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in this issue DEC EM BER 5, 2014 ‚ 13 TH OF KIS LEV V, 5775

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TIM E WELL SPEN T Are you making the most of your time?

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The Observant Jew

Time Well Spent RABBI JONATHAN GEWIRTZ

W

hen I was younger, I had an interesting pastime. I would take a calculator and punch in 250,000. That was the number of dollars you could win as the Grand Prize in the Publisher’s Clearinghouse Sweepstakes. It was a fortune! I would then start subtracting. I’d buy myself a car (great for when I would be old enough to drive,) I’d give this much to other people, and so on and so forth.

One purchase I remember thinking about was that I would buy a big shed from Sears, and then buy a bunch of video games (back in the early 1980’s that was superstardom,) and I’d open an arcade. I think I did remember that I’d need to buy some extension cords, and figure out lighting, but in retrospect, I was spending money to make money.

Why not just hold onto the money I had and use it wisely?

It reminds me of the story I heard years later about the actor who was paid a million dollars per episode for his role in a weekly show, who was seen in a gas station convenience store scratching instant lottery tickets. What’s the deal there?

Is he looking to make a million dollars in ten minutes instead of a week? Does he need to look further?

Now, though I suggested that this pastime was precisely that, in the past, that’s not entirely true. When the MegaMillions jackpot gets very high (not the Powerball, I don’t buy that since they raised it to two dollars,) I will often buy a ticket “just to give HaShem the opportunity to make me fabulously wealthy.” Now, of course, He doesn’t need me to give Him a chance. If He wanted, HaShem could make me find the winning lottery ticket on the street,

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or stuck to my windshield after a rainstorm.

When I’ve bought the ticket, though, I start to decide how I’ll spend it. Now, of course, I start with maaser (tithing), and not the 10% kind, we’re talking full-blown 20% here! I pause to think about how much that will be. OK, so, if I win 100 million dollars, figure after withholding for taxes and the lump-sum payout, that comes to 42 million. So, that’s like eight and a half million dollars of maaser. That’s a lot of good I can do!

I start thinking about the people to whom I’ll give a checkbook with $100,000 in it to be used as needed.

(This way they don’t pay taxes on a gift.

See how thoughtful I am??) I think about who I can help with their business ideas, and ok, I need to have a certain amount for my family, down to supporting my great-grandkids in Kollel if they want, and soon my fortune has been neatly allocated.

One evening, after I’d bought a ticket, and, of course, promised HaShem that I would share, I started thinking about what I’d do with the money. Then it hit me. I’m spending time thinking about the money I don’t have. Let me repeat that – I’m spending TIME I DO HAVE on money I don’t!

We hit the jackpot every day, when HaShem gives us 86,400 seconds to live. Do we worry as much about how we will spend that? We talk about killing time, and it’s been said that there is no more apropos expression. By wasting time, we’re wasting life.

OK, you say, but you can’t do much with a few seconds. I beg to differ. A Rav told me that he once attended a siyum

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Mishnayos made by a seventy-year old man. He wasn’t that impressed, as he had finished all six orders of the Mishna at a much younger age. Then he found out that this was a siyum the man was making on Mishnayos he learned when stopped at traffic lights!

OK, you say, but you don’t know Mishna well enough to study them on the road. But there’s a very simple thing you can remember and when you have a “spare minute” you can spend it wisely. (Spoiler alert: I’ve mentioned this before.)

The very first Rem”a in Orach Chaim (hence it is also the first Rem”a in a volume of Mishna Berura) begins by saying, “‘I place G-d before Me at all times’ is a great rule of Torah.” The Biur Halacha elaborates and says there are six mitzvos, outlined in the Sefer HaChinuch, which are constantly incumbent on a Jew – at every moment of every day. This concept was so beloved that many other Gedolim included it in their own writings.

Not only is one required to think about them all the time, but any time he focuses on them, he gets a mitzvah, and there is no limit to the amount of reward he gets for doing so. What that means is, if you’re waiting in line at the gas station, or at the bank or post office, you could be racking up the dollars in Heaven simply by thinking about six items. You should never be bored, therefore, because you constantly have something to do and ponder.

The six mitzvos are as follows: 1. To believe that there is one G-d in this world Who caused everything to exist and watches over this world.

2. Not to have any other gods or believe that any other entity has power outside of G-d.

3. To think of G-d as one-of-a-kind, as we say, Shema Yisrael, HaShem Elokeinu HaShem Echad, Hear O Israel, G-d is our L-rd, G-d is one.

4. To love G-d by studying His Torah and getting to know Him. 5. To have fear of G-d upon him at all times so he does not sin. When temptation arises, he should make himself aware that G-d is watching him and tracking every action and thought.

6. He should not follow the impulses of his heart (or what comes “naturally”) or his eyes.

OK, you say, but who can remember to remember these things? I’m glad you asked. I’m giving you a gift today. If

you remember this little limerick, you will be able to capitalize on your time, and maximize the benefit of the extra seconds you have. Once you remember it, you can think about and reflect upon the things it references. I’ve told it to people before, but it bears repeating. In the grand scheme of things, it is better than hitting the lottery.

Here it is. I hope you cut it out and post it somewhere, commit it to memory, and teach it to your children. It will make your life richer than you can imagine.

HaShem is my G-d, so unique, (That’s Emuna and Yichud) And no other gods will I seek.

(That’s Lo Yihiyeh) I love Him each day, (That’s Ahava) In a most reverent way, (There’s Yirah) And after my eyes I won’t sneak. (That’s Lo Sasuru.)

HaShem is my G-d, so unique, And no other gods will I seek.

I love Him each day, In a most reverent way, And after my eyes I won’t sneak.

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Think of this often and you’ll be the real winner.

Chanuka is coming! Why not give your family the gift that will keep on giving? With easy-to-read, humorous insights that strengthen bitachon, midos tovos, and simchas hachaim, The Observant Jew, a compilation of some of Rabbi Gewirtz’s best articles from years past, is a perfect choice.

