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Cincinnati teens invited to attend March of the Living In April, 2014, a group of Jewish teenagers from Cincinnati will make the choice to march into Auschwitz. Why? Because they can. For them it’s a choice. For their ancestors, it was not. It’s about showing the world that those who sought to destroy the Jewish people, couldn’t. It’s about joining with Jewish teens from around the world and proclaiming in a voice 10,000 strong… NEVER AGAIN! For the eighth year in a row Cincinnati will be sending the largest Members of the 2013 March of the Living Delegation delegation of participants from any single (Yom Hazikaron) and celebrate Israel die. And thanks to the commitment of the city in the US to join with thousands of Independence Day (Yom Haatzmaut). Cincinnati Jewish community, a special Jewish teenagers from around the world Whether they have been to Israel multiple delegation made up of Jewish high to take part in the March of the Living. times, or whether it’s their very first time, school seniors, supervised and coordinatThis yearly pilgrimage begins with a arriving in Israel after an intense week in ed by the Mayerson JCC, is now in the week in Poland to discover traces of a Poland gives these teens words, “Am process of being formed. “Many students have already comworld that no longer exists. Participants Yisrael chai, “the people of Israel live!” will visit the big cities and small shtetls During this phase of the trip they visit mitted to taking part in the 2014 trip,” where Jewish life once thrived and see some of the most holy and iconic sites explains Matt Steinberg, Cincinnati firsthand the remnants of the worst atroc- such as the Western Wall in Jerusalem, Delegation Head. “Some are missing ity ever to happen to the Jewish people. Mt. Masada, and the Dead Sea. their senior proms, others, who have The week in Poland culminates on Participants will also ride a camel in the already used their Jewish Foundation Holocaust Memorial Day (Yom desert, shop in ancient marketplaces and grant, are finding ways to pay for the trip themselves and still others are gearing up HaShoah), with a march from Auschwitz even spend a night in a Bedouin tent. From darkness to light, from sad- for some of the make-up work that , the largest Nazi concentration camp ness to celebration… six million may inevitably comes with missing two built during World War II . Immediately afterward, participants have perished but for the hundreds of weeks of school,” he explains. “This trip will board planes bound for Israel where thousands of participants who have taken isn’t for everyone. However, for those they will join with millions of others to part in the March of the Living program who choose to embark on this incredible observe Israel’s Remembrance Day over the years, their memory will never journey… for those who are interested in
owning their own history and keeping the flame burning for another generation – I can promise it will be an experience of a lifetime!” “As a member of the 2009 Cincinnati March of the Living Delegation, I can say in retrospect that it was the most powerful and meaningful experience of my life,” says Kyle Goldhoff, a recent graduate of the University of Texas. “Even after nearly five years, I still carry the messages and memories with me that I got from my two week journey on the March of the Living. No classroom in the world could have given me what I got in those two weeks.” In preparation for the March of the Living experience, participants will have the chance to take part in a powerful pre-trip series led by Sarah Weiss, Executive Director of the Holocaust and Humanity Education Center. The 2014 March of the Living trip will take place from April 24 to May 8, with one week in Poland and the other in Israel. It is an excused absence in most schools in Greater Cincinnati. Two information sessions will be held for current high school seniors and their parents; the first on October 30 at the home of Kelsey Bardach and the second on November 13th at 7pm at the Mayerson JCC. Each session will cover important dates, information about the trip and how to access Jewish Foundation of Cincinnati Israel travel grants. There will also be a question/answer segment for both students and their parents.
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Retiring HUC-JIR President David Ellenson, Ph.D. to be honored The Cincinnati Associates of Hebrew Union College will host its 30th Annual Tribute Dinner on Sunday evening, October 27, 2013 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in downtown Cincinnati. Cocktails will begin at 5:30. The dinner and program will begin at 6:15. There is a charge for tickets. During the event, Rabbi David Ellenson, Ph.D., retiring President of Hebrew Union College –Jewish Institute of Religion, will be honored for his outstanding leadership that has resulted in significant growth of the College’s historic flagship Cincinnati campus and the expansion of the campus’ numerous academic, cultural and institutional partnerships across the region. “The Cincinnati campus of the College-Institute has benefitted greatly from the inspired leadership, wisdom, insights and devotion of Rabbi Ellenson,” said Dr. Jonathan Cohen, Dean of the Cincinnati campus. “During Rabbi Ellenson’s tenure, the Cincinnati campus completed the renovation of its internationally renowned Klau Library, expanded the resources, technological capabilities and facilities of the American Jewish Archives, and restored the previously vacant gymnasium building for use as the new Barbash Vital Support Center of the Jewish Family Service, In addition, the Pines Conference Center and the Teller Lounge were opened and the Cincinnati campus-based Office of Recruitment and Community Engagement at HUC-JIR and the Jewish Foundation of Cincinnati Fellows Program were established. This exciting event will provide the community with an opportunity to see how these innovations and expanding community-wide partnerships have broadened the College-Institute’s contributions to the education, enrichment and well-being of the
Retiring HUC-JIR President David Ellenson, Ph.D.
entire community.” Internationally recognized for his extensive publications and research in the areas of Jewish religious thought, ethics, and modern Jewish history, Rabbi David Ellenson's 12 years as President of the seminary of the Reform Movement have been distinguished by his devotion to sustaining HUC-JIR's academic excellence and ensuring its financial sustainability. Under his steady leadership, HUC-JIR's endowment has quadrupled, greater integration among the campuses has been effected, leading emerging scholars joined the faculty, new chairs were established, and scores of new books and scholarly articles were published by faculty members. Rabbi Ellenson instituted numerous transformative initiatives— such as leadership development Fellowship programs, professional advancement, social responsibility, community service programs and new partnerships for spiritual development. The distance learning degree and certificate programs he introduced engage learners throughout North America who are studying for advanced degrees in Jewish Education, Jewish Early
Childhood Education and Cantorial studies. Rabbi Ellenson’s collaborative leadership style reflects his commitment to advancing Jewish unity. He has worked to strengthen the Jerusalem campus’s outreach to the larger Israeli community and has been an outspoken advocate for religious tolerance and pluralism in the Jewish State. He has fostered interdenominational and interfaith relations and forged closer ties between HUC-JIR and the Union for Reform Judaism, the Central Conference, and the other arms of the Reform Movement. He has spoken out on controversies in North American society, including LGBTQI rights, marriage equality, stem cell research, and abortion ban laws. Rabbi Ellenson received his Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1981 and was ordained by HUC-JIR in 1977. He also holds an M.Phil.M.A. degrees from Columbia University as well as the MA degree from,HUC-JIR, and the University of Virginia. He received his B.A. degree from the College of William and Mary in Virginia in 1969.A member of HUC-JIR's faculty since 1979, he also held the post of Director of the Jerome H. Louchheim School of Judaic Studies, which provides the undergraduate Judaic Studies program for USC. The Tribute Dinner event is being chaired by Karen Hoguet. Honorary Dinner Chair is Donald Stone. Dinner Committee members include Andrew R. Berger, Marty Betagole, Elizabeth H. Brown, M.D., Kathy Claybon, Thomas G. Cody, Lauren Cohen, Jacqueline M. Mack, Rhoda Mayerson, Alvin Z. Meisel, Joseph A. Pichler, Joan Pines, Allison Ross, Betsy L. Shapiro and Paul G. Sittenfeld.
Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park’s “Fake Flowers Don’t Die” plays at the Mayerson JCC The Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park’s production of “Fake Flowers Don’t Die” by John Yearley will be performed at Mayerson JCC. This free show is open to the public and will take place on October 27 at 1pm. “Fake Flowers Don’t Die” is the 12th recipient of the Macy’s New Play Prize for Young Audiences, for which national playwrights are chosen by the
Playhouse to create new work specifically for young people. The world premiere play is the story of four children who discover a magic lamp that may or may not grant three wishes. Their initial excitement is tempered when measured against the needs of real-life wishes and the tensions of friendship. “Fake Flowers Don’t Die” is appropriate for ages 7 and up. “It’s a
great play for those beginning their transition to adulthood, those in the midst of that transition and those who have been there before,” said Mark Lutwak, the Playhouse’s education director. “The circumstances are humorous, quirky and believable.”
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Hall in Jerusalem in 2001, which resulted in the death of 23 of the over 500 guests and the injury of 380. Many of the injured were taken to the Ein Kerem location, as it was closest to the Hall and the only Level 1 trauma center in Jerusalem. This was the biggest civil disaster in Israel at the time, as it was later determined that it was the result of structural defects in the building. The response to the disaster also included coordination with the Army's Search and Rescue Team, who came to the site to look for victims of the collapse. More than 200 of the injured guests came to Ein Kerem that night, and Dr. Avi Rifkin determined that the Emergency Room was not big enough, which led to the creation of a secondary ER for such calamities as this.
JCC second fall program session starts November 3
Klezmer music will be featured when the HaZaK group of Northern Hills Synagogue – Congregation B’nai Avraham opens its programming year on Wednesday, October 16. Following a delicious lunch, Steven Stuhlbarg and Irina Bernadsky, members of the Cincinnati Klezmer Project, will perform. The event will take place at the Synagogue at noon. Stuhlbarg and Bernadsky have been members of the Cincinnati Klezmer Project since 1993, with Sthulbarg handling guitar and vocals and Bernadsky playing mandolin. Their musical selections will include Klezmer and a variety of other types of Jewish music. When they are not performing, Stuhlbarg practices law and Bernadsky serves as Director of Activities at Wellspring Health Care Center. Klezmer is part of the musical tradition of the Ashkenazic Jews of Eastern Europe. Played by professional musicians called “klezmorim” the genre originally consisted largely of dance tunes and instrumental display pieces for weddings and other celebrations. In the United States, the genre
Swimming, cooking, dance, sports, adult learning and more! The Mayerson JCC offers a variety of fall classes that will make you believe summer fun isn’t over. Classes are offered 7 days a week and registration is required. Registration opens October 14; classes start Nov. 3. Red Cross swim lessons are offered year-round in the J’s indoor waterpark. Kids can continue to build upon the improvements they’ve made during the summer swim season. Children, ages 6 months and older, will learn how to be comfortable and safe in water. Older children will learn how to submerge their head, float and roll over, tread water, and perform swimming strokes. Parents of babies love the Aquababies/Aquatots class where they can spend time in the pool with their babies while instructors teach them beginning swim lessons. The J has many opportunities for parent and baby bonding. Two
Pictured are Steven Stuhlbarg and Irina Bernadsky, members of the Cincinnati Klezmer Project
evolved considerably as Yiddishspeaking Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe, who arrived between 1880 and 1924, met and incorporated American jazz into their musical style. “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, and are open to the entire community.
classes have been specially designed to help young children learn and develop as they play. Gymboree on the Go helps parents learn how to participate in and encourage their child’s development, while enjoying the simple pleasure of playing together. Gymboree is a national leader in child enrichment classes and Gymboree on the Go parents are taught how to foster creativity and confidence, and help their children develop cognitive, physical and social skills as they play. Playing on their tummies enables babies to develop motor skills (gross, fine, and oral motor), enhance sensory awareness, and improve visual skills. TummyTime! classes are taught at the JCC by a TummyTime! certified teacher, and combine infant massage, baby yoga, acupressure, reflexology, and craniosacral techniques in a fun atmosphere that allows babies and grownups to get to know one another.
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VOL. 160 • NO. 12 THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2013 6 CHESHVAN 5774 SHABBAT BEGINS FRIDAY 6:48 PM SHABBAT ENDS SATURDAY 7:49 PM 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 production@americanisraelite.com RABBI ISAAC M. WISE Founder, Editor, Publisher, 1854-1900 LEO WISE Editor & Publisher, 1900-1928 RABBI JONAH B. WISE Editor & Publisher, 1928-1930 HENRY C. SEGAL Editor & Publisher, 1930-1985 PHYLLIS R. SINGER Editor & General Manager, 1985-1999 MILLARD H. MACK Publisher Emeritus NETANEL (TED) DEUTSCH Editor & Publisher JORY EDLIN JULIE TOREM Assistant Editors YOSEFF FRANCUS Copy Editor JANET STEINBERG Travel Editor MARIANNA BETTMAN NATE BLOOM IRIS PASTOR ZELL SCHULMAN PHYLLIS R. SINGER Contributing Columnists BONNIE ULLNER Advertising Sales JENNIFER CARROLL Production Manager ERIN WYENANDT Office Manager
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mass shootings which have occurred in our country over the past decade, as well as the Boston Marathon bombing tragedy last April. At that time, it was often reported in newspapers that doctors and nurses and other staff at Massachusetts General Hospital said they felt prepared for the massive number of casualties they received in a short span of time, because they had received training a few years before from Dr. Avi Rifkin, head of surgery at Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem. So as with Massachusetts General, when searching for the most well-trained and knowledgeable medical professional on mass casualty preparedness, we turned to Israel. Dr. Bloch began his presentation with a video of the collapse of the third floor of the Versailles Wedding
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Pictured are: Bonnie Juran Ullner, Dr. Yuval Block, and Ortal Taman
Dr. Bloch said it is the norm "to learn from our mistakes and create something to solve the problem." He said another way they learn is by helping others. He stated that they have responded to natural disasters in a myriad number of countries, including an earthquake in Mexico in 1985, an earthquake in Turkey in 1999, an earthquake in Haiti in 2010, and an earthquake and tsunami in Japan in 2011. In Haiti, the Hadassah field hospital was the first and largest to be set up and last to be dismantled in the country, and it only took 89 hours from the time the team learned of the disaster until they had set up the facility. He said medical professionals from other countries marveled at their speed and acuity at serving so many patients in distress at one time. Bloch said he thinks the Israeli emergency response is so good because of Israel's unique socio-cultural fabric, the existential threats to the country, a military approach to solving problems, inter-agency cooperation, national coordination, and thinking outside the box. "If something happens once in Israel, all hospitals then prepare for it. We all feel the need to prepare; we don't need to be told, " he remarked. Dr. Bloch ended his presentation with a summary of the "Israel Emergency System" which includes inter-agency cooperation, experience through repeated drills, implementing lessons learned, and thinking outside the box.
