December13,2012

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516-569-2662

— See page 5, 64 & 65 —

Around the Community

THEJEWISHHOME A PUBLICATION OF THE FIVE TOWNS & QUEENS COMMUNITY december 13 - december 19, 2012 | Distributed

Weekly In The Five Towns, Queens & Brooklyn

Aryeh Kunstler Lights Up MAY’s Chanukah Mesiba Page 68

Chabad Ignites the Lights of Chanukah and the Sparks of Jewish Souls

Page 42

World Record Set for Most Menorahs Lit in One Place

Page 69

At YOSS, Building Menorahs and Memories Together, One Nail At A Time

Page 44

A Delightful Morning of Fun for TAG Parents and Their Daughters Page 59

Bringing Polish Jews Home

Hershel Lieber Restores Life to Jews in Poland Page 86

Elephants Against Ambushes How Yehudah HaMaccabee Led the Jews to Victory Page Page7373

See Pesach/Travel Section – Starting on Page 111

T h e J e w i s h H o m e n d e c m b e r 1 3 , 2012

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>> Letters to the Editor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 >> Community Readers’ Poll. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 Community Happenings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 A Tale of Two Cities? Not in Our Community!. . . . 82

>> News Global . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 National . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Odd-but-True Stories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

>> Israel Israel News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Elephants Against Ambushes: How Yehudah HaMaccabee Led the Jews to Victory . . . . . . . . . . . 73 My Israel Home: Haifa’s Transformation . . . . . . . . . 74

>> People Bringing Polish Jews Home: Hershel Lieber Restores Life to Jews in Poland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 The World That Was: The Story of Lola Lieber . . 108

>>Parsha The Shmuz. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

>> Jewish Thought G-d and the New York Jets, by Rabbi Jonathan Gewirtz. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 The Miracle of Chanukah—Every Second of Every

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Dear Readers, Although I am writing this note on the fourth night of Chanukah, I feel as if Chanukah has flown by. We pack so much into this holiday as we fly from party to party and present to present. My children are on a “Chanukah high” all eight days—I don’t know if it’s from the sugar or the gifts, but they seem to be bouncing with excitement. One thing I can tell it’s not from: the jelly from the jelly doughnuts. They have a way of eating around the jelly with surgical precision, leaving a glob of jelly on their plates...aah, the joy of childhood problem-solving.

When I was two-years-old, my family was privileged to welcome a new relative into our family. After losing his wife, my mother’s father remarried a wonderful woman, Lola. My “Tanta Lola,” as we call her, is probably the most beloved person I know. Lola’s heart is so big and her affection for others is so strong that people cannot help but love her back. Recently, I was speaking with a friend about Tanta Lola. This person knows her as well and I was talking to her about how much Tanta Lola loves people and how she makes others feel so loved. Her love encompasses everything and everyone. She loves people, she loves life, she even loves the stray cat that needs a home. The other person wholeheartedly agreed—that is my Tanta Lola.

But Lola’s life was not always painted in vivid colors. She was only sixteen when the Nazis invaded Poland and the next six years were spent on the run, hiding from the beasts’ hands. Through the years of hardship and sharp losses, Lola’s faith remained strong. Her husband, Mechel, would tell her, “There will be a world after this,” giving her encouragement and the determination to survive. Ultimately, both Mechel and Lola survived the war and together had three wonderful children. In a gripping and poignant memoir, Lola details her story. It is a story of love and loss, of faith and character.

Starting this week, Lola shares her narrative with you. Lola is an artist by trade and her words will paint those years in colors that are both brilliant and grey.

Before the War, Jewish life in Poland was vibrant. Now, less than a decade later, the Jewish community is a shadow of what it once was. Many Jews who live there have no attachment to their heritage. The older generation is dying out and the young are unaffiliated and are being lost. Rabbi Hershel Lieber has made it his life’s work to change that reality.

After visiting Poland and cleaning up Jewish cemeteries there, Rabbi Lieber realized that the Jews there are thirsting for Torah and a connection to their heritage. He has returned to Poland tens of times and has been mikarev countless people there. Rabbi Lieber is a living example of how one individual can make such a difference in the lives of many, and in his case, in the lives of the entire Jewish community of Poland.

Wishing you and your family a happy Chanukah. May the joy and spirit we feel now light up the rest of our winter. And, watch, before we know it, we will be talking about misholach manos baskets!

As always, we love to hear from you. Whether it is a story, an insight, a photo or even some good criticism, please email me at editor@fivetownsjewishhome.com.

Shoshana

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Yitzy Halpern

Ask the Rabbi. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

>>Health & Fitness

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Davening and Faith as Therapy, by Dr. Deb

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editor@fivetownsjewishhome.com

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Nechama Wein Copy Editor

Rachel Bergida Berish Edelman Mati Jacobovits Design & Production

Editor

P.O. BOX 266 Lawrence, NY 11559 Phone | 516-734-0858 Fax | 516-734-0857

Friday, December 14 Parshas Miketz — Candle Lighting: 4:12 Shabbos Ends: 5:15 Rabbeinu Tam: 5:41

Recipes: The Cooking Yeshiva Bochur. . . . . . . . . . 102 Travel: Hawaii. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114 Recipes: The Aussie Gourmet:

Ask the Attorney. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110

ads@fivetownsjewishhome.com

Shabbos Z’manim

Recipes: Delicacies from Israel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

>> Lifestyles

Shoshana Soroka

Editorial Assistant

Restaurant Review: Country Boy Bakery. . . . . . . . . 78

Chanukah Delights. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116

Yosef Feinerman

managing editor

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Brotherly Love, by Rivki Rosenwald. . . . . . . . . . . . 122 Your Money . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122

>> Humor Centerfold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

>> Art From My Private Art Collection: The Wonderful World of Dreidels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

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Notable Quotes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

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The Jewish Home is an independent weekly magazine. Opinions expressed by writers are not neces­sarily the opinions of the publisher or editor. The Jewish Home is not responsible for typographical errors, or for the kashrus of any product or business advertised within. The Jewish Home contains words of Torah. Please treat accordingly.

T h e J e w i s h H o m e n d e c e m b e r 1 3 , 2012

Contents

T h e J e w i s h H o m e n d e c e m b e r 1 3 , 2012

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Letters to Credit Where Credit Is Due – Yeshiva Shor Yoshuv Dear Editor, There have been many articles over the past few weeks about the many amazing organizations and individuals who stepped up during this tremendous time of need. However, one local mossad which has been mentioned in numerous articles, yet only in passing, deserves a tremendous amount of hakoros hatov.

Following the devastating rampage Hurricane Sandy took in the Far Rockaway/Five Towns area and the complete loss of power, the bochurim of Yeshiva Shor Yoshuv were sent home until power would be restored. However, instead of closing its doors, Yeshiva Shor Yoshuv opened them wide and became an

incredible center of chesed for our community.

On the first erev Shabbos following the storm, Achiezer staged an effort which provided food for Shabbos to hundreds of families remaining in the neighborhood that Shabbos. That effort was only topped the following erev Shabbos, when the three local grocery stores joined forces to provide Shabbos once again to hundreds of families, again staged out of Shor Yoshuv s dining room. During the days in between, Shor Yoshuv was a gateway for hundreds of volunteers who converged on the dining room and were armed with garbage bags, gloves and face masks and dispatched to all corners of Far Rockaway, Bayswater, the Five Towns, Belle Harbor and Long Beach to pump water and clean up homes

Readers Poll Compiled by Jannah Eichenbaum

On Chanukah, does your household light only one menorah or many menorahs?

One menorah 16%

Many menorahs 84%

the Editor which were hit by Sandy. Each day at 3 pm, laundry was picked up and yesterday’s clean laundry was dropped off.

At 12:30 and again at 4 pm, hundreds of families were served hot meals provided by Achiezer. Children played in the hallways, while men and women of all ages were able to sit in a room with lights powered by their generator and volunteers served delicious hot food and lent a listening ear to those who were suffering.

The gym was transformed into a full department “store,” staffed by volunteers under the leadership of the Genacks, and offering free clothing of all types for all ages. Trucks pulled up at all hours of the day and night delivering clothing, diapers and other baby needs as well as food and other needed supplies. The parking lot had a large tractor trailer receiving the community’s Shaimos.

These services were provided

by Achiezer, but the physical space which made these services possible was this holy yeshiva, built on the ideals of its former Rosh Yeshiva, Rabbi Freifeld zt”l, which opened its doors to our community in this time of need.

Together with the kol Torah emanating from the bochurim who remained behind and the daily minyanim which never ceased, this beautiful edifice in our community represented the three pillars on which our world stands, Torah, avodah and gemilus chasadim.

Thank you Yeshiva Shor Yoshuv!

A.G. Dear Editor, I am glad that Senator Charles Schumer has proposed the legislation that Supervisor Kate Murray and I suggested over a week ago that would permit residents devastated by Superstorm Sandy to make a penalty free withdrawal from their IRA, 401K or other tax deferred savings accounts to assist in Sandy-related repairs.

Our community has a long road to recovery; the extent of damage to many homes, businesses and infrastructure throughout our area remains staggering. Government on all levels should do everything possible to make the recovery process easier.

That’s why Supervisor Murray and I made this proposal and called on our federal elected officials to pass legislation that would provide this commonsense relief that allows residents penalty free access to their own money.

This is an excellent example of federal and municipal governments working together. It’s my sincerest

hope that our recently re-elected federal representatives – Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy – follow suit and support this bi-partisan measure to help rebuild and restore normalcy to our community post-Sandy.

Sincerely, Anthony J. Santino Senior Councilman Town of Hempstead Dear Editor, I’d like to comment on the letters that were sent to you in regards to dating on-line. When I was dating, years ago, there was a sort of stigma to on-line dating sites. Most of my friends were set up with their husbands by shadchanim and only met their dates after extensive research done by their parents. Dating on-line was almost never done. But I know of a few couples who met online through websites such as JWed and are now happily married. Times have changed and now my friends who are not yet married have dated many boys through Jewish dating websites. I think that times have changed and the ways we find our perspective spouses have to evolve as well.

Sincerely, Tamara K. Dear Editor, Every day of Chanukah my husband and I like to do something with the children after lighting the menorah.

Sometimes we give out presents, but we don’t want Chanukah to be all about the presents—we like to do something that’s fun and memorable. I bought a Chanukah cookie house to make with the children and we were saving it for a special night. But then my husband saw the make-your-own dreidel project in TJH, and he suggested that we do that with the kids one night. I was surprised; it’s not “his type” to notice these things.

But the kids had a great time—and were so proud of their projects!

Thank you!

Shauna J.

Views expressed on the Letters to the Editor page do not necessarily reflect the views of The Jewish Home.

Please send all correspondence to editor@fivetowns jewishhome.com.

Global Who’s Got the Power?

What do Barack Obama, Pope Benedict XVI, and Mark Zuckerberg have in common? They’re all featured on Forbes 2012 ranking of the World’s Most Powerful People.

This list focuses on the heads of state, financiers, philanthropists, and entrepreneurs around the world and measures their power using four dimensions. The population that the candidate has power over and their financial resources were both heavily considered.

For heads of state, the GDP was ana-

lyzed and for CEOs, the company’s assets and revenues were measured.

Certain candidates ranked high on the list for their trifecta effect. For example: New York’s Mayor Bloomberg, who has power of people because he’s a politician, is a billionaire, and a major philanthropist made the 16th spot.

U.S. President Barack Obama emerged as the world’s most powerful person, for the second year in a row.

The second most powerful person in the world is also the most powerful woman: Angela Merkel, the chancellor of Germany. Vladmir Putin, who is famous for exercising his powers publicly and was re-elected for a third term as president of Russia, came in at number three.

The world’s second-richest man, who’s worth $65 billion (after giving away more than $28 billion), is number four on the list, Bill Gates. Pope Benedict XVI, ranked #5 on the list, is the spiritual leader of more than a billion Catholics, or about 1/6th of the world’s population.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, one of the youngest people on the list, came in at 25. Apple’s new CEO Tim Cook claims the 35th spot, being that

In News the company he heads is the most valuable in the world.

As Abraham Lincoln once said, “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.”

Too Much Tattoos for Candidate for Czech Republic President?

Vladimir Franz would surely catch your attention in a big crowd. He has tattoos covering his face along with several piercings and hair that’s generally dyed blue.

It’s the anti-opposite of a clean-shaven, smoothtalking, suited-up politician and that’s what makes his attempt at becoming the next president of Czech Republic news-

worthy.

“I think I have a chance,” he told the Prague Post. “Not only because I am nonpartisan but as a person without a tarnished political past.”

Franz has no prior experience in the political field but has a degree in law.

Ninety percent of Franz’s body is marked with intricate tribal tattoos. In an attempt to earn support, Franz is asking voters to help him decide how to color his un-inked parts. Yet, the 53-year-old insists that he is not an eccentric. “This is about the adult tolerance of people, and my tattoos should not be perceived as a handicap, but as an added value,” he said in an interview.

Franz is artistically talented. He is an award-winning painter, musician, and composer. He’s currently a professor at the Prague Film Academy.

Franz’s seven competitors in the presidential campaign are senators, former prime ministers, members of the European Parliament and other powerful Czech political players. Franz needed 50,000 signatures before the end of the year in order to run as an independent candidate. As of November, he had collected 88,400.

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The Week

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The Week Franz said that politics in the Czech Republic has become such an “embarrassment,” he felt compelled to run for the presidency. “The benefit is that I am not burdened by inter-partisan games and backroom dealings,” Franz added.

If he wins, Franz would be stepping in for current president Vaclav Klaus.

Klaus resigned from the presidency in 1997 amidst accusations of a funding scandal. Klaus eked out another win 2003. He’s been president for two terms now, which means he has no choice but to step down.

Czech citizens will choose their first directly elected president in January 2013. Previously, the Parliament was responsible for that decision.

“There is no such thing as a school for presidency,” Franz said. “But it is possible to get inspired by positive things.”

We’ll definitely keep you posted on this one…

McAfee On the Run In 1987, John McAfee founded McAfee Associates, a computer anti-virus company which eventually made it

big. In his hay day, he had an estimated net worth of $100 million. Fast forward a couple of decades and you will find McAfee hiding in Guatemala City.

The anti-virus software guru is on the run from police in Belize. Authorities in Belize are seeking McAfee to question him in a murder probe.

McAfee denies any connection with the crime and claims he’s being targeted by Belize authorities because he refused to give money to its government.

McAfee has been in hiding for three weeks since police in Belize publicly announced they wanted to question him as “a person of interest” about the murder of fellow American Gregory Faull,

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In News with whom McAfee had previously argued. McAfee skillfully smuggled himself across the border that Belize shares with Guatemala.

“I have no plans much for the future now. The reason I chose Guatemala is two-fold. It is a country bordering Belize, it is a country that understands the corruption within Belize,” McAfee told Reuters by telephone from Guatemala’s Supreme Court, accompanied by his lawyer, former attorney general and lawyer Telesforo Guerra.

In a blog post, McAfee wrote: “I apologize for all of the misdirections over the past few days. It was not easy to exit Belize and required many supporters in many countries…Vice Magazine reporters are indeed with me in Guatemala. Yesterday was chaotic due to the accidental release of my exact coordinates by an unseasoned technician at Vice headquarters.”

McAfee believes that authorities in Belize will kill him if he turns himself in for questioning. Belize’s prime minister has denied the claim and called the 67-year-old paranoid and “bonkers.”

Residents of the Caribbean island of Ambergris Caye, where McAfee has lived for about four years, describe him as eccentric, impulsive, erratic and at times, unstable.

Guatemala is a strategic choice to seek refuge. It has long been involved in a territorial dispute with Belize. A Guatemalan government source said there was “no reason” to detain McAfee because there was no legal case against him pending in the country.

the public to directly vote for a new 100-member constituent assembly to write a new constitution. The existing 100-member assembly was appointed by the dissolved parliament.

One opposition group dismissed Morsi’s efforts at appeasement as the “continuation of deception.” Egypt’s military warned of “disastrous consequences” if the crisis was not resolved.

The military said serious dialogue is the “best and only” way to overcome the nation’s deepening conflict. “Anything other than that [dialogue] will force us into a dark tunnel with disastrous consequences; something which we won’t allow,” said the statement, read by an unnamed military official on state television.

Egypt’s once all-powerful military temporarily took over governing the country after the revolution that ousted autocratic leader Hosni Mubarak. However, since Morsi was elected, the military has been sidelined.

But since rival protests and street battles have grown increasingly violent, the military has begun asserting itself again. Soldiers sealed off the presidential palace with tanks and barbed wire to protect Morsi from his opponents.

The statement said the military “realizes its national responsibility in protecting the nation’s higher interests” and state institutions.

Serbian Ambassador to NATO Dies

Morsi Retracts Dictatorial Decree Is Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi getting ready to wave his white flag?

Morsi has issued a decree annulling the most controversial parts of earlier orders that granted him extensive power, including the ability to make laws and decisions not subject to judicial reviews. The initial orders sparked three weeks of violent clashes between Morsi supporters and the political opposition.

Now, the president no longer has absolute powers, but his government’s draft constitution will not be changed before a referendum set for December 15. The new declaration still calls for the referendum to go ahead as scheduled which leaves many opposition groups unsatisfied. If the draft constitution is rejected, Morsi said he will ask

On Wednesday, officials confirmed that Serbia’s ambassador to NATO took his own life by jumping from a multistory building in Belgium. Brussels prosecutor’s office told Reuters that they “can be sure that it was a suicide, therefore we are not investigating any further.” However, Serbia said it was investigating the death of Branislav Milinkovic, 52, which happened at a parkContinued on page 14

11 T h e J e w i s h H o m e n d e c e m b e r 1 3 , 2012

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‫לאורם נלך‬ In their light we follow

‫ליט"א‬ ‫מרן הגר"נ קרליץ ש‬

‫ט"א‬

‫כ"ק‬ ‫שלי‬ ‫מרן האדמו"ר מביאלא‬

Hador davening on b i e l edo s to Kupat Ha‫׳‬ir at t ehalf G he t e or im of Th ribut eo nt f o Hadlakas Neiros c

‫יט"א‬ ‫מרן‬ ‫ינמן של‬ ‫הגראי"ל שטי‬

Zeman Hadlakas HaNeiros is an auspicious time for goodness to be bestowed upon Klal Yisrael

‫יט"א‬ ‫מרן הגר"ח קנייבסקי של‬

every day All names submitted by 9:15 a.m. on any day of Chanukah will be sent on that same day to the Gedolei Hador To be prayed for after Hadlakas Neiros Chanukah

‫ליט"א‬ ‫מרן הגר"ד יפה ש‬

‫יט"א‬ ‫מרן‬ ‫טיין של‬ ‫הגרי"ג אדלש‬

‫יט"א‬ ‫מרן הגר"י אדלשטיין של‬

‫ליט"א‬ ‫מרן הגרמ"צ ברגמן ש‬

‫שליט"א‬

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The Week ing garage at Brussels airport during a conference of NATO foreign ministers.

A Serbian Foreign Ministry official, who asked not to be named, said they were “shocked.” “We have no clues about what could prompt Milinkovic to do that. He was a good man,” the official said. The ministry praised him as a distinguished diplomat and jurist who would be “remembered as a skilled diplomat, an intellectual and a noble man.”

Witnesses claim that Milinkovic appeared to be chatting and joking with colleagues in the garage when he unexpectedly walked to the barrier and jumped. Reportedly, Milinkovic had mentioned to colleagues at diplomatic functions that he was unhappy at living apart from his family.

NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen was “deeply saddened by the tragic death of the Serbian ambassador,” an alliance spokeswoman said.

Chavez’s Cancer Returns Last June, Venezuelan president, Hugo Chavez, confirmed that he had an abscessed tumor with cancerous cells removed, and for several months fol-

lowing, there was speculation that the president was still undergoing treatments.

Now, over a year later, Chavez has confirmed that his doctors recently detected additional malignant cells, and he requires a new surgery to remove the cancer.

Supporters of Chavez are shocked and emotional. He was just elected in October for another six-year term.

Chavez returned to Venezuela on Friday after having medical treatment in Cuba, ending a three-week absence from public view. He appeared in a televised broadcast flanked by ministers at the Miraflores presidential palace. Chavez announced that if anything happened to him and a new vote had to be held, his supporters should vote for Vice President Nicolas Maduro. This

MULTIPLE ERS

POLICIES .

E V R E S E ONE D O SAAGENT. E R O VE M V I R D E F SA

In News is the first time the socialist leader has publicly named a successor.

“Unfortunately, during these exhaustive exams they found some malignant cells in the same area ... It is absolutely necessary, absolutely essential, that I have to undergo a new surgical intervention,” said Chavez.

“With G-d’s will, like on the previous occasions, we will come out of this victorious.”

Multi-Millionaires Prefer China Los Angeles has long been the home for the wealthy. But, recent data from WealthInsight shows that more multimillionaires prefer living in cities in China than in the city of angels.

The study measures the percentage of the population worth $30 million or more, known in wealth-industry parlance as “ultra-high-net-worth individuals.” Recent data shows that Beijing and Shanghai each have more multimillionaires now than Los Angeles.

Beijing has a total of 1,318 people in that category. Shanghai has 2,028 multimillionaires. Los Angeles only has 950

people who are worth over $30 million.

However, New York still overshadows other cities when it comes to the ultra-highs, with 2,929 people worth $30 million or more. Sao Paulo, Brazil has 1,310 ultra-highs which is more than San Francisco, Washington and Miami combined. Moscow is now equivalent to Chicago when it comes to ultra-highs, while Mumbai has more than Dallas.

WealthInsight predicts that the number of millionaires in the BRIC economies will grow by 76 percent by 2016.

(BRIC is an acronym used to refer to Brazil, Russia, India, and China.) They expect India’s millionaire population to more than double to 511,000. Experts presume China will have a growth spurt of about 82 percent while Brazil’s millionaire population may grow by 40 percent.

Continued on page 19

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Berlusconi to Run for Office—Again

Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi announced that he will run to become the country’s leader for the fifth time. This confirmation comes after months of indecision regarding his return to politics.

“I’m going to race to win,” Berlusconi told reporters at the practice field for AC Milan, the soccer club he controls. “And again I’m doing it out of a sense of responsibility.”

In 2011, the 76-year-old resigned as prime minister of Italy as the country grappled with their growing debt crisis.

The announcement came just two days after his party, People of Liberty (PDL), withdrew their support from Mario Monti’s government. This decision forced the country to conduct an emergency election just a few months short of the natural end of the legislature.

Berlusconi established that PDL would pass legislation proposed by Monti’s government, including next year’s budget package, and that March 10 was an acceptable date for the parliamentary election.

Though the euro zone’s third-biggest economy is still struggling, Monti has calmed the financial markets and the spread between Italy and German benchmark bonds this week fell to nearly half the level it was when he took over.

Monti confirmed that he will not run in next year’s election but will be willing to step in afterward if the result is not clear.

China Moves 700 Mountains There’s an ancient Chinese legend about an old peasant, Yu Gong, who successfully moved two mountains that

In News were blocking the entrance to his home.

Hence the Chinese idiom “Yu Gong moves the mountains.”

Now, modern day Chinese developers are competing with Yu’s legacy in what is being billed as the largest “mountain-moving project” in Chinese history.

One of China‘s biggest construction firms plans to spend more than $3.5 billion to flatten 700 mountains. Their attempt to level the area of Lanzhou will allow developers to build a new metropolis on the outskirts of the northwestern city. This project is being called the largest “mountain-moving project” in Chinese history.

The Lanzhou New Area is approximately 500 square miles of land located 50 miles from the city, which is the provincial capital of arid Gansu province.

According to the state-run China Daily, this project could potentially increase the region’s gross domestic product to over $43 billion by 2030. The plan has already attracted almost $11 billion of corporate investment. The project will be China’s fifth “state-level development zone.”

The company behind this enterprise is Nanjing-based China Pacific Construction Group, headed by Yan Jiehe.

Jiehe, a 52-year-old former teacher, is portrayed as a domestic Donald Trump.

He is described as ultra-ambitious and preternaturally gifted at navigating the country’s vast network of “guanxi,” or personal connections. In 2006, a Chinese report named Yan China’s second richest man with a net worth of about $1.2 billion.

Of course no plan is hitched with its fair share of skeptics…

Jiehe’s latest plan magnifies that region’s current environmental concerns.

Last year the World Health Organization named Lanzhou the city with the worst air pollution in China. The city’s main industries include textiles, fertilizer production, and metallurgy.

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The Week

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The Week American Doctor Rescued in Afghanistan

Dr. Dilip Joseph is an ordinary American doctor from Colorado Springs with an extraordinary story...

He and two other doctors went to Afghanistan on business for U.S.-based NGO Morning Star. Last Wednesday, the American doctor was abducted by Taliban insurgents. By early Sunday, he was rescued by U.S. forces in an operation in eastern Afghanistan by NATOled forces. He was held in the Sarobi district of Kabul province.

U.S. General John Allen, command-

er of NATO-led foreign forces in Afghanistan, said he ordered the mission when intelligence showed that Joseph was “in imminent danger of injury or death.” “Today’s mission exemplifies our unwavering commitment to defeating the Taliban,” Allen said in the statement. “I’m proud of the American and Afghan forces that planned, rehearsed and successfully conducted this operation. Thanks to them, Dr. Joseph will soon be rejoining his family and loved ones.”

In News Yao was 6 feet and 7 inches tall by the age of 15.

World’s Tallest Woman Dies Yao Defen of eastern China was the world’s tallest woman according to the Guinness World Records at 7 feet, 7 inches.

Unfortunately, Defen passed away at the age of 39 on November 13 at her home in China’s eastern province of Anhui. The exact cause of death is not known but some media outlets reported that Yao suffered from gigantism, with a tumor on her pituitary gland disrupting her levels of growth hormone.

In a Chinese-language video from three years ago, Yao expressed anguish at her unusual height. “I am very unhappy. Why am I this tall?” she said from her bed. “If I were not this tall, others would not look at me like this.”

Former Mexican Police Chief Seeks Asylum Marisol Valles Garcia made a bold decision at the age of 20. She wanted to make a difference in her small town in the Chihuahua region of Mexico so she set her eyes on the police chief position in Praxedis Guadalupe Guerrero.

Two of her predecessors were executed, and the job was vacant for a year before Valles, a criminal-justice student, filled the position. Crime is rampant in her town and many members of her department had been murdered; her immediate predecessor was chief for just a week before he was killed. It was understood that the job of top cop was basically a death sentence.

When bravely accepting the position, she said, “We can’t let fear beat us.”

However, eventually, she too became vulnerable to the intense violence of the drug wars.

Two years ago, in an attempt to save her life, she decided to flee to Texas, where she now works 12-hour shifts at a pecan-processing factory to support her toddler and five relatives. “We are grateful to be alive, to have security,” said Valles, now 22-years-old. Her husband, who was a diesel mechanic in Mexico, has worked a series of odd job in the United States, including as a ranch laborer and at a cement factory.

As police chief, her objective was to help individuals suffering from domes-

tic violence and juvenile crime. She assumed it was the job of Mexico’s army to take on the rival Sinaloa and Juarez cartels battling for control of drug routes to the United States. “I felt that people were beginning to trust the police again,” Valles said of the time she spent in the high-profile job.

But the drug lords put her in their sights after she refused to tip them off about police and military maneuvers.

Not long after, she got a terrifying voicemail on her cellphone from an unknown number: “Didn’t you receive the message?” the mysterious male voice told her. “We don’t want you here.”

Within a half-hour, she and her family packed up and fled to the US border in a neighbor’s pickup truck. Understandably, Valles refuses to disclose where she is living, or to identify any family members by name.

She is currently seeking asylum from the U.S. Her first immigration hearing is scheduled for next summer.

Jews in Sweden Face Anti-Semitism Dr. Moshe Kantor, president of the European Jewish Congress (EJC), has warned the Swedish Jewish community of being targeted in anti-Semitic acts.

Two Jewish women in Malmo were attacked early last week, and Kantor says the community is in serious danger.

“The situation is intolerable for Jews in Malmo and every week we hear of another attack,” Kantor said. “The community is slowly being pushed out; it is dying of ‘1,000 cuts.’ Each attack should be seen and dealt with as a part of a greater pattern to make Jewish life unsustainable in Sweden.

“The attacks against Jews should be seen in their entirety and there is a concerted attempt to rid certain areas on Sweden, if not the whole country, of Jews.”

Last week, large swastikas were scrawled on several doors belonging to two separate Jewish homes in Malmo.

One of the homes was intruded; a computer and Judaica were stolen. Reportedly that assailant returned four times.

Several weeks ago, a rabbi was viciously attacked in the street.

“The EJC will request a meeting with the prime minister of Sweden to discuss the issue and the need for greater policing, enforcement of antiracism laws and a long-term strategy for dealing with the attacks on the Jewish community because we are reaching a tipping point for the Jews in Sweden,”

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The Week they can use this newfound knowledge to defeat the disease.

