Five Towns Jewish Home 3-3-15 by The Jewish Home

137 SPRUCE STREET

516-569-2662

– See pages 5, 13, 60, 61 & 87

THEJEWISHHOME

A PUBLICATION OF THE FIVE TOWNS & QUEENS COMMUNITY MARCH 3 – MARCH 11, 2015 | DISTRIBUTED WEEKLY IN THE FIVE TOWNS, QUEENS & BROOKLYN

PESACH VACATION See pages 105 – 115

DOUBLE THE FUN!

Around the COMMUNITY Makerspace at DRS Helps Shape the Next Generations of Innovators

Yeshiva Darchei Torah Students “Adopt” Holocaust Survivors

SKA-NCSY JUMP Team Inspires Community to Raise Money for Ruthi

d in our Be Include RIM TJH PU UM! LB PHOTO A photos by

TJH Interviews the Twins from France

r Purim Send us you ing, March 9 en Monday ev itor@ Email: Ed ishHome.com FiveTownsJew

PAGE 74

A Freilechen Purim!

Zwanger-Pesiri Radiology: Putting Patients First PAGE 70

Thoughts on Purim, Recipes, Humor and Purim Fun!

Merom Yerushalayim: A Home Away from Home

PAGE 73

PAGE 48

THIS SUNDAY!

WE ARE ALL

ACHIEZER

A COMMUNITY OF KINDNESS

– See pages 3 & 39

RABBI EYTAN FEINER WILL BE INTRODUCING RABBI LAU

– See page 51 –

For illustration purposes only.

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MARCH 3, 2015

‫ פרונט‬front



Merom Yerushalayim cordially invites you to an exclusive event of Painting a Jewish future in the holy land

Tuesday March 10th, 2015 Featuring world renowned speaker:

Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau “Acquiring land in the holy land” Showcasing a boutique exhibition of Jerusalem art Join us in viewing a special selection of the work of Israel’s most renowned artists AND MORE

For more information: RSVP event@meromyerushalayim.com

‫ניצני טל‬

‫המועצה לשימור‬

‫צמרת העיר‬

MARCH 3, 2015

in the Greenest Setting

www.meromyerushalayim.com sales@sun-chen.co.il USA: +1-718-732-3609

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A Jewel

MARCH 3, 2015 

THE JEWISH HOME

443 Sunrise Highway, Lynbrook

Open Sundays

SIMULTANEOUS

MRI/PET • first outpatient MRI/PET in the United States • reduces radiation by about 100 X-rays compared to PET/CT • combines PET with the power of multiple MRI scans into a single test

T: MRI/PEology adi The R swer An cer to Can

3T MRI

128-slice 3D Mammogram Low-dose CT

• entire scan as quick as 10 minutes • clearer look through overlapping breast tissue • high quality images from 3.0 Tesla • detects 41% more breast cancers magnet strength

• high resolution imaging

• minimizes claustrophobia with an extra wide opening

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• decreases callbacks by 11-18%

• cardiac CTA

We also offer PET/CT, Digital X-ray, Ultrasound, Fluoroscopy, Biopsy, and DXA Bone Density.

zprad.com

20 MINUTE CAR RIDE FROM JFK • 30 MINUTE TRAIN RIDE FROM PENN STATION

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MARCH 3, 2015

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MARCH 3, 2015

This Is How v Hagaon Moreinu Hara

vsky Chaim Kliatanie Sh

is Answers In Hing it Own HandwrAsk: To All Who

Vaad Harabanim is Matanos L'Evyonim In The Best Possible Manner And So Ruled My Father-In-Law Harav Eliyashiv Zt"l

Chaim Kanievsky

Special and Rare: Prayer Assembly for Vaad Harabanimâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Donors

At The Tombs Of Mordechai And Esther In Hamadan, Iran!

According to the segulah of the "Kav Hayashar", who writes that on the day of Ta'anis Esther, the merit of Mordechai and Esther awakens, and speaks on behalf of anyone who needs a yeshu'ah in a certain matter.

1877-722-2646

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All donations are tax deductible. Please make checks payable to Vaad Harabbanim In accordance with U.S. tax law requirements regarding deductibility of contributions, VAAD HARABBANIM L'INYANEI TZEDUKA INC. shall have full dominion, control and discretion over this gift. All contributions subject to final board approval.

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CABERNET SAUVIGNON · MERLOT · CARIGNAN · CHARDONNAY · ZINFANDEL · UNOAKED CHARDONNAY · SAUVIGNON BLANC · GEWÜRZTRAMINER · SHIRAZ

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9/15/14 5:36 PM

From the Editor

Letters to the Editor

Community Readers’ Poll Community Happenings

8 46

News 30

Odd-but-True Stories

Israel Israel News

My Israel Home: Connection and Commitment by Gedaliah Borvick 27 Merom Yerushalayim: A Home Away from Home by Tamar Sullivan 48 An Israeli Journey by Rafi Sackville

Israel’s F-16 Falcon Fighter and the Remarkable No. 107 by Avi Heiligman 69 People Zwanger-Pesiri Radiology – Putting Patients First by Tammy Mark 70 Simchas Purim Double the Fun: TJH Interviews the Twins from France by Tamar Sullivan 74 The Choice of Adar by Rebbetzin Tziporah Heller

The Eyes Have It by Rabbi Jonathan Gewirtz 78 A Matter of the Heart by Steven Genack

My Attempt at Purim Torah by Mordechai Schmutter 80 Obama Brings About World Peace: A Purim Satire by Larry Domnitch

P.S. We would love to see your funny, adorable, cute and outrageous Purim costumes! Send us your Purim photos by Monday evening, March 9 to be included in our TJH Purim Album. Email photos to Editor@FiveTownsJewishHome.com.

Weekly Weather

WEDNESDAY THURSDAY March 6

Halacha

all those preservatives packed into those foods…yum!) This year, although the weather isn’t going to be glorious, Purim is a guaranteed good time. Costumes, graggers, parties and loads of sugar (and for some being shikker) make the excitement contagious for all. Despite the merriment, Purim is an auspicious time for davening. Think of all those who need a yeshua as you daven for yourself and your family. It’s a time when Hashem answers us out of joy and love and a time when we can show Him how we lovingly accept His Torah once again. Wishing you and your family a freilechen Purim, Shoshana

March 7

FRIDAY

SHABBOS

March 8

March 9

SUNDAY

March 10

MONDAY

TUESDAY

CLOUDY

SUNNY

March 11

March 12

Halachically Speaking: Mentioning Haman’s Name 92 Parenting Parenting Pearls by Rabbi Dani Staum, LMSW 101

RAIN

Health & Fitness Purim’s Approach to Trauma by Deb Hirschhorn, PhD 102 Getting your Baby to Sleep by David Elazar Simai, MD 103 The Female Gain Game by Lori Boxer, Weight No More Diet Center 104

45º

SUNNY

SNOW

32º

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14º

29º

Shabbos Zemanim Sponsored by

Lifestyles 108

MANAGING EDITOR

ads@fivetownsjewishhome.com

Centerfold Uncle Moishy Fun Page

eretzhachaim.org 90 118

Political Crossfire Notable Quotes Classifieds

Shoshana Soroka

116

Humor

96 112

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FRIDAY, MARCH 6 Parshas Ki Sisa Candle Lighting: 5:33 Shabbos Ends: 6:34 Rabbeinu Tam: 7:05

43º

32º

43º

28º

THE JEWISH HOME

Yosef Feinerman

All Washed Up—The Purim Tsunami by Rivki Rosenwald, Esq., CLC 110 From My Private Art Collection

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publisher@fivetownsjewishhome.com

The Aussie Gourmet: Purim Seudah Delights 86

Your Money

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PUBLISHER

Wishing you a Howdy Purim! by Jamie Geller 82

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MOSTLY SUNNY

Yitzy Halpern

Food & Leisure

Ask the Attorney

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MOSTLY SUNNY

EDITOR

editor@fivetownsjewishhome.com Nate Davis Editorial Assistant Nechama Wein Copy Editor

Rachel Bergida Berish Edelman Mati Jacobovits Design & Production

P.O. BOX 266 LAWRENCE, NY 11559 PHONE | 516-734-0858 FAX | 516-734-0857

Classifieds

CLASSIFIEDS@FIVETOWNS JEWISHHOME.COM TEXT 443-929-4003 The Jewish Home is an independent weekly magazine. Opinions expressed by writers are not neces sarily 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.

MARCH 3, 2015

National

his bags of mishloach manos. I am completely different when it comes to food-giving on Purim. I like to give just a few items to each person we have to send to and I like when those items are substantial. I also like to spend Motzei Purim organizing the food we received over the day—snack bags for school are put here, special nosh for Shabbos parties are put there, and miscellaneous items are, well, miscellaneous. Despite my desire for simplicity, I still remember the excitement of giving and receiving mishloach manos when I was younger. I was a saver when it came to the nosh I got on Purim day. I would keep it in a bag in the basement and would take out only one or two things every few days. Over Pesach, I’d put it in the closet that we would be selling and continue pecking at my food even months after the holiday. You’d be surprised how much stays fresh for so many weeks later. (Think of



Global

Dear Readers, Yesterday my kids were begging me to help them pack their mishloach manos. Although I thought that we’d be able to get to it on Sunday, deadlines for magazines take precedence and I was forced to postpone the mishloach manos packing event extravaganza to Monday night. Children are funny. They want to pack the most nosh they can in each bag for their friends. They tend to think that what goes around, comes around—if they give out a crazy amount of sweets, they’ll end up getting an enormous amount of junk in return. So far, every year, it’s worked for them. They end each Purim with mounds of nosh, shopping bags bursting with Ring Pops, Mondos and plenty of wafers. Somehow, though, just a few days later, the bags are limp and have only a straggly amount of food on the bottom, including the lone box of raisins one trying-to-be-healthy mother insisted her child include in

7 THE JEWISH HOME

Contents

THE JEWISH HOME

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MARCH 3, 2015

Letters to the Editor To all Jews who Care about the Lives of other Jews, Hitler killed 6 million Jews in just five years; Iran will have the capability if doing it in five minutes, yet even many Jews are against BiBi coming to Congress. Why are we silent? Why do we always wait until it’s too late? Why don’t we protest in Washington? In 2001 we held a massive demonstration in Washington because of several terrorist attacks which took place in Israel. If we wait until the attack takes place this time before we demonstrate, there will be no reason to demonstrate—it will be

Send us your Purim photos! Be included in the TJH Purim photo album! Email Editor@ FiveTownsJewishHome.com

too late. Are we still scared about offending Obama? Are we still supposed to make believe he is our friend and has Israel’s best interests in mind? It’s nonsense. We must be heard. Call your congressman, call your senator, call you local officials and beg them to do whatever they can to prevent another Holocaust. It’s as simple as sanctioning Iran and not letting Obama unilaterally enter a naive and dangerous agreement with the rouge state. Sincerely, A Concerned Jew

Dear Editor, You did it once again—you really got me in the Purim mood! For the past few years I’ve looked forward to your Purim issue when you take simple things in the news and show the humor and the satire in the mundane. I love it and it really makes me smile and puts me in the mood of being able to laugh at anything that comes my way! Jews have always been able to see the humor in life’s most tough situations. Take Yiddish, for example. So much of its expressions are witty and humorous because life is so much easier when you

are able laugh and smile. Let’s keep the good times and laughter rolling, C. Green

Dear Editor, I loved your story about Obama taking on ISIS. I think humor is an important when it comes to these knuckleheads because everything they do is meant to create fear, anger and hopelessness. I don’t know if you saw, but when these fools threaten that they are going to invade Rome, the social media response was great: instead of feeling threatened people laughed them off and poked fun at them. The following are some twitter posts which were placed on ISIS’s twitter handle when they announced their intention to invade Rome which was hijacked by normal people...who have good senses of humor: *You need to tackle the Leaning Tower of Lasagna before you try the Leaning Tower of Pizza. [ISIS misspelled Pisa in their big announcement] * Don’t let Schettino [caption of Costa Concordia] steer your ships. He has a tendency to get too close to islands.

* If you manage, make sure to come between 1 and 5 AM otherwise no way you getting through! (severe traffic issues) *Advice: don’t take a taxi, they are always ripping tourists off. * You already said that; let us know when you’re here. Now WE gotta WORK, sorry brothers. kisses * A friendly word of advice – bypass Sicily on your way to Rome. You kids just ain’t that tough. *You must try the spaghetti with meatballs...with a little bit of wine...Delicious :) * Don’t put cheese on seafood pasta, don’t wear socks with sandals and please leave a nice review on @TripAdvisor * Bring lots of cash, it looks like you need new fashions and we have the best! That look is so 7th century… Wishing everyone a freilechen Purim! Sara G.

Cover painting: Purim in Jerusalem By artist Alex Levin www.artlevin.com 718-415-3127

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@fivetownsjewishhome.com.

Readers Poll Do you support Prime Minister Netanyahu addressing Congress on the threat of a nuclear Iran? 86% Yes 5% No 9% Not Sure

‫‪THE JEWISH HOME‬‬

‫‪9‬‬ ‫‪...‬פתחו‬ ‫לבכם לרחם עליהם‬ ‫בימי עניים ומרודיהם‪,‬‬

‫והושיטו שני ידיכם במתנות‬ ‫הגונות שיש בהם ממש ובכך‬ ‫תהיו נמנים לדבר מצוה‪...‬‬

‫‪MARCH 3, 2015‬‬

‫‪‬‬

‫כ"ק אדמו"ר‬ ‫מסקולען שליט"א‬

‫‪...‬כל מקרה‬ ‫ומקרה בפני עצמו זועק‬ ‫ומשווע עד לרקיע‪ ,‬וחלילה‬ ‫לנו להתעלם מהם‪ ...‬לא‬

‫מה רבו‬ ‫ונפלאו מעשי החסד של‬ ‫קרן החסד‪ ...‬ופעולתם אמת‬ ‫שעוזרים עניים נכבדים ותלמידי‬ ‫חכמים‪...‬לכן נכון שעסקנים‬ ‫יתקבלו בסבר פנים יפות‪,‬‬ ‫ביד פתוחה וברוח נדיבה‪.‬‬

‫הרב משה וואלפסאן‬ ‫שליט"א‬

‫תעמוד על דם רעיך!‬

‫‪Matanos‬‬ ‫‪L’evyonim‬‬ ‫בהמלצת גדולי ומאורי הדור שליט"א‬

‫‪EZRAS YISROEL‬‬

‫מקיימים מצות מתנות‬ ‫לאביונים בהידור רב‪...‬‬

‫הרב שמואל‬ ‫קמנצקי שליט"א‬

‫של כל אחד הנוטל חלק‬ ‫במפעל כביר זו‪...‬ולקיים‬ ‫בזה מצות מתנות לאביונים‪..‬‬

‫המפעל‬ ‫הנשגב עזרת ישראל‪...‬‬

‫הרב אפרים פישל‬ ‫הערשקאוויטש‬ ‫שליט"א‬

‫‪...‬והתיצבו‬ ‫לימין העסקנים המסורים‪...‬‬ ‫כי עיניהם של עניים נשואות‬ ‫לתרומות הללו‪ ,‬וחלילה‬

‫להתעלם מקול זעקתם‬ ‫הבוקע מתוך לבבם‬ ‫הנשבר‪...‬‬

‫‪Your Matanos L'evyonim will help‬‬

‫!‪from utter despair‬‬

‫!‪Join Us In Helping Them‬‬

‫צדקה נפלא‬ ‫וכביר בשם עזרת ישראל‪...‬‬ ‫לזאת אליכם אישים אקרא‬

‫להיות שותף וליטול‬ ‫חלק נכבד עבור אותם‬ ‫משפחות‪ ...‬ונא להרים‬ ‫תרומות הגונות‪...‬‬

‫הרב ארי' מלכיאל‬ ‫קוטלר שליט"א‬

‫‪bring Happiness to Thousands of‬‬ ‫‪People and will save their families‬‬

‫כ"ק אדמו"ר‬ ‫מנאוואמינסק שליט"א‬

‫מסייעים ותומכים‬ ‫למשפחות נצרכים‪,‬‬ ‫חולים גלמודים עניים‬ ‫ואביונים‪...‬‬

‫‪will help you fulfill your obligation to give‬‬

‫מתנות לאביונים‬ ‫לעניי עירך בו ביום!‬

‫‪...‬אין ערוך‬ ‫למצוה רבה זו וחשיבות קרן‬ ‫הצדקה הנ"ל‪ ...‬אשרי חלקו‬

‫הרב יחזקאל ראטה‬ ‫שליט"א‬

‫‪...‬ויכולים‬ ‫לקיים בזה מצות מתנות‬ ‫לאביונים כהלכתו‪ ...‬באתי‬

‫לבקש לקיים מצות פתוח‬ ‫תפתח את ידך וגו' ולתרום‬ ‫ביד נדיבה סכומים חשובים‬ ‫ולחוס ולרחם על הנצרכים‪...‬‬

