, who consults with well-known food brands and also maintains a private practice. “Frozen soups especially are a great choice – fresher than canned, not diluted with added water, and they’re more convenient.” Canned soups are often high in sodium to preserve the flavor, says Koenig, a registered dietitian nutritionist. She adds that the extra preservative might be great for shelf life, but it comes at a cost
to our health. “Frozen soups are frozen at the peak of freshness, and like frozen vegetables – which are my choice over canned if fresh veggies aren’t available – frozen soups taste better and are usually better for you.” Koenig recommends Tabatchnick Soups, which come in organic, low-sodium and gluten-free varieties, and all are certified kosher. “That’s an important certification for people concerned about food safety,” says Koenig, adding that three out of five people who buy kosher food do so because they perceive it to be better quality, with only 14 percent buying it
in connection with religious rules. “Let’s face it, who has time during the holidays to make a healthy soup from scratch?” asks Koenig. “From a nutrition standpoint, and as a busy mom myself, frozen is the way to go!” Family-owned Tabatchnick Fine Foods has been “Making it Like Momma Since 1905” and offers frozen soups and side dishes as well as shelf-stable aseptic soups and broths that don’t require refrigeration. All Tabatchnick soups start with pure artesian well water, and then are simmered slowly in small batches. The soups are available in the kosher departments of local groceries.
Wishes you a Happy Chanukah! We carry a wide selection of Kosher candies • Sugar-free candy available • Gift baskets –any size– delivered anywhere via UPS
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Health conscious dining at Sonoma By Marilyn Gale Dining Editor A new pairing—Southwest and Mediterranean, burrito and pita, quesadilla and falafel, mix and match, healthy, fresh, easy on the digestion—has arrived. Located in the up and coming community of Oakley is Sonoma American & Mediterranean Grill. The restaurant is a large space, cleanly decorated; televisions perched high in corners of the room. A wide bar with reasonably priced specialty drinks partially covers one wall in the L shaped space. A picture window faces directly onto Madison Road illuminating the room with natural light. In this restaurant, one can sit comfortably and talk with friends. The menu is satisfying for all size appetites. Come here for a late night supper, afternoon snack, as well as lunch and dinner. Family celebrations are another option. Get the children started on healthy eating and broaden their taste buds. Invite the relatives to Sonoma’s for the Sultan’s or an Emir Feast and enjoy a Middle Eastern banquet. Sonoma American & Mediterranean Grill is owned and operated by two Israeli men, Ryan Kassis from Haifa and John Kaissieh, a Jerusalem native, who have combined healthy diets with freshness and Middle Eastern spices. Queen city residents can dine on a grilled falafel, an authentic lentil soup, and a slider sandwich variation called Kefta minis – even the name sounds fun, a lamb and beef combination mixed with parsley and onion, grilled, and served on little brioche buns. Fullsize entrees are also available. Or be a little more daring and dabble from appetizer to soup, order a stuffed pita or a signature shawarma, a traditional Middle Eastern wrap served with colorful pickled vegetables; house spices garlic aioli and onions. Nibble on Spanish fried cheese, a sweet and salty taste, pan seared with house spices and oregano, slightly crusty, served with a small green salad sprinkled with raspberry vinaigrette. Fiber never tasted better than in the hummus and falafel. Try a side order of cumin-roasted potatoes with onions and inhale the savory
(Clockwise) Ryan Kassis, owner and chef, specializes in healthy cuisine; Spanish fried cheese is a delightful new taste; Spacious, comfortable dining awaits you at Sonoma American & Mediterranean Grill.
aroma of crisp comfort food. Select menu items are designated as gluten free, vegetarian and vegan. Experiment and enjoy the variety of flavors offered at this new dining spot. “This is not a fast food restaurant, “said Kassis, an amiable man who enjoys collecting and preparing family recipes, both his and his wife’s, from Israel. “The timing is right for the discriminating diner who is health conscious, preferring to eat smaller portions of meat but also having the choice of vegetarian and legumes prepared in interesting ways.” Kassis has been in this country since 1975, arriving here at age 8. He brings with him over 20 years of culinary experience. When I asked him why he chose this line
of work, his answer was simple, “I love food. I see this restaurant as cooking from the root where families can come and enjoy themselves. Be a little adventurous in eating, yet meals can be served as family style dinners.” I liked that answer; it resonated with my gastronomical needs. Back to my roots where food is love and love is food. Also, the portions at Sonoma American and Mediterranean Grill are generous. The Sultan feast, feeds six to 10 people, and can be ordered at the table. For $99, you and your family and friends get a Mediterranean food extravaganza, ribeye, chicken, seafood, lamb and vegetable skewers served over beds of golden rice with tablouleh, baba ghannoush, hummus, Mediterranean
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pickles & olives, French Fries, falafel, tzatziki salad and baskets of fresh pita bread. Sonoma serves the pita with dipping oil that is covered with spices; cumin, sumac and sesame seed, adding texture to the fragrant combination, and an extra taste sensation. A smaller variation of this smorgasbord, aptly named Emir’s feast, serves four, and is available for $49.95. Yes, Sonoma American & Mediterranean Grill is adventurous eating. A discriminating diner is Kassis’ ideal patron. Someone sophisticated, open minded, willing to try different tastes, more demanding and as the chef says, “a creative challenge.” Kassis also was complimentary of his staff, saying quality Mediterranean cooks were hard to
find. His current crew is enthusiastic and works as a team. The best interests of the restaurant are top priority. A spiritual camaraderie infuses the atmosphere. Promoting healthy eating as well as catering to all types of digestions are the themes of this dining spot. Sonoma American & Mediterranean Grill is a new taste in town. A unique, exotic pairing, recognizing an emerging healthy trend in dining, with a menu loaded with creative options, this restaurant is a welcome addition to our area. Sonoma American & Mediterranean Grill 3012 Madison Road Cincinnati, Ohio 45209 513-376-9941
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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
By Rabbi James A. Rudin
This year I am imposing a personal restriction on my family and friends. They may not attend Hanukkah parties, light the festival candles or receive gifts unless they can first pass a holiday exam. Hanukkah, the eight-day Jewish festival of light, begins at sunset on Dec. 1. Special prayers are said each night as the colorful candles are lit in the synagogue and at home. Jews around the world will exchange gifts and indulge in calorie-heavy potato pancakes and jellied donuts. It’s all meant to commemorate an ancient struggle that ended in 165 B.C. when Judah Maccabee’s Jewish guerillas, after three years of fighting, defeated the larger Greco-Syrian army of Emperor Antiochus IV, who had tried to prohibit — even annihilate — Jewish ritual and observance. Historians say that Hanukkah may have been one of the first battles for religious freedom. Some scholars even believe that without the Maccabees’ victory and the preservation of Jewish life in Israel, Christianity may not have emerged 200 years later with its roots deeply embedded in Judaism. When Judah recaptured Jerusalem, he rededicated the Temple to the service of God. The tiny amount of oil that was deemed sufficient to fuel the Temple’s Eternal Light for only one day miraculously lasted for eight. The Hanukkah story appears in the two books of the Maccabees that form part of the Roman Catholic Bible and some Protestant Bibles. Ironically, it’s not included in the Hebrew Scriptures. Now, about that test. Who uttered the following five quotations? Where did they first appear? Here’s a hint: Some selections
The answers: 1. Nazi General Jurgen Stroop sent this report to Adolf Hitler during the Warsaw Ghetto uprising in April 1943. 2. Antiochus’ actions, as recorded in First Maccabees 1:23-24 3. Roman philosopher and orator Cicero, around 63 B.C. 4. Mattathias, Judah Maccabee’s father, in First Maccabees 2:27. 5. George Frederick Handel’s 1746 oratorio, “Judas Maccabeus.” Rabbi Rudin is the American Jewish Committee’s senior interreligious adviser.
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Dear Editor, The holiday season is well underway, and Ohioans from across the state will be hitting the roads in the coming weeks as they travel to see family and friends or attend one of the many seasonal festivals and events held in our communities. And while these gatherings are great opportunities for people to socialize and relax, they can quickly turn tragic when individuals drink and drive or are otherwise impaired when they get behind the wheel. Last year, 945 people were killed on Ohio roadways according to the Ohio Department of Public Safety. Preliminary data shows that as of late November, there have been 959 fatalities so far in 2010. Additionally, the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control estimates that nearly 40,000 Americans die from motor vehicle-related injuries each year, while another 270,000 people are hospitalized. As a result, state and local officials have worked in recent years to enact policies that help prevent car crashes and reduce injuries. Here in Ohio, lawmakers
passed legislation in 2008 that requires young children to be restrained in a car seat or infant seat to help reduce the risk of injury in the event of an accident. We have also approved bills that prohibit the operation of a vehicle while under the influence of drugs and stiffened the penalties for individuals who repeatedly endanger themselves and others by drinking and driving. In addition to reducing the number of deaths or injuries caused by motor vehicle crashes, these types of measures also help lessen the costs associated with these accidents, which are estimated to cost the nation $99 billion in medical care and lost productivity. To help raise awareness of the dangers of impaired driving and encourage motorists to drive safely, the Ohio Department of Public Safety and other safety advocates have once again teamed up with Mothers Against Drunk Driving for their annual “Tie One on for Safety” campaign. Now in its 24th year, the campaign encourages motorists to tie a red ribbon on their car as a reminder to use seat belts and avoid drinking and driving.
Local law enforcement agencies will also be increasing patrols and conducting sobriety checkpoints during the next few weeks in an effort to educate drivers about the dangers of distracted driving and cut down on accidents and injuries. As you prepare to head out during the holiday season, I would encourage you to make sure everyone in the vehicle is wearing their seat belt and to drive safely. If you are at an event and will be drinking, make sure to have a designated driver or make other arrangements to get home. And although a great deal of effort is put into preventing drinking and driving this time of year, it is important to remember that accidents can also be caused by a number of other distractions while driving – such as texting, eating, adjusting the radio or talking on a cell phone. Avoiding these types of distractions when driving, especially with winter weather approaching, will help ensure that both you and those around you make it safely to your holiday destinations. Shannon Jones Ohio State Senator
T EST Y OUR T ORAH KNOWLEDGE THIS WEEK’S PORTION: MIKETZ (BRAISHITH 41:1—44:17) 1. Where were Pharaoh's dreams set at? a.) His palace b.) Nile c.) Canaan 2. Which brother did Joseph detain in Egypt? Why? a.) Shimon b.) Levi c.) Judah 3. Did Joseph's brothers return to Canaan with food? 3. A 42:25 Joseph also returned their money 4. C 43:11 The gift the brothers brought was modest in size but dignified in quality, befitting a prince. Sforno 5. B 41:1,2 Joseph ordered his attendant to do it. The purpose was to see if the brothers would have compassion on Benjamin. Sforno
Hanukkah 101
are from the original Hanukkah text, while others (both positive and negative) came later. Answers appear below, but fair warning: cheaters will be denied latkes and jelly donuts. 1. “The resistance put up by the Jews and bandits could be broken only by relentlessly using all our forces and energy by day and night I therefore decided to destroy the entire Jewish residential area The Jews then emerged from their hiding places and dugouts in almost every case ... A great number of Jews who could not be counted were exterminated.” 2. “He entered the sanctuary. And he took the golden altar and the menorah, with all its lamps for light ... the cups, the bowls, the golden censers... And he took away the gold and silver and precious vessels. He also took all the hidden treasures he could find. Now taking all of this, he returned to his own country having committed murder and spoken with great arrogance.” 3. “Justice demands that the barbaric superstition (Judaism) should be opposed; and it is to the interest of the state not to regard that Jewish mob which at times breaks out in open riots.” 4. “Let everyone who has zeal for the Torah and who stands by the covenant follow me!” 5. “Oh, never, never bow we down to the rude stock or sculptur’d stone. We worship God, and God alone.”