Kantor said.

Lena Posner-Korosi, president of the Swedish Council of Jewish Communities and an EJC executive member, said that “breaking into Jewish homes and deliberately stealing items of great personal and emotional value is outrageous.”

May Hashem protect our brothers and sisters!

Over a million people around the world die from malaria each year.

Malaria is caused by the Plasmodium parasite, which is transmitted by mosquitoes, making it very difficult to prevent infection. Once inside the body, the parasite is able to alter red blood cells and thereby bypass the patient’s immune system. It is this act of biological deception that has given Hebrew University researchers their idea for a cure.

The Israeli researchers have unlocked the unique DNA sequence that allows the Plasmodium parasite to do

Israeli Researchers Unlock Possible Malaria Cure Israel once again finds itself in the headlines for its biomedical advances.

After years of research, a team of researchers at Jerusalem’s Hebrew University have successfully identified a unique biological deception used by the parasite that causes malaria and believe

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The Corruption Perceptions Index for 2012 ranks Israel in the 39th place out of 178 countries in terms of its level of transparency and efforts to tackle corruption. Israel received a score of 60 out of 100, a slight improvement compared to its score of 58 in 2011.

The Global Corruption Report, produced by the Transparency International (TI) organization, ranks the world’s countries according to perceived levels of public corruption. The ranking is based on interviews with businesspeople and politicians inside and outside the reviewed country, and surveys conducted by research institutes, economic institutions and universities worldwide.

A country or territory’s score indicates the perceived level of public sector corruption on a scale of 0-100, where 0 means that a country is perceived as highly corrupt and 100 means it is perceived as very clean.

Denmark, Finland and New Zealand tie for first place in the 2012 Corruption Perceptions Index, with scores of 90, helped by strong access to information systems and rules governing the behavior of those in public positions. Sweden ranks fourth with a score of 88, followed by Singapore (87), Switzerland (86), Australia and Norway (85), and Canada and the Netherlands (84).

Afghanistan, North Korea and Somalia once again cling to the bottom rung of the index with a score of 8.

Israel still ranks higher than its neighboring countries in terms of corruption, with Jordan reaching the 58th place (with a score of 48), Egypt in the 118th place (32), Lebanon in the 128th place (30), and Syria in the 144th place (26).

Police Investigate ‘Artist’ Using Jewish Ashes A Swedish artist who created a painting out of what he said are Holocaust victims’ ashes is being investigated and a decision will then be made if

charges will be filed.

The investigation was launched against artist Carl Michael von Hausswolff only after a complaint was filed by a private citizen claiming that von Hausswolff’s work, which is on display in the town of Lund, was “disturbing the peace of the dead.” The offense is punishable by up to two years’ imprisonment.

A Holocaust survivor and respected member of Lund’s Jewish community, Salomon Schulman wrote in a local newspaper that he found the artwork “disgusting” and “a desecration of Jewish bodies. It is possible that some of the ashes that Hausswolff used are what remained of my family. This ‘artist’ and his ‘art’ reflect a sickening necrophiliac obsession.”

The directorate of the museum at Majdanek is angered by the art and published a statement condemning von Hausswolff. “We are deeply shocked and outraged by the information that the painting allegedly was made with the ashes of Majdanek victims. This action is an artistic provocation deserving only to be condemned,” the statement said.

Meanwhile, von Hausswolff has received the support of Martin Bryder, the owner of an art gallery in Lund, who told Sverige Radio that he “sees no moral problem or flaw with exhibiting” the painting which was made from the ashes of victims from the Majdanek extermination camp.

Some people’s minds are so twisted.

Sudan Captures Israeli Vulture Spy Sudanese officials have said that they have captured a vulture that has been spying on their country for Israel.

The vulture was fitted with GPS and Continued on page 26

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The Week a tag that said “Israel Nature Service” and “Hebrew University, Jerusalem.”

The discovery was made in Kereinek, a town in the Darfur region of Sudan.

ist plot.” Saudi officials later dismissed the speculation.

Relations between Israel and Sudan have been strained as Sudan has alleged that Israel carried out a bombing on a munitions depot in the capital of Khartoum in October. Israel has made no comment on the raid.

Italy Stops Gaza-Bound Weapons Shipment Israeli officials have acknowledged that the bird had been tagged with Israeli equipment but was used to study migration patterns. It was one of the 100 vultures fitted in October with a GPS system to record distance and altitude readings. Ohad Hazofe, an ecologist with the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, said, “That’s the only way we knew something had happened to the bird – all of a sudden it stopped flying and started travelling on the ground,” he said.

Last year, Saudi Arabia accused a bird of spying on the country in a “Zion-

After receiving a tip from Israeli intelligence, Italian police seized a shipment of weapons intended for Egypt with a final destination of Gaza. The weapons were hidden in a cargo shipment and were found in the port of Naples.

The weapons, which included a rocket launcher among other things, were part of a shipment that was supposed to go on an Egyptian ship that had been detained by local authorities.

The container in which the weapons were found was part of a shipment of five containers, and the Italian customs

In News authorities are currently examining the four remaining containers.

The suspicious containers have been taken to an area of the port that has been closed off by police and is being guarded by military forces. One Egyptian was arrested in the case, but no further details on his identity have been released.

Israel has accused Iran of being behind the smuggling of weapons into Gaza. Most recently, Israel has been accused of being responsible for a mysterious bombing at a military factory in Khartoum, Sudan.

The October 23 strike on the Yarmulke compound led to speculation that Iranian weapons were stored or manufactured at the factory in Khartoum.

Khartoum has denied Iranian involvement in weapons manufacturing and has accused Israel of “spreading fabricated information.”

Nevertheless, Iran has several times in the past few months sent warships to dock in Sudan. On Saturday, two Iranian warships docked in Port Sudan, marking the second port call by the Iranian navy in Sudan in five weeks Khartoum said it was a “normal”

port call but Israeli officials have expressed concern about arms smuggling through Sudan There have also been attempts to smuggle weapons to Gaza from Libya via Egypt. Cairo blocked two arms shipments to Gaza in the week following the ceasefire that ended Israel’s Operation Pillar of Defense against Hamas’s terror infrastructure.

Warning: State of Palestine

Eager to turn their victory at the United Nations last month into facts Continued on page 31

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on the ground, Palestinian Arabs have begun posting official-looking signs on roads throughout Judea and Samaria delineating the new “State of Palestine.”

Under a bold headline of “Warning,” the signs state in English, Arabic and Hebrew that the visitor is now standing on “illegally occupied land. State of Palestine.” Included is the date this new state was internationally recognized by the UN with non-member observer state status—November 29, 2012.

The UN General Assembly vote last month merely upgraded the Palestinian Authority to the status of a non-member observer and is not legally binding. But apparently, the Palestinian Authority has not gotten the memo and has been busy transforming that small achievement into something much larger.

Israeli leaders argued that by going this route, the Palestinian leadership and the UN had effectively killed all hopes of a negotiated peace. Analysts note that the Palestinians now have little incentive to hold bilateral talks, and even less incentive to make any compromises in the quest for peace. Rather, they can now sit back and let the international community bring its full weight down on Israel to unconditionally leave what is now a recognized national entity.

National Major League Baseball Salaries Increase

player’s salary has increased 3.8% to a record $3.2 million.

According to final figures released on Friday by the Major League Baseball Players Association, the rise was the steepest since 2007. The boost was helped by an increase in the minimum salary from $414,000 to $480,000.

Apparently A-rod and Jeter need a raise to cover their expenses…

Americans still have to remain vigilant as some fatalities are still on the rise.

Estate Taxes Expected to Increase In last week’s issue, we discussed the advantages of being born in 2013.

This week we will analyze the disadvantages of dying in 2013 (as if you have a choice).

Experts believe the effects of the fiscal cliff may affect the financial aspects of one’s death. When someone passes away, the IRS imposes a tax on the value of his or her assets that he or she planned to transfer to another person or organization. This tax is called the estate tax. Today, the estate tax rate is 35%. This may seem high to some, but after we go over the fiscal cliff, that rate will jump 20 percentage points to 55%.

Another change that will be made affects tax exemptions. Under current law, taxpayers can exempt up to $5 million of their assets from the estate tax upon their death. The post-fiscal-cliff exemption will fall to $1 million. This may still seem like a reasonable cushion for most Americans, but these exemptions are lifetime exemptions. This means that all estate assets transferred to somebody else over a person’s lifetime count towards the maximum.

According to estate planners, many may be underestimating the total value of their estate because they are unaware of the changes about to be imposed on their estates.

It’s amazing—even after you die, the government manages to take away more of your money.

America’s Are Roads Safer There seems to be one number that’s climbing in this faltering economy… but it’s highly unlikely to affect you, unless you plan on attending a few baseball games in the near future.

This year, the average baseball

In News

The Department of Transportation reported on Monday that improved technologies and education has made America’s roads safer in 2011 than they’ve been for more than 60 years.

But the DOT’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration cautioned that

According to the NHTSA, traffic fatalities fell to 32,367 in 2011, a 1.9 percent drop over 2010 and the lowest since 1949. Experts say the reasons for the decline are better seatbelt and airbag technologies, improved driver behaviors on the highways, and more safely designed cars. There has also been more emphasis in recent years on formal official programs to improve safety.

“We’re confident that NHTSA’s 5-Star Safety Ratings Program and nationwide

collaborations like ‘Click It or Ticket’ and ‘Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over’ have played a key role in making our roads safer,” said NHTSA Administrator David Strickland.

There is still much improvement to be made. Fatalities increased for the occupants of large trucks (20 percent), pedal cyclists (8.7 percent), pedestrians (3.0 percent), and motorcycle riders (2.1 percent). The number of people killed in distraction-affected crashes rose to 3,331 in 2011 from 3,267 in 2010, an increase of 1.9 percent.

“Even as we celebrate the progress we’ve made in recent years, we must remain focused on addressing the safety issues that are continuing to claim more than 30,000 lives each year,” Mr. Strickland said.

American Voters Weigh in on the Economy Enough from our politicians. The public is weighing in on the economic meltdown.

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The Week A new poll conducted by Politico/ GWU/Battleground finds that 76 percent of Americans favor “cutting government spending across the board.”

American registered votes were asked if they “favor” cutting spending across the board, if they “somewhat” favor cutting, if they “oppose” cutting across the board, if they “somewhat oppose” the cuts, or if they are “unsure.”

Fifty-nine percent responded that they strongly favor the cuts, and 17 percent “somewhat” favor the cuts. A mere 13 percent were strongly opposed to spending cuts, and only 10 percent were “somewhat” oppose the cuts. Two percent admitted that they are still unsure.

Sixty-five percent of Americans registered to vote are in favor of greater taxes on corporations, while 33 percent are against them. Only 29 percent favor taxing small businesses that earn more than $250,000, while 69 percent are against this tax.

Twenty-three percent feel that the most pressing current issue is government spending and the budget deficit while twenty-percent feel that the economy is the most important issue right now.

Women More Likely to Reach 100th Birthday

If you are a white female, you have the highest chance of living to 100, according to the findings from a recent U.S. Census Bureau report.

Women are four times more likely to live to 100 years or older as compared to men. Only every 2 out of 10 Americans who live to 100 or longer are male. Of the 53,364 Americans age 100 and older currently living, more than 80 percent are women.

The agency’s findings, based on data collected from its 2010 census, also found those who make it past 100 are also more likely to be white city-

dwellers in the Northeast and Midwest.

Speculators suspect this may have to with their lifestyle. “For every 100 centenarian females, there were only 20.7 centenarian males,” the report noted.

Guinness World Records, which certifies the oldest living person, said the title was held by Besse Cooper, an American woman who died last week at age 116 in a Georgia nursing home soon after having her hair done.

Guinness announced on its website that the new person certified to be the oldest anywhere on the globe is 115-year-old Dina Manfredini, an immigrant from Pievepelago, Italy who has lived in Des Moines, Iowa, since 1920. She is just 15 days older than Japan’s Jiroemon Kimura.

That’s Odd Man Sues Over Negative Review Be careful what you write online— it could end up costing you.

A Virginia contractor named Christopher Dietz is suing a woman who blasted him with a bad review on Yelp for $750,000. The lawsuit charges that Jane Perez’s scathing online review cost him customers and harmed his reputation.

Perez slammed Dietz Development as a “nightmare” for what she said were “shady business practices, including damaging her home, charging for work that wasn’t done and even stealing some jewelry.”

She wrote a similar review on Angie’s List, another review site. Dietz’s suit countered that he completed the job, did more work than was agreed upon and has still not been paid by Perez.

Perez claimed she called the police on Dietz for stealing her jewels, but Dietz was not charged with anything, the Post said. He estimated her online slash-and-burn campaign cost him around $300,000 in potential business.

“The impact has been awful,” Dietz told the Post. “There is no one to protect businesses when people slam their name.” He won a small victory in the case on Wednesday when a judge granted him a temporary injunction and ordered Perez to change her review.

On Friday, Dietz’s page on Yelp only had two reviews that had not been blocked by the site’s filtering system.

In News Perez’s review wasn’t visible. A few reviewers referenced the lawsuits; “Surely you – the smart Yelp reader – could find another contractor, one who doesn’t have a history of dragging customers into court over online speech?” one poster wrote.

Several reviewers who said they hired Dietz gave his firm glowing, fivestar reviews.

Hmmm…disagreeing online?

That’s a new one!

Giving Birth at the Zoo An upstate New York zoo got a surprise this week when they welcomed a new baby into the world. No, this was not a baby giraffe or tiger. Believe it or not, a woman gave birth on a wildlife path at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse, delivering her baby girl with the help of zookeepers not far from the bear exhibit.

The woman had been touring the zoo with a group of adults and children when she went into labor. Someone took the children to the lion pen to distract them while zookeepers and other workers joined together to help Mom deliver safely.

“Our main concern was to keep the mom and baby warm,” said zookeeper Sarah Choler. An ambulance soon arrived to take the newborn to a hospital.

The mother’s identity is not being revealed to protect her privacy, but officials said both she and the baby are in good condition.

That’s really wild.

Man Turns Himself In Mid-Burglary In a bizarre turnaround, a burglar caught in the act felt he had to call 911 and report his own crime because he was afraid the homeowner was going to shoot him.

On Tuesday, Christopher Lance Moore, 41, was attempting to rob the house of James Gerow of Springtown, Texas around midnight when he was discovered in the homeowner’s bedroom. Fleeing to his car to make a getaway, Moore was followed by Gerow brandishing his gun demanding to know what he was doing inside his home.

Scared of being shot upon by a man who had every legal right to shoot him

then and there, all Moore could mumble was “just unlucky, unlucky.” It was then, according to Parker County Sheriff Larry Fowler, that Moore phoned 911 himself.

“I’m out in the country somewhere and some guy’s got a gun on me,” said the panicked would-be burglar. “Who’s going to shoot you?” the operator asked.

“I don’t know, this dude in the red jacket,” Moore said.

While Moore sat in the car, Gerow got his 13-year-old stepson to stand guard over Moore from the porch with a shotgun, while he drove his pickup truck across the entrance to his driveway, effectively trapping Moore.

Gerow’s wife herself phoned the emergency services and they eventually came to pick up the burglar who is now being held on bail.

Foreclosure-Facing Electrician wins $1M

A Powerball winner has 180 days to pick up their prize, but a Highland, Indiana man didn’t bother to waste a single day after winning $1 million in Wednesday’s Powerball. Larry Chandler, 34, was one of the first people through the door at the Indianapolis lottery headquarters Thursday morning after discovering he was one of the big winners in the $587.5 million drawing.

But the union electrician says he’ll be back at work on Monday – after he hires a tax adviser and a financial planner. His immediate plans for the money include helping out his mom, starting a college fund for his daughter, and taking his friend to Red Lobster – which should buy plenty of lobster.

Chandler says his house was going into foreclosure when he played his own numbers and matched everyone except the Powerball.

Talk about a complete turnaround!

Oldest Woman in the World Dies

“This morning at seven, she was alive and standing up,” Oney said. “At 8:30, she was lying down and, by 10, she was gone.”

In October 2011, someone killed two of Oney’s other donkeys—also with a bow and arrow. Police never made any arrests in the first two cases. Now there is even more pressure to find the person seemingly using the animals for target practice. Fort Worth police seized the arrows as evidence in the case.

LEGO Love Story A 116-year-old woman listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living person died on Tuesday in a nursing home in Georgia.

Besse Cooper died peacefully at the Park Place nursing home in Monroe, Georgia, according to her son Sidney Cooper. “She looked real good when she passed away,” the 77-year-old Cooper told Reuters, saying his mother died quietly and without suffering.

“She got up this morning, had a big old breakfast and got her hair fixed,” he said. “It’s just like she got up planning to do it.”

Sidney said his mother, who taught school until her first child was born in 1929, had four children. All of them survived her and are still in good health.

When asked for her secret to a long life, Cooper told the Guinness website earlier this year, “I mind my own business. And I don’t eat junk food.”

Cooper said his mother was a strong, determined woman who, like the schoolteacher she was, could be a disciplinarian. She was fair and honest, he said, but “when she said something needed to be done, you’d better do it.”

Getting things done for 116 years…

Death to the Donkeys Police in Fort Worth, Texas are investigating an unusual case of animal cruelty. Using a bow and arrow, someone shot and killed a donkey. This is the third such killing endured by the family in the last 13 months. “‘Are you kidding me?’ That’s exactly what went through my head,” said Karen Oney, owner of the donkey. Her family has about 15 donkeys on its land.

A Fort Worth police officer driving by spotted one of the donkeys with two arrows in her mid-section.

James Groccia has loved LEGO since he was about 4 years old. But when the little boy told his parents a couple of years ago that he wanted the $100 Emerald Night Train set, which had more than 1,000 pieces, they hesitated before making the big purchase.

After all, the set was meant for 14-yearolds and they worried that James, who was 8 or 9 at the time, wouldn’t be able to put it together.

“We didn’t want to just go out and get him something that could have been too complex for him,” James’s dad, Jay Groccia, explained. The couple, which lives in Boylston, Massachusetts, also saw one of those golden parenting opportunities to teach their oldest child about responsibility. “My wife just basically said, ‘If it’s something you really want, save up for it,’” Groccia said.

James, who has a form of autism called Asperger’s syndrome, did just that. It took him about two years to save up the $100.

And then, disappointment for the young boy. LEGO had stopped making the train set.

“All of a sudden there were none,” Groccia said. “The only ones we found

In News were basically through the collector marketplace.” The collector items were pricey – around $250 in some cases – and Groccia also worried that the used sets they could find online would have missing pieces. Still, the couple felt so bad for their little boy that they were even considering purchasing the pricey sets, or buying the hundreds of pieces individually.

James, who was by then 10, couldn’t get the Emerald Night Train set out of his head. Finally, with his mother’s help, he wrote a letter to LEGO explaining his situation. In it, he told the LEGO company about how much he loves their toys, and how he even uses them in a play group designed to help kids with autism build social skills.

And he told them how much the Emerald Night set meant to him. “I got another Lego set, thinking I could forget about the Emerald Night, but every time I see it anywhere online I get very sad and disappointed,” he wrote. “I still want the Emerald Night so badly, but there are none to be found.”

At first, LEGO said they could not help James. But then a package showed

up at the family’s door. It happened to be right around James’ 11th birthday. It contained the set James had been wanting so badly. The LEGO Company has been known for caring about its loyal fans and they did not disappoint this time around.

A video of James’ surprise reaction when he opened the LEGO set has gone viral. Thousands have viewed the emotional moment when James finally found the toy of his dreams.

The Newest Coffee Craze In the lush hills of northern Thailand, a herd of 20 elephants is helping to excrete some of the world’s most expensive coffee.

Described as earthy in flavor and smooth on the palate, the exotic new brew is made from beans eaten by Thai elephants and plucked a day later from their dung. A gut reaction inside the elephant creates what its founder calls the coffee’s “unique taste.”

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‫בס"ד‬

KOLLEL CHATZOS

The Week

the Segulah with the Power of Torah

tia’s eastern tip.

The tuna will not set an all-tackle world record. According to the International Game Fish Association, Ken Fraser landed a 1,496-pound Bluefin off Nova Scotia in 1979.

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It was several weeks ago that my doctor instilled fear, by informing me that I had developed a certain health problem that would require very strong medication for the foreseeable future.

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VACHTNACHT I became very nervous right away, having The Torah heard that the medicine is usually accompanied learning will protect the by very severe side effects. I immediately newborn called into your office, hoping that the merit of such esteemed torah learners, who learn and daven though “Kollel Chatzos” the night, will have a positive Heading to Monsey! effect on my plight.

And my hopes surely paid off! A mere few days after they started learning in my name in Kollel, the results of my biopsy came back. With joy I recall my excited doctor’s exact words to me. “Forget the medication!

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Stomach-turning or oddly alluring, this is not just one of the world’s most unusual specialty coffees. At $500 per pound, it’s also among the world’s priciest.

For now, only the wealthy or welltraveled have access to the expensive drink, which is called Black Ivory Coffee. It was launched last month at a few luxury hotels in remote corners of the world — first in northern Thailand, then the Maldives and now Abu Dhabi — with the price tag of about $50 a serving.

Are you thinking what I’m thinking? Why go through all that trouble?

“When an elephant eats coffee, its stomach acid breaks down the protein found in coffee, which is a key factor in bitterness,” said Blake Dinkin, who has spent $300,000 developing the coffee. “You end up with a cup that’s very smooth without the bitterness of regular coffee.”

As for the coffee’s inflated price, Dinkin half-joked that elephants are highly inefficient workers. It takes 72 pounds of raw coffee cherries to produce 2 pounds of Black Ivory coffee.

The majority of beans get chewed up, broken or lost in tall grass after being excreted.

Black Ivory’s maiden batch of 150 pounds has sold out. Dinkin hopes to crank out six times that amount in 2013, catering to a customer he sees as relatively affluent, open-minded and adventurous with a desire to tell a good story.

I think I’ll pass on this one.

Too Much Tuna A 1,000-pound tuna caught recently off the coast of Nova Scotia was so massive that it had to be towed to port and was lifted onto the dock with the help of a crane. Marc Towers, an avid fisher who lives in Ghana, reeled in the massive fish during the recent expedition off Canso, which is on Nova Sco-

Towers’ tuna will yield about 20,000 pieces of sushi and is expected to sell for more than $32,000 to a buyer in Japan.

Neil Cooke, who was with Towers, is quoted as saying, “It took Marc two hours to pull in, and we had started to see the shape of it when the skipper said, ‘This could be a big fish.’ All of a sudden it broke the surface and everyone said, ‘It’s a monster!’”

A forklift was used to carry the giant fish to the scale.

Coffee: Seven Bucks a Cup Seven dollars can buy you a very nice-sized breakfast these days. Or if you shop at Starbucks, you can get a cup of coffee. Not just any coffee, but a Grande-sized cup of Starbucks’ new Costa Rica Finca Palmilera.

The rare beans are part of the chain’s “reserve” line and the most expensive black coffee served up in Starbucks’ history. (A typical Starbucks latte costs around $4.) “[The] price is based on rarity, demand, and green coffee prices,” a Starbucks spokesperson explained. “This coffee is not widely available, so, like an opportunity to try a wine where there is limited production, demand is high.”

For coffee aficionados, the price can be justified with one word: Geisha.

Geisha is a rare variety of coffee beans, grown in parts of Central America, coveted for its delicate fruity aroma.

Continued on page 39

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Because only a small amount of farms produce the red-berry-colored beans— which were native to Ethiopia before importation to Costa Rica in 1953—distributors are able to drive up the price.

Currently, a half-pound bag of Starbuck’s Finca Palmilera beans is selling for $40 and online customers bought out the bags in the first 24 hours. Starbucks’ $40 bag is actually a bargain compared to other Geisha-coffee products, which retail for up to $60 per half pound.

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz said he was “stunned” that so many people were interested in the pricey java.

So am I.

Djokovic Buys All the Donkey Cheese in the World Novak Djokovic has made headlines in the past. The Serbian professional tennis player is ranked number one in the world. But this week, the headlines he made had nothing to do with tennis—unless you’re using donkey cheese as your tennis balls.

Djokovic is buying all the donkey cheese in the world and spending millions doing so. Donkey cheese, known as pule, is the world’s most expensive cheese, as one pound of cheese requires three pounds of donkey milk.

It’s produced in Serbia and the tennis champion plans to use the cheese in a restaurant he plans on opening. The cheese is produced on one farm and Djokovic bought the farm’s entire supply for the year.

The cheese costs $576 a pound, although it could fetch as much as $2,900 a pound if sold on the open market.

Ikea Shopper Monkeys Around When shopping for a table in Ikea, the last thing you expect to find next to you is a monkey. But shoppers in Ikea in Toronto were in for a cute treat on Sunday when a monkey dressed in a small shearling jacket entered the store.

Apparently, the rhesus macaque escaped from a cage and a vehicle it was left in and darted into the store. At first,

In News shoppers thought the stylish primate was a toy, but realized that it was real when it became agitated and “started darting all over the place.” One shopper noted, “It was very bizarre to see a real live monkey there. It was really small and just funny dressed in the coat.”

The owners, who were shopping in Ikea, eventually came forward to claim their pet. The cute shopper is now recovering from his stressful experience.

Yes, sometimes shopping in Ikea is a zoo.

$200K for Dinner For those celebrating the holidays at the end of December who are too lazy to cook, a chef in England will be glad to do the cooking. But having someone else be the chef for the day will cost them—around $200,000. Through the website VeryFirstTo.com, U.K. chef Ben Spalding will be cooking an elaborate meal using the world’s most expensive ingredients.

The table centerpiece will be coated in edible gold leaf and sprinkled with pistachios. The first course will include a $60,000 bottle of 1907 champagne served in diamond-encrusted champagne flutes. The world’s most expensive caviar, which costs $8,000 on the menu, will be served as well. For the sophisticated palate, the second course will be a Yubari King melon, which looks like a cantaloupe but is way pricier. The cost? $4,000. The main course will include a rare breed of turkey and Wagyu beef.

Spalding said most of the proceeds will be donated to charity. And he still doesn’t know if anyone will purchase the high-priced meal. He said, “I am not wasting any more time or energy talking about a fantasy dinner that may/ may not happen. I am moving on like you should!” And if no one signs up for the festive food, Spalding will “spend the day with my young family, and two babies. But at least I tried.”

What ever happened to Chinese takeout?

T h e J e w i s h H o m e n d e c e m b e r 1 3 , 2012

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Chabad Ignites the Lights of Chanukah and the Sparks of Jewish Souls

The Five Towns was full of Chanukah joy and spirit thanks to Chabad of the Five Towns. The annual Chanukah Experience, which was open to the public all Chanukah, was a big hit. Many familiar faces as well as new families experiencing Chabad’s warmth enjoyed favorite Chabad Chanukah activities such as face painting, meeting Yehudah HaMacabee, creating menorahs with Legos and Clics, latke making, Chanu-

kah game show, clay bar and the Toddler Center. The huge dreidel with interactive projects was back by popular demand.

“The Giving Menorah,” a 6-foot friendship Menorah, was pretty exciting. Kids created friendship bracelets and had the opportunity to request where the friendship bracelets were to be donated.

Children with special needs enjoyed the Friendship Circle Holiday program. The children, along with their very

devoted volunteers, visited the Chanukah Experience where they were greeted with the opportunity to make Chanukah crafts, play games, and decorate cookies. They loved hearing Chanukah stories, singing Chanukah songs, and doing Chanukah crafts.

The Andrew J. Parise Park (Cedarhurst Park) once again saw a large crowd who gathered to enjoy Chanukah music and hot latkes as community leaders and dignitaries led the menorah lighting ceremony.

The tallest menorah in the Five Towns was lit each night.

There were additional public Menorah lightings this year.

Thousands of cars riding down Rockaway Turnpike on Motzei Shabbos of Chanukah got a quick glance of a menorah light-

ing and live music with dancing on the side of the road. Some 100 community members attended the menorah lighting ceremony which was conducted by Rabbi Zalman Wolowik.

The menorah lighting was arranged

by Sholom and Pessy Jacobs and Alex Novack, property owners whose recent purchase helped clean up the atmosphere of that area.

Sholom noted that “the Rebbe always taught us that transforming something from darkness to light is one of the biggest mitzvos one can do, and I am thankful that I was the Shliach in this mission. How befitting that we are now lighting a public menorah in a spot that used to be taboo.” The event and menorah were sponsored by Jacobs Real Estate Advisors and the law firm of Novak, Juhase and Stern.

A free festival of lights and song, generously hosted by Gourmet Glatt, was a big Chanukah highlight. Following the Menorah Lighting in Cedarhurst Park, the community was treated to a wonderful musical program featuring Yehuda Green, 3 generations of Piamentas, Yoni Z, and Benny Friedman. The program appealed to a varied crowd, and young and old appreciated the uplifting music especially at this difficult time of rebuilding. This concert was instrumental in infusing the community with much needed Simcha.