‫‪...‬חובה‬ ‫גדולה לעמוד לימינם‪..‬‬

‫הרב אברהם יהושע העשיל‬ ‫ביק שליט"א‬

‫להיות להם לעזר ואחיסמך‬ ‫בעושה ובמעשה‪...‬שכן‬ ‫מפעלם מפעל אדיר הוא‪,‬‬

‫והרבה נפשות מישראל‬ ‫צריכים להם‪...‬‬

‫הרב מתתי' סאלאמאן‬ ‫שליט"א‬

‫!‪The More You Give - The More We Can Help‬‬

‫‪...‬כי‬ ‫המקרים נוגעים בפיקוח‬ ‫נפש והצלת נפשות רבות‬ ‫מישראל‪ ,‬ומצוה גדולה הוא‬

‫עד מאוד‪ ,‬להיות שותפים‬

‫במפעל קדוש ונשגב זה‪...‬‬

‫‪All donations received by 5:30pm on Purim day will be distributed on Purim‬‬

‫"‪Tax-deductible contributions payable to "EZRAS YISROEL‬‬

‫כ"ק אבדק"ק וויען‬ ‫שליט"א‬

‫‪ALL MAJOR CREDIT‬‬ ‫‪CARDS ACCEPTED‬‬

THE JEWISH HOME



MARCH 3, 2015

WE ARE ALL

ACHIEZER

A COMMUNITY OF KINDNESS

k the community an th to ke li ld ou w e W positive response. for the overwhelming eeting you! Looking forward to gr

GUESTS OF HONOR

YOELI & TOBY STEINBERG

PHYSICIAN OF THE YEAR

YOUNG LEADERSHIP AWARD

DR. STEVEN JACK SCHNEIDER

DOVI & YONINA WISNICKI

COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD

YANKI & MACHI MULLER

Co-Chief, Pediatric Neurosurgery, Long Island Jewish Medical Center

KESER SHEM TOV AWARD

SRULY & MIRI MILLER

THIS SUNDAY, MARCH 8, 2015 THE SANDS ATLANTIC BEACH

Buffet Reception 6:30pm • Program 8:00pm • Dessert 9:00pm FOR LAST MINUTE DINNER RESERVATIONS PLEASE CALL: 516-791-4444 EMAIL: DINNER2015@ACHIEZER.ORG ONLINE: WWW.ACHIEZER.ORG

Achiezer is not just an organization… it’s a mindset.

WE ARE ALL ACHIEZER.

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THIS SUNDAY 6:30PM

MARCH 3, 2015

A EVENING CELEBRATING CHESED

WE ARE ALL ACHIEZER A CO MM UN ITY OF KI ND NE SS

S U N D AY , M A R C H 8 , 2 0 1 5 • T H E S A N D S AT L ANTIC BEACH

334 Cen tral Ave nue • Law ren ce, New Yor k 115 59 • 516 -791 -444 4 • Fax : 516 .592 .564 3 • Din ner 201 5@A chie zer. org

GUESTS OF HONOR

YOELI & TOBY STEINBERG PHYSICIAN OF THE YEAR

DR. STEVEN JACK SCHNEIDER COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD

YANKY & MACHI MULLER

YOUNG LEADERSHIP AWARD

DOVI & YONINA WISNICKI KESER SHEM TOV AWARD

SRULY & MIRI MILLER

PRESIDENT RABBI BORUCH B. BENDER CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD SHULIE WOLLMAN DINNER CHAIRMAN ADAM MIRZOEFF HONORARY CHAIRMEN DR. ZEV CARREY DR. JAY FENSTER JOURNAL CHAIRMEN ARONI PARNES SHLOMO ZULLER DINNER COMMITTEE DOVID BLOOM URI DREIFUS MOTI HELLMAN BEN LOWINGER YAKOV MIROCZNIK ADAM OKUN MOSHE RATNER ARON SOLOMON AVI WEINSTOCK

• ww w.A chie zer. org

AN OPEN LETTER T O THE COMMUNITY Dear Friends and Neighbors, We are sure that you have seen the ads and perhaps you have gotten a letter in the mail inviting you to Achiezer’s 3rd Annual Gala. We are writing to you today bec ause we deeply believe in Achie zer and because we want you to have the opportunity and privilege to see what we know. Achiezer can be described in two words--you and me. That is all Achiezer needs to make a difference. Just two peo ple giving, and taking, and giv ing back. This is not a dinner to celebrate an organization; but a people--y ou and me. Whether you are a client or volunteer, profes sional or someone who has yet to be involved, you make the difference. For it is for you that Achiezer exists and only bec ause of you that Achiezer can exist. Regardless of whether you hav e a reservation or not, this is a night by our community for our community. Join the mo re than 1000 people who have reserved. Join us to see what Achiezer has done for this community and to see what you can do as well. Be there to see that we are ALL indeed Achiezer.

Boruch B. Bender President

Adam Mirzoeff Dinner Chairman

THE JEWISH HOME



MARCH 3, 2015

The Week In News

Global Putin’s Opposition Leader Killed

When Boris Nemtsov was gunned down in the heart of Moscow before midnight on Friday as he walked across a bridge near the Kremlin, it was just hours after a radio interview in which he called on Moscow residents to join an opposition rally on Sunday to protest Putin’s handling of the economic crisis and his “mad, aggressive and deadly policy of war against Ukraine.” So who killed Putin’s most vocal opponent? Maybe it was Islamic extremists who killed Nemtsov. Or someone who

was angry at him. Or agents of a Western power that will stop at nothing to disfigure President Vladimir Putin’s image and drive him from power. Russian investigators, politicians and political commentators on state television on Saturday covered much ground in looking for the reason Nemtsov was gunned down in the heart of Moscow, but they sidestepped one glaring possibility — that he was murdered for his relentless opposition to Putin. Nemtsov, 55, was a former deputy prime minister and leading Russian liberal political figure for the past two decades. After his death, organizers canceled the rally and instead called for a demonstration to mourn him on Sunday in central Moscow. The city gave quick approval, in contrast to its usual slow and grudging permission for opposition rallies. Nemtsov served as a regional governor and then a deputy prime minister in the 1990s and once was seen as a possible successor to Boris Yeltsin, Russia’s first elected president. But Yeltsin chose Putin instead. Nemtsov then served a term in Rus-

sia’s parliament, until all opposition parties were driven out as Putin consolidated his power. He and other leading opposition figures long have been purged by state television and steadily marginalized by the Kremlin. In recent years, Nemtsov has been identified by Kremlin propaganda as among the leaders of a “fifth column,” painted as a traitor serving the interests of a hostile West. His death was a blow to other opposition figures, who blamed the Kremlin for creating an atmosphere of hatred and intolerance of dissent that made such a killing possible. “For more than a year now, the television screens have been flowing with pure hate for us,” Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the exiled former oil tycoon who spent a decade in prison after challenging Putin, wrote on his website. “And now everyone, from the average blogger to President Putin, is searching for enemies and accusing one another of provocation.” Through the day, hundreds of people came to the site of Nemtsov’s death to lay flowers, among them the ambassadors of the U.S. and many European countries.

Putin ordered Russia’s law enforcement chiefs personally to oversee the investigation of Nemtsov’s killing. He also sent a telegram to Nemtsov’s 86-year-old mother, promising that “everything will be done so that the organizers and perpetrators of the vile and cynical murder get the punishment they deserve,” the Kremlin said. “This is a monstrous tragedy and a loss for us all,” Alexei Navalny, Russia’s most prominent opposition figure, said on his Facebook page. He is serving a 15-day jail sentence for handing out leaflets on the subway urging people to join Sunday’s protest.

Kim Jong-Un Encourages Army to “Prepare for War” North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un has informed his army to prepare for war with the United States and its allies, state media said this week, as Pyongyang ramps up the rhetoric ahead of

‫בס"ד‬

CHABAD'S 20th Annual

PUR M CENTER

For all your Purim needs!



Matanot Laevyonim

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 4

6:15 pm Maariv at Chabad of the Five Towns 6:30 pm Megillah Reading for adults and a special Multi Media Megillah Reading for children, moms and tots At HAFTR High School 635 Central Avenue, Cedarhurst, NY 11516

Mishloach Manot

Followed by an AMAZING CHILDRENS SHOW “The Ridiculous Jugglers”

Megillah Readings on the Hour AT CHABAD – 74 MAPLE AVE

To arrange megillah reading for a homebound person, call Chabad 516-295-2478

Wednesday, March 4 8:00 pm—12:00 am Thursday, March 5 Shacharis 6:00 am 7:15 am 8:30 am 9:45 am

Give Charity for the poor and Chabad will distribute it before sundown on Purim. www.Chabad5Towns. com/purimcharity

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MARCH 3, 2015

Megillah Reading & Children's Show

Megillah Readings every hour on the hour from 11:00 am—5:00 pm

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14 MARCH 3, 2015

The Week In News

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U.S.-South Korea military drills. Kim’s comments seem to be in response to the South Korea and United States joint naval drill involving 10 South Korean warships and a US Aegis destroyer, ahead of the launch of largescale military exercises that have enraged the North.

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“The prevailing situation where a great war for national reunification is at hand requires all the KPA [Korean People’s Army] units to become [elite] Guard Units fully prepared for war politically and ideologically, in military technique and materially,” the North Korean leader was quoted by the official Korean Central News Agency as saying. Many are simply seeing this as just bluster and Kim Jong-Un’s way of bullying other countries. Kim called on the military to train hard in order “to tear to pieces the Stars and Stripes” in comments made while opening a new hall at the Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum in Pyongyang, KCNA said. The drill held last week was a prelude to an eight-week exercise involving air, ground and naval field training with around 200,000 Korean and 3,700 U.S. troops that began on Monday. Seoul and Washington insist the exercises are defense-based in nature, but they are condemned by Pyongyang as provocative rehearsals for invasion. North Korea had offered a suspension on carrying out nuclear tests if this year’s joint drills were cancelled – a proposal rejected by Washington as an “implicit threat” to carry out a fourth atomic drill.

ISIS Butcher Identified “Jihadi John,” the British-accented man who appeared all in black in several ISIS videos in which he beheaded Westerners, has been identified as Londoner Mohammed Emwazi. The Washington Post and BBC first reported the identity of Jihadi John and now a former senior U.S. intelligence official

who was involved in the hunt for the man has confirmed the same. Emwazi is described as being from a “well-to-do” family in London, a man who graduated the University of Westminster with a computer programming degree. The university released a statement acknowledging someone by the name left college six years ago. His father was a taxi driver and his mother stayed at home with the children. After returning from Kuwait at one point, Emwazi was interrogated by British police a few times, but he was eventually let go. British authorities have declined to comment on the man’s identification. A spokesperson for the White House National Security Council said they “are not able to confirm or deny” the reports on “Jihadi John’s” identification, and referred questions to the British government. “The U.S. government continues to investigate the murder of American citizens by ISIL [ISIS],” the NSC said. “As the president said, no matter how long it takes, the United States will not rest until we find and hold accountable the terrorists who are responsible for the murders of our citizens.”

The man who would become known as “Jihadi John” first appeared in a string of disturbing videos produced by ISIS last August in which he appeared to behead Western hostages, including American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff. By September, the FBI said it had learned “Jihadi John’s” identity, but it was not revealed to the public. Sen. Angus King, a member of the Senate Intelligence and Armed Services Committees, said that by identifying “Jihadi John” it sends a message to anyone who wants to hide “because they put something across their face.” “Somebody once said, ‘None are so brave as the anonymous.’ I think that one of the things this message says to this guy is that they aren’t going to be anonymous. I would advise this guy right now not to buy any green bananas. I think justice is going to find him,” King said.

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Bloggers by definition express their ideas, thoughts, and feelings, but one blogger in Bangladesh published his death wish by simply expressing his opinion on the matter of religious ex-

MARCH 3, 2015

Blogger Killed for Religious Views

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In what many regard as further proof of the increasing rise of anti-Semitism in Europe, for the first time since the end of World War II Germans will be able to buy copies of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf. According to TIME magazine, a state-funded research center will be reissuing the book in December when the German copyright, which is owned by the state of Bavaria, expires. Since the end of the war, German authorities have banned reprinting the book. The Institute of Contemporary History will publish a special 2,000page edition filled with annotations, analysis, and criticism. The institute believes Mein Kampf to be of historical and educational value. Many Holocaust survivors have come out against the reprinting. Understandably, they feel that publishing the book once again will perpetuate and validate its message and lead to more anti-Jewish unrest.

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Mein Kampf to be Re-issued

tremism. Avijit Roy, a prominent Bangladeshi-American blogger, was hacked to death on the street as he innocently strolled through Bangladesh’s capital with his wife. Roy, a Bangladesh-born U.S. citizen, was with his wife, Rafida Ahmed, on a busy city sidewalk returning from a book fair at Dhaka University when he was brutally attacked at 8:45 pm by a group of men. His wife, who is also a blogger, was seriously injured at the scene. They were ambushed from behind and hit with meat cleavers. The attackers were able to get away but the two bloody cleavers were left at the scene. Roy had returned to Bangladesh earlier this month from the U.S. and was planning to go back to living in Georgia in March. A previously unknown militant group, Ansar Bangla 7, claimed responsibility for the attack, Assistant Police Commissioner S.M. Shibly Noman told the Prothom Alo newspaper. Roy “was the target because of his crime against Islam,” the group said on Twitter. The blogger was a strong voice against religious intolerance, and his family and friends say he had been threatened for his writings before. The United States strongly condemned what it called Roy’s “brutal murder.” “This was not just an attack against a person, but a cowardly assault on the universal principles enshrined in Bangladesh’s constitution and the country’s proud tradition of free intellectual and religious discourse,” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters in Washington. Several hundred people gathered near the site of the attack carrying banners reading, “We want justice” and “Down with fundamentalism.” Roy, an engineer by training, had founded a popular Bengali-language blog, Mukto-mona, or Free Mind, which featured articles on scientific reasoning and religion. The website has apparently been shut down since the attack, but Roy defended atheism in a January posting on Facebook, calling it “a rational concept to oppose any unscientific and irrational belief.” Baki Billah, a friend of Roy and a blogger, told Independent TV that Roy had been threatened earlier by people upset at his writing. “He was a free thinker. He was a Hindu but he was not only a strong voice against Islamic fanatics but also equally against other religious fanatics,” Billah said. “We are saddened. We don’t know what the government will do to find the killers. We want justice,” he added.

Suri Bender & Pnina Rosenberg

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The Week In News Avalanche in Afghanistan Claims 124 Lives

This week, avalanches caused by a heavy winter snow killed at least 124 people in northern Afghanistan. Rescuers clawed through debris with their bare hands attempting to save those buried alive underneath the snowbank. The powerful avalanche buried homes across four provinces, killing those be-

neath, said Mohammad Aslam Syas, the deputy director of the Afghanistan Natural Disaster Management Authority. The province worst hit appeared to be Panjshir province, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) northeast of the capital, Kabul, where the avalanches destroyed or damaged around 100 homes. The acting governor of Panjshir, Abdul Rahman Kabiri, said rescuers used their bare hands and shovels in an effort to reach survivors. The heavy snowstorms, which began early Tuesday, hindered rescue efforts. Snowfall from the storm was nearly 3 feet deep in places and fallen trees blocked roads in the Panjshir Valley. Avalanches in the valley’s Dara district affected up to 600 families, according to people trying to reach the area to assist in rescue efforts. “People there have told me that two of my relatives have been killed and eight others are still under the snow,” said one Afghan resident. “My son and I are trying to get through to see if we can help find their bodies. But it will take us at least three or four hours to get there because of the snow and the road is very narrow, so we have to walk; the car can’t get through. We’ve had no help

yet from the authorities, no medicines, no machinery to open the roads so we can get to the buried houses.” In a statement, President Ashraf Ghani said he was “saddened by news of the avalanches and flooding across the country.” He said he had arranged vital valuations of the degree of destruction and sent his condolences to the families of the dead.