a.) Yes b.) No 4. Where is there a reference of honey? a.) Pharaoh's dream b.) Food for the starving during the famine c.) Gift from Joseph's brothers to Joseph 5. Who put the goblet in Benjamin's sack? a.) Joseph b.) Joseph's attendant c.) An angel ANSWERS 1. B 41:1 The Nile filled irrigation canals all over Egypt. Rashi 2. A 42:24 Shimon threw Joseph into a pit 22 years earlier leading to his sale down to Egypt. Also, Joseph wanted to separate Shimon and Levi, maybe they might try to assassinate him. Rashi
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Written by Rabbi Dov Aaron Wise
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2010
JEWISH LIFE
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Sedra of the Week By Rabbi Shlomo Riskin
SHABBAT SHALOM: PARSHAT MIKETZ-CHANUKAH • GENESIS 41:1 – 44:17
Efrat, Israel - “The Lord shall broaden and beautify Japheth, and he [or perhaps ‘He’] shall dwell in the tents of Shem.” (Genesis 9:27) The Hanukka struggle was between Judaism and Hellenism, Jerusalem vs. Athens, a band of Maccabee traditionalists who waged war to prevent Jerusalem from becoming a Greek city-state (polis), hosting idolatrous Olympic games and Dionysian orgies. But the products of Hellenism were much more profound than idols and orgies. Javan (Ion, Greece), son of Japheth and grandson of Noah, gave the world the philosophy of Plato and Aristotle, the literature of Sophocles and Euripides, the mathematics of Euclid and Pythagoras, the sculpture of Praxiteles, and the epic poetry of Homer. If indeed Western civilization is the result of Greco-Rome and Judeo-Christianity, and if our Bible is the fount of ethical wisdom and humane morality, then it was Greece which pioneered philosophic discourse, mathematics as the language of science, and the aesthetics of art, music and drama. To be sure, there is a fundamental tension between the worldviews of Judaism and Hellenism. Whereas for us the God of love, compassion and truth stands at the center of the universe, with the human being created in the Divine image striving for morality and sanctity, in Athens the human being, was embodiment of perfection; “the measure of all things” (Protagoras). The gods were created in his image. On Hanukka, these two ideologies clashed and we emerged triumphant, but is there room for a synthesis? Can the soul of Jerusalem be garbed in the cloak of Athens much like Mother Rebekah covered the voice of Jacob in the trappings of Esau? It depends on how we read the verse cited in the introduction to this article. One approach is, “The Lord shall broaden and beautify Japheth, and he [Japheth, the glo-
The Hanukka struggle was between Judaism and Hellenism, Jerusalem vs. Athens, a band of Maccabee traditionalists who waged war to prevent Jerusalem from becoming a Greek city-state (polis), hosting idolatrous Olympic games and Dionysian orgies. ries of Greek culture] shall dwell in the tents of Shem,” in sacred synthesis. Another approach dictates that we must guard against the anthropocentric and hedonistic Japheth, who will try to shatter the fundamentally frail boundaries and ramparts of Shem: “The Lord shall broaden and beautify Japheth, but He, God, can only dwell in the tents of Shem”(Rashi, ad loc Gen. 9:27)! I believe the answer is found in a fascinating incident recorded in the Talmud (Bava Kama 82b). Two brothers, descendants of the Hasmonean dynasty, were fighting one another not long after the Maccabean victory. One brother and his troops were based within Jerusalem, while the other brother supported by the Roman legions was camped outside the city walls. Despite their conflict, every day, one brother sent coins in a basket over the wall and the other brother purchased animals which he then hoisted over the wall by the other, so that the daily sacrifices of the Temple would not be interrupted. Using what the Talmud calls the language of “Greek wisdom,” an elderly man suggested that as long as the sacrificial rite continued, the brother on the outside would never conquer Jerusalem. The next day, when the coins for the purchase of sacrifices arrived, instead of sending back bullocks for the sacrifices, they sent a pig, and when the pig’s hoofs touched the city’s ramparts, Jerusalem was convulsed by an earthquake. The story concludes: “The sages then decreed, ‘Cursed be the individual who raises pigs, and cursed be
the father who teaches his son Greek wisdom.’” After the Hanukka experience and its aftershocks, one would have thought that Greek wisdom —Greek philosophy, Greek literature and Greek art — would have been banned. But this was not the case. The Talmud (Bava Kama 83a) goes on to praise the Greek language, and deems “Greek wisdom” a skill necessary for international political discourse. In fact, a parallel account at the end of Tractate Sota defines “Greek wisdom” as a special language of nuance and riddle used by politicians for the purpose of espionage — which is how Maimonides understood the Talmudic decree. He added that there was no contemporary application of the ban since that particular language had disappeared. Even later responsa (see for example Rivash, Rav Yitzhak bar Sheshet, Responsum 45) agree with Maimonides’ interpretation of “Greek wisdom” in the context of the ban. To be sure, he argues that philosophical tracts committed to the extirpation of Jewish theological principles are to be avoided, and even suggests that Maimonides and Gersonides were led astray by Greek philosophy; nevertheless, normative Judaism never codified a prohibition of studying Greek wisdom. Apparently despite the dangers, the Jewish ideal remains the incorporation of the “beauty of Japheth within the tents of Shem.” Shabbat Shalom Shlomo Riskin Chancellor Ohr Torah Stone Chief Rabbi — Efrat Israel
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JEWZ IN THE NEWZ
Jewz in the Newz By Nate Bloom Contributing Columnist ON SWANS: BLACK, WHITE, AND MOSTLY JEWISH “The Black Swan,” a psychological thriller, opens in a very limited number of theaters on Friday, Dec. 3. Currently, no Cincinnatiarea theaters are listed as playing the film. But this may change fairly soon. Directed by DARREN ARONOFSKY, “Black Swan” was made for a modest budget, as was his previous hit film, “The Wrestler.” The studio will wait and see if audiences come-out to see “The Black Swan,” like they came out to watch “The Wrestler.” If they think they have another hit, they’ll put the “Swan” in theaters nationwide. Sadly, Aronofsky, 43, and his fiancée of five years, actress RACHEL WEISZ, 40, recently announced their split-up. They have a 4-year-old son. It appears, from advance reviews, that there’s no explicit Jewish content in “The Black Swan”—but a truly remarkable number of “members of the tribe” are associated with the movie. “Swan” stars NATALIE PORTMAN, 29, as Nina, a talented NYC ballet dancer. Her company is mounting “Swan Lake” and the director (Vincent Cassel) decides to replace their prima ballerina (played by WINONA RYDER, 39) with a new face. The “Swan Lake” prima ballerina role requires someone who can dance two parts in the same performance. The dancer has to perform the part of the White Swan, a figure that represents innocence. She also has to dance the part of the Black Swan, a figure representing guile and sensuality. Nina is perfect for the White Swan; but a rival emerges when a new dancer, Lily (MILA KUNIS, 27), joins the company. Lily seems perfect for the Black Swan part. Lily and Nina’s rivalry soon mutates into a twisted friendship that brings out Nina’s dark and reckless side. BARBARA HERSHEY, 62, plays Nina’s supportive, but overbearing mother. For the curious---Aronofsky, Kunis, and Portman have two Jewish parents. Ryder, who calls herself Jewish, but was raised secular and isn’t religious, is the daughter of a Jewish father and a non-Jewish mother. Hershey has a virtually identical background to Ryder, but she never defined herself as Jewish or not Jewish. She just says her father was Jewish and her mother was Irish Catholic. Four actresses of Jewish background playing four out of the five
leads in an important film is really cool and, I guess, it’s a sign of how far Jews have come in America. Still, the “American Jewish promised land” will not arrive until every Jewish thespian works under their original name. Winona Ryder was born Winona Horowitz, Barbara Hershey was born Barbara Herzstein, and Natalie Portman was born Natalie Herslag. While most everybody would agree that Horowitz, Hershlag, and Herzstein would make a pretty snappy law firm name—we’ve been conditioned to think these names don’t quite seem right on a movie marquee. SMALL SCREEN NOTES If you get the BBC TV America station, tune-in to the episode of “The Graham Norton Show” airing on Saturday, Dec. 4 at 10PM. Norton usually runs a very entertaining, “loose” talk show. He gives his guests the time to really show off their wit and other talents. His Dec. 4 guests are two very witty people---BETTE MIDLER, 64, and British actor/comedian/writer STEPHEN FRY, 53 (Fry’s late mother was Jewish). I recently mentioned that there were rumors that fashion stylist RACHEL ZOE, 39 (“The Rachel Zoe Project” on Bravo) and her husband, businessman RODGER BERMAN, were rumored to be expecting their first child. Well, on Nov. 17th, Zoe confirmed the good news via Twitter (where else?). She is, in fact, preggers. DVD ALERT The weather is starting to turn awful and a lot of you would rather warm yourself over the latke griddle than go out. Here’s some new and recommended DVDs: “Cannibal Girls” is the first film directed by IVAN REITMAN, 64 (“Ghostbusters”). This low-budget spoof of horror flicks has got a cult following. It stars EUGENE LEVY, 63, Andrea Martin, and the late Robert Ulrich. One critic says that Levy looks like “a Jewish Frank Zappa” in this early role. “The Kids are Alright,” cowritten and directed by LISA CHOLODENKO, was hailed as a sharp comedy-of-manners. It tells what happens when the children of a lesbian couple find their biological dad and make him part of their family circle. Much more traditional is ROB REINER’s “Flipped,” about the romance of an 8th grade girl and boy in the early ‘60s. It got mixed reviews, but it’s worth a rental.
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FROM THE PAGES 100 Years Ago The Messrs. Lewisohn, Seligman, Wertheim and Feder, forming a group of eastern brokers en route to New York from a tour inspection of the south, were entertained at a breakfast, Sunday morning, by Mr. and Mrs. Julius Fleischman. The many friends of Mrs. Theodore Mack (Polly Sachs) of Fort Worth, Tex., will be glad to learn that she is convalescing from a serious bout of diphtheria. Her mother, Mrs. Jos. Sachs, who was called to her bed-
side, will remain in Fort Worth several weeks longer. Among those named by the nominating committee of the Avondale Improvement Association for officers for the ensuing year are, for vice president, Dr. D.I. Wolfstein; second vice president, J. Walter Freiberg; directors, Henry Marx and Samuel Wolfstein. Louis Rauh was one of the nominating committee. The association is rendering the citizens of Cincinnati valuable service in voicing
their protests against various abuses that have been allowed to grow up in our misgoverned city. That the efforts of this association are likely to be fruitful and that we may hope for better things is indicated in the lively interview with the city authorities, which took place last week, in which President B.H. Kroger, Directors W.H. Alms and Rev. Dr. David Philipson represented the association and took a very spirited part. — December 1, 1910
75 Years Ago Mrs. Clementine Henley, mother of Mrs. Alfred Mack, Miss Lilly Belle Henley and Mrs. Ben F. Klein, of Cincinnati, passed away at the home of her son, Hobart Henley, movie director, Bel Air, Cal., Sunday, Dec. 1. She also leaves another son, Samuel Henley, of Los Angeles. Besides her children, Mrs. Henley is survived by a brother, Edward B. Hess, Orlando, Fla., inventor of the Royal Typewriter. Mrs. Henley was born in Louisville, but had lived in
Cincinnati for many years. Among those chosen with Charles Sawyer, new president of the Hamilton County Duckworth Club, are Messrs. William Hyman, vice-president; Jacob S. Hermann and Simeon M. Johnson to the organization committee. Mrs. Louis Gershman and Mrs. Harry Brown, of Frankfort, Ky., gave a linen shower in honor of their sister, Miss Ray Levine, of Windham Avenue, Sunday, Nov. 24, at the home of Miss Levine. Covers were
laid for 65. Mr. Charles Levinson, son of Mr. and Mrs. Al Levinson, of Glenwood Avenue, has been promoted by the Gulf Refining Co.; his headquarters will be in Toledo, O. Mrs. Milton Meis and sons, of Urbana, Ill. were Thanksgiving guests of the Bamberger family of 823 Mann Place. Mrs. M. Feist, who had been visiting in Urbana for several weeks, returned with them. — December 5, 1935
50 Years Ago Charles Messer, chairman of the Initial Gifts Division for the Jewish Community Center’s “Burn the Mortgage Campaign,” announced the new committee: Herbert R. Bloch, Jr., Albert J. Butchkes, Joseph Dave, Sigmund M. Cohen, Morris L. Effron, Troy Kaichen, Fred Korros, Morris Levin, James Magrish, Kartan M. Mailender, Philip M. Meyers, Herbert Oettinger, Herman Petricoff, Irvin Pollak, Harold raab, Frederick Rauh, Isidor Schifrin, Philip
Steiner, Robert Stern, Marvin L. Warner, Sidney Weil, Richard Weiland. Mr. and Mrs. Jerome Lewis announce the forthcoming bar mitzvah of their son, Marc Steven, Saturday, Dec. 10, at 10:45 a.m. at Wise Center. A kiddush will follow services. Dr. Isaiah Sonne, 2543 St. Albans, passed away Sunday Nov. 27. Services were held at the Weil Funeral Home, Tuesday, Nov. 29, Dr. Victor E. Reichert officiating. Survivors include his wife, Margit; daughter, Mrs.