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Dr. Yuval Bloch, until recently the head of Hadassah Hospital's outpatient clinics, ambulatory services, and Emergency Preparedness Team in Israel, was the keynote speaker at a Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center conference entitled "Mass Casualty Preparedness: At Home and Abroad" on Friday, September 27. This was the third annual all-day conference for professionals throughout the region, who are seeking the most up-to-date and effective disaster planning information as well as the best manner in which to assess and treat emergencies. The idea for this type of conference came after a delegation of emergency room physicians, nurses, and a trauma surgeon attended the International Conference on Healthcare System Preparedness & Response to Emergencies & Disasters (IPRED) in Israel in 2012. The team went under the auspices of Cincinnati Children's Israel Exchange Program (IEP), which fosters collaboration between the Cincinnati hospital and hospitals in Israel, regarding patient treatment, research, and technology. During the trip the delegation spent time learning about emergency preparedness work, and also met Dr. Yuval Bloch. They were so impressed with his expertise that they invited him to be the keynote speaker at the next similar type meeting in Cincinnati. The conference also came on the heels of the many recent, grievous
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Cincinnati Children’s Hospital hosts conference on mass casualty preparedness
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Rockdale to celebrate installation of Assistant Rabbi Meredith Kahan As the next event in honor of its 190th anniversary, on Friday, October 18th, Rockdale Temple will celebrate the installation of Assistant Rabbi Meredith Kahan with a Shabbat service, dinner and concert. Rabbi Kahan, a third generation member of Rockdale, serves as the Temple’s Educator, directing the Kehal Kodesh religious school, Tuesday Hebrew school and, overseeing the congregation’s youth groups. Rabbi Kahan leads the Shabbat morning Torah study and minyan, directs the congregation’s Rock Shabbat band, and assists with various other pastoral responsibilities. She has also implemented Visual T’filah, an exciting new concept in prayer, during religious school and Rock Shabbat. Rabbi Kahan says, “As a lifelong Cincinnatian, it is my pleasure and honor to be serving Rockdale Temple and the Cincinnati Jewish community. Cincinnati and Rockdale are both wonderful places to call home, and I am grateful for the opportunity to teach, lead, and continue to learn here in this
Rabbi Meredith Kahan
congregation and community.” Rockdale Senior Rabbi Sigma Faye Coran has this to say about her colleague: “I am aware how blessed we are in having a teacher and a friend in Rabbi Meredith Kahan. Rabbi Kahan has already devoted two years to our congregation as our rabbinic intern, as well as several years before that by leading our music, teaching and tutor-
ing. Now she becomes a Rabbi of K.K. Bene Israel, Rockdale Temple. We are grateful for the opportunity to acknowledge this sacred covenant as Rabbi Kahan is installed on Friday night, October 18 during Shabbat services.” The service starts at 6:15 p.m. and is open to the public. This will be followed at 7:30 p.m. by a dinner and concert by Dan Nichols in the JCC Amberley Room (reservations were required by October 1). Mr. Nichols is renowned as one of the most beloved and influential Jewish contemporary musicians in North America. His music appeals to the spirit and makes Jewish tradition accessible to both the young and old. Rockdale Temple (K.K. Bene Israel) was founded in 1824 and is celebrating its 190th anniversary with a series of special events from now through next summer. The installation committee is chaired by Julie Torem and the anniversary committee is cochaired by Jane Garfield and Aaron Herzig.
Local involvement in Ohio Jewish communities Ohio Jewish Communities (OJC) recently named two Cincinnatians to serve in leadership roles for the government affairs organization. Dick Weiland was appointed Co-Chair Government Affairs Committee of Ohio Jewish Communities by President, Beth Wain Brandon. He will serve along
with David Heller of Cleveland. In addition, Jewish Community Relations Council President, John Youkilis was elected to serve on the OJC board. Ohio Jewish Communities was created by the eight Jewish Federations in Ohio. The OJC represents the Federations and their part-
John Youkilis, Dick Weiland, JCRC Director, Sarah Weiss, and Jewish Federation CEO Shep Englander
Eat, Drink, and Meet Cherie with Isaac M. Wise Temple Sisterhood On Wednesday, October 16, 2013 at 11:30 AM, Isaac M. Wise Temple Sisterhood will come together once again to celebrate our annual opening luncheon at Losantiville Country Club. This is a time for multi-generational Sisterhood members and prospective members to share an afternoon together, visit with one another and explore the diverse programming that will be offered this year. Babysitting is available for those with young children. Sisterhood is pleased to welcome this year’s guest speaker, Cherie Rosenstein. Cherie will discuss her life as a mother, teacher, writer, troop leader, coach and community volun-
teer. Cherie, who believes she is one of the many lost children during the Holocaust, will share her compelling, inspirational and extra-ordinary story about her arrival in Cincinnati at the age of five. It is a story of beginning life anew. In addition to Cherie’s story, Stacy Still of the Children’s Home of Cincinnati will tell us about this special place for children in our community. Sisterhood will be donating our bookthemed center pieces to The Children’s Home of Cincinnati. There is a cost for the luncheon. For more information please contact the Temple office.
ner agencies and Jewish organizations and congregations on domestic and international issues in Columbus and in Washington. The mission is to enhance the Jewish community's ability to serve vital human needs. To achieve this goal, Ohio Jewish Communities secures funds, educates and maintains relationships with government officials and encourages sound public policy.
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New Skirball Museum Interim Director Wise Temple offers Tuesdays with Torah in October brings energy, original exhibits Abby S. Schwartz, the new Interim Director of the Skirball Museum on the Cincinnati campus of Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion, isn’t wasting any time bringing fresh exhibitions and energy to the institution. She will begin the season on October 23 by participating in the Rothenberg School dedication with the unveiling of a portrait of Louis Rothenberg (b. 1845 Bavaria, Germany; d. 1915 USA). Rothenberg was a teacher of German and then a beloved principal at a predecessor school on the site of the school now named after him. The portrait is being given to
the Skirball Museum by the greatgranddaughter of Louis Rothenberg, Jo Anne Travis of St. Louis. and will be on permanent loan to the Cincinnati Public School system. Schwartz will follow the dedication with the opening of the Boris Schatz Collection at Hebrew Union College on Thursday, October 24, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. This exhibition will feature bronze reliefs, woodcuts, ivories, oils and sepia paintings of Boris Schatz, the noted artist and founder of the Bezalel School of Arts and Crafts. The exhibition will run through January 31, SKIRBALL on page 22
Abby S. Schwartz
Two local Holocaust survivors honored Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld honored two local Holocaust survivors Wednesday. Sittenfeld presented Werner Coppell and Stephanie Marks with two official resolutions during Wednesday's City Council meeting in recognition of Holocaust Rememberance Day. Coppell and Marks came to the United States and to Cincinnati from Europe after escaping the Holocaust and being displaced during World War II. "Mr. Coppell and Mrs. Marks are genuine heroes," Sittenfeld said in a press release. "Their stories offer hope and inspiration, and through them we are reminded how important it is for all of us to stand up against injustice and persecution."
with “Spiritual But Not Religious: What is the state of liberal religion today”? on Tuesday, October 15 and 22 at noon. Americans today are increasingly identifying as “spiritual but not religious.” What does this trend mean for us as Reform Jews? Rabbi Rachel Maimin will look, together with you, at the latest research and writing to better understand the state of liberal religion today. October concludes with the first of a three–part Tuesdays with Torah series: Hot Topics in Judaism. On Tuesday, October 29, Rabbi Sydney Henning will explore the Jewish take on the Arab-Israeli conflict using both ancient texts from the Torah and Talmud and modern Reform Responsa. All of these adult learning opportunities are free and open to both Wise Temple members and non-members.
Wise Temple Consecration
Pictured are Werner Coppell, Stephanie Marks and Concilman P.G. Sittenfeld
Couples invited to Hadassah leading gifts dessert reception The Cincinnati Chapter of Hadassah will host an elegant Leading Gifts Dessert Reception on Wednesday, October 16th at 7:30 p.m. at the home of Amy and Scot Perlman, for couples making a certain pledge for the year to Hadassah. Spouses, partners and significant others are welcome to attend. Special guest speaker is Dr. Gilad Hamdani, one of several Hadassah physicians training at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center as part of their Israel Exchange Program (IEP). Carol Ann Schwartz, Cincinnati Chapter's Israel Exchange Program Liaison, provides support and friendship to Hadassah physicians and their families while they are here. Ghita Sarembock is Hadassah Donor Chair. Dr. Hamdani is currently a Fellow in Pediatric Nephrology in the Division of Nephrology and Hypertension at Cincinnati Children's Hospital, training in the diagnosis and care of the wide variety of kidney and urinary tract disorders in children. Cincinnati Children’s Hospital estab-
Spend an hour or so every Tuesday between Simchat Torah and Shavuot looking at spirituality, bible history, current topics, and Israeli issues, all within the context of Torah. All classes are at Wise Center. On Tuesday, October 1 and 8 beginning at noon, Rabbi Karen Thomashow will present, “Brit Milah and its Biblical Origins”. In this twopart program, Rabbi Thomashow discusses how Abraham circumcised himself as an adult. In addition to Abraham’s unique circumstances, circumcision is described for male babies on the eighth day, those converting to the faith, and many honorable mentions like a “circumcised heart” or “circumcised lips.” There is much to study here. If time permits, a discussion of circumcision and its modern application will be considered. Tuesdays with Torah continues
lished the IEPin 2011 to improve clinical care for children, more expertly train scientists and pediatric medical providers, and make research and technological advances that benefit the world. Hadassah Medical Organization and other hospitals in Israel collaborate with Cincinnati Children’s doctors to jointly treat patients with complex conditions in both Cincinnati and Israel. The IEP also provides for research and technological collaborations with Israeli start-ups and universities. Dr. Hamdani studied medicine at the Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical School at Jerusalem. Later on he was trained as a pediatrician at the Pediatrics Department Hadassah Ein Kerem Medical Center in Jerusalem. Prior to coming to Cincinnati, he worked as a pediatrician in the Pediatric Emergency Department of Hadassah Ein Kerem and as a general pediatrician in Clalit Health Services in Beit Shemesh, Israel. Dr. Hamdani arrived in Cincinnati
four months ago, along with his wife, Maya and two daughters, Noam and Omer. He, Maya and their brand new baby girl, born in September, were guests at the Hadassah opening meeting and dinner on September 29th. For nearly 100 years, Hadassah and it’s hospitals have been leaders in medicine and nursing in Israel, laying the foundation and setting the standards for the country's modern health care system. The two Hadassah medical centers set the standard for health care in Israel, providing compassionate care to patients from all backgrounds. Hadassah researchers are dedicated to finding cures for the world's most debilitating diseases. Over the last decades, Hadassah affiliates have developed in 34 countries under the aegis of HadassahInternational. Donations to Hadassah provide funding for Hadassah Medical Organization, Hadassah College, and many other health, youth and educational programs.
On the eve of Simchat Torah, Wednesday September 25, 2013 twenty-five children of the Isaac M. Wise Temple were welcomed as consecrants into the study of Torah at the Plum Street Temple. The consecration service, which was the creation of the late Rabbi Samuel Wohl, began at Wise Temple. Students carried their own small Torahs as they slowly walked down the aisle of Plum Street Temple behind the Temple’s Board of Trustees who led them in. The children sang songs from the Bimah, danced around the sanctuary with their flags in celebration of Simhat Torah, received individual blessings from the rabbis and were presented with a certificate of Consecration. The consecration of a new generation of Jews, as they begin their formal education, coincides with the occasion of Simchat Torah when Jews celebrate the beginning of a new cycle of Torah reading. Wise Temple’s consecration students begin their Jewish education on Sunday mornings in the “Open
Room”. The Open room, which was recently beautifully renovated, is a welcoming environment where children explore big ideas of Jewish learning through four activity centers: “Sarah’s Tent” where the main lesson takes place, “Jacob’s Ladder where they do art projects related to the theme of the week, “Miriam’s Tambourine” where they sing songs, play games and act out stories, and “Mount Moses” where they engage in creative free play. All 4 stations are built around a detailed week by week curriculum. The children have their snack each week in the “Motzi Café”, and the last rotation of the morning is reserved for a music period for the entire room. The children come to know the Jewish calendar cycle of holidays as well as ceremonies, symbols and reasons for celebration. Other Jewish topics are explored including Jewish values, symbols and selected bible stories. In addition, the Open Room program helps children make Jewish friends and gives them the experience of being a part of a caring Jewish community.
Hadassah Coffee Talk Resumes The community is invited to attend the Cincinnati Chapter of Hadassah’s award-winning program, Coffee Talk, which opens on Monday morning, October 14, 2013 at 9:30 am at the home of Marianne Mandell-Brown, in Montgomery. Hadassah member Stephanie Gilinsky will share her culinary skills for easy, delicious and healthy South African bread and more! Tobe Snow is Coffee Talk Chair and Programming Vice President of Cincinnati Chapter of Hadassah. Coffee Talk meets the 2nd Monday of each month in a member's home to discuss issues relevant to Jewish women. We rotate day and
evening times to accommodate as many people as possible. The next Coffee Talk will be on Monday, November 11 at 7:30 p.m. at the home of Julie Brook in Montgomery. In honor of Veterans Day, we will celebrate emigration by our ancestors by hearing the fascinating story of two separate families who journeyed to America and then joined in marriage to become an "Ashkefardic" family in Cincinnati. Also, a spokesperson from Honor Flight will talk about their wonderful program that flies American veterans to Washington to the WWII Memorial.
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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2013
Young families welcome at Wise Temple’s YoFI Shabbat service So many wonderful articles have been written about the special ways in which the early years are formative and impactful. We also know that our young children are unusually imaginative and open. If you would like to meet your child at that imaginative, creative place and instill values from a young age, Wise Temple has a community of young families just like you. On Friday, October 11 at Wise Temple, YoFI (Young Family Involvement) is hosting a fun and
engaging Shabbat Service with music, stories, movement, and more. In addition to the age-appropriate Shabbat prayers, the children are invited to march in a parade with the Torah, actively participate in Jewish stories, and sing with joy. The service concludes with the traditional Shabbat blessings over the candles, juice, and challah. There is an optional special craft to conclude the evening. Babies who are pre-craft age are invited to play with ageappropriate Jewish toys.
Wise Temple’s YoFI Shabbat meets once a month and welcomes all family members, including older siblings and grandparents. The evening begins at 6:15 PM. Other YoFI programs are ongoing, similar-
ly instilling values and encouraging the imagination. Wise Temple’s YoFI group addresses the social, spiritual, and religious needs of families with young children. While the events are
geared for children from birth to age 5, all of YoFI’s programs include the entire family: including older siblings, parents, grandparents, and friends.