Chabad of Hewlett, a division of

Chabad of the Five Towns, hosted a “Chanukah on Ice” extravaganza at Grant Park. The many participants were enthralled to watch a block of ice become a giant 5-foot ice menorah. Everyone enjoyed skating to vibrant Chanukah music, and adults and children enjoyed the indoor Chanukah party and craft activities as well. Chabad of Hewlett offered a daily menorah lighting with dignitaries and supporters.

We at Chabad have made great inroads in our endeavor to bring light into the lives of many. We are lighting candles, and more importantly, we are lighting Neshamas, igniting the often dormant sparks of Judaism for many.

Boys and Girls from New Jersey Visit Achiezer to Get Behind the Scenes Glimpse of Chessed Achiezer welcomed 130 high school seniors from Bruriah High School for Girls and RTMA (Rav Teitz Mesivta Academy) of Elizabeth, NJ, last Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively. The students gathered in Achiezer’s conference room for a fascinating, behind the scenes glimpse of Chessed at its best.

Against the backdrop of Achiezer’s constantly ringing phones, Rabbi Boruch Ber Bender introduced the students to Achiezer’s infrastructure, shared a few “storm-stories,” and explained how our community has rallied throughout these tough weeks. After the presentation, the students of JEC headed out to assist with the massive cleanup efforts that are still intensively underway, even now, five weeks postSandy.

Kudos to Rabbi Chaim Hagler of Bruriah, as well as Dr. Kivi Pearlman,

Rabbi Ami Neumann, and Avi Strulson of JEC, who ably chaperoned the students. Special thanks to Elke Rubin, Achiezer’s administrative assistant, for her ongoing efforts in organizing the cleanup effort.

NEWS

Community

Bnos Malka Celebrates Chanukah This week in anticipation of Chanuka, the Kindergarten and Pre-1A classes of Bnos Malka Academy had a spectacular Pre-Chanuka celebration.

The festivities began with the students’ presentation of the story of Chanuka in words and in song. The Pre-1A play included speaking parts and songs, while the Kindergarten students sang some classic Chanuka songs. All of the students really “shined bright” as the stars of the show and the adults, Bubbies and Zeidies included, shepped much nachas.

After the presentations, everyone enjoyed getting creative at the specially prepared Chanuka stations. Chanuka cookie decorating, edible menorahs, Chanuka necklaces to bead with pic-

tures of the students on each one, and Chanuka dreidel scratch art were some of the hands-on and fun activities that the Morahs prepared.

A special thank you to the amazing pre-school morahs of Bnos Malka, Morah Zissi Koss, and Morah Rochel Chait, who really know how to get their students and their students’ parents in the right mood for Chanuka.

43 T h e J e w i s h H o m e n d e c e m b e r 1 3 , 2012

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Building Menorahs and Memories Together, One Nail At A Time....

Wearing safety goggles and using hammers and nails, the Pre-1A boys at Yeshiva of South Shore joined their fathers, grandfathers and even a great-grandfather to build menorahs and memories together. Each team planned and plotted their original menorahs, shared pizza and snacks, and enjoyed some dreidel graphing games. A kumzits led

by Rebbe Eli Herzberg, the Pre-1A Rebbe, topped off the evening with a beautiful feeling of achdus and an excitement for Chanukah.

Six Torah Scrolls Find a Home at HAFTR Lower School

The Flatbush Basketball League Week 3 Recap In the Elementary Division: Perfect Collision-39, Quality Carpet-30: Shimon Greenwald led with 16 as Perfect improves to 3-0. Ezi Fischman’s absence was the difference.

Mr. Frank’s presence didn’t inspire his Carpet squad.

Lazer Marble-40, ITP- 24: Ahron Dovid Kozlowski led Lazer Marble with 12. ITP is looking for answers…

Art World43, Jewish Press- 26: Netanel Kadosh and Yitzchok Kapetas combined for 21 points to lead the way for Art World.

This brings Art World to 2-1.

Pizza Nosh pounded on The Jewish Connection as Gideon Valensky had a whopping 39 points to bring Pizza Nosh to a perfect 3-0. How was the pizza?

Dovid Reiser had 30 in the loss.

In the High School Division: China Glatt- 38, Batampte Pickles17: Avrumi Frischman had 18 in the win. Batampte is awaiting the arrival of “The Machine” who will join them for their next game.

Visual Image- 42, Repairs on Wheels- 41: In the game of the night, Repairs on Wheels loses their second straight game by just 1 point. Dovi Safirstein led again with 24 points. Arele Birnbaum had 35 points for Russell’s Repairs team in this close one.

Pizza World doubled up on Ave. M Bagels as Tuvia Friedman led all scorers with 24 points.

Plaza Auto Leasing48, Nosh Express-33: Once again it was Mendy Bruckenstein who led PAL with 16 points.

Boruch Hoffman scored 14 points in the loss.

Aura Electric- 54, The Jewish Home-35: For the second week in a row, Moshe Terebelo led Aura’s scoring by chipping in 14 points in the win. Eli Klein had 13 in the loss. This win brings Aura Electric to a 2-0 record, tied for first with Plaza Auto Leasing.

The FBL is off for two weeks for Chanukah recess. We will return on Motzei Shabbos December 22nd.Follow your favorite team right here in your favorite newspaper.

HAFTR Lower School students welcomed six Torah scrolls into their home with song, dance and prayers.

Rabbi Gedaliah Oppen, HAFTR High School Judaic Studies Principal, and several HAFTR High School students brought six Sifrei Torah to be temporarily housed in the Lower School Beit Midrash. Each of the scrolls was recovered

from a local synagogue after Hurricane Sandy. One of the six Torah Scrolls was recovered for the second time, as it originally came from Prague and was rescued during the Holocaust. All of the scrolls will eventually be returned to the appropriate synagogues once the synagogues rebuild their facilities.

45 T h e J e w i s h H o m e n d e c e m b e r 1 3 , 2012

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For MAY Students, Graduation is Just the Beginning

NEWS

Community Hands On Learning at Yeshiva of South Shore Every Erev Shabbos, the boys in Rabbi Feuchtwanger’s class of Yeshiva of South Shore prepare a snack in honor of that week’s Parsha.

Here they prepared “bundles of wheat” along with the “sun, moon, and stars” in honor of Parshas Va’Yeshev.

Rabbi Sam Rudansky, General Studies Principal; Rabbi Yossi Bennett, Asst. Menahel/Asst. Principal; Rabbi Elysha Sandler, Israel Yeshiva Advisor; Rabbi Yehuda Orlansky, Israel Yeshiva Advisor

Mesivta Ateres Yaakov held their annual Israel Yeshiva and College Information night last Tuesday evening. Rabbi Mordechai Yaffe, Ph.D., Menahel, introduced the program which included presentations from Rabbi Elysha Sandler, the Mesivta’s senior Israel Guidance Advisor, and Rabbi Yossi Bennett, Assistant Menahel/ Assistant Principal and College Advisor, as well as presentations from Brooklyn College, Queens College, Lander College and Yeshiva College.

Rabbi Sandler described how the

yeshiva helps each talmid to choose a Yeshiva in Eretz Yisrael that best suits his particular needs, abilities and goals.

Rabbi Sandler explained that the process builds on the close relationships forged between each rebbe and his talmid and is further refined by multiple meetings with each talmid and his parents. He described the diversity of the various yeshivos in Eretz Yisrael, from the level of learning and warmth of the rebbeim, down to the dorm life and facilities. He mentioned that, cur-

rently, the Mesivta has talmidim learning in more than 50 shiurim in over 30 different yeshivos in Eretz Yisrael, an extension of MAY’s continual efforts to be m’chanech each talmid k’darko.

Rabbi Bennett briefly presented the college application process, including preparing for the SAT/ACT exam, filling out applications, essay writing and obtaining letters of recommendation. He noted the care, concern and extensive, expert guidance that MAY provides at this pivotal time in a talmid’s life. He reiterated the importance of devoting time to learning before embarking on a college career and the importance of retaining an anchor in a yeshiva throughout college. He closed by addressing a number of frequently asked questions about the process.

Rabbi Bennett noted, “The strong turnout tonight demonstrates that our parent body understands how important their involvement is to the success of their sons’ chinuch, and that Mesivta is just the beginning of the path to their sons becoming well educated, responsible b’nei Torah.”

The assembled crowd then viewed presentations from the invited colleges, each one pitching their school and its benefits, and a presentation on financial aid from Ira Rosenfeld, a Mesivta parent who is a financial aid counselor in a local university.

Rabbi Sam Rudansky, J.D., General Studies Principal, closed the evening with his “Myths about Twelfth Grade” speech, informing parents of the extensive and rigorous program the yeshiva provides for its seniors and emphasizing the importance of seniors maximizing their time during their last year of high school.

The boys of the fifth grade in Yeshiva of South Shore cutting the wood for their Chanukah project in their woodworking class.

Is there any better way to practice our spelling words?

The boys in Mrs. Kopolovitz’s first grade in Yeshiva of South Shore practice their spelling words outside with chalk.

NEWS

Community

Yeshiva Har Torah Girls Enjoy Their Bat Mitzvah Workshop

This past Motzaei Shabbat, the 6th grade girls at Yeshiva Har Torah had a blast at their Bat Mitzvah Workshop/ Melava Malka!

The event, which was graciously sponsored by the PTA, was an exciting evening of learning, programs, food, dancing and bonding. The evening began with a Melava Malka Seudah at which Rabbi Menchel, the Menahel,

addressed the girls and spoke of the importance of celebrating the Bat Mitzvah properly. The girls and their parents then broke into three groups, rotating to each of the workshops. Mrs. Amit Yagaoubi, a dynamic and popular speaker from Great Neck, spoke with the girls about the true meaning of becoming a Bat-Mitzvah. At the second workshop, the girls and mothers made beautiful

matchboxes for Shabbat, and at the third, they learned all the greatest dance moves from Azamra DJ and Company.

At the conclusion of the program, the girls had a delicious “make your own ice cream sundae” station followed by a grand raffle featuring gift certificates from a number of local vendors.

It was a truly fun and meaningful night together as the girls had an op-

portunity to learn about becoming a Bat Mitzvah while bonding with each other and their teachers. The night would not have been the same without the help of the dedicated teachers who attended: Morah Ben-Ari, Morah Feinstein, Morah Stern, Morah Sara Manasseh, Morah Esther Manasseh, and of course, Rabbis Menchel, Silverman and Rosenthal. Mazal tov to all the girls!

Mrs. Debbie Greenblatt and Rebbetzin Tziporah Heller to lead Annual Women’s Winter Retreat in Prague - January 9-13, 2013 After last year’s successful program, Nesivos tours has announced registration for another inspiring, relaxing, and rejuvenating 4-Day Women’s Winter Retreat in Prague – January 9-13, 2013.

The ultimate winter break! The location is the beautiful and enchanting city of Prague where Rebbbetzin Tziporah Heller and Mrs. Debbie Greenblatt are teaming up with Nesivos Jewish Legacy Tours, www.nesivos.com, to create an unforgettable opportunity for religious women of all ages to recharge their spiritual batteries. During the course of four-days, participants will be treated to an action-packed and uplifting weekend retreat; stimulating lectures by Rebbetzin Heller and Mrs. Greenblatt, informal discussions, touring Prague’s breathtaking sites, experiencing Prague’s ancient Jewish quarter, visiting the famous “model” concentration camp Theresienstadt, davening at the kever of the Maharal and Kli Yakar, and enjoy must-needed downtime time with friends, gourmet meals, and

more! Shabbos is of course a highlight which will include davening at the ancient Maharal – Altenu Shul, meeting people from Prague’s Jewish community, a motzei Shabbos tour, and special Melava Malka program with a powerful and moving siyum as a finale for this fantastic retreat!

Rebbetzin Heller is a senior lecturer for over three decades at Neve Yerushalayim and an internationally renowned figure in Jewish women’s education and outreach, is a gifted columnist for Hamodia, Aish.com and other Jewish publications.

Mrs. Debbie Greenblatt, a long time resident of the Five Towns, will be joining the Women’s Retreat for the first time. Mrs. Greenblatt has been involved in teaching and counseling Jewish women for over twenty-five years and is a founder of the Women’s Division of Gateways. She is a well-known educator who gives regular classes in the Five Towns community, in the New York metropolitan area, and throughout

the country. Her excitement about this Women’s Retreat is infectious, as she says, “I can’t wait to share this experience with the amazing women that have signed up so far. Come join us!”

To reserve your space or more information contact Nesivos: In the US: 718407-4447∙ In Israel: 972-54-528-1991, Fax. in Israel: 972-2-652-6646, email: info@nesivos.com / www.nesivos.com.

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A Decade...Or More Later Avraham Butel was one of the first talmidim to enroll in Rambam’s initial class in 1992. After learning in Israel and returning to the States to continue his Torah and secular education, he was one of the first Rambam graduates to get married.

Rabbi Friedman and a number of other Rambam rebbeim joined and celebrated the simcha and kept in touch over the years. A number of years ago, Avraham and his wife, Esti, made aliyah. They were later joined by approximately 40 other students who have also moved to Israel.

On Motzei Shabbat, Parshat VaYislach, December 3rd, talmidim who made aliyah joined together for the first ever reunion at the OU center in Yerushalayim. Michael Miller, Jonathan Avi Burg, Yechezkel Stepner, Chaim Grushko, Yair Moskowitz, Aryeh Friedman, Naftali Gidon, Tzvi Werblowsky, Razi Herschenhoren, and Mordechai Burg joined for the special

event. They came from near and far.

Some are still learning, some are actively involved in Chinuch, some are in active duty in Tzahal, some are lawyers, some are accountants, some are in social services, some work in governmental agencies, some in high-tech and

some are in business. All were united by the common desire to meet with Rabbi and Mrs. Friedman, reminisce about their days in high school and get the latest updates of happenings at Rambam Mesivta. After hugs and handshakes and a warm welcome, Rabbi Fried-

man shared some divrei Torah with the group. Pizza, chumus, brownies and marzipan were served as a light Melave Malka. Networking connections were made and information was shared about available Shiurim and business opportunities. Avraham, who now resides in Modiin, had actually been learning with a former Rambam Magid Shuir, Rabbi Ginsberg, who is establishing a yeshiva in Modiin. When Rambam alumnus Gabi Sackett, who recently moved to Modiin, met Avraham at the event, he too signed up to join the shiur!

All in attendance, including spouses and the “next generation,” truly enjoyed the event. According to Rabbi Friedman, “It was wonderful to see the whole chevra. I derive such great personal nachas in seeing how our boys have grown and blossomed into the young men that they are. Although we have been in touch by e-mail and phone calls IY”H, we look forward to getting together again in person next year!”

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Hebrew Academy of Long Beach Boys Fight Sandy With Chesed, Kiddush Hashem and Kaddish

By A. Y. Yosefson Hurricane Sandy certainly caused a lot of damage a few weeks ago, and left in its wake incredible financial and emotional stress for countless people, including, rachmona litzlan, many of our friends and neighbors.

Canarsie, a residential neighborhood in Brooklyn, was home to a lot of religious Jews many years ago, and there were tens of shuls spread over a small area. In recent years, the frum population has dwindled down to a very few. Canarsie residents, especially those in the Paerdegat section, suffered immensely dur-

ing Hurricane Sandy.

Buildings were flooded with four feet of water on the street level of homes, and with six or seven feet of water in basements.

Congregation Bais Avrohom Yitzchock, the shul of Rabbi Josef Portowicz, zt”l, is located on Paerdegat 6th Street, and unfortunately it was flooded along with all the neighboring buildings. The shul had not been “active” since Rabbi Portowicz zt”l passed away almost thirty years ago, so bs”D there were no Sifrei Torah in the shul. However, there were seforim, tefillin, taleisim and other

holy items that were ruined. And, that’s where the chesed, kiddush Hashem and kaddish come in…

A group of 25 boys from the seventh and eighth grades of the Hebrew Academy of Long Beach set out on Tuesday morning, 20 Kislev – December 4th to clean up and repair the damaged shul and basement, to remove all the garbage, and pack away the Shaimos for appropriate burial.

And that’s exactly what they did. Dressed in their “clean up clothes,” and protected by gloves and breathing masks, they entered the shul, and they got busy.

Amazingly, after a few hours of everyone working together, the job was done. The remarkable chesed shown by those hard working young men was truly an astounding Kiddush Hashem.

But wait, that’s not all!

Ever since the sudden passing of HoRav Portowicz zt”l, there was no minyan at Congregation Bais Avrohom Yitzchock. Rebbitzen Gitel Portowicz a”h, who passed away just six months ago, moved to Flatbush soon after the Rav’s death, and the shul was left to remain as it was on that fateful day.

Now, almost thirty years later, a group of fine young HALB Boys, after cleaning up and putting things somewhat back in order, gathered together in the shul to once again bring the Kol Torah and Kol Tefila back to that Bais HaMikdash me’at. They heard Divrei Chizuk from Rabbi Chaim Portowicz,

shlita and were led in Tefilas Mincha by Rabbi Avrumi Portowicz, shlita, two (of the four) children of Rabbi Josef and Rebbitzen Gitel Portowicz, z”l. It was a very moving, poignant and emotional moment when the Kaddish Yasom was said at the end of davening, a kaddish in memory of the Rav and Rebbitzen, and the first Kaddish in Congregation Bais Avrohom Yitzchock in almost thirty years!

A Memorial Book is being published in honor of the Thirtieth Yartzheit of HoRav Yosef haKohen Portowicz, zt”l and the first yartzheit of Rebbitzen Gitel Portowicz a”h. Over the years that they were Marbitz Torah in America, they touched and inspired many people, many families. Submission of writings would be welcomed and greatly appreciated by the Portowicz family. If anyone wants to submit a short essay on their interaction or relationship with, or reminiscence of, the Rav and/or Rebbitzen z”l, please send an email to rabbijosefportmemorialbook@ gmail.com, or call 718915-1567 for more information.

Rabbi Avrumi Portowicz is the seventh grade Rebbe at the Hebrew Academy of Long Beach and is presently the General Studies Principal at Yeshiva Ohavei Torah High School of Riverdale.

He has accepted the position of Principal at Yeshiva Orchos Chaim, the Yeshiva Chofetz Chaim affiliate opening iy”h in the Five Towns, Long Island for the 5774 (’13-’14) school year.

As we celebrate the holiday of Chanuka, may the rededication of this Mikdash Me’at, through the overwhelming achdus and chesed which we see proliferating among Klal Yisrael, bring about the rededication of the third and final Beis HaMikdash, with the coming of Moshiach tzidkeinu, bimhara b’yameinu, amein!

NEWS

We ARE Our Brothers’ Keeper After seeing a post on the Bar Ilan University Lookstein Center Jewish Educators’ listserv, NSHA Head of School, Rabbi Jeffrey Kobrin, contacted Rabbi Boruch Kacenberg of the Yeshiva of Belle Harbor to find out how NSHA could help.

Photo Credit: Gary Rooplal

Students of the elementary school of the North Shore Hebrew Academy (NSHA) in Great Neck spent this week packing books and materials to donate to students at the Yeshiva of Belle Harbor, a school that lost everything in the wake of Hurricane Sandy last month.

Pictured (L-R): Rabbi Boruch Kacenberg, Rabbi Jeffrey Kobrin, members of the NSHA Student Council holding placards of appreciation from the students of the Yeshiva of Belle Harbor, and NSHA Faculty Advisor, Ms. Sivan Karo.

HAFTR Students Bake for a Good Cause HAFTR Lower School students baked delicious goodies for their peers this week. Every class baked with their teachers, and each grade was given a specific recipe. The baked goods included banana bread, pretzels dipped in chocolate, chocolate cake, marshmallow treats, and freshly popped popcorn.

The desserts were sold by the HAFTR Lower School Student Council, and students were able to buy baked goods at one dollar each. All of the proceeds will be given to Achiezer for Hurricane Sandy victims.

Community Community of Long Beach Dances Together

Hundreds of children and families from the Long Beach community recently gathered together for a free community wide carnival organized

by OHEL, Bach Jewish Center, Sephardic Congregation, Mesivta South Shore Jewish Center, Temple EmanuEl, HALB, Met Council, Temple Israel, Young Israel and Lido Synagogue.

The carnival was an opportunity for the Long Beach community to join together as the rebuilding of Long Beach begins. The children and families of Long Beach enjoyed a mechanical bull, bouncy houses, games, giveaways and Shlomie Dachs had the crowd up and dancing!

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A Platform of Parnassah for Generations to Come One of the most universally felt challenges across the globe is that of parnassah. From those who spend sleepless nights agonizing over how to put bread on their table, to those who wish they could earn just a bit more, parnassah consumes a vast portion of our day, of our lives and of our brain space. Every individual is constantly seeking to improve his financial status, to forge his way through the confusing world called making a living. Each on his own level grapples with financial issues, groping in the dark for solutions that, while there, are obscured by uncertainty and confusion, by the lack of a proper forum to enable them to see the light of day.

That is, until the Parnassah Expo entered the scene, intent on gathering all the solutions, the resources, the means and the ways to financial improvement and bringing them right to the doorstep of the beleaguered breadwinner.

The Parnassah Expo was created to provide an address for all to turn to in their search for Parnassah. It’s not just a job fair, it’s not just a service provider, it’s an all-encompassing globally serving Parnassah event, offering something to every single individual out there at any stage in life, at any end of the financial spectrum, from any frum community.

R’ Duvy Honig, founder and coordinator of the Learn and Network Kollel and the Parnassah Expo, responded to the tremendous need in the frum community for a single address available to those looking to expand their parnassah options.

Over 7,000 people attended last year’s inaugural Parnassah Expo in Bais Yaakov Hall in Lakewood. 7,000 people looking for jobs, looking for opportunities, looking to network, looking for growth, looking for Parnassah. While the sheer volumes of people pouring into those doors attested to the need for a forum of this sort, nothing did so more than the overwhelming response received after the actual event, after the doors were closed on the unexpectedly enormous crowd.

It was then that R’ Honig realized how the true potency of this endeavor and resolved to expand operations for the 2013 Expo to include resources for all the Parnassah needs of the entire frum community nationwide, in an unprecedented manner.

With no hall in Lakewood large enough to accommodate the crowds expected to take advantage of this historic opportunity, The Parnassah Expo crew

turned to the Meadowlands Exposition Center in Secaucus, NJ. The mammoth center was designated to serve as the grounds for the incredible Kiddush Hashem set to take place on February 12, 2013, The Second Annual Parnassah Expo.

The entire set up of the event, as well, is being coordinated on a far larger scale than the previous expo. All of the booths and services that contributed to the extraordinary success of the Lakewood event will be incorporated into this one, with many additions, expansions and entire new section.

The five main sections of the event are as follows: Job Fair: While many come to associate the term Parnassah Expo with ordinary job fair, it is but one of the components of a large scale operation. It is a crucial component, nonetheless. In this section, companies and businesses with job openings will man their booths, where they will be sought out by job seekers handing in resumes and inquiring about open positions. This benefits those looking to hire by bringing a large pool of potential employees right to their doorstep, effectively streamlining much of the hiring process. It also provides a tremendous boon for the weary job seeker, who in a matter of moments can submit his resume to scores of companies, eliminating hours of scouring help wanted ads, of faxing and emailing resumes to one business at a time.

Education and Courses: For those who are just embarking on their parnassah journey or looking for a career change, a plethora of training course and educational institutions will be represented in this section, displaying the options vast array of options available for those seeking to earn a living in a respectable and dependable fashion.

For a young man about to leave kollel, or a girl preparing to graduate seminary, navigating the sea of parnassah can be excruciatingly unnerving, overwhelmingly confusing. They know they need to figure out what career path they’d like to choose, but they don’t know where to begin looking, how to begin to decide which way to go. The dozens of training options available ot them, condensed into one area, eliminates much of the legwork and the guesswork and provides enormous peace of mind to those entering this daunting world called “making a living”.

Job Placement Organizations: This will include headhunting agencies

who help individuals find jobs within their industry, as well as social service organizations who will advise and direct people how to stay afloat during financially difficult times.

Business Growth: From consulting agencies to financial advisors, investment opportunities to marketing companies, this section will be a veritable treasure chest of resources for those who are looking to start a business, see their existing business blossom, or to wisely manage their own personal finances.

Industry: The largest and most innovative section will make its debut at this event, providing an enormous array of goods and services a business owner has to offer subdivided by specific industry. Businesses that operate within that industry will come view what these vendors have to offer them. Here is an opportunity for businesses, large and small, to reach out to their targeted audience and accrue a whole host of new clients by getting their name out there in a medium where their intended clients will find them easily and be able to view all they have to offer. Business owners will avail themselves of this targeted exposure forum and find themselves clearly visible to those who deal in the industry they service instead of getting lost in the shuffle of companies and businesses from across the spectrum. Some of the industry categories include: Technology, Healthcare, Manufacturing, Real Estate and Construction, as well as those who provide services to businesses in general. Marketing has never been made easier than this, with targeted, potential clients being brought right to your doorstep with the only investment on your part being setting up a booth.

For what R’ Honig deems the most vital component of this entire event, areas will be made available for networking, where individuals can congregate to put their heads together, to develop the connections so necessary to success in the business world.

As author Allen Small put it, “Networking is the single most powerful marketing tactic to accelerate and sustain success for any individual or organization.”

And as R’ Duvy Honig says, “If the entire Meadowlands Exposition Center would remain empty of booths and all we would have is a large space for klal Yisroel to network in different industries, it would still be a worthwhile endeavor.”

But of course, it’s so much more than

that. It’s an all-encompassing forum addressing every Parnassah need within the global frum community, and it’s all done with passion and with heart.

“I’m not doing it because I’m capable, because it’s funded, because I’m looking to make a splash,” asserts R’ Honig, who undertakes the substantial fundraising necessary to facilitate an event of this magnitude. “I’m doing it because there was a need.”

And what a Kiddush Hashem it promises to be. The achdus of klal Yisroel uniting in one room, competitors joining hands, to partner in helping thousands of their brothers make a living, is inspiring.

With the plethora of amazing organizations klal Yisroel can boast of dedicated to providing financial aid to those suffering from abject poverty, to putting bread on bare tables, to marrying off destitute couples, or to financing basic essentials and preventing utility closures and loss of home, we sometimes neglect the highest form of tzedakah of all.

According to the Rambam, far greater than contributing to the stop gap measures necessary to keep families afloat in financially turbulent seas, is the zechus of giving someone a job.

The Parnassah Expo’s goal is to provide opportunities to breadwinners to support their families with dignity and pride, to bring the existing opportunities to the forefront and literally to the doorstep of our community, and to allow every single individual the chance to maximize his earning potential through ready access to all of the resources available to him, many of which he may not know exist.

If the feedback from the previous expo is any indication, the zechus engendered by this endeavor is immeasurable, and the significant impact on the Parnassah of so many Yidden will have ripple effects on entire families for generations to come.

Be a part of this revolution by joining the Parnassah Expo on February 12th at the Meadowlands Exposition Center. As an exhibitor gaining maximum exposure for your business, as a sponsor partnering with the greatest form of tzedakah, or as an attendee seeking financial growth, opportunity and stability, there is something for you at the expo. Every age, every stage, every community, and every industry will join together in unparalleled achdus, in what R’ Honig dubs as “A platform of Parnassah for Generations to Come.”

February 12, 2013

Job & Business Networking Event OVER 7,000 ATTENDEES IN 2012

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Community Schools and Institutions to Receive $100,000 from Glenn Beck’s Mercury One Foundation By: Judith Dinowitz Mercury One, Glenn Beck’s charitable foundation, at the urging of Agudath Israel of America, agreed to grant $100,000 in relief money to synagogues and schools who have sustained major damage from Superstorm Sandy. This much-needed money will be divided among the following five institutions:

Yeshiva Darchei Torah, Torah Academy for Girls, Mesivta of Long Beach, Khal Machzikei Hadas and Agudath Israel of Bayswater.

The contribution is the result of a meeting between Rabbi Yehiel M. Kalish, National Director of Government Affairs at Agudath Israel of America,

Rabbi Baruch Rothman, Director of Institutional Advancement at Yeshiva Darchei Torah, and Terra Perez, a representative from Mercury One. With pictures and in their own words, Rabbi Kalish and Rabbi Rothman told of the plight of many religious institutions in the New York City area, some contending with damages of over a million dollars.

Many of these institutions need to replace walls and flooring, as well as electrical systems, furniture, supplies and computer equipment. Some institutions still don’t have power and are working with backup generators, or have had to relocate to another location, adding rent or generator rental fees to their daily expenses. Upon hearing their heartfelt words,

Ms. Perez immediately wrote out a check.

Rabbi Rothman said, “Darchei Torah was honored to work with Mercury One and Agudath Israel in addressing the needs of many local institutions.”