Look for it in your favorite Jewish Book Store or visit Feldheim.com and see what a difference it can make!

Jonathan Gewirtz is an inspirational writer and speaker whose work has appeared in publications around the world. He also operates JewishSpeechWriter.com, where you can order a custom-made speech for your next special occasion.

Sign up for the Migdal Ohr, his weekly PDF Dvar Torah in English. E-mail info@JewishSpeechWriter. com and put Subscribe in the subject. © 2014 by Jonathan Gewirtz. All rights reserved.

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15

Winds of Change Transform the Valley

D

uring the summer of 2011, Rabbi Mordechai Shiffman arrived to serve as the new Head of School at Emek Hebrew Academy Teeichman Family Torah Center. He brought with him a positive attitude, a strong Talmudic background, an MBA, and a willingness to introduce real change. Change is almost always difficult especially when dealing with a whole community of facultyy, staff, students, and families. Change may also be refreshing, like clicking on that little wheel at the top left of an internet page.

As that wheel spins, bringing in new information and re-establishing the pieces of unchanged data, we wait in anticipation of what will show up as new and challenging, eliciting our attention and purposeful action.

At Emek that wheel started turning bit by bit, gathering real momentum in all areas of the institution. With Rabbi Shifm man’s leadership and the support of a strong Board of Directors Emek is growing and flourishing. Upon Rabbi Shifm man’s arrival in the summer of 2011, Emek’s registration was at less than 500

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students for that fall. Rabbi Shifma m n expects the student population to burgeon to over 700 before the end of December

The entire entire academic academic ccurriculum, urriculum, ttechnological echnological rresources, esources, aand nd L imudei K odesh Limudei Kodesh pprograms rograms ha ve been been have rreviewed, eviewed, rretooled, etooled, aand nd rreintroduced eintroduced w with ith ma many ny ooff the the latest latest ttechniques echniques in educational educational ttheory heory in and and ppractice ractice iin n pplay. lay. this year. The staff has grown proportionately with cutting-edge educational professionals serving as administrators to the ECC (Mrs. Bernice Zachariash), elementary (Mrs. Michelle Andron), middle school (Mrs. Tova Bayever) and Limudei Kodesh departments (Rabbi Levi Solomon, a 20+ year Emek veteran). Emek teachers and classroom aides receive unconditional support for

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innovaative sugggestions and professional development requests.

Each member of the Emek community feels the shift that has brought renewal and excitement to the 54 year old institution, its staff and facultyy, and especially its student body. With a strong Ahavat Yisrael emphasis, the school has recommitted itself to be of service to the whole Jewish populaation and invites you to join in the excitement. Emek serves a diverse populaation with one thing in common, the desire for spiritual growth.

The entire academic curriculum, technological resources, and Limudei Kodesh programs haave been reviewed, retooled, and reintroduced with many of the latest techniques in educational theory and practice in play.

To service its diverse population Emek has introduced a Mechina track for students with weaker backgrounds as well as an accelerated Masmidim track for those who will be seeking a high school with a strong Torah program.

Emek has partnered with Center for Initiatives in Jewish Education to bring

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21st Century innovative programming and cutting-edge technology to our students. The school will be piloting a blended learning model using technology in the classrooms that will afford our students the greatest level of individualization in a group setting.

The new Lookstein Center “Israel throughout the Year” curriculum offers a creative, project-based program of study, providing a strong foundation in Israeli history, culture, and tradition, building a strong passion for our land and its people.

The innovative L’havin U L’haskil Chumash study technique breaks down the required skills for decoding, translation, and comprehension so that each child may move along at his/her own pace, using state-of-the-art evaluation tools.

As part of educating the “whole child”, Emek has upgraded its sports programming to include competitive basketball for both boys and girls, soccer and “Girls on the Run” for our girls.

There is also an after school drama option for our girls.

Emek’s Early Childhood program has revamped its curricular offerings to include a new science program, Hebrew immersion, the CapiT Hebrew reading program and “Mommy and Me”.

For more information about our programming please visit our website @ www.emek.org . To tour our school please contact Mrs. Sandra R’bibo, our Director of Admissions and Marketing @ 818-783-3663 or email srbibo@emek.org

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Lights, Camera...Torah!

If ‘Torah is a Journey,’ Then This California Rabbi is an Ultimate Tour Guide In the summer of 2009, Rabbi Yehoshua B. Gordon sat down to give a class in the tastefully appointed Chabad center—Chabad of the Valley in Encino, Calif.—that he had founded with his wife, Deborah, in 1973. It was a class like any other, except that there was a camera in the room, allowing hundreds of people around the world to listen in as he taught Tanya, the foundational work of Chabad philosophy, along with the daily portion of Chumash and Rashi.

Rabbi Gordon had been teaching the class for many years, but he had always resisted recording. Due to the persistence of Daniel Aharonoff, a regular attendee, the rabbi finally agreed to allow the camera into the room.

Following the daily study cycle, the rabbi taught his quickly growing audience all of Tanya, Chumash and Rashi, until every portion had been recorded.

The recordings remain on Jewish.tv, where thousands continue to study them on a daily basis.

The group then began studying Mishneh Torah, Maimonides’ codification of Jewish law, following the three-year track established by the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory.

With a month to go until Dec. 14, when the final chapter of Mishneh Torah will be studied this year and the en-

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“Learning Torah is a journey. We’re always going somewhere, progressing to another plane. You never know what you can achieve.”

all walks of life. Since we cannot record on Shabbat, we record an extra session on Fridays. We have breakfast, and everyone settles down to the subject at hand.

Q: How have you seen your students change with time?