Wise Temple congregational dinner features legal expert on marriage equality In light of the recent Supreme Court decision on the Defense of Marriage Act and California Proposition 8 in June of this year, Wise Temple is excited to bring in noted national legal expert Marc Spindelman, the Isadore and Ida Topper Professor of Law at Moritz College of Law at The Ohio State University to address the Court's decisions and their implications for the future of the ongoing legal push for same-sex marriage equality and equal rights. Professor Spindelman will be the guest speaker at Shabbat services on Friday night, October 11. His talk will help shed light on the complex decisions reached by the Supreme Court of the United States on the federal Defense of Marriage Act and California Proposition 8. These Supreme Court decisions leave many questions about whether same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry. Professor Spindelman explains, “The U.S. Supreme Court struck down a key provision of the federal Defense of Marriage Act but the ruling is limited to invalidating that particular law.
It does not necessarily answer a question that is now on many peoples' minds: What about similar defense of marriage measures in the states across the country, including in Ohio? Are they unconstitutional, too? A dissenting opinion suggests that it is only a matter of time before they fall. Has the Supreme Court set a countdown clock ticking against state laws banning same-sex marriage? Stay tuned.” Professor Spindelman is well suited to address these questions and the future of same-sex marriage. He is a noted national expert in these areas and regularly teaches courses in the Law School on Family Law, Constitutional Law, Advanced Constitutional Law and Bioethics and Public Health Ethics. Rabbi Lewis Kamrass states, “This promises to be both a fascinating and timely program. I am confident that Professor Spindelman’s presentation will help bring clarity to us and shed light on these recent Supreme Court decisions.“ The service and dinner are open to the community.
Oscar-nominated director, Lee Butler visits the American Jewish Archives at HUC Lee Daniels, the Oscar-nominated director and producer of the critically acclaimed film "The Butler", was in Cincinnati on September 27 to personally accept the "We Shall Overcome Foundation's Oscar Micheaux Freedom Award." The Foundation celebrates the life of Louise Shropshire, the Cincinnatian who is credited for having written the iconic freedom song "We Shall Overcome." Prior to receiving the award, Mr. Daniels was invited to visit the Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives (AJA) on the HUC Cincinnati campus. At the AJA, Daniels and the other invit-
ed guests were shown the notable exhibit assembled by the AJA staff, which included many archival holdings documenting American Jewry's involvement in the civil rights movement during the 1950's and 1960's. Following their viewing of the exhibit, the guests heard from AJA Executive Director and HUC Professor Rabbi Gary Zola about the connection between American Jews and the struggle for civil rights. Dr. Zola began his remarks by sharing a picture of the beautiful Wannsee Museum in Berlin, Germany, where in January 1941, the Nazis made the horrific deciBUTLER on page 22
Hebrew Class
For Beginners, Intermediate or Advanced at Rockwern Academy 8401 Montgomery Rd. • Cincinnati, Ohio 45236 Beginner class from 7-8 p.m. Intermediate/Advanced class from 8-9 p.m. For more information contact Mrs. Zehava Rendler at zrendler@fuse.net or publisher@americanisraelite.com or call 513-721-2220
8 • NATIONAL
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Netanyahu talks tough on Iran, From Iran sanctions to yoga time, federal shutdown casts long shadow over Jewish D.C. leaves door open to ‘meaningful’ By Ron Kampeas “Come work out in the fitness cen- delaying President Obama’s signa- diplomatic solution ter, shoot hoops in the gym, swim ture health care legislation, known WASHINGTON (JTA) – Meals on Wheels may disappear, Iran sanctions are at risk and yoga is filling in the gaps. This is what the federal government shutdown looks like in Jewish Washington. While national Jewish organizations are sorting through the essential services that the impasse may cut, regional Jewish service providers in the Washington area are dealing with the tens of thousands of furloughed workers in their midst. The Jewish Community Center of Greater Washington, in Rockville, Md., is adding exercise and yoga classes for furloughed government workers, its director, Michael Feinstein, told JTA. The plan, he noted, is a twofer: “The classes are being taught by furloughed federal employees, so they will make some extra money. And they are geared for stress reduction.” Here was the message delivered in an email blast from across the Potomac, from the Jewish Community Center of Northern Virginia. “For our members who have been furloughed, now might be a good time to focus on your wellness goals,” director Jeff Dannick said.
laps, or enjoy a fitness class.” Non-JCC members get a free pass if they show a government ID and a furlough letter, he said. Rabbi Amy Schwartzman of Temple Rodef Shalom, a synagogue in Falls Church, Va., with 1,500 families – many, if not most, attached to government service – said her staff spent a day brainstorming about what services they could provide. They ranged from bagel brunches, yoga classes and recruiting the temporarily unemployed into the temple’s community service programs. Schwartzman said the synagogue has dealt with government shutdowns, but they were twothree day blips. This one, some fear, could last for weeks. “There was never this looming feeling it was going to go on as it feels like it might,” the rabbi said. “For most of our members, a loss of three days of work and three days of salary might not make a huge impact. But for some a few weeks will have a huge impact.” Demands by the majority Republican caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives to attach government funding to defunding or
as Obamacare, helped lead to the government shutdown, which went into effect on Oct. 1. Obama and the Democrat-controlled Senate have refused to negotiate while accusing the Republicans of taking the government hostage. In its first days, workers throughout the region seemed to be enjoying their time off. Sixth and I, a historic synagogue in downtown Washington, invited federal workers to use its wireless Internet to keep up to date. Schwartzman said she has only heard from one congregant concerned about finances. Others, for the time being, were embracing the free time. “One couple is enjoying getting a lot of things done for their kid’s bar mitzvah coming up,” she said. One Jewish Democratic Capitol Hill staffer tweeted a dashboard photo of an empty Interstate 66 – the artery connecting Virginians to Washington – during the morning rush hour. “Yeah, the #GOPshutdown stinks, but at least there's no traffic,” the staffer said. The capital's signature Jewish-
National Briefs
OU’s symbol on their packaging. Previously, Wonder Bread was certified by the Triangle-K, which is not as widely accepted by kosher consumers as the OU, the New York Jewish Week reported.
Pentagon, according to a statement from Pentagon spokesman Carlin Woog to JTA.
Nobel Prize in Medicine awarded to two American Jews (JNS) Two American Jews, along with their German partner, have been awarded the 2013 Nobel Prize in Medicine. The three scientists, Yale University professor James E. Rothman, 64, University of California, Berkeley professor Randy W. Schekman, 64, and German-born Stanford University professor Thomas C. Südhof, 57, were awarded for their “discoveries of machinery regulating vesicle traffic, a major transport system in our cells,” according to the Nobel prize committee. Wonder Bread for reinvigorated, iconic American brand (JNS) Wonder Bread, fresh off its post-bankruptcy revival, will get kosher certification in the New York area from the Orthodox Union (OU), according to a bulletin from the OU. OU-certified Wonder Bread won’t be sold everywhere, but approved products will bear the
N.J. governor Christie pushes school choice, vouchers at OU breakfast TEANECK, N.J. (JTA) – New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie advocated for charter schools, vouchers and other forms of school choice during an Orthodox Union-sponsored event. Education was the primary focus of Sunday morning's legislative breakfast, which drew a crowd of 600 and lasted for two hours at Congregation Keter Torah in Teaneck, N.J. OU representatives emphasized two pieces of legislation that OU Advocacy, the lobbying arm of the Orthodox Union, has been promoting in the New Jersey Legislature. Yaalon, Hagel to meet in Washington WASHINGTON (JTA) – Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon and U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel will meet in Washington to discuss “regional security challenges.” The defense chiefs are scheduled to meet Tuesday at the
JEWISH on page 19
Five authors named finalists for Sami Rohr Prize (JTA) – Five authors and their works were named finalists for the 2014 Sami Rohr Prize for Non-Fiction. The finalists for the $100,000 literary prize were announced Monday by the Jewish Book Council. The winner will be announced in November; the runner-up receives $25,000. They are Sarah Bunin Benor, author of "Becoming Frum"; Marni Davis, "Jews and Booze"; Matti Friedman, "The Aleppo Codex"; Nina Spiegel, "Embodying Hebrew Culture"; and Eliyahu Stern, "The Genius." The Rohr Prize has been given annually since 2007 and considers works of fiction and nonfiction in alternating years. It was created by the late businessman and philanthropist Sami Rohr to recognize emerging writers who articulate the Jewish experience as determined by a specific work, as well as the author’s potential to make significant ongoing contributions to Jewish literature. Francesca Segal won the prize last year for her novel "The Innocents."
By Ron Kampeas WASHINGTON (JTA) – The “credible military threat” against Iran that Benjamin Netanyahu wanted to hear while he was in the United States this week eventually emerged – from his own lips. The Israeli prime minister, in a blunt speech to the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, warned that Israel was ready to go it alone against Iran should it come close to obtaining a nuclear weapon. “I want there to be no confusion on this point,” Netanyahu said. “Israel will not allow Iran to get nuclear weapons. If Israel is forced to stand alone, Israel will stand alone. Yet in standing alone, Israel will know that we will be defending many, many others.” The warning came one day after Netanyahu met with President Obama at the White House and again sought assurances that the United States would continue to tighten the screws on Iran even as the two countries had their highest level of diplomatic engagement since the 1979 Islamist Revolution: a 15-minute phone call last Friday between Obama and Iran’s newly elected president, Hassan Rouhani. Netanyahu in his meeting with Obama told the U.S. leader that a two-pronged strategy of crippling economic sanctions and a credible military threat was the only way to peacefully resolve the standoff. Obama seemed to get the message. “I’ve said before and I will repeat that we take no options off the table, including military options, in terms of making sure that we do not have nuclear weapons in Iran that would destabilize the region and potentially threaten the United States of America,” Obama told reporters Monday. Still, Netanyahu continued to insist throughout his American visit that Rouhani was not to be trusted -this despite warnings from certain quarters that his alarmism threatened to alienate the United States, which is pressing for a diplomatic accord with the Islamic Republic. Netanyahu repeated the point in meetings Monday with Secretary of State John Kerry and the U.S. Senate’s Foreign Relations Committee. The Senate committee embraced another of Netanyahu’s objectives for this trip: a pledge to intensify sanctions should it appear that the Iranians are using negotiations to buy time for their suspected nuclear program. “Our resolve to prevent Iran from achieving a nuclear weapons capability remains unchanged and we will not hesitate from proceeding with further sanctions and other options to protect U.S. interests and ensure
regional security,” Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), the committee chairman, said in a statement. “While we welcome Iran’s diplomatic engagement, it cannot be used to buy time, avoid sanctions, and continue the march toward nuclear weapons capability.” Netanyahu’s General Assembly speech was devoted almost entirely to exposing what he said was Rouhani’s “ruse” in presenting a more “smiling” countenance to the West and offering to reach an agreement. His accusations were met with a fiery response from Mohammad Khazaee, the Iranian ambassador to the United Nations, who insisted that his country’s nuclear program was peaceful and delivered a warning of his own. “The Israeli prime minister had better not think about attacking Iran, let alone planning it,” he said. Despite such tough exchanges, there were signs that Netanyahu was resigned to a diplomatic initiative. He repeatedly qualified his call for for dismantling Iran’s nuclear program with the words “military” or “weapons” – an apparent nod to the fact that any diplomatic solution is likely to preserve Iran’s right to a civilian nuclear program. He also explicitly embraced diplomacy, as long as it resulted in a comprehensive deal. “He did not reject a diplomatic approach,” said Abraham Foxman, the Anti-Defamation League’s national director. “He had caveats.” Those caveats reflected the major differences that remain between Obama and Netanyahu on the Iran issue. In his U.N. speech, Netanyahu laid out four requirements for a comprehensive deal; two of them – an end to all uranium enrichment and the removal from Iranian territory of all uranium stockpiles – are unlikely to be embraced by the West. Western powers reportedly are ready to allow Iran to enrich at 3.5 percent – less than the 20 percent it now enriches and well short of the 90 percent required for weaponization. Netanyahu’s two other requirements were the dismantling of infrastructure necessary for a so-called “breakout capacity” – including the underground facility at Qom and the advanced centrifuges at Natanz – and the stopping of all work at the heavy water reactor in Arak. David Makovsky, an analyst with the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a think tank with close ties to the Obama and Netanyahu governments, said such differences were less significant than the fact that Iran, Israel and the United States are all proclaiming support for a comprehensive deal.
INTERNATIONAL • 9
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2013
BDS antidote may come from China By Alex Traiman (JNS) – An apparent antidote to the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement is coming from a once unlikely source. Chinese magnate Li Ka-Shing, among Asia’s richest businessmen, recently donated $130 million to Israel’s Technion University, as part of a joint venture with Shantou University that will establish the Technion Guangdong Institute of Technology (TGIT). The gift, one of the largest ever to an Israeli university, is indicative of a pervasive deepening in the connection between Israel and one of the world’s emerging powers, China. This is the first time a school from any other country has been invited to establish an entirely new academic
International Briefs Ayatollah Ali Khamenei calls U.S. ‘arrogant, unreliable and irrational’ (JNS) Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday described the U.S. government, which recently engaged in a level of diplomacy with Iran that was unprecedented for three decades, as “arrogant, unreliable and irrational.” “We have no trust in them at all,” Khamenei said, The Associated Press reported. Egypt turns back Palestinian pilgrims, mulls military action in Gaza (JNS) Egyptian authorities turned back more than 100 Palestinians on their way to Mecca as part of their Hajj pilgrimage, citing security reasons. Reports say that the Egyptian military is considering military action inside Gaza if terrorism in the Sinai Peninsula continues. Egyptian aircraft have recently been conducting reconnaissance over Gaza. Avigdor Lieberman slams NYT for accusing Netanyahu of ‘sabotaging diplomacy’ (Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS) Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Chairman Avigdor Lieberman compared an editorial by The New York Times that was critical of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s U.N. address to a headline published in September 1938 that praised the Munich Agreement for granting Adolf Hitler “less than his Sudeten demands.” “Today, The New York Times attacked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his speech [Tuesday],
college based in China. In addition to the $130 million gift to Technion, for strengthening Technion’s home campus in Haifa, Guangdong Province will invest approximately $150 million to develop the new Technion Guangdong campus. “While academics around the world are attempting to damage Israel’s economy with calls for boycotts and divestment, it is the Chinese who see the inherent value in Israeli ingenuity, innovation and education,” Carice Witte, executive director of Sino-Israel Global Network and Academic Leadership (SIGNAL), an institute working to advance Israel-China relations, told JNS. “Economic stability is one of China’s main goals. They view this
collaboration as an investment in their own future,” Witte said. Over the past several years, China has demonstrated a growing interest in Israel’s technological contributions, particularly in the areas of water conservation and purification, agriculture, air quality and alternative energy. Further, multiple Chinese universities have established Israel Studies Centers. The development of such study centers is a strategic asset for Israel, as top Chinese academics often serve as advisors to top government officials. At the same time, American campuses are seeing significant antiIsrael activity, including the annual “Israel Apartheid Week.” Over the past decade, many leading universities have accepted multi-million dollar donations from philanthropists in
saying he was inciting to war and thwarting chances of peace with Iran,” Lieberman wrote on his Facebook page. “In 1938 the very same New York Times reported with excitement at the peace deal between Britain and Nazi Germany, over how Hitler got less than what he demanded. How did this ‘peace deal’ sit with the Nazi dictator – we all know.”
ets of the five dark-skinned passengers were labeled with the letter T and they were questioned about their ethnicity and origins by El Al agents while the Caucasians were allowed to board without questioning.