He expressed his appreciation for the generous grant which will be a very substantial help in the rebuilding efforts.

In their newsletter, Mercury One said that they were “blessed to be able to serve with incredible organizations led by amazing people, such as Rabbi Kalish,” and noted that “religious institutions, who know their communities well, are in the best position to direct relief efforts.”

Rabbi Kalish said, “With the help of 1. Pick up C Mercury One’s investment of $100,000, 2. Grocery we will be able to leverage donations 3. Asdfasdf from private individuals, making a tangible difference in the lives of the thousands of community members who make use of these institutions on a daily basis.”

off tostart a good Get off toGet a good by star getting right mat getting the right the mattress.

Chanukah Events At SKA Chanukah spirit filled 1. Pick up Cleaners with achdut and sim2. Grocery Order cha swept through the 3. Asdfasdfs dasdfsdf Stella K. Abraham High School for Girls the entire holiday week. Each day featured special events ranging from Chanukah breakfasts held at faculty members’ homes to chesed opportunities beginning with a carnival for Otzar and visits to the Masbia soup kitchen and Bobbie’s Place in Brook- Mrs. Pauline Aharon and 12th Grader Shira at SKA’s Tefilat Chagigit lyn.

Mrs. Rochel Chafetz introduced The keynote event, the new SKA Hallel nusach.

Tefilat Chagigit, held on MonThe 11th and 12th Grades were day, December 10, started the joined by their mothers, watched week off in a very meaningful a student-produced video focusway. Under the direction of Mrs. Elisheva Kaminetsky, Di- ing on “The Miracles in Our rector of Religious Guidance, Lives,” and of course, sang the and SKA’s Tefila Task Force, new SKA Hallel nusach. A joint recently renamed TTYL (Turn- mother-daughter dvar Torah was ing Tefila Into Your Life), the especially moving to all.

It was a beautiful way to be9th and 10th grades davened together in the gymnasium where gin an inspirational week.

1.

Light N’ Lively— A Delightful Morning of Fun for TAG Parents and Their Daughters Leapin’ Latkes!

Do you know the place to have been this past Sunday, December 9th, the first day of Chanukah?

All you had to do was follow the clowns, magicians, and over twelve hundred Torah Academy for Girls parents, girls, family and friends into the auditorium and gym of the TAG Elementary school to find a veritable carnival of fun, sure to lighten anyone’s mood. This free family event was sponsored by TAG with the help of many generous donors and volunteers. In the words of Dr. Shmuel Reisbaum, our executive director and moving force behind this event, “The response I received from so many to help us bring some light and joy to the many victims of the hurricane was truly

enlightening and heartwarming. Everyone who has been through this hurricane has been affected in one way or another.

On a positive note, the TAG family has demonstrated a real sense of achdus by working together to bring some light into these dark times.” The Women’s League presidium jumped wholeheartedly into this project with excitement and enthusiasm.

With bouncing inflatable rides and professional carnival game booths plus more games produced by TAG’s own High School girls, the place was literally jumping for joy. Clowns, balloons, face painting, magicians, popcorn, cotton candy, donuts and of course latkes all added to the flavor of our indoor street fair. Each child was presented with a special gift bag from TAG to take home to extend the lichtige spirit of Chanukah.

Many thanks go to Adventureland, Benny’s Judaica, Cuddles the Clown and Company, Gourmet Glatt, Judaica Plus, Moish the Magician, Pollak’s Bakery, R and R Inflatables, Royal Donuts, Sam Jacobs, Suki and Ding Productions

and Yocheved Rappoport for helping to make this such an incredible event. We must also thank Mrs. Judowitz and her amazing chessed team as well as all the high school students and parents who volunteered to assist. An extra special “thank you” (with the correct inflection) to Morah Faye Metz and Morah Chaya Kafka for donning their summer garb and keeping the latkes coming.

For those who worked hard to produce this event, the smiles on all the faces, young and old, made it all worthwhile. Just as the light of Chanukah increases on a daily basis, the TAG hanhala prays that this event assisted in bringing an ever-increasing light of simcha and nachas.

NEWS

Community

Torah Connections Offers Special 45-Hour Program to Help You Master the Gemara Learning Gemara is one of the most important achievements for which a frum man can strive. It is a lifelong mission that never ends. We have all heard of the great Torah Gedolim such as Rav Moshe Feinstein, zt”l, who completed the entire Shas numerous times and who would celebrate each such occasion with a siyum, thanking Hakodesh Baruch Hu for granting them the privilege to gain sharper insights into the halachic and ethical teachings that have so distinguished Klal Yisroel over the millennium.

Most of us try to have regular sedorim, perhaps even participating in the Daf Yomi program where one completes learning the entire Talmud Bavli in the course of seven and a half years. Yet, for all too many men, tackling the study of Gemara has become a burden, an important obligation that too frequently brings little joy and much frustration.

Whether one studied from one’s youth in yeshiva or one is a baal teshuvah, all too often there is the frustration that one still can’t master learning the Gemara on one’s own. Do you attend the Daf Yomi and yet can’t learn without a translation?

Torah Connections, a Flatbushbased organization dedicated to inspiring Yidden to gain a greater love for

learning Torah will again be sponsoring a most unique 45-hour Gemara Methodology Seminar that will be taught by the world-renown Rabbi Eliezer Nevies, a Kollel member of Yeshivas Torah Ore in Yerushalayim who has the encouragement and blessing of his Rosh Hayeshiva – Harav Chaim Pinchas Scheinberg, zt”l in this important undertaking.

The Seminar for men will be held from Sunday, December 23 – Tuesday, December 25, and the following week, from Sunday, December 30 – Tuesday, January 1st in Flatbush from 9 A.M – 6 P.M. The goal is to provide participants with a chance to get a handle on their Torah learning using the on-the-daf system that that provides one with powerful tools to enhance once ability to grasp patterns of thinking within the Gemara, retain what you have learned as a springboard for further progress, rapidly increase your vocabulary, develop one’s thinking ability and creativity and more importantly derive immeasurable joy in your new accomplishments.

For more details about this amazing seminar that can alter the way you learn Gemara and become joyfully inspired by the mitzvah of Talmud Torah or to register, please call (718) 998-5822 or (718) 336-0136.

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Pre-School Chanukah Workshops at BBY One of the most enjoyable events in the Sherry Garber Pre-school is the Chanukah workshop. It’s a beautiful opportunity for both mothers and daughters to enjoy each others’ company in a creative and stimulating environment.

Moros in the nursery, kindergarten, and pre-1a set up activity centers in their respective rooms. (The concept of center-based activities is already familiar to the girls because it is the way the pre-school operates on a daily basis.)

Each center is equipped with all the necessary components to complete an adorable project.

At the table of Candy Menoros, marshmallow fl u f f , pretzel rods, and other assorted snack items were all attractively displayed; at the Stained Glass Draidel table, tissue paper squares, clear contact paper, and draidel shapes were available; and at the Picture Frame center, photos

of mothers and daughters, picture frames and an interesting assortment of stickers were laid out. Sand art, jewelry making and donut decorating were some of the other fun and creative centers available.

The girls were thrilled to welcome their mothers into their pre-school classrooms and mothers appreciated the chance to enter, even just for a short while, their daughters’ happy world at the Sherry Garber Pre-school.

Morah Yehudis Oppen, the preschool Director, walked around from class to class dispensing the sunny smiles for which she is justifiably well-known. In Morah Yehudis’ opinion these Chanukah workshops are a win-win situation. Children are happy, moms are happy, and teachers are happy. A win-win situation – that’s the Sherry Garber Pre-school!

NEWS

Community

Bnot Yaakov Students Explore Animals Bnot Yaakov students discovered the world of animals this past month as they began science units focused on living things in the world around us.

Classes studied animal habitats, how animals prepare for the winter and how animals grow and change. The Unit study began with a trip to the Flushing Meadow Park Zoo, where girls took a guided tour geared specifically to answering questions about how zoo animals prepare for winter. Girls were given “Animal Question Sheets” the day before their trip so all students had

a cohesive agenda that kept them focused.

Creating “handson” learning is fundamental in Bnot Yaakov, and second graders enjoyed “Hamster” visitors while our third graders welcomed butterfly larva or caterpillars into their rooms!

Youngsters quickly transformed into “Student Scientists” and made careful observations of both the hamsters and caterpillars, recording all observations onto lab sheets. Second graders noted that the hamsters slept almost wrapped around each other and seemed to create a nest for themselves out of bedding while third graders made daily notations of the changes they observed in their caterpillars. They’re eagerly awaiting the chrysalis or “cocoon” stage and can’t wait to see the butterflies emerge. For writing projects, students wrote “Bear Stories” and “If I were an Animal…” pieces for a more creative perspective on animals.

The girls are looking forward to presenting animal-oriented projects at the up-coming Science Fair next week.

Bnot Yaakov encourages children to actively engage in learning and explore subject matter in many ways. For our students, learning about animals took on many “animal” faces!

NEWS

Community

Rambam 3rd Annual Dodge Ball Tournament Benefits Yachad Four teams. Four balls. For tzedakeh. For the 3rd year in a row, over 50 students participated in Rambam Mesivta’s one of a kind 4-Corner-Dodgeball Tournament of Champions. In doing so, they raised almost one-thousand dollars to benefit Yachad.

The tournament consisted of 4 teams: Blue, Green, White, and Red. What makes this tournament unique is that all four teams are sectioned off in different corners of the gym and are given one ball to start a round. They are then allowed to throw to any of the other

HANC Celebrates Chanukah Students at HANC’s Samuel & Elizabeth Bass Golding Elementary School and Samuel & Elizabeth Bass Golding Early Childhood Center in West Hempstead are excited about celebrating Chanukah!

Students in every class at the Early Childhood Center made beautiful menorahs to take home and share with their families. Students made menorahs out of many different materials including paint, stickers, blocks, glue and more!

Kindergarten students in Morah Wasser’s K-115 celebrated Chanukah with a fantastic Chanukah party! The students invited their parents and grandparents to join them for a Chanukah party and workshop that included making and decorating Chanukah cookies, making dreidels with model magic clay, designing Chanukah picture frames, taking pictures with their special guests and singing Chanukah songs. The party was a wonderful way to celebrate Chanukah and the students can’t wait to put their Chanukah party pictures into their special Chanukah frames!

Third graders welcomed Chanukah with parties and treats! Third graders in Rabbi Merrill’s class had a Chanukah party at Rabbi Merrill’s house and had a wonderful time playing dreidel games and eating latkes. Students in Morah Levy’s Third Grade had a blast baking and eating their school-made delicious sufganiyot.

Sixth graders celebrated Chanukah in a number of ways. The Sixth grade girls spearheaded the Ohel Chanukah Toy Drive and collected bags full of toys

for disadvantaged children. The girls also made yummy sufganiyot with Morah Charna! And both the Sixth grade boys and the Sixth grade girls showed tremendous school spirit at the annual

three teams and points are scored by how many players remain after each round is over after a minute and thirty seconds.

18 rounds are played with rounds 4, 8, 12, 16 marked off as “bonus” rounds since one player on each team becomes an extra valuable target. That player is given a jersey that sets him apart from his teammates because it is a different color and that player, if he evades an out for that round, scores an additional 10 points for his team. Needless to say, all four balls are often flying at these brave “bonus” players.

After 17 rounds, and all teams with well over 100 points each, the White, Red and Green teams all had a chance to win in the final round. As the final round began with chants of “Get Red!” drowned out by screams of “Get White!!” only to be overshadowed by roars of “Get Green!!!” it was obvious that everyone had an amazing time!

In the end, with only seconds left, the White team held on to their lead and Mendy Duftler was named the Al Hecht Memorial MVP.

A player from each team earned Allstar Awards for their outstanding play and everyone from the White team won a medal. The student organizers of this event, Yaakov Nussbaum, Yarden Sokol, and Yosef Septimus, were then thanked, as was scorekeeper Max Hersh, and refs Brian Fine, Eli Chesner, Benny Besalel.

Rambam Mesivta is proud to find unique ways to raise awareness and funds for noble institutions. In addition to its fundraisers involving Soccer Tournaments, and Basketball Tournaments, Rambam also raised hundreds of dollars running Jungle Speed Tournaments and Taboo Tournaments. “We are not afraid to go the untraditional route in an effort to get every talmid involved,” explained Assistant Principal, Hillel Goldman, the faculty organizer of the 4-CornerDodgeball Tournament. “After all, our Student Activities Motto is: ‘A Team for every Talent. A Club for every Curiosity. A Place for every Person.’” With a motto like that, it was fitting that this tournament benefited an organization with a name like “Yachad.”

Your Garage Door Design Center • Wood • Steel • Fiberglass • Vinyl • PVC • Insulated & Non-Insulated Doors Chanukah Staff vs Sixth Grade basketball games (boys vs. male staff and girls vs. female staff). The students and staff who played and the students and staff who cheered from the sideline all had a great time!

Students in all grades at HANC are enjoying the many wonders of Chanukah as they continue to celebrate the many miracles of Chanukah.

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Community

Aryeh Kunstler Lights Up MAY’s Chanukah Mesiba!

This past Monday, the second day of Chanukah, Mesivta Ateres Yaakov held its annual yeshiva-wide Chanuka Mesiba – an event that combined limud haTorah with exciting, fun and enjoyable ruach-filled, student-centered activities. As usual, the school-wide Mesiba is in addition to the individual class mesibos hosted by individual Rabbeim for their classes.

Following a morning of learning, the yeshiva’s nearly 200 talmidim came together for a special buffet lunch and an inspiring Chanukah dvar Torah by senior Moshe Losev. Talmidim then eagerly competed with each other in an entertaining and challenging game of “Chanukah Wheel of Torah,” orchestrated by Rabbi Shlomo Drebin, the yeshiva’s Director of Student Activities.

The competition, split up by grades, challenged the talmidim’s knowledge in various areas of Chanukah. The enthusiasm was palpable and tension rose as freshman and sophomores challenged

the older juniors and seniors. When the dust settled, the twelfth grade emerged victorious and, as a reward, will enjoy a free breakfast during the school’s upcoming annual mid-winter ski trip.

However, the excitement and fun was only just beginning! The popular Jewish music sensation, Aryeh Kunstler, and his band led the MAY talmidim in a stirring kumzits and exhilarating concert. What ensued was an “electrifying” event. Beginning with some classics to help get the boys into the mood, eventually the walls were shaking and the tables and chairs rattling, as talmidim broke into leibidik dancing in the spirit of the day.

“Our talmidim learn and work hard,” commented the Menahel, Rabbi Mordechai Yaffe, “but ruach filled events such as these are important to building a well rounded Ben Torah, and they energize us all to redouble our efforts.”

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A Musical Tribute to Rochel Baron, A”H A special evening of song and inspiration for women is being planned for Motzai Shabbos, Parshas Vayigash (December 22nd), at the home of Mrs. Arielle Wolfson, 501 Cedar Hill Road in Far Rockaway. at 7:30 P.M. This melave malka event will be dedicated to the memory of a beloved member of our community, Rochel Baron, a”h, who passed away this past Erev Rosh Hashanah. The program will feature divrei bracha by Rabbi Yehosha Kur-

land, magid shiur at Yeshivas Sh’or Yoshuv, musical performances by friends of Mrs. Baron, a”h, and an uplifting sing-along kumsitz for all. Kayli Joseph, Karen Daitchman and Mindy Sussman will provide the musical accompaniment for the evening. There is a suggested donation of $18 and proceeds will go to the recently established Rochel Baron Memorial Fund. You may contact Mindy Sussman at saftasuss@ aol.com for more information.

NEWS

Community

NCSY Sets World Record for Largest Menorah Lighting Display!

This past Saturday night, on the first night of Chanukah, the New York and Atlantic Seaboard regions of NCSY worked together to set the Guinness World Record for the world’s largest Menorah lighting at their Winter Regional Shabbaton. The event required tremendous logistical coordination, clever marketing, and close to 800 participants working in tandem. The Shabbaton and record-setting Menorah lighting were held at the Hilton Stamford Hotel, whose staff assisted in the event’s set-up and clean up and assisted NCSY in ensuring fire safety throughout the event.

Yossi Schwartz and Danielle Schlusselberg, two NY NCSY staff

members who were responsible for coordinating the event, worked tirelessly to organize all of the event details, from contacting the Guinness Book of World Records to setting up 1,000 Menorahs and 2,000 candles in order to set the record for the most Menorahs lit simultaneously. In addition to the Shabbaton’s participants, numerous guests and staff members came out to partake and support the undertaking and make history

with NCSY. Just over a month ago, hundreds of the Shabbaton’s participants suffered greatly due to Hurricane Sandy and encountered a variety of challenges that disrupted their daily lives. Indeed, those who were without power for only a week or two considered themselves fortunate. NY NCSY Regional Director, Rabbi Aryeh Lightstone, felt strongly that “this year’s Menorah lighting must be more than just an ordinary Menorah lighting. As the events of the last several weeks left so many in a state of both physical and spiritual darkness, the holiday of Chanukah, also known as the festival of lights, fortuitously provided an opportunity to ‘turn the lights back on’ for all the individuals and families affected by the storm.” Thus, teens from seven different states throughout the East Coast came together for this moving act of persimui nisa (publicizing a miracle/mitzvah).

With 1,000 menorahs in place and an outstanding band ready to begin playing Chanukah music, Rabbi Lightstone gave a motivational “pre-game” speech in which he referenced Mark Twain’s thoughts on the value of unity and dependability. All of the participants learned that perhaps the most unique of all Jewish traits is that of our consistency in our adherence to Jewish law and tradition. Those who were fortunate enough to attend the menorah lighting were reminded of Jews from the past who risked their lives to light makeshift menorahs in the hell of concentration camps, where Jewish prisoners lit not only for themselves, but in the hope that future generations of Jews would have the freedom to perform this mitzvah and

openly practice their Yiddishkeit.

Participants were also inspired by current events and news reports from southern Israel where residents have built menorahs out of shrapnel from rockets fired at their homes and schools.

With this in mind, the participants committed themselves to be mindful of their link to the past and came away with the message that their participation in this recordsetting event could be extended and further pronounced by influencing their families to light in their homes, as well.

Any teen who needed a menorah or candles was provided with them in the hopes that this would not merely be a

cer, commented, “Perhaps even greater than setting this record, was the feeling of achdus that enveloped the ballroom as the participants simultaneously lit their menorahs. The glow and warmth of thousands of candles enhanced the already glowing faces of each individual participant performing the mitzvah. It was a magical and memorable moment, which demonstrated that the miracle

once in a lifetime act, but would serve as a first in a lifetime opportunity. Carol Rhine, NY NCSY Chief Operating Offi-

of Chanukah is not an ancient one, but rather one that occurs and reveals itself in our generation as well.”

With Gratitude to Our Community With tremendous hakoras hatov to Hashem, and with gratitude to our community, Chabad of the Five Towns invites you to join us celebrate our 18th annual dinner. Our Chai Dinner will be held on Sunday, December 16, Tevet 3, at the Grand Ballroom of the Sephardic Temple at 6:00 pm. Reservations can still be made at dinner@chabadfivetowns.com.

This year’s honorees, Mr. and Mrs. Ben and Sandy Gordon, Mr. and Mrs. Larry and Esta Gordon, Dr. and Dr. Yakov and Rachel Lowinger, Mr. and Mrs. Gidon and Alla Shema, and Mr. and

Mrs. Zack and Dovi Tomaszewski, exemplify the chessed that is the hallmark of Chabad. We look forward to honoring them for their hard work and dedication to Chabad and the community at large.

Our dinner is an opportunity to look back at Chabad’s activities. We operate a full-service shul providing a warm, welcoming atmosphere that is comfortable to everyone, from the unaffiliated to the most learned. Our Friendship Circle for children with special needs is an important community program and adults are gaining tremendously from Chabad’s classes, lectures, and Shul luncheons.

Families are discovering a new Jewish dimension to their lives through our synagogue, holiday events and outreach programs. Children are being educated in lively Jewish environments at our early childhood center, Hebrew schools, Cheder, summer day camps and youth programs. And when Hurricane Sandy devastated our community, Chabad provided food and respite for community members impacted by the storm.

But more than simply looking back, our Chai Dinner is an opportunity to look forward. We look to the future to see how we can best serve our commu-

nity. Can we help you or your family in any way? Are there programs you want your children to participate in? Are there classes you are interested in attending?

Our year-end dinner is an important fundraiser that will help Chabad develop additional community-wide programs.

If you are in a position to help us this year, we would be most grateful for your support.

Thank you in advance for your generosity and may Hashem bless you and your family with good health, happiness and prosperity.

69 T h e J e w i s h H o m e n d e c e m b e r 1 3 , 2012

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Bais Yaakov Ateres Miriam: We Are Eternally Grateful

By Yitzi and Asna Horowitz It’s amazing how one year ago Bais Yaakov Ateres Miriam was nothing more than an idea floating around inside Rabbi Nosson Neuman’s head. I remember when we started talking about a kindergarten for our daughter and our reaction to the rumors and then advertisements about a new girl’s school opening in the Far Rockaway/Five Towns area. While we had some skepticism, we wanted to explore all our options, so we scheduled an interview with Rabbi Neuman.

It was 9:00 am on a cold Thursday morning and our daughter had been through more than four hours of interviewing with other schools that week.

She was tired and had made it clear that she was not interested in going another two hours with a different unfamiliar adult. We walked into the shul where Rabbi Neuman was conducting interviews and he introduced himself to her before even acknowledging us. We were impressed with Rabbi Neuman’s ability to make our daughter feel immediately warm and comfortable. We were impressed with Rabbi Neuman’s

warmth and the importance he put on teaching children to enjoy learning and have a geshmak for Yiddishkeit. We were impressed with his ideas of infusing the academics of a Bais Yaakov education with a love for Hashem. And most importantly, our daughter was impressed with the lollipop Rabbi Neuman gave her- her first ever! Yes, we were impressed but talk is cheap and certainly we were wary of someone who could talk a good game. Sending to a new school is scary. What will happen if they don’t get enough students? What if they don’t live up to their promises of the Hashkafic background of the new families? What if his idealism was just a sales pitch? What if? What if?

We continued our exploration and decided to attend the school’s open house.

We met Mrs. Zytman, the pre-school director and got to hear her talk about her experience as a school principal. She explained her educational philosophy of hands-on and interactive learning. She explained her attitude toward chinuch as bringing out the uniqueness of each girl

and enhancing their strengths while also challenging their weaknesses. She talked about developing a classroom setting that enhanced real relationships between the girls and gave them a strong sense of community. Rabbi Neuman talked about his vision of having a school made up of families where Yiddiskeit at home is real and not perfunctory. It was evident that he was true to his word as we got to mingle and meet some of the other parents who were also interested in the school.

And so, we took the plunge. Our daughter started Bais Yakov Ateres Miriam in September 2012.

I sit here a year later, shortly after the first parent-teacher orientation. WOW! Bais Yaakov Ateres Miriam is not an idealistic pipe dream anymore. It is a reality. A beautiful reality where most, if not all, of the idealism that we hoped for has come to fruition. Our daughter has blossomed in ways we could not have imagined. She talks about her classmates, teachers and the hanhalah non-stop. Her teachers, experienced with accelerated teaching degrees, are not just fun and exciting but have very clear educational goals for each student.

Rabbi Neuman knows every girl’s name, the names of their parents and of many of the girls’ siblings! Mrs. Zytman has a very comprehensive educational philosophy which is clearly being transmitted through her teachers to our daughter. The teachers use play, among other things, to help their students learn. The girls have a very interactive role in class and take a lot of initiative in deciding what projects to do and how to do them.

Although she is in kindergarten, she is learning to read, learning math, problem solving-skills, social skills and critical thinking skills.

Yiddishkeit and learning has come alive for her, and her friends and they seem to be loving it! During parentteacher orientation we had the opportunity to sit in her classroom and listen to the teachers explain the ins-and-outs of all that goes into their teaching method.

We go to schmooze with some of the other parents who commented that they wish they could re-enroll in school and do their education all over again! Our daughter’s teachers are attune to her strengths and encourage them and have also made it their mission to challenge her weaknesses in a firm but gentle way and help her grow. And we know this because they pro-actively call us to check-in and are also accessible to us

by phone. They share insights with us about our daughter which are clear indicators that they know her well.

She has made friends and with the active involvement of the teachers she has learned to acclimate herself to girls who are both similar to her and not similar to her. And by the way, all the girls in my daughter’s carpool contingency agree that included in their list of “best friends” is Rabbi Neuman. Drive by the school in the morning and watch Rabbi Neuman and Mrs. Zytman as they literally stand in the street eagerly welcoming their “precious talmidos” (as they call them) to another day of school.

Heyson Place is bursting with energy as the girls jump out of their carpool or off their bus, clamoring to talk to Rabbi Neuman or Mrs. Zytman before bounding up the stairs into their classroom. I often wonder who is more excited to see who, the students or the hanhalah! Hang out at our house at the end of a day and listen to our daughter as she can’t stop talking about all the different things she experienced at school that day. More importantly, she is not just learning information; the school is teaching her how to think critically and they are cultivating a love for learning in her. Her motivation to continue learning once she’s left the classroom keeps us laughing, smiling and on our toes.

A young mechanech once complained to Rav Pam z”l that he felt worn out and tired from teaching. Bewildered at the rebbi’s age, Rav Pam, asked the rebbi how long he’d been teaching.

“I’ve been teaching for ten years,” answered the rebbi. “What do you teach?” asked Rav Pam. “I’ve been teaching tenth-grade Gemorah.” With a smile, Rav Pam answered, “Now I see your problem. You see, I have been teaching for close to seventy years and have never felt worn out a day in my life from teaching. The difference between us is that you teach Gemorah and I teach students.” Bais Yaakov Ateres Miriam is certainly teaching their students and not just focused on a cookie-cutter curriculum.

We have so much more to say about Bais Yakov Ateres Miriam but hopefully we have done justice in expressing how happy we are. Hashem appears to have sent us a beautiful partner in our quest to be mechanech our daughter in her love for Hashem, her personal development and for giving her the skills she needs to succeed in life. And for that we are eternally grateful!

T h e J e w i s h H o m e n d e c e m b e r 1 3 , 2012

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Madraigos Lights Up Our Community with Songs, Fun and Gifts

Bais Yaakov of Queens Pre and Elementary School Connect To Kids With A Toy Drive!

While most of us were focusing on celebrating Chanukah with our families, some organizations thought of all the families recovering from hurricane Sandy, too busy or devastated to make plans.

In an attempt to bring smiles to these children, as well as make times easier for their families, toy drives were launched. Many individuals and schools responded and Bais Yaakov of Queens was, of course, one of the participating schools.

Bais Yaakov of Queens feels very connected to the Five Towns/ Far Rockaway communities. Many of their families have close friends and relatives who were affected by hurricane Sandy. Some of the students and teachers were affected directly. The Queens community’s children helped their parents host those who were displaced, and they were involved when their families volunteered to pump out basements, organize clothing and distribute food.

In the preschool, after discussing their own experiences, the children un-

derstood that many toys must have been ruined by the floodwaters. Feeling sad for the children, they offered ideas how to help them. Some of their suggestions reflected the innocent thinking of young children. They wondered if the children could wash their toys in the washing machine or if we could buy them waterproof toys. After extensive discussion, they realized that the most helpful

sweet. The toys were dropped off at Priority 1. Mr. Ezra Pacht, accepted them on behalf of Priority 1. He was overwhelmed by the quantity and expressed how much they are needed.

The elementary school followed suit and launched a toy drive of its own. Mrs. Tova Begun coordinated the effort with other volunteers and many beautiful games, puzzles and toys were presented to Achiezer for their Chanukah distribution.

Mrs. Kirschbaum, the preschool director, proudly said, “Our children grew in so many ways from this experience. Children at this young age are still egocentric and think about themthing they could do to make the children selves. The toy drive encouraged happy would be to buy them brand new them to develop empathy. Their discustoys, “Even better than what they had sions with each other as they designed before.” the cards and examined the toys demSubsequently, the BY Queens Early onstrated that when given meaningful Childhood Toy Drive was launched. opportunities even young children can The response was overwhelming. stretch beyond themselves and think of Many children proudly brought in mul- others.” Yasher Koach to them for contiple toys. They designed cards to attach tinuing to connect to kids and families and included a lollipop to make it extra with the many chesed projects.

Avi Heiligman

Elephants Against Ambushes

How Yehudah HaMaccabee Led the Jews to Victory enemy, they were useless. Also, due the enormity of the phalanx and the slow movement of the elephants, the element of surprise was absent from Greek military discipline but was ever-present with the 200 or Hannibal crossing the Rhone by elephant so Maccabees throughout the eight-year war. The Nicanor was ambushed at Adasa by YeJews were able to move stealthily, hudah and Nicanor was killed.