U.S. Training Africans to Fight Boko Haram

Chad is sending hundreds of troops to fight Boko Haram in neighboring Nigeria as part of a regional offensive against the Islamist group, which killed an estimated 10,000 people last year in a campaign to carve an Islamic emirate from the north of Africa’s largest oil producer. U.S. Special Forces are training some of their fighters in the annual “Flintlock” counter-terrorism exercises that have been put together for ten years to help bolster African nations’ ability to fight militant groups operating in the vast ungoverned spaces of the Sahara with training. “Even before the conflict with Boko Haram, we were preparing to face a group like them,” said the commander of the Chadian troops, Captain Zakaria Magada, whose Special Anti-Terrorist Group (SATG) is equipped and trained by the United States. “Boko Haram is just a militia of civilians. We are an organized army. They cannot face up to us.” Chad’s armed forces are among the most respected in the region – a reputation forged during decades of war and rebellions, and honed in a 2013 fight against al Qaeda-linked Islamists in the deserts of northern Mali. But many of its troops are still raw. In the first days of Flintlock, trainers from the U.S. army’s 10th Special Forces Group walked them through basics like adjusting the sights of their weapons and properly cleaning them. There is a limit to what can be taught in three weeks of Flintlock but the ob-

jective of the exercise – which this year groups 1,300 troops from 28 countries – is building relationships among African nations and Western partners. Efforts to construct a regional African taskforce to tackle Boko Haram have been hampered by lack of cooperation between neighboring countries. With that in mind, planners built into this year’s Flintlock a cross-border scenario about tackling a militant group modeled on the Nigerian militants. “It is all about African nations finding African solutions to their problems,” said Major General James Linder, head of U.S. Special Operations Command Africa. “We cannot do that for them.” While France has deployed some 3,000 troops in Africa to combat Islamic militants, the U.S. military has retained a lighter footprint: providing equipment and training to allies while participating in a few targeted missions, such as the hunt for Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) leader Joseph Kony. Amid calls for the U.S. army to become more directly involved, Linder says its focus on capacity building is part of a long-term vision. By 2050, Africa is forecast to have 2.7 billion people – a third of the world’s population, he says. “The global community needs stable countries in Africa and that can only happen through African nations themselves,” he pointed out. The United States stepped up military cooperation with Nigeria following the abduction of nearly 300 schoolgirls by Boko Haram in the village of Chibok in April. However, Washington’s refusal to sell Cobra attack helicopters, amid concerns over human rights abuses by the Nigerian military, angered some in Africa’s most populous nation. “If we had enough guns and ammunition, the Nigerian army could finish Boko Haram in a week,” said a member of Nigeria’s elite Special Boat Services (SBS) attending Flintlock. He said his unit, which has fought against the Islamist group, had received previous training from the U.S. Navy SEALs. As Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Cameroon and Benin prepare to launch their 8,700-strong taskforce next month, the United States is providing intelligence and equipment. A major shipment of helmets and bulletproof vests arrived in Cameroon this week. U.S. Special Forces trainers, however, stress that equipment is not the most important factor in fighting insurgents. “It’s not about the weapons you’re carrying, it’s about the individual,” said the U.S. major in charge of coordinating Flintlock, emphasizing the need to build relationships with the local population

ADVERTORIAL

Keren Minchas Shlomo – Helping the Poor of Eretz Yisrael

An Unusual Call eped. thing drive, my phone be clo a th wi sy bu s wa I ile Wh ramedics, the line. As we’re both pa My son Avraham was on unusual especially complicated or ss cu dis to es on ph en oft he cases. ht. call he’d been on that nig This time, he described the ms and as he detailed the sympto r ea an lf ha th wi ed en I list unds like nutes, I interrupted. “It so treatment. After a few mi re, and it am,” I said. “But I’m busy he rah Av , job od go a did u yo e treatndreds of other cases you’v sounds pretty much like hu t you tha e so unusual about this on ed in the past. What was ?” called to discuss it with me mitnute. “You’re right, Ta,” he ad Avraham was silent for a mi at wh t sn’t unusual. The truth is tha ted. “Medically, this case wa ber apartment. I don’t remem the in saw we at wh is struck me a pillow Ta, the sick man didn’t have ever seeing such poverty. n’t even . Forget pillows… they did ad he his t res to ich wh on have sheets!” rning cousin of ours had been lea Hashgachah had it that a gemach d when he left he gave the in Eretz Yisrael for Elul, an t brandos o pillows that were alm two full sets of linen and tw new. ’d visic stopped at the home he Later that day, the paramed ht’s nig nted check on the previous ited the day before. He wa too. pillows and linen to deliver, patient… and he had some

her home, filled with basic foodstuffs. “Enough to feed my family for a week,” she says, and smiles. She gestures toward the warm coats hanging on hooks in the hallway of her tiny apartment. “Thank you,” she says. “Keren Minchas Shlomo helps me keep my children warm and fed. When the children dress warmly and eat properly, their grades go up in school. My children talk about how they will help others, when they are big. For now, all I can say is thank you – and may Hashem bless you for all you do.” Mrs. Shaindee Schorr, a veteran baalas chessed and organizer of many successful clothing drives in the neighborhood, has volunteered to spearhead this clothing drive, too. She can be reached at 917-734-1612, email: shaindeeschorr@yahoo.com, if you would like to volunteer.

You Can Help! The clothing drive will take place on March 15, 2015 from 11:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m at the Agudah ofLong Island, 1121 Sage Street, Far Rockaway, New York. To volunteer to help sort and pack, please contact Mrs. Shaindee Schorr at 917-734-1612, or email: shaindeeschorr@yahoo. com Please send clothing that is clean and in very good condition. Please note: All clothing must be without holes or stains. Zippers must be in good working order, and all buttons present and accounted for. Clothing that you or your children would wear is the type of items that we are looking for. Due to updated laws in Israel, we cannot send linens, hats or shoes of any type! Only clothing can be shipped – all other items are purchased in Israel.

Please Don’t Cry… I was on my way to one of our drop-off points, loaded with two big boxes full of towels that we had just recieved . They were beautiful towels, thick and so ft. Keren Minchas Shlom o distributed over 20,000 new towels alrea dy. This time, I was esp ecially pleased that we had gotten a great shipment of such a quali ty item for our “clients.” As I headed toward the gemach, I passed a woma n I recognized – one of our regulars. It was just before Yom Tov and Mrs. M was loaded down with three shopping bags full of clo thing for her family. With a husband suffe ring from a chronic illness and nine adorable and lively children, Mrs. M certainly had her hand s full – and I don’t mean just with shoppin g bags. “Mrs. M!” I called. “Please wait a moment. Could yo u possibly use some towels?” I put do wn my boxes and pulle d op en the flaps to show her the prize withi n. Mrs. M. rested her shop ping bags against the bo x and peered inside. Then, to my conster nation, her eyes overflow ed. I was flabbergasted. “Oh, no! What did I do?” I asked. “Mrs. M, you’re walking out with over $1,000 wo rth of new clothing,” I tried to console he r. “Why are you crying ov er some towels?” Mrs. M. couldn’t answer for a moment. Then she wiped her eyes and looked at me. “The towels are beautiful. I’m cry ing because, believe it or not, I have on ly two towels in my hous e. The eleven of us take turns using the tow el. The clothing alone is more than I ever dreamed of. How did yo u know to offer us towels , too?”

MARCH 3, 2015

anonymous donor. All types of clothing are needed – for men, women and children, and in all styles – modern, yeshivish and chassidish. “Poverty has no respect for these distinctions,” Rabbi Solomon explains. “People in all sectors are hurting – and you can help.” The clothing drive will take place on March 15, 2015 from 11:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m at the Agudah of Long Island, 1121 Sage Street. Volunteers will sort the clothing and pack it into boxes to be sent to Israel. This shipment will be distributed in Yerushalayim and Beit Shemesh. This shipment is scheduled to arrive in Israel at the end of April/beginning of May, be”H. Yaffa points to a cardboard box that was just delivered to

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“There’s no question that our financial situation is better than it was before,” says Yaffa from Yerushalayim. “But ‘better’ is relative, and before it was terrible. I’m still waiting for things to be good.” Unfortunately, many people are experiencing financial difficulty. The question isn’t if times are tough. The question is just how tough are the times – and what can we do to help? Keren Minchas Shlomo has been helping the poor of Eretz Yisrael for the last ten years. “We help with the very basics,” says Rabbi Maier Solomon, founder and CEO of the organization. “We distribute food and clothing all over Yerushalayim and throughout the country.” A community-wide clothing drive in now under way in the Five Towns, sponsored by an

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Clothing Drive in Five Towns

The Week In News to isolate militant groups.

ISIS Training Children to Kill

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MARCH 3, 2015

The murderous terror organization known as the Islamic State has released a video showing a jihadi training camp for children based in the militant group’s stronghold of Raqqa in northern Syria. At the training camp, the Farouq Institute for (Jihadi) Cubs, children from the Middle East and elsewhere are “brought together by Allah to learn this religion,” one of the instructors explains. The pinnacle of which, the teacher continues, is “jihad in the path of Allah.” The children in the video wear matching camouflage uniforms while

practicing various exercises. The video, translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute, explains that they are meant to be the next generation of the Islamic State, which will conquer Jerusalem and Rome. According to one of the fathers that sends his son to the program, children in these training camps are given blondehaired, blue-eyed dolls to decapitate “for homework.” Raqqa has been the de facto capital of the Islamic State since it took control of the city last year. But in recent months coalition forces and Kurdish peshmerga fighters have been fighting back against ISIS, inflicting heavy losses among its fighters and on its infrastructure.

More than 23,000 Jewish refugees lived in the ghetto in Shanghai during World War II, which was then occupied by Japan — an ally of Nazi Germany and co-founder of the fascist Axis powers. Some of the refugees in the ghetto arrived there from Lithuania, where the Japanese diplomat Chiune Sugihara gave transit visas into Japan to approximately 6,000 Jews in defiance of orders from Tokyo. The entire Mir Yeshiva was saved, mainly due to Sugihara’s selfless acts.

Commemorating the Shanghai Ghetto The World Jewish Congress and China’s government are preparing a joint commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the Shanghai Ghetto. They intend to host the ceremony in September.

“We will commemorate, for the first time, part of the Holocaust that tends to get less attention,” said WJC President Ronald S. Lauder, who will chair the commemoration event. “This historic event also marks another step towards strengthening the bonds between the Chinese and Jewish people.” The event, the first to be co-organized by the WJC and China, will bring 100 WJC representatives to Shanghai. Robert Singer, CEO of Lauder’s organization, finalized the joint commemoration earlier this week during a meeting in London with Qiu Yuanpin, a Chinese minister of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office. “It is in the best interests of world Jewry that we forge even closer relations with Beijing,” Singer said. Chinese officials in recent years have stepped up their rhetoric against Japan, demanding more explicit expressions of regret for atrocities committed during World War II from the current government of the island nation.

Huge Price Offered for Hacker’s Arrest The highest bounty ever offered for a cyber-criminal has been announced by the U.S. State Department and the FBI. Russian national Evgeniy Bogachev has a price of $3 million on his head. The reward is for information leading to his arrest or conviction.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation also issued a “Wanted” poster for Bogachev, who is charged in the United States with running a computer attack network called GameOver Zeus that allegedly stole more than $100 million from online bank accounts. Bogachev has been charged by federal authorities in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with conspiracy, computer hacking, wire fraud, bank fraud and money laundering in connection with his alleged role as administrator of GameOver Zeus. He also faces federal bank fraud conspiracy charges in Omaha, Nebraska, related to his alleged involvement in an earlier variant of Zeus malware known as “Jabber Zeus.” Bureau officials said they believe Bogachev is still in Russia. Joseph Demarest, head of the FBI’s cyber-crime division, said the agency is aware of 60 different cyber threat groups linked to nation-states. He did not identify which countries were believed to be behind these groups. Demarest said that Russia’s internal security agency, the FSB, had recently expressed tentative interest in working with U.S. authorities on investigating cybercrimes. He did not link the offer of cooperation to the Bogachev case. He added that the FBI had learned of “over 100 major” cyber-attacks in 2014, although evidence of insider collusion had turned up in “less than a handful” of those cases.

European Rabbis Learn Self-Defense

Due to the rise in anti-Semitism in Europe, rabbis are taking serious action and vamping up their defenses, quite literally. Last Tuesday, almost 100 rabbis from European countries gathered in Prague for training in self-defense and first aid. During the session, knives were distributed and instructions were given on how to survive a stabbing and how to treat injuries. Continued on page 24

Hagaon Reb Chaim kanie fsky in his hand w ritten letter

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‫ היומי בהלכה‬‫ של ד‬‫ העולמי למחזור הראשו‬‫דרשו סיו‬

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WORLD SIYUM

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HIGHLIGHTS OF THE

NORTH AMERICAN CONVENTION

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MARCH 3, 2015

The overall program will c"qa be graced by the presence of Gedolei Yisrael, Roshei Yeshiva and Rabbonim, shlita, including*: HaGaon HaRav Reuven Feinstein, cplii` ohrhq'c daiyi ,daiyid y`x HaGaon HaRav Ahron Feldman, l`xyi xp daiyi ,daiyid y`x HaGaon HaRav Yehoshua Fuhrer, ‫ו‬hpx‫ו‬h a`a`a ,ll‫ו‬k y`x ,ax HaGaon HaRav Yitzchok Zalman Gipps, dxa` ‫ת‬kxa ld‫ק‬c ax‫` ו‬rcxdp daiyid y`x

Shiurim in lomdus, drush and chizuk from Gedolei Yisrael and leading Rabbonim

HaGaon HaRav Meyer Herskowitz, ‫ו‬ly q‫ח‬p‫ת פ‬ia `‫ת‬ai‫ מת‬oi‫מ‬ipa ‫ת‬ia ‫ת‬aiyi daiyid y`x HaGaon HaRav Aryeh Malkiel Kotler, d‫ו‬ab yxc‫ת מ‬ia ,daiyid y`x HaGaon HaRav Moshe Mordechai Lowy, ‫ו‬hpx‫ו‬h l`xyi ‫ת‬c‫ו‬b` fkx‫ מ‬,`x‫`ת‬c `x‫מ‬ HaGaon HaRav Shlomo Miller, ‫ו‬hpx‫ו‬h oic ‫ת‬ia a` ,ikxa` ll‫ו‬k y`x HaGaon HaRav Yeruchim Olshin, d‫ו‬ab yxc‫ת מ‬ia ,daiyi y`x HaGaon HaRav Shmuel Choueka, d‫מח‬y ld` ld‫ק‬c ax HaGaon HaRav Zev Smith, dx‫ תו‬ix‫ו‬riy o‫ו‬bx`‫ ו‬,dklda i‫ומ‬id sc ,x‫ו‬riy cib‫מ‬

Shirium in Halacha from leading Poskim and Dayonim Tefillos and zemiros led by R’ Isaac Honig & The Shira Choir

HaGaon HaRav Yitzchok Sorotzkin, c‫קוו`ו‬iilc `‫ת‬ai‫ ומת‬flh daiyi y`x HaGaon HaRav Yechiel Mechel Steinmetz, `xi‫קוו‬q ,sq‫ו‬i a‫ק‬ri ‫ות‬cl‫ תו‬ld‫ק‬c ,u"‫ומ‬c *list in formation

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MARCH 3, 2015

The Week In News “When we see the level of anti-Semitism in Europe, when we see the level of hate in Europe, when we see the lack of leadership of European governments to fight against anti-Semitism and terror, we’re not surprised, unfortunately [by the attacks],” said Rabbi Menachem Margolin. The training was part of an annual gathering of rabbis organized by the Rabbinical Centre of Europe and the

European Jewish Association headed by Margolin. He said the idea was to demonstrate “the most basic stuff needed.” “We’ve urged the European countries to do something and we did not get a real response from them,” Margolin said, adding all Jewish institutions in Europe should be protected by police 24 hours a day. Binyomin Jacobs, chief rabbi in the

Netherlands, welcomed the training. “It’s very important,” the 66-year-old said. “I’m very happy with this. Happy and sad that it is necessary.”

noticed?

Iran Smuggles $1B in Cash How exactly does $1 billion go unAccording to recent reports, at least $1 billion in cash has been smuggled into Iran as it seeks to avoid Western sanctions. The astronomical figure is much higher than originally suspected. Sanctions imposed by the West over Iran’s nuclear program have shut Tehran out of the global banking system, making it hard to obtain the U.S. dollars it needs for international transactions. In December, the U.S. Treasury said the Iranian government had obtained hundreds of millions of dollars in bank notes using front companies. Interviews by Reuters with Iranian officials and Western diplomatic and intelligence sources suggest that the Iranian central bank plays an important role. Three Western diplomatic sources and three Iranian government officials, who all declined to be identified citing the sensitivity of the issue, said Tehran had been working on ways to obtain dollars since March of last year. Supposedly, the cash was carried by couriers on flights from Dubai or Turkey or snuck across the Iraq-Iran border. Before it reached Iran, the cash was passed through money changers and front companies in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, and Iraq. The Central Bank of Iran declined to comment on the matter.