Arthur Weisbarth of New York City; son Daniel Sonne, of Israel; step-sons, Alfred Mann, of Pittsburgh, and Daniel Mann, of Philadelphia; brothers, Joseph and Samuel Sonne, of Israel; sister, Miss Ruchama Sonne, of Israel; and four grandchildren. Dr. Sonne was a member of the faculty of the Hebrew Union College 1940-55. He held the position of research librarian and lecturer in Medieval Jewish History, emeritus. — December 1, 1960
25 Years Ago The 10th anniversary of “In the Beginning—a collection of hors d’eouvres,” the Rockdale Temple Sisterhood cookbook, will be celebrated at the Dec. 13 Sabbath service program. The committee, which created, organized, promoted and distributed “In the Beginning” will be honored. A special Oneg Shabbat featuring hors d’eouvres from the cookbook will follow the program. “In the Beginning” was first pub-
lished in 1975 with a printing of 3,000 copies. As of November 1985, the 15th edition is being marketed, 155,000 books have been printed. Success of this project has involved efforts of more than 100 volunteers. An outstanding event in the history of Adath Israel will be the ceremony of the “Burning of the Mortgage” at this year’s Chanukah Dinner, Saturday, Dec. 14. Edwin L. Drill, president, has appointed Edwin D. Grusd as chair-
man. Mose Marcus is honorary chairman and Sylvan Reisenfeld, master of ceremonies. Members of the planning committee include Tom Bergman, Norman Coe, Herbert Crown, Ira Dinerman, Abrom Dombar, Robert Fisher, Harry Green, Rita Grusd, Walter Hattenbach, Dr. Bernard and Anita Hertzman, Judge Robert Kraft, Selma Marcus, Mark Petricoff, William Schneiderman, David Spitzberg and Harold Wagner. — December 5, 1985
10 Years Ago Cincinnati commemorated the retirement of one of its most beloved and longest practicing physicians by proclaiming Nov. 28 Dr. Sander Goodman Day. Mayor Charlie Luken chose to honor Goodman for “being an outstanding and beloved practicing medical physician in the Cincinnati area for 65 years. His contribution, dedication and efforts to the people of this city have been beyond comparison.” Miriam “Mikki” November, 85,
passed away November 18, 2000. Mrs. November was born in Newport, Ky. She was the daughter of Harry and Goldie Kaplan. Mrs. November was the wife of the late Sam H. November. She is survived by her children, Mark and Carol November. Mrs. November was the mother of the late Phillip November. The deceased is survived by a daughter-in-law, Emily November. Surving grandchildren are Gail, Alan, Linda, Jeffrey, and
Michael November. Mrs. November is also survived by a great-grandchild, Philip Alexander November. Mrs. November was the sister of the late Isadore Kaplan, Rebecca Spiegel, Herman Kaplan and Nathan Kaplan. Mrs. November was active in the Price Hill Synagogue and Temple Sholom. At Hebrew Union College she worked for Dr. Samuel Sandmel, who dedicated a number of his books to her. — November 30, 2000
CLASSIFIEDS
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2010
COMMUNITY DIRECTORY COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS Big Brothers/Big Sisters Assoc. (513) 761-3200 • bigbrobigsis.org Beth Tevilah Mikveh Society (513) 821-6679 Camp Ashreinu (513) 702-1513 Camp at the J (513) 722-7226 • mayersonjcc.org Camp Livingston (513) 793-5554 • camplivingston.com Cedar Village (513) 754-3100 • cedarvillage.org Chevra Kadisha (513) 396-6426 Halom House (513) 791-2912 • halomhouse.com Hillel Jewish Student Center (513) 221-6728 • hillelcincinnati.org Jewish Community Center (513) 761-7500 • mayersonjcc.org Jewish Community Relations Council (513) 985-1501 Jewish Family Service (513) 469-1188 • jfscinti.org Jewish Federation of Cincinnati (513) 985-1500 • shalomcincy.org Jewish Foundation (513) 792-2715 Jewish Information Network (513) 985-1514 Jewish Vocational Service (513) 985-0515 • jvscinti.org Kesher (513) 766-3348 Plum Street Temple Historic Preservation Fund (513) 793-2556 The Center for Holocaust & Humanity Education (513) 487-3055 • holocaustandhumanity.org Vaad Hoier (513) 731-4671 Workum Fund (513) 899-1836 • workum.org CONGREGATIONS Adath Israel Congregation (513) 793-1800 • adath-israel.org Beit Chaverim (513) 335-5812 Beth Israel Congregation (513) 868-2049 • bethisraelcongregation.net Congregation Beth Adam (513) 985-0400 • bethadam.org Congregation B’nai Tikvah (513) 759-5356 • bnai-tikvah.org Congregation B’nai Tzedek (513) 984-3393 • bnaitzedek.us
Congregation Ohav Shalom (513) 489-3399 • ohavshalom.org Golf Manor Synagogue (513) 531-6654 • golfmanorsynagogue.org Isaac M. Wise Temple (513) 793-2556 • wisetemple.org Kehilas B’nai Israel (513) 761-0769 Northern Hills Synagogue (513) 931-6038 • nhs-cba.org Rockdale Temple (513) 891-9900 • rockdaletemple.org Temple Beth Shalom (513) 422-8313 • tbsohio.org Temple Sholom (513) 791-1330 • templesholom.net The Valley Temple (513) 761-3555 • valleytemple.com EDUCATION Cincinnati Hebrew Day School (513) 351-7777 • chds.shul.net Chabad Blue Ash (513) 793-5200 • chabadba.com HUC-JIR (513) 221-1875 • huc.edu JCC Early Childhood School (513) 793-2122 • mayersonjcc.org Mercaz High School (513) 792-5082 x104 • mercazhs.org Reform Jewish High School (513) 469-6406 • crjhs.org Regional Institute Torah & Secular Studies (513) 631-0083 Rockwern Academy (513) 984-3770 • rockwernacademy.org ORGANIZATIONS American Jewish Committee (513) 621-4020 • ajc.org American Friends of Magen David Adom (513) 521-1197 • afmda.org B’nai B’rith (513) 984-1999 Hadassah (513) 821-6157 • cincinnati-hadassah.org Jewish National Fund (513) 794-1300 • jnf.org Jewish War Veterans (513) 204-5594 • jwv.org NA’AMAT (513) 984-3805 • naamat.org National Council of Jewish Women (513) 891-9583 • ncjw.org State of Israel Bonds (513) 793-4440 • israelbonds.com Women’s American ORT (513) 985-1512 • ortamerica.org.org
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LEGAL/FASHION
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It’s All in the Eye of the Beholder Legally Speaking
By Marianna Bettman Contributing Columnist While the Ohio Supreme Court usually decides cases of great significance (the Court’s own criteria for selecting cases other than constitutional cases is that they must be of great general or public interest), sometimes it goes for the notquite-so-significant. And the flap on those little ones can be loud and long. That’s what happened this summer when the Court decided City of Barberton v. Jenney—a case about speeding. One July summer day Officer Christopher Santimarino was using a radar gun from a marked police cruiser on State Route 21 in Copley Township, Ohio. I’m sure anyone who travels up or down I71 near Dana can picture this exactly. The posted speed limit of
this stretch of SR 21 was 60 miles per hour. According to the officer, Jenney was in a black SUV in the left lane in moderate to heavy traffic. The officer stopped Jenney for speeding and gave him a ticket for driving over the posted speed. The officer had two reasons for this decision. The radar gun showed Jenney going either 82 or 83 miles per hour. The officer’s visual estimate of Jenney’s speed was 70 miles per hour. If a driver is cited for going twenty miles over the posted speed limit, the driver has to appear in person in court. To give Jenney a break, the officer gave him a citation for traveling 79 mph in a 60 mph zone. But no good deed goes unpunished. Jenney came to court anyway, and fought this ticket “all the way to the supreme court” as folks like to say they will. At trial, predictably, Jenney testified that he wasn’t speeding. And he challenged officer Santimarino’s testimony about his speeding. Santimarino’s eyeballed estimate of Jenney’s speed was based on his training and 13 years of experience as a patrolman with the Copley Police Department. He was certified by the Ohio Peace Office Training Academy in 1995 and from then on worked in traffic
enforcement. As part of the OPOTA training, officers are required to show that they can visually estimate a vehicle’s speed to within 3-4 mph of the vehicles actual speed. Santimarino passed this section of training. Santimarino was also trained and certified to use the type of radar gun he had used that day. But he couldn’t produce a copy of his radar-training certification. The trial judge sorted all this out and found Jenney guilty of driving over the posted speed limit. The judge found the strongest evidence on this point to be the officer’s visual estimate of Jenny’s speed. Jenney was fined $50 plus costs. When the case got to the court of appeals in Akron, that court held that Jenney’s conviction could not be based on the radar results because without the officer’s training certification the state could not prove he was qualified to operate the radar unit. (Yes, the rules of evidence are that picky.) But the appeals court held the officer’s visual estimate of Jenney’s speeding was enough to support Jenney’s conviction. And that was the only question before the Ohio Supreme Court when it took up this case— whether a police officer’s unaided visual estimate of a car’s speed is
enough, by itself, to sustain a conviction for driving over the posted speed. For a 5-1 Court (then ChiefJustice Brown did not sit on this case so did not participate in the decision) Justice Maureen O’Connor (who will become the new Chief Justice) wrote that as long as the police officer is properly trained and certified to do this, a speeding conviction can be based solely on the officer’s visual estimate. Officer Santimarino was properly trained and certified, so Jenney’s conviction was upheld. Justice Terrence O’Donnell was the lone dissenter. From the outcry that followed this decision, you’d think an innocent man had been put to death. Newspaper editorials railed against the decision. Campaign commercials blasting the decision were aired against Justices O’Connor and Lanzinger, who were running for re-election. (Both were handily re-elected.) A facebook group against the decision was created. There were a gazillion posts to various newspapers—almost uniformly negative. The decision was reported on CNN. Mike Mier, Copley Chief of police apparently felt he needed to respond to this outpouring. He said “officers can rely on their unaided
visual estimation of a vehicle’s speed, but the intent is not to allow officers to routinely issue tickets based solely upon unaided visual observations.” I’m not very good at math. But one of the reasons the high court let Officer Santimarino give his opinion about Jenney’s speed is because the officer was trained “to visually estimate a vehicle’s speed to within 3-4 mph of the vehicles actual speed.” Yet he estimated Jenney’s speed at 70mph while the radar gun had him clocked over 80. Now what? A bill has been introduced in the General Assembly to change the law to this: No person shall be arrested, charged, or convicted of a violation of any provision of section 4511.21 or 4511.211 of the Revised Code or a substantially similar municipal ordinance based on a peace officer’s unaided visual estimation of the speed of a motor vehicle, trackless trolley or streetcar. Despite legislative gridlock everywhere, this one may—pardon the expression—speed right along to passage. After all this issue affects Democrats, Republicans, liberals and conservatives about equally. So I guess this case was a matter of great public interest after all.
Fashion for the holiday season Fashionably Late
By Stephanie Davis-Novak Fashion Editor The holiday season is upon us, with the many social gatherings and parties to celebrate with loved ones. This season is also a time to dress up and experiment with bolder looks than we typically wear. This is a great time of the year to try out some metallic pieces, especially in gold. Metallic options range from a subtle sheen, such as Helmut Lang’s silk one-shoulder blouse, to full-on sparkle, such as the gold beaded Aidan Mattox dress. As we discussed last month, many designers were using metallics in their spring 2011 runway shows, so some of the more scaled-back pieces should be able to extend beyond the holidays. Metallic tanks and blouses work well under blazers or sweaters.
Given the chilly weather, many women want options beyond dresses and skirts for the holiday season. For a look that’s both practical and fashionable, consider a pair of ankle trousers. The look should be slim and tailored, and should be cut right around the ankles. Some designers, such as Prada, offer ankle trousers with a slight flare, but tapered silhouettes from designers such as Akris are also trendy. They can be worn with either heels or dressy flats. For a little extra glamour, look for trousers made of special fabric, such as velvet trousers from Calvin Klein. For those who are a little more daring, look for one-shoulder styles in dresses or tops. Elie Tahari’s silk one-shoulder blouse is both elegant and trendy, while ABS’ metallic one-shoulder dress is a little edgier. If you prefer your holiday outfit to be a little warmer, try a feminine tuxedo jacket, such as Diane von Furstenburg’s silk model, or the more traditional menswear style from Moschino Cheap and Chic. Luxurious fabrics are what set holiday fashions apart, so look for pieces in cashmere, velvet, silk, and the often-overlooked lace. Although some women dismiss lace as too matronly or bridal, the
key to making it work is balance. Add an edge with a tougher piece. Michael Kors’ basic lace skirt would look great with a black cashmere turtleneck and leather boots. Another trendy way to wear the look is to try black lace. Kay Unger’s one-shoulder black lace dress is a very modern look; a more conservative way to wear this trend is Jean Paul Gaultier’s black lace pencil skirt. For those who are still on the fence about lace, an alternative is to try some black lace tights. Men’s style options are a little bolder for the holidays as well. While dark suiting pieces are always a tasteful choice for social events, many designers, such as Etro and Lanvin, are offering velvet jackets. These velvet blazers look best balanced with dark jeans to avoid looking too stuffy or overdressed. Another option is to try a wool blazer, constructed like a jacket. It strikes the perfect welldressed balance between casual and formalwear. For those holiday gatherings that don’t call for blazers, try a tuxedo shirt as a stylish alternative to a standard dress shirt. Pringle of Scotland and Hugo Boss both offer tuxedo shirts with pleating details, which adds a little texture to an otherwise casual look.
Calvin Klein’s tailored velvet trousers are a perfect example of a holiday trend.
NEWS
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2010
TREASURES from page 13 The shop is probably best know for a wide variety of Judaica – including kippahs, tallit, challah covers, synagogue Torah table covers, dance dresses and humorous Jewish wear. Custom products in her repertoire include family tree afghans or wall hangings. They have several Hebrew CHASEN from page 5 “We were part of the great change-over,” Winkler said over the phone from New York the day after a star-studded tribute to Chasen at Hillside Memorial Park in Los Angeles, where she was interred beside her mother. Winkler was referring to that period in the ’70s, when Chasen arrived in town, that many view as a golden age of independently produced film. Publicity for B-movie studios and schlock horror pictures written and directed by her older brother, Larry Cohen (such as the 1974 film “It’s Alive”), were Chasen’s first Hollywood chores. She went on to work for PR ace Warren Cowan and served a stint as MGM’s publicity chief. But Chasen’s real niche was devising and executing the arcane strategies that persuade members of the Academy to select winners from each year’s batch of Oscar nominees. “On Golden Pond” (1981) was her first big triumph, earning 10 nominations and winning three Oscars, including best actor and best actress, respectively, for Henry Fonda and Katharine Hepburn. Another Chasen crusade nabbed nine nominations for “Driving Miss Daisy,” the 1989 movie about an elderly Jewish woman and her African-American chauffeur, and captured four Oscars, including best picture. More recent beneficiaries of Chasen’s campaigns, out of more than 100 winners, included “The Hurt Locker,” “Slumdog Millionaire,” and “No Country for Old Men.” Negotiating the intricate rules of the Academy and guessing what makes the organization’s members tick, many of them members of Chasen’s generation and older, require a particular variety of haimish charm that combines intuition, persistence, an irrepressible love of movies and an appetite for cocktail party hors d’oeuvres and banter. Having known and worked closely with her for 30 years, Winkler agreed that Chasen possessed a haimish personality. The producer of “Rocky” and “The Right Stuff” confirmed that Chasen — divorced, single and without children of her own — occupied an annual seat at the Winkler table for Passover Seders and was present “every year when
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fonts perfect for adding names, lettering and monograms to a variety of items like towels, aprons and wall hangings. Beyond Judaica, Elegant Treasures can design and produce custom business identification and promotional products, school spiritwear, sports teamwear and gifts. Owner Schiffer remembers becoming fascinated by design
around age 10, when she began designing clothes for her Barbie doll. Schiffer came by business honestly. Her mother, Betty (Isaacs) Roth, owned a gifts, stationery and collectible shop called “Something Else,” in Landen, Ohio for 23 years. Her father, the former Dr. Oliver K. Roth, was a family physician for over 30 years
in Blue Ash, Ohio. She grew up in Montgomery and attended local schools. She earned her undergraduate degree at Ohio State and her master’s degree at Miami University in educational disciplines. Schiffer worked as a physical education/health teacher and coach before she went on to raise her family in Cincinnati.
After her children were on their own and that phase of her life was done, Schiffer returned to her first love – design – by starting Elegant Treasures. Now every day holds the potential of giving her creativity an outlet and the promise of watching the pleasure customers derive from seeing their design in stitches.
we broke the fast on Yom Kippur.” She regarded her clients, he said, as mishpokhe, family. A week after Chasen was shot multiple times in the chest and crashed her car into a streetlight on Whittier Drive, Beverly Hills police have announced no leads in the case. Friends, colleagues and even former LAPD Chief William Bratton speculated about whether Chasen was the victim of a driveby shooting, road rage, a professional hit, a crime of passion or otherwise — but exactly how the showbiz dynamo came to her end
was unknown. At the Oneg Shabbat following Chasen’s death, Baron recalled over coffee and cake Chasen’s regular attendance of the Temple of the Arts on the High Holy Days with her late mother, as well as her many contributions to the synagogue. “Ronni never said no,” Baron said, recalling how Chasen used her public relations skills to bring talent and media attention to the synagogue’s activities — when the mayor of Haifa was visiting, when Hillary Rodham Clinton came to speak and when Yom
Kippur services were televised on the Hallmark Channel for the benefit of the homebound (even garnering a “one share” in Nielsen ratings). She knew how to create buzz and enjoyed getting out the story about the synagogue, Baron said. Like a Los Angeleno version of Broadway Danny Rose, Chasen was “a throwback to what seemed like an earlier time,” Melinda Newman, former west coast bureau chief of Billboard magazine, wrote in her blog. “In a world that now relies on e-mail, she was an old-school press agent whose
assistant placed her calls.” But the backstory, as they say in the movie business, was that whoever killed Ronni Chasen, for whatever reason, silenced a unique voice that may have seemed linked to the Hollywood of another era, but was actually very much connected to the present. “In a business which lacks a lot of authenticity,” Variety executive editor Steven Gaydos told the Forward, “Ronni was the real thing.” Reprinted with the Permission of The Forward.