By the time of the miracle of Chaquickly and silently through terrain that they knew well. The hills around Mo- nukah, it was three years into the war diin were perfect for Yehudah to stage and Matisyahu and his oldest son, Yochanon, were dead. Yehudah, the third a guerilla war.

When the Greeks first came into son and leader of the Jewish army, was Eretz Yisrael, the Jews weren’t plan- killed a year later in the Battle of Elasa. ning to revolt, because after all they An army of 20,000 foot soldiers and were talmidei chachamim and farm- 2,000 cavalry under Bacchides and Alers. That all changed when they came cimus caused the first major defeat for to the town of Modiin where Matisyahu the Jews and Hellenistic rule was estabKohen Gadol lived with his sons. The lished for the time being in Judea.

Two years after the death of YehuGreeks set up an altar and a Hellenistic Jew (a meshumad—someone who dah, Elazar was killed by a stampeding “went off the derech”) was about to elephant when the Greeks mounted a slaughter a pig in front of a Greek offi- huge offensive. Another son, Yonason, cer and a crowd had gathered to see the was captured at a banquet by friends spectacle. Matisyahu or one of his sons who betrayed him to the Greeks for (opinions differ as to who actually did money. He was killed in a public exit) grabbed the sword out of the Greek ecution after the last remaining brother, officer’s sheath and in one moment, Shimon, tried in vain to rescue him. Afkilled the meshumad, the officer and the ter the war, Shimon became the Kohen officer’s bodyguard. He then screamed Gadol as well as the father of the Chashto the shocked crowd, “Mi LaHashem monean dynasty. The results of the war Eilay” (whoever is with Hashem should were very favorable to the Jews as the come with me). This started the revolt Greeks fled Judea and the Chashmoas the Jews took to the hills and started neans had autonomous rule over Eretz using guerilla tactics to fight the invad- Yisrael that was recognized by both the Syrians and the Roman Senate. ing Greek armies.

The entire story of Chanukah was a One time, the Greeks were marching through a narrow mountain pass nes, even the little-known stories of the that went on for a few miles. Yehudah actual war. Just the fact that a few hunsent one group of men to fight them dred untrained farmers defeated a mashead on. While the Greeks were busy sive army of at least 40,000 professiontrying to reorganize from the surprise, ally trained soldiers is a cause to recite two other groups of Jews coming down Hallel and sing shiros v’sishbachos. the mountainside ambushed them. A fourth group was sent to cut off escape Avi Heiligman is a weekly contributor to from the rear. The entire Greek forma- The Jewish Home. He welcomes your comtion was destroyed in this tactic that was ments and suggestions.for future columns and can be reached at aviheiligman@ common during the war.

Another Greek army under General gmail.com.

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he miracle of Chanukah occurred, if one fell in battle, another fighter from as we all know, in two parts: behind would take his place. A strong the battle and the nes of the oil phalanx would have 250 to 1,000 men lasting for eight days. The war was and was at least eight men deep with not just a miracle that came out of dozens on the front facing the enemy. nowhere. It’s true that a small band of Enemy charges had a tough time Jews, mostly talmidei chachamim and piercing the formation for even if they farmers, defeated a huge army of fully got past the spears, they had to contrained Greek soldiers in a series of tend with other weapons in the Greek battles that lasted several years. (The arsenal. The use of cavalry was a huge miracle took place in the third year and part of the army, from heavy horsethe war lasted five years after the Bais men carrying long spears to the light Hamikdash was rededicated.) However, cavalry sporting archers on horseback. a careful study of the battles and Greek Other special types of warfare, such as warfare in general shows how with the chariots, artillery (catapults) and the use Yad Hashem this was possible. of camels, while used by other ancient There are a few important things kingdoms were only used sparingly to remember before we delve into the by the Greeks. Elephants, on the other Greek tactics and the Jewish revolt. hand, were used extensively as they One, the politics of the time was very were the tanks of the ancient world. complicated. There were many cityAbout forty years before Chanustates in Greece vying for power and kah, one of the greatest generals of anthey were always fighting one another. cient Greece won many battles during Two, by the time of the Chanukah mir- the Second Punic War with the use of acle, the Greek empire was starting to elephants. Hannibal, which in Hebrew crumple and after they were defeated are the words ani baal or “I am god,” by the Jews, other kingdoms saw their commanded a huge army that crossed weaknesses and exploited them. Two the Alps. Starting in modern day France other kingdoms in the area, the Egyp- and arriving in Italy, most of the 37 eltians and the Romans were also very ephants that started the trip died on the much interested in Greek conquests, es- way due to the harsh conditions. Resuppecially Eretz Yisrael. Lastly, it wasn’t plied with more elephants, Hannibal the Hellenistic Jews had about 300 of who caused the them and put them Greeks to attack in on flanks and they such force. There were used against was some infighting the enemy as a cavand a small-scale alry charge. Several civil war after the men armed with miracle but it was spears, javelins and mainly the Jews arrows, were on against the Greeks. a tower placed on Greece was althe elephant’s back. ways a military When used propernation and it grew ly, the only defense under Phillip of against them was Alexander the Great Macedon and his other elephants. use of the phalanx, a rectangular mass These were the two main weapons military formation. His son, Alexander that the Maccabees had to contend with the Great, took control of the Greek as they were brought into battle by Anarmies after his father was assassinated tiochus IV in 175 BCE. However, there and exploited the idea of the phalanx. were weaknesses in Greek warfare and He had the soldiers carry 12 to 22 foot guerilla tactics were called for to be spears that could kill from a safe dis- used by the Jews. Both the elephants tance. They lined up and interlocked and the phalanx were only effective on their shields together. The soldiers in flat open fields but if battles were fought the front line poked their spears out, and in valleys or if they had to search out the

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Forgotten Heroes

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My Israel Home Gedaliah Borvick

Haifa’s Transformation

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aifa is a beautiful city located in northern Israel which offers its residents a rich quality of life. The third largest city in Israel, Haifa is on the comeback trail after having fallen into a sixty year decline following Israel’s independence in 1948.

a transformation from being primarily a manual labor city to being a hub of high-tech activities. It has several business parks, including the Scientific Industries Center which is the oldest business park in Israel, and is a major research and development center for many top international companies such as Intel, IBM, Microsoft, Motorola, Google and Yahoo!

The Early Years During the British Mandate in prestate Palestine from 1922 until 1948, Upgrades Haifa was the country’s economic capThe city’s recently completed infraital: it had the largest sea port in the structure upgrade, including the opencountry, plus many related businesses ing of the Carmel Tunnels highway, has cropped up to service the British mili- generated economic growth and helped tary requirements. make the city more However, after user-friendly.

In Israel claimed its addition, the city independence in has a large new 1948, Haifa’s role residential project diminished greatly called Ramat Haand Tel Aviv quicknassi. It is a new ly became the coun60 dunam (15 acre) try’s main business neighborhood that center. Haifa fell will accommodate into an economic eighteen residenand housing slump, tial towers rangnotwithstanding ing from nine to that it is home to July 15, 1945. Buchenwald survivors arrive 22 stories. Most of leading academic the staff at the acain Haifa to be arrested by the British. institutions such as demic institutions the Technion and Haifa University. and the high-tech business parks currently don’t live in Haifa, as the housFrom Blue Collar to High Tech ing stock has generally been rundown.

Haifa has always been recognized By offering modern luxurious housing as a blue collar city due to its housing in an upscale community, Haifa is preone of Israel’s two oil refineries and its senting the upwardly mobile workers port, which remains the country’s busi- opportunities to move back to the city. est passenger port and an active cargo harbor. However, Haifa has undergone Demographics Haifa has an eclectic population: 82% of the population is Jewish, 4% is Muslim and 14% is Christian. Most of the Jewish population is secular, but the 25% of the population that is religious cover a wide religious spectrum ranging from Hassidic

View toward the Bay from atop the Bahai Gardens

sects through Dati Leumi (national religious), Mesorati (Conservative), and Reform. One pocket of religious residents is located in Kiryat Shmuel, which is located in the Haifa Bay suburb commonly known as the Krayot.

With a population of 6,000 people, Kiryat Shmuel provides a religious infrastructure, complete with shuls, schools, mikvahs and kosher shopping.

It also offers proximity to Haifa’s employment opportunities, municipal services and retail opportunities. In step with the city’s general renewal, Kiryat Shmuel is undergoing a renaissance, and numerous residential projects are being developed in this neighborhood.

Culture Haifa is a great family-friendly city, offering many cultural attractions to its residents, including exceptional museums such as the Hecht Museum, which houses an impressive archaeology and art collection, the Haifa Museum of Art, the National Maritime Museum, and Israel’s National Museum of Science, to name just a few. It also has wonderful out-

door attractions, including the Haifa Educational Zoo, the Carmel Beach Promenade, the Hai-Bar Nature Reserve, and the famous Baha’i Gardens.

On your next trip to Israel, try something different and spend a few days discovering the charming city of Haifa.

Haifa oil refinery

Gedaliah Borvick is the founder of My Israel Home, a real estate agency focused on helping people from abroad buy and sell homes in Israel. To sign up for his monthly market updates, contact him at gborvick@gmail.com.

Please visit his blog at www.myisraelhome.com.

Quotes

“Say What?”

“Every big idea he has is a liberal idea that drowns us in debt. How about manning up here, Mr. President, and use your mandate to bring this country together to stop us from becoming Greece!”

- Jay Leno

-Republican Senator Lindsey Graham

“First of all, I’m in the top two percent. Right now, I’m paying 45% of my total income in income taxes, both to the state of Connecticut and to the federal government, and if you take the 3% Medicare tax. After the tax hikes go into effect next year, more than half – more than half of my total income is going to go to the government.

You tell me, what’s fair about that when medieval serfs pay 25%, I’m paying half? I don’t care what the majority voted to do; they don’t have a right to steal my money just because they vote for it.”

“Simply put: if we did not share in the prosperity, then we should not be asked to share in the sacrifice. Period. The New America spoke on Election Day and we want the 2 percent to make sure they hear us now.”

- Peter Schiff, Euro Pacific Capital CEO on CNBC “Mitt Romney met Manny Pacquiao just before Pacquiao lost his boxing match to Juan Manuel Marquez. Afterwards, Romney told Pacquiao, ‘You lost for the same reason I did — young Hispanics.’”

- Conan O’Brien “I think when you talk about the feeling at the White House, there’s a palpable difference now compared to 2011, the summer of 2011. They are so much cockier right now at the White House than they were a year and a half ago when they were doing this. They really believe they have set out –you come to us, we’re not going to negotiate against ourselves. We’re not going to like put – keep putting out more proposals. I mean, remember the summer of 2011, when President Obama was perceived, and they believed at the White House, that he kept making concession after concession and didn’t get anywhere? They are definitely not doing that now.”

-NYT Columnist Helene Cooper on Meet The Press, discussing the fiscal cliff negotiations “Here’s the money I took plus a new kettle. Please forgive me.”

- A note along with $130 sent to the Boardman Ohio Salvation Army, after one of its kettles went missing “They’re cops, you idiot!”

- What a drug dealer who was being arrested said to career criminal Nolan Rivera who was shot when he tried robbing the two arresting undercover detectives, who he thought were robbing the drug dealer “We’re going to have to see the rates on the top two percent go up. We’re not going to be able to get a deal without it. It’s not me being stubborn; it’s not me being partisan. It’s just a matter of math.”

-President Obama

- Tax cheat millionaire Al Sharpton, explaining why the rich should pay more taxes “Kill those ...Yankees who have been torturing Iraqi captives/Kill those ...Yankees who ordered them to torture/Kill their daughters, mothers, daughters-in-law and fathers/Kill them all slowly and painfully.”

- Lyrics sung in 2004 by a now world-renowned South Korean singer, who performed in front of the president this week, in protest over U.S. troop presence in South Korea “ I am deeply sorry for how those lyrics can be interpreted.”

- World-renowned South Korean singer in response to anger about the lyrics cited above “The Republican party is incapable of competing at that level. Trying to win that will be truly the Super Bowl.”

- Newt Gingrich on Meet the Press discussing the prospect of Hillary Clinton running in 2016 “Jews need not apply.”

-From a pamphlet introducing a new undergraduate social club at Harvard University “To be honest with you, I’ve been stunned to see how many people are interested in the $7 cup of coffee.”

- Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz on CNN, discussing his company’s roll out of a premium cup of coffee “The CEO of The Cheesecake Factory is now warning that Obamacare will be very costly. Hey, The Cheesecake Factory is one of the reasons we need Obamacare in the first place.”

–Jay Leno “Asia will have surpassed North America and Europe combined in terms of global power, based upon GDP, population size, military spending, and technological investment. China alone will probably have the largest economy, surpassing that of the United States a few years before 2030.”

- A newly released report by the National Intelligence Council regarding the global outlook by 2030

“Barbara Walters has released part of her ‘Most Fascinating People’ list. This year Hillary Clinton and Honey Boo Boo are both on it. That’s right. The woman who may soon be president – and Hillary Clinton.”

–Jimmy Fallon “There will be blood, there will be repercussions.”

- Democrat Michigan State Representative Doug Geiss on the State House floor in a speech against a controversial Michigan law allowing workers to decide whether or not they want to join a union “Once again, Europe has ignored calls for Israel’s destruction. We’ve already seen this at the end of the 1930’s and at the beginning of the 1940’s when Europe knew what was happening in the concentration camps and didn’t act.”

- Israel’s Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman “That hair of Ben Nelson’s, I mean, that is a mop of real hair. It’s often that people call his office, email his office, they believe he has a toupee. It’s his hair! He’ll pull it for you any time just to show you that it’s real. I mean, he has hair of a 15-yearold, so I have to acknowledge, I am a little envious of his hair.”

- Senator Majority Leader Harry Reid on the Senate floor, addressing retiring Senator Ben Nelson’s departure from the Senate “State-run Communism …may not be your cup of tea, but [the Chinese] government works.”

- Jeffrey Immelt, CEO of GE and chairman of the President Barack Obama’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness, on CBS News “So instead of confronting Netanyahu directly, Team Obama has hit upon a different strategy: stand back and let the rest of the world do the confronting. Once America stops trying to save Israel from the consequences of its actions, the logic goes, and once Israel feels the full brunt of its mounting international isolation, its leaders will be scared into changing course. ‘The tide of global opinion is moving [against Israel],’ notes one senior administration official. And in that environment, America’s ‘standing back’ is actually ‘doing something.’”

- Peter Beinart, in Newsweek article, titled, “Why Obama will Ignore Israel” “Mitt Romney got a job at a Marriott hotel. President Obama’s trying to stop us from going over the fiscal cliff. Mitt Romney is trying to stop people from stealing towels.”

–David Letterman “Texas Governor Rick Perry says he’s taking steps to run for president in 2016. In fact, this week he’s meeting with donors. He better hope they’re brain donors.”

–Jay Leno

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“Al-Qaida’s number two man has been killed by an American drone in Pakistan. In a related story, today al-Qaida’s number three man announced he’s stepping down to spend more time with his family.”

Compiled by Nate Davis

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Restaurant Review Alex Idov

Country Boy Bakery, Long Beach, NY Country Boy Bakery 256 East Park Ave. Long Beach NY 11561 (516) 889-7295 Under the Hashgacha of the Vaad of South Shore, Rabbi Chaim Wakslak & Rabbi Daniel Mehlman

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s the son of a professional baker, I am very particular when it comes to what can be considered high quality baked goods (i.e. a good bakery). Hence when I moved to New York a year ago and went searching for a superior quality bakery in the kosher food capital of the world, I was dismayed that while many of the bakeries I visited around the boroughs were good, there was no bakery that left me with an impression of wanting to return regularly. Where were the delectable black & white cookies of NY fame, the seeded rye bread from the kosher deli, the mohn roll of the European shtetel, and the good ol’ fashioned American apple pie that I associated with a good bakery? The answer lay in Long Beach.

Country Boy Bakery, located on Park Avenue in Long Beach, is by far the best bakery I have yet encountered in the state of New York. It reminds me very much of the bakery my father used to operate in Atlanta – everything is fresh, natural, and tastes great. Unlike many of the other bakeries I have visited, I have returned here numerous times and have raved to so many of my friends about it. While they may not offer many exquisite and elegant cakes, pastries, and other confections as many bakeries today do, it is Country Boy’s traditional style that lends to its appeal – they even pride themselves on “olde world tradition in baking.” Country Boy has many “old world” Jewish delicacies including kichel (bowties), some of the best rugelach I have tasted, a variety of hamentashen and mohn rolls (poppy seed strip), as well as many other bakery favorites including black & white cookies, cinnamon buns, Italian cannoli, Danish, rainbow bars, and fresh baked breads; they even offer a parve “cheese” Danish.

Country Boy was established in the 1960s has continued to please Long Beach residents for over six decades. In 1990, Country Boy Bakery was approached by the Long Beach Jewish community with a request to become kosher to meet the need for a kosher bakery in the community. The bakery is under the hashgacha of the Vaad of South Shore, run by Rabbis Chaim Wakslak of the Young Israel of Long Beach and Daniel Mehlman of the Lido Beach Synagogue, who supervise the bakery on a daily basis. All products to the exclusion of the dairy items and cookie wafer rolls imported from Israel (far left case in the store) are made on site and are considered parve and pas Yisroel. All of Country Boy’s products are sure to please and their specialties include a deliciously moist and light

marbled pound cake called the Philly Fluff and chocolate glazed coffee cake babkas. The dough of their Danishes (try the almond) is extremely light and just melts in your mouth.

And for all those bread enthusiasts who know “the real thing,” Country Boy’s onion rye bread is a throwback to a real rye bread, the likes of which have been really hard for me to find. The hard crusted bread is made with rye flour, jam-packed with moist onions and is exceptionally airy on the inside and crispy on the outside. Also amongst my favorites are the raspberry and cinnamon sticks…and of course just in time for Chanukah, Country Boy offers a variety of donuts including the traditional jelly-filled sufganiya and was even be the venue for the Young Israel of Long Beach community menorah lighting on the first night of Chanukah on motzei Shabbos. The bakery, which is located four blocks from the ocean, was very fortunate to suffer only minimal damage from Hurricane Sandy and was one of the first establishments in Long Beach to reopen, getting back up and running only three short days after the power was restored to Long Beach.

The Long Beach community is very appreciative to the bakery’s efforts in opening their doors and continuing to restock their display cases with their spiritlifting baked goods as Long Beach residents return to their homes and the town continues to rebuild from the devastation of the storm.

Alex Idov, exclusive restaurant review columnist of TJH, is a passionate and dedicated “foodie.”

Idov runs a personal chef business, The Cooking Yeshiva Bochur/The CYB in the Five Towns and Far Rockaway communities. Visit his website at www.thecyb5towns.com or contact him at thecyb5towns@gmail.com.

If you are interested in having your restaurant reviewed by TJH, please email the editor at editor@fivetownsjewishhome.com. Do you have a favorite place to eat or are interested in trying something new? Email the editor with suggestions of restaurants for review.

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            

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  

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Community

Rabbi Hershel Billet

Chizuk # 10 – A Tale of Two Cities?

Not In Our Community!

The following is the tenth in a series of articles of chizuk that Rabbi Hershel Billet has been sending members of the community in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.

One of the most ironic words in the vocabulary of Jewish conversation is “achdus,” unity. During the entire history of the Biblical Commonwealth and the post Biblical commonwealth, there were only 40 years of true internal peace. In today’s Jewish world, disunity is more commonplace than unity. Go to the Knesset cable TV station and be prepared to see the paradigm of interpersonal disrespect. How many Yeshivos have come into being in modern times where there has not been a breakaway yeshiva? In the jargon of the 70’s, we had ITRI and SPLITRI. More modern times have featured the wars of the Ponovitz and Chevron Yeshivos and the split in the “ahavat chinam” institution Merkaz HaRav between Merkaz and Har HaMor. We have been witness to the public battles in the Hasidic courts of Satmar and Bobov as well. Today, the Jewish community is even unprecedentedly divided over its support for Israel during a time of war – this was unheard of in the past!

In this world of a fractured and faction-split Jewish community, our Young Israel of Woodmere community has always been an oasis in the desert – a rare place where we really are united.

Not that we all agree on everything, of course! True unity isn’t some utopian vision where we never debate each other, but it’s a shared sense of purpose, a belief in the value and power of working together, and the belief that everyone is a valued part of the greater whole.

This has always been our lived creed in Woodmere.

But Sandy has posed an unprecedented challenge for our otherwise united community. The quirks of nature and the fate of location, location, location, have created two groups in our community: 1. Those who were flooded, 2. Those who were not flooded.

There are now two groups in our community, and as strong as we were before, we were not prepared for this.

We were not prepared to become New Orleans overnight. We have no experience in dealing with a flood. We have

never so many people in our community in need of so many sundry things. The loss of possessions, issues with FEMA, SBA Loans, flood insurance, letters of declination for those who had no flood insurance, hundreds of displaced families, frightened children, older people who simply cannot exert the physical energy needed in a cleanup, and much, much more. At the same time, there are hundreds of families who suffered only from lost power for a longer or shorter period of time. But they were not displaced from their homes, have no bureaucratic insurance or financial aid matters to deal with, and have suffered limited or no loss of any of their belongings. Suddenly, our community is faced with two different groups with radically different sets of needs, and radically different experiences.

We are not strangers to loss and tragedy in this community – we have experienced tragic losses together in the past.

And one of the things that people always say about this community is how much we take care of each other. When there is a loss, we mobilize our “troops,” and

rectly). We cannot let this happen. Like in the past, we must unite together in the face of this tragedy, even though it is harder to unite than ever before. We are a strong, caring, compassionate, loving, united community – we can do this, and we must do this. Every member of this community is essential to us, and we cannot allow anyone to be left behind.

A story is told about the Chofetz Chaim. One year, half of Radin burned down and those who were spared helped those who lost all. They rebuilt, and a little after the rebuilding was completed, the other half of Radin burned down. As the flames were burning in round 2, the Chofetz Chaim was heard saying, “Baruch Hashem. (Blessed is G-d). There was a decree from heaven that the entire city of Radin should burn down. But the Master of the World, in His kindness, divided the decree in two halves, so people can do chesed (acts of kindness) and help one another.” I think this story has deep resonance for our community. It does not mean, chas ve-sholom, that we expect there to be another hurricane that will finish off what Sandy didn’t man-

There is nearly nothing we can do to take away the immense difficulties our friends face.

How can we help? A smile, a hug, a listening ear – these are the places to begin.

we take care of the needs of those who are suffering. Most of the difficulties faced in the past, however, have been localized to one family, or a small group of people, and the needs we had been tasked to fill abated over time. Here we are faced with a mass collective suffering, and with no timetable on when there will stop being needs for us to fill.

In the past, when there has been a loss, it has helped unite our community in caring for the needs of those suffering. This mass-scale suffering caused

by Hurricane Sandy, however, threatens to divide our community – it threatens to divide us between those who were affected directly, and those who not really affected (or who were affected indi-

age to do. What it means, rather, is that there is a certain reality in the world. We never know what the future will bring.

We may be lucky one day, and unlucky another day. Whenever we’re among the lucky ones, we must help the unlucky.

We will never know when the situation might be reversed (in whatever way) and we will be the unlucky one in need of the help of the lucky. The message is: whenever there is a communal tragedy, we all need to help each other.

Many of my recent chizuk emails have been addressed to those who are directly coping with severe financial loss and damage to our homes, but this message is addressed to our entire community – to those who have suffered di-

rectly, to those who have suffered indirectly, and to those who have, thank G-d, been unaffected by the storm. The Radin Chofetz Chaim story teaches us that everyone in a community MUST be sensitive about kindness when part of the community is suffering! Young Israel of Woodmere is no different than Radin.

Because in truth, we are one community – we are a group of individuals and families, but we are also a united collective, and so there is really nobody in this community who has not been impacted by the hurricane.

Here are some of the ways that Sandy threatens to divide us, and what we can do about them: 1) Economically. Sandy has already widened whatever economic inequalities existed in our community – with the devastating financial losses to many who were impacted. Some families who previously could afford to live here have lost financial stability. The YIW Sandy relief fund was set up to help the members of this community get through this devastating time. If all of us participate in this fund – whether our donation is $1, $18, $180, $1800, or $18000, or $180,000 – we will fight against the possibility of our community being divided if we all reach into our hearts and our pockets and give whatever we can. This applies to everyone in this community – even those affected by Sandy should think about whether they can give something, even a very tiny amount, to help those who are even worse off. In life, there is always somebody worse off than ourselves. Every little bit counts to fight against these economic divisions.

2) Emotionally. People who have been unaffected or indirectly affected have already done so much to help those who have been directly affected. We have opened our homes, cooked meals, done laundry, volunteered their time, driven carpools, and the list could go on and on with acts of chessed too many to name. Many people now have “compassion fatigue” – we have done so much, and the need is endless, and we just want to go back to their normal lives. We may feel that our own lives have also been turned upside down – and yet, we can’t complain about this to anyone because it would be in poor taste to complain when we are obvious far better off than

is – how can we complain? We’re so lucky! And yet at the same time, it’s hard to keep up all of this help day in and day out, for so long. We have generously opened our homes, shared our personal space and resources for so long. It’s incredibly hard to keep doing this, but it is critical to keep on going.

For People Directly Affected

by Sandy What we are going through is so hard. And it makes us feel so much worse when the green-eyed monster rears its ugly head. It is natural, of course. We are suffering, and there are others around us who seem to have it so much easier.

They are witnesses to Sandy’s devastation. But they are not victims/survivors.

These thoughts raise all sorts of uncomfortable feelings. We feel guilty for being jealous. We feel resentful of those who can happily go about their business unburdened. We feel abandoned when people who offered support early on either didn’t follow through, or came through beautifully at the beginning but didn’t offer help again. We feel awkward and uncomfortable about needing so much help. It is especially difficult, for we are accustomed to giving rather than receiving. We feel shame and worry. We feel an intense need to appreciate what we have. Not just because it is helpful, but also because we fear Divine retribution for lack of appreciation. Loss makes us feel vulnerable in so many ways. This storm of negative feelings is confusing and painful.

Some of us may feel that others around us have been insensitive to the extent of the loss. Whether we feel that people told us that our damage is not as bad as we think it is. Or whether people suggested that God is testing us, and we need to pass the test, or whether we find that our friends are less sensitive to our needs now than they were a month ago. Or whether other things have been said that made us feel alone, hurt, or unacknowledged in our suffering. In all of these cases, we need to understand that people are well meaning.

People don’t mean to be hurtful, and often don’t know what to say. They worry that saying nothing is inappropriate or not supportive. They don’t realize that sometimes there is little to say. A small gesture like a hug, or an acknowledgement that they are not privy to answers, or an offer of concrete help, is so much more powerful. Understanding doesn’t make the pain go away. But it does make it easier to take.

We also must be appreciative of people’s genuine kindness. We should remember to say “thank you.” We should accept people’s hospitality while at the same time respecting their home and their space. We should not be so

absorbed in our predicament that we become oblivious to our responsibilities towards others as well! Take note of local community efforts like Achiezer, Community Assistance Fund, Nivneh, and YIW Sandy Relief Fund. Remember that the greater Jewish communities throughout the USA, Canada, and parts of South and Central America have contributed an incredible amount of money and goods and services to help our community.

Also, as hard as this is: We need to recognize that those whose homes remained intact are suffering too. Their suffering is less visible than ours. It is also less destabilizing and devastating, but it is real. We must find it in our hearts to ask the people who are helping us how they are coping with all of this as well.

For All of Us The most important thing is that we are committed to getting through this TOGETHER, as one unified community. Whenever we recognize in ourselves an emotion that is dividing us from the rest of the community, or creating two groups, we must fight against it. And we must take action – financially, and in terms of offering our time and skills, to bring this community back to a place of more equality and unity.

We need to hold on to the knowledge that this difficult time will pass.

The Midrash famously speaks of Shlomo Hamelech’s ring, engraved with the words that are appropriate for every occasion. Gam zeh yaavor – this too shall pass. When we are flying high, this keeps us humble. And when we are devastated, these words give us hope. There will be light. We must hold onto this as we usher in our season of light in the darkest days of the year.

The late General Aharon Yariv, the very capable head of military intelligence for the IDF (‘AMA”N’) in the late 60’s and in the very early 70’s (but not at the time of the Yom Kippur War), was once asked by the Chief of Staff of the IDF to prognosticate about the future.

When he replied, “I do not know,” the Chief of Staff said, “If that is the case, why are you the head of military intelligence?” Yariv responded with a smile, “I do not know the answer to that as well.”

I do know that this community is amazing and admirable — all of us are so proud to be members of this community. Let’s keep doing all that we can to prove to ourselves and to the world that we are as strong and caring and united as ever before. I also know that in the end life will be normal again for everyone.

Rabbi Hershel Billet is the rabbi of the Young Israel of Woodmere.