Anti-Jewish Harassment on the Rise

Despite a downturn in hostile acts involving all religions worldwide, the number of countries where Jews face harassment is growing. The Pew Research Center in Washington, D.C., said

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The Week In News harassment of Jews was reported in 77 out of 198 countries in 2013 — the highest number in seven years. “Jews are much more likely to be harassed by individuals or groups in society than by governments,” it said in a 86-page report. “In Europe, for example, Jews were harassed by individuals or social groups in 34 of the region’s 45 countries,” it added. Worldwide, Pew said, “social hostilities involving religion,” measured on a country-by-country basis, declined in 2013 after hitting a six-year high the year before. The highest overall levels of restrictions on religion were found in Myanmar, Egypt, Indonesia, Pakistan and Russia, with both government and society imposing “numerous limits on religious beliefs and practices.” “China had the highest level of government restrictions in 2013, and India had the highest level of social hostilities involving religion,” Pew said. It added: “Christians were harassed, either by government or social groups, in 102 of the 198 countries included in the study (52%), while Muslims were harassed in 99 countries (50%).”

Israel Israelis are Eating Right

A lot of people list food among the top things they like about visiting Israel. It turns out that Israelis not only make delicious fare, they are also very healthy when it comes to their overall diet. A new study in this month’s The Lancet Global Health Journal places the diet of the average Israeli among the healthiest in the world. The study, which looked at both

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good and bad dietary habits of adults in 187 countries, placed Israel ninth overall. Led by Dr. Fumiaki Imamura of the University of Cambridge, it’s the first ever to assess diet quality in such a large number of countries at one time, covering 4.5 billion people. Researchers did not conduct their own poll, but used a wide range of data sources, including nationally representative dietary surveys, local surveys and UN reports. They also adjusted for total energy intake to evaluate quality, as much as possible, independently from quantity. In Israel, as in nearly all countries in the world, diet improved with age, with adults in their 50’s and 60’s eating the healthiest foods, while avoiding the unhealthiest. Healthier people were reported to eat foods such as grains, beans and legumes, milk, dietary fiber, omega-3 rich fish and fruits. They also eat less unhealthy food, including processed meats, sugar-sweetened soft drinks, and foods with high levels of sodium and trans fat. Younger Israelis, however, tend to indulge in more junk food than they should. The countries with the worst diets included the United States and Canada,

most of central and northern Europe, Russia, India and China – which, the authors said, was no surprise, given the prevalence of the “fast food culture.” But perhaps most surprisingly, it was the countries of central Africa that scored the highest – with Chad having the healthiest diet, followed by other African countries including Sierra Leone, Mali, the Gambia, Uganda, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Senegal. The reason for that, according to the report, is that Africans do not have the money to buy highly processed foods that Westerners do and subsist on a simpler diet – which, as it turns out, is healthier.

Italy Urges Government to Recognize Palestinian State On Friday, Italian lawmakers backed a non-binding resolution urging the government to recognize Palestine as a state. Italy’s Chamber of Deputies voted 300 to 45 to pass the motion presented by Prime Minister Matteo Renzi’s

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The Week In News

The readers of this paper may have been freezing last week but the organizers of the Tel Aviv Marathon had the opposite problem. They were forced to cancel the event in the middle after numerous runners suffered injuries due to the unseasonable heat. While most of the runners had completed the race, there were about 500 runners on the full marathon who had not yet finished.

Housing Shortage Stirs Controversy Between 2008 and December 2013, the real cost for purchasing an apartment in Israel rose by a steep 55%. The

The report by State Comptroller Yosef Shapira focused on the snail’s pace of Israeli planning bodies for keeping

demand in the housing market from being met. “It takes approximately 12 years to go from the submission of a housing construction plan to the planning committees and to the existence of a finished apartment,” the report noted. Every step of the planning process is tortuous and inefficient, according to the comptroller. The comptroller concluded, “Over the years, planning committees approved tens of thousands of housing units fewer than the number demanded by the market. The planning inventory was eroded, and lost some 50,000 housing units” — a number that marks the gap between the demand and the number of housing units approved in the years under investigation. Delays were found at every stage of planning and development Of course the report has now become a hot topic in the political scene before this year’s elections. In the hours before its formal publication, ministers who oversee some of the agencies criticized in the report insisted the situation has improved dramatically on their watch. Former finance minister Yair Lapid, head of the Yesh Atid party, said the report proved that Netanyahu had failed

MARCH 3, 2015

Tel Aviv Marathon Cut Short

The marathon was set to run until mid-day, but was halted when the temperature hit 28 degrees Celsius (83 degrees Fahrenheit). At that point, those still running the marathon were told to walk the rest of the distance. The Tel Aviv Municipality said that there were still dozens of runners who were asked to walk, but would be allowed to finish. The early close had much more of an impact on the 10k, 5k, and half-marathon runners, who started later than the full marathon. In March 2013, 29-year-old Michael Michaelovich died while running the marathon, which had been shortened due to unseasonably hot weather. The decision to hold only a half marathon was made following a recommendation by the Health Ministry due to the expected hot weather. This year the decision was made to cut the marathon short if temperatures reached 28 degrees in order to avoid a repeat of the 2013 tragedy. Kenyan William Prono Yegon set a new record in the full marathon, finishing in 2:10:29.

average monthly rent rose 30%, according to government figures. The issue of skyrocketing housing prices, amid unmet demand, has taken center stage in recent years as Israelis have protested over the high cost of living. Now, a government report on the housing crisis has placed the blame for runaway housing costs squarely on government agencies. The report paints a stark picture of a stifling bureaucracy and political gridlock that led to the shortages that have driven the prices higher.

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Friday’s symbolic vote does not change the position of the Italian government, which, like other European countries, still supports a negotiated two-state solution. The vote comes two months after the European Parliament voted overwhelmingly in December to recognize a Palestinian state “in principle.” The motion was a watered-down version of an original resolution which had urged EU member states to recognize a Palestinian state unconditionally. Lawmakers approved the motion by 498 votes to 88 with 111 abstentions. Ireland, Britain and France held similar votes toward the end of last year. Sweden went further, officially recognizing Palestine, whereas Spain’s congress passed a motion that said Spain should recognize a Palestinian state only after its establishment is agreed upon in bilateral negotiations with Israel. The Palestinian Authority estimates that 136 countries have now recognized Palestine as a state, although that number is disputed and several recognitions by EU member states date back to the Soviet era. A bid by the Palestinian Authority to the UN Security Council asking for a resolution backing a Palestinian state on the pre-1967 lines and an Israeli withdrawal to those lines by 2017 was shot down in December.

Magen David Adom treated at least 75 runners during the event, 15 of whom were taken to the hospital. Two were hospitalized in serious condition, four were listed as satisfactory, and nine in good condition. The marathon began earlier than planned, at 5:45 a.m., after forecasters predicted the weather would be unseasonably hot. The organizers wanted to avoid another tragedy like the one that occurred at the 2013 marathon, when a young male runner died of heat exhaustion.

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Democratic Party. The resolution urges the government “to recognize the state of Palestine so that negotiations to reach a two-state solution are restarted.”

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The Week In News to tackle the housing crisis until 2013, when a special cabinet committee was appointed to deal with the issue. “The housing crisis in Israel is a direct result of Netanyahu and the Likud ignoring the issue. Years of procrastination, inaction and corruption caused house prices to increase outrageously,” he said in a statement. The Likud Party called the report “very important” in a statement and said it would work to implement the recommendations in the next government. “The Likud governments led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have accomplished a lot with regards to housing prices, though there is still much more that needs to be done,” the statement read.

“Red-Dead” Pipeline Deal Signed with Jordan Israel and Jordan signed a “historic” water cooperation agreement this week. The deal outlines the “Red-Dead” proj-

ect, which will supply water for both Israelis and Jordanians and replenish the dwindling Dead Sea. Calling it “the most significant agreement since the peace treaty with Jordan,” Israeli Energy and Water Resources Minister Silvan Shalom traveled to Jordan to sign the agreement with his Jordanian counterpart, Hazem Nasser. It was signed in the presence of U.S. State Department and World Bank officials.

Shared by Jordan and Israel, the Dead Sea has been rapidly shrinking in recent decades due to the diversion of incoming water from the Jordan River, its surface falling 22 meters since 1970. “This is the culmination of a produc-

tive cooperation between the nations that will help restore the Dead Sea and provide solutions to Jordan’s water problems,” Shalom told a reporter. The “Red-Dead” project, first agreed upon in December 2013, will connect the Red Sea to the Dead Sea via a 200-kilometer-long pipeline that will lead 100 million cubic meters of water up north every year. A desalination plant will also be erected north of the Jordanian tourist resort of Aqaba, and will serve both Jordan and Israel. The high-salt-content water left over in the desalination process, or brine, will be streamed into the Dead Sea, known for its high salt content. The agreement will provide a much needed environmental solution for the Dead Sea, an important economic resource to both sides, providing both a boom for tourism and industrial benefits. The laying of the pipeline, which will be located on the Jordanian side of the border, is expected to cost $250 million and may be partially funded by the European Union and the World Bank, according to an Israeli news outlet. Construction of the plant is expected to begin in approximately 18 months, and the pipeline will begin to be laid in three years.

was nevertheless unequivocal in his criticism of the new Palestinian policy. “People aren’t convinced by the boycott,” he explained. “Most see it as a foolish game, a ploy to placate the public; not as a genuine patriotic move. If the PA sincerely wanted to boycott, it would have blocked the trucks from entering at the crossings.” On February 9, Fatah’s High Committee for Confronting the Israeli Measures announced the boycott of six major Israeli food and drink manufacturers — Strauss, Tnuva, Osem, Elite, Prigat and Jafora. The committee warned merchants to remove the products from their shelves within two weeks or face confiscation. The move was declared as retaliation for Israel’s decision to withhold some $200 million in Palestinian tax revenues since early January. During the war in Gaza over the summer, Fawzi noted, people spontaneously refrained from buying Israeli products with no instructions from above, simply as an act of solidarity. But now, he says, they view the boycott campaign as a decoy, meant to divert public rage to Israel instead of the Palestinian government.

Palestinians Ignore Anti-Israel Boycott

Germany Sued in U.S. for Treasure Sold to Nazis

A boycott imposed by Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah movement on Israel’s main food manufacturers may have officially taken effect last week, but just one mile away from the presidential palace vendors have been unmoved. Popular snacks like Osem’s Bamba peanut butter snacks and Elite’s Tapuchips potato chips are still on display outside grocery stores in Ramallah. “The Israeli products sell better than the Arab ones and their quality is higher,” said Fawzi, 23, who operates the cash register in a small grocery on al-Nahda Street. Reluctant to divulge his real name for fear of reprisals, he

National

The heirs of Nazi-era Jewish art dealers say they have filed a lawsuit in the U.S. suing Germany and a German museum for the return of the Welfenschatz collection, a medieval treasure trove worth an estimated $226 million. The suit, which was filed in Washington, D.C., is the latest push in a long-running campaign by the heirs for return of the treasures which their ancestors sold under Nazi pressure. Originally collected over centuries by the Braunschweig Cathedral, the col-

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The Week In News lection includes some of the outstanding goldsmith works of the Middle Ages, among them ornate containers in the form of cathedrals used to store Christian relics. Many of the silver and gold pieces are decorated with jewels and pearls. Some are more than 800 years old. Attorney Nicholas O’Donnell told reporters that the suit asks the Washington court to declare an American and a British descendant of a consortium that owned the collection in 1935 — when it was sold to the German state of Prussia — the rightful owners today. “Any transaction in 1935, where the sellers on the one side were Jews and the buyer on the other side was the Nazi state itself is by definition a void transaction,” O’Donnell said. The organization that oversees Berlin’s museums, the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, says that the collectors were not forced to sell the pieces, arguing among other things that the collection was not even in Germany at the time of its sale. There have been other cases in which heirs of looted art have sued Germany or German government museums in U.S. courts. Two recent cases involving looted art were

dismissed by the courts on sovereign immunity grounds. Complicating matters, the state of Berlin recently declared the collection a national cultural treasure, meaning the art pieces can no longer leave the country without the explicit permission of the country’s culture minister. The Welfenschatz collection, originally 82 pieces, ended up in the hands of a consortium of Jewish art dealers from Frankfurt in 1929 when they purchased it from a Braunschweig duke. With the onset of the Great Depression, they were not able to resell all the relics as quickly and profitably as expected; in the early 1930s they still owned half of the collection. After Adolf Hitler’s rise to power in 1933, the story becomes murky. What is undisputed is that Jewish owners sold the remaining 42 pieces to the state of Prussia, which at the time was governed by top Nazi Hermann Goering. The lawyers for the heirs say that the art dealers had to sell the treasure significantly below its actual value because they were under massive pressure, exposed daily to the terrors of the Nazi regime.

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Rand Paul Wins CPAC Straw Poll

Want to know who will be the Republican nominee in the next presidential election? Well, if history repeats itself, it probably won’t be Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul. Paul won the Conservative Political Action Conference’s presidential straw poll on Saturday for the third consecutive year. Many don’t understand the significance of this vote; only three winners of 20 previous CPAC straw polls went on to win the party’s nomination for president. The three-day CPAC conference in suburban Washington draws many libertarian-leaning college students whose views and priorities differ significantly from the Republican Party at large. Respondents said economic issues, like jobs and taxes, were most important to them in deciding whom to support as the Republican nominee for president in 2016. According to the Guardian, Paul took 25.7 percent of the vote. Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker came second, with 21.4 percent. Senator Ted Cruz came in third in the contest with 11.5 percent, followed by retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson with 11.4 percent and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush with 8.3 percent. In the past nine years, according to the Washington Post, the poll’s winners have been: Mitt Romney, Romney, Romney, Ron Paul, Romney, Rand Paul, Rand, and Rand.

Leonard Nimoy Dies at 83 In the words of Spock himself, “Live long and prosper.” It seems that Leonard Nimoy, the person who played Spock and once wrote a book called I am Spock, lived up to these words when he died at the age of 83. Nimoy was best known for his role as Spock in his 1966-1969 “Star Trek” run with a notable career as both an ac-

tor and director. But despite his other successes, Nimoy will be remembered by most as Spock, the half-human, half-Vulcan character who was the calm counterpoint to emotional Captain Kirk on the series. People identified with Spock because they “recognize in themselves this wish that they could be logical and avoid the pain of anger and confrontation,” Nimoy once said. “How many times have we come away from an argument wishing we had said and done something different?” he asked.

His fans called themselves Trekkies and kept Spock’s memory alive with conventions and fan clubs and constant demands that the cast be reassembled for a movie or another TV show. They are particularly fond of Spock, often greeting one another with the Vulcan salute and the Vulcan motto, “Live Long and Prosper,” both of which Nimoy was credited with bringing to the character. Nimoy brought the hand gesture to his role from his experiences of watching rabbis in a synagogue chant the priestly blessings. He also was credited with the “Vulcan nerve pinch,” a Vulcan way of killing with a jab to nerves in one’s neck. “Of course the role changed my career—or rather, gave me one,” he once said. “It made me wealthy by most standards and opened up vast opportunities. It also affected me personally, socially, psychologically, emotionally. ... What started out as a welcome job to a hungry actor has become a constant and ongoing influence in my thinking and lifestyle.” “Long before being nerdy was cool, there was Leonard Nimoy,” President Obama said in a statement following the actor’s death. “Leonard was a lifelong lover of the arts and humanities, a supporter of the sciences, generous with his talent and his time. And of course, Leonard was Spock. I loved Spock.” Born in Boston to Jewish immigrants from Russia, Nimoy was raised in an Italian section of the city where, although he counted many Italian-AmeriContinued on page 36

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The Week In News cans as his friends, he said he also felt the sting of anti-Semitism growing up. At age 17 he was cast in a local production of Clifford Odets’ “Awake and Sing” as the son in a Jewish family. “This role, the young man surrounded by a hostile and repressive environment, so touched a responsive chord that I decided to make a career of acting,” he later said. He won a drama scholarship to Boston College but eventually dropped out, moved to California and took acting lessons at the Pasadena Playhouse. Soon he had lost his “Boston dead-end” accent, hired an agent and began getting small roles in TV series and movies. After serving in the Army, he returned to Hollywood, working as taxi driver, vacuum cleaner salesman, movie theater usher and other jobs while looking for acting roles.