Syrian civil war participation of Israeli Arabs concerns Shin Bet (JNS) Israeli Arabs who have traveled to Syria to try to topple Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime could return to Israel better trained and more extremist, Israel’s Shin Bet security agency said. Government shutdown may affect military aid to Israel, State Department says (JNS) The ongoing U.S. government shutdown may affect the status of military aid to Israel, State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf told reporters on Wednesday. “The State Department’s ability to provide military assistance to Israel and other allies in the time frame that is expected and customary could be hindered, depending on the length of the shutdown,” Harf said. Dutch state panel: El Al discriminated against darkskinned passengers (JTA) El Al agents in the Netherlands exercised racial discrimination against dark-skinned passengers, a Dutch government judicial watchdog on human rights ruled. The ruling by the Netherlands Institute for Human Rights, a legal review board set up the Dutch parliament, said that El Al representatives performed racial profiling on five Dutch passengers because of their appearance and race. According to the ruling, the tick-
Danish Jewry dwindling due in part to anti-Semitism, community leader says (JTA) Denmark’s Jewish community has lost 25 percent of its registered members over the past 15 years, partly due to anti-Semitism, its president said. The Jewish Community in Denmark, or Mosaisk Troessamfund, currently has 1,899 members compared to 2,639 in 1997, Mosaisk President Finn Schwarz told the Danish daily Jyllands-Posten in an interview published last week. Finnish Jewish runner credited with victory stripped in 1938 (JTA) The Finnish Sports Federation awarded first place to a Jewish runner who was denied victory at a national competition 75 years ago. Less than a month after apologizing for stripping Abraham Tokazier of his victory in a 100-meter race at Helsinki’s Olympic Stadium in 1938, the federation announced over the weekend that it would place him in first place. Building starts on museum dedicated to Polish righteous gentiles WARSAW, Poland (JTA) Construction has begun on a museum in Poland dedicated to Poles who saved Jews during World War II. Stories will be presented on events that took place in the Subcarpathian region. The museum also plans to include exhibits on Polish-Jewish relations before and after the war.
Muslim-majority nations, most notably Saudi Arabia, to establish Middle Eastern studies programs that many Jewish groups criticize for an alleged anti-Israel bias. Last month, a map used in an Arabic language course at San Diego State University labeled all of the Jewish state’s territory as “Palestine,” before it was replaced with a map that included Israel. Academics at American universities are among the leaders of those calling for divestment from Israel, in addition to expressing other antiIsrael sentiments. University of Pennsylvania professor Ian Lustick in September wrote a controversial New York Times op-ed calling for a one-state solution to the IsraeliPalestinian conflict, under which Israel “may no longer exist as the
Jewish and democratic vision of its Zionist founders.” Last summer, the University of California (UC) Board of Regents voted in Sadia Saifuddin, a leading BDS activist, as a student regent. Additionally, several student governments in the UC system have passed resolutions calling for their schools to divest from Israel. According to Witte, China’s investment in Israel is neither political nor ideological, but rather a practical investment in China’s own economic and social interests. “China wants to make the transition from being a manufacturing power to becoming innovators, and they believe that the Israeli innovative spirit can help them accomplish that goal,” Witte said.
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10 • ISRAEL
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Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, founder of Shas and Sephardic sage, dies at 93 By Ben Sales TEL AVIV (JTA) – Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, the Israeli sage who founded the Sephardic Orthodox Shas political party and exercised major influence on Jewish law, has died. Yosef died Monday at Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in Jerusalem. He was 93. He served as Israel’s Sephardic chief rabbi from 1973 to 1983, and extended his influence over the ensuing decades as the spiritual leader of Shas, which politically galvanized hundreds of thousands of Sephardic Israelis, though Yosef himself never served in Knesset. In 1999, at its
height, Shas was the third-largest Knesset party, with 17 seats. Though he adhered to a haredi Orthodox ideology, Yosef, a charismatic speaker, published relatively liberal Jewish legal rulings and drew support both from traditional and secular Sephardic Israelis. Known to his followers as Maran, “our master” in Hebrew, Yosef’s main Jewish legal goal was to take diverse Jewish practices from the Middle East and North Africa and mold a “united legal system” for Sephardic Jews. As his influence grew, Yosef presided over a veritable empire of Sephardi religious services. Shas opened a network of schools that now has 40,000 students. Yosef man-
aged a kosher certification called Beit Yosef that has become the standard for many religious Sephardim. And he was a dominant power broker when it came to electing Sephardic chief rabbis and appointing Sephardic judges in religious courts. This year, Yosef’s son – and preferred candidate – won the Israeli Sephardic chief rabbi election. Through his work, Yosef hoped to raise the status of Israel’s historically disadvantaged Sephardic community, both culturally and socioeconomically. He dressed in traditional Sephardic religious garb, including a turban and an embroidered robe, even as most of his close followers adopted the Ashkenazi haredi dress
of a black fedora and suit. As a scholar, Yosef was known for his ability to recite long, complex Jewish tracts from memory. His bestknown works, “Yabia Omer,” “Yehave Da’at” and “Yalkut Yosef,” cover an array of Jewish legal topics. “He was a character that people capitulated in front of, a man of Jewish law that created a political entity with strong influence on Israeli politics and culture,” said Menachem Friedman, an expert on the haredi community at Bar-Ilan University. “It raised up Middle Eastern Jewish culture, gave legitimacy to Middle Eastern Jewish traditions.” YOSEF on page 22
Courtesy of Amos Ben Gershom/GPO/Flash90
Rabbi Ovadia Yosef died in Jerusalem on Oct. 07, 2013
For Nairobi Jews, mall attack undermines already fragile sense of security By Cnaan Liphshiz (JTA) – When Rina Attias phoned to say that she was trapped with terrorists inside Nairobi’s Westgate mall, her husband Albert replied with a short instruction: Hang up right now. Albert Attias, the head of the Jewish community in the Kenyan capital and an Israeli military veteran, wanted to communicate with his wife by text message so she wouldn’t be overheard speaking Hebrew. Their Israeli connections were not something the couple were eager to advertise, even in normal circumstances. “I was gravely concerned,” Albert
Israel Briefs Israel approves high-speed train route to Eilat (JNS) – An Israeli government committee has approved plans for Israel’s most expensive transportation project ever, a high-speed rail line from central Israel to southern port city of Eilat. The 217-mile track to Eilat will run along the eastern flank of the Negev, allowing it to avoid rocket fire from Gaza or the Sinai. The train is expected to reach speeds up to 155 miles per hour, cutting travel down to two hours from the four-tofive-hour trip by car or bus. An estimated 5 million passengers a year are expected to ride the train, Haaretz reported. Israeli-Palestinian conflict’s root is objection to a Jewish state, Netanyahu says (JNS) Four years after a historic speech at Bar-Ilan University during which he first backed a two-state solution, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned to the
Attias told JTA, recalling the first hours of the deadly attack and twoday siege carried out by Islamic militants at the upscale shopping plaza that began on Sept. 21. “I prayed she’d get out before dark because at night anything could happen.” Rina Attias was trapped for six hours before escaping. But her ordeal at what was considered a safe area in Nairobi has shaken the brittle sense of security for the approximately 600 members of the Jewish community of Kenya, a country that has strived, not always successfully, to escape the violence raging just beyond its borders. “We were already careful, but this
attack reinforces in us the need to be vigilant,” Attias said. Along with Attias, several hundred bystanders fled the mall after a dozen or so armed terrorists stormed the five-story building and holed up there with hostages. The death toll included 61 civilians, six security officers and five suspected terrorists. Nine other suspected terrorists are in custody, Kenyan authorities have said, but some are believed to have escaped through a sewage canal that security forces discovered 72 hours after the attack began. No Jews were among the victims of the attack, according to Attias, which occurred as many community
members attended the bar mitzvah celebration of an Israeli diplomat’s son. Opened in 2007, Westgate was a “place of comfort, upscale luxury, a feeling of something foreign that doesn’t exist in too many places here,” the Kenyan journalist Jeff Omondi said. Beyond the air-conditioned walls of Westgate lies a crime-infested metropolis of 3.1 million where vultures circle over vast slums and potholed roads in search of a meal in one of the many garbage heaps festering in the tropical sun. The mall is a foreign novelty to Kenyans, but for the tens of thou-
sands of Western Nairobians, Westgate – with its Israeli-owned brasserie, sushi restaurant and upscale clothing stores – offered access to familiar amenities that are hard to find in this eastern African republic. It was the first place that Rebecca, the wife of Nairobi’s newly arrived rabbi, was taken to in Nairobi. On her blog, she described it as a pleasant spot to enjoy a leisurely cup of coffee. But in an interview with JTA, she requested that her last name be withheld. “I’m sorry, this whole business has made me a bit paranoid,” she acknowledged.
venue Sunday and said peace will only be possible when the Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish state. The “root” of the IsraeliPalestinian conflict is “the profound objection by the hard core of Palestinians to the right of the Jewish people to its own country in the Land of Israel,” Netanyahu said at the 20th anniversary international conference of the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies.
Fatah glorifies shooter of 9-year-old Israeli girl on Facebook (JNS) The Palestinian Fatah party praised Saturday’s shooting of 9-year-old Israeli girl Noam Glick on its Facebook page, Palestinian Media Watch reported. “The sniper of Palestine was here,” Fatah posted. “He saluted Hebron, and rested in El-Bireh. He left the signature of [real] men in different parts of the homeland. He saluted and left, and moved on to a different place, with a new signature, as he tells the stories of those who love the homeland.”
Jewish state (JNS) Leading Israeli Christians gathered at a Jerusalem conference to declare their own identity apart from Arab Muslims and their support for Israel. Participants at the conference – titled “Israeli Christians: Breaking Free? The advent of an independent Christian voice in Israel” – said their history, culture, and heritage have been hijacked by Muslim Arabs in the region. A former Israeli Christian paratrooper, Shaadi Khalloul, said he has lobbied the Israeli government to recognize his community, called “B’nei Keyama,” as Aramaic Christians, referring to the majority language spoken by Christians and Jews prior to the Arab Invasions of the 7th century.
(Gabriel) Kobi, 20, on Sept. 19, and Sgt. Tomer Hazan, 20, on Sept. 21. The Shin Bet noted that 104 terror attacks in September took place in Judea and Samaria, compared with 68 terror attacks in those communities in August.
Nine-year-old Israeli girl wounded in terror attack (JNS) Nine-year-old Noam Glick was wounded Saturday night in a terror attack in Psagot, a Judea and Samaria community located north of Jerusalem and adjacent to the Palestinian city of Ramallah. She was rushed to the Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem in serious-to-moderate condition, suffering from a gunshot wound to her chest. Her condition eventually stabilized. It was unclear whether Glick was shot by a terrorist who had infiltrated the community or by a sniper from nearby Ramallah. Glick described the perpetrator as “a man wearing a black wool cap,” Israel Hayom reported.
Israeli scientists unveil latest innovations in aerospace medicine (Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS) A helmet allowing ground control to take over an aircraft if the pilot loses consciousness, an unmanned aerial vehicle evacuating wounded soldiers under fire without endangering lives, and a robotic dog that would assist combat soldiers in evacuating the wounded were among the innovations presented Sunday during the 61st annual International Congress of Aviation and Space Medicine in Jerusalem. Christians in Israel declare renewed identity and bonds to
Terrorism doubles in Israel from August to September, Shin Bet says (JNS) The number of terror attacks and attempted terror attacks roughly doubled in Israel over the last month, rising from 68 in August to 133 in September, new data from the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) revealed Thursday, Israel Hayom reported. Two notable instances of Palestinian terrorism were the murders of Israeli soldiers Staff Sgt. Gal
Unilateral strike on Iran nuclear program backed by two-thirds of Israeli Jews, poll shows (JNS) Should the need arise to attack Iran, 65.6 percent of Israeli Jews would support a unilateral Israeli strike even without international support and 21.8 percent would oppose the move, a new Israel Hayom-New Wave Research poll shows. Peres calls on Council of Europe to reconsider anti-circumcision resolution JERUSALEM (JTA) Israeli President Shimon Peres called on the Council of Europe to reconsider a resolution condemning male ritual circumcision. In a letter issued Sunday to Thorbjorn Jagland, secretary general of the Council of Europe – a panEuropean intergovernmental organization – Peres wrote that he was "sorry to hear" of the resolution.
SOCIAL LIFE • 11
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2013
ANNOUNCEMENTS
JEWISH DISCOVERY CENTER OF MASON DEDICATES MASON “COMMUNITY” TORAH On Sunday, August 25, 2013, the Jewish community gathered to dedicate the Mason area’s first Torah scroll. At the dedication, a trained Sofer scribe from Canada applied the final touches to the Torah. All authentic Torah scrolls are hand-written and are typically written
Stella Wren Eckert
BIRTH heryl & Scott Eckert of Cincinnati, OH announce the birth of their daughter,Stella Wren Eckert on Sept. 23, 2013. Stella is the sister of Avery Eckert & Leo Eckert. She is the granddaughter of Elaine & Stan Shapiro of Roseland, NJ and Lorie Kleiner Eckert and Stefan Eckert both of Cincinnati. She is the greatgranddaughter of the late Blanche and the late Harry Schwartz, the late Ida and the late Nathan Shapiro, the late Rose and the late Morris Kleiner, and the late Sylvia & the late Sol Eckert.
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Sandy and Helen Zussman
ANNIVERSARY e want to acknowledge and celebrate the 50th Golden anniversary of Helen and Sandy Zussman. Its been 50 years of a very loving and caring marriage. Their wedding took place on October 13, 1963 at The Netherland Hilton in Cincinnati, Ohio. Sandy has retired from dentistry after 42 years and Helen remains an active travel agent. Together they have traveled the world. Helen and Sandy have raised two wonderful sons, Randy and his wife Deborah, live in Las Vegas. David resides in Cincinnati. A small family celebration will take place to honor this special occasion.