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d e c e m b e r 1 3 , 2012

Some Practical Tools

For Those of Us Not Directly Affected by Sandy (“Witnesses”) It is impossible to truly understand what our devastated neighbors and friends are going through. The material losses from the flooding were only the beginning. Now in addition to the burden of rebuilding, flood victims are

coping with profound loss of feelings of safety and security, with financial worry, with loss of routine, and with the experience of utter powerlessness. There is nearly nothing we can do to take away the immense difficulties our friends face. How can we help? A smile, a hug, a listening ear – these are the places to begin. And we must continue to offer these – however often, however repetitive, for however long. It continues to help.

When trying to be supportive or when offering advice, we must try to gauge whether what we’re about to say will be helpful or unhelpful. Instead of offering unsolicited advice, we should find out what sort of advice would be most needed and appreciated. We should let people know we really mean what we say when we’re offering support. We should listen carefully, and then follow through. As so many of us have already been doing, we must continue to help in very basic ways. A load of laundry, relief from a carpool so that a person hit by the hurricane can go to a crisis center meeting, an hour of babysitting (for business, or better yet for pleasure; we can be so helpful by encouraging our displaced friend to have a date with his/ her spouse), a meal. Those of us who have professional skills that can be of use should continue to offer them.

Basic sensitivity is always important. We’re a community of “kibbitzers” – we often joke about things, and this is a helpful tool for getting through the best of times and the worst of times.

But we need to remember that flippant remarks about the flood, the mess, the rebuilding process can be hurtful, even if meant as a joke. Some terms may be hurtful. Some people might not like to be called “Sandy victims.” They may think of themselves as people who had a setback but not as a victim! And of course, things that were very normal in the past – to share good financial news with friends, or to discuss the details of an upcoming lavish simcha – might now be very hurtful. So we all just need to be very careful here.

And most of all, a lesson for all of us to remember: In the immediate aftermath of a disaster, there is lots of help and support. But typically, a month or two later, support drops off, frequently to lower than baseline levels. This is devastating for people who are uncomfortable asking for yet more help, and yet desperately need help. So let’s all keep it up. It cannot be minimized how hard it is to keep on helping, day after day, week after week. Those of us who were indirectly affected by the storm may feel “survivor’s guilt” and are suffering in countless ways that are not visible to those who lost their homes. We may feel guilty sharing this feeling with anyone else, because the obvious answer

The Jewish Home n

our friends and neighbors. People who have been directly affected, on the other hand, see our neighbors whose homes and lives are intact, and may feel that some people have not done enough to help, or that people are losing interest in the suffering of those who simply don’t have a home to return to yet. We may feel either jealous or angry at those who were not directly affected.

Both groups need to fight against both of these sets of emotions: If we were indirectly affected, we need to fight against compassion fatigue, and if we were directly affected, we need to fight against jealousy or anger. Those who were indirectly affected must remember how arbitrary Sandy was in her path of destruction – it could have easily been any of us who were hit, and any of us who were not hit. We are all living the old adage, “There but by the grace of G-d go I.” Being part of a community means we take this to heart, and we continue to help each other for as long as there is need, as would want our neighbors to do for us if we were the ones who had been hit by Sandy. For those who were directly hit, we cannot let emotions like jealousy or anger come between us and our neighbors. We need to realize that many people are doing everything they can behind the scenes, or more publicly, and that we don’t know how we ourselves would react if the tables were turned. Instead of being judgmental, we need to be grateful for every single act of kindness done, without taking anything for granted. We also can’t wait for people to come to offer help to us – some people might not even know where to begin to help. We need to make clear and explicit requests, to give people the opportunity to help us. Those who were affected by Sandy should also find it in their hearts to feel happy for those who were lucky enough to be spared, and to offer help to those who are even worse off than ourselves.

Below are some more specific things for all of us to think about and practice over the coming days, weeks, months – whether we were impacted directly or indirectly – we were all deeply impacted, and we need to respond in the way most appropriate to our current situation. And we need to always keep in mind: We are a community. If one of us is suffering, we are all suffering. And we must respond in kind.

T h e J e w i s h H o m e n d e c e m b e r 1 3 , 2012

You Gotta be

Riddle

Kidding!

Submitted by Devorah Konig Jimbo and son went fishing one day. After a couple hours out in the boat, the boy suddenly became curious about the world around him. He asked Jimbo, “How does this boat float?”

Jimbo thought for a moment, then replied, “Haven’t got the faintest, son.”

The boy returned to his contemplation, then turned back to his father, “How do fish breathe underwater?”

Once again Jimbo replied, “Don’t rightly know, son.”

A little later the boy asked Jimbo, “Why is the sky blue?”

Again, Jimbo replied, “Son, I ain’t exactly positive about that one.”

Worried he was going to annoy his father, Jimbo’s son said, “Dad, do you mind my asking you all of these questions?”

“Of course not, son,” said Jimbo. “If you don’t ask questions, you’ll never learn anything!” **** Why does a Moon-rock taste better than an Earth-rock? Because it’s a little meteor.

Submitted by Chanala Neret Siblings Sara, Moshe, Miriam, Leah, and Tzvi all lit the menorah. Sara lit before Miriam, but after Moshe. Leah lit first. If Tzvi lit after Miriam, in what order did the siblings light?

Answer on next page

Down forced out by Antiochus 2. yum...something we all love to eat, 16. Father of the Chashmonaim 17. Not part of the eight but there every especially with apple sauce night 4. I’m scheduled to appear every year in 18. cha-ching...something we all love the middle of Chanukah to get 5. Did you get your kids ________ in Why does a Moon-rock taste better thanAmazing an Earth-rock?

Savings? Because it’s a little 21.meteor.

I am the best part of your sufganiya 6. Food, family and music Across 7. Leader of the Maccabees Puzzle 1. I made it out of clay 9. It’s Chanukah best to use meCrossword for your menorah 13. Mode of transportation for the 3. Rock of Ages 8. Nothing to do with Chanukah, but it Greek army is the greatest Jewish magazine, all 14. Greeks year round including Chanukah 15. The holy Kohen Gadol who was

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10. pure olive oil 11. I was different than all other jugs of oil because I contained this 12. A smart and brave woman who saved the day 19. The only other time I’m said is Purim 20. Wicks are made of me 22. Something we say with great joy on Chanukah 23. Amount of brachos said on the first night of Chanukah

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Answers Down: 2. Latkes 4. Rosh Chodesh 5. Presents 6. Party 7. Yehuda 9. Oil 13. Elephant 14. Yevanim 15. Yochanan 16. Matisyahu 17. Shamesh 18. Gelt 21. Jelly Across: 1. Dreidel 3. Maoztzur 8. The Jewish Home 10. Shemen Zayis Zuch 11. Seal 12. Yehudis 19. Al hanissim 20. Cotton 22. Hallel 23. Three

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85 The Jewish Home n

5) Who of the following was not one of Matisyahu’s five sons? a) Yehuda b) Yonasan c) Shimon d) Mordechai

2) What does “maccabee” mean? a) Star b) Courage c) Soldier d) Hammer

6) What modern day country were the “Greeks” based in? a) Syria b) Greece c) Rome d) Iran

3) What is the total number of candles lit during Chanukah? a) 44 b) 36 c) 54 d) 28 4) Which city did the Maccabees live in? a) Yerushalayim b) Beit Shemesh c) Modi’in d)Chevron

7) Who bowed down to Shimon Hatzadik? a) Antiyoches b) Matisyahu c) Alexander the Great d) Helifornus 8) Which of Noach’s children were the Greeks descendants of?

a) Shem

b) Chom

c) Yofes

d) His daughter

d e c e m b e r 1 3 , 2012

1) How many years ago did the miracle of Chanukah take place? a) 3206 b) 2110 c) 1461 d) 1402

Answers: 1)B 2)D 3)A 4)C 5)D 6)A 7)C 8)C Wisdom key: Answered 6-8 correctly: You deserve a jelly donut Answered 3-5 correctly: You deserve a jelly donut, without the jelly Answered 0-3 correctly: You are a jelly donut

How To Say You Don’t Like Your Present • Boy, if I had not recently shot up four sizes, that would’ve fit.

• Well, well, well...

• I really don’t deserve this.

• It would be a shame if the garbage man ever accidentally took this from me.

• Gosh, I hope this never catches fire!

• You must have thought long and hard about this one. Not.

• So, was there a really long line at the recycling center?

• You know, this is exactly the gift that I never dreamed of...not even in my worst nightmares.

• I love it, but I fear the jealousy it will inspire.

• The way you wrapped this gift is beautiful... whoever said it’s about what’s inside anyways?

• Was I really that mean to you this year?

• Perfect for wearing in the basement.

• Is this Zecher Lechurban?

• If the dog buries it, I’ll be furious!

• Sadly, tomorrow I enter the federal witness protection program.

• To think I got this the year I vowed to give all my gifts to charity.

Got funny? Let the Commissioner decide.

Send your stuff to centerfold@fivetownsjewishhome.com

Answer to riddle: Leah lit first, then Moshe, then Sara, then Miriam, and then Tzvi.

• So do you always shop at Okay Savings?

86 T h e J e w i s h H o m e n d e c e m b e r 1 3 , 2012

Cover Story

Hershel Lieber is one of those people who doesn’t just talk about doing things; he gets up and does them. From his modest beginnings, when the desire to bring Polish Jews back to their roots took hold, his knowledge and abilities in kiruv have multiplied immeasurably. For Hershel, nothing is better than showing the Nazis that their evil will not destroy the Jewish people, no matter where they are. And even in a place where that evil was strongest, Yidden are still coming home.

Selichos at the Remu Shul in Krakow

Shira Diamond

Connecting with the Past Hershel Lieber’s story started in the early years after the Holocaust, when he was one of the first children born in the Munich area in a DP camp after the war. He was most probably the first Bris and Pidyon Haben at that time. Soon after, in 1947, he and his parents traveled to America, the goldena medina, and made their home in Williamsburg. In 1952, his family was one of the first to move to Boro Park, before the community became the Jewish metropolis that it is today.

When little Heshy was growing up, his father used to speak about the alter heim, and about what Jewish life was like in Europe before the war. It was intriguing to the boy who sometimes would dream about going back to Poland to discover his roots. His father came from Krakow, and they had a bustling Jewish life and much history before it was destroyed by the Nazis. But there was also a history of antiSemitism and Communism, and so the thought of visiting his parents’ birthplace was pushed to the back of his mind and forgotten about. Heshy grew older and became busy with his life, but his desire to go to Poland was still there, lying dormant. Then one day he heard that the Bobover Rebbe was organizing a group trip to Poland. Hershel didn’t manage to go, but his cousin did, and when he returned he told him all about the incredible experience he had. He felt a lot of regret that he didn’t go, and decided that the next time there was a trip he would not lose the opportunity. In 1977, he got his chance when another Chassidishe group organized a trip to Poland to visit the gravesites of several Rebbes. Even though he didn’t belong to that Chassidishe sect, he wasn’t going to miss his chance again. So he traveled with them, and saw many kevarim of holy tzaddikim there. For Shabbos, Hershel stayed over with one of the travelers in Krakow. As he walked the streets, he felt like he was reliving the history of his ancestors. He was walking the very same streets that his mother and father did so long ago. But the Jewish community now was nothing like it was then. Besides for the handful of Jews that lived there, the area was run down and not taken care of. The shul was in ruins. But Hershel had a sense of reconnecting with the past, one that he would not forget, one that would help decide which path his life would take.

Two years later, Hershel got another opportunity to return to Poland. An organization called Al Tidom, a group that did work for Jews behind the Iron Curtain to try to teach them and reconnect them to their past, asked him if he would go to Poland for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur to be the chazzan.

Hershel knew right away he wanted to go and do something for his brothers in that part of the world. He went, and davened for the Jewish community there, which at that time was made up of 99 percent older people with only three or four children. While he was davening, he took two of those children, two boys, and brought them to stand with him at the amud. These were the remnants of Jewish life in Poland. He knew then and there that he would do whatever it takes to help bring the Torah back to them.

Are There Jews in Poland?

Soon after this experience, Hershel got another opportunity to visit Poland. Rabbi Chaskel Besser from the Agudah asked him if he would be interested in helping restore and maintain the Jewish cemeteries there. Many of the Jewish cemeteries were in complete disarray and run down. Hershel traveled many times to Poland on this mission. He went to one town and spoke to the mayor because he wanted to fence in the local Jewish cemetery. He helped restore graves to their previous conditions, and worked to help restore the cemeteries. But for Hershel Lieber, up till this point, Jewish life in Poland revolved around its last remnants. It was made up of old people, graveyards and broken shuls. Then one day all that changed. Hershel got an issue of National Geographic magazine in the mail, and to his surprise, the main feature was about Poland’s Jewish community. The title of the article was “The Last Jews in Poland” which was an excerpt from a book about this topic. He opened to the article and saw a picture of a seder in Poland with about 20 young people participating. Hershel was shocked! There were young Jews in Poland? He immediately decided that he had to go meet these people and got in contact with the author of the book, Malgorzata Niezabitowska. She happened to be in Boston at the time promoting her book, and she was coming to New York the following night! He met with Malgorzata, and she told him, “Yes, there are young Jews in Poland who are trying to connect with their past.” She said she would get Hershel some of their names and addresses, and she did. However, Hershel’s next step was to secure funding for the project of reconnecting with these individuals, which was not an easy task. He approached the Agudah, who said they couldn’t sponsor the whole thing, but suggested a co-sponsorship with the Bobover Rebbe. When both sides agreed, Hershel was about to embark on a new journey.

Hershel traveled to Poland with a friend from shul who knew Polish, and together they went to see if they could uncover some of the younger Jews in Poland. A chassidshe yid, Reb Shmelke Griffel, left Poland in the early sixties. He would go to different Rabbanim to tell them about the thousands of hidden Jews in Poland, who were hidden with goyim during the war or are too afraid to admit that they are Jewish. He had a list of many of these people with their names and addresses, and he enlisted Hershel’s help. He and Hershel continued going to Rabbanim but things weren’t really moving. But now that Hershel was going on this trip to Poland to care for the cemeteries, Shmelka gave him his lists to see who he could find. At first, Hershel’s experiences searching for these Jews were mixed. Some welcomed him with open arms and were excited to reconnect with their roots. Others slammed the door in his face. He even went to one woman who showed him pictures of herself with her Chassidishe parents. This woman

Elderly Jews in Poland, none of whom are alive today

d e c e m b e r 1 3 , 2012

Connecting with Polish Youth At this point in time, Hershel Lieber had been going to Poland on a regular basis to be the chazzan for the Jewish community there, and he also became close with the chief Rabbi of Poland, as well as his successor, Rabbi Michael Schudrich. Ronald Lauder, a Jewish philanthropist who funds projects in many countries that are aimed at educating Jews about their religion, was then the U.S. ambassador to Austria.

He started to help the Jewish community in Hungary but the programs weren’t necessarily run according to Orthodox tradition. However, Mr. Lauder then met with Rabbi Besser, and decided he wanted him to run his Polish operation for Jews. Rabbi Besser transformed the program to run Al Pi Torah. He then asked Hershel to get involved in a camp they were starting for these Jewish families. Rabbi Lieber agreed and they went ahead with the plans. On the first week, they had only about 6 or 7 people; on Shabbos the numbers rose to about 16 or 17. But the number of attendees kept rising and after two years, they had to move to a bigger building. Year after year, the numbers continued to climb until it became a regular summer camp. Hershel spent 2 to 4 weeks every summer there with his wife, Pesi. They were so successful that they started a winter camp as well. Hershel was involved in those camps for 18 years, teaching Jews far removed from Torah about their heritage. This increased Jewish awareness and also built a sense of Jewish pride. At the same time, he also started to bring some children from Poland to the U.S. in order for them to attend religious Jewish schools here. Many of those children have grown up to be frum Jews, and have married and now have beautiful families that are Torah observant.

One of the girls they brought from Poland to go to school in the United States was a girl named Magdelina. She came to a Chanuka party that Hershel and his wife made one year, and together with the other children, they were reminiscing about the camps in Poland and the fun they had. Hershel asked her which town in Poland she came from and she said Zingrov. He told her that he went to Zingrov once, looking for Jews. He met a woman there who was Jewish and wanted to get married but couldn’t find any Jews to marry. In an effort to find a Jewish spouse, she went to Tel Aviv to her uncle. She was there for a year but still could not find anyone so she came back to Zingrov. Eventually, she married a goy, and had a daughter and son. When Hershel went to visit them, he was so saddened by the fact that this family was completely cut off from Jewish life. This was the end of the line for them. When Hershel finished telling Magdelina this story, she cried out, “That little girl is me!” It turns out that her mother took her to one of the Jewish camps the Liebers ran, and the rest is history. Magdelina is now married to a frum man who teaches in chinuch, they live in Eretz Yisroel and are living a completely frum life today.

Hershel is honest about the success rate with these things. “For every success case there were two or three that were not,” he says, “but our job is to do, the rest is up to Hashem.” And that is exactly what he did. Whatever he could do, he did without fanfare or a desire for recognition. He also points out that he would not be able to accomplish any of this without his Eishes Chayil, Pesi. She accompanies him on many of the trips and is involved with numerous Polish visitors and students. She sometimes teaches when in Poland and is a wonderful role model for the students. Even when their children were young, she encouraged Hershel to go on his trips to Poland, at great sacrifice. She is his full partner in this mission.

Hershel Lieber’s tireless effort on behalf of Polish Jewry is an inspiration. There are many cases that bring a smile to his face, like the two boys who were brought out of Poland to study for semicha, and are now both respected Rabbanim, one in Gateshead and one in Warsaw. Or the one who is fully Chassidishe today, and nothing would give away that his background was not always frum. Hershel’s accomplishments are incredible, yet he is the first to admit that there is so much more to do. In some ways, the Jewish community in Poland is growing at an incredible rate. In other ways, it is regressing. It is not easy to keep kosher there. It is also extremely difficult to raise a frum family there. But Hershel Lieber will continue to try to bring the Jews of Poland home, no matter what it takes. “Jewish life in Poland is nothing like it was when my parents lived there, the streets teeming with Jews and vibrancy,” says Hershel. “Just a remnant of what was remains.” But instead of focusing on the past, he will look towards the future, searching for any Jew who wishes to come back home and helping him get there.

87 The Jewish Home n

grew up in a completely religious environment, but unfortunately, she married and goy and was now totally removed from Yiddishkeit. Others were not so welcoming, but he did not let the slammed doors deter him from pursuing this kiruv mission any further. “Like everything in life,” Hershel says, “you don’t always succeed but you’re not patur (exempt) from trying.” And so Hershel Lieber plowed on. At the end of the trip he also got to meet up with the young people who were photographed in the picture of the seder. It was Chanuka at the time, and Hershel came to one of their homes to meet with some of them. He was welcomed in and noticed that on one side was a Chanukah menorah, and sadly, on the other side of the room stood a Christmas tree. But he forged a strong bond with them, and they are still in touch today.

In the early 80’s, Hershel was traveling by train to Krakow, and he was davening in his train car with his tallis and tefillin on. A man walked by and did a double take. He knocked on the door and Hershel motioned for him to come in. The man asked him what he was doing there and Hershel replied that he was helping Jews. The man, who left Poland in 1968 because of anti-Semitism, returned to visit his mother in Poland. He told Hershel that there was a religious man who kept all the Orthodox practices living in Dombrowa. Hershel couldn’t believe it—he decided he had to meet this man, Shmiel Roth.

He traveled to Dombrowa and asked the townspeople where the old Jew lived. He was directed to his home and knocked on his door. Finally, a woman answered and motioned for Hershel to come in. It was Chanuka, and on the table was a menorah and siddur, and Mr. Roth was davening beside the menorah.

He was wearing a kippah. Hershel could not believe his eyes—a religious Jew in this small Polish town!

He spoke to the man and asked why he remained. He explained that he needed to take care of the shul and Jewish cemetery because there is no one who remains to do so.

The only Jewish children in Warsaw in 1979. Three of these children learned in yeshivos in the United States and are married with their own families.

At a lecture at the Lauder camp in 1996

The Shabbos guests in this 2010 photo include a family from Warsaw whose son is now in yeshiva MTA. One boy from Poland is studying in T.A. of Baltimore. Another boy from Poland is in Yeshiva Sh’or Yoshuv, and a married Polish couple living in Boro Park is pictured as well.

At the seudah Erev Yom Kippur this year in Poland with two frum families with their children, as well as Hershel and his grandson.

In Poland this year before Yom Kippur.

T h e J e w i s h H o m e n d e c e m b e r 1 3 , 2012

88

Helping Our Youth

Step By Step

Presents The

Every Child Can Be A Star recent e h t y b d e een affect b e v a h n e nukah r a d h il C h c g r in u t o a y s in celebr If you and u in o j o t invite you e w , m r o t s nment! o ir v n e m raigos in our war

Mad f o m a e T l Clinica olunteers e h t y b d eV Staffe h Star Caf hanuka and our C

Be sure to choose a

free toy to t ake hom

e and have it gift wrappe d while you e njoy the fu n!

419 CENTRAL AVENUE former Williams Sonoma store

FREE ADMISSION

Hours of Operation:

Sunday, December 9th: 10am-10pm Monday thru Thursday: 6pm-10pm Sunday, December 16th: 10am-10pm

Ages: 3-13

89 The Jewish Home n

SUNDAY FUNDAY Sunday, December 16th

d e c e m b e r 1 3 , 2012

Eitan Katz 2pm-4pm

PhotoFun Booth 5pm-7pm

ling g g u J Show 7pm

w t f i l a t e G

Face Painting 10am-2pm

t f i g a g n i p hile wrap

rive D y o T ” v o T v ter ror e f o L s “ im s t o ic ig v Israeli e Madra

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Sufgan

iyot

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Every Child Can Be A Star

This project is brought to you by The Community Resources Division of Madraigos

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In the Kitchen Moti Buchbut

Chanukah Delicacies from Israel English Cake Served with Chocolate & Dried Fruits Ingredients Cake 7 ounces butter or margarine 7 ounces brown sugar 4 medium eggs 7 ounces finely chopped dried fruits & nuts (such as cherries, apricots, almonds, walnuts etc.)

7.5 ounces flour ¼ cup sweet red wine 1 teaspoon of baking powder 1 teaspoon vanilla extract A pinch of salt Decoration 3.5 ounces bittersweet chocolate (place an extra ounce aside for final garnishing) Thinly sliced seasonal fruits (such as apple, pineapple, pear etc.)

Icing sugar Optional: Pareve whipped cream, amaretto liquor Preparation Preheat the oven to 350°. In the bowl of a food processor, beat the butter /margarine and sugar until creamy. Combine the flour and baking powder. Add the eggs, wine, pinch of salt, flour and vanilla extract combination to the butter /margarine and sugar, alternating between adding the liquids and flour. Process until the mixture is smooth and fluffy. Remove from the food processor and fold in the dried fruits & nuts.

You can use either two 7x7 inch trays or one larger 14x14 tray. Pour into a tin lined with baking paper and bake at 350° for 35 minutes.

Cool the cake and then using a thin knife or round cookie cutter, cut into round circles, 2 inches in diameter.

Decoration Melt the chocolate over boiling water and pour onto a sheet of baking paper. Spread thinly. Leave to cool and harden at room temperature.

When the chocolate has hardened, cut out circles which are just slightly larger than the cake circles.

Brush the cakes with a little amaretto liquor if desired and then place the chocolate circles on top of the cakes. You can also stick the chocolate ring to the cake with a little cream.

Dry the seasonal fruit byplacing them on baking paper, sprinkling them with a little icing sugar and then covering with another sheet of baking paper. Place in the oven at 160 degrees° for approximately 40 minutes or until dry.

Stick the dried fruit to the chocolate circles by dipping them first in a little melted chocolate.

To serve, sprinkle with icing sugar and add a dollop of a sweet fruity sauce on the side.

Moti Buchbut is the executive chef at the Inbal Jerusalem Hotel.

Ingredients 2.25 lbs. sweet potatoes Pinch of salt Pinch of pepper 7 ounces flour 2 tablespoons of spicy chili sauce 1 medium sized egg Oil to fry

Serving Suggestions You can also serve on a platter alongside potato latkes as well.

For regular potato latkes, add 3 eggs and just 4.25 ounces of flour. Add some chopped parsley and follow the rest of the preparation above.

Latkes can also be served with seasonal fruits such as mango and pineapple.

Chanukah Samayach!

d e c e m b e r 1 3 , 2012

Preparation Wash the sweet potatoes thoroughly and place on a baking tray. Bake in the oven at 300째 for approximately 40 minutes. Cool and peel. Place them in a colander to cool completely and remove the excess liquid.

In a separate bowl, mash the potatoes until they become a smooth puree. Add all of the remaining ingredients.

Heat a frying pan with the oil and create latkes using two tablespoons or a pastry bag.

Fry for 3 minutes on each side and serve warm on a bed of apple sauce and with a ball of sour cream.

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Shabbos Chanukah

The Bais HaMikdash – Power Source of Spirituality

The State of the Union At the time of Chanukah, there was much wrong with the spiritual state of the Jewish people. Ignorance had become profound, and entire generations were no longer brought up in the ways of Torah. The Greek/Syrian philosophy had taken hold, and many, many Jews considered themselves more Greek than the Greeks. In their homes they spoke the language of Yavan. They schooled their children in the ways of Yavan, and all that they aspired for was acceptance in Greek society.

According to the Megillas Chashmonaim, the Jews of Yerushalayim asked Antiochus to rename their city Antioch in his honor. They even sent a contingency asking him to erect a gymnasium in Yerushalayim. A gymnasium was not merely a hall for the practice of Greek sports; it was a center of idol worship. It represented a house of Greek culture for the specific function of propagating the Greek ideology and all that it stood for.

Initially, Antiochus refused. Finally the Jews of Yerushalayim gathered together 360 talents of silver – a king’s ransom – to bribe Antiochus to erect such a building. He agreed, and the Megillas

Chashmonaim opens up with the statement: “They erected a gymnasium in Yerushalayim.”

The Ramban on Chumash says, “If not for the Chasmonaim, Torah would have been forgotten from the Jewish people.”

If so, why did the Bach say that the reason for the decrees was the Jews being lax in the Avodah? There seem to be many other things going wrong.

Spiritual Fuel Source The answer seems to be that in spiritual manners, there is no stagnation. A

power was no longer functioning at capacity.

The Avodah no longer accomplished its desired effect, and the Jewish Nation itself was in grave danger.

The only cure was for the Jewish people to reach a new understanding of the primacy of the Avodah and to rededicate themselves to the service in the Bais HaMikdash. When led by the Chashmonaim, Kohanim who did the Avodah and who were willing to sacrifice their lives for it, the nation was rededicating themselves to the centrality of the Avodah. Then the Bais HaMik-

The furnace providing the level of spiritual power was no longer functioning at capacity. The Avodah no longer accomplished its desired effect, and the Jewish nation itself was in grave danger.

in our times when as much as 90% of our nation is made up of non-practicing Jews. While the numbers may seem daunting, nevertheless, we live in amazing times. There is a powerful receptivity amongst our people – religious and not yet religious – for growth. People hunger for truth and meaning in their lives, and the Torah is only pure source that fills that need. Clearly, the mitzvah of our generation is Kiruv. And as such, it is an obligation upon each of us to do all that we can to help our brothers who were brought up bereft of their heritage.

From that aspect, the work is clear. We must go out and do whatever is in our power to help – whether teaching classes or inviting non-religious co-workers to our homes, whether joining Partners in Torah or contributing to Kiruv programs. The work is endless, but the potential is stellar.

At the same time, we can’t lose sight of the reality that these attempts succeed only because of the spiritual state of our nation. We no longer have a Bais HaMikdash. Now, our Yeshivas and Kollels are the nuclear furnaces that provide the spiritual fuel for the world. If our own Torah study is on a high level, and we are pumping out the vital spiritual fuel needed, then with Hashem’s help, all of these efforts will succeed. However, if we allow the spiritual reactors of our people to decline, then all of the best efforts in the world will not meet with success. The underlying energy source of it all will be lacking.

person is either going up or going down. dash could be reestablished and pump The concept of remaining static doesn’t out the spiritual nourishment needed to exist. If a person has the spiritual fuel keep the Klal Yisrael whole. that he requires, he ascends level after level. If not, he declines. That is the reKiruv – The Mitzvah of ality. That is the way Hashem created Our Generation the world. The Bais HaMikdash was the This concept is especially relevant nuclear reactor that fueled the spiritual needs of the world.

The nation as a whole took a down-   turn because the source of all Ruchniyus was no longer potent. It had lost its luster in the people’s eyes, and so it was no longer providing the life-giving nourishment that Hashem created it to give. The Jewish people are one unit, inextricably tied together in fate and spiritual level.

The core of our spiritual energy in those days was the Bais HaMikdash. The Avodah was the lifeline and fuel source for the nation. Since it was no longer practiced properly, it couldn’t maintain the spiritual needs of our people. The reason the Jews of Yerushalayim became enam  ored with Greek culture was because the  furnace providing the level of spiritual





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he Bach commenting on Tur Shulchan Aruch explains that the decrees of the Yivanim against the Jewish people occurred because the Jewish people became “lax in their service.”