Big Win for Net Neutrality

A net neutrality plan to protect openness on the Internet by treating the online world more like the heavily regulated telecommunications market was pushed forward on Thursday by federal regulators. That’s good news for sites like Netflix and YouTube; they won’t have to pay extra fees or face weak connections with users. It is also good news for new pop-up websites and services. The terms allow for new sites to be reachable to everyone on the web on the same terms as the big guys. Earlier proposals were struck down in court after claims said that the FCC lacked authority to impose such rules. In order to correct the conception, the FCC strategically chose to categorize highspeed Internet service as a telecommunications service. The agency heard from Chad Dickerson, CEO of the crafts sales web site Etsy, before the vote. “Without strong rules to prevent discrimination online, the innovation economy would suffer,” Dickerson said. “We

charge only 20 cents to list an item on Etsy, and take only 3.5% of every transaction. We couldn’t afford to pay for priority access to consumers, yet we know delays of milliseconds have a direct and long term impact on revenue.” Cable and telecom companies say congestion is due to the Internet companies that send more data and require more capacity, a cost that is passed on to the sites. For example, last year Netflix agreed to pay Comcast for faster access after its subscribers experienced slow-downs. Many companies that do business online were concerned that Internet service providers could potentially keep squeezing them for higher fees. The new rules, which will apply to both wired and wireless Internet connections, include several major restrictions on Internet service providers. They may not slow down or block access to legal content, applications or services. They also may not create “fast lanes,” speeding up some traffic in return for additional fees. “We are here to ensure that there is only one Internet, where applications, new products, ideas and points of view have an equal chance of being seen and heard,” Commissioner Mignon Clyburn said. “We are here because we want to enable those with deep pockets as well as those with empty pockets the same opportunities to succeed.”

Smuggling Tunnel Discovered on Arizona Border

This week, local police and U.S. Border Patrol agents located the longest drug-smuggling tunnel in the Tucson, Arizona, sector. The discovery came when police intercepted a U-Haul truck carrying 4,700 pounds of marijuana when it rolled into Bisbee, Arizona. The truck and its $3 million-worth of bundled cargo were confiscated and the operation was considered a success. But the victory was just the begin-

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The Week In News ning. When police and agents traced the U-Haul’s route, they were led to a house in the border town of Naco, where, inside a small shed on the property, they found the entrance to the tunnel. According to a press release from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) specially trained agents from the Border Patrol’s tunnel team were immediately dispatched to begin investigating the underground

passageway. Despite an initial delay, due to concerns over the tunnel’s air quality, the investigators found a hydraulic lift inside a cement shaft leading down into the wood-bolstered tunnel. At least near the entrance, the tunnel is big enough to allow an adult to stand up straight and at 905 feet, it is almost twice the length of the previous record holder in the area. Tunnels have long served as a popular means of transporting drugs between Mexico and the United States,

especially as recent increases in U.S. agents and fencing along the Southwest border have forced cartels to come up with alternative points of entry. The first cross-border smuggling tunnel was discovered by the Border Patrol in 1990. Since then, a total of 168 tunnels have been identified and, since 2006, 80 have been found and dismantled. This tunnel pales in comparison to tunnels discovered in the San Diego area in recent years. Some of those

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tunnels are 2,400 feet long and include electricity, ventilation, groundwater pumping, pulley systems and even a multi-tiered electric railway. A few of these sophisticated tunnels have been traced back to the Sinaloa cartel, one of the world’s largest and most notorious drug-smuggling rings, including one discovered in 2012 and another that was shut down by U.S. authorities in November 2014. In fact, after his arrest in 2014, it was revealed that Joaquín Guzmán Loera, the elusive head of the Sinaloa cartel, and better known as “El Chapo,” had relied on a network of underground tunnels to evade authorities. “With this discovery, we’ve dealt another significant blow to the Mexican drug cartels and proven yet again that going underground is not a workaround to evade law enforcement,” Matthew Allen, special agent in charge of ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations in Arizona, said in a statement about the tunnel discovered in Naco this week.

Guilty Verdict for American Sniper Murderer

Former Marine and Iraq War vet Eddie Ray Routh, who claims he is struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder, was found guilty of capital murder last week in the shooting deaths of “American Sniper” Chris Kyle and his friend, Chad Littlefield. Routh stared straight ahead at the judge’s bench as Judge Jason Cashon read the verdict. A jury of ten women and two men took just over two hours to convict Routh, 27, in the murder of Kyle, 38, and Littlefield, 35, at an upscale shooting range near Fort Worth on February 2, 2013. Immediately after the verdict was read, Cashon condemned Routh to life in prison in the Texas criminal justice system without possibility for parole. Routh, though, could appeal the verdict. “The deep well of excuse-making for this defendant has to come to an end,” Erath County District Attorney Alan Nash said in closing arguments. “In cold blood, he gunned these two men down.”

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The Week In News Bin Laden’s Right Hand Man Found Guilty

Gratuity not included…How much gratitude are you willing to show? Well, that may depend on your zip code. According to a report released by compensation site PayScale.com, waiters and waitresses earn a median of just $8.20 per hour in tips (and their average inclusive salary with base pay and tips added together is $13.20 per hour). The general policy is that after dining in a restaurant and getting served by a waiter or waitress one should tip anywhere from 10% to 20%; some use the “double tax” equation. But that’s a pretty broad range and some states tend to be more generous and some are embarrassingly less. So where should waiters head to if they want to eat more than just pasta for dinner every night? Boston and Miami are by far the most generous and appreciative toward their wait staff. In both cities, waiters earn an average of $13 in tips an hour. New Yorkers were pretty generous as well. They tend to give about $9.50 an hour, the 6th highest in the nation, to their devoted wait staff. The worst tippers in the country dine in Washington, D.C.: $8.50; Chicago: $8.30; Los Angeles: $7.60; Seattle: $7.40; Detroit: $7.10; and Minneapolis: $6.90. Shame on them.

Before the world knew the name Osama Bin Laden or al-Qaeda there were the deadly 1998 bombings in two U.S. embassies in Africa. Last Thursday, a man prosecutors portrayed as one of al-Qaeda’s early leaders was convicted of conspiracy in the attacks following a trial that showcased the terror group’s early days. Khaled al-Fawwaz expressed little emotion as the anonymous jury delivered its verdict after almost three days of deliberating. Al-Fawwaz, 52, could potentially face life in prison. Prosecutors say the terrorist was a close confidant of bin Laden and ensured bin Laden’s death threats against Americans were heard and highlighted worldwide in 1998. “From his onetime place at the top of al-Qaeda’s membership list, Fawwaz now joins the long membership list of convicted, jailed terrorists,” U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said in a statement. With al-Fawwaz’s conviction, ten defendants tied to the embassy bombings have been convicted or pleaded guilty. Despite the conviction, al-Fawwaz’s lawyers maintain that he was a passive dissident who did not partake in al-Qaeda’s violent plans; they plan to appeal the verdict. They saw the case as skewed by the passage of time and the drumbeat of news and fear about terrorism since the September 11 attacks. “Trying a pre-9/11 terror case in a

MARCH 3, 2015

We all know children who are allergic to peanuts. Many schools no longer allow food containing peanuts to be brought in because of how common allergies are. It turns out, though, that

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A New Look at Peanut Allergies

keeping children away from peanuts may not be the answer. A major study comparing Israeli children with their British counterparts has yielded some surprising results. The study found that exposing infants to peanuts before age 1 actually helped prevent a peanut allergy, lowering that risk by as much as 81 percent, doctors learned. Instead of provoking an allergy, early exposure seemed to help build tolerance. Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, called the results “without precedent” and said in a statement that they “have the potential to transform how we approach food allergy prevention.” Dr. Fauci’s agency helped fund the study, the largest and most rigorous test of this concept. Results were published in the New England Journal of Medicine and discussed at an American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology conference in Houston. A big warning, though: Babies in the study were checked to make sure they didn’t already have a peanut allergy before they were fed foods that included peanuts, so parents of babies thought to be at risk for an allergy should not try this on their own. “Before you even start any kind of introduction these children need to be skin-tested” to prevent life-threatening reactions, Dr. Rebecca Gruchalla, an allergy specialist at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, cautioned. Also, small children can choke on whole peanuts, so smooth peanut butter or other peanut-based foods are safer, Gruchalla pointed out. The main finding — that early exposure to a problem food may keep it from becoming a long-term problem — should change food guidelines quickly, she predicted. “It’s counterintuitive in certain ways and in other ways it’s not,” she said. Peanut allergies have doubled over the last decade and now affect more than 2 percent of kids in the United States and growing numbers of them in Africa, Asia and elsewhere. Peanuts are the leading cause of food allergy-related severe reactions and deaths. Unlike many other allergies, this one is not outgrown with age. Food allergies often are inherited, but research suggests they also can develop after birth and that age of exposure may affect whether they do. Researchers at King’s College London started this study after noticing far higher rates of peanut allergies among Jewish children in London who were not given peanut-based foods in infancy compared to others in Israel who were.

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The verdict brings to a close a dramatic nine-day trial that included emotional testimony from Kyle’s wife, Taya Kyle, and Judy Littlefield, Chad’s mother. The trial also included graphic photos from the crime scene, revealing testimony from Routh’s confession to police and details into his mental troubles after leaving the military. After the verdict and sentencing, Jerry Richardson, Littlefield’s stepbrother, read a statement directed at Routh. “Because of you and your irresponsible choices, we lost a great son, brother, father, husband and uncle,” Richardson said in a voice quivering with emotion. “Your inhumanity and disregard for life have put you in a world [from which] you’ll never escape.” Routh confessed to shooting Kyle and Littlefield shortly after being arrested the day of the incident. Jurors only had to decide if he “intentionally and willingly” killed the pair and whether he knew what he did was wrong. Kyle had served four tours in the Iraq War as a member of Navy SEAL Team 3 and became one of the most proficient and deadliest snipers in U.S. military history, reportedly killing more than 160 enemy targets. Upon returning home, he volunteered to help veterans struggling with combat-related anxiety. He was approached by Routh’s mother, Jodi Routh, to help her son through his post-combat struggles. Kyle had agreed to work with Routh just a week before the fateful trip to the range. On the day of the shootings, Kyle and Littlefield picked up Routh at his parents’ home in Lancaster, near Fort Worth, and set off on the nearly two-hour drive to the shooting range. Unfortunately, only Routh came back alive, driving Kyle’s truck and later telling his uncle, “I’m driving a dead man’s truck.”

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The Week In News post-9/11 world, blocks from the World Trade Center, ensured that Mr. al-Fawwaz could never receive a truly fair trial,” defense lawyer Bobbi Sternheim said after the verdict. According to U.S. Attorney Bharara, al-Fawwaz led an al-al-Qaeda Afghanistan training camp in the early 1990s,

participated in a terrorist cell in Kenya, and set up a media information office in London where he became bin Laden’s link to Western journalists. Al-Fawwaz distributed bin Laden’s 1998 order to followers to kill Americans, a directive that was followed by the August 1998 embassy bombings in Kenya and Tan-

zania. The attacks killed 224 people, including a dozen Americans. Al-Fawwaz was arrested in London in 1998, and he was extradited from England in 2012. “Murderous words lead to murderous action,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas Lewin told jurors during the trial.

3 New Yorkers Attempt to Join ISIS

FBI agents arrested three Muslim men last week on suspicions that they were attempting to join the Islamic State extremists. Akhror Saidakhmetov, 19, was detained at John F. Kennedy airport while attempting to board a flight to Istanbul, and Abdurasul Hasanovich Juraboev, 24, was arrested at his home in Brooklyn. Allegedly, Juraboev had offered to assassinate President Obama. U.S. prosecutors said Saidakhmetov expressed his desire to purchase a machine gun and shoot U.S. police officers and FBI agents. A third New York resident, Abror Habibov, 30, was arrested in Jacksonville, Florida, and is accused of funding Saidakhmetov’s jihadist quest. Saidakhmetov is Kazakh while the other two come from Uzbekistan. It was not clear how long they had been in the United States. Several weeks ago, a spokesman for the Islamic State group appealed to Muslims in the West to carry out attacks in the name of jihad. The extremist group is notorious for preying on young people via social media. “The flow of foreign fighters to Syria represents an evolving threat to our country and to our allies,” said Loretta Lynch, Attorney General nominee and U.S. attorney for the eastern district of New York. “Anyone who threatens our citizens and our allies, here or abroad, will face the full force of American justice.” The three men have been charged with attempt and conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization. If convicted they face a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.

YouTube Popular but Not Profitable Google has nurtured YouTube into a cultural phenomenon, attracting more

The Week In News The Middle Class is Shrinking Fast

The online video unit posted revenue of about $4 billion in 2014, up from $3 billion a year earlier. But while YouTube accounted for about 6% of Google’s overall sales last year, it didn’t contribute to earnings. After paying for content and the equipment to deliver speedy videos, YouTube’s bottom line is “roughly break-even,” according to a person with knowledge of the figures. By comparison, Facebook Inc. generated more than $12 billion in revenue and nearly $3 billion in profit from its 1.3 billion users last year. The figures reflect YouTube’s struggles to expand its core audience beyond teenagers. Most YouTube users treat the site as a video repository to be accessed from links posted elsewhere, rather than visiting YouTube.com daily. Google executives want them to turn on YouTube as a habit, where they can expect to find different “channels” of entertainment. Google bought YouTube in 2006 for $1.65 billion, but generated little revenue in the early years. Revenue accelerated in part due to “skippable” ads YouTube introduced in 2010. Viewers like them because they can skip ads they don’t want to watch; advertisers like them because they pay only when viewers do watch. In January, YouTube moved to broaden its audience by securing rights to National Football League game clips, interviews and more. The deal followed a similar Facebook deal with the NFL in December. It is also featuring episodes of “Sesame Street” and “Thomas the Tank Engine” for children.

While most agree that the American economy is on its way to recovery, the middle class is still suffering. The average income among middle-class families decreased by 4.3% between 2009 and 2013. Simultaneously, incomes of the richest 20% of American households increased by 0.4%. According to Joe Valenti, director of asset building at the Center for American Progress, the middle class is essential for economic growth since they tend to spend large shares of their income on goods and services. “An additional dollar in the hands of a middle income earner is going to drive a lot more spending than an additional dollar in the hands of someone in that top quintile,” Valenti said. While households in the top quintile are able to spend enormous sums of money, “at some point there’s only so much that an individual can spend, even on all different kinds of luxury goods.” Therefore, the middle class is essential for economic growth, although they have also been subject to wage stagnation. Which states are losing their middle class? 24/7 Wall St. compiled a list of which states are seeing the fastest shrinkage of the middle class. In order to determine which states are suffering most, they used data on the average pretax income earned by each income quintile from the U.S. Census Bureau. The middle class was defined as the third quintile, or the middle 20% of earners. These five states are seeing their middle class shrink the most. California comes in as the state with the fastest shrinking middle class: -6.9%. The

Sleety Delivery

A Million Dollar Pen from Miracle Pine Looking for a gift for that special someone that has everything? Look no further than the fountain pen that luxury marque Montblanc is selling for $4,400. The writing instrument is made from a “miracle pine” tree that survived the 2011 tsunami and writes really well, or so we’re told. 20 percent of the profits from this million dollar pen will be donated to local people.

The Swiss pen and watchmaker has used wood from the only tree left standing when a forest of 70,000 was flattened in Rikuzentakata, on Japan’s stricken northeastern coast. The so-called “miracle pine” was later found to be dying and underwent 150 million yen ($1.5 million) of reinforcement to prop it up, becoming a must-see spot for visitors to the area. But when the city cut down the tree, mayor Futoshi Toba asked the Japanese unit of the Swiss company to use salvaged wood to make pens to ensure the “disaster remains in people’s minds,” a city official said.

As if we don’t have enough of the white stuff, a man in Boston has been raking it in with his snow-shipping business. Kyle Waring is the brains behind ShipSnowYo.com, where, for a mere $89, you too can have a bottle or box of Boston’s historic snowfall shipped right to your door. Waring guarantees that a 6 pound box will contain enough snow to form ten to fifteen snowballs. Snowball fight! The snow-shipping business started as joke between Waring and his wife while they were shoveling their yard, but soon after, ShipSnowYo.com was born. Originally Waring just shipped 16.9-ounce water bottles filled with snow, but he is expanding his business: In addition to the 6-pound product, he will soon be launching a 10-pound product for a mere $119. ShipSnowYo.com does its best to ensure that the snow packs won’t melt before reaching their destinations by shipping them overnight in insulated containers. But even so, when you’re shipping snow across country (because people in California are dying to feel

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Montblanc has made 113 pens – the figure reflects the 11th of March date of the disaster – which will go on sale on the fourth anniversary of the tragedy for 520,000 yen ($4,400) each. “The pine was the only thing that gave us hope in the despair of the disaster,” Toba said. “With Montblanc’s help, I hope the world will think about the disaster.”