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over the course of a year. The “CommUnity Torah” is being used by the Masonarea Jewish community and is housed at the Jewish Discovery Center in Mason. More photos on Page 13
CINCINNATI JEWISH LIFE • 13
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2013
JEWISH DISCOVERY CENTER OF MASON DEDICATES MASON “COMMUNITY” TORAH Continued from Page 11
14 • DINING OUT
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Wonderful aromas at Turkish inspired Durum Grill By Bob Wilhelmy Assistant Editor Sandwich “wraps” may be a relatively new craze here in the U.S. of A. Not so in the Middle East in general, and in Turkey specifically. There, the wrap has been around for centuries, and in fact, “Durum” means something that is wrapped in thin bread, according to Bexruz “Ben” Ikramov, owner of the Durum Grill in Blue Ash. The leader of the wraps is the gyro sandwich, a Turkish delight among on-the-go foods of that region of the world. To refresh, the meat of this ethnically inspired sandwich is lamb. The lamb is ground, flavored with spices and herbs, and then formed onto a spindle, the meat being cylindrical in shape. The spindle is in effect a vertical spit that revolves, and the heat to cook the meat is applied to the surface as the spit turns, much like a chicken would be roasted on a spit. The surface meat is then sliced off in thin strips and placed in pita bread or tortilla-like bread, and accompanied by toppings that are the choice of the diner. Asked why his gyro sandwich is a crowd-pleaser, Ikramov said the secret is in the lamb and the seasonings. “We use only the best lamb, the most expensive lamb in the market. That makes a better sandwich. And the sandwiches, platters, kebabs and everything are big portions. Plus we make everything (but the breads and desserts, which are from a local bakery) in our kitchen, and the kitchen is open so the diner can see what we are doing,” he stated. There is quality on the spit, and healthy portions for the price. Gyros are available with vegetables, chicken and steak and are topped with the items the diner would want. The concept is like that found in a Subway® sandwich shop, only the foods are of Turkish origin, and seasoned in ways familiar to those who know foods of the Middle East. “People who eat here tell me we have the best gyros in town, and I like to hear that,” Ikramov said, “but I try to encourage people who come in here to try the chicken too. It is very good. We marinate it then grill it and then chop it and serve it as the customer wants. The chicken is outstanding and made from family recipe that is secret.” While the foods of Durum may be of a quick-prep nature, Ikramov made the point that he works to maintain healthy choices for his diners. Everything is grilled or roasted, except for the falafel, which is a vegetarian item that requires deep-frying in veg-
Pictured are: Bexruz “Ben” Ikramov, owner of the Durum Grill; the dining area of the restaurant; and signage over the door of the Durum Grill in Blue Ash
etable oil. He said there is no pork or pork by-product of any kind in his restaurant, since pork is forbidden in his Turkish culture much as it is in Jewish tradition. Another sandwich category is shawarma-style preparations. These include: a veggie variety, featuring falafel and choice of veggie toppings and seasonings; gyro meat served with a choice of toppings, a chicken shawarma, again, with topping choices; and
a steak as well. For those interested in a full meal, Durum Grill also offers platters. The vegetable platter features an array of salads and falafel, along with pita bread. The gyro platter features a heaping pile of gyro meat served with a salad, toppings and pita bread. Chicken and steak platters are similarly appointed and look scrumptious. Other selections that are typi-
cal of a Turkish menu include: lentil Turkish soup served with pita bread; home-made hummus; baba ghanoush; grape leaves filled with rice; carrot salad; falafel; and chopped chicken salad. “Our food is casual Mediterranean and Turkish food, not fast food. We get the food to the diner quickly, and our lunch crowd really likes the service. We have lots of people here at that
time of day, but the crowd is served quickly,” Ikramov said. Durum Grill is open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Saturday, featuring continuous service. Durum Grill 4764 Cornell Rd. Blue Ash, OH 513-489-4777
DINING OUT • 15
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16 • OPINION
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America’s two-state solution fixation pushing Israel back to the “Iron Wall”? By Ben Cohen (JNS) – A hint of frustration flashed across Israeli Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon’s face when I asked him about the criticism he has received from American Jewish establishment organizations concerning his rejection of the two-state solution. “If American Jewish organizations will call upon the Israeli prime minister to fire me because of my opinion on the two-state solution, it’s crossing the line,” Danon told me on his recent visit to New York, referring to recent statements issued by both the Anti-Defamation League and the American Jewish Committee that charged him, as well as his ministerial colleague Naftali Bennett, with damaging Israel’s image because of their forthright views. “I can’t imagine that the same Jewish organizations would have called upon [the late Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak] Shamir to fire Shimon Peres when he was promoting one of his peace plans,” Danon added, invoking the uneasy left-right coalition government that ruled Israel for much of the 1980s. “When the government leans to the left, they will support it ‘unconditionally.’ If the government is positioned to the right, you start to see maneuvering not to support it.” My purpose in relating this conversation is not to trigger yet another debate about the role of American Jewish organizations in dutifully restating the positions of the White House in their dealings with Israeli officials. Danon’s comments are instructive because they demonstrate that influential Israelis are reconsidering what has become, for both American Jewish leaders and the American administration, an article of faith: namely, that the two-state solution is the only show in town. There is an understandable reluctance to question both the wisdom and the viability of a twostate outcome to the IsraeliPalestinian conflict. Traditionally, this has been the preserve of Palestinian extremists, like the Hamas regime in Gaza, who reject Israel’s very identity as a Jewish state. Equally, there is no reason to allow those who would happily annihilate Israel to frame the terms of the discussion. Israel has to make its calculations based upon its own interests. As far as Danon is concerned, Palestinian intransigence has left the case for the two-state solution looking flimsy. As he argued in a recent
New York Times op-ed, Israel would be better off annulling the Oslo Accords and seeking a solution to the Palestinian issue that places more responsibility upon Egypt for the Gaza Strip, and more responsibility on Jordan for the West Bank. Such a stance is radically removed from the official American position, which continues to pursue the two-state solution, most recently through Secretary of State John Kerry’s initiative, which has been heavy on PR and light on impact. It suggests-as the Israeli political analyst Yossi Klein Halevi observed last week in the Wall Street Journal in a piece highlighting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s pledge that Israel “will not allow Iran to get nuclear weapons”-that on both the Palestinian and Iranian fronts, Israel might decide that a “strained relationship with the White House” is a less risky option. Of course, no one wants that scenario to become reality-Danon, for one, genuinely believes that there is a special relationship between the U.S. and Israel that needs to be preserved-but at the same time, Israel cannot allow vital security decisions to be determined by whatever ideas happen to be in vogue in Washington. And looking at the Kerry initiative, the holes are painfully visible. Indeed, we talk about a two-state solution as if the very real split between the Fatahruled West Bank and Hamas-ruled Gaza were taking place in a parallel universe, rather than being a powerful reason why the two-state solution is looking rather haggard. During our talk, Danon mentioned the “Iron Wall,” a concept that originated with the great Revisionist Zionist leader Ze’ev Jabotinsky who described it, in a 1923 essay, as a “strong power in Palestine that is not amenable to any Arab pressure.” Jabotinsky did not argue that an agreement with the Arabs is eternally doomed-his point, which remains valid today, was that a sovereign Jewish state must approach the issue from a position of confident strength. That doesn’t mean just military strength. It also means, I’d venture, alliances with other peoples in the region, like the Kurds, who have suffered from both Arab chauvinism and Islamist extremism. Above all, it means having the courage, as Danny Danon does, to start thinking alternatively.
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The legacy of 9/11 hero Danny Lewin By Steven Plaut (JNS) – At the center of the 9/11 attacks against the United States by Islamofascist terror, an unlikely hero played a largely unknown role. He sacrificed his life in an attempt to stop the hijacking of one of the planes that later crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center. He was an Israeli-American and his role has remained largely ignored and unacknowledged. Danny Lewin was an AmericanIsraeli, a world-class Internet entrepreneur, and the very first person to be murdered by the Al-Qaeda barbarians on September 11, 2001. He was aboard the American Airlines Flight 11 plane out of Boston headed for Los Angeles when it was hijacked by the terrorists. A veteran of the special forces in the Israeli army, Lewin quickly understood what was going down. He spoke fluent Arabic and knew what the terrorists were saying. He single-handedly attempted to attack and subdue the terrorists. He was stabbed to death on the plane by terrorist Satam alSuqami, a Saudi law student. Lewin was 31 years old when he was murdered. A new biography of the hero of 9/11, written by Molly Knight Raskin. is now in book stores entitled, “No Better Time: The Brief, Remarkable Life of Danny Lewin, the Genius Who Transformed the Internet.” The book describes Lewin as follows: “In some ways, Lewin’s appearance belied his intelligence. Lacking the physical traits of the stereotypical mathematician, he could have easily been mistaken for a high school athlete. Although he stood just five feet ten inches tall, Lewin was built like a bull-burly and broad-shouldered, sheer muscle from head to toe. He was boyishly
handsome, with a soft, round face, blue eyes and brown hair that was prematurely receding, giving way to a long, smooth forehead. His smile was unyielding and almost impish, creating in those around him the urge to smile, too.” Lewin grew up in Denver and immigrated to Israel with his family in 1984, three years after I did the same. His parents were devoted Zionists and passionate about their Jewishness. While exempt from military service in Israel on grounds that he had recently immigrated, Danny insisted on serving anyhow, and in the country’s most challenging military unit at that. He served in the ultra-elite special forces combat unit called “Sayeret Matkal,” perhaps best known for its operation in Entebbe to release the kidnapped Jews held by Palestinian and Ugandan terrorists. The brother of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu died in that operation, which safely rescued nearly all of the hostages. (One hostage woman had been moved out of the airport to a hospital and she was then murdered by Idi Amin’s stormtroopers.) In Raskin’s words, “Until the 1990s, Sayeret Matkal was so important to Israel’s security that the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) would not officially acknowledge its existence. Those who knew anything about its inner workings were sworn to a code of silence, and its soldiers are still forbidden to wear its insignia in public.” Lewin attended the Technion in Haifa, where in 1995 he was named the year’s Outstanding Student in Computer Engineering. He then worked for IBM in developing hightech products, later doing graduate work at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). There he became the protégé of the legendary MIT professor F. Thomson
Leighton. According to Raskin, “The more Lewin got to know Leighton, the more professionally enamored he became, routinely telling friends he’d met the ‘smartest man in the world.’” The two developed mathematical algorithms for optimizing Internet traffic. These became the basis for Akamai Technologies, which the two founded in 1998. Lewin served as the company’s chief technology officer and a board member. The company went public in 1999 and its stock market valuation rose rapidly to 345 billion dollars. Lewin was posthumously named one of the most influential high-tech figures in the world. Much of the book by Raskin details his career in advanced high technology. He was not only the first victim of the terror on September 11, 2001he was also its wealthiest and most successful victim. Raskin writes: “An executive summary mistakenly leaked by the Federal Aviation Administration to the press stated that terrorist Satam al-Suqami shot and killed Lewin with a single bullet around 9:20 a.m. (obviously a typo, as the plane crashed at 8:46 a.m.). But almost as soon as the memo was leaked, FAA officials claimed it was written in error, and that Lewin was more than likely stabbed, not shot. The 9/11 Commission concurred, offering a more detailed summary: based on dozens of interviews with those who spoke with flight attendants Sweeney and Ong, the commission determined that al-Suqami most likely killed Lewin by slashing him in the throat from behind as he attempted to stop the hijacking. The time of his death was reported to be somewhere between 8:15 and 8:20 a.m., which-if fact-would make Lewin the first victim of the 9/11 attacks.” LEWIN on page 19
JEWISH LIFE • 17
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2013
From Maimonides’ perspective, it is not only that Abraham understood that there must be one Power above all powers, one Lord above all lords who is the Master of the Universe and therefore traded in paganism for monotheism. Abraham realized that this Unity behind the apparent diversity that fills the world is an ethical and moral force that insists on righteousness and compassion; Abraham knew that it is not sufficient to be a monotheist but that it is necessary to be an ethical monotheist. The Bible itself tells us this: “Because I [God] have known [loved, chosen] Abraham because he commands his children and his household after him to observe the way of the Lord to do compassionate righteousness and moral justice.” Once Abraham discovered this great truth, it gave him no rest. He continually built altars and called upon people to accept his ethical God. It is important to note that on none of the altars recorded in our portion does Abraham present an offering, a sacrifice to God; he rather calls out to individuals to join him in his faith and in his ethical actions. Maimonides continues in his description of Abraham’s mission: “Once Abraham recognized and understood the ethical God, he began to tell the idolaters that they were not pursuing the true path; he broke their idols and informed the people that it is only proper to serve the God of the world… he stood up and called out in a great voice to the entire world that there is only one God in the entire universe and it is only Him that they must serve. He would walk about, call out and gather people from city to city and from kingdom to kingdom until he reached the land of Canaan, and he called out there in the name of the Lord of the universe. The people would gather around him and ask him questions and he would teach each of them according to their respective knowledge, until he would bring them to the path of truth…” The Kesef Mishneh commentary to Maimonides makes the point that Shem and Eber – although great individuals who were also close to God and who according to the Midrash established a great yeshiva where Isaac
went to study immediately after the akeda (binding) – were not chosen to be the first Jews precisely because they only taught about God to those who came to study in their yeshiva; they were rashei yeshiva (yeshiva heads), whereas Abraham was a rabbi – an outreach worker in the style of Chabad and Ohr Torah Stone. This is what the Bible means when it speaks about “souls that Abraham and Sarah made in Haran” (Gen. 12:5). The Midrash explains that Abraham converted the men and Sarah converted the women. Maimonides further rules that the commandment to love God includes “making God beloved to all the people of the earth” (Book of Commandments, 5) and he insists that Jews must even coerce the gentiles to accept the seven laws of morality (Laws of Kings, 8:10). We are not in any way commanded actively to convert the gentiles to Judaism; but it seems that, at least according to Maimonides, we are commanded to convert the world to ethical monotheism. Shabbat Shalom Rabbi Shlomo Riskin Chancellor Ohr Torah Stone Chief Rabbi – Efrat Israel
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T EST Y OUR T ORAH KNOWLEDGE THIS WEEK’S PORTION: LECH LCHA (BRAISHITH 12:\17) 1. Who kidnapped Sarah? a.) Pharaoh b.) One of the 4 kings who fought in Canaan c.) One of Lot's shepherds
4. Who fought with Avraham's shepherds? a.) City of Sodom b.) Four kings c.) Lot's shepherds
2. Did he protest his innocence? a.) Yes b.) No
5. Who claimed Avraham mistreated them? a.) Lot b.) King of Sodom c.) Sarah
3. What did Avraham receive in damages? a.) Money b.) Escort out of the area c.) Nothing Canaan was his. Rashi 5. C 16:5 After Hagar had child from Avraham and Sarah did not, Sarah complained that Avraham only prayed for himself and not for her. Rashi
EFRAT, Israel – “... And he built there an altar to the Lord and he called out in the name of the Lord” (Genesis 12:8). Abraham is the first Hebrew, the founder of the Hebrew nation and the path-breaker who created the Hebrew religion. From this portion in the 12th chapter of the Book of Genesis until the last word of the Book of Deuteronomy, it is Abraham’s Israelite descendants who are the major subjects of the Bible. Fascinatingly, God commands Abraham to leave his country, his birthplace and his father’s house to travel to the unknown land of Canaan (Israel) without any introduction to Abraham’s personality or his previous connection with God. Indeed, God elects Abraham as the progenitor or patriarch of “a great nation which will become a blessing to all the families of the earth” without any mention of Abraham’s worthiness. This is very different from God’s commandment to Noah to build an ark, which comes after the Bible has already informed us that Noah “was a righteous man, wholehearted in his generation. Noah walked with God” (Gen. 6:9). It also contrasts with God’s charge for Moses to lead His people in the Book of Exodus, which comes after Moses left Pharaoh’s palace to empathize with his Hebrew brethren and put his life on the line by slaying the Egyptian taskmaster who was beating a Hebrew slave. So why did God choose Abraham? Maimonides is apparently struck by this question. His approach is paraphrased in a famous exchange. British antiSemite William Norman Ewer wrote, “How odd of God to choose the Jews,” to which American poet Ogden Nash responded, “It wasn’t odd; the Jews chose God.” Abraham chose God. Maimonides maintains that Abraham found God through his own reasoning powers. “After this mighty man was weaned, he began to explore and think. Though he was a child, he began to think [incessantly] throughout the day and night, wondering,” until, as a result of his own correct understanding, he reached the truth (Laws of Idolatry, Chapter 1, Halacha 3).