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OBITUARIES
DEATH NOTICES ZWERIN, Jane S., age 80, died November 19, 2010; 12 Kislev, 5771. STEINBERG, Richard “Rick” A., age 58, died on November 26, 2010; 19 Kislev, 5771. MARGOLES, Lottie, age 94, died on November 27, 2010; 20 Kislev, 5771. KAPLAN, Helen, age 97, died on November 28, 2010; 22 Kislev, 5771.
OBITUARIES ZWERIN, Jane S. Jane S. Zwerin (nee Sternberg), age 80, died on November19, 2010—the 12th day of Kislev, 5771. She was the beloved wife of Harry; loving mother of Lisa Copeland and Mendy (Rabbi Stephen) Hart; devoted grandmother of Adam (Katherine) Copeland, Dani Sara Copeland, Lani Hart and Dena Hart; cherished aunt of Deanna (Jon) Schwer and the late Ramona Rider. Graveside services were held on November 21 in Cleveland, Ohio. Friends who wish may contribute to the Menorah Park Hospice, Beachwood, Ohio, The R.H. Myers Apartments Beachwood, Ohio, or Temple Sholom, Cincinnati, Ohio. RAISING from page 10 It’s now early winter, which marks the beginning of the hiring season for day school administrators. Last year, Paul’s firm placed about 15 administrators. Paul anticipates 20 in the coming year. And whether they’re for the head of school or the assistant
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POLLARD from page 8 Nyer, at Frank’s news conference, sounded nonplussed by his own achievement. “I came across scores of ordinary Americans in the country, as well as prominent figures, who have joined the calls for Jonathan’s release,” he said. Beyond the congressional letter, the 25th anniversary of Pollard’s incarceration has spawned a number of Op-Eds calling for Pollard’s release, including one in The Washington Post over the weekend by his father, Morris Pollard. Rabbi David Saperstein, who principal, recent job postings on jewish jobs website prove that Paul’s findings are not the only showing of day school administrative hiring. For example, Solomon Schechter School of Westchester is looking for a head of school, Torah Academy of Greater Philadelphia seeks a “Hebrew teacher/coordinator” and Alabama’s NE Miles Jewish Day School is searching for a head of school. These jobs typically pay between $100,000 and $250,000, Paul said. Even as the market thaws, the post-recession world is more crowded and competitive. The bar is rising, and more aspiring day school administrators are expected to have higher credentials. That standard appears to have helped Greene, whose education journey began in college. As a sophomore at Brandeis University, he took a Hebrew school teaching position as a part-time job. He ended up with a career path. “You saw the kids’ faces light up while applying Judaism to their own lives,” he said. He then taught middle school Judaic studies at Los Angeles’s Rabbi Jacob Pressman Academy. During his second year, the mid-
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ready to agree but was rebuffed by top intelligence officials. The CIA director at the time, George Tenet, said he would quit if Clinton agreed, and the president backed down. Netanyahu is again prime minister, and negotiations again are fraught. Netanyahu is negotiating with the White House over concessions for freezing settlement building as a means to draw Palestinians back to direct talks. Meanwhile, the reasons for the U.S. intelligence community’s strong stance against Pollard remain unknown. “Anyone who knows isn’t talking, and anyone who is talking
doesn’t know,” Weiner said. But two figures involved in the prosecution now have come forward to say Pollard has served enough time. Lawrence Korb, an assistant secretary of defense in 1987, said in a letter that his boss, the late Caspar Weinberger, had a “visceral dislike for Israel” and that played a role in his pressing the judge to ignore the plea bargain Pollard had worked out with prosecutors. The other Reagan administration official recommending clemency is Abraham Sofaer, who helped investigate the breadth of the secrets Pollard stole for the Israelis.
dle school director left, and Greene, then 24, moved into the higher post. After a year on the job, Greene decided he wanted to lead day schools in the long run,
taught and worked as technology integrator at North Shore Hebrew Academy High School. Then, California came calling once more. Paul’s firm contacted
voice at weekly town meetings their opinions on issues ranging from dress code to gang behavior. But the board of directors decided it was time for a change in leadership, and laid off the top tier of administration going into the 2008–2009 school year. Greene kept his family in California, where he tried to build Atid, a startup online charter school combined with a physical day school. He attracted 10 families — and only half the amount in pledges he needed to get the school off the ground. “I was a little too ahead of the curve,” he said he realized in February. Now, Greene is a few months into his new job, where he makes a salary in the low six figures. He’s back in St. Louis, where his life began. He’s not the 18-yearold who left for college all those years ago. This time around, he shapes the educational experience of 170 students. And although he still enjoys going to movies and playing basketball, he said, “I spend a lot of time at work because it’s more than a job. It’s really my passion.”
For example, Solomon Schechter School of Westchester is looking for a head of school, Torah Academy of Greater Philadelphia seeks a “Hebrew teacher/coordinator” and Alabama’s NE Miles Jewish Day School is searching for a head of school. These jobs typically pay between $100,000 and $250,000, Paul said. so he did what any aspiring day school principal might: He moved to New York. There he got his rabbinic ordination at Yeshiva University and began working toward a doctorate in education. While taking classes, Greene
Greene, saying that Shalhevet School, a co-educational high school in Los Angeles, was searching for a Judaic studies principal. In that position, he engaged the students in participatory democracy, where they would
ISRAEL from page 10
Jessica Parker, a Jewish actress. Two episodes will be filmed as the Globus Corp., which is producing the series, searches for a broadcasting contract.
GENERATIONS
“Ramzor,” which airs on Israel Channel 2 and is owned by its franchisee Keshet, is taping its third season. Its second season was among the top 10 most watched shows of 2009, with 23.7 percent of Israelis watching.
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‘Sex and the City,’ Israeli style Casting has begun for an Israeli version of the hit HBO series “Sex and The City,” Ynet reported. The series will follow the lives and loves of three 30-something gal pals. The four American women lived in New York; the three Israelis will reside in Tel Aviv. Ynet reported that young Israeli actress Neta Plotnik has been tapped to play the Carrie Bradshaw character made famous by Sarah
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directs the Religious Action Center, said Frank weighted the matter properly: The justice of the matter was key, but the timing of the peace process helped. “It is always the right time to do the just thing in the face of the disproportionate sentence,” Saperstein said. “If it has an ancillary benefit, if this is the way to move the process along, I’m all in favor of it — but it should be done on its own merits.” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has favored such a release since he first proposed it during his first term, at the Wye River negotiations in 1998. President Clinton reportedly was
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On the Oscar shortlist The Israeli documentary film “Precious Life” has been shortlisted for an Oscar. “Precious Life,” the story of a very sick Palestinian child in Gaza and his mother’s efforts to get him the care in Israel that he needs to survive, is up against 14 films for one of five spots to vie for the Best Documentary Film award at the 83rd Academy Awards in March. The film by award-winning Israeli TV reporter Shlomi Eldar, who is making his documentary directorial debut, has been screened at festivals around the
Reprinted with permission of The Forward. world in recent months. Recharging their batteries Israelis will soon see electric cars on its roads, imported to test battery recharging stations at several sites throughout the country. Better Place, a company based in California and Israel, was granted permission by the Minister of Transportation to import 13 Renault Fluence electric cars to test the stations. The cars are set to be approved soon for marketing in Israel for 2011, the Israeli business daily Globes reported, making Israel one of the first markets for vehicles with a quick-change station, where the vehicles can pick up a freshly charged battery for immediate use. More than 10,000 hybrid electric cars are now in use in Israel, according to reports.
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CHANUKAH 2010 SPECIAL ISSUE
Sadye Goodman, 11, Rockwern Academy — Runner-up of the 2010 Chanukah Cover Coloring Contest
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2010
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Chanukah for families: eight days of fun By Sarah Gershman MyJewishLearning ROCKVILLE, Md. — Chanukah’s proximity to Christmas can complicate the holiday. For those who try to make Chanukah more like Christmas, it inevitably seems to fall short. Yet while Chanukah was traditionally not one of the most central holidays of the Jewish calendar, it still can offer many opportunities for fun and joyous celebration. There are many ways to make this year’s Chanukah a real “Festival of Lights.” As Rabbi Arthur Waskow writes in his book “Seasons of Joy,” “Chanukah is the moment when light is born from darkness, hope from despair.” Historically, this was reflected in the unlikely victory of the Maccabees over the Greeks, in the oil that brought light for eight days instead of one, and in the very act of lighting candles during the darkest time of the year. Chanukah activities for families Here are some suggestions to make this Chanukah memorable while staying true to the essential meaning of the holiday. Before lighting candles, try taking your family on a night walk. Go outside together and feel how dark it is. Even in the city, the month of December has a special darkness to it. After the walk, come in from the cold and light the chanukiyah (menorah). Feel the contrast between the darkness outside and the light inside. The oil in the Temple menorah, which was only enough for one day but miraculously lasted for eight days, can be understood as an early example of energy conservation. This year COEJL, the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life, is sponsoring a special program called “How Many Jews Does It Take to Change a Bulb?” The organization is helping Jewish institutions, families and individuals purchase and install energy efficient, costeffective compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs during the week of Chanukah. Chanukah also is a wonderful time to bring light into the lives of those around us. The winter months can be especially difficult for those who need help. Why not take time this holiday to volunteer as a family at a local soup kitchen, shelter or any place that is meaningful to you? Jewish homes for the aged
Giving each night a special theme can increase the excitement and take some of the attention away from presents. often have Chanukah parties or communal chanukiyah lightings. These are opportunities to connect your children with the older generation and help make the celebration more festive for the residents. Get creative Chanukah can be a great time for simple and fun family art projects. There is a custom for each member of the family to have his/her own chanukiyah. This year, why not make your own? You can buy lots of small votive candles (yahrtzeit candles are an inexpensive way to do this) and decorate the glass with a collage of colorful pieces of tissue paper. When the votives are lit, light shines through the tissue paper like stained glass. This is a great chanukiyah for the Friday night of the holiday, when the candles are supposed to burn for at least two hours — as long as Shabbat candles burn. No matter what kind of chanukiyah you use, try to place it in as visible a spot as possible to fulfill the mitzvah of pirsumei nisa (publicizing the miracle). And don’t forget the decorations. Judaica stores sell lots of colorful Chanukah decorations that make the house feel more festive. You may want to choose your own Chanukah decorating theme. I know one family that decorates their house with homemade pictures of Jewish holiday objects, which symbolize to them the uniqueness of Judaism — definitely a theme of the holiday. Make each night special One of the wonderful things about Chanukah is that it lasts eight days. Giving each night a special theme can increase the excitement and take some of the attention away from presents. Themes might include “Tzedakah (charity) night,” “Sing-Off Night,” “Party Night” and, of course, “Presents Night.” I know a family that eats a different kind of potato latke (pancake) for dinner each night. Apples, cauliflower or even meat can be delicious additions to the traditional potato latke. Cheese is also a great
Chanukah food, as it recollects the heroism of Judith, who cleverly fed King Holofernes salty cheese and wine. When the king promptly fell asleep, Judith cut off his head and thereby saved her town from his tyranny. Chanukah also is an ideal time to do fun activities like playing music, taking pictures or making home movies documenting the year’s celebration. One family I know drips Chanukah candle wax each night on their family album. Then, the following year, they take out the album, look at the wax, and try to remember where they were and what they did on each night. Celebrate our uniqueness One of the miracles of Chanukah is that the Jewish people were able to re-consecrate the Temple — our spiritual center and a powerful symbol of our uniqueness. Chanukah today presents us with the opportunity to re-consecrate our own uniqueness as a religion, a people and a culture. Chanukah is a time to discuss as a family some of the blessings and challenges of being Jewish in a predominantly Christian country. One way to spark discussion on this subject is to watch a movie that in some way tackles the subject of assimilation. Some suggestions include “My Big Fat Greek Wedding,” “Avalon,” “Keeping the Faith,” “The Jazz Singer,” “Monsoon Wedding” and “American Desi.” Snowflakes could be a wonderful seasonal Chanukah symbol, as no two are alike. You can even make “Chanukah snowflakes” out of colorful paper and use them to decorate the house. And if Chanukah happens to fall on a snowy day, take a walk outside and really look at the snowflakes that fall on your hand and try to see the differences between them. Have a joyous and meaningful Chanukah. Sarah Gershman is a teaching fellow at the Partnership for Jewish Living and Learning in Rockville, Md. She is the president of Green Room Speakers.