A: They’ve experienced learning in a way they’ve never had before. Some of them have minimal formal Jewish education, tire 1,017-chapter series will have been so this is a real eye-opener for them. recorded, Rabbi Gordon took time to There is no similar experience to learnshare his thoughts and ruminations. ing Mishneh Torah, which systematically Q: Can you perhaps give us a little feel goes through every single facet of Jewish RI ZKDW LWqV OLNH IRU WKRVH OHDUQLQJ ZLWK law. They walk away with a radically different level of knowledge. It’s what the you?

A: It has been exhilarating and exciting Rebbe hand in mind when he started the for us—both for those of us in the room campaign, that people should learn the whole Torah. and for those listening in from all around The class records an extra session on the world. Here in California, we have a Fridays, in lieu of Shabbat. core group of 20 to 25 devoted students who come every day to study—profes- 4 1RZ WKDW \RXqYH FRPSOHWHG WKH F\sionals, business people and others from cle, will the class continue?

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mother, of blessed memory, was nearing the end of her life, she was living for extended periods of time with my sister, Bluma Rivkin, in New Orleans. At that time, she was watching my class on a daily basis. Before the holiday of Sukkot, my sister said to my mother that she hoped she would be well enough to come down to the sukkah. Suddenly, the non-Jewish aide popped up, saying, “but we learned with Rabbi Gordon that a person who’s not well is exempt from dwelling in the sukkah.”

A: It’s all online, so now we are going on to the next project: learning a page of Talmud every day. We will not be following any particular cycle, but we do plan on studying around one page a day. We’ll begin with the first tractate, Berachot, and then we’ll see from there.

4 ,WqV EHHQ VR PDQ\ \HDUV WKDW \RX KDYH EHHQ WHDFKLQJ RQOLQH :KDW NHHSV \RX PRWLYDWHG WR GR WKLV HYHU\ VLQJOH day?

A: I guess you can say it’s in my DNA. My father, Rabbi Sholom B. Gordon, of blessed memory, taught in his synagogue in New Jersey every day for nearly 60 years, and it’s something he taught his children to do as well. Parenthetically, in his early-morning daily class, my father taught Mishnah over many years, completing all six orders many times.

Sometimes, he would study with two or three people, and sometimes with 10 or 15; it made no difference. Imagine if the Internet would have been accessible then as it is now; the world would have been able to study with him. There are many scholars more learned than myself, but I’ve been given the gift of clarity, the ability to make things simple and understandable. One of my greatest joys comes from hearing from people who tell me that they learn with me regularly, and that they now understand better than they did before.

4 'R \RX JHW D ORW RI IHHGEDFN" A: Oh, yes. I hear from someone just about every day. I travel widely, and I often meet strangers who tell me that they “know” me because they learn from my classes on Chabad. org. It’s incomparable to anything else—an aspect of life that I never imagined—and it’s wonderful.

4 <RX DUH WKH UDEEL RI D EXVWOLQJ FRQJUHJDWLRQ DQG RYHUVHH D VWULQJ RI &KDEDG FHQWHUV DOO RYHU &DOLIRUQLDqV San Fernando Valley. How do you find time to prepare DQG GHOLYHU WKHVH FODVVHV RQ D GDLO\ EDVLV" A: I’ve been asked that by many of my peers as well. My answer is that for me, this is the greatest therapeutic gift there can be. At all other times, my mind is always wandering as I think about the pressing issues of the day. When I’m preparing—and especially, when I am teaching—a class and I know that it will be recorded and I need to get it right, I’m able to push myself to focus 100 percent. If anything, this is my most relaxing moment of the day.

Students meet over breakfast, and walk away with a “radically different level of knowledge.”

4 <RX DUH DERXW WR HQG RQH DUHD RI 7RUDK DQG EHJLQ another. How does that feel?

A: Learning Torah is a journey. We’re always going somewhere, progressing to another plane. You never know what you can achieve. It’s been an exhilarating experience so far, and I expect the Talmud class to be even more so.

Q: Can anyone learn?

A: I believe so. Here is a delightful anecdote: When my Article & Photo Credit by chabad.org.

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: (left to right) Nine of the 10 2014 All Stars -- David Schizer; Josh Meier; Henry Swieca; Barry Simon; Saul Blinkoff; event host, Jew in the City’s Allison Josephs; Estee Ackerman; Mindy Pollak; Joyce Azria; Yael Federbush.

“JJew iin the City i ” All-S l Stars Third Annual r2UWKRGR[ -HZLVK $OO 6WDUVs DZDUGV DQG JDOD 'HF LQ 1<& FHOHEUDWHV -HZLVK SULGH DPLG JURZLQJ DQWL 6HPLWLVP

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ore than 300 Jews from across the religgiious spectrum from Hasidic to secular gathered for the Third Annual Orthodox Jewish All Stars Awards red-carpet event this week at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York, honoring those who proudly observe Jewish tradition while rising to the heights e sions. Jew in the Cityy, the of their profes organization dedicaated to re-branding Orthodox Jews and Judaism through digital mediaa, hosted the gala.

Among this year’s 10 Orthodox Jewish All Stars are Forbes maagazine-ranked hedge fund manaager aan nd philanthropist Henry Swieca; BCBGeneration Creative Director Joyce Azria; and Columbia Law School Dean Emeritus David Schizer. This diverse and accomplished group also includes: Saul Blinkoff, Disney animaator and film director; Profeessor Marta Wei e nstock-R Rosin, 2014 Israel Prize winner in medicine who developed a drug to slow dementia caused

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by Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s; Yael Federbush, four-time Emmy-winning producer at “The Todaay Show”; Profes e sor Barry Simon, 2012 Henri Poincaré prize winner for outstanding achievements in maathemaatical physics; Josh Meierr, 4th plaace winner of the 2014 Intel Prize and named “One of the Eight Whiz Kids Who Are the Future of Medicine” by CNN; Estee Ackerman, table tennis phenom ranked sixth in the country in her division and a 2016 Olympic hopeful; and Mindy Pollak, a Montreal councilwoman who made history last fall as the first Hasidic woman ever to be elected to public office. “ When we created this award in 2012, we focused on shaattering people’s misconceptions about Orthodox Jews aan nd what they could accomplish professionally. Last year, when Chanuka kah historically intersected with Thanksgivingg,, we celebrated the religious freedoms that exist in the world todayy, which allow people of all faiths to ex-

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cel in a variety of career paths.” said Allison Josephs, Jew in the City founder and director.