Abraham realized that this Unity behind the apparent diversity that fills the world is an ethical and moral force that insists on righteousness and compassion
Avraham was her brother and she was quiet about the matter. Ramban 3. A,B 12:20 4. C 13:7 The land was not big enough to support their cattle. Lot's shepherds thought that Lot was Avraham's only heir and the land of
by Rabbi Shlomo Riskin
SHABBAT SHALOM: PARSHAT LECH LECHA GENESIS 12:1-17:27
Written by Rabbi Dov Aaron Wise
ANSWERS 1. A 12:15 Avraham was punished for not trusting that Hashem would save him without making up a story that Sarah was his sister. R Bchai 2. A 12:19 Pharaoh said that Avraham said Sarah was his sister. Sarah never said that
Sedra of the Week
18 • JEWZ IN THE NEWZ
JEWZ
IN THE
By Nate Bloom Contributing Columnist Portman Goes to Shul with “Baby” NATALIE PORTMAN, 32, who has just started directing a film in Israel based on a novel by AMOS OZ, gave a wide-ranging interview to the November (2013), British version of “Elle.” One interesting part came as she declared that she is a huge fan of the 1987 film, “Dirty Dancing,” which co-starred JENNIFER GREY, now 53, as “Baby.” Portman told “Elle”: “Yes [I’ve met Jennifer]. We go to temple together. And I freak out every time I see her – I’m such a nerd... She kind of gets the ‘polite eyes’ when she comes, because she knows I’m going to jump on her. I wish I weren’t as nervous as I am.... Of course [we talk about Dirty Dancing]! I can’t talk about it too much, or I’ll start getting teary. There are other movies I love, but no other movie that I have watched over and over.” TV News: Ancestry and Asner Not quite a celeb item, but still interesting (I hope): The four-episode PBS series, “Genealogy . Each episode features six people whose ancestry is traced. The show’s producer says that one of his favorite segments appears in the Oct.14 episode: “There’s a woman from Texas, Denise Garza Steusloff, who’s Latina and wanted to know if she was descended from Jews that fled the Spanish inquisition. She celebrated Jewish holidays her whole life but didn’t know whether she was really Jewish or not. It was very emotional when we told her she had Jewish ancestry.” (Check local listings for exact time. Episodes can also be viewed on-line). ED ASNER, 83, has just been cast to guest star in an upcoming episode of the CBS comedy, “The Crazy Ones.” He’ll plays Glen “Mr. Finger” Hastings, a TV commercial actor whom Sydney (SARAH MICHELLE GELLAR) finds charming. The air date for his episode is not yet set. Movies, Short and Long; Woody and Mia Fight On A new version of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” will open in theaters . It was written for the screen by Julian Fellowes (“Dowton Abbey”). Co-starring as Juliet is HAILEE STEINFELD, 16, who got a 2010 Oscar nomination for “True Grit.” Steinfeld’s father is Jewish and her uncle is
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famous trainer JAKE STEINFELD, 55. The Vanity Fair website last week posted a summary of the ‘hot’ news in their November issue: Mia Farrow and many of her children spoke to the magazine about their family life and Farrow’s ex-romantic partner, WOODY ALLEN, now 77. Farrow was twice married before she began seeing Allen in 1980. Her first husband was Frank Sinatra (1966-1969). In 1970, she wed composer/conductor ANDRE PREVIN, now 84. She had three biological sons with Previn, and with him she adopted three daughters, including Soon-Yi Allen, now 40. Previn and Farrow divorced in 1979. Allen and Farrow adopted two children together: Dylan (a girl) and Moses. They also had a biological son – RONAN FARROW, now 25. In 1992, Mia discovered that Woody and Soon-Yi were having an affair. The ensuing scandal included accusations that Allen had molested Dylan, then 7. Dylan, who now calls herself Malone, told Vanity Fair that she believes she was molested and she’s ignored the couple of letters which Allen has sent her. Meanwhile, Andre Previn told the magazine that “Soon Yi is now dead to us”. His son (with Mia), FLETCHER PREVIN, now 39, told “Vanity Fair” that he has edited/photoshopped Allen out of every family movie and photograph. Mia Farrow’s biggest revelation was that Ronan “possibly” may be Sinatra’s biological child. She said that Sinatra was the big love of her life and, “We never really split up.” Ronan, who just left a prestigious State Dept. human rights position to study at Oxford on a Rhodes Scholarship, responded to last week’s media uproar with a tongue-in-cheek tweet: “ Listen, we all ‘possibly’ Frank Sinatra’s son.” On a more upbeat note: Also on the Vanity Fair site are series of short Internet films (“The Decade Series”) that the magazine has commissioned in honor of its 100th birthday. Each film is about one decade and not all the films have been completed yet. All the finished films are worth watching, including one about the “Oughts” (2000-2009) by Oscar-nominated documentary makers RACHEL GRADY and Heidi Ewing; one about the ‘70s by BRETT RATNER, 44 (“Rush Hour”); and one about the ‘30s by Oscar-winning documentary maker BARBARA KOPPLE, 67.
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We would call the attention of our numerous readers to the fact that the nineteenth number of the tenth edition of The Israelite has made its appearance, and still only a few of our subscribers have forwarded to us the subscription fee. The delinquents will therefore oblige us by sending us at once their arrangements, and spare us the unpleasant necessity of reminding them again. It is an utter impossibility for any publisher of a journal to defray the current cash expenses of the week, unless he have an inexhaustible treasury, or receives regularly the dues of his subscribers. We ask no greater favor of our friends than to listen to our appeal; and as we have never yet appealed in vain to our generous readers, we feel confident that our next mail will not only be freighted with the subscription fees for this volume of The Israelite, but with a considerable amount still due us for the preceeding ones. We will cease forwarding our weeklies to any one, unless they be paid for in advance.– November 6, 1863
Cincinnati Woman’s Club on Tuesday mornings at 11, begins October 21, with the reading of Eugene Brieux’s powerful novel, “Damaged Goods.”
125 Y EARS A GO An exchange in speaking of “A Parlor Match”, which comes to Havlin’s Theater next week says: “Funnier than ever ‘Me and Old Hoss’ otherwise known as Evans and Hoey came to the Park Theater last night with one of the funniest of Hoyt’s laughable absurdities, “A Parlor Match” which has convulsed Boston audiences before. They brought with them Captain William Kidd, a legal descendant of the famous pirate chief; Mrs. Kidd and all the young Kidds; chief among whom was Innocent, the captain’s ‘angel child’. Besides these, they had an excellent company of comedians who were good vocalists as well. “The play is about the same as that seen at the Park last season, though several minor changes have been made. Mr. Evans gets off many new ‘gags’ and his legs and tongue remain just as limber as they ever were, while Mr. Hoey is the same imitable ‘Old Hoss’. Much new business is introduced in the cabinet scene in the second act. Minie French does some clever dancing and sings well as ‘Innocent Kidd’.– October 12, 1888 The series of six Modern Drama readings to be given by Miss Mannheimer at the
Mrs. Ben Berman and daughter, Miss Tressa, have returned from an extended and enjoyable European trip. Miss Miriam Rothchild who is the fiancee of Mr. Jesse Joseph of Chicago, Ill., has been the recipient of many social attentions. Norma Jaffee of Hewitt Avenue entertained at her home last Sunday afternoon, twentyfour little girls and boys in honor of her tenth birthday.– October 9, 1913
75 Y EARS A GO Readers of The American Israelite are asked to send to this publication, 534 Sycamore Street, any information they may have as to the whereabouts of Max Jacob or Martin Brown, said to have lived in Cincinnati until May 1935. He is 56, native Romanian and came to this country in 1926. To save a German refugee from being separated from her husband and child by being deported to the Reich, Governor Frank Murphy (Michigan) has pardoned Mrs. Kate Rabinowitz, 20, convicted of unlawfully driving an auto, an offense which would have rendered her liable to deportation as an undesirable alien. According to the State Parole Board, “The present antiSemitic crusade in Germany would make it inadvisable, if not impossible, for the applicant’s husband to accompany her there in the event of her deportation. There is considerable question whether or not her infant child or her husband would be permitted entrance into Germany.”– October 13, 1938
50 Y EARS A GO Abe L. Wolfson, president of the Wolfson Manufacturing Co. and Cavu Sportswear, Inc, passed away Tuesday, Oct. 1 at his residence, 8420 Arborcrest Drive. He was 59. Surviving are his wife, Mrs. Hannah Wolfson; a daughter and a son, Mary and Hyman Wolfson; two sisters, Mrs. Robert Ahr of Chicago and Mrs. Harry R. Freedman of this city;
and four brothers; William, Maurice, Nathan, and Alfred Wolfson, all of Cincinnati. Services were held Wednesday Oct. 2 at the Weil Funeral Home. Rabbi David I. Indich officiated. Internment was in Chesed Shel Emes Cemetery. The family would appreciate memorial contributions to the Heart Fund.– October 10, 1963
25 Y EARS A GO Mr, and Mrs. Stevan G. Lipson proudly announce the Bar Mitzvah of their son, Scott Elliot, on Saturday, Oct. 22, at 10:45 am at Plum Street Temple. A Kiddush will follow services. Scott is the grandson of Mrs. Jerome E. Cohen and the late Mr. Cohen and Mr. and Mrs. Sam Lipson, all of Cincinnati. Lisa and Steven Frankel announce the birth of a daughter, Ellyn Rachelle, Oct. 7. Maternal grandparents are Richard and Alice Campbell of Columbus. Paternal grandparents are Naftali and Penina Frankel of Cincinnati. Paternal great-grandparents are Dr. Morris and Ruth Schulzinger of Cincinnati and Rabbi Joshua Frankel of New York.– October 20, 1988
10 Y EARS A GO Congratulations to Jessica Fisher for being our Teen of the Month for October 2003. A sophomore at Walnut Hills High School, Jessica was in the freshman year honor program, 9 Honors, and has received Summa Cum Laude on the National Latin Exam three years in a row. Jessica is very involved in community service, through a variety of ways. She was involved in the United Way Youth Action Council, and she now works alongside her family via the Fisher Foundation. Jessica’s favorite pastime is learning. She said she loves learning about anything and everything especially religion. After college she wants to live in Israel for a while and if she’s in the U.S., Jessica wants to become a history teacher for Jr. High and High school students. Her free time is spent goofing off with her siblings or hanging out with her friends.– October 16, 2003
COMMUNITY CALENDAR / CLASSIFIEDS • 19
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2013
COMMUNITY CALENDAR October 17 6:30 pm – JVS Career Services Firing Up Your Job Search Wise Temple 8329 Ridge Rd. (513) 793-2556
October 27 5:30 pm–30th Annual Cincinnati Associates Tribute Dinner for HUC-JIR Hyatt Regency Cincinnati (513) 487-3047
October 20 4:00 pm–Concerts on Clifton with Constella Cincinnati: Chamber music featuring Mahler, Mendelssohn, and Schoenfield HUC–JIR Scheuer Chapel 3101 Clifton Ave. (513) 487-3098
November 3 Sarah’s Place Women’s Retreat Embassy Suites Conference Center 4554 Lake Forest Dr. Blue Ash
October 24 5:30 pm–Opening reception for the Boris Schatz Collection at HUC Skirball Museum 3101 Clifton Ave. (513) 487-3098
November 10 5:30 pm–Remembering the Kristallnacht Program Mayerson Hall HUC 3101 Clifton Ave. (513) 487-3055
COMMUNITY DIRECTORY COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS ORGANIZATIONS Access (513) 373-0300 • jypaccess.org Big Brothers/Big Sisters Assoc. (513) 761-3200 • bigbrobigsis.org Camp Ashreinu (513) 702-1513 Camp at the J (513) 722-7258 • mayersonjcc.org Camp Chabad (513) 731-5111 • campchabad.org Camp Livingston (513) 793-5554 • camplivingston.com Cedar Village (513) 754-3100 • cedarvillage.org Chevra Kadisha (513) 396-6426 Cincinnati Community Kollel (513) 631-1118 • kollel.shul.net Cincinnati Community Mikveh (513) 351-0609 • cincinnatimikveh.org Eruv Hotline (513) 351-3788 Fusion Family (513) 703-3343 • fusionnati.org Halom House (513) 791-2912 • halomhouse.com Hillel Jewish Student Center (Miami) (513) 523-5190 • muhillel.org Hillel Jewish Student Center (UC) (513) 221-6728 • hillelcincinnati.org Jewish Cemeteries of Greater Cincinnati 513-961-0178 • jcemcin.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) 214-1200 Jewish Information Network (513) 985-1514 JVS Career Services (513) 936-WORK (9675) • www.jvscinti.org Kesher (513) 766-3348 Plum Street Temple Historic Preservation Fund (513) 793-2556 Shalom Family
(513) 703-3343 • myshalomfamily.org The Center for Holocaust & Humanity Education (513) 487-3055 • holocaustandhumanity.org Vaad Hoier (513) 731-4671 Workum Fund (513) 899-1836 • workum.org YPs at the JCC (513) 761-7500 • mayersonjcc.org CONGREGATIONS CONGREGATIONS Adath Israel Congregation (513) 793-1800 • adath-israel.org Beit Chaverim (513) 984-3393 • btzbc.com Beth Israel Congregation (513) 868-2049 • bethisraelcongregation.net B’nai Tikvah Chavurah (513) 284-5845 • rabbibruce.com Congregation Beth Adam (513) 985-0400 • bethadam.org Congregation B’nai Tzedek (513) 984-3393 • btzbc.com Congregation Ohav Shalom (513) 489-3399 • ohavshalom.org Congregation Ohr Chadash (513) 252-7267 • ohrchadashcincinnati.com Congregation Sha’arei Torah shaareitorahcincy.org Congregation Zichron Eliezer 513-631-4900 • czecincinnati.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 EDUCA EDUCATION Chai Tots Early Childhood Center (513) 234.0600 • chaitots.com
Chabad Blue Ash (513) 793-5200 • chabadba.com Cincinnati Hebrew Day School (513) 351-7777 • chds.shul.net HUC-JIR (513) 221-1875 • huc.edu JCC Early Childhood School (513) 793-2122 • mayersonjcc.org Kehilla - School for Creative Jewish Education (513) 489-3399 • kehilla-cincy.com Mercaz High School (513) 792-5082 x104 • mercazhs.org Kulanu (Reform Jewish High School) 513-262-8849 • kulanucincy.org Regional Institute Torah & Secular Studies (513) 631-0083 Rockwern Academy (513) 984-3770 • rockwernacademy.org Sarah’s Place (513) 531-3151 • sarahsplacecincy.com Yeshivas Lubavitch High School of Cincinnati 513-631-2452 • ylcincinnati.com ORGANIZATIONS 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 BBYO (513) 722-7244 Hadassah (513) 821-6157 • cincinnati.hadassah.org Jewish Discovery Center (513) 234.0777 • jdiscovery.com 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
DO YOU WANT TO PLACE A CLASSIFIED? Send an e-mail including what you would like in your classified & your contact information to
business@ americanisraelite.com or call Erin at 621-3145 JEWISH from page 8 themed monument, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, shuttered its doors and used the shutdown for a fundraising pitch. “The founders of our Museum likely never envisioned a time of budget sequestration cuts and shutdown, but they did foresee the need for a museum supported by a unique public-private partnership,” it said. “Although the government ensures our permanence and federal funds keep the Museum building open and free to the public, our educational programs rely on contributions from members and donors like you.” An Oct. 9 commemoration of the Danish rescue of Jews during the Holocaust, which was to have featured prominent Danish Americans and a member of the Danish royal family, was postponed because of the shutdown. Obama administration officials and their allies on the Hill, mindful of the bipartisan breadth of support for Israel, emphasized how the shutdown was affecting the alliance. “The State Department’s ability to provide military assistance to Israel and other allies in the time frame that is expected and customary could be hindered depending on the length of the shutdown,” spokeswoman Marie Harf told reporters on Wednesday. Wendy Sherman, the third-ranked State Department official and one of those closest to the pro-Israel community, said in Senate testimony that sanctions on Iran are among the first affected by the shutdown. “Government shutdown empties offices enforcing sanctions on Iran,” she said. Staffers for national Jewish organizations say they already feel the absence of federal workers in their LEWIN from page 16 After his death, the intersection of Main and Vassar Streets in Cambridge, Mass., was renamed Danny Lewin Square in his honor. He left behind a widow and two sons. Lewin’s life captures everything positive about the American-Israeli collaboration in education, high technology, and military strategy. He also epitomizes the world struggle against barbarism.