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Public displays of chanukiyot: modern phenomenon drawing on basic Chanukah beliefs By Iscah Waldman MyJewishLearning
THE COOPER FAMILY Wishes the Jewish Community a Happy Chanukah! • Kenwood Town Center
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NEW YORK — Not every commandment is given a rabbinical justification as clear as that of the mitzvah (commandment) of lighting the Chanukah lights (whether they are candles or oil, which are both acceptable). The rabbis explain that we light them in order to publicize the miracle of the holiday (pirsumei nisa in Aramaic, the language of the Talmud). This symbolic act shifted during the time of the rabbis from the lighting of a solitary candle each night of the holiday to kindling an increasing number of candles throughout the eight nights of Chanukah, according to the custom of the House of Hillel. These lights were to be placed outside, in a public space, during the most heavily trafficked time of the evening. Today, the variety of practices range from carefully measured oil lamps to electric menorahs in department store windows to the lighting of 30-foot Chanukah menorahs in public squares in cities all over the world. The requirement to kindle lights on Chanukah could easily be fulfilled with the lighting of a single light. This solitary light was all that was needed to symbolize the miracle of this late holiday — be it the divine intervention of the story of the oil or the Maccabean victory. At an early stage, the rabbis delineated a mehadrin (better or more meticulous) way to perform the mitzvah, namely to allow for one candle per family member each day. The mehadrin min hamehadrin (the most meticulous) method would be to do precisely what has since become the common practice — to begin with one candle and add a candle for each subsequent night of the holiday. Along with the development of how many lights would suffice to properly publicize the miracle, questions arose surrounding the actual placement of the Chanukah lights: How can the lights be placed in a way that maximizes their exposure to the public? Maximum exposure Not unlike the idea behind TV networks’ prime time, the rabbis were careful to determine the proper time for lighting the chanukiyah (Chanukah lamp, also known as a menorah) as the one
during which the largest amount of traffic would be able to view the miracle renewed in every house. During the 30 minutes or so that followed sunset, people made their way back home from the market or workplace, and this would be the optimum time to have passers-by walk through what must have seemed like an endless number of kindled lights. The lights were to be lit outside in the courtyard, or if one lived on another floor, in a window so that people could see it. Today it has become common for people to place their Chanukah lights in the window for the neighbors to see. One can even find some houses in Israel that have a special niche facing the front in order to allow people to place their lit chanukiyot in a glass-enclosed display case of their very own. Dangerous publicity In a world that was not always tolerant of varying religious practices, the rabbis permitted the lighting of the Chanukah lights inside on a table if one felt that one was in a “she’at ha-d’khak” (a time of danger). This teaches us that while publicizing the miracle is the central reason of the holiday, publicizing the miracle to one’s family is the essence, and further steps need not be taken if one perceives dangerous consequences. Interestingly, even in the United States, where religious freedom is touted as one of the proudest achievements, the concept of she’at ha-d’khak has been tested, though not in the traditional manner of taking Chanukah displays inside during times of danger. One modern example: In Billings, Mont., in 1993, a small boy placed a Chanukah decoration in his bedroom window, only to have it destroyed when a rock shattered the window. In reaction to what was likely vandalism by members of an Aryan group, a campaign was started to have both Jews and non-Jews — the clear majority in Billings — decorate their windows with a chanukiyah or with a picture of one. Ten thousand people joined in this campaign, and while several windows were still smashed, the town became an inspiration to many who appreciated its courage in the face of religious hatred and intolerance. It is the Chabad-Lubavitch sect of Chasidic Judaism that has propagated the public display of chanukiyot in cities throughout the United States, Canada and Europe
— even to Moscow in 1991. Chabad’s large, angular chanukiyot can be seen in public places across the world. Such displays have made headlines in some cases because of controversies they have generated concerning the separation of church and state. Litigating chanukiyah displays In 1989, the issue reached the U.S. Supreme Court in Allegheny County vs. Greater Pittsburgh ACLU. The court was to decide whether the county violated the First Amendment’s clause establishing that the government may not endorse or prohibit the free exercise of any religion. At issue was the displaying of a creche, a Christian nativity scene, and a chanukiyah on public property. The court ruled against the creche but allowed the displaying of a chanukiyah along with a Christmas tree, since the court perceived these to be secular symbols of religious holidays and therefore not an endorsement of any particular religious belief. While the issue still causes its fair share of controversy (including issues particular to public schools), it has become a familiar sight to see even 30-foot chanukiyot lit in places such as Central Park in New York City. In fact, even President George W. Bush made a point of lighting a chanukiyah at the White House in 2001 using a menorah that made its way from Lvov, Poland, after the Holocaust. One can scarcely find a Jewish home today without at least one chanukiyah, and candles can be found in places as mundane as the local pharmacy. Local and national politicians, businesses from banks to bakeries, and even television stations are displaying chanukiyot for publicity, solidarity and sometimes as a response to overzealous Christmas displays. All of this public attention has not caused the family candlelighting to disappear, however. On the contrary, more and more families are finding this simple ritual a meaningful time for their families to gather. The miracle of Chanukah will continue to be publicized in the homes of Jews throughout the world, even as it is granted ever-increasing exposure in the public eye. Rabbi Iscah Waldman is the director of education and family programming at Ansche Chesed in New York City.
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Kindling a renewed spirit from the darkness of tragedy By Mendel Lifshitz Jewish Telegraphic Agency BOISE, Idaho (JTA) — In the days ahead, Jewish windows and doorways will glow with flickering flames. Large menorahs will stand tall in shopping centers and thoroughfares, joining thousands of such displays from Bangkok to Boise. Contrary to some people’s perception, these displays have not been designed for the purpose of securing “equal time” with other cultures. Rather this is all a central part of the observance of Chanukah, a festival dating back some 2,100 years when a small Jewish army triumphed over the powerful and oppressive Syrian-Greeks. It was then that the Sages of Israel established a celebration of religious freedom for the ages. Jewish tradition teaches us not to proselytize, so it may seem odd to some that Jews celebrate the miracles of Chanukah in public fashion by placing the menorah in places of high visibility. Why the emphasis on publicity? Perhaps it is because these lights do not represent the imposition of one person’s religion upon another. Quite the contrary, they embody the Jewish — and universal — ideals of freedom over oppression, of spirit over matter, of light over darkness. In a global melting pot era that
seeks to erode our convictions and challenge our individualism, the menorah refuses to melt away. This simple, unwavering beacon of light looms as a proud fortress of Jewish spirit and values. My Chanukah illumination came one November day in Africa. It was 2002. My wife and I were asked by the Chabad emissary in central Africa to help organize a Chanukah celebration for the Jewish communities in Kenya. The day we arrived, a fateful homicide attack struck the Mombasa Paradise Hotel — the site of our scheduled event — leaving 15 dead and scores injured. The festivities we had planned were replaced by mourning and agony. Search and rescue, medical care and trauma counseling became the call of the hour. Several nights later we held a large Chanukah gathering. There I stood under the African sky wondering where we go from here. The sense of gloom was thick and palpable, the wounds still open and bleeding, the horrors of what we had witnessed all too fresh. A young girl then stood up and lit a menorah. All of the participants followed suit. A sea of flames lit up the night. There was not a dry eye around. Suddenly, someone in the crowd started up a Chanukah tune, and we all joined in. Never have I heard a melody stir the soul so deeply. It was then that it dawned on me.
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On Chanukah we kindle a flame, adding another light to the menorah on each of its eight nights, to commemorate how the Jews of old discovered one flask of pure oil with which to kindle the Temple menorah in Jerusalem — enough to last for a single day. This single cruse miraculously burned for eight days, until new oil was procured. Even in the wake of great darkness and despair, there is always that flask of goodness and purity remaining from which we can build and kindle anew. Flame by flame, mitzvah by mitzvah, day by day — we can and we must restore light and sanctity to our surroundings. This is true in the macro of nations as well as the micro of our individual lives. We never give up hope. As light increases, darkness recedes. The next time you look at the menorah, listen carefully to the story of its flames. It is the story of freedom, the story of prevailing goodness. It is the story of a single good deed changing an entire world. It is your story as much as it is mine. Rabbi Mendel Lifshitz directs Chabad Lubavitch of Idaho with his wife, Esther. They have six children and live in Boise.
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NEW YORK (JTA) — We are all of us afraid of the dark. At night, anxieties suppressed or repressed come swimming to the surface: Am I safe? Am I loved? Am I needed? Is there meaning in the world, or ultimately is it all just a swirl of chaos? For some of us much of the time, and for all of us some of the time, darkness suggests peril and instability, the sense that life is fleeting, tenuous, random and senseless. Physical darkness threatens, at least at moments, to conjure existential darkness: It is dark, and I am alone and afraid. The Talmud reports that Adam and Eve were panic stricken when they first saw the sun go down, thinking that the setting of the sun was a consequence of their sin and this new, intense darkness would spell their death. They spent that entire first night weeping, until dawn broke and they realized, to their immense relief, that this was simply the way of the world — day followed by night, and night followed by day. We who come after the first couple are aware that night is not permanent, and that morning, too, inevitably will come. And our fears are usually less that night is the outgrowth of our failures and more of what it suggests, of the feelings and concerns that night has the power to elicit. But if we think of night in metaphorical terms, who among us has never had a foreboding akin to Adam’s: what if night never ends? What if meaningless and loneliness are simply all there is? We also are aware of profound links between physical darkness
and existential darkness — as the days grow shorter and the nights grow longer, moods often shift, worries often mount, and hope often wanes. Judaism does not ask us to ignore this darkness and the sense of doom it might educe. On the contrary, it asks us to face them squarely and defy them. How? In Genesis, God takes Abram outside and says, “Look toward heaven, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” And God adds, “So shall your offspring be” (Gen. 15:5). On the surface, the meaning of God’s promise is clear: The children of Abram will be so numerous as to be beyond counting. But the great Chasidic master Rabbi Yehudah Leib Alter of Ger (18471905), known as the Sefas Emes, offers a much different and deeply arresting interpretation of God’s promise. God’s promise, he says, is not quantitative but qualitative: To be a Jew is, like a star, to bring light to places of vast darkness. Thus, even and perhaps especially when Israel descends into the darkness of its Egypt, its mission is clear: to light up the darkness of the most depraved and immoral parts of the world (Shemot, 1878). Let me add one note to the Sefas Emes’ comments. In understanding our mission in the world, there is something crucial to keep in mind about the nature of stars: Stars do not eliminate the darkness but rather mitigate it. They do not turn the world into a palace full of light, but rather find ways to shed light in places that otherwise would be consumed by absolute darkness. In a similar vein, we ought to be wary, to say the least, of the fantasy that human beings can somehow remove all darkness from human
life. Such notions are chimerical at best and unimaginably dangerous at worst. But we can — and to take the covenant between God and Israel seriously is to affirm that we must — bring light into otherwise abandoned places, to bring flashes of meaning and companionship to places otherwise overrun by heartache and devastation. What does all of this have to do with Chanukah? Think for a moment about the central ritual act that marks this holiday. It is winter now: The days are becoming shorter and shorter, and the nights are getting longer. Passover and Sukkot begin in the middle of the Jewish month, when the moon is full. But Chanukah is different: It begins on the 25th of the month, when the moon has all but completely disappeared. We are in one of the darkest periods of one of the darkest months of the year. All around us is darkness. And what do we do? We light a fire. Not a bonfire, but a small fire — now one, now another, and so forth for eight nights. In other words, we do not pretend to be the sun but only stars. We do not bring an end to darkness but soften its effects. “The soul of man is the lamp of God,” the Book of Proverbs tells us (20:27). What this means is that ultimately, our task is not to light candles but to be candles. We have the potential to be the bits of light that help bring God back into a world gone dark. As the Sefas Emes puts it in discussing Chanukah, “A human being is created to light up this world” (Chanukah, 1874). Rabbi Shai Held is the co-founder and rosh yeshiva of Mechon Hadar in Manhattan.
A twist on Chanukah giving By Dasee Berkowitz Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Wishing All of Our Friends & Family A Happy Chanukah
NEW YORK (JTA) — When I walked into our local Kmart the night after Labor Day, Christmas music already beckoned shoppers to do what they do best during the great white winter holiday: consume. Traditional Christians probably decry the way in which the focus of their “High Holiday” has shifted away from their Messiah toward consumerism. Jewish folks decry this as well (and certainly this Jewish folk does) because it pressures us to celebrate our less significant winter holiday, Chanukah, in a similar way. The irony couldn’t be more striking. Chanukah is the holiday that celebrates Jewish distinctive-
ness over assimilation. The Maccabees — zealots to some, freedom fighters to others — fought to preserve a sense of Jewish distinctiveness in the face of the Assyrian Greeks and other Jews who were attracted to their ways. So in order to really celebrate Chanukah this year let’s ask ourselves, what makes us Jews distinct? How can we celebrate our distinctiveness in ways that strengthen our own identities and the Jewish identity of our families? How can we bring the best of what Judaism has to offer to our communities and to the larger society? The concept of tzedakah is one of Judaism’s great contributions to the world — Ethical Monotheism, the Ten Commandments and the concept of Shabbat rank way up
there, too. Jewish tradition posits giving tzedakah as an obligation (according to Maimonides, 20 percent of your income is average, with 10 percent as the minimum) and holds that this obligation rests on everybody, not just the well-off (the Shulchan Arukh states that “even one who is supported by tzedakah is required to give from what he has been given”). This offers a paradigm for a just and supportive society that holds rampant consumerism in check. So I propose that this Chanukah, instead of pouring our creative energies into giving material gifts, we use that creativity to dedicate each night and each candle to a different aspect of giving. GIVING on page B9
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A burning issue: A new order for Chanukah? By Edmon J. Rodman Jewish Telegraphic Agency LOS ANGELES (JTA) — Are you ready for a new Jewish order this Chanukah? Considering our economic times, are we faced with a gradual cutback in the way we light the menorah? Someone once proposed that we light the whole thing on the first night, then cut back one candle each night. Has the time come for that change? As I think I heard in the famous Chanukah song: “On first night —- let us light, eight little Chanukah candle fires 'tis a sight, left and right -- eight little Chanukah candle fires.” What with many Jewish households experiencing layoffs or furloughs, or having a recent college graduate who cannot find work, the full menorah glow coming on the eighth day seems so far off in an uncertain future. Chanukah comes when the days are short, and this year when money is short, too, maybe we need some extra light on the first night -- a flash of burning wax to wake us from our doldrums. For Jewish households once employed in hard-hit industries like finance, health care, real estate, education and publishing, the promise of the menorah’s light can shed new meaning. There’s a Chanukah menorah concept of “pirsum ha’nes,” of publicizing the miracle of the oil lasting eight days. But isn’t that a kind of economic miracle? Lighting the menorah the way we do now wasn’t always a given. As recorded in the Bablyonian Talmud, there was a debate (about the time of the first century CE) between the school of Shammai and the school of Hillel about how to light the menorah. Beit Shammai says, "On the first day one lights eight and from
then on one continues to decrease." Bet Hillel contends, "On the first day one lights one and from then on one continues to increase." The Talmud also recounts their reasoning: “The reason for Beit Shammai was according to the number of bulls offered up on Sukkot,” a number which decreases each day. And the Hillel rationale, the one we follow today: “We increase in holiness and we don't decrease." Certainly no one lights the candles the Shammai way -- or do they? I have always loved the way Chanukah builds to a crescendo of light. It’s gradual, subtle, so very unlike its forced calendar soul mate, Christmas. The song goes “one more candle for the Maccabee children.” Right? Not “one less.” But with the crescendo comes a price. In our house, by the eighth night of Chanukah, you can feel the heat. Since the candles burn in the windows, we need to move them back from the drapes. The big glow comes at the end, and there’s no song for this -- at the end I sometimes feel burnt out. So why not go with Shammai? What if he had it right? This year, Jewish households would find the immediate full first night glow of their menorahs a Chanukah stimulus package. The festival would begin with a blaze of glory. Think of it as a Big Bang theory of Chanukah: Begin with one inspirational burst that just keeps spreading. Hold that image in mind as you light one fewer candle each night. And perhaps try to fill the candle void with something else, like giving tzedakah or recycling. The change shouldn’t come as much of a shock. Reviewing my household finances recently, I came to the conclusion that I have been a Team Shammai guy for years and didn’t even know it. How about you?