“This year, our message is our most crucial one yet: With anti-Semitic attacks on the rise across the globe, we are celebrating 10 individuals who proudly observe Jewish traditions as they’ve soared to the tops of their fields.”

Adds Josephs: “Increased anti-Semitism is a threat to all Jews and should concern all good people, but the reality is that those who look the most Jewish (i.e. the Orthodox Jewish community) are the most visible targets. These Orthodox Jewish All Stars serve as a poignant reminder that you can be a proud religious Jew and still be highly successful. No one should feel the need to hide his Judaism or observance. We must never cower in the face of antiSemitism.”

Past Orthodox Jewish All Stars have included former Senator Joe Lieberman, Top Ten Billboard Recording Artist Alex Clare, New York Times bestselling novelist, and Faye Kellerman who all appeared in the inaugural All Stars video in 2012. Last year’s list included Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, Nobel Laureate Robert Aumann, and advertising agency 360i CEO, Sarah Hofstetter.

Many of this year’s and previous year’s All Stars and other prominent guests attended the awards party in downtown Manhattan Dec. 2, including nine of the latest winners. Notables included Ethan Zohn, a “Survivor Africa” winner, cancer survivor and founder of the organization “Grassroots Soccer”; the Hasidic girl-band “Bullet-Proof Stockings”; and a member of the YouTube sensations the Maccabeats.

Attendees enjoyed music, wine, and a dairy Chanukah-themed dinner including latke and donut bars. The event was emceed by Hasidic comic Mendy Pellin, a 2012 Orthodox Jewish All Star

THE COMPLETE LIST OF 2014 ORTHODOX JEWISH ALL STARS: Business and Industry:

Joyce Azria, Henry Swieca Law and Government:

Mindy Pollack, David Schizer Sports and Entertainment:

Estee Ackerman, Saul Blinkoff, Yael Federbush Science and Medicine:

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who the New York Times called “Stephen Colbert with a beard and a black hat.” A short film featuring several of the All Stars and how they’ve balanced career and observance premiered at the gala as well.

(left to right) Joyce Azria, 2014 All Star, Creative Director BCBGeneration; and Allison Josephs, founder and director Jew in the City.

Jew in the City, founded and directed by Josephs, harnesses the power of social media to break down stereotypes about religious Jews and offer a humorous, meaningful look into Orthodox Judaism.

Through a website ( JewintheCity.com), YouTube channel (where its videos that have been viewed over a million of times), and via Facebook and Twitter Jew in the City explains important Jewish concepts like Shabbat, keeping kosher, and mikvah, and tackles difficult topics like the Orthodox Jewish approach to homosexuality, feminism, and conversion. With a mix of light humor and rich content, Jew in the City explores these topics in a pleasant and easy to understand fashion, appealing to anyone who is curious to learn more about Orthodox Jews and observant Judaism, whether Jewish or not.

Josephs was named one of the Jewish Week’s 36 Under 36 in 2013 and one of NJOP’s Top Ten Jewish Influencers in 2012. She began studying Torah with actress Mayim Bialik in 2004 and is often quoted in the media on issues relating to Jewish life and observance. Josephs provides Orthodox Jewish Cultural Diversity training to top corporations such as Con Edison and NYU Langone Medical Center and also gives inspirational lectures across North America. She has been featured or published in The Wall Street Journal, The Daily Beast, Yahoo News, the Jewish Press, and The Forward, among other publications. Josephs, who is married with four children, has been involved in the field of Jewish education and outreach for over a dozen years, and received her Bachelor of Arts from Columbia University in Philosophy.

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L-R: Ezra Friedlander - CEO - The Friedlander Group, Rabbi Sheftel Neuberger - President - Ner Israel Rabbinical College, Stanley G. Tate - former chairman of the Resolution Trust Corp., Jason Lyons - Master of Ceremonies, Simcha Lyons Co-chair, Senator Mark Kirk, Senator Charles Schumer, Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen Chairman emeritus of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and Chairman of the Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa, Representative Mario Díaz-Balart, Representative Jerry Nadler, Senator Mike Lee

U.S. & Israel: A Valued Friendship Congress Identifies with Israel in the aftermath of Jerusalem Synagogue Massacre at Tribute highlighting IRON DOME

BY SANDY ELLER THE FRIEDLANDER GROUP 30

Emotions ran high at a bi-partisan “Tribute to the U.S. Israel Security Alliance” at the Russell Senate Office Building, co-chaired

by Elliot Gibber, Stanley G. Tate, Simcha Lyons and Jason Lyons and organized by The Friedlander Group in honor of the U.S. Israel relationship and special appreciation for Iron Dome funding.

Several speakers made reference to the bloody massacre, noting that it highlighted the significance of the special bond between the two countries and brought out passionate identification with the State of Israel in the aftermath of the brutal murder in the Jerusalem synagogue.

Tehilim (Psalms) in memory of the 5 kedoshim (murdered) was recited by Rabbi Sheftel Neuberger of Ner Yisroel of Baltimore.

“We tragically received yet another reminder of the importance of this very relationship, of this very alliance that we have to

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both countries,” remarked Senator Mike Lee of Utah.

“You have this kind of random murder and you see Hamas celebrating and people dancing in the streets of Gaza,” said New York Congressman Jerry Nadler. “How can you trust any kind of agreement with people like this?”

Master of Ceremonies Jason Lyons introduced Senator Ted Cruz by acknowledging the recent event where Senator Cruz walked off the stage after being booed for supporting Israel. Lyons told the Senator, “this much I can guarantee, you will not be booed off the stage here.” Indeed, the crowd gave Cruz a minute long standing ovation and applauded enthusiastically throughout the speech.