SENIOR SERVICES
• • • • •
Up to 24 hour care Meal Preparation Errands/Shopping Hygiene Assistance Light Housekeeping
(513) 531-9600 day-to-day dealings with government. “At the federal level, the multifamily housing offices are skeletal,” said Rachel Goldberg, the director of aging policy at B’nai B’rith International, which runs a network of homes for the elderly across the country. “There’s no one for us to talk to if you need an answer to a question.” Some programs were in good shape for the short run, Goldberg said, because they had received funding just before Oct. 1, technically the first day of the new fiscal year. But cuts would soon be felt in Meals on Wheels and home health aids. William Daroff, the director of the Jewish Federations of North America, said many of the domestic issues with which his organization is concerned are being ignored while Congress grapples with the budget impasse. Among them is funding to secure the facilities of nonprofit buildings and special funding for elderly Holocaust survivors. “There’s no oxygen to spare for any other agenda,” Daroff said. Goldberg noted that basic care programs such as Social Security and federal medical care coverage for seniors and the poor remained relatively unaffected by the shutdown. But that could change should Congress and the White House fail to resolve a separate dispute by Oct. 17. At that point, the government risks going into default unless Congress extends its debt allowance. Social Security checks could stop within weeks of that point; it is unclear what would happen to Medicare and Medicaid. “That could be a game changer,” Goldberg said. “We’re urging people to tell their members of Congress that a debt ceiling stalemate is not something the country can do.” Steven Plaut is a native Philadelphian who teaches business finance and economics at the University of Haifa in Israel. He holds a PhD in economics from Princeton. He is author of the David Horowitz Freedom Center booklets about Hamas and “Jewish Enablers of the War Against Israel.” This column first appeared in FrontPage Magazine and is distributed with the permission of Steven Plaut.
20 • ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Incidentally, Iris Incidentally Iris
by Iris Ruth Pastor When our fourth son, Sam, unexpectedly brought home a lab puppy, I was less than overjoyed. He assured me she was house trained; I then watched in horror as she took a major dump on the family room sisal rug. I was furious. That was three years ago and she’s still with us, though not much has changed. In the early weeks, we observed Lola’s behavior. She loyally followed Sam around everywhere in the house. She cried shamelessly when he left her and yelped joyously when he returned. When he gave her the least little bit of attention, she responded with wild enthusiasm. When he wasn’t around, she morosely lumbered back to his room – snuggling under a pile of his dirty clothes or slinking back into her oversized cage. I kept harping on the fact that her behavior was inappropriate and bordering on offensive. Sam refused to put her on an antidepressant. “Big mistake,” I shouted at him one day. When Sam inquired about her behavior when at doggie day care, Sam was assured by the caretakers that she consistently was a model of friendliness to all the other dogs and regularly exhibited leadership ability, unbridled exuberance and social engagement. I found that hard to believe. We got indifference. And we got ignored. There was so little interaction that my husband and I began not-so-jokingly to refer to her as “the non-dog.” That was three years ago and she is still with us, though not much has changed. My husband tried many tactics. And he diligently incorporated into his behavior all the suggestions the vet offered on establishing a firmer bond with Lola: being the one to feed her; going with her on long solitary walks; playing catch in the side yard; taking her and picking her up at doggie day care. He even went as far as habitually going into Sam’s room each morning and night to lay beside her, talking softly. He was consistent in his routine dealings with her. He
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Eastern Tennessee: My hillbilly heaven
approached cautiously. He initiated no sudden movements. He spoke quietly. On the other hand, I mostly ignored her and she ignored me. I didn’t talk to a vet, read pet owning manuals, search the internet for answers. Still, I was bothered by her idiosyncratic ways. If I had friends over, she indifferently glanced at them and then meandered away. It was embarrassing. If I gave her a bone to chew on, she took it and sailed past me with nary a backward glance. It was disappointing. If I answered her scratches to be let in after being on the porch, she slunk past me as she made a bee line for Sam’s room. It was disheartening. If I longed for anything more, I was unaware of it until I began listening to other pet owner’s stories of affectionate bonding and joyous interaction. Barking loudly and protectively in their defense. Laying at their feet on a cold winter night. Hovering close by at dinner. It was painful to acknowledge how little we were getting back from Lola. That was three years ago and she is still with us, though not much has changed. The other day, Sam had just left for work and I walked to the front door on my way to watering the plants. Surprisingly, Lola had not immediately retreated to Sam’s room at the sound of the garage door closing. She was waiting patiently at the door for Sam’s return – though it would be many hours. When she saw me approach, she rolled over, put her hind legs up in the air and gently placed her front paw on my arm. Instinctively, but tentatively, I began to stroke her underbelly. She relaxed further into the floor and her body went at ease. We continued in this manner for minutes. Me stroking. Her breathing rhythmically. And then I roused myself to go water the plants and she galloped up the front stairs to Sam’s room. What did I learn from this encounter? Interacting with your dog is like interacting with your adult kids. Lower your expectations. Stop comparing. Accept their quirks. Embrace their essence. Savor the interactions. Be ready to engage when the opportunity is offered. And let the rest go. Keep coping, Iris Ruth Pastor
Wandering Jew
by Janet Steinberg The Ballad Of Gigglemoor Gigglemoor, O Gigglemoor, the Pride of Tennessee, The Prices have a wondrous place, it’s where I want to be. Gigglemoor, O Gigglemoor, the Pride of Tennessee, The Prices host a wondrous place, it’s where I want to be… Rob Croskery, Lt Colonel, retired, US Army. “What is Gigglemoor?” you might ask. It is just what it sounds like… with just a play on the spelling. It is truly a wondrous place where you can moor a boat, and giggle more. It is the home of dear friends where I vacationed in Vonore, Tennessee. “Why should I read about Vonore if I don’t have an invitation to vacation at Gigglemoor?” you might ask. Because Vonore, and the adjacent area, is a wondrous place to visit if you are looking for a relaxing, down-home, casual, beautiful, inexpensive, historic, lake vacation. “Where in the world is Vonore, Tennessee?” you might ask. Vonore is a tiny town in Eastern Tennessee, located at the confluence of the Little Tennessee River and the Tellico River. Vonore (population approximately 2000) has a total area of approximately 12 square miles of which approximately 9 square miles is land and 3 square miles is water. With 15,560 acres of surface and 357 miles of shoreline, Tellico Lake (at the foot of the Great Smoky Mountains) is a great place for relaxing and unwinding. Away from the hustle and bustle of the city, the Tellico Lake area offers Mother Nature’s mountains soaring beneath blue skies, recreation on placid waters, and tons of information for American History buffs. The 1200-acre Fort Loudoun State Park is the location of one of the earliest British fortifications on the western frontier. Today the fort, built in 1756, and the 1794 Tellico Blockhouse overlook TVA’s (Tennessee Valley Authority) Tellico Reservoir and the Appalachian Mountains. The colonial Fort Loudoun was reconstructed during the Great Depression and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1965. Nearby were the principal towns of the Cherokee Nation including Tenase… namesake of the state of Tennessee, and Tuskegee…birthplace
of the Cherokee genius Sequoyah who is commemorated in the Sequoyah Birthplace Museum. Sequoyah was born in 1776 in a log cabin in the former Cherokee village of Tuskeegee, which was within one-half mile from the Museum’s location. In 1986, the Eastern Band of Cherokee opened the Museum as a memorial to that illiterate man who perfected a system for reading and writing a language. Sequoyah never learned the English alphabet but he reduced the thousands of Cherokee thoughts to 85 symbols representing sounds. He made a game of this new writing system. In 1821, after 12 years of working on the new language, he introduced his syllabary to the Cherokee people. Within a few months, thousands of Cherokees became literate. By 1825, much of the Bible and numerous hymns had been translated into Cherokee. In 1928, the first national bi-lingual newspaper, the Cherokee Phoenix, was published. In recognition of his contributions, the Cherokee nation awarded Sequoyah a silver medal struck in his honor, and a lifetime literary pension. In Townsend, (one of three gateways to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park) Cades Cove is located in an isolated valley in the Tennessee section of the park. The valley was home to numerous settlers before the formation of the national park. Today Cades Cove, the single most popular destination for visitors to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, attracts more than two million visitors a year because of its well preserved homesteads, scenic mountain views, and abundant display of wildlife. You can drive the 11-mile winding, paved loop of Cades Cove in your own car or take a guided Heritage Tour in an Educational Touring Vehicle that operates from the Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center. Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center celebrates the cultural heritage of East Tennessee and the Great Smoky Mountains region. Eleven friends and I opted for The Cades Cove Heritage Tour that offered a unique experience that was a glimpse into East Tennessee’s history. Among the structures we visited in the Cades Cove Historic District (listed on the National Register of Historic Places) were the following:
The John Oliver Cabin was constructed circa 1822-1823 by the Cove’s first permanent European settlers. It has been reported that the Olivers spent the winter of 1818-1819 in an abandoned Cherokee hut, and built a crude structure the following year. The Oliver Cabin was built as a replacement for this first crude structure, which was located a few meters behind the cabin. The Primitive Baptist Church was constructed in 1887. The church was organized as the Cades Cove Baptist Church in 1827, and renamed “Primitive Baptist” after the Anti-missions Split in 1841. The Olivers are buried in its cemetery. The Tipton Place was built in the 1880s by the descendants of Revolutionary War veteran William “Fighting Billy” Tipton. The paneling on the house was a later addition. Along with the cabin, the homestead includes a carriage house, a smokehouse, a woodshed, and the oft-photographed double-cantilever barn. The John Cable Grist Mill was constructed in 1868. John P. Cable (1819-1891), a nephew of Peter Cable, had to construct a series of elaborate diversions along Mill Creek and Forge Creek to get enough water power for the mill’s characteristic overshot wheel. The Becky Cable House was constructed in 1879. This building, adjacent to the Cable Mill, was initially used by Leason Gregg as a general store. In 1887, he sold it to John Cable’s spinster daughter, Rebecca Cable (1844-1940). A Cable family tradition says that Rebecca never forgave her father and refused to marry after her father broke off one of her childhood romances. Various buildings have been moved from elsewhere in the cove and placed near the Cable mill, including a barn, a carriage house, a chicken coop, a molasses still, a sorghum press, and a replica of a blacksmith shop. Don’t leave Cades Cove without checking our their gift shop where you can purchase some Smokies’ tastes such as Sorghum Molasses, Pumpkin butter, and Hot Chow Chow. Then, too, you might want to purchase the books with such intriguing titles as “Corn from a Jar: Moonshining in the Great Smoky Mountains” or “Call Me Hillbilly”. TENNESSEE on page 22
Courtesy of Janet Steinberg
Gigglemoor: a wondrous place in Vonore, Tennessee.