We wanted the immediate gratification of the big glow: bigger houses and bigger synagogues, giant simchas, better college educations. Easy credit made it happen in a flash. Just offer up the most bulls we could possibly afford and don’t sweat it. After all, the next day we only need to come up with one fewer. And that’s when the trouble starts: night two, when we start taking away light. Like politicians haggling over budgets, we find it’s hard to cut back. “But mommy or daddy, last night we lit eight candles,” the child in us might ask, "why tonight only seven?” At the moment we feel compelled to explain our Chanukah deficits, the bills for the Shammai plan begin to come due. This year especially, organizations that heavily employ Jews -the Jewish federations in San Francisco and Phoenix, The Jewish Theological Seminary in New York, even the Council of Jewish Poverty in Metropolitan Chicago, to name a few -- may have to look at many days with less light. As reported in the Phoenix Jewish News, the Phoenix Jewish Federation recently announced that it would be laying off more than half of its staff. "As difficult as it may be, sometimes scaling down is what you have to do,” said the Phoenix federation board chairman, Steve Gubin. "This is the time, more than ever, that we need the volunteers to step up to the plate," he said, suggesting gamely a way to fill the void.
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By Sue Fishkoff Jewish Telegraphic Agency SAN FRANCISCO (JTA) — It was December 1982, and my kibbutz ulpan had just been invited to light the Chanukah menorah for the Israeli Knesset. The Israeli army was deep in the heart of Lebanon, the Cold War was raging, talks with the PLO were years away, and Israel was feeling both isolated and feisty. Freedom from oppression was the theme for that year’s holiday, and my six-month work-study ulpan program had been chosen for this annual honor because we had so many students from countries where Jews were being oppressed. There was the 18-year-old, from Aleppo, whose jaw had been broken by Syrian border guards when she was caught during her first escape attempt. She made it out the second time — on foot. There was 19-year-old Daoud, now David, and his twin brother, Ofer, who grew up Muslim in Beirut and only learned they were Jewish that summer, when their Israeli-born mother revealed her heritage, divorced her Lebanese husband and dragged the twins to Israel as its army poured across their border. We had the three French boys in the class: Charlie from Morocco, Michel representing Tunisia, and Didier, whose parents were Algerian. There was a student from Iran who fled after the fall of the shah three years earlier. Another student claimed Egyptian ancestry — good enough for the Knesset — and one young man from Glasgow also would light a candle, presumably in the name of Scottish independence. I might argue that the student from Paris who refused in class to use the Hebrew word “olah,” or “ascend,” to describe her move to Israel, on the grounds that any departure from Paris could only be a descent, also was living under oppression. She just didn’t know it. The only thing we were missing was a student from the Soviet Union. The Iron Curtain had shut tight in 1980, few new immigrants were arriving and we were some years away from the great exodus of the early 1990s. Not a single Boris or Natasha to add to the mix. Then I let slip that I spoke Russian. And my grandparents were from Ukraine — sure, they arrived in 1906 and 1912, but our ulpan teacher was eager to seize upon any connection, however tangential, to clinch that Knesset deal. She renamed me Sonia Pitchkopf and instructed me to pre-
Courtesy of Erika Gosser
Sue Fishkoff
pare a short speech to deliver, in Russian-accented Hebrew, as I lit my candle. After the laughter died down in class, I realized the enormity of what I had signed on for. This was no Purimspiel. This was the Parliament of the Jewish state, and here I was, tasked with pulling a fast one over on men and women, some of whom certainly spoke Russian, or at least were capable of sniffing out a ruse of this magnitude. As I began writing my speech, I thought back to my first trip to the USSR. My Russian class from Cornell landed in Leningrad on Dec. 31, 1975, and as so often happened with Jewish visitors from the West in those years, I found myself in a Jewish apartment within hours of my arrival, plucked out of the crowd by a young Jewish member of the Komsomol group sent to greet us. The table was spread with a lavish repast — mushrooms in cream sauce, pickled vegetables, carrot
salad, all kinds of smoked fish. I learned later how long the family had scrimped to put together that holiday meal. People crowded around me, eager to ask questions about America. Was there really so much street crime? What did people think of the pullout from Vietnam? Had I ever been to Israel? I had stars in my eyes, so excited was I to be in the forbidden land of Cossacks and Bolsheviks, the center of such rapt attention. Then two young men dragged out a book and thrust it into my lap. It was an English-language edition of the Encyclopedia Judaica they had opened to the page on Chanukah. One of them pointed to a drawing of the nine-branched Chanukiyah and asked me to explain its use. Thinking he was joking, I smiled. These were university educated people. This was the 20th century. He had to be pulling my leg. He wasn’t. And I’ll always remember my shock and sadness as I realized it. So here I was, on my Israeli kibbutz, purporting to masquerade as people whose pain and isolation were so very real? I couldn’t do it. I wouldn’t. My ulpan lit the Chanukah candles that year on the floor of the Knesset building in Jerusalem. And when my turn came, I was Sue Fishkoff, not Sonia Pitchkopf. And I lit in the name of my own grandparents, free in America, and in the name of the five young men I had met that night in Leningrad. Two of them already were living in New Jersey. The others were still in Leningrad, now St. Petersburg, as late as 1996, the last time I visited them. And my ulpan friends called me Pitchkopf for the rest of the year.
Courtesy of Sue Fishkoff
The author after a day’s work at the kibbutz gas station, August 1982.
CHANUKAH
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2010
GIVING from page B6 Candle 1: Have an intimate dinner with family and friends. Learn about the issues of most concern to them, then set aside the money you would spend on a material gift to make a contribution to that organization or cause in their honor. Candle 2: Make a site visit. Follow up on the first night’s activity and, if the cause is a local one, arrange to go on a site visit together to learn more about the organization’s work and how you can get involved. This activity is especially good for parents with young children. Candle 3: Be on the lookout for charity events in your area. Plan ahead and bring a buddy to attend the event, and dedicate yourself to expanding your horizons on issues in the world in need of addressing. Candle 4: Think about someone in your life in immediate need. It might be someone who just had a baby and could use a home-cooked meal. It might be someone in the hospital who could use a visit. Bring them Chanukah-themed treats such as cookies in the shape of dreidels or homemade Chanukah cards. Candle 5: Get your charitable giving in order. If eight nights of eating latkes and jelly donuts becomes too much for you, take the night off and plan ahead for the coming fiscal year. What are the issue areas that you want to commit yourself to this year? How much time or money do you want to give? Make a plan. Candle 6: Give more than your money and time — give of your values. Think about a value that is
Dasee Berkowitz
important to you that you haven’t had time to develop (does the refrain “too busy” ring a bell?) and do an activity that reflects that value with a spouse, child or friend. If it is caring for the environment, find a lecture, watch a movie or canvass for an environmental organization for the day. If the value is eating nutritious food, take a trip to your local grocer to buy nutritious food and cook it together with a friend. Candle 7: Think about someone else in your life who is too busy to think about holiday presents. Give them a break. For a busy parent, this could mean providing child-care; for a busy professional, it could be giving your time as a coach. Candle 8: Have a Chanukah party and ask each of your guests to bring a gift that you can pass onto a local charity — a nonperishable food, a children’s toy, books or clothing.
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By Natasha Rosenstock MyJewishLearning WASHINGTON — Most American Jews can rattle off a list of Chanukah traditions such as lighting the menorah each night; playing dreidel games; eating foods cooked in oil; and giving gifts. However, many wonder if this last tradition is really a Jewish tradition, or whether Chanukah presents just came about in reaction to Christmas. A brief history Jonathan Sarna, professor of American Jewish history at Brandeis University, explains that Jews used to exchange gifts only on Purim, but in the late 19th century there was a shift from Purim to Chanukah. Christmas itself became magnified in the late 19th century when it became a national holiday in America. The Jewish custom shifted in imitation of Christmas, as its consumerism grew. Sarna distinguishes the practice of giving Chanukah gifts from its precursor, Chanukah gelt (Yiddish for money): “Chanukah gelt is an old custom, well attested in Europe. Gift giving, by contrast, is new.” The precise origin of Chanukah gelt is unclear. The most popular explanation is that coins became a symbol of the holiday because the ancient Jews’ ability to make their own coins was a symbol of the independence they gained in the battles that the festival of lights commemorates. In his book “Holidays, History and Halakhah,” Eliezer Segal argues that the earliest sources that mention gelt on Chanukah are about students in Europe giving gelt to their teachers. Segal suggests that this practice was perhaps inspired by semantic and etymological connections between the Hebrew word Chanukah (dedication) and the Hebrew word hinnukh (education). According to Segal, some Jewish communities used the Chanukah season to recognize religious teachers who, because of the prohibition of accepting money for teaching Torah, would normally not accept payment for their work. Segal suggests that students whose parents gave them money to pass on to their teachers eventually started to ask for their own share of gelt. This might be the source of the custom to give gelt to children on Chanukah. Today, some families prefer to give Chanukah gelt rather than
gifts because they view gelt as a more authentically Jewish tradition. Minka Goldstein, a mother of six, says she gives a dollar per candle, not counting the shamash. On the first night her kids receive one dollar; second night, two, etc. The total is $36 for eight nights, and she says her children (and now grandchildren, too) love it. Goldstein uses this as an opportunity to teach her kids how to spend wisely. When they were little, she took her kids to Toys ‘R’Us and let them decide what to buy with their $36. From gelt to gifts Dianne Ashton, director of American studies at Rowan University in Glassboro, N.J., and author of an upcoming book, “The American Chanukah,” explains that the trend of giving Chanukah gifts really took off in the 1950s. At this time, Jewish child psychologists as well as rabbis started promoting gifts as a way to make post-Holocaust Jewish kids happy to be Jewish rather than sad about missing out on Christmas. Christmas envy remains a concern for many Jewish parents today. Janet Zuckerman, a mother of three, says it is particularly hard for her kids this time of year because their cousins celebrate both Chanukah and Christmas, and receive presents for both. She and her husband used to give their children one present each night for all eight nights of Chanukah, but they’ve moved away from that practice. “We buy one gift for the whole family, like a Wii,” Zuckerman says. “This year we’re going to Disneyland and I’ve told them that that’s their gift.” Making it meaningful Like Zuckerman, most parents do give some gifts for Chanukah. Though gifts might make Chanukah seem like a “Jewish Christmas,” there can be value in taking time to select a thoughtful and tasteful gift for a child you love. And there is undeniable pleasure in seeing children excited to play with new toys — especially when those toys are helping them learn and develop new skills. Rabbi Sandy Rubenstein, director of Jewish Chaplaincy Services at the Jewish Social Service Agency in Rockville, Md., offers some advice for families who want to give gifts but avoid excessive materialism. She suggests that families can light candles to honor justice or peace, or talk about what brings light into
one’s life or what places in this world need more light. Even with gift giving, family holiday celebrations can still aim to foster social consciousness. One parent doing just that is Jill Myers, a mother of two. Growing up¸ she received a gift every night of Chanukah. But when she married, her South African husband found the custom totally foreign. “He was like, ‘What are you talking about, gifts?’” Myers recalls. When Myers’ kids do receive Chanukah gifts, she has them look through their toys and determine what they no longer play with and thus can donate. Also, at winter break of each year, her children decide where to give whatever is in their home tzedakah (charity) box. Myers says, “They don’t always see the tzedakah we give, so those are two things I’ve tried to balance with gifts. Some years they might get something every night but one night it was from us, one night from our parents, and other nights a book from the book fair.” Stick with small stuff Like Myers, you can consider letting other relatives and friends cover most of the eight nights. For your gifts, you can choose to give more modestly. Myers says she feels comfortable giving her kids small gifts like books. This year her children looked at catalogues and picked out board games to play as a family. “We try to keep down on the electronics and try to make it about family, not a Christmas-like bounty of stuff,” Myers says. Your children may be surprised to learn that the custom of gift-giving is largely American. Beatriz Yanovich and her husband came to the United States from Colombia. Her three children grew up in Richmond, Va. Yanovich says, “Growing up for my husband and me, as well as for our children, Chanukah was time for latkes, sufganiyot, gelt and lighting candles. One unforgettable year, one child expected a present every night, so I gave one sock one night and then the other the next night, laughing all day about it.” Yanovich’s main piece of advice for parents: “We should not compete with Christmas.” Natasha Rosenstock is a writer deciding whether to buy her yearold daughter Chanukah presents this year.