For Texas Senator Ted Cruz the tragedy hit even closer to home.

“A good friend of mine studied under one of the rabbis who were murdered this week,” said Cruz. “And to see in the aftermath •

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Hamas and Fatah celebrating and justifying that murder, communicating with crystal clarity to anyone that was paying attention.”

Cruz noted that the need for strong ties between the United States and Israel is greater than ever before, despite tensions between the two countries.

Cruz remarked that he has been to Israel three times in the last two years and on one trip he visited Raphael Industries (company that manufactures the IRON DOME) where he joked with them that “naming a company after me, Raphael (Cruz’s first name) Ted Cruz, was a bit much.”

New York Senator Chuck Schumer took the New York Times and other media outlets to task for their coverage of the Har Nof bloodbath, pointing to blasting coverage that reported Palestinian loss of life without saying that the dead Palestinians were the perpetrators the brutal attack.

Maryland Senator Barbara Mikulski, chair of the Senate Appropriations committee, spoke powerfully about allowing Israel to stand up for itself in the face of terror.

“Israel must always be able to defend itself, whether it is against horrific attacks in a synagogue or at a bus stop,” said Senator Mikulski. “Whether it is missiles coming over, attacking communities like Ashkelon or preventing Iran from getting a nuclear weapon...there is no right to nuclear weapons to annihilate a treasured ally.”

Taking on those who have proposed cutting funding to Israel, Senator Johnny Isakson of Georgia noted that money sent to Israel is a sound investment.

“We give Israel $3.5 billion a year,” said Isakson. “$2 billion of it comes back in purchases of US military equipment and the rest of it is security we couldn’t buy for ten times as much in that neighborhood.”

The United States support of Iron Dome was mentioned frequently throughout the tribute.

Event co-chair Simcha Lyons who categorized the Iron Dome as “a miracle,” observed that he felt it was crucial to thank Congress for the defense system which saved an untold number of lives during recent missile attacks.

“We know that Iron Dome works,” said Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida. “America is safer when Israel is safer. Israel is safer when America is safer.

Those bonds can never be broken.”

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While the tribute was intended to thank Congress for its support of Israel, the feeling of gratitude was evident throughout the room.

“As you here today are thanking us, we thank you.

Words and actions matter,” said Florida Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart.

Other speakers included Missouri Senator Roy Blunt, Illinois Senator Mark Kirk, Michigan Senator Carl Levin, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. Special presentations were made to Senator Mikulski and Senator Isakson for their efforts on behalf of the American-Israeli alliance.

“It’s not an overstatement to say that we the Jewish people live in a ‘malchus shel chesed,’” said Ezra Friedlander, CEO of The Friedlander Group which organized the Capitol Hill tribute. “To observe the identification with the Jewish people by so many members of Congress is a testament to that and we have to be grateful, which is why the tribute to the Congress for its security alliance was so important.”

For more information please contact Ezra Friedlander at Ezra@TheFriedlanderGroup.com 212-233-5555 x 101.

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Ferguson:

Why Everyone Is Angry LOUIS J. SHAPIRO

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here are several reasons why people are angry with the Michael Brown verdict. Some may be disturbed of the death of an unarmed civilian by a police officer, while others feel that had it not been for Mr. Brown’s race, a different outcome might have occurred.

In my opinion, there is a more far-reaching and deep-rooted reason which accounts for the hostility and outrage- the way the justice system process was administered in this case.

Everyone is familiar with the common phrase, “You can indict a ham sandwich”. This is because the burden of proof is very low in the grand jury setting. We are accustomed to indictments being routinely handed down, especially when there is a homicide.

In the present case, the prosecutor went so far as to present all the evidence in his possession to the grand jury - 24 volumes worth transcripts which include approximately 25 forensic reports and 63 witnesses. It lasted for three months.

Since the physical and scientific evidence supported that Officer’s Wilson used self-defense, the jury did not indict him. In all honesty, that is probably the same result that a jury would have reached in a jury trial.

The burning question though is why did the prosecutor treat this grand jury different from all other grand juries?

It would be disingenuous to respond that there was not an unusual and remarkable amount of effort to supply this grand jury with the whole picture.

The prosecutor went to great lengths in outlining the evidence that was presented, but did not explain why he went to such great lengths.

The public is only left to assume that since the accused in this case is a police officer, and the prosecutors work alongside with the police, that the prosecutor created the environment in this proceeding to enable the jury to not indict.

Even though the same result would have been achieved in a jury trial, it just doesn’t feel like justice because a short-cut was taken to reach that finish line. That is what is causing the

It just doesn’t feel like justice because a shortcut was taken to reach that finish line. underlying tension.

From a purely analytical view, it should not matter because the same result was achieved, just in a shorter time. But human beings are emotional, and feel hurt and violated when they see favoritism, or at least what appears to be so. Only resentment and distrust can follow from that.

In addition, the victim in this case is African American, and African Americans have been historically treated unfairly. This just compounds the anger and frustration this case.

Therefore, most are not upset at the jury’s decision, or even the fact that Officer Wilson was not indicted. They are upset that Officer Wilson was afforded more due process than the average person.

Can I say with certainty that had Officer Wilson been indicted and then later acquitted several months later that there wouldn’t be this reaction? No. But I do know that this approach by the St. Louis County Prosecutors Office was a recipe for disaster.

Lou Shapiro is a criminal defense attorneystate certified specialist in criminal law & legal analyst in Los Angeles. He can be reached through www.LouShapiro.com.

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The Observant Jew

Festival of Lights RABBI JONATHAN GEWIRTZ

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here’s an old joke about a fellow who was so addicted to golf that he snuck out of shul on Yom Kippur to play. At the course, he had the most amazing game of his life, culminating with a very difficult hole. He took a mighty swing – and got a hole in one! It was amazing; astounding!

Then a Heavenly voice boomed down to him from the sky with a chuckle: “So, who are you going to tell?”