Earlier in history, the Bais HaMikdash had been the center of life, the pride of every Jew. Going up to Yerushalayim three times a year was looked at with excitement and great anticipation, and the effect of the service was appreciated by all. However, at the time of the Chanukah events, that appreciation was long gone. While the Kohanim still brought the Korbonos, the service in the Bais HaMikdash had lost its luster and glory.

The Bach seems to be saying that all that was to befall the Jewish people was because we no longer approached the Avodah with the appropriate sense of purpose, and therefore it was taken from us. This, however, becomes difficult to understand when we take into perspective what was actually happening in those days.

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The Shmuz

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The Observant Jew Rabbi Jonathan Gewirtz

G-d and the New York Jets

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s I said Al HaNisim this week, the special addition we say in Shemona Esrai to praise and thank Hashem for the miraculous victory over the Greeks, I noticed something I don’t think I ever paid much attention to before. We talk about how, when the evil Greek empire rose up to make us forget the Torah and destroy Judaism, G-d would have none of it. He made the large, powerful, sinful enemy fall into the hands of the small, weak, righteous Jewish soldiers. By doing so, we continue, “For Yourself You made a great and holy name for in Your world, and for Your people, Israel, You effected a great deliverance and redemption to this very day.”

It struck me: Does G-d really need us to talk Him up? Is it praise to say that He made a name for Himself? If I were to say, “Jonathan Gewirtz is so great because he put up billboards telling everyone how great he is,” wouldn’t

that sound strange? Why are we thanking Hashem for something that would be narcissistic if a human being did it?

Why am I asking so many questions; is it almost Pesach?

To begin the answer, let me give you some background. I married into a family of New York Jets fans. That means Chanuka parties revolve around game time, and if the Jets are doing well, spouses are happy and everyone is smiling. When they lose…not so much.

This season in particular, the Jets name has been turned into an acronym praying for the season to be over – Just End The Suffering. And yet, they remain devoted Jets fans, much to the smirking mirth of New York Giants fans.

A Giants fan, of course, holds his head up high. After all, his team has won a Super Bowl, and they don’t embarrass themselves with interceptions, sacks, and other football statistics and jargon I won’t pretend to fully comprehend.

Both football teams have followers, and both have die-hard fans who would never switch to the other team. However, there might be some New Yorkers, tired of constant disappointment, who switch to become fans of the winning team if only for the prestige of being able to say, “MY team won the Super Bowl.” Now back to Chanuka.

The Greeks, like so many others throughout the millennia, tried to make us leave Hashem and His Torah. They tried to show us that they were successful and had a “winning” team. They pressed us to come to their side and be one of them. We could then point to their culture, their pleasure, and their intellect and say, “MY team is winning.” Unfortunately, many people did, in fact, switch allegiances and tried to fit in with the Greeks around them.

But a few devoted followers of Hashem, the Chashmona’im, refused to switch teams. They fought against the tide, and in a miraculous turn of events, they bested the Greek armies. However, aside from the actual victory, a much greater prize had been won.

When people looked at the victory, which should not have been possible, they saw the autograph of HaKadosh Baruch Hu written all over it. Hashem’s name was made great in the world. All of a sudden, it was “cool” to be a Jew! It meant you were on the winning side, and everyone could clearly see that you weren’t someone to be pitied for your beliefs, but admired for them. All the years of being downtrodden only made the victory sweeter because it proved you were right all along.

This parlayed itself into a salvation for the Jews not just because they could keep the Torah without fear, but because now the temptation to switch sides was greatly reduced. Why would someone whose team was winning suddenly root for the losers?

Now, you had people saying, “Yeah, that’s right. I’m a huge fan of Hashem.

I always wear His jersey (it has tzitzis on it), and I’ve got the cap in team colors!”

Being proud of their Jewish beliefs was the biggest deterrent against abandoning them and trying to conform to the world

around them – then, and now.

That’s why it says that Hashem made a salvation for us “to this very day.” Throughout history, Hashem has

given us opportunities to revel in the fact that we’ve chosen the winning team (or been chosen for it, which is probably more correct). Whether it was Eliyahu at Har HaCarmel, or the Chashmona’im at Chanuka, or the IDF in the Six Day War, Hashem has given people who might otherwise have switched loyalties chances to point to a victory and say, “You see that? MY G-d did that!”

When we see leaders in all areas of life, from Torah to science, medicine, economics, and beyond, and they are Jews, it reminds us that our team is special; that we are specially imbued with the ability to succeed and be victorious.

Those billboards proclaiming Hashem’s mastery give us the strength to go on, remaining devoted fans and followers of His. Maybe that’s why even mostly-unaffiliated Jews will light a menorah, or at least smile and puff out their chests with pride when they see one.

That is why we thank G-d for making a name for Himself – because it gives us something to rally around and ultimately helps us enjoy the biggest prize of all – being able to follow the Torah and mitzvos and live as proud Jews, confident that we’re on the winning team.

Jonathan Gewirtz is a freelance writer whose work has appeared in publications around the world. He also operates JewishSpeechWriter.com, where you can order a custommade speech for your next special occasion.

For more information, or to sign up for his weekly Dvar Torah in English, e-mail info@JewishSpeechWriter.com. © 2012 by Jonathan Gewirtz. All rights reserved.

Rabbi Yaakov Margulies

The Miracle of Chanukah – Every Second of Every Day was completely consumed, it wouldn’t help if new oil appeared because the menorah requires olive oil, and the new oil that was created through miraculous means would not be kosher since it did not originate from an olive.

The gemara at first may have assumed the miracle was that the oil burned slowly.

As such, nothing additional happened on the second day that hadn’t happened before. Hashem caused the oil to burn slowly and once that was set in motion, it kept going, so there’s nothing new on the second day to be thankful for. To that the gemara responded that that was not what trans-

At first it held that since the oil burned slowly the entire miracle happened at the outset, when Hashem changed the nature of the oil. The rest was automatic. The gemara responded that that’s not how it worked.

The oil did indeed burn slowly.

But Hashem never changed its nature. He constantly oversaw the oil’s consumption and enabled it to overcome its nature, each and every second. Thus the miracle was constant, and we aptly thank Hashem every single day of Chanukah.

It stands to reason that the miracle of the oil reflects the other miracle of

Hashem’s involvement was constant and uninterrupted for eight days, keeping the oil resistant to its natural tendency to burn quickly. pired. Rather, every day the oil was replenished, so every day was in fact a separate miracle and we make a new bracha.

But it could be that even if the oil burned slowly, there is still a reason to make a new bracha every day. It may depend on the deeper understanding of how Hashem conducts nissim. Did Hashem completely transform the nature of the oil, so that it was now the type of oil that burned more slowly? Or was the oil’s composition exactly the same as all other oil, and thus even now during the eight days of Chanukah it still should have burned quickly and not lasted? If this were the case, how did it last eight days? The only explanation is that Hashem literally intervened every second and kept the oil burning slowly. In other words, Hashem’s involvement was constant and uninterrupted for eight days, keeping the oil resistant to its natural tendency to burn quickly.

This is a beautiful pshat in the gemara.

Chanukah, the victory over the Greeks.

It’s certainly no coincidence that both are at the heart of Chanukah’s celebration. It can be understood in light of the above explanation The Al Hanissim re-

lates that it was “the many in the hands of the few, the mighty in the hands of the weak.” Hashem didn’t turn the weak into mighty, but enabled them to overcome their natural disadvantage and emerge victorious. This is a different level of providence, one in which Hashem’s interaction with us is constant.

Similarly, in our own lives we must be aware of the times Hashem guides us, and enables us to overcome the odds. It’s usually not as evident as the miraculous oil, but if we pay close attention, we’ll discover the Yad Hashem more often than we think. Sometimes a tough situation will be resolved overnight. Sometimes it’ll take years, but along the way we’ll sense Hashem’s unyielding support and maybe even realize that life’s challenges bring out certain qualities we never even realized we had. This perspective, recognizing Hashem’s involvement in our lives, every day, every second, is one of the fundamental messages of Chanukah.

Rabbi Yaakov Margulies is an ordained rabbi, and teaches gemara in a Yeshiva high school. He also mentors and counsels people of all ages, focusing on personal growth, and emotional, spiritual, and intellectual development. To schedule a one-on-one session or a lecture, please call 917-841-5012 and leave a message, or email editor@fivetownsjewish home.com.

Disclaimer: This column is not intended as a replacement for Daas Torah. Whenever necessary, a Rav should be consulted.

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he story of Chanukah is laced with many facets. One is the inspirational story of Klal Yisrael, in an astonishing display of Hashem’s Hashgacha Pratis, overcoming insurmountable odds to avert spiritual decimation. If we delve into the deeper meaning of the miracle, it may shed light on how we can relate to Hashem’s involvement in our daily lives.

Hashem has various means of helping us confront the challenges we face in our personal lives. Sometimes the predicament will be rectified instantly, in a way we never would have predicted. For example, someone who has been unemployed for a year may receive an unexpected phone call informing him of a job offer. Other times, the difficult circumstances remain the same, but we’ll be guided through them step by step. This may be the case when one struggles with a difficult boss or family member and requires constant support to get through the day. These different forms of Divine Providence are alluded to by Chazal in an analysis of how the miracle of the oil in the Bais HaMikdash took place.

The gemara in Shabbos discusses whether the bracha of sheasah nissim, in which we praise Hashem for the miracle of the Menorah, is recited all eight days or not. At first, the gemara believes it should only be said the first day, which is in fact the halacha of shehechiyanu. The gemara then responds that every day of Chanukah the miracle occurred, so it stands to reason that we make the bracha giving praise for the nes every day.

It’s puzzling what the gemara’s initial assumption was. Surely it knew that the nes continues every single day of Chanukah. That’s the very reason we light every day. Why would we not recite the al hanisim as well?

It may depend on how the miracle actually transpired. This is the subject of the well-known dispute amongst the Rishonim. Some say every day the oil was consumed and was then replenished the following day. Others feel that the original jug of oil was never consumed; it just burned more slowly than normal, and one day’s worth actually burned over eight days’ time. Some suggest that the latter explanation must be correct because if the first day’s oil

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Ask the Rabbi Yehoshua Levy

A Real Rabbi Dear Rabbi, I have some questions about the position of a rabbi. What kind of training/schooling is there to become a rabbi? How many years are required, and is an internship required for ordination? Is “semicha” the Hebrew term for ordination? Do Yeshivas ordain or can an ordained rabbi ordain another rabbi?

Yechiel B. The Rabbi Responds: Semicha began with Moses, as it was a requirement to receive semicha to serve on the Sanhedrin (the Supreme Court of Israel). Only someone who received a semicha can confer a semicha upon another. Every member of the Sanhedrin, which lasted until Talmudic times, had an ordination that was traceable to Moses himself. Upon receiving semicha, a title of “Rabbi” was bestowed upon the ordained rabbi. In the 5th century, under Roman persecution,

the Sanhedrin was forced to disband, and with it, the process of semicha lapsed too. According to most authorities, only a semicha from the unbroken

According to most authorities, only a semicha from the unbroken chain from teacher to student beginning with Moses is valid.

chain from teacher to student beginning with Moses is valid. That being the case, genuine ordination, and the establishment of the Sanhedrin cannot

occur until the coming of the Moshiach.

Maimonides, however, does propose a way to renew semicha and a Sanhedrin even before the coming of Moshiach, and this was attempted in 1538 C.E. by leading rabbis in Safed, Israel. This proved to be an extremely controversial measure and was met with fierce resistance. Ironically, some of the most aggressive opponents of renewing semicha were recipients of this semicha, and yet rejected it forcefully.

Semicha is only necessary to become an active member of Sanhedrin. However, in the latter half of the 14th century, the Ashkenazi rabbinic leadership in Europe, in an effort to preserve the integrity of rabbinic authority, enacted a requirement that anyone wishing to serve as a rabbi who would issue new rulings in Jewish law obtain a “heter hora’ah,” permission to render halachik decisions.

What is called “semicha” today is really a technical misnomer, as it has nothing to do with the semicha of Moses or the Sanhedrin, but has become a synonym for heter hora’ah. When a Torah scholar attains the expertise that qualifies him to rule on areas of Jewish law, he needs certification just so that the public is aware that he is qualified. Furthermore, to render rulings in halachah, one needs the permission of his teacher, and semicha serves this purpose as well (Rema Y.D. 242:14). Many Yeshivos have a semicha curriculum that focuses on the study of practical Jewish law, with an emphasis on the laws of kashruth and family purity, although proficiency in many other areas, such as Shabbos, the festivals, and congregational prayer, are obviously necessary to become a practicing congregational rabbi. The actual curriculum and time spent studying varies from place to place. After completing the study of these laws, there is usually a written test, but to actually receive the semicha, there is an oral examination

by the Rabbi or dean who actually gives the semicha in written form. In order to take a rabbinical position, one must also take time to observe a qualified rabbi in action: how he decides to rule in different circumstances, and deal with various issues. This is referred to as “shimush.”

Rebbi (or Rabbi) really means teacher.

No heter hora’ah or semicha is required to teach Torah to others. Many of the most respected Roshei Yeshiva and Maggidei Shiur never received a formal semicha. It is said of the legendary Chazon Ish that he never got semicha, and the Chofetz Chaim got semicha only late in his life to obtain a passport. It has, however, become customary for those who take positions as pulpit rabbis to obtain an official ordination.

There are great Torah scholars who decide to take a rabbinical position, and are more than proficient in the laws and issues they will need to deal with, and can get a semicha without ever having been enrolled in a semicha program. It really is just a formality so they can act as a “posek” in an official capacity.

So, is the “rabbi” who answers questions submitted to “Ask the Rabbi” ordained? Does he have semicha? I suppose you could always ask him!

All the best, Yehoshua Levy Please note, the information written above is not meant as a rabbinic ruling. If you have any questions, please consult your rabbinic authority for clarification.

Yehoshua Levy, a teacher of Torah, is a writer and lecturer who dares to think outside the box to bring his thought-provoking insights and facts to his readers. He welcomes your comments and can be reached at editor@fivetownsjewishhome.com.

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In the Kitchen Alex Idov

Vegetable Feta Latkes Ingredients 2 ½ cups grated zucchini, unpeeled 1 cup shredded potato 3 carrots, shredded 1 medium onion, grated 2 cloves garlic, minced 2/3 cup crumbled feta cheese ½ cup chopped fresh parsley 3 eggs, slightly beaten ½ tsp. salt ¼ tsp. ground pepper ¾ cup seasoned bread crumbs Preparation Beat salt and pepper into eggs. Combine egg mixture with remaining ingredients and mix well. Heat oil in a large skillet and let it get very hot. Test oil with one shred of potato to see if it sizzles. Using an ice cream scoop, scoop latke batter into frying pan and cook latkes for about 2-5 minutes on each side, or until golden brown and firm.

Tilapia Piccata Ingredients 1 ¼ lb. fresh or frozen tilapia fillets (about 4 fillets) Salt and pepper to taste 10 Tbs all-purpose flour 8 Tbs canola oil 4 cloves garlic, minced 4 Tbs capers, drained and rinsed 1 cup dry white wine 6 Tbs lemon juice 6 Tbs butter Parsley to garnish Preparation Season flour with salt and pepper and dust fish in the mixture. Heat olive oil in frying pan over medium heat. Brown the fish for 1 ½ minutes on each side. Remove fish from pan and set aside. Pour out excess oil from the pan. Add garlic and capers to the pan and cook for 1 minute. Add wine and lemon juice to the pan and increase heat. Cook liquid until it is reduced by half. Turn down heat and add butter. Return the fish to the pan and warm the fish for about 2 minutes.

Serves 4.

Alex Idov, The Cooking Yeshiva Bochur (CYB) is a personal chef catering to the Five Towns and Far Rockaway communities. Visit his website at www.thecyb5towns.com.

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Davening and Faith as Therapy such things don’t work, I discovered firsthand that they don’t.

When the burden is too hard, there really is no choice but to turn to Hashem. And I was at that very point. Mind you, I’ve been davening all along. I’ve been thanking Hashem for the wonderful family that I have and for the fact that my material losses could have been worse. I’ve thanked Him all along for our health and safety. I’ve thanked Him for helping me continue to work in spite of the shlep to get back to Woodmere every day.

But honestly, I never did ask Him to help me with my tears. In fact, as I would cry silently to Him, I figured He got it; He could plainly see me crying.

What else did I need to tell the Master of the Universe? Surely, He doesn’t need such things spelled out for Him. Just the same, He is there for us.

That really is part of the deal: He wants us to turn to Him for help. And for some reason, it struck me this morning that emotional help is the most important kind that I can ask of Him. The economic recovery – and the consequent accumulation of more “stuff” – will

route to get to shalom and shalvah. I’m not saying that HaKadosh Baruch Hu doesn’t listen to our cries – far from it – but what He does with what He hears perhaps depends on where we are coming from when He hears it.

After all, if we are miserable, He could readily assume that we want the payoffs that come with misery. There is something good about it: it brings you closer to what you are grieving over.

For example, when I held the objects that I needed to throw away, the pain brought me back, in my mind’s eye, to when my house was whole and happy.

I cried over the difference between the present and the past.

Once, someone came to me grieving over the early death of her adult son.

People had been telling her to “get over it” since it had been well over a year. I told her that eventually her pain would

Davening as if my heart would break was not the best route to get to shalom and shalvah. come more readily when we are recovered emotionally.

And so I asked of Him a very simple thing: to just help me appreciate the good and not be plagued by the bad, to have true hakaras hatov.

And then I did what I’ve been doing all along: productively going about my life.

Except that today, it felt good. The only thing that changed was my davening. Is there a way to daven that works better than others? I mean, besides the obvious point that we should do it wholeheartedly?

I’m trying to reconstruct what happened and it seems like the thing I asked for – happiness – came after I really wanted it. It would not come when I was clinging to my pain. Davening as if my heart would break was not the best

lift but that would come with a price: right now, she was feeling very close to the memory of her son. Hashem in His kindness and mercy gave us forgetting so as to ease the pain of memories and I explained that this forgetting would happen by itself over time. In the meantime, I suggested she treasure the pain because she would never feel this degree of closeness again. She left, accepting her grief.

There is another payoff to misery as well: It is an announcement to the world – and most importantly, to oneself – that something terrible has happened. The misery validates what we have suffered.

If we were not miserable, then perhaps we did not experience such a bad thing after all. Unfortunately, it is self-perpetuating: We express misery to validate our bad experience but that expression

d e c e m b e r 1 3 , 2012

W

hen the world seems to collapse on you, do you believe that Hashem has forgotten you? Or do you put it into perspective, figuring He had something planned, whatever it might have been, and not dwell too much on your victimhood? The answer is important.

I have been struggling for five weeks now with the aftermath of hurricane Sandy. I packed up our belongings in a cold house wearing out my leather Shabbos gloves and breathing through a mask, washed nasty dishes in ice water, and hauled an unbelievable number of black trash bags to the front swale. The job is done; now, when will I be able to go back home?

Sometimes I cry.

I sit here in my daughter’s wonderful home surrounded by amazing grandchildren, and I am annoyed with myself for crying. “Why should you cry?” I argue with that part of myself that thinks expressing emotions is healthy. “Look what a blessing you’ve got!” I tried that line on myself for five weeks and it didn’t seem to work.

Then this morning, the first day of Chanukah, I allowed a miracle into my life. Instead of crying or castigating myself for it, I davened to Hashem during shemoneh esray that I might enjoy the small delights in my life instead of focusing on the ruin.

And it worked.

This evening as I type this, I can honestly say I am happy. I feel a return to my old self.

How in the world could such a miracle have occurred?

There are several types of knowing.

Chochma is the intellectual accumulation of knowledge while da’as is the knowing that comes from deep within, integrating the chochma with emotion and experience. As a therapist, I know, of course, that one must focus on the positive; one must take one’s focus off of the negative. Why, this is Therapy 101! But doing it is another story. I had the chochma, but I had not internalized it for myself; I had not integrated it into the rest of what I was thinking and feeling.

And the internal wars in which I was annoyed at myself for my grieving and annoyed even more at my annoyance didn’t help. Just as I tell my clients that

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reminds us over and over of that bad experience. It becomes a trap that is hard to extricate ourselves from.

Perhaps the answer to the dilemma is this: Perhaps we do need to be immersed in our pain for some time in order to both feel close to what we have lost and to validate our suffering, and then move on. Grieving and misery are part of the human condition; we are not supposed to be happy all the time. Then, when a point comes that it is reasonable to let go and we can’t seem to, perhaps that’s the time to daven.

There may be people who can make that transition unaided, but for others it is difficult. For me, it was hard, so I turned to Hashem for assistance. If your tefilos have not been answered, maybe the step you are trying to take is too big.

The first step would be to be ready to let go of the grief and ready to embrace the future. The last step would be to daven for the shalom and shalvah that would mean a complete break with misery.

In between must be a firm belief that Hashem does answer our tefilos and frequently grants them.

Dr. Deb Hirschhorn has had over 35 years clinical experience. She has been in numerous publications, both professional and for the public, and has appeared on TV and has been featured on radio. She practices Marriage-Friendly Therapy. She has a local practice in Woodmere, N.Y. See her website, http://drdeb.com, or call her at 646-54-DRDEB.

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Lola's Story

Lola Lieber Schwartz

A World After This

A Memoir of Loss and Redemption Lola Lieber Schwartz is a world-renowned artist whose paintings have been exhibited in art galleries throughout the United States and are part of the Yad Vashem archives in Jerusalem. Most importantly, Lola is a mother, grandmother and great-grandmother to many. She has myriad friends and sees life in all its vibrancy and vitality. But life was not always easy. Lola was only sixteen-yearsold when Hitler ym”sh invaded Poland, and Lola was forced into hiding and spent years on the run with her husband, Mechel. Through six years of trying times, near Chapter 1 Through the Garden Gate

I

do not know why I became an artist.

It is a matter of some curiosity to me. Perhaps I was on the way to becoming a painter before I could even hold a paintbrush or knew the names of the colors. I could retain the images I saw and recall them in my mind later.

As a child I sometimes wondered if these scenes were being presented for my eyes alone. Whether I was destined to become a painter or became a painter because of what I saw, will remain a mystery. It would be easier for me to tell my stories in paintings, but there are things that cannot be revealed completely or accurately in pictures alone. There are also events that cannot be described adequately or powerfully enough in words. I have tried to tell my story both in words and in images.

I was born in Europe in 1923 into a Jewish family. My life is intertwined intimately with the horrible events of the mid-twentieth century, which involved millions and millions of others as well.

However, let’s not jump ahead to that part of the journey. My story begins in a place filled with visual delights, a place enveloped in peace. Even now, more than seven decades later, when I close my eyes I see a panorama of my family and friends spread before me. As these images settle down in my brain, I can remember it as a time of unparalleled happiness, beauty, and security – my earliest childhood memories.

Many people insist they had a magical childhood; by now it seems almost as common as claiming you had a horrible one. A large portion of my girlhood was spent with my maternal grandparents, and it was in truth not only quite magical – it really was an enchanted fantasy.

Much of my early life took place within an enclosed home and a garden – behind an ornamental gate in a nowalmost-forgotten corner of Europe. It was a time filled with fanciful activi-

starvation and brutality, Lola and her husband held onto their faith and values.

It was Mechel’s words of encouragement, “There will be a world after this,” that helped them cling to the hope that there will be a life of light and joy waiting for them at the end.

This is the story of Lola’s life—from her grandparents’ “enchanted garden” to meeting Eichmann ym”sh to making the Pesach seder for the Bobover Rebbe during the war—her words will take you back to a different world.

ties, music, the wonder of learning, and town. At times the joy of hearing their family love. The gate had a decorative music was overshadowed by stories of iron grill on top, which distinguished it their presumed misdeeds. There was the from the other more ordinary homes on oft-repeated rumor that they kidnapped the street. Much of the rest of the street babies and children. I was only slightwas gray and unremarkable, but the ly afraid of them because I liked their gateway to my early life stood out from brightly painted caravan carts and wageverything surrounding it. We were on ons and the music they played. I adored the main street of the town, just a short the violin music the male Gypsies distance from the train station. Our played, which made me want to dance residence seemed to request or perhaps with happiness. Nothing was upsetting demand to be recognized. Somehow I in those days. I did not have a crystal understood this from a very early age. ball that foretold that in a short time A few people felt sorry for me be- Gypsies too would vanish from most of cause I was living with my grandpar- Europe. ents and extended family so much of But as I said, let’s not get ahead of the time instead of the story. I was born with my parents. on March 15, 1923.

Wise children and I was named Esther all adults will know Leah Leser, but in instantly what that those days everyone really means. I had called me “Leiku” certain privileges Leser. The Esther part and was indulged in is important because I ways that would not was born on the Jewhave been possible ish fast day that preif I had been living cedes the holiday of with my parents and Purim, called the Fast my four siblings. If of Esther. I wasn’t the my girl cousins reonly youngster on the ceived presents or map of the region in new dresses, so did I, that moment of histobecause, after all, this ry. The country then “poor girl” was not Lola’s grandfather, Yokel Leser-Krakow. called CzechoslovaOil painting by Lola Lieber, 1963. with her “real” famkia was also only a ily. When special outings or trips were toddler. It was created from the remains planned, I would be given new dresses of what had been the Austro–Hungaror the treat of an outfit or two – or per- ian Empire before the First World War. haps, three! I did not do anything to dis- Even though I was born a Czech citizen, pel the myth that I was “a little orphan,” my family retained its attachment to our but I knew better.

Hungarian roots. Because my grandparInside the gate, our residence nes- ents were Hungarians of Polish origin tled around a large garden. On the prop- and had a long history in Munkach, I erty were several other structures. Life still think of the region as Hungarian. I behind the gate was exciting and care- have attachment to my heritage for nosfully orchestrated. It was as if we were talgic reasons and for very pragmatic all members in a symphony and knew ones. The Hungarian language was so our musical scores by heart. Indeed much a part of the rhythm of our lives music was everywhere. We had music that I called my mother always and lessons and could hear the music from only by the endearment, “mammiko.”

Gypsy caravans as they moved through I would also call family members by

their Yiddish/Hungarian appellation, such as bubbe/ babbiko (grandmother), zeide (grandfather), tattiko (daddy), and the like.

The garden had many secrets and there was much bustle and activity every single day. There was a statue of a big dog at the entrance to the house, as if to stand watch and protect us all.

Grandfather also had his own large, black pet dog with a soft and shiny coat. He was a friendly and dear dog, and I was terribly fond of him. The dog lived in harmony with a circus of cats that roamed the house and the garden freely. The cats didn’t get in the way of Grandfather’s dog, nor did he bother them. Perhaps the animals understood that they were, in a manner of speaking, all relatives too. There was much to observe and many things to participate in at my grandparents’ home. Harmony in all things – between the animals, the family, and the outside non-Jewish world – was a hallmark of the 1920s and early 1930s.

Munkach itself could be described as a friendly circus of friends and family. I can’t imagine how or why, but at some point my grandmother had compassion for a talented but poor acrobat who had no place to live. Grandmother, with her typical generosity, offered the acrobat one of the small cottages on the premises as a home. Everyone was happy together, and there were also visits from my cousins, the four daughters of my mother’s sister. Like Mammiko, my lovely aunt was elegant and refined. We ate lunch on the big porch at the side of the house, looking out at the garden.

It was there under the watchful and demanding eye of our German governess where we also did our lessons. Occasionally our acrobat entertained us doing her tricks and exercises. She had to do these in order to stay in shape for her public performances.

Mammiko and Tattiko and my siblings came from Krakow to visit often.

This meant my beloved older sister

students in their homes as well. Grand- leader in the Jewish community. He bemother found these students for him be- longed to the largest congregation and cause she knew he needed the extra in- was elected by the membership to be come. Of course there was also a belfer the gabbai each year. The board of diwho came to instruct us in Hebrew and rectors of the congregation was known Yiddish. A belfer is a young man who as the kehillah and a gabbai was the teaches children. equivalent of the president of the body.

I lived in a house of women and We celebrated this “election” annually girls. Inside the patriarchy of traditional with a fancy meal and party at home, Judaism, we were a reigning domestic to which we invited many friends and matriarchy. The two men in the fam- relatives. ily – my Uncle Baruch (Bela), MamMy grandmother was a bit more miko’s youngest sibling, and of course remote than my grandfather, who was Grandfather – were extremely warm and well looked after by affectionate.

My all the women. Algrandmother was though the men were known as Mimeh in the minority, they Roshe throughout were the actual and town, which would the religious heads of be Auntie Rosie in our family. Besides, English. She was tall, we loved them and elegant, reserved and it was easy to please extremely generous. them.