FOOD / AUTOS • 21
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2013
All about food - Fall comfort Audi 2014 A6 Quattro 2.0 Zell’s Bites
by Zell Schulman The leaves are beginning to turn from summer green to fall yellow, gold, red and brown. Having put our succahs away, it is time to fill our freezers with comfort food. I have always tried to use the fruits and vegetables that hung in our succah to prepare two of my families favorites: vegetable soup and apple cake. I’m sure these will become your family favorites too. PATTY’s PORTUGUESE VEGETABLE SOUP Makes 10 servings My neighbor, Patty Minbiole, shared this family recipe with me. It is hearty and comforting for body and soul. Ingredients 1 – 1/2 pounds Kosher Polish smoked sausage 5 cups cold water, divided 1 – 14 oz. can kidney beans, drained and chopped 1 – 14 oz. can garbanzo beans 1 – 14 oz. can northern beans, drained 2 carrots, diced 1 small head of cabbage, coarsely chopped 1 onion, finely chopped 2 small white potatoes, dices 1/2 green pepper chopped 1 clove garlic, minced 1 – 29 oz. can tomato sauce Method 1. Place the sausage in a 3 quart saucepan, with 2 cups of the water. Simmer for 30 – 45 minutes. Add the remaining water plus the beans, carrots, cabbage, onion, potatoes, green pepper, garlic, and tomato sauce. 2. Simmer 1-1/2 hours stirring every now and then. Zell's Tips: I prepare this soup early in the day, and allow it to cool to room temperature before I place it in the refrigerator overnight.The next day, I divide it into containers and freeze it or share it with family and friends. APPLE CAKE SUPREME Serves 10 to 12
This apple cake really needs the 2 hour baking time. It is also important to grease and flour the pan well, so the cake comes out easily when you invert it on a cake rack for cooling. The cake baking tips that follow this recipe are some I have learned from my years of cooking and baking. Ingredients 3 cups all purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon. sale 3 teaspoons baking powder 1 cup sunflower oil 4 eggs 1/3 cup orange juice 2 – 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract 2 – 1/2 cups sugar 2 Granny Smith apples, seeded and quartered 2 Jonathan apples, seeded and quartered 2 teaspoons. cinnamon 3 teaspoons sugar for the apples 1/2 cup. golden raisins softened in hot water, and drained Method Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour a large bundt or tube (angel food) pan. Sift the flour, salt and baking powder into a large bowl. Set aside. Place the oil, eggs, orange and vanilla into the bowl of your electric mixer. Mix on medium speed until smooth. Add the sugar and mix well. Add the sifted dry ingredients. Begin mixing on low speed for about 30 seconds, then turn speed to medium and mix 1 minute. Fold in the raisins. Place the batter in a large bowl and set aside. Slice the apples into a large bowl. Add the cinnamon and sugar. Mix well. Alternate placing layers of batter and layers of apples into the prepared pan. Bake for 2 hours. Remove from the oven, and cool in the pan on a cake rack for 15 minutes. Then invert the cake onto the rack and allow to cool completely. Zell’s Cake Baking Tips Have your eggs at room temperature. Measure all ingredients before beginning to mix the cake. Grease and flour your pan extremely well. Don’t use sprays. If using a food processor, empty the batter into a large bowl. so you can use the processor to slice your apples. Press the apples down into each batter layer with the back of a spoon or spatula, as this distributes the apples easier when the cake is baking.
Beauty is in the details. Take a closer look and discover why every Audi is worthy of wearing the four rings. Follow the progressive lines through the subtle curves to the distinctive profile. The interplay yields an aerodynamic brilliance that's as pleasurable tearing down an open stretch of road as it is staring at it in the driveway. Set your eyes on the design of the Audi A6 and you'll know it transcends trend. Its dynamic form, iconic LED lighting technology and subtle details—like Aluminum trim and dual exhaust—express confident elegance. On the inside, the dashboard's wraparound curve envelops you. Add in the supple leather seating surfaces, finely crafted Wood inlays, and precise controls, and this is an instant classic. The 2014 Audi A6 is available in six trim levels – 2.0T Premium, 2.0T Premium Plus, 3.0T Prestige, TDI Premium and TDI Prestige. The numbers and letters denote the engine fitted (a 2.0 – liter turbocharged four, a 3.0 – liter supercharged V6 or a 3.0 – liter six–cylinder diesel). Standard equipment for the 2.0T Premium includes 17 – inch wheels, Audi Drive Select (adjustable modes for steering, throttle and transmission), automatic headlights and wipers, heated mirrors, a sunroof, an auto–dimming rearview mirror, triple–zone automatic climate control, heated front seats with eight–way power (includes four–way lumbar adjustments), leather upholstery, a tilt and telescoping steering wheel, Bluetooth phone connectivity, Audi’s MMI electronics interface, a 6.5–inch display and a 1–speaker sound system with a CD player, sattellite radio and an iPod interface. The 2014 Audi A6 offers one of the finest cabins in its class, with an attractive dash layout, excellent materials quality and solid fit and finish.
Audi 2014 A6 Quattro 2.0
22 • OBITUARIES
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D EATH N OTICES
SKIRBALL from page 6
STROMBERG, Ethel, age 90, died on Sepember 5, 2013; 1 Tishrei 5774
2014. Athird event offered this fall will be the unveiling of Maria Lugossy’s sculpture commemorating the 75th anniversary of Kristallnacht on Sunday, November 10. When Rabbi Jonathan Cohen, Dean of the Cincinnati campus of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR), announced the appointment of Schwartz on July 1, he said, “Abby Schwartz bring extraordinary talent, energy, and experience to the Skirball Museum and our entire CollegeInstitute community. As our Skirball Museum grows and develops, we look forward to her assuming this leadership role. I have every confidence that Abby Schwartz will raise the profile of the
FUNK, Beverly R., age 82, died on October 2, 2013; 28 Tishrei, 5774 UNGAR, Thomas W., age 78, died on October 6, 2013; 3 Cheshvan, 5774
O BITUARIES STROMBERG, Ethel Ethel Stromberg nee Lehrner was born in Cincinnati, Ohio on April 10, 1923 to Max Lehrner and Lillian Lehrner nee Hymon. She graduated from Western Hills High School. Ethel served in the Coast Guard Women’s Reserve (SPARa) in World War II. She worked for many years as a bookkeeper and in real estate along with raising her family. Ethel was married to the late Sidney Stromberg who passed away in Florida in 2009. Ethel was very family oriented and her home in Florida was always open to her many nieces, nephews, and their children. She celebrated her 90th birthday in Cincinnati, OH with 65 of them. Ethel and her husband had a passion for travel. They travelled often and visited all 48 states in the Continental United States. Ethel (Lehrner) Stromberg, Beloved wife of the late Sidney Stromberg passed away at the age of 90 in Pembrokes Pine, Florida on Thursday September 5, 2013, the first day of Rosh Hashanah 5774. She is the sister of Irvin (Doris) Lehrner and the late Abe (Alna) Lehrner and Leon (Ann Gertzman) Lehrner. Devoted aunt of Janet (Howard) Smith, Marlene (Wilbur) Falhaber, Susan (Lehrner) Connerton, Harvey and Mark Lehrner, Mara (Lehrner) (Don) Beskin, and Andrea (Roger) Carroll.
BUTLER from page 7 decisions about how to carry out the extermination of the Jews. He displayed an August 1942 cablegram from the World Jewish Congress which was "the first official notice to American Jewry that the mechanized destruction of the Jews was underway". He added that remarkably, it only made it to page 10 of the New York Times. Dr. Zola then asked the attendees what this had to do with director Lee Daniels, the movie "The Butler", and YOSEF from page 10 Outside the religious community, Yosef was best known for his sometimes controversial political stances. His authority within Shas was virtually absolute, and even in his ninth decade he remained closely involved in the party’s decisions. While Yosef favored policies that served the religious community’s interests, he also supported peace treaties involving Israeli withdrawal from conquered territory. He argued that such deals were allowed under Jewish law
Skirball Museum in our community and beyond, enhance its programs, and increase its contribution to the cultural life of our region.” With over 30 years of museum experience, Schwartz is the former curator of education at the Taft Museum of Art, where she oversaw all educational programming, was responsible for the training and continuig education of docent volunteers, curated temporary exhibitions, and served as staff liaison to the Robert S. Duncanson Society. She has lectured widely on Jewish art, notably at the Melton School. She co-curated an exhibition of Jewish and Christian devotional objects with the Skirball Museum, and served as general editor for the publication Artisti Expressions of Faith in Judaism, Christianity, and
Islam, first place winner of the 1998 Ohio Museums Association Visual Communications Award in the book/catalogue category. Schwartz said, “I am delighted to be involved with the effort to increase the visibility of the Skirball Museum, which has so much to offer. I look forward to working with colleagues both within HUC-JIR and in the larger Cincinnati community to expand the museum’s reach and reputation.” Schwartz earned her bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Rochester, where she graduated cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, and a master’s degree in art history from the University of Cincinnati. She is the recipient of the 2000 Museum Educator of the Year award from the Ohio Art Education Association and
was the recipient of the 2003 National Art Education Association’s Museum Educator Award for the Western Region. A former high school humanities teacher and Taft Museum of Art docent, Schwartz was affiliated with the Museum for 28 years before her retirement in 2007. She has served as national coordinator of Jewish American Heritage Month since June of 2009. She has been involved with The Search for the Spiritual Through Art lecture series since its inception in 1995, first as a Taft Museum staff member, and in recent years as a volunteer Schwartz is married to Dr. David Schwartz, and has two married children.
the civil rights movement. He answered his own query when he said that the "failure and apathy of the world toward Jews in Europe transformed American Jewry after the war." The idea of injustice "became intolerable" to many Jews, and "caused them to become involved in the civil rights movement." Dr. Zola spoke about Rabbi Joachim Prinz, who put all of his energies into the civil rights movement when he came to the United States from Europe in 1937. He was the head of the American Jewish Congress in
1963, and he led the organization to join the March on Washington by civil rights leaders that year. Prinz's speech at the march immediately preceded that of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. Zola said he had been quoting Rabbi Prinz for 50 years in a sermon he entitled "The Sins of Silence". Dr. Otis Moss, one of the attendees at the event, was introduced by Dr. Zola as among the youngest pastors in Cincinnati during this time, whose pulpit was at the Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Lockland, now Woodlawn. Zola
said Dr. King asked Moss to help him mobilize the Cincinnati community to participate in the March on Washington. Many local Rabbis joined him on the trip to Washington, including Wise Temple's Albert Goldman and Rockdale Temple's Murray Blackman. When they came back from the trip to Cincinnati, they came back with a mandate according to Dr. Zola. This led to a march on Fountain Square shortly thereafter, in support of civil rights, which included over 30,000 people
because they saved Jewish lives. In the 1990s and 2000s, Shas joined left-wing governing coalitions multiple times, allowing for the advancement of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process – though Yosef opposed the 2005 Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip because it was done unilaterally. In his later years, Yosef also stirred controversy with a number of inflammatory statements, often made at a weekly Saturday-night sermon. In 2000, he said that Holocaust victims were reincarnated sinners, and in 2005 he said that the victims of Hurricane Katrina deserved the tragedy “because they have no God.” In 2010, Yosef said, “The sole purpose of non-Jews is to serve Jews.” “Rabbi Ovadia was a giant in Torah and Jewish law and a teacher for tens of thousands,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement Monday. “He worked greatly to enhance Jewish heritage and at the same time, his rulings took into consideration the times and the realities of renewed life in the State of Israel. He was imbued with love of the Torah and the people.” Ovadia Yosef was born Abdullah
Yosef in Baghdad, Iraq, on Sept. 23, 1920. Four years later his family moved to Jerusalem, in what was then Palestine, where Yosef studied at the Porat Yosef yeshiva, a well-regarded Sephardic school. At 20, he received ordination as a rabbinic judge, and at 24 he married Margalit Fattal. She died in 1994. Yosef began serving as a rabbinic judge in 1944, and in 1947 moved to Cairo to head the rabbinic court in the Egyptian capital, returning in 1950. He continued serving as a religious judge until becoming Sephardic chief rabbi of Tel Aviv in 1968, a position he held until he was elected Sephardic chief rabbi of Israel in 1973. During that period, he began publishing his wellknown works, beginning with his Passover Haggadah, “Hazon Ovadia,” in 1952. In 1970, the government awarded him the prestigious Israel Prize in recognition of his books. Yosef defeated a sitting chief rabbi in the 1973 election, itself a controversial move. In the wake of the Yom Kippur War that year, he ruled that women whose husbands were missing in action could remarry. Later in his term, he endorsed the Ethiopian Jews’
claim to Judaism, helping them immigrate to Israel under the Law of Return. Yosef founded Shas in 1984, one year after finishing his term as chief rabbi. The party now holds 11 Knesset seats. Save for four years, Shas was part of every governing coalition between 1984 and 2013, acting as a kingmaker in Israeli politics. Because the party represents both haredi and poor Sephardim, it advocates a unique mix of dovish foreign policy, conservative religious policy and liberal economic policy. Yosef took an active role in shaping Shas through this year’s elections, heading a council of rabbis that chose the party’s slate and mediating leadership conflicts. What was most impressive about Yosef, says Friedman, was his influence over almost every aspect of Sephardic religious and political life – making it unlikely that another rabbi will be able to take his place. “He’ll create an empty space politically and an empty space religiously,” Friedman said. “He was a source of strength and great control in Middle Eastern Jewish religious society. I don’t know what will happen.”
TENNESSEE from page 20
the season. The River Rock Bar & Grill, perched on a floating dock at the Sequoyah Marina & Resort on the corner of Lake Tellico and the Little Tennessee River, is an inviting downhome destination. Hot dogs, served with every imaginable condiment, were the favorite order of the day with our group. And each one looked better than the next. My time in Eastern Tennessee was
an eye-opener for this big city gal. It reinforced one of life’s best lessons, gleaned from a few words beneath a Smoky bear in the Cades Cove gift shop. The words went like this: “Live large. Climb beyond your limitations. When life gets hairy, grin and bear it. Eat well. Live with the season. Take a good, long nap. Look after your honey!” Right on, Smoky. I’ll keep on doing that
Sequoyah Marina & Resort is one of the premier destinations in the region! Located at the edge of Lake Tellico’s clean, blue waters, the new lakefront cabins offer the privacy of wooded seclusion with unobstructed lake and mountain views and direct water access. Cabins that sleep from 6 to 8 people are priced from $149 per night to $269 per night depending on the time of week and
AI
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