When we do things wrong we aren’t proud of it, but today I simply must share something I did.

One Shabbos, there was a guest chazzan in shul. When I say chazzan, I don’t mean simply someone who led the prayers.

I mean someone whose voice had great range, and who graciously showed us all just how long he could hold each note.

Ever since my room in the Yeshiva dormitory was next to the stairwell where the boys who were into chazzanus would practice, I haven’t been the biggest fan.

So, there I was, trying to keep calm, as the davening took longer than I felt it needed to. Instead, I read one of the Parsha sheets that come to our shul each week, even though I should have been following along. (That’s where the golf story comes in.) The Torah Tavlin, written by R’ Dovid Hoffman Shlit”a, was close at hand.

I read a beautiful story of caring, about a bride who saw a mouse run across the room at the beginning of her wedding.

She was sure it was a bad omen as she kept screaming and refused to participate in the festivities. She was taken to see the

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Steipler Gaon, R’ Yisrael Yaakov Kanievsky, in full wedding regalia. When there, he calmed her by repeatedly agreeing that it was a bad sign.

When she stopped crying, he said, “It is a bad omen, but listen to me. Chazal, our Sages, in their wisdom, have said that there is no wedding without some sort of problem. I have heard that until now everything has gone smoothly. The families get along, there have not been fights, and therefore, SOMETHING had to go wrong. This mouse was the problem, and now, from here on out, you will have a wonderful marriage and much blessing.” The calmed bride returned to an especially joyous wedding.

As I finished the story, the chazzan completed the bracha (with much pomp and vocal range) of “Yotzer Ha’Meoros,” the One who forms the lights. Normally this refers to the sun and the moon, but hearing this blessing reach its crescendo as I finished this uplifting story gave me a new insight.

True, the sun and the moon give us light, but there are so many other things that brighten our lives. What the Steipler did for this young woman was remove the darkness that hung over her wedding and replace it with great light. He helped her “look on the bright side.”

There are so many people in our lives who make our experiences better, who guide us, inspire us and enlighten our days with their caring, friendship, and insight. These are some of the lights HaShem has created to make our days bright, and we

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should celebrate those as well.

The miracle of Chanuka is not just that the oil lasted for eight days, but that they found oil to begin with. The fact that they found a single jug of oil was also a miracle.

The fact that it was sealed with the seal of the Kohain Gadol was unusual, because most bottles of oil were NOT sealed. But HaShem knew that we were tired, downtrodden, and perhaps somewhat jaded.

Seeing that He truly cared about us, enough to send us this special sign of His affection, brightened our day and lightened our burden. It was a moment when the sun shone a bit brighter, and the stars sparkled a little more, not because of the physical light, but because the curtain of our emotional darkness had been lifted.

HaShem creates such lights every day, recreating the events of Beraishis in His great goodness. He sends them our way when we least expect them, but they are there and serve to enhance our lives and keep us hopeful. They may be friends, teachers, sometimes even our own thoughts, but they are lights, and we should, indeed, celebrate them, and G-d’s love of us, which they represent.

Like the golfer, HaShem is with each of us on our journey, every

step of the way. The question we get to decide each day is whether our story will have a happy ending. When I think of those myriad lights that come in and out of our lives constantly, I think the answer is a resounding yes. A freilechen, lichtigen (happy and light) Chanuka to all!

Chanuka is coming! Why not give your family the gift that will keep on giving? With easy-to-read, humorous insights that strengthen bitachon, midos tovos, and simchas hachaim, The Observant Jew, a compilation of some of Rabbi Gewirtz’s best articles from years past, is a perfect choice. Look for it in your favorite Jewish Book Store or visit Feldheim.com and see what a difference it can make!

Jonathan Gewirtz is an inspirational writer and speaker whose work has appeared in publications around the world. He also operates JewishSpeechWriter.com, where you can order a custom-made speech for your next special occasion.

Sign up for the Migdal Ohr, his weekly PDF Dvar Torah in English. E-mail info@JewishSpeechWriter.com and put Subscribe in the subject. © 2014 by Jonathan Gewirtz. All rights reserved.

HaShem creates such lights every day, recreating the events of Beraishis in His great goodness.

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The New Face of Women’s Health

Maternity-Focused Hospital Gives Dedicated Care to Women A small hospital with heart and soul that delivers at least 12,000 babies annually

BY DANIEL A BE RKOWI TZ

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ayanei Hayeshua Medical Center (MHMC) in Bnei Brak is making waves in Israel for its attention, care and tailored services for women’s health issues.

Established in 1990, the hospital ranks 21st in size out of Israel’s nearly 50 hospitals, yet the Israel Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the state’s Ministry of Health found that MHMC ranked the number three for the highest number of births, according to statistics released in Nov. 2013. There are at least 1,000 births each month and over 12,000 births annually, according to Dr. Benny Chayen, the hospital’s director of obstetrics and gynaecology. Nearly all of these births are to Jewish families, representing Mayanei Hayeshua’s commitment to the sanctity of Jewish life.

The large birth rate is particularly because of the local population MHMC serves, said Chayen. “It is very common for our staff to deliver women who have 10, 12 or even 14 children,” said Chayen.

Recently, the hospital celebrated the birth of twins, a family’s 19th and 20th children, whose mother had gave birth to all her children at MHMC. “This is what we mean by a family hospital,” said Shulamit Nahon, associate director of MHMC’s foreign relations and resource development.

The hospital stands on the value of patient-centred care, especially for expectant and new mothers. Immediately upon

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Mayanei Hayeshuva’s atmosphere of warmth and service has brought this relatively small and new hospital to the top of the ranks. entering the lobby, patients see a clean hospital that is light and airy. It is modest, quiet and charming, with most services based in one building. There are two post-partum floors that can hold 120 patients at any given time. MHMC’s highrisk unit holds 31. There are 13 delivery room suites – all recently renovated to include a ceiling skylight and state-of-theart monitoring equipment. Each suite has a private bathroom and a dedicated staff that monitors and assists throughout the delivery. Also at the hospital are a dedicated women’s health emergency room, neonatal unit and neonatal intensive care unit for premature babies. The hospital is

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looking to build a third maternity ward to meet the raising demand and rapid expansion of MHMC’s specialized services.