She wore a wig and Grandfather was a hat. She dressed in well known and relong, finely tailored spected in Munkach. dresses made from As a member of the beautiful fabrics. distinguished Segel She was disciplined family he was honabout davening Lola’s grandfather, Yosef Segel Munkach ored in many ways. (praying) regularly, Fortunately he was able to provide the for her devotion to Judaism was not ample resources that were required to limited to running a Jewish household keep the family’s lavish establishment only. She was an observant woman with up and running at all times. Grandfa- a deep and private reservoir of faith in ther had a commission from the mu- God. nicipal government that enabled him Her best friend, a Mrs. Spiegel, had to collect tariffs from people wishing a husband who was also very wealthy. to sell produce and livestock. He and Together they were known in town as his partner hired a team of men who the “lady philanthropists.” In other dressed in official uniforms, not unlike words, they organized and managed the police. These men controlled all the the tzedakah (charity) activities of the checkpoints at the borders of town. Any town’s Jewish women. My grandmothfarmer or peasant wishing to bring food er taught me from an early age that as or livestock into the market in Munkach Jews we must help to “mend or repair had to pay Grandfather’s staff officers a the world” (a Jewish philosophical contax. Grandfather then shared part of his cept called tikkun olam). She taught us tax collections with the town’s govern- that part of any Jewish woman’s life ing council. Because he was honest and must be in service to those in need or fair, he was well respected in both Jew- in trouble. The two Mrs. S. were a forish and non-Jewish circles. midable pair. “Spiegel and Segel” they Grandfather had a side business as might have been called because they well. He made a special type of slivo- were a non-profit business team in evvitz, or plum brandy, which is very ery way. They kept a horse and carriage strong but delicious when made prop- in Mr. Spiegel’s lumberyard just for erly. Grandfather Segel must have had their charity work. A coachman drove a secret recipe for none of the others them around as they dispensed food, could compete with his “brand,” which clothing, and money to those in need was much in demand among the locals. at least twice a week. Grandmother I always look forward to opening a bot- invited people to our home for meals tle of slivovitz with the faint hope that who did not have such a comfortable it will taste just like Grandfather’s. It lifestyle or who were hungry and in never happens, of course; even the best need of a hearty meal. I watched her as ones are not the same – they do not have she sometimes quietly gave them a few the same texture or smell. Such are the coins as well as food. cherished memories of a beloved grandContinued next week... father – and even his homemade liqueur – with whom no one and nothing can Lola wrote this book with the help of Alida compare.

Grandfather was a well-respected Brill.

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garian or other European origin. This was a common practice among Jews throughout Eastern Europe.

We had a private, multinational community living behind our garden gate. Grandmother had a large domestic staff that was needed because the place had so many rooms and spacious common areas. There were at least fourteen rooms in the main house, which was built in an “L” shape. There was a gazebo in the garden with leaded glass windows where we played, had our language and other lessons, and most memorably, our music lessons. Each year our gazebo would have the honor of becoming the family’s sukkah for the Jewish Festival of Tabernacles or Booths. We ate all our meals in it during this wonderfully festive holiday. We had a full-time maid who came from the countryside and was known in those years as a “peasant.” My grandparents employed a number of other part-time maids as well, and a laundress and gardener. A young Jewish girl cooked our meals and served them to us either on the porch or in the formal dining room.

We also had a stern and demanding German governess, who lived with us and was an integral part of our lives.

Because my parents wanted him to speak German, my youngest brother, Naftoli (Tuli), spent more time living with us than with our parents. My middle brother, Ben (Beinish), who was born in Krakow and spent his (prewar) childhood there, did not spend much time with us in Munkach.

In wealthy or middleclass European Jewish families during this era it was expected that children learn to speak “proper” German, that is, Hochdeutsch or High German. This rigorous course of language instruction included mastering the difficult penmanship of complex Lola’s great-grandmother, Chaya Leser, with aunts in Krakow, 1937.

Gothic-style letters. We Munkach was lively. Although it became conversant in Heine, Schiller, was not a large cosmopolitan center, Goethe and other German writers. Our life there wasn’t boring. Munkach had a German education extended to our mucozy feeling as well as an international sic lessons and we learned to play the flavor. It was accessible and easy for a works of important German composers. child to experience and comprehend. German was considered the language of In Munkach, Jewish people got along culture in most circles because it was well with gentiles. Many of us went to the language of the best educated and school along with Christian children. I most accomplished members of the Euam not certain everyone was aware that ropean community.

I was Jewish; these distinctions were Another regular member of our exnot yet important to me. When I was a tended family of teachers and staff was girl, more than half the town’s popula- a diminutive and kind music teacher tion was Jewish. No wonder I felt it was from the nearby town of Ungvar. He cozy and welcoming! At that time the lived with us during the week and inJews of Munkach identified their “na- structed my cousins Mimi and Koti, my tionality” as Jewish, not Czech, Hun- sister Goldie, and me. He taught other

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Goldie might be allowed to stay with us after the others returned. I loved Goldie deeply and felt sad and lonely when she returned to Krakow with the rest of the family. There were differences between my Krakow and Hungarian families, but they did not seem significant to me at that point in my life. Religious practices were observed differently in Krakow and the foods were quite different, and some of the customs were not all that similar. However as a young girl I just thought we were all one extended and connected European Jewish family that lived both in Krakow and in Munkach.

My great-grandmother Feigi, my grandmother’s mother, also lived with us in Munkach. She was very old and slept almost the whole day, and often wandered the house at night unable to sleep or rest. She did not speak much.

I suppose she had a form of senility or what we now call Alzheimer’s. Yet she always seemed to sense when I returned from school and would wake to greet me, enthusiastic to hear what I had done during the day. I tried to make the stories of school particularly interesting for her, as I knew how limited her life had become. She was alert and happy when I shared the tales of my school activities and my friends and my lessons. Each day she rewarded my report and stories with a few pieces of delicious candy.

She waited for my return and I eagerly rushed to her the moment I came home.

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Ask the Attorney Akiva Cohen, Esq

Litigation: Is it Worth It? Q: Someone I do business with didn’t follow through on our contract, and I’m considering litigation – what factors should I consider in making that decision?

WE EE GUARANOTRE 30% M THAN ANYONE ELSE!

A: Well, you’re asking the right question. Litigation is an expensive and time consuming process, and too often people are so focused on the feeling of “I’m right and he’s wrong” that they rush into it without fully thinking through what they want to accomplish and what it will cost them – in time and effort, as well as money – to get there. Sometimes litigation is the right thing to do, but you need to treat it like any investment you might be considering: evaluate the costs and benefits, the risks and rewards.

The best way to do that is by talking to a trusted advisor – there’s a reason attorneys are also known as “counsel.”

Here are some of the factors you and your counsel will work through in that conversation: 1) The value of your case. This is a function of two things: the amount you can recover if you win and the chance that you are going to win. Both will depend on the facts of your case, and how they interrelate will determine the value of your case. Did someone accept $20,000 worth of goods from you and simply fail to pay, despite the clear terms of a contract? Assuming there’s no defense, that’s a $20,000 claim.

But what if there is a defense – say the buyer claims the goods were defective in some way? What are the odds that you can show the goods were fine? 8020, and it’s an $16,000 case. 50-50, and your $1,000,000 claim is really only “worth” $10,000. It’s obviously not that easy or mathematical – and it’s particularly complex when you aren’t suing for money, but for something else – but you need to reach a realistic assessment of both what you can win and what your chances are before you can intelligently decide to sue.

2) What the litigation will cost.

This is a function of the complexity of your case and how many witnesses and documents will be involved. The more

issues are involved, the more documents need to be collected and reviewed, and the more witnesses with relevant information, the more the litigation will cost. More, it’s important not to ignore the other “costs” of litigation – you and your employees will need to spend time on litigation you would otherwise spend on business, you may need to alter your operations to make sure you are preserving necessary documents, and there

is no doubt that litigation is stressful.

Of course, there are times when litigation makes sense – but only when the value of the case outweighs its costs, financial and otherwise.

3) Whether you will recover if you win. This seems like a repeat of the first point, but it’s not. Even if you win a judgment, will you be able to collect it?

If your deadbeat buyer has the money and isn’t paying you because he doesn’t want to, great. If he isn’t paying because he can’t – if he doesn’t have the money or the assets – then a judgment against him will be just so much paper.

You still won’t get paid, and you’ll have spent potentially tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars, and significant time and effort, to end up in the same place you started.

The take away here? Suing someone isn’t an easy answer, and it shouldn’t be.

There are times when it’s necessary, but that’s a decision that should be made with caution and after deep thought, and not out of the passion of being wronged.

Akiva Cohen is Senior Counsel at the firm of Foley & Lardner LLP. His practice focuses on commercial litigation and copyright, trademark, and trade secret litigation, and he is a founding member of his firm’s eDiscovery & Data Management practice. He can be reached at acohen@foley.com.

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Leisure & Travel

From Sea to Shining Sea : Hawaii

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loha! Welcome to Hawaii!

Hawaii may be the latest state to join the Union, but it is by far one of the most wonderful places in the United States to visit. Its myriad beaches, warm climate, serene nature, and friendly people are just some of the reasons people spend time on these islands. Because the state of Hawaii is made up of so many islands (there are eight main ones), its coastline is 750 miles long—the fourth largest in the nation!

Hawaii is also known as the Paradise of the Pacific.

Visitors here can bask in the rays of the sun on pristine beaches. Many take the time to visit the fiery volcanoes and others feel right at home swimming with the fishes.

Here nature is bright and vibrant, and the flora and fauna in Hawaii is a big part of a vacation here.

Things You Won’t Want To Miss Iolani Palace Located in Honolulu, the Iolani Palace is the only royal palace found on U.S. soil. It was the official residence of the Hawaiian Kingdom’s last two monarchs from 1882 to 1893: King Kalakaua and his sister, Queen Liliuokalani. The royal residence included the first electric light system in Hawaii along with ornate furniture and architecture. Now visitors can tour the royal home and view the private living quarters of the monarchs. Swords and precious jewelry along with their golden crowns are on display as well. When finished touring the palace, take time to walk around downtown Honolulu. The area houses many state buildings along with the main financial and arts districts of the state.

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park This is the most visited place in all of Hawaii and for good reason. It’s one of the few places in the world where visitors can come face to face with an active volcano. Here one can hike through volcanic craters, view petroglyphs (ancient carvings etched into hardened lava), walk in an actual walk-in lava tube, and visit the museum and visitor center here. Hawaii’s main volcanoes are called “shield” volcanoes. These volcanoes produce fluid lava flows that form gently sloping “shield-like” mountains. Maunaloa is one of these “shield” volcanoes that is also the most massive mountain on earth and deceptively covers half of Hawaii Island. It is still considered active and last erupted in 1984. Kilauea is also located

in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and has been continuously erupting since 1983. Visitors can go on-line to find out when the daily eruptions will occur. The eruptions are centered around the Puu Oo Vent and not the caldera, which is the depression on top of the mountain. According to the locals, Halemaumau Crater is the home of Pele, the volcano goddess. Steam vents from this massive crater, which is extraordinary to watch. It is important to keep in mind that one must keep to the guided trails in the park as hot steam and lava can be found in many places here. Additionally, some areas are unstable, so it is best to keep to the guided paths.

Kokee State Park Located on the island of Kauai, Kokee State Park is covered in forests, wild flowers and hiking trails. Hawaii’s forest birds, the apapane, iwi and moa, can be seen soaring above. Some of the hiking trails lead to Waimea Canyon; others lead to lookouts that offer visitors sweeping views of the sea or the island’s towering cliffs.

Playing with Nature So much of the fun of Hawaii is spent with the natural surroundings. The Hawaiian beaches are famous for their restful atmosphere. Those who like to hike can spend hours hiking the trails at the state’s parks. Snorkeling, swimming, and scuba diving are wonderful ways to explore the ocean’s depths and take in the vibrant fish and ocean life. Zip-lining through the forest offers visitors another way to get to know Hawaii from way up high.

Polynesian Culture Hawaii is located in the Pacific, and due to its location, Hawaii has many North American and Asian influences. Its aboriginal culture is Polynesian and there are many traditions and ceremonies originating from the Polynesian culture throughout the islands. Visitors enjoy watching luaus and dancing the hula in the famous hula skirts.

Susan Schwamm

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2013

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In the Kitchen Naomi Nachman

Fried Delights

I

am writing this from my friend’s house in Yerushalyim. Chanukah is almost upon us here in Israel and the atmosphere is so exciting. It has been over 20 years since I spent Chanukah in Israel – when I was in Seminary and now I am visiting my daughter who is in Seminary.

The week before I left, people kept emailing me to ask me for my Oreo Dough-

nut recipe. It’s one of my signature dessert recipes. I figured this would be an appropriate week to share it with everyone.

The latke recipe below is one of my favorites as it is so simple to make and very delicious. I make them up fresh and the kids pop them in their mouth like they are potato chips (the dad too!).

Oreo Doughnuts Ingredients 1 tablespoon yeast 1 cup warm water ¼ cup sugar 6 tablespoons canola oil 2 large eggs 1 teaspoon salt 4 cups unbleached flour 5 cups vegetable oil for frying 20 Oreo cookies Confection sugar for dusting Preparation Sprinkle 1 tablespoon yeast over the 1 cup warm water and sprinkle ¼ cup sugar over it. Let stand for 5 minutes until foamy.

Combine yeast mixture, oil and eggs. Mix until combined. Add 2 cups of the flour and salt. In remaining intervals add remaining flour to make smooth soft dough. Cover and rise for 1 ½ hours.

Punch dough down and then let it rest again for 10 minutes. Roll out the dough until ¼ inch thick. Cut rounds about 3-inches wide. Place on a floured surface and let rise again for an hour.

Wrap each Oreo cookie with the cut rounds of dough.

Heat oil in a pan until oil hits 360°. Use an oil thermometer.

Drop doughnuts into the oil. Keep oil at constant temperature and fry 3-4 at a time, turning the doughnuts once about 1 1/2 minutes per side.

Note: the thinner the dough around each Oreo, the faster it will cook. The doughnut should be brown in color when ready.

For a garnish, dust with confectionary sugar.

Easy Potato Latkes Ingredients 8 Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and grated 1 tablespoon salt Fresh cracked pepper Canola oil for frying

Preparation Place the potatoes, salt and pepper in a bowl and mix well. Heat the frying pan and add enough oil to come up ½ an inch up the sides of the pan. Place spoonfuls of potato mixture into frying pan, draining the water out as you go.

Fry until they are amber brown on each side on a medium to high setting. Don’t overcrowd the pan, as the oil temperature will drop making the latkes greasy. Oil temperature should be around 350-375°.

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WINTER RETREAT

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RECHARGE YOUR SPIRITUAL BATTERIES!

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Annual Dinner

rabbeim for Life. Education for Life. torah for Life.

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Rebbetzin Naomi N. Herzberg

ith the Yom Tov of Chanukah, we celebrate the victory of the Jewish people over the Greeks during the time of the second Beit Hamikdash. We also celebrate the miracle of the small amount of oil that should have only lasted for one day but miraculously lasted for eight. The great neis is thought about over and over again as we spin the dreidel. The word sevivon is a Hebrew word that means “to turn around.” The dreidel spins and falls on one of the letters that is written on each of the four sides.

Dreidels are: DDecorative, R- Refreshing, E-Exciting, I-Interesting, D-Dynamic, E-Entertaining, L-Legendary and S-Super. Much fun is had while playing this Chanukah game, by children and adults alike. The letters on the dreidel, Nun, Gimmel, Hey and Shin, stand for “Neis Gadol Haya Sham,” which in English means “a great miracle happened there.”

There are so many original artistic dreidels that can be found in museums, Judaica stores and online. The artwork is expressed through the use of many types of materials and mediums. Designing a unique dreidel has become a trade of its own.

Included in this article are some of the most beautiful dreidels that are easily available. They come from all over the world and can be purchased in the United States, Israel and other countries.

Dreidels can be found made from crystal by Swarovski, Waterford crystal, glass, wood, plastic in both solid and with removable covers—so that they can be filled with candy or money— copper, enameled, 14k gold, gold plated, bronze, polymer clay, silver plated, sterling silver- plain and filigree, lucite,

jeweled, and blinking dreidels that are battery operated.

The artistic designs created by the artists are magnificent. They are all so uniquely depicted in a large array of subject areas and art styles.

The Kotel, Jerusalem, Noah’s ark, Hebrew letters, the sheva minim, the Old City, Biblical figures, religious scenes, toy designs, animal designs, florals, geometrics, etc. are examples of some of the unusual dreidels designed by masters of their trade that I have researched and found.

Dreidel collecting is so much fun and makes for a beautiful artistic display that will enhance the Judaic collection of any Jewish home. They come in many sizes, starting from miniatures that are perfect as a collector item. The smaller and medium size dreidels are great for children to play with. The larger ones can be displayed in a showcase or breakfront.

I began my collection a few years ago, gain a tremendous amount of pleasure from it, and enjoy sharing this particular decorative Judaic collection with my family and friends. It can become a lifetime passion without any pressure and takes up very little space.

A Freilichen Chanukah!

Rebbetzin Naomi N. Herzberg is a professional art educator, artist and designer.

Among her known artwork is a floral sculpture presented to Tipper Gore, Blair House, Washington, D.C. Presently she is the Director of Operations at Shulamith School for Girls. Please feel free to email nherzberg@ optonline.net with questions and suggestions for future columns.

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The Wonderful World of Artistic Dreidels

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Your Money

Life Coach Rivki D. Rosenwald Esq., CLC, SDS

Allan J. Rolnick CPA

Powerball Tax Planning

W

e all know money can’t buy happiness, blah, blah, blah.

But money can buy a lot of other good stuff we all want – like comfort, security, freedom, and independence. So, last week, millions of us across America lined up at gas stations, convenience stores, and bodegas to take a shot at last week’s record Powerball jackpot of 588 million bucks.

Admit it – even if you didn’t play, you couldn’t help but dream at least a little about what you would do with all that money. That house you’ve always wanted on the most expensive street in town? The beach house or ski lodge you’ve always wanted to share with your friends?

Lavish gifts for your family, favorite charities, and community? (It’s OK to dream just a little bit more before you finish reading.)

But here’s an ugly reality you probably don’t want to think about. No matter where you choose to spend your windfall, the biggest piece of all will go to your friends at the IRS. (Yes, those nice folks at the Multi-State Lottery Association will send the IRS a Form W-2G alerting them to your good fortune.) With jackpots this big, the tax collectors in Washington will probably put a plaque on the wall with your name on it!

Your first decision involves whether to take your prize in a lump sum this year, or an inflation-adjusted annuity over the next 30 years. And big decisions, as always, mean taking taxes into consideration. Taking your loot all at once means paying the top federal income tax rate of 35%. That may sound like a lot, but at least you’ll know exactly how much the tax will cost. Taking the prize in installments means paying whatever tax rate is in effect the year an installment is paid. Next year, for

example, the Bush tax cuts are scheduled to expire, pushing the top tax rate to 39.6%. Next year also marks the first appearance of the Unearned Income Medicare Contribution, a 3.8% tax on “investment income” including annuities. And who knows what other new taxes might appear over the next 30 years?

Uncle Sam isn’t the only one who’s going to want a piece of your action.

Forty-three states tax lottery winnings as ordinary income. Some states even tax your winnings if you just buy your ticket there without even living there.

Do you live in Pennsylvania and work in New York? Don’t buy your ticket around the corner from the office unless you want to cut the Empire State in for 8.82%!

Of course, there are plenty of strategies you can use to offset the income from the prize. Do you own your own business? Consider establishing or beefing up your qualified retirement plan.

Maybe a closely-held insurance company (CHIC) makes sense for even bigger savings. Are you charitably-inclined?

You can offset up to 30% of your “adjusted gross income” with gifts to a private foundation and 50% for gifts to a “public” charity.

So, if you find yourself with a winning ticket, call us before you host that press conference and cash your ticket!

But if you don’t win that Powerball jackpot, good tax planning is even more important. That’s because you don’t have millions to waste on taxes you don’t have to pay!

Allan J Rolnick is a CPA who has been in practice for over 30 years in Queens, NY. He welcomes your comments and can be reached at 718-896-8715 or at allanjrcpa@ aol.com.

Brotherly Love

I

need to talk to you about Joseph and his brothers. Are we happy with how these guys get along?

I mean seriously, come on…

First, we’ve got Cain and Abel, and in one fell swoop, we’ve only got Cain!

Then we get Jacob and Esau and moments from conception we already find them sparring in utero. I mean, not even a minute to take a breath.

Now we’ve got ten ganging up on one. Talk about bullying—ten brothrooted jealousy and sibling rivalry. Apers against Joseph. parently it came in with creation.

I’d say that’s the pits! Aha… There’s As we developed as a people we an inspiration! And that’s just what they were subtly moved to look for the good do; toss him into a pit- down the well! in our brothers. Joseph and his brothers Fortunately, soon enough they are still part of this journey. crank him up and sell him to the highThrough Reuven’s maturity, they est bidder and off got past the urge to he goes down to eradicate a brother Egypt.

(Cain’s solution).

Do you see a Through YeAs we developed as pattern develophuda’s growth they ing here? Brother got past the urge a people we were against brother! to leave him stuck subtly moved to …And we get inside (as Esau atupset when our tempted). look for the good boys just get into Yet they still an argument. opted to send him in our brothers.

Parents want out of “their” their children to world—though be friends, to get luckily not out of along, to love each other. Just be sure the world. you’ve sealed the well in the yard and That was the progress they made. enjoy the simple shouting.

They couldn’t just ignore him, so they And on the subject of wells…in sent him away. every story up till the Joseph one, love Ephraim and Menasheh finally happened at a well. teach us brothers can stay together and Abraham’s servant found Isaac his respect each other’s differences. wife, Rivka, at a well. Jacob found RaThe lesson here is we need not sell chel, his own beloved, at a well. Abra- our brother into slavery. No matter ham and Isaac find sustenance and bless how irritating he may be!!

G-d time and again at a well.

They may ultimately be here to Well, well, it appears things have save the world! And worst case, at least taken a turn for the worse—suddenly they are probably not here to destroy we are tossing people down wells. A yours. dry well it seems. The love is drying up.

Give your brother room to grow, to Believe it or not, this is progress! live, to be. Let him spread his wings How so, we ask ourselves? and be who he needs to be.

Human nature from the beginning Don’t “pit” yourself against him, of time does seem to come with deep and hopefully all will be “well”!

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SALE DATES: 12/5/12 - 12/19/12

OLIVE OIL 30 OZ

$2

99

ELITE

MILK CHOCOLATE COINS BOX OF 24

$399

E-Z LIGHT 44 CT

$15

$.79 KEMACH

COOKIE SHEETS

LIEBERS

6 PK

$349

2/$1

HAOLAM

BEIGEL’S

AMERICAN CHEESE 16 SLICE

$3.49 LIEBER’S CHOCOLATE CHIPLETS 12 OZ

$1.29

MINI CUPCAKES 12 PACK

44 CT

99

CHEESE BLINTZES

J&J

SACK N’ BOIL

8 OZ

$329 DAGIM

CHUNK LIGHT TUNA IN WATER

$.99

$.99

$149

GEFEN

LIEBER’S

BOX DRINKS FRUIT PUNCH 4 PK

BAKER’S CHOICE

GEFEN

12 OZ

26 OZ

Cello Lettuce 6oz - $0.79 Large Honeydew - $2.49 Scallions - 3 for $0.99 Baby Carrots 16oz pkg - $0.99 Navel Orange #113 - 5 for $1 Cut Up Fruit - Buy 1, Get 1 Free

WHIPPED CREAM CHEESE

16 OZ

$.89

$2.79

J&J

ELBOWS

$3.49 VANILLA CUSTARD

CHANUKAH CANDLES

CLASSIC MARINARA SAUCE

$1.99

DAGIM

ONION RINGS

TILAPIA 16 OZ

.5 OZ

$359

MR CLEAN

DINING COLLECTIONS

$239

400 CT

4/$1

CONVENIENCE PACK

40 OZ

Family Pack Rib Steak – $9.99/lb Family Pack Chicken Legs – $2.39/lb Shabbos Meat – $6.99/lb Osso Bucco – $4.99/lb

$289

Meal Mart Salami – $5.99/lb Shliskes – $4.99/lb Pasta Salad – $3.99/lb Cucumber Salad – $3.99/lb Large Egg Roll – $1.69 ea Fried Rice with Vegetables – $3.99/lb

quantities.

125

K e t a n a

o f

L o n g

I s l a n d

t he

Annual Dinner

Motzei Shabbos, February 16, 2013 • d ” g a , r s t ‘ z 7:30pm Ye s h i va K e ta n a C a m p u s 321 Doughty Blvd • Inwood, NY

Honorary Chairmen charles harary | eric stern Dinner Chairmen motti lazar | moshe majeski Journal Chairmen shlomo katz | yehuda samter

Dinner Committee avrum pultman howard balter avrumi rosenberg david bugayer dani rosenthal aryeh gibber binyamin schwartz mendy haas ushi shafran shalom huberfeld yaakov spinner avi krasnow david vegh steve landau

d e c e m b e r 1 3 , 2012

Save Date

The Jewish Home n

Y e s h i v a

T h e J e w i s h H o m e n d e c e m b e r 1 3 , 2012

126

2013 Boca Raton Resortt Boca Raton, Floridaa

A Waldorf Astoria Resort rt Palatial resort exudes luxury & beauty. Gorgeous half-mile stretchh of pristine private beach. Tower building completely renovated. 300 clay tennis courts. 2 championship golf courses. World class spa..

PRESTIGE CATERERS - NK GLATT SUPERVISIONN

Rye T Town Hilton R l Westchester, New York We

Ent Entire Hotel Kosher for Pesach 30 minutes from NYC. Situated on 45 lush acres. Newly renovated spacious and elegant guest rooms & suites, all with luxurious amenities. spa Indoor swimming pool and whirlpool, expanded fitness center & Ind indoor tennis complex. ind PR PRESTIGE CATERERS - ORB GLATT SUPERVISION

Hotel Excelsior VENICE, ITALY

Entire Hotel Kosher for Pesach

This world renowned 5 Star, beachfront resort features beautiful amenities & many exciting activities. Multi million euro renovation currently in progress. The resort boasts a fabulous swimming pool, tennis courts, etc. Complimentary shuttle boat to/from San Marco Square. Gourmet cuisine, religious services, and esteemed scholar-in-residence & orator, Rabbi Adam Mintz of Manhattan, enhance your Pesach experience.

SUPERVISION BY RABBI GARELIK OF MILAN

A i Bil re Arizona Biltmore Phoenix, Arizona na

World-class resort on 39 lush acres. 8 swimming pools, ols, 6 whirlpool spas, bicycles, jogging paths, 7 tennis courts, two 18-hole ole ex. championship golf courses. State-of-the-art complex.

In cooperation with VIP Passover er TH DANZIGER CATERERS - PHOENIX VAAD HAKASHRUTH

INCRED IB LOW PR LE ICE! STARTIN G AT 2,565 E ONLY URO P PER PE

ERSON (INCLUDES TAX & SERV ICE CHARGE S)

PGA N P National i lR Resort Pa Beach, Florida Palm

Entire Hotel Kosher for Pesach Ent AAA 4-Diamond world-class luxury resort. Each room and suite features a private balcony. Five tournament-ready golf courses, 19 tennis courts, and a European Spa. In cooperation with Kosherica CATERING BY RANDY ZABLO & HIS TEAM FROM FOREMOST RAM CATERERS - ORB GLATT SUPERVISION

Leisure Time Tours www.leisuretimetours.com

NEW YORK TOLL-FREE

718-528-0700 800-223-2624

127 T h e J e w i s h H o m e n d e c m b e r 1 3 , 2012

HAPPY CHANUKAH

2013 Chrysler & Honda Event Let it snow, bring it on, be prepared!

2013 Honda CR-V

2013 Chrysler Town & Country

219

$

Features:

239

*

All Wheel Drive Bluetooth Rearview Camera Remote Entry System 160-Watt Audio System

per month

*

Features:

39 month lease

Leather Seats Back-Up Camera Bluetooth Power Liftgate Satellite Radio DVD Entertainment System

7,500 miles per year $2,500 Damage waiver available

per month 39 month lease 10,000 miles per year $2,500 Damage waiver available

Call us today!

718-871-7749

HU R

$

www.wheelstolease.com

NE AID CA I R Take an additional

$500 OFF

for vehicles damaged due to Hurricane Sandy

Due at Signing: 1st Month, Bank Fee, Registration Fees & Applicable Taxes

Often imitated, never duplicated

Expires 12/31/12

*Valid while supplies last Residency restrictions may apply

Chanukah iPad Giveaway

Congratulations to last raffle winner, Marnie Cohen • Next raffle drawing: 12/13/12

Spotlight Design

Join our email list and you will be entered into a raffle for an iPad 3 www.wheelstolease.com/joinemaillist