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middle class average household income there is $60,143. Vermont was number two, with middle class growth of -5.9%. The average middle class household earns just $53,020. Maine was third with a growth of -5.8%, Rhode Island was fourth with -5.6%, and Washington saw a middle income growth of -5% between the years of 2009-2013.

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than one billion users each month. Surprisingly, YouTube has yet to become a profitable business.

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MARCH 3, 2015

The Week In News the freeze), minimal melting may occur. Waring includes a “before” photo of the snow with orders. I heard people have been clamoring for snow from the Five Towns, so I’ve opened my own snow-shipping business: ICantBelieveItsSnowingAgain. com. Prices available upon request— and that’s “snow” joke.

ger be fixed and owners are mourning their robots like a household pet.

Record Slinky Holder

Reunited with her Family 17 Years Later

Mourning the Robots

As priests chant a sutra, praying for the peaceful transition of the souls of departed, incense wafts through the air at the Buddhist temple. It’s a funeral like any other in Japan, although the deceased are really robot dogs, lined up at the altar and wearing a tag showing where they came from and the family they belonged to. Some Japanese owners of robot dogs AIBO believe their “pets” have souls. AIBO is the world’s first home-use entertainment robot equipped with Artificial Intelligence and capable of developing its own personality. “I believe owners feel they have souls as long as they are with them,” said Nobuyuki Narimatsu, 59, who heads an electronics repair company specializing in fixing vintage products. Sony rolled out the first-generation AIBO in June 1999, with the initial batch of 3,000 selling out in just 20 minutes, despite the hefty 250,000 yen (more than $2,000) price tag. Over the following years, more than 150,000 units were sold, in numerous iterations, ranging from gleaning metallic-silver versions to round-faced cub-like models. The dog came with an array of sensors, a camera and microphone. The final generation could even talk. But by 2006, Sony was in trouble; its business model was broken and it was facing fierce competition from rivals in all fields. The AIBO, an expensive and somewhat frivolous luxury, had to go. The company kept its AIBO Clinic open until March 2014, but then – politely – told dedicated and loving owners that they were on their own. Now, those robotic dogs that are broken can no lon-

was sometimes more expensive because of the high cost of steel. Besides for fun, the Slinky has been used in the classroom as a teaching tool, in wartime as a radio antenna, and in physics experiments with NASA. In its first 60 years Slinky has sold 300 million units. Sounds like the perfect toy; I think I’ll spring for one.

Picasso Painting Found

17 years ago a newborn was kidnapped from a hospital in Cape Town as her mother lay sleeping. But her parents had never given up hope and now they will finally be able to celebrate her birthday together as a family on April 28. The girl was raised by her kidnappers as their only child. She lived just a few miles from her biological parents’ home and never knew of her abduction despite her mother’s vocal pleas in the media. The amazing discovery of her real family came when a friend told her about a new student in her high school who bore an uncanny resemblance to her. It turns out it was her biological sister and they became fast friends despite the four year age difference. The younger daughter told her parents about her new friend who looked just like her. Still hopeful, the family invited the girl to their home for coffee, the Cape Argus reported. After seeing her, the father immediately contacted the police who revived their investigation into the kidnapping. DNA tests were carried out and the girl was finally united with her real family. “When she saw [her] yesterday, she knew, ‘This is my child.’ She said DNA wasn’t necessary, she just knew,” the child’s aunt related after the discovery. The girl’s parents had three other children, but continued their search for their eldest daughter, never giving up hope. “I’ll never, ever give up hope. I can feel it in my gut — my daughter is out there and she is going to come home,” the father told the Weekend Argus newspaper five years ago. The family threw a birthday party for their kidnapped daughter each year, her siblings blowing out the candles on her cake. This year, the new-found daughter will be able to blow out the eighteen candles on her own cake, without any help from her siblings.

Need a Slinky? Ask Susan Suazo— she has tons of them. The New Mexico woman recently made the Guinness World Records with her massive collection of the 1940’s-era coiled spring toys—all 1,054 of them. Suazo began collecting the slithering toys more than 40 years ago after she got one as a gift from her parents. A vending machine at a restaurant where she worked fueled her Slinky addiction. “I worked in a café, and it had a vending machine,” she recalled. “Every time I had a couple of quarters, I would go buy myself a Slinky.” Apparently, she never had my problem of tangled Slinkys and kept the toys in pristine condition. These days, Suazo, who works as a telecommunications specialist, spends her free time scouring eBay for rare and vintage Slinkys. She is hoping to eventually go to China, which she describes as a Slinky mecca. “There are so many that are produced in China that I can’t find here,” she told the Valencia County News-Bulletin. So what’s with this crazy obsession with Slinkys? “They have a sound that is just kind of a white noise you get lost in it,” she said. Not surprisingly, Suazo’s home is filled with Slinkys. She even has a Slinky room, where 200 colorful, plastic Slinkys hang from ceiling. Some even glow in the dark. And that’s not all. Slinkys are displayed around the room in cases. Some are the classic metal and plastic ones. Others are shaped like animals, are heart-shaped or are ornately painted. Even Suazo admits that her Slinky collection has become a bit unmanageable. “It’s gotten out of control,” she confesses. Slinkys were developed and invented by naval engineer Richard T. James in 1943. When they debuted in Gimbels department store in Philadelphia in November 1945, the inventory of 400 toys sold out in ninety minutes. The Slinky was a toy for everyone—it cost only a dollar, although it

After being lost for more than ten years, a Picasso painting has finally been found. The century-old Cubist oil painting was snatched from a storeroom in Paris and was smuggled into the U.S. last December. The package from Belgium was labeled with the description of a handicraft holiday present worth 30 euros or $37. In truth, the painting, known as “La Coiffeuse” or “The Hairdresser,” is estimated to be worth millions of dollars, U.S. prosecutors said. It was intercepted by U.S. customs and subsequently seized by Homeland Security Investigations. “A lost treasure has been found,” said Loretta Lynch, attorney for the eastern district of New York. “Because of the blatant smuggling in this case, this painting is now subject to forfeiture to the United States. Forfeiture of the painting will extract it from the grasp of the black market in stolen art so that it can be returned to its rightful owner,” added Lynch, who is also the U.S. Attorney General nominee. Painted in 1911, the oil-on-canvas measures 33 by 46 centimeters and is part of the Musee National d’Art Moderne collection in Paris. It was last exhibited publicly in Munich, Germany, where it was on loan to the Kunsthalle der Hypo-Kulturstiftung. It was then returned to Paris and placed in the storerooms of the Centre George Pompidou. Officials only realized it was missing when a loan request came through in 2001 and they could not find it. “The Hairdresser” will finally be sent back home. 

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Around The Community Ezra Academy Brings in Adar with a Bang Ezra Academy, known for its “family” environment, brought in the month of Adar with excitement and inspiration. The action started with a lively concert from Simply Tsfat which had the students exuberated with simcha and joy. Although this band on their own can impress any crowd,

an extra special guest enhanced their performance by accompanying them. The students were pleasantly surprised when Rabbi Yonatan Hakimian (Ezra graduate and now beloved Rebbe), a long-time friend of Simply Tsfat, took out his set of drums to join them in the festivities.

Later in the week, the boys division celebrated its second siyum with the Ezra Academy Kollel. The Kollel (which meets bi-weekly to learn before school begins) enjoyed both a boost in ruchniyos and gashmiyos at Bagels and Co. of Hillcrest. Better than their sumptuous meal were the

words of chizuk given to them by Mr. Alan Szrolowitz of Kew Garden Hills. Mr. Szrolowitz explained to the boys how working hard and sacrificing for Torah cannot be compared to the work and sacrifice of their fellow man out in the workplace. For Jews, the effort is what counts regardless of the results. The girls division was very busy as well in an exciting color-war, which brought out many hidden talents and gems of our fine girls. Whether it was singing, dancing, giving over divrei Torah, banner making, or just hanging out together, a special bond was created amongst all the girls in the school. The only time the rivalry took on new levels of competition was at the highly acclaimed bake off. Each team had to prepare a large and elegant meal for the staff to partake in, which was well deserved for all the hard work and time they put in to make this a most memorable week for their cherished students.

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hanks to modern-day innovations, international travel is now easier than ever. As a result, thousands of Orthodox Jewish families have made Eretz Yisroel their destination of choice for chagim, family simchas, summer vacations, and simply because “avirah d’Eretz Yisroel machkim.” In 2010, real estate developers bid on one of the only parts of the historical Schneller army base permitted for development – just a sliver of five acres of greenery bordering Geula. For $50 million, the bid went to Rothner Highgates Group. Now CEO Yossi Waldman has something unique to offer Orthodox Jews who frequent the Holy Land: Merom Yerushalayim, a high-end residence complex just steps from Mea Shearim. “The advantages of having your own place are obvious,” he asserts. “Regular visitors to Eretz Yisroel eventually get sick of staying in hotels, no matter how luxurious or close to the Kotel they are. People want a place they and their children can call their own. No matter how nice a hotel is, I’d rather be at home,” says the oft-

travelling father of four who always makes sure to be home in time for Shabbos. But Merom Yerushalayim is not just any home away from home, it’s “the best location in the whole world for an Orthodox Jew.” It fills a unique void that frum Jews the world over can appreciate: a car-free, retail-free, essentially noise-free zone yearround, with an underground tunnel and parking lot from which residents come and go. There is no other place in Yerushalayim where Jews can maintain an upscale standard of living, avoid seeing their Shabbos desecrated by traffic, and glean from the spirituality of the surrounding neighborhood.

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that leaves nothing to be desired. It comes as no surprise that 60 percent of the units have already been sold, including one to Mr. Waldman himself. Many families have purchased multiple units with plans to combine them into larger ones. “There is a stone wall surrounding the complex, giving it the feel of a gated community. It’s the perfect option for frum families who want to come often, live comfortably, and still access all of the kedusha Yerushalayim has to offer,” he points out. Mr. Waldman, who inherited his father’s real estate development acumen, works with his long-time friend and partner, Mr. Rothner. The two are no strangers to success, recently selling nearly every one of their 250 new Bnei Brak apartments and embarking on a handful of other promising endeavors in the Holy Land. One peek at Merom Yerushalayim is all it takes to realize that, yes, you really can have it all. 

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“When I first visited the site, I was astounded that I could be so close to the hustle and bustle of Mea Shearim and yet hear only the birds and the leaves. It’s incredible,” Mr. Waldman marvels. The seven-building complex sits 820 meters above sea level, elevated above CEO Yossi Waldman its surroundings, and offers hotel-style luxury apartments overlooking acres of quiet, dense scenery that will be shaped into parks, groves, and walking paths for residents to enjoy. “It will be the most prestigious place in Yerushalayim,” describes Mr. Waldman. As the man who developed Toronto’s Trump Towers, he knows precisely what he’s talking about. Currently, Merom Yerushalayim is knee-deep in construction, but the aggressive target movein date is Pesach 2016. The five to seven-story buildings totaling nearly two hundred apartments boast arched entryways, spacious floor plans, oversized rooms, and top-of-the-line designer décor

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Around The Community Yeshiva Darchei Torah Students “Adopt” Holocaust Survivors Stunning Presentations Bring Life Stories to Life

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MARCH 3, 2015

va’s Middle School. Mr. Roth’s first message was one of celebration that the young men absorbed the lives and experiences of the survivors, became part of their families through hours of interviews, and learned the details of their hometowns, siblings, and stories in order to teach others. He described his town of Humine, Czechoslovakia, and how Jews were one-third of the local population and every Jewish store was closed on Shabbos. The audience experienced the Nazi roundup of the Jews and their forcible enclosure in the main shul and the public auction of their household goods through the eyes of a brave fourteen year old lad who ran over and grabbed a Gemara from the flames as a remnant of the chief rabbi’s life which ended al Kiddush Hashem. The personal meaning to Mr. Roth that his town is memorialized through the Humine shul in his neighborhood, the preservation of the rabbi’s prewar newsletters at Columbia University, and the boys’ projects was obvious to all. The rich diversity of prewar Jewish life and its subsequent disruption was captured on screen as boys narrated PowerPoint slideshows portraying the stories of Polish, Yugoslav, Hungarian , German, and Czech-born men and Eighth grader Shmaryahu Dembitzer exchanges contact informawomen through the perspection with Auschwitz survivor Erwin Forley, who spoke at the event tive of bar mitzvah-age boys. Adopt-a-Survivor program, who was We learned of the seasonal sports their introduced by Dr. Yitzchak Goldberg, survivors enjoyed, their daily schedgeneral studies principal of the Yeshi- ules, the personalities of their siblings,

By Rebbetzin Faigie Horowitz A serious yet rapt audience of parents, grandparents and Holocaust survivors listened avidly last Tuesday night as Yeshiva Darchei Torah’s eighth graders presented the annual Adopt-a-Survivor Program. Originally scheduled to coincide with the seventieth anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, this year’s program had a particular urgency separate from the anniversary. Current tragic and political events underscored the message of the survivors who minced no words about the precariousness of Jewish existence world wide as well as its eternity. Opening the evening’s program was Irving Roth of Kew Gardens Hills, founder of the international

Dr. Yitzchak Goldberg, principal of Yeshiva Darchei Torah’s Middle School, addressing the event

One of the many exhibits created by the students to illustrate the survivors’ stories

and the pranks they pulled. The ordinary contrasted with the shocking experiences of young people their own age. Rene Zuroff from Buczaz was hidden in a potato hole in a barn in the forest for two years. She subsisted on seven pierogies the widow who owned the barn gave them each week and the edible roots her father scavenged at night. They studied the siddur, math, Hebrew read- Holocaust survivor Ron Unger, Darchei Torah eighth grader Shlomo Nesanel ing, and Chassidic Burg, and his father, Daniel Burg tales while in the hole. Giselle War- tri-board chronicled the personal and shawsky was hidden in a convent and war timelines of each survivor and a boarding school three-dimensional models actualized as a young child the environments that they experienced. yet kept the secret Creative models of the concentration of her identity de- camps featured Playmobil figures, cardspite abuse. The board barracks, and the infamous gates sights and sounds of the Auschwitz concentration camp. of liberation were Most telling were the responses of then dramatically the boys, who, according to one mother, recounted by one invested immense effort into this projof the survivors in ect. attendance, Erwin “I gained a friend from this experiForley. ence,” said Menachem Barkany, who, Active learning together with his brother, Aaron Barkaalso took place that ny and Kalman Yurman, presented the evening as groups story of survivor Ron Unger. “We spoke of boys narrated for four hours.” Aaron agreed: “I develtheir museum-like oped a connection to him.” displays to viewWhat could be more important for ers in the Diamond the fourth generation after the HoloBais Medrash. A caust?

Around The Community

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MARCH 3, 2015 The boys of Rabbi Greenspan’s eighth grade class of Yeshiva Ketana of Long Island spent the morning of Wednesday, February 25 at Yeshiva of Far Rockaway, speaking in learning with the Rosh Hayeshiva Rabbi Yechiel Perr and Rabbi Moshe Brown. The Rosh Yeshiva told the boys about different shaylos that he was recently asked and asked them for their response and reasoning. Then he shared his sagacious advice with the boys. The young bochurim left the Yeshiva with an appreciation of being in the presence of a gadol and with an understanding of the questions that people ask him.

Chaverim of Queens Announces Purim “Don’t Drink and Drive” Program Chaverim of Queens, founded In memory of Mr. Jack Friedman a”h, was started in January 2008 and now has over 70 volunteers who have responded to thousands of calls for help and has lived up to its namesake as an established and reliable organization attentive to the needs of the community. The acts of chessed that the volunteers of this organization do on a daily basis does not go unnoticed by those who have benefited from the assistance provided. In addition to the regular year round services provided, Chaverim of Queens made a name for itself when it established the Purim “Don’t Drink and Drive campaign” which pioneered Purim of 2009. We are unfortunately aware of the amount of drinking that takes place within our communities on Purim. Anyone you speak to can tell you of someone they know or a story they heard of that involved some type of incident related to “out-of-control” drinking on Purim. While it is almost impossible to prevent people from partaking in excessive drinking there are other solutions to keep our community safe and responsible. The Chaverim of Queens Purim program was founded to prevent the likelihood that someone will be tempted to drive while under the influence on this festive day. A special hotline number was established to prevent those who may be unfit to drive by offering those individuals a sober volunteer driver to get them home safely when no other driver is available. In the past few years, the program was met with tremendous success and even included individuals from the com-

munity who volunteered just for the Purim program even though they were not established members of Chaverim. One of the volunteers even drove someone from Queens all the way to his home in Brooklyn to make sure they got there safely. Chaverim of Queens has once again stepped up to the plate and is offering the unique service again this Purim. “The time and effort to put this program together is well worth it so that we, as well as every parent, wife, and friend, know that the people they care about will have a safe night and won’t be in a position to make any mistakes,” said Chaverim coordinator Avigdor Cyperstein. “The Purim hotline number should be publicized and shared with as many people as possible so if needed, everyone can be assured that we are just a phone call away.” As the program has gained fame and recognition, four organizations have decided to participate as sponsors this year to help promote this wonderful cause: Get PEYD, The Javid Group, Elite Home Care, and Dr. Mark Ehrenpreis. This year’s Program is also dedicated in memory of Reb Moshe Nechemia ben Reb Shlomo Zev (Sukenik). The dispatcher number assigned for the Chaverim of Queens’ Don’t Drink and Drive Purim campaign is 347-6841155. This Purim, If you or someone you know has been drinking and is planning to get behind the wheel PLEASE call (or text) 347-684-1155 to have a volunteer from the Chaverim of Queens Purim program come, pick you up and drive you to your destination within the Queens area.