The intimate-friendly feel and the experienced staff at MHMC also are attracting many secular families from across central Israel seeking quality care in a comfortable environment. Last month, Neta Mali, a birthing coach from a nearby Tel Aviv suburb, wrote on a popular Israeli news blog about how the services at MHMC eased her worries prior to her third birth, which was considered highrisk. As a natural birth advocate, Mali was devastated when she found out she would have to deliver through caesarean, but doctors at MHMC supported her and delivered her son naturally.

This is a particularly common story at MHMC, said Chayen. “Using care and technique, we deliver many women who have had one or two C-section deliveries previously, yet we are able to carefully deliver them naturally when suitable,” he explained. “Not all women are able to do this but our staff is dedicated to prioritiz-

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ing women’s health, needs and requests.”

In Israel, over 20% of births are by caesarean section, but at MHMC, only 9.5% births are caesarean sections, said Chayen.

While offering an abundance of services, MHMC is noted by patients for its “family feeling” and relaxed ambiance. Chana Yair, a 25-year-old woman from Bnei Brak, recently gave birth to her first child at MHMC. “It was a heavenly experience because the staff was patient and relaxed with me, as I was screaming in pain,” she recalled. “I felt that I was in good hands the whole time; I knew I was safe with the professional staff that helped me through delivery. I was treated with special concern and I could not be happier with my birth experience.”

testing quick and less burdensome. If the results show anything questionable, women are called in for a biopsy at MHMC. Patients who need further care are referred to oncology centres at other area hospitals. Hundreds of women have participating in these screenings.

Additionally, the hospital regularly offers pre-birth courses for women and separate sessions for men with doctors and rabbis. Also on site is a fertility clinic that counsels and supports families who may need treatment.

Various seminars on other public health topics take place in the hospital’s conference room regularly.

MHMC has faced some resistance to such programmes, though has reached out to leading rabbis to give support and approval. “We take great care to show women that this is a necessary and life-saving test that is allowed and recommended by community leaders,” said Nahon. “We educate and hope that this spreads from mother to daughter, neighbours and friends.”

MHMC’s stance is one based in Halacha, under guidance from leading rabbis and Jewish scholars on Jewish medical ethics. “The philosophy of good medicine and good Halacha go hand in hand beautifully at Mayanei Hayeshua,” said Chayen. “It is never a problem that most

COMMUNITY PREVENTION AND RESOURCES Beyond maternity services, MHMC serves as a lighthouse for educating the Ultra-Orthodox community about preventive health. In May, the hospital held a free seminar on women’s health, which attracted 40 women from the neighbourhood to hear from a panel of women doctors about cancer, screenings, genetic testing, and other related topics.

“Because we are located in an insular place, we feel obligated to educate the community and provide as many resources as possible to women who have never been taught about health and wellness previously,” said Nahon, who also coordinates the hospital’s free women’s screening and wellness programmes. Even advertising is done discretely and the hospital relies on word-of-mouth for some of these programmes.

Appealing to cultural sensitivities, Nahon and her colleagues have launched a free cancer screening programme that promotes early detection, held in a discrete building near MHMC to protect the modesty of patients. The programme uses the most modern technology to make the December 5, 2014

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the staff is not religious, yet everyone is caring, understanding and wonderfully skilled in providing care and promoting health.”

This unique “sanctity of life” model has resulted in positive results, both in terms of medical care and health education. Mayanei Hayeshuva’s atmosphere of warmth and service has brought this relatively small and new hospital to the top of the ranks – especially in offering comforts and dedicated attention to women.

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Touro-LA Corner

That Was… Close!

RABBI HAROLD RABINOWITZ

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hen Chanukah comes each year, I think of a question I heard years ago. It seems like such a good question, that I spend some time searching the literature for answers.

It has to do with the text of the Al HaNisim paragraph we add to the Amidah prayer during Chanukah: we thank the Almighty for rescuing us and granting victory “over the strong at the hands of the weak; the many at the hands of the few; the impure at the hands of the pure; the wicked at the hands of the righteous; the sinners at the hands of followers of the Torah.”

The question is: we can well understand that a victory of the few over the many, or the weak over the strong, may require Divine assistance—more often than not, the strong and the many defeat the weak and the few. But why is the intervention of Hashem required for the righteous, the pure and the Torah-followers to defeat the impure, the wicked, the sinners? Don’t the righteous have as good a chance of defeating the wicked as the wicked have of being victorious? I’ve found answers here and there, but here’s the one I like best.

To understand the text, we need to have a firm understanding of what a great miracle the victory of the Hasmoneans over the Hellenists in 165 BCE was—of how close the Jewish people came in that era of being, G-d forbid, annihilated.

After the death of Alexander the Great (at only 32) in 323 BCE—either poisoned by his generals, or of malaria contracted in the East—his kingdom was divided into two

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parts by his generals: Seleucus dominated the north, creating the Seleucid Empire; and Ptolemy took the southern half, which included Egypt, known as the Ptolemaic Empire. This tense arrangement lasted for nearly two centuries, with Judea nestled between the two. Some Judeans (largely the rabbinic, Torah-observant, community) had ties to the North—the remnants of the Jews of Persia exiled there by the Babylonians; but many of the rest of the Jews (particular those who embraced Hellenistic values and culture) felt allegiance to Egypt because of the large Jewish community in Alexandria.