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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2010
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Finding the aahs and oys of Jewish toys By Edmon J. Rodman Jewish Telegraphic Agency LOS ANGELES (JTA) — Want to increase your odds for Chanukah fun? A new market of holiday offerings is featuring Jewish toys that flash, spin and challenge — including “No Limit Texas Dreidel,” a poker version of the classic top game. There’s even something for the family pet. With new Jewish designs from niche and mainstream manufacturers, finding something your kids will want won’t be a stretch. Or if it is, at least it’ll be a wearable one. “We expect Chanukah silly bands to sell a ton,” says Laurie Glusman, founder of the OyToys cyber store, of the Chanukahthemed variation on the fad elastic wristbands being worn by American schoolchildren. The bands, which feature shapes like the outline of a menorah, Maccabee or dreidel, come in packs of 18 and sell for $3.99. “My three kids come home from school wearing the regular ones,” says Glusman, who runs her six-year-old business out of Atlanta. “It’s great they now have Jewish ones to trade and wear.” The bands are part of an inventory of children’s toys, games, puzzles and craft sets with a Jewish theme that Glusman says has been growing since her OyToys website has been in business. Among the new offerings, the oldest Chanukah toy, the dreidel, is still a “huge seller,” she says. “No Limit Texas Dreidel” is a distant cousin of the earliest humble versions that were made out of lead. Will kids test the table limit on gelt? The Texas version combines the dreidel game with poker, offering kids 9 and older the opportunity to “check, bet, raise or fold depending on the strength of your dreidel hand or how much you like to bluff,” according to the online catalog. Other updated dreidels include a pair of Dueling Bouncing Light Up Dreidels, as well as a Techno Dreidel with Light and Sound. After surveying the new offerings at this year’s wholesale toy shows, Glusman sees a return to “standard popular items” and expects “board games, dreidels and card games like Chanukah Go Fish to sell well this year.” Trending this year are also Jewish toys for the family dog. OyToys sells a blue plush toy bone marked “kosher” and a plush ant marked “shpilkes,” among others. Jewish toys are a niche product
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Some of the Chanukah inventory in the OyToy warehouse in Atlanta. New manufacturers have been expanding the number of offerings in the the Jewish toy market.
category that has long been dominated by small, sometimes traditionally oriented companies like JET, Jewish Educational Toys of Chicago. JET produces board games with halachically wholesome content and imagery that until recently usually sold in Jewish bookstores an aisle or two away from the seforim. Now you can buy one of its popular games, Kosherland, which is inspired by Candyland. Even Urban Outfitters had it a few years ago. JET, also drawing from the shelf of popular American word games, produces Jewish and Junior Jewish editions of Apples to Apples, that “game of hilarious comparisons.” Until recently these companies have had little competition from larger American toy companies. But since 2004, the year Glusman opened her business, “The number of products have increased dramatically,” she said. During that time, the mainstream toy manufacturer Melissa and Doug, already known to parents for its sturdy line of wooden activity toys, entered the Jewish toy market with several peg Jewish holiday puzzles. Looney Labs, publisher of Fluxx, the card game “of everchanging rules” also has entered the Jewish market with an expansion pack with “Jewish themes of the Torah and Shabbat.” Included is a “New Rule” card with a “Judaic bonus”: “If you’re wearing a Magen David or a Chai, you may play an extra card on your turn.” Magnetic Poetry, whose products cover refrigerator doors from Los Angeles to New York, is offering a Yiddish version of its
popular line that comes with the shpiel “words that will make your bubbe kvell.” Perhaps the most famous dive into the Jewish toy box was in 2009 when American Girl, which is owned by Mattel, debuted the Russian-Jewish girl doll Rebecca Rubin. The doll continues to attract seasonal attention with the addition of a Chanukah-themed outfit, a purple jacquard-striped dress with white stockings and shoes, and an accessory set that comes with a menorah, candles, dreidel and gelt. Soon after the launch, however, American Girl discovered that its entrance into the Chanukah toy market would not come without a bit of tzuris. According to the Product Reviews on the American Girl website, the outfits were “way too snug” and were difficult for child or adult to put on. Not to worry; Rebecca hadn’t eaten too many latkes. An American Girl spokeswoman, Susan Jevens, acknowledged in an e-mail the “fit issues” with the popular doll in its first production run, “but they have been resolved.” Glusman, who is also a child psychologist, says Jewish toys can help parents relate the Chanukah story to their children. “It’s a way for parents and grandparents to share their knowledge,” she says. Glusman adds that for households in which one of the parents is not Jewish, “toys are a nonthreatening way to introduce understanding of Judaism.” Edmon J. Rodman, a JTA columnist who writes on Jewish life from Los Angeles, designed Jewish Holidays Building Blocks.
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WASHINGTON (JTA) — My catalogue-stuffed mailbox was the first reminder that Chanukah, or rather the season of shopping, was fast approaching. Years of Hebrew school had taught me, despite its proximity to Christmas, that Jews were not supposed to commemorate the miracle of a small jar of oil by collecting lots of loot. Still my family photo albums are filled with pictures of my brother and me posing with our loot, smiling (or not, depending on the loot), near a plate of latkes as the chanukiyah glowed just off to the side. Those were happy days. For centuries, Jews celebrated Chanukah surrounded by an “atmosphere of play,” says Hasia Diner, professor of American Jewish history at New York University. The tradition of “giving gelt to children has an old and long pedigree,” she adds, and the transition “from giving coins to [giving toys]” is an example of an old tradition taking a new form. To get some insight into contemporary Chanukah giving traditions, I recently posted a query online to friends. Based on the responses, I sensed some things have not changed much: Be it gelt or toys, there will be lots of smiling Jewish children posing with their loot this holiday. Yet I wondered, without the anticipation of gifts, would the festival of lights still be as festive for grown-ups? Does the atmosphere of play still surround the chanukiyah of those over the age of consent? For Deborah Brooks of Falls Church, Va., the answer is yes.
Happy Chanukah
When her parents, her two sisters, their three husbands and combined four children get together for a “Chanukah Harry” gift swap, each person gets a present — and something from a wish list they provided. “We decided gift giving wasn’t just for the kids, and it is fun for the kids to give gifts to the parents, too,” says Brooks, 41. For those who have given Chanukah gifts to someone for decades, it might be difficult to come up with new ideas for that wish list. Gifting a shared experience is a great way to celebrate Chanukah, says relationship expert Andrea Syrtash. “If you’ve been with the same person for years, give a gift that’s something new you can do with your partner,” Syrtash suggests. Harris Lewin, 60, says his “standard Chanukah gift” to his wife of 38 years was a gift certificate to a spa. It was so well received that she reciprocated. “Now I get one in return and we go together, as a couple,” says Lewin, an educator from Cheltenham, Pa. Not everyone, however, has the family nearby to swap wish list gifts or a willing partner with whom to experience a shared spa gift certificate. Rabbi Joui Hessel of the Washington Hebrew Congregation says Chanukah can be a great time to “join and form community as a way to honor and celebrate our traditions.” Without a family unit under their roof, “for so many people, the holidays can be very hard,” Hessel says. “It underscores the importance of community, to feel connected to people as well as to the traditions and faith.” As an only child with parents in Florida and unmarried, Alexis Rice says Chanukah for her “is about the parties” and a chance to network with other young professionals.
Rice, 32, a communications director for a nonprofit in the Washington area, says she will “partake in a lot of latkes” and attend “at least three” Chanukah parties and happy hours during the holiday. “I would be less likely to light the candles if I just went home after work,” she says. “And I just love latkes!” Chanukah parties for grownups only aren’t just for the happy hour crowd, either. Empty-nester Susan Stone, 61, a school librarian and storyteller in Evanston, Ill., says that before her two children — now in their 20s — left home, Chanukah was “always about the kids.” After her son and daughter grew up and moved out, lighting the menorah with only her husband wasn’t the same. “Just the two us — it wasn’t exactly festive,” she says. Stone decided to host a big open house for friends and members of her synagogue. She made latkes, scattered gelt about the house and hung an old Happy Chanukah sign. Someone brought over a guitar and the 50 or so guests, all adults, lit multiple menorahs and said the blessings together in her living room. “It was low key, but a chance to be at home with friends for the holiday,” says Stone, who is planning another party this year. Rabbi David Komerofsky, executive director of the University of Texas Hillel, says that while he encourages adults to celebrate and still enjoy the visceral rituals of Chanukah, he urges a grown-up understanding of the historic significance of the holiday as well. It is believed that 2,200 years ago, Chanukah actually was Sukkot celebrated a few months late, he says. After the Hasmonean revolt against King Antiochus and the Temple in Jerusalem was rededicated, the Sages were uncomfortable commemorating a military victory and the miracle of the oil was born.
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Susie Fishbein on food, Chanukah and Jewish youth By JTA Staff
but one that jumps out at me? Ah — powdered sugar faces from eating beignets are an annual Fishbein tradition.
NEW YORK (JTA) — Susie Fishbein is the author of seven bestselling cookbooks in the “Kosher by Design” series. Her latest cookbook, released in October, is “Kosher by Design—Teens and 20Somethings: Cooking for the next generation” (ArtScroll Shaar Press). Fishbein, a wife and mother who lives in New Jersey, talks to JTA about food, Chanukah and Jewish youth. JTA: On the new book, why the youth focus? Fishbein: The original inspiration comes from my own kids. I’ve got a couple of teens now. I’ve seen their tastes and preferences in food shift. They’d helped me on my previous project, “Kosher by Design: Kids in the Kitchen.” My oldest daughter has shown a strong affinity for cooking, and she’s become quite influential among her friends who are always coming over to cook up something new in our kitchen. With our four kids at home, you know there are always hungry friends hanging around. I’ve also spent time with teens and young adults in summer camps. I got more inspiration from the cooking demos and even simple conversations I shared with them. Is there a definable youth mentality about food today? I’ve observed two groups in this demographic. There is one segment that eats mostly fast food whose idea of home cooking is a store-bought entree warmed in the microwave. I want to widen their choices. Then there’s another segment that is really into cooking, that has a more developed and health-conscious attitude toward food. They think about the nutritional value of what they consume; they’re looking for new recipes and new approaches to eating. Beyond that, I have in mind students cooking in a dorm or a young couple in a first apartment. I also considered the adventurous teen who wants to have friends over for something more substantial than pizza and pretzels, like my oldest daughter does. How does this connect to Chanukah? As Jews, we have certain core values that have shaped us historically. Our forefather Abraham is recognized as a paragon of chesed (kindness) and hachnasat orchim
Courtesy of ArtScroll
Susie Fishbein says Chanukah week is a time to reignite the Jewish soul.
(hospitality to guests). Hospitality by extension includes food. So when we think about transmitting Jewish values to the next generation, there’s much room for the development of culinary skills. And at this point in the Jewish year, more than merely lighting candles and eating doughnuts and latkes, Chanukah week is a time to reignite the Jewish soul. I’ve done this in our home, where we’ve made latkes together and talked about the original little flask of oil that lasted for eight nights. In my previous cookbook, “Kosher by Design Lightens Up,” you can find a great idea for an olive oil tasting station — a perfect party
Courtesy of ArtScroll
"Teens and 20-Somethings: Cooking for the next generation" is the latest in the sevenbook "Kosher by Design" series by Susie Fishbein.
idea for Chanukah. As with so many Jewish holidays, food is a great catalyst for Jewish learning and living. Any particularly poignant Chanukah memories that return to you at this time of year? There are so many, of course,
Are there recipes in “Teens and 20-Somethings” that you suggest for Chanukah? While this isn’t a holiday cookbook, there are some dishes that would certainly qualify as Chanukah-friendly. If we consider ones that include oil in some manner, I’d recommend the Veggie Corn Fritters with a marinara dipping sauce. It’s one of the few fried foods among the 100 recipes in “Teens and 20-Somethings,” along with the Falafel Veggie Burgers. Oh, and the incredibly good Homemade Chickies. You kind of need to know about a very busy little restaurant in Teaneck (N.J.) to fully appreciate those! There’s also a great Tex-Mex Salad that calls for olive oil, as well as the Chicken Tabbouleh Salad. The Toasted Sesame Rice calls for sesame oil, of course. Beyond this, there’s a lot of fun food in this cookbook, such as Peanut Butter and Banana French Toast, which is a great “what to do with leftover challah” idea. Pizza Soup is a big hit, as are the Mexican Pizza Empanadas. And for a funky, quick and easy American dish, there’s a Tater Tot Casserole. This cookbook is very diverse, very cosmopolitan, but easy to work with. What kind of feedback have you been getting from teens and 20-somethings themselves? It’s been amazing. From the very earliest reviews in October, it was clear that this is a crossover cookbook. Jews and non-Jews alike got excited about it, from those who keep kosher to those who are sort of kosher curious. You can Web search the book title to see a lot of blog chatter about it. I was also delighted to see that a lot of 30-, 40- and 50-somethings welcomed this cookbook into their kitchens and were actively and regularly using it — for Shabbat and for everyday. The younger reviewers speak the most to me. When I read their enthusiasm about something they made for themselves or their friends and families, I feel very satisfied. I see that more than a cookbook, it’s a tool to empower the next generation with skills and confidence to feed themselves and those they care about.