The only information the dispatcher will need is the pickup and drop-off address and a callback number while all your information remains confidential. Please save this number as you never know whose life it may save. It may just be your own.

The organization is especially seeking additional volunteer drivers this Purim. May we all be blessed with a happy, healthy, and most of all, safe Purim!

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Around The Community On the Road with HANC College Guidance As part of the HANC College Guidance Department’s new and innovative programming, parents of juniors were invited to attend one of three college planning nights in local communities. On February 23, Director of College Guidance, Ms. Karen Sheff, and Assistant Director of College Guidance, Mrs. Marisa Gelb, hosted parents at the Young Israel of Plainview. On February 25, a second event was held at Congregation Anshei Shalom in West Hempstead. The final event, scheduled for March 2, is being held at the Mashadi Jewish Center of Great Neck. Upon arrival, each parent received a folder (generously donated by Binghamton and Columbia University) filled with valuable information. In a discussion led by Ms. Sheff and Mrs. Gelb, parents learned more about the SAT/ ACT/Subject Tests, financial aid, scholarships, Naviance, application timelines,

college visitations and more. Parents also heard about senior year course choices from Associate Principal, Mrs. Carole Tabin, and Dean of Student Affairs, Mrs. Marie Palaia. By all accounts,

8,000 Smiles for the IDF Whether at combat units on the Lebanese or Syrian border and in secret locations, at the Air Force and other training bases in the South, or on a proud Navy ship — this year we hope to make 8,000 IDF soldiers smile on Purim. In the largest Purim campaign of its type, the Zionist Organization of America – Brooklyn Chapter, the International Young Israel Movement – Israel region, Yashar LaChayal, World Mizrachi Organization and American Friends of Yisrael Hatzair have combined forces to personally deliver 8,000 Mishloach Manot to our soldiers. Each organization has committed to run a campaign among their members and friends, through internet marketing, and social media to raise the necessary funds. To date, the response has been overwhelmingly positive as people recognize the efforts of these young men and woman as those who defend the Land of Israel and her citizens. Campaign coordinator Daniel Meyer (IYIM) stated, “We are so proud of and thankful for the Israeli army that is a shining example of unity. In their footsteps, five very special organizations have come together to say ‘thank you’ and we invite friends from all over the world to join us.” Leon Blankrot (Executive-Director, Yashar LaChayal) expressed, “Yashar LaChayal is proud to partner this year with the Young Israel, ZOA, and Mizrachi and have the oppor-

tunity to distribute mishloach manot to even more young men and women on the frontlines that are safeguarding Israel.” The Purim packages will be distributed by members and friends of the organizations over four days, including on Purim itself. The highlight of the distribution will be concerts given to the soldiers and distributors by the IDF Rabbinical choir accompanied by Chief Chazzan of the IDF, Shai Abramson. In addition letters and pictures by Jewish school children will be distributed to the soldiers. “It gives me great satisfaction to once again be leading this project for the fifteenth year in a row,” said Rubin Margules (President of ZOA Brooklyn Region), who is spearheading the effort from the United States along with Meir Mishkoff (President, American Friends of Yisrael Hatzair) who stated, “There is an overwhelming response by American Jews when they are approached to join us in this annual campaign.” “For the past sixteen years we have been able to bring Purim joy, goodies and smiles to our brave chayalim. I encourage everyone to get involved in this effort,” Solly Sacks, past Director-General of World Mizrachi added. “It is a great privilege and honor to be able to distribute these packages to Israeli soldiers, who defend us 24 hours a day, and to bring a smile to their faces.”

these events have been a huge success! Thank you to the Plainview, West Hempstead and Great Neck communities for welcoming HANC into their local shuls. We would like to offer a special

thank you to the families in each community who sponsored refreshments at each event. HANC College Guidance looks forward to visiting additional communities in the future.

Rabbi Shafier of the Shmuz Inspires Florida Audiences Rabbi Ben Tzion Shafier of the Shmuz was invited once again to Florida on Thursday, February 12 to speak at the Young Israel of Boca Raton. His

shmuz, entitled “Aspiring to Greatness,” drew a nice crowd as he imparted the message that Hashem gives every human the ability to soar to great heights – if only we’d believe in ourselves. With focus and motivation, one can turn his dreams into reality. On Friday, Rabbi Shafier spoke to the high school and Beis Medrash students of Yeshiva Toras Chaim Toras Emes of North Miami Beach. The

shmuz was appreciated by all the students. For Shabbos, Rabbi Shafier joined the JEC of South Florida for their Discovery Weekend. Titled after his popular book “Stop Surviving, Start Living,” he captivated his audience of unaffiliated college students and young married professionals. “Rabbi Shafier is an incredible speaker and many people were profoundly moved by his words. Through his clear and entertaining metaphors, he imparted the message of who we are and that Hashem has a specific purpose for each of us exquisitely,” reported Rabbi Adam Eisenberg, one of the Directors of the JEC. Rabbi Shafier spoke a few times over the weekend and met with some of the students and couples privately. “The Shmuz,” as the title implies, is a mussar talk that deals with a wide range of subjects that affect our daily lives. Drawing from Torah sources, The Shmuz makes Torah guidance relevant and understandable to Jews living in the 21st century.

Around The Community

By: Raquelle Kleiman, 11th grade, and the SKA JUMP Team

L-R: Atara Paul, Sara Levinson, Raquelle Kleiman, Bina Weiss, Samantha Kirschner, Mrs. Helen Spirn (Head of School), Rachel Meyer, Sara Fruchter, Henna Storch, Ms. Nimchinsky (SKA JUMP TEAM Coach), Not photographed: Devory Leibowitz

of one of our Jump teammates. As an effort to raise additional money, we set up an online account for people to donate to a fund for Ruthi. With the help of our community, the fundraiser was a success! Our friends and family donated baked goods which were sold at the event and neighborhood stores helped by donating prizes to be raffled. As one cake was sold, another three would be donated. This shows the power of our wonderful community! At the end of the two-day fundraiser, we raised almost $12,000. When her relative found out that we were raising money for Ruthi, she emailed us, saying, “Thank you for all your hard work… You made my day, my mother’s day, and brought tears to my eyes.” Who knew that helping Ruthi move physically forward could also move a whole community toward appreciating the underrated pleasure of walking?

MARCH 3, 2015

sand dollars— a price that the family cannot afford. The doctor already performed a few surgeries that has helped Ruthi immensely. Prior to the surgery, Ruthi could barely sit; now she can walk while using a walker. The doctor is confident that with several more treatments, Ruthi should be able to walk independently. The fundraiser took place on the evenings of February 11 and 12 in the home

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Ruthi is a four-year-old girl who lives in Israel and cannot walk or sit by herself. As a result of her premature birth, she suffers from many medical problems that can be treated with the right surgeries. Despite her challenges, she always has a smile on her face that brightens the world and a laugh that cheers up anyone’s day. We, the SKA JUMP Team, organized a two-day Bake Sale and raffle to fundraise money for Ruthi’s pricey surgery.

JUMP is an NCSY competition with participants from many different schools throughout the United States. Each JUMP team consists of about eight to ten students who are required to plan a series of four events. Events include advocating for Israel, raising awareness for the issues of poverty and texting and driving, and fundraising for a cause. Through JUMP, teenagers learn to take initiative and acquire the skills to become leaders in both their schools and communities. There is a doctor in Chile who can perform a surgery which will allow Ruthi to walk. The price is fifteen thou-

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SKA-NCSY JUMP Team: Fundraising for Ruthi

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Around The Community 6th Annual Concert for CAHAL to be Held March 7th The sixth annual concert benefitting CAHAL, the community-wide special education program, will be held on Motzei Shabbos, March 7th at 8:30 at Lawrence High School in Cedarhurst. The concert will feature some of the most popular performers in Jewish entertainment, Baruch Levine, Dovid Gabay, and Simcha Leiner. A guest appearance by the YSTUDS, a popular new A Cappella group, will open the show. The performers will be accompanied by the Shloime Dachs orchestra. As both the composer and singer of his signature V’zakeini song, Rabbi Baruch Levine has been said to have literally raised the bar of Jewish music. His audience spans the globe and Baruch has performed at world class venues in the UK, France, Israel, USA, Africa, and

Canada. In August 2012, Baruch performed at Metlife Stadium in New Jersey where he graced a crowd of ninety thousand plus at the 12th Siyum Hashas. Dovid Gabay has become one of Jewish music’s fastest rising superstars, delighting audiences worldwide. He has graced countless concert stages around the world. His golden voice, enhanced by his effervescent personality and ever-present smile, enables him to connect unbelievably to his audiences. He has appeared in some of the most prestigious concerts. Dovid has performed all over the world, singing in places such as Brazil, Switzerland, Paris, London, Geneva, South Africa, and of course, Israel, just to name a few. There is no doubt that this talented superstar will be entertaining audiences for many years to come.

While Simcha Leiner has only recently entered the professional world of Jewish music his impact has been felt worldwide. His self-composed single Kol Berama went viral garnering over a quarter million downloads, with Simcha’s other videos totaling over one million views. His debut album, Pischi Li, produced by the legendary Yochi Briskman, became an instant hit, one of the best-selling albums of the year. Simcha continues to travel the world singing at over 100 weddings and concerts a year. Shloime Dachs has helped organize and performed at each of the previous four CAHAL concerts. Other performers have included Michoel Pruzansky, Mendy Wald, Yehuda!, Yehuda Green, Shalsheles, Avraham Fried and Benny Friedman. All five concerts have been

very successful, selling out and attracting many sponsors. The concert is CAHAL’s largest fundraising event of the year. The CAHAL special education program has provided a Jewish education to hundreds of children within the local community yeshivas. Proceeds from the concert will help enable CAHAL to provide financial assistance to families who cannot afford the high cost of Special Education. Tickets can be purchased through the CAHAL office at 540-A Willow Avenue in Cedarhurst or at Judaica Plus, 445 Central Avenue in Cedarhurst. For ticket information, contact Shimmie Ehrenreich at CAHAL at 516-2953666 or e-mail Sheldon@CAHAL.org.

OHEL’s Expansive School-Based Services Garner Praise & Recommendation OHEL’s school-based services continue to expand mental health and wellness services to diverse schools in New York and New Jersey area. The increased delivery of services is a composite of many factors including the recognition of student challenges, the validation of proactive engagement, and the availability of effective teacher training programs and professional stu-

dent mental health services. OHEL’s trained counselors work with students on developing coping skills, self-organization, and social skills. School administrators, teachers, and parents have benefitted from numerous workshops and seminars relating to childhood development. OHEL’s trauma team is always ready to respond to more sensitive or acute concerns.

“Social and academic success in school is a major contributor to any child’s sense of competency and well-being,” says Simcha Feuerman, OHEL’s Director of Operations. “This is why OHEL’s school-based services are one of our vital community programs.” Some of the services offered to schools include student counseling, teacher training workshops, mental

health education, and student trauma counseling. OHEL’s professional therapists, counselors and social workers consistently receive enthusiastic praise from the school staff and administration they work with. Rabbi John Krug, Psy.D. Dean, Student Life and Welfare at The Frisch School, comments, “We express our deepest appreciation to OHEL for providing us with one of our trained school counselor. He seamlessly integrated into our staff and methodology and has earned the respect of colleagues and students alike. They are all more enriched and enhanced via their contact with him.” Rabbi Asher Sabo, Principal, Yeshiva Torah Vodaath, adds, “OHEL’s work has been highly professional, culturally sensitive and effective in the numerous trainings for our teachers of self-esteem, bullying prevention and behavior management. Our school personnel have grown more adept in handling emotional issues of our students. Many families have benefited from your interventions and referrals to community services.” For more information about OHEL’s School Based Services, and to find out what services are available to your school or family, contact Hillel Fox at 917-231-5911 or at Hillel_Fox@ohelfamily.org.

Around The Community

Chelsea Market as of March 15th Semi-Finalist #2 will be the highest voted on MANIMACS.com from February 16th through April 16th Semi-Finalist #3 will be chosen by Manischewitz by April 16th In the Final Round, vote for your favorite of the 3 chosen semi-finalists on MANIMACS.com from April 17th through April 23rd to determine the Grand Prize Winner from the highest number of votes collected over the 1-week period (3 semi-finalists restart with 0 votes in the Final Round). The #MANIMACS Contest Grand Prize Winner will be announced on April 24, 2015 and will be awarded an iPad Air 2 PLUS a $500 Visa Gift Card (est. value of $1500)! “The #MANIMACS Contest encourages you to have fun and play with your food!” said Nora Sordillo, Sr. Associate

Brand Manager for The Manischewitz Company. “Get crafty and come up with unexpected characters made from your favorite Manischewitz Macaroons. Share your creations on social media too! For our NY Metro fans, don’t forget to also see the 1st round of semi-finalists at The Manischewitz Experience at NYC’s Chelsea Market in-person.” You must be 18 years of age or older to enter the contest, however, minors under the age of 18 can submit their entry with parental permission, using a parent or guardian’s email address. Limit of one (1) vote per entry per day per IP address. For a complete list of rules and other information, please visit our contest website MANIMACS.com. May the best #MANIMACS character win!

SKA Senior Named National Merit Scholarship Finalist

HAFTR Student Takes Honors at the Long Island Mathematics Fair

Adina Singer, a senior at the Stella K. Abraham High School for Girls, has been named a National Merit Scholarship finalist. Of the more than 15,000 finalists, 8,000 winners will be named in March. Adina was also named a Siemens Science Competition semi-finalist for research she conducted at the Garcia Center at Stony Mrs. Helen Spirn, Head of School, Adina Singer, and Dr. Tzipora Meier, Principal, Grades 11-12 Brook University. Adina was associate editor of the organized a fundraising walk-a-thon for Looking Glass, SKA’s school newspa- the Alzheimer’s Association in memory per, is captain of the SKA College Bowl of her grandfather a”h. Mazal tov to Team, and is a member of the Debate Adina! Team and Science Olympiad. She also

David Fleschner, a junior at the Hebrew Academy of the Five Towns and Rockaway High School, was awarded a medal for his outstanding research at the Long Island Mathematics Fair on February 27 at Hofstra University. David researched infinite sets and classified various subsets of the real numbers for their cardinality. He will be competing for a gold medal on April 24 at Hofstra University. David worked with his mentor, Mr. Neil

Bernstein, mathematics department chairman at the Hebrew Academy of the Five Towns and Rockaway High School, while doing his research.