Alexander had shown deference and respect for Judaism and specifically for the Kohen Gadol when he encountered him on his way through Judea. (Legend has it the young conqueror saw the image of the High Priest, Simon the Just, in a dream the night before meeting him.) Perhaps he saw the affinity between the philosophically-oriented culture of the Greeks (something the Jewish scholar and archaeologist, Cyrus Gordon pointed out in his illuminatingly entitled book, The Common Background of Greek and Hebrew Civilizations); or he simply recognized that the Jews, as a nation that valued intellect and reason, was worthy of that respect. For whatever reason, the Greeks did not pressure the Judeans to convert their land and Temple to a Greek-Hellenistic institution—not at first.

But in time, the Hellenistic faction in Jerusalem took control of the Temple and the government. They might have been held in check, had not the Seleucid emperor, now An-

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tiochus Epiphanes (a name denoted that he thought himself a god), determined to end the stalemate between the two empires once and for all. He marched through Judea and attacked Egypt—and won. He would have happily taken control of Egypt, but the new, emerging and militarily powerful Romans insisted that Antiochus retreat (probably because they had designs on Egypt themselves).

Seeing a victorious Greek Army coming out of Egypt on its way to the North (and amid rumors that Antiochus himself had been killed in the battle in which the Judeans mistakenly thought the Seleucids had lost), the Jews of Jerusalem greeted the “Heroes of Egypt” as they marched through Jerusalem.

Oops. But Antiochus did not think this was very funny and decided he had had enough. Judea was going to be turned into a Hellenistic “polis”—a state that was thoroughly Greek. The Jewish religion was banned, as were central Jewish practices like circumcision, the Sabbath, educating the young, Passover—in short, every aspect of Jewish identity was to be eliminated. This did not come as entirely unwelcome news to many Judeans, especially those who thought adopting the Hellenistic culture and religion was a step up.

During the next two years, the Greeks, aided enthusiastically by their Jewish cohorts, converted every town and hamlet into a center of Greek culture and religion, beginning with Jerusalem, but extending to the entire country.

By the time they got to the little town of Modi’in, a hamlet about 12 miles northwest of Jerusalem (and 8 miles east of the modern Israeli town of Modi’in), the transformation of Judea was all but complete. The rabbinic community had no place to seek refuge—Persia was now the “belly of the beast,” and Egypt had not been hospitable to the rabbis for a very long time. The Temple in Jerusalem had been plundered and turned into a Greek temple, in which pigs were sacrificed daily and gymnastic games took place to the cheers of the largely Jewish, but completely cowed, crowds.

When the people in the vicinity of Modi’in came to witness the sacrifice of a pig on the altar in the town square; they may have been there under duress, but one man was there who had missed much of what had been going on in the country over the past two years. He was an old Kohen (he may have at one time been High Priest in the Temple;

there had been so many) who was there with his sons, to witness the ceremony, though by this time, there was no danger simply watching quietly. The Greek conquest of the physical and spiritual land of Judea was all but complete.

When that aged Kohen, Mattisyahu be Yochanan, saw a man sacrificing a pig on the altar in the town square, he was so shocked and outraged, that he grabbed a nearby soldier’s sword and slew the man right there. Ordinarily, Greek soldiers would have taken Mattisyahu away to be executed, but his five sons were with him. They rescued him (which probably meant killing the Greek contingent attending and policing the ceremony) and immediately took to the hills. Thus started the Hasmonean revolt—the result of an old man “loosing it” and being rescued by his children.

Antiochus sent a huge army to put down the revolt—60,000 soldiers to fight the 5,000 Hasmonean troops. I’ve hiked the area around the ancient cite of Emmaus, near modern-day Latrun, a town just inside the West Bank border, and a hotbed of Palestinian activism, when I spent a year learning in Yeshivat Sha’alvim. (You could still hike there in the early seventies.) I walked through (by day) the underbrush that the Hasmoneans crawled through at night as they surprised the encamped Greeks at dawn and routed them. It stands as one of the great military “miracles” of ancient history. But it perhaps never would have happened had an old and doddering Kohen not become inflamed and forced his children to take him into hiding and mount a revolution.

And perhaps that’s what the text of Al HaNissim means to convey: Yes, that was close. The odds were so overwhelming, pitting the Greeks from Antioch, supported by the Hellenizing Jews of Judea, against the very few and bedraggled remnants of the pure, the righteous, and those devoted to Torah—that it could only be ascribed to a miracle by the Almighty G-d of Israel.

The odds were so overwhelming, pitting the Greeks from Antioch against the very few and bedraggled remnants of the pure, the righteous, and those devoted to Torah— that it could only be ascribed to a miracle by the Almighty G-d of Israel.

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Rabbi Harold Rabinowitz is a member of the TC-LA Faculty.

He has served as Rabbi of Cong. Beth Israel of Malden, Massachusetts; translated the work of Yiddish writer, Chaim Grade; served as Executive Editor of The Jewish Publication Society, McGraw-Hill, and a Judaica imprint of Macmillan; and is currently operating BookWorks, an LA-based book and web producer.

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SUFGANIYOT PARVE Ingredients 1 1/2 Tbsp. yeast 1 Tbsp. sugar 1 Tbsp. water 1 Tbsp. flour 3 cups flour 1/4 cup margarine, melted dash of salt 3 Tbsp. sugar

2 egg yolks 1 1/4 cups water (room temperature) jelly (strawberry is recommended) oil for frying (canola is recommended) powdered sugar

Directions 1. To make the dough: Combine the first four ingredients in a bowl. Mix well, cover, and wait until it rises. In another bowl, mix 3 cups of flour with the melted margarine, salt, sugar and egg yolks. Combine the yeast mixture with the flour mixture.

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3. To fry the doughnuts: Heat oil in a deep pot until very hot. Drop the doughnuts into the oil and fry on both sides until brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

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DoubleTake

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Shabbat Kits The Shabbat Kits program is a Chessed Project started by Jeremie and Michal Braun that provides a gift (such as electric candles, grape juice and challah) to many of the hundreds of Jewish patients at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, who do not normally observe Shabbat. This program also supplies other local healthcare institutions that do not otherwise have any access to these items.

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