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Schmaltzy history: A nostalgic look at fats for frying latkes By Linda Morel Jewish Telegraphic Agency
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NEW YORK (JTA) — Fat may be a dirty word now, but we can chart the history of American Jews through the fats they’ve used to fry their Chanukah latkes. Early immigrants relied on goose fat, which was replaced by chicken fat, which was eclipsed by Crisco, which was replaced by olive and canola oils. Latkes over time have been fried in all of these, says Jane Ziegelman, author of “97 Orchard: An Edible History of Five Immigrant Families in One New York Tenement.” 97 Orchard St., a five-story brick structure, is the home of the New York Tenement Museum. The book is a pushcart of information about what immigrants ate during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Two of the families Ziegelman profiled were Jewish. From 1900 to 1910, more than 1 million Jews immigrated to the United States, mostly from modern-day Ukraine, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova and Belarus. Many of them settled in the tenements on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, crowding into unventilated apartments that lacked adequate kitchens and running water. Ashkenazi homemakers there often obtained cooking oil by rendering or frying goose skin, which liquefied globules, large and small. This created a yellow oil called schmaltz, a succulent delicacy that was strained to separate the crispy and delicious skin from the fragrant fat. “In the Lower East Side tenement kitchen, the luxuriousness of goose fat elevated the most prosaic ingredients,” Ziegelman says in the book. “Potatoes, onions and fat — the Jewish cook explored every conceivable permutation of these three ingredients. The more fat, the fancier the dish. The most extravagant of all was latkes, potato pancakes, fried in sizzling pools of goose fat.” The Jewish cook also used goose fat for braising, enriching, moistening, seasoning and baking. She sometimes mixed it into pie crust and rugelach dough, making it possible to serve the pastries with meat meals. She fried onions in this fat and spread the dripping slices on rye bread. Warming, satiny and with a faintly nutty aftertaste, goose fat imbued foods with a pleasing heaviness that’s now considered a
Courtesy of Linda Morel
Fried Onions on Rye Bread, with a little schmaltz on the side.
liability to dieters and the cholesterol conscious. But for our poor and calorie-deprived ancestors, goose fat was a virtue, enhancing kugels, cholent and tzimmes. “Fat was considered a luxury to be cherished,” Ziegelman said. “It was believed to be nutritious. Frying was a demonstration of wealth and bounty.” The height of decadence was frying latkes in goose fat, a cooking method that traveled here with Ashkenazim from the Old Country. The 19th century Jewish homemaker brought her reliance on geese and its byproducts to the Lower East Side, where she continued her traditional role as a poultry farmer. She raised geese in tenement yards, basements, hallways and apartments, transplanting a rural industry to urban America — much to the chagrin of sanitary inspectors. “At Chanukah, goose was the centerpiece,” Ziegelman said, explaining that goose farms were busiest at that time of the year. Restaurants put up signs: Goose liver is here. This was a once-a-year gourmet treat on menus, something cherished by Ashkenazim. But in the 20th century, as modern methods of chicken breeding improved, goose fat lost its place of prominence on the Jewish table. The smaller, more economical chicken, and its rendered fat, took the place of goose fat as the lard of choice among Jews. Rendered chicken fat has the most incredibly delicious smell, unlike any other cooking aroma, Ziegelman said. Speaking with those over 60, she adds, they rave about the memory of the sizzling fat filling their childhood
kitchens. Latkes fried in rendered chicken fat made the Jews swoon, too. But poultry fat was diminished by the invention of scientifically engineered cooking fats derived from vegetables. The new hydrogenated fats had many brand names, such as Spry or Flake White. But the most famous one was Crisco, a product introduced by Procter and Gamble in 1911. This non-Jewish company soon recognized the value of Crisco to kosher cooks. A pareve product, Crisco could be incorporated into both dairy and meat recipes. Many Jewish women began frying latkes in Crisco. In 1933, Procter and Gamble published “Crisco Recipes for the Jewish Housewife,” a promotional cookbook available in English and Yiddish. “It represented the demise of poultry fat as a Jewish staple, bringing to a close a millennium of culinary tradition,” Ziegelman said. Today’s makers of latkes often rely on olive, canola, corn and peanut oil, or other healthier fats. The thought of rendering poultry fat is not appealing to many home cooks. Ziegelman, however, raves about the flavor of chicken fat, claiming everyone should try it at least once before passing judgment. She is planning to start baking with this lush golden fat. “Chicken fat isn’t one of the evil fats — not like beef fat or butter,” she said, explaining that it has about half the saturated fat as butter. Registered dietitian Lisa Ellis agrees that chicken fat contains nearly half the amount of saturated fat when compared to butter.
CHANUKAH
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2010
Surprisingly, chicken fat is also higher in monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats — the healthier fats. “While chicken fat is a better choice than butter, it still is an artery-clogging fat,” said Ellis, who in her kosher home cooks primarily with olive and canola oils. Ziegelman would agree that chicken fat is not in the same class as olive oil. “But on a sliding scale, it’s on the good side,” she said. “This is the moment to bring back schmaltz.” CHICKEN SCHMALTZ (Meat) Recipe developed by Ms. Morel Ingredients: 5- to 6-pound chicken (For a larger yield, ask your butcher for additional chicken skin and fat, which he is likely to have on hand, as many people now purchase skinless chicken.) Yield: 1 cup of chicken skin and fat (from a 5- to 6-pound chicken), reduces to about 1/2 cup of schmaltz. Preparation: Cut off the chicken’s wings and reserve. Slide a sharp knife under the skin on the breast and lift it. With your fingers, pull the skin from the meat. Tear off as much skin as possible in sheets. Place skin on a cutting board. Using the knife, cut away any
remaining skin from crevices. Cut off clumps of yellow fat that stick to the meat and place it on the cutting board. (Use the skinned chicken and wings for other purposes, such as chicken soup.) Cut sheets of skin and fat into 2-inch squares. Place skin and fat in large deep pot, preferably non-stick. Heat on a medium-low flame, stirring often. Oil will begin oozing from the skin almost immediately. Reduce flame to low and fry for about an hour, until the fat globules melt entirely and there’s nothing left of the skin except cracklings (called gribenes), which are incredibly delicious. Cool chicken fat to room temperature. Set a fine sieve over a bowl. Pour schmaltz through the sieve. Use immediately or refrigerate for up to 2 days. OLD-FASHIONED LATKES (Meat or Pareve) Recipe developed by Ms. Morel Equipment: A box grater Ingredients: 1 small onion 6 large baking potatoes 1 egg, beaten 2 tablespoons flour, more if needed Kosher salt to taste 6 tablespoons schmaltz or olive oil (more if needed)
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Yield: About 16 latkes Preparation: Finely chop onion and place in a large bowl. Scrape skin from potatoes and rinse them under cold water. Pat dry on paper towels. Over a platter, grate potatoes on the coarse side (not the slicing side) of the box grater. To avoid cutting fingers or ruining your manicure, grate only one-half to two-thirds of each potato. Save the remainders for other purposes, such as soup or potato salad. Place the grated potato in the bowl with the onion. Add the egg and mix contents together with a fork. Sprinkle in flour and mix again. Add a little more flour, if the batter is way too wet to stick together. (However, it will be a moist batter.) Heat the schmaltz or olive oil in a large skillet on a medium flame. With your hands, form potato batter into pancakes 2 1/2 inches in diameter. Using your palms, flatten the pancakes and squeeze out any excess water that may have drained from the potatoes. Place latkes in oil and fry until the bottom side browns. Flatten latkes with a spatula as they sizzle. Flip latkes and fry until the second side browns. Add more oil, if needed. Turn a couple more times, until the center is cooked through and the outside becomes dark brown and crunchy. Drain on paper towels and serve immediately.
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HAPPY CHANUKAH
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MONSEY, N.Y. (JTA) — Chanukah, O Chanukah … it’s one of my favorite times of year— and certainly one of the busiest! I host several parties because you know how it goes: Aunt Jenny won’t come if Uncle Oscar is in the room, and Scott isn’t talking to Heather, and Barbara won’t bring the kids if Steve is coming. You have to check your opinions on politics and religion at the door with your coat (that leaves only sports and weather). So there is at least a party a night before the week is out. That’s a lot of cooking. You may not believe that I don’t like to cook being that I am a cookbook author, run a kosher food blog and host an online cooking show. The fact is, I wrote my first cookbook, “Quick & Kosher: Recipes from the Bride Who Knew Nothing,” precisely because I needed easy recipes that would get me out of the kitchen fast. Once I had a sizable collection — and learned how to turn on my oven — I wanted to share my beginner’s expertise with the hungry waiting world. I actually had to learn how to use an oven. I’m not pointing any Freudian fingers here, but the truth is that my mother never cooked. It was my grandparents, immigrants from the Old Country, who showed me that there are other ways to get food besides dialing a phone. (They didn’t have phones in the Old Country, so they had to cook.) In fact, Mom’s folks were professional chefs who ran a terrific little restaurant in Philadelphia. They fried up our latkes year after year — the kind of latkes that would be gone before the tray reached my end of the table. It never occurred to me that I could learn, but Chanukah miracles continue to happen, even in my own kitchen. I’ve learned a thing or two — enough to write a second cookbook while I juggled a career and four children under the age of 5. I learned to cook great food in a fraction of the usual time, and I love sharing my tips with other busy people. For those planning a Chanukah bash, my goal is to keep you calm and confident while thoroughly versed in prepping the customary fried and dairy treats. I’m not an expert at explaining
Courtesy of Ann Stratton
Mango Cardamom Shortcakes with Ginger Whipped Cream makes a wonderful side dish to Samosa Latkes.
those customs, but here goes. Take the fried foods — specifically the noble potato pancake, or latke. The main miracle of Chanukah was that the supply of sacred oil needed for the golden menorah of the Holy Temple (when it was re-sanctified by the Maccabees) was only enough to last one day, yet it burned for eight. So we fry Chanukah foods in oil. In Israel they do doughnuts, called sufganiyot, and they are a little piece of sugar-coated heaven. The dairy thing goes back to one of the gorier stories of the Jewish victory. Suffice it to say that a clever woman used abundant dairy cuisine to lull a certain Greek general to sleep, then promptly dispatched him over the River Styx, or wherever dead Greeks go. To celebrate her triumph, we favor dairy meals (but I wouldn’t go to sleep right afterward; you can never tell.) So whether you’re rejoicing over energy-efficient oil, the guts of a smart woman, the smarts of a gutsy woman or the fact that Scott and Heather are talking again, it’s time to party. You’ll need lots of good food, and I’m here to provide the shortcuts to culinary success with or without a miracle. When you want to pull out all the stops, try this Chanukah menu that I pirated from my new book. It’ll look like you slaved all day— but you don’t have time for that.
Quick & Kosher Chanukah Menu from Jamie Geller (serves 6) • Samosa Latkes • Bombay Salmon w/ Jasmine Rice • Persian Cucumber Salad • Mango Cardamom Shortcakes with Ginger Whipped Cream SAMOSA LATKES Prep: 15 minutes. Total: 40 minutes. Russet potatoes are the best for baking. Ingredients: 3 baking potatoes, peeled and shredded 1 medium onion, finely chopped 1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed 1/4 cup matzah meal 2 large eggs, beaten 1/4 teaspoon curry powder 1 teaspoon kosher salt 1 cup canola oil Sour cream for serving 1 (10-ounce) jar chutney, any variety Preparation: Line a cookie sheet with paper towels. In a large bowl, mix together potatoes, onion, peas, matzah meal, eggs, curry powder, salt. In a large nonstick saute pan, heat 1/4 cup oil over high heat until shimmering but not smoking, about 1 minute. Ladle about 1/4 cup batter per latke into the hot
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2010
oil, spreading batter to form a 3inch round. Make 3 latkes at a time. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 4 minutes on each side, until latkes are golden. Remove from oil and place on paper towels to drain. Continue making latkes, three at a time, until all of the batter is used. Add oil to the pan as necessary, heating oil after each addition before adding more batter. Serve with sour cream and chutney. BOMBAY SALMON WITH JASMINE RICE Prep: 8 minutes. Total: 40 minutes. A salmon steak is cut across the fish to form a slice containing the bones. A filet is taken from the side of the fish, leaving the bones behind. Ingredients: 1/4 cup olive oil 6 (10-ounce) salmon steaks 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1 tablespoon kosher salt, divided 1 tablespoon canola oil 1 medium onion, coarsely chopped 2 cloves garlic, crushed 1 cube frozen crushed ginger 2 teaspoons curry powder 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom 1/4 teaspoon turmeric Pinch ground cloves 1 (14-ounce) can coconut milk 1 cup jasmine rice Preparation: Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Place a 7-by-9-inch ungreased baking pan in the oven. Rub 1/4 cup olive oil all over salmon steaks and season with pepper and 2 teaspoons salt. Set aside. In a medium saucepot, bring 2 cups water and remaining 1 teaspoon salt to a boil over high heat. Add rice to the boiling water. Reduce heat to a slow simmer. Cover and cook for 20 minutes. In a medium saute pan, heat 1 tablespoon canola oil over medium heat. Add onions and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in garlic, ginger, curry powder, cinnamon, cardamom, turmeric and cloves. Mix well and cook for 1 minute more. Slowly stir in coconut milk and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes. While rice is cooking, remove the baking pan from the oven. Place salmon steaks on the pan and return it to the oven. Immediately reduce heat to 300. Bake for 20 minutes or until fish
CHANUKAH flakes with a fork. Plate salmon steaks and spoon the sauce over top. Serve with jasmine rice. PERSIAN CUCUMBER SALAD Prep: 4 minutes. Total: 10 minutes. Ingredients: 3 Persian cucumbers or 1 English cucumber 1/3 cup red wine vinegar 1 tablespoon honey 1 tablespoon minced shallots 2/3 cup olive oil 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1 small red onion, halved lengthwise and sliced 1/2 cup golden raisins Preparation: Quarter cucumbers lengthwise and slice them into 2 1/2 -inch sticks. Place red wine vinegar, honey, and shallots in blender or food processor. With the blender or processor running, slowly add olive oil. Add salt and pepper. In a large salad bowl, toss cucumbers, onions, and raisins together. Pour dressing over salad and serve. MANGO CARDAMOM SHORTCAKES WITH GINGER WHIPPED CREAM Prep: 10 minutes. Total: 55 minutes. Chilling the dough makes it easier to roll out and helps the glutens relax so the dough is not tough. Lining your baking sheet with parchment paper makes clean-up a snap, helps food color more evenly, and prevents food from sticking. Ingredients: 2 cups flour 1 tablespoon sugar 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 2 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon ground cardamom 5 tablespoons shortening 2⁄3 cup whole milk Flour for kneading 1 cup heavy cream 1 tablespoon confectioners’ sugar 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger 2 mangoes, pitted, peeled, cut in 1/4-inch cubes Preparation: Preheat oven to 450. Line a jelly-roll pan with parchment paper. In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and cardamom.
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Using a pastry cutter or a fork, cut the shortening into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse meal. Add the milk and mix together just until combined. Turn out onto a floured board or work surface. Knead until a dough is formed, about 2 minutes, adding flour as necessary to keep it from being too sticky. Be careful not to knead too much or shortcakes will be tough. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or overnight. Roll out dough with a rolling pin to 1/2-inch thickness. Cut into rounds with a 2 1/2 -inch diameter biscuit cutter or glass. Place shortcakes on prepared pan and bake for 10 minutes. Whip heavy cream with confectioners’ sugar and ginger until soft peaks form, about 2 minutes. Transfer shortcakes to a serving platter. Split each shortcake in half horizontally and distribute the mango among the shortcakes. Top each with whipped cream. Recommended Wine: Hagafen White Riesling The fried latkes and the flavors derived from the medley of spices in the sauce for the salmon steaks require a versatile wine. Jamie Geller is the author of “Quick and Kosher Recipes from the Bride Who Knew Nothing” and its sequel, “Quick and Kosher Meals in Minutes from the Bride Who Knew Nothing.” To learn more recipes, visit Jamie’s blog.
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