Be Included in our TJH Purim Photo Album! Send us your Purim photos by Monday evening, March 9. Email Editor@FiveTownsJewishHome.com

MARCH 3, 2015

try hashtag to join. Valid submissions will then post to MANIMACS.com for vote casting. Track your votes and share your submission with friends on social media or email to drive additional votes for your #MANIMACS character. When sharing, include the hashtag #MANIMACS to drive additional views and engage with the contest. Check out all of the fun videos produced by Manischewitz on MANIMACS.com that celebrate upcoming wacky holidays, and be sure to like or follow Manischewitz on social media! Three semi-finalists will advance to Final Round: Semi-Finalist #1 will be the highest voted from a pool of 5 submissions chosen by Manischewitz to be displayed LIVE at The Manischewitz Experience on March 12th, 13th and 15th at NYC’s

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Grab your favorite Manischewitz Macaroons, put your imagination to the test and join the #MANIMACS contest by submitting your own #MANIMACS character made of Manischewitz Macaroons for a chance to win an iPad Air 2 PLUS a $500 Visa Gift Card! Manischewitz wants you to tap into your DIY, creative-size and see your most inventive #MANIMACS macaroon characters! You can join the contest from February 16th through April 16, 2015 by submitting your #MANIMACS character on social media! Tweet or Instagram a photo or video of your #MANIMACS character with the hashtag #ManimacsEntry to join the contest, or post your photo or video to the Manischewitz Facebook page/timeline at facebook.com/Manischewitz with the same #ManimacsEn-

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Introducing the #MANIMACS Contest from Manischewitz

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MARCH 3, 2015

Around The Community Five Towns Extends a Warm Welcome to Yeshivas Iyun Halacha’s Rav Dovid Ostroff Dozens of talmidim of Yeshivas Iyun Halacha – the Eretz Yisrael-based online Torah learning program – as well as friends and members of the community at large braved the snow, ice and bitter cold to greet Harav Dovid Ostroff, beloved rebbe of Hilchos Shabbos and moreh hora’ah from Har Nof, at various events throughout the community last Shabbos, parshas Terumah. Rav Ostroff is one of the earliest pioneers of online shiurim which are sent via email to students all over the world on a biweekly basis. Students then have an opportunity to be tested periodically which can lead to semicha in many cases. Rav Ostroff was accompanied by other members of the hanhala of the yeshiva including its Dean, Rabbi Shmuel Simenowitz, and R’ Dovid Engel, Menahel. The weekend started with the rav speaking to a packed house at Aish Kodesh on Friday night on the complex halachos of borer. He playfully illustrated all-too familiar scenarios and then explained why they were or weren’t borer. He concluded with a case involving a parent peeling orange sections for use by the children later that day, perhaps for a trip to

the park. He left it as an open question or “food for thought” as he punned. He later confided to this writer that he was amazed at the sheer number of people who sought out the answer from him during the course of the weekend. Perhaps that was a testament to the charismatic mara d’asra Harav Moshe Weinberger who has infused so many of his dynamic kehilla with not just the inner warmth of Torah but a palpable hunger for it as well. A Friday night tisch was held at the home of Rabbi David Aidelson, a talmid and one of the weekend’s organizers. Between the spirited zemiros and the newly-found connections (some of the students had never met before), the capacity crowd was treated to a delightful exposition on the concept of emunah. Rav Ostroff cited the famous gemara in Beitza in which Shammai and Hillel prepared for Shabbos, focusing particularly on Shammai who seemingly spent his weekdays looking for “a better cut of steak” and explaining Shammai’s unique way of elevating the mundane, offering it as a template for our own life outlook. Mincha and shalosh seudos found the group at Rabbi Weitz’s shtieble. Rabbi

Weitz enjoyed a special connection with the rabbonim as he is an Auerbach from his grandmother’s side and Rav Ostroff was especially close with his rebbe, Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach at Yeshiva Kol Torah. To date, he remains extremely close with R’ Shlomo Zalman’s family, maintaining a chavrusa with R’ Azriel Auerbach – R’ Shlomo Zalman’s son – for nearly two decades. Additionally, Rabbi Weitz’s rebbetzin is a Spiegel and Rabbi Simenowitz was able to share memories of his earlier years in Long Beach davening by her grandfather Rabbi Pinchas Eliyahu Speigel, the Ostrover Kalushiner Rebbe. Rav Ostroff shared some of his memories as a bochur in Kol Torah with R’ Shlomo Zalman and those in attendance were treated to delightful but thought-provoking anecdotes of what it means to be shaped by one of the leading gedolim of yesteryear. After Shabbos, a standing room only spirited melava malka was held at the home of Rabbi and Mrs. Adam Jukubowitz. Rabbi Jukubowitz is not only a close talmid of Rav Ostroff and one of the organizers of the Shabbaton, but organized and currently supervises a learning

chabura of the Yeshiva in the Five Towns. By popular demand, Rav Ostroff again shared stories and lessons learned from his illustrious Rebbe. Afterwards, Rabbi Simenowitz regaled the spellbound crowd with humorous and captivating stories of the hashgacha pratis he experienced during his years living on a horse-powered maple farm in rural Vermont. A kumzitz and sing-along, which continued into the small hours of the morning, brought the event to a crescendo. One of the elated students remarked how wonderful it was to strengthen his connection with the Rav who he felt he knew through the shiurim and email, phone and Skype contacts. “Even though his warmth and sense of humor come out through his shiurim, spending a Shabbos with the Rav has taken it to a whole new level.” Like the proverbial dinner of Chinese food which leaves one hungry an hour later, plans are already underway for next year’s Shabbaton. For further information about Iyun Halacha’s innovative learning programs, contact the yeshiva at info@ iyunhalacha.org.

59 THE JEWISH HOME

vru, hfrs vchah Yeshiva Darchei Torah

s"xc

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MARCH 3, 2015

A T r i b u t e To Yo ur C h i l dr en . O ur F u t ur e . O ur L e g a c y.

THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY— MEN, WOMEN & CHILDREN ARE INVITED TO JOIN US AT A SPECIAL

Hachnosas Sefer Torah Event DEDICATED BY

MR. & MRS. NACHMAN GOODMAN ww

IN MEMORY OF THEIR FATHERS

k z kyhhp ktrah r ic i,b crv RABBI NATHAN GOODMAN

ww w w k z ejmh van r ic vsuvh OVRCT r MR. ABRAHAM TISSER

SUNDAY, MARCH 15, 2015• v’’ga,

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11:00AM–12:30PM K’SIVAS OSIYOS RECEPTION AT THE GOODMAN HOME, 33 MERRALL DRIVE, LAWRENCE, NY

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SEFER TORAH DEDICATORS

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Mr. & Mrs. Barry Weiss

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THE JEWISH HOME

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299

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Pepsi, Hawaiian Punch, Manischewitz Sierra Mist, Crush, Mug, Chicken Broth 32 oz Mountain Dew, Brisk 2 Liter 2/$ 4/$

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Whole Berry or Jellied - 16 oz

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99¢

Glick’s Cranberry Sauce

2/$

Donut House or 8 O’Clock Coffee K-Cups Bold or Decaf Donut House 4.1 oz/4.8 oz $ 99

K’vutzat Yavne 7-9 Pickles

3/$

.................................................

Betty Crocker Fruit Roll-ups, Gushers, Fruit by the Foot 4.5 oz - 5.4 oz

2/$

Chicken or Beef 8 oz

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3/$

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899

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799

Strauss Hummus or Tehini

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.................................................

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Windex

299

99¢

Plastico 9” Plates

499

Shumanit Grease Remover 26.4 oz

Tree Ripe Orange Juice 59 oz

.......................................

2/$

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Stonyfield Organic Milk 64 oz

Miller’s Sliced Mozzarella or Muenster 6 oz

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Except Organic 8 oz

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299

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299

18 oz

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Gallon

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3/$

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Get Ready for Pesach! 2

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14 oz

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599

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299

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599

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349

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399

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299

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61 THE JEWISH HOME

extra lean! Boneless Minute $ Ground $ 49 Fillet $ 99 1049 lb. Steak 8 lb. Shoulder 5 lb. Family Steak Pack

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99¢ lb.

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99¢ lb.

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Sliced 2/$3 Mushrooms

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550

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At the Counter

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249ea. $ 49 2 ea. $ 99 1 ea. $ 99 4 ea. $ 49 4 ea. $ 49 4 lb. $ 49 4 ea. $ 49 5 ea. $

We reserve the right to limit quantities. No rain checks. Not responsible for typographical errors.

Around The Community

THE JEWISH HOME

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MARCH 3, 2015

Rabbi Zisha Solomon, shlita, Mashgiach Ruchani of Yeshivas Toras Simcha in Yerushalayim, paid a visit to his talmid Rabbi Dovid Schulman’s fifth grade class at the Yeshiva of South Shore. The Mashgiach listened to the boys tell him over the Gemara and read it to him. He then gave a bracha to the boys that they should continue to give their Rebbi and parents much nachas. On his way out, the Mashgiach told his other talmid, Rabbi Avraham Fridman, that his entire trip to the U.S. was worth it just for the nachas he got from the time spent with the fifth grade.

VBS—The Boys A Cappella Charity Event is Back At 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 11 at Rambam Mesivta in Lawrence, NY, V’ata Banim Shiru (VBS), the boys a cappella competition, will return for its fifth year, once again raising money for the Koby Mandell Foundation. The choir competition was started in 2010 with the idea of putting together chessed, fun and music. The original competition was held in Congregation Beth Sholom of Lawrence with competing teams coming from DRS, MTA, SAR and Rambam Mesivta. The event included guest performances by the popular a cappella group, The Maccabeats, and Eitan Katz with Yerachmiel Begun of the Miami Boys Choir sitting on the panel of judges. The program was created by Jacob Bernstein and Gaby Novick during their senior year at Rambam Mesivta. Bernstein noted that he had been involved in chesed projects since 4th grade. Chesed, Bernstein emphasized, is “one of the most successful things a child could do along with studying - leadership in chesed helps children recognize the responsibility they have for others - which contributes to why the competition still exists today.” Novick has had a close relationship with the Koby Mandell Foundation since 2008 when he spent his summer with the Foundation’s “Camp Koby Experience in Israel.” “Gaby came to me a couple of years ago with the idea of having the competition as a way of raising money for our camp,” said Roy

Angstreich, Executive Director of The Koby Mandell Foundation. “We were, and are, thrilled. Serving as a counselor at our Israeli camp has a tremendous impact on the teens who work with our kids and we were honored that Gaby felt the importance of helping us provide the camp experience for even more kids. The competition not only raises funds for our camp but also raises awareness of the work that we do on behalf of the victims of terror. Our camp in Israel has about 400 kids.” The Koby Mandell Foundation helps families in Israel who have been effected by terrorism, providing therapeutic programs for bereaved mothers and now four summer camps in Northern Israel for children who have lost siblings to terrorism. Each summer they run a five and a half week program which brings about 50 high school teens from North America to serve as counselors in their camps. “I ca’’t believe we are already in our fifth year,” Novick said. “We have already raised thousands of dollars for the Foundation and created a really great program.” Novick says he hopes this program continues to expands each year with additional teams. Hosted by Eli Rozenberg of Monsey, NY, the fifth annual VBS competition will include teams from Frisch, HANC, MTA, Rambam, and TABC and a panel of all-star judges from groups like the Maccabeats and Six13.

63 THE JEWISH HOME 

MARCH 3, 2015

THE JEWISH HOME

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MARCH 3, 2015

Around The Community When Adar Comes, it Brings Simcha for Children in Need On Tuesday morning, February 9, Hakav Hameached, an organization established for “helping children in need,” invited their children to celebrate Bar and Bat Mitzvahs at the Kotel. The Israeli organization founded by Yisroel Shajnfeld in 1999 provides programs and services for children with cancer and rare diseases and children from families who were victims of terror. This includes weekly hospital and home assistance, babysitters to relieve parents watching their kids in hospitals, home help with Shabbat preparations, celebrations for Jewish holidays, camps during the summer and winter, and fulfillments of children’s wishes. Beginning at the Davidson Center for a lavish breakfast, the families of the forty-five boys and twenty girls joined their children at the Kotel where the boys received tefillin which they donned for the first time. Rejoicing with them were the Rabbi of the Western Wall, Rav Shmuel Rabinovitch, and Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem Rabbi Shlo-

mo Amar along with the staff of Hakav Hameached led by Yisroel and his wife Chaya, volunteers and others who came to mark this special day. “How exciting it was to see sick and disabled children put tefillin on in front of the Kotel!” Yisroel commented. From there they all continued on to the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He and his wife Sara welcomed and celebrated with them. There is no doubt that this was an unforgettable experience for the children. The celebration continued the next day at the Tal Mansion in Ashdod. Each child brought ten family members with them to share in this special event. Hakav Hameached arranged for a delicious meal with singers and dancers to make a beautiful celebration even more special. As Chaya remarked, “There wasn’t a dry eye in the room. For all the pain and suffering these children and their families have experienced it was all put aside as they celebrated reaching the

next steps in their lives.” By the end of the day, each child received their very own Bar and Bat Mitzvah packages and photo magnets. The Shajnfelds continue to receive calls, messages and letters from the parents to offer their heartfelt thanks on how much their family appreciated the efforts of Hakav Hameached and how they were so excited to be part of something special. On behalf of Hakav Hameached we thank our supporters for their help and

offer anyone who is interested to join us and be a sponsor. Each child received a gift package that cost approximately $500 and it can be your zechus to partner with Hakav by sponsoring one Bar Mitzvah boy’s package. You can do so by going on our website, www.hakav. org, sending a donation to American Friends of Hakav Hameached, PO BOX 576, Cedarhurst, NY 11516, or send an email for more information to hallerconsult@gmail.com.

SKA Junior Ties for 5th Place in Jerusalem Science Contest Congratulations to Stella K. Abraham High School for Girls’ 11th grader Aliyana Teitelbaum who tied for 5th place in the Jerusalem Science Contest – Chidon Hamada HaYerushalmi – and will present her research in Chicago on March 16. Having completed the comprehensive exam with a grade of 95, she has earned an all-expense paid trip to Jerusalem! Since this is a shmittah year in Israel, the topic of “Agricultural Science as it relates to Jewish Law” was especially relevant; Aliyana’s research centered on “Genetic Modified Organisms and Kilayim.” For ten weeks, Aliyana watched two lectures on science and halacha, worked on two chapters in a textbook and took a weekly test before taking the final. Founded to encourage a new generation of budding Jewish scientists, the

prestigious Jerusalem Science Contest is open to high school juniors and seniors throughout the United States. A special thanks go to Mrs. Paula Berger, Aliyana’s teacher and mentor, for her support and encouragement.

Around The Community

65 THE JEWISH HOME 

Rabbi YY Rubinstein was the guest speaker on Shabbos at Bais Tefila in Inwood. He was also the speaker at the Avos U’Banim grand finale in the shul.

MARCH 3, 2015

Makerspace at DRS If you walk into Room 213 in the Davis Renov Stahler Yeshiva High School for Boys during club hour, you might forget that you are in a classroom. You may mistakenly think you have entered an Apple factory while their newest gadget is being tested. Alternatively, you might

think that you are in a strange arcade, where hands and feet have replaced video game controllers. Obviously, you are in neither of those places; you are still in DRS! Welcome to the Makerspace, DRS’s newest and hottest club, where students get the opportunity to stretch their imagination and creativity and explore opportunities they never thought possible. Whether boys are building and programming computers from scratch, “wiring” their bodies to be human game controllers in Pacman, creating devices that are remotely controlled from their phones, making an app or designing their own phone case on a 3D printer and putting it on their phone, the Makerspace is cutting-edge 21st century technology readily available to DRS students. Having envisioned this club after seeing the #makerspace trend explode at

FETC, a recent educational technology conference that he attended in Orlando, Rabbi Aaron Fleksher, DRS EdTech Integrator, recognized that Makerspace is a unique learning environment that encourages tinkering, experimenting, creativity and endless exploration for all. The Maker Movement is spreading across the country; traditional school libraries are rethinking and redesigning their libraries to be more than just a place for “traditional research,” but also popular Makerspace environments. Many Generation Z students are eager to hone their skills in areas that may very well become popular professional choices for their generation. These do-it-yourselfers are exploring and inventing projects that can be useful in the real world. Currently attracting approximately 25 students during club period, DRS’s hope is that the concept of the Makerspace expands from being a one time a week club to a culture in which the school fosters the unique skills and creativity of our students and provides them with the necessary tools, space and guidance. Mrs. Tikvah Wiener of Magen David High School in Brooklyn explains what is so extraordinary about Makerspace. “For me, as teacher and facilitator, I am right alongside them as a learner. I’m not the expert. And that’s okay.” More than anything else, Rabbi Fleksher says, “It excites me to see what these students can come up with, and what I can learn from them. I realized very quickly that they think much more outside the box than I do and certainly more than one would guess from a traditional classroom setting.|” Watch out—because these Makerspacers may very well be the next generation of programmers and innovators, creating things that we have only dreamed of to make a true difference in the world.

PHOTO CREDIT: NAOMI COHEN PHOTOGRAPHY

The Young Israel of LawrenceCedarhurst celebrated its annual dinner at Congregation Beth Shalom on February 28. Pictured are Town Councilman Bruce Blakeman, Nassau County Legislator Howard J. Kopel, Honorees Beth and Nathan Fruchter, Senior Councilman Anthony Santino and Rabbi Moshe Teitelbaum

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Around The Community Five Towns Marriage Initiative Rising Above the Tough Stuff

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MARCH 3, 2015

There is something to learn from every character in the Megillah, even a person as lowly as Haman. He received the honor of having all the people bow down to him. Additionally, he was tremendously wealthy, had a large family and seemed to have everything going for him. Yet, he said that all that was meaningless to him as long as one person, Mordechai, did not also bow down to him. He took his whole fantastic life and threw it away to be fixated on one thing he deemed lacking, allowing this to ruin his entire future, with him ending up with garbage on his head, ultimately leading to his end, hanging from the gallows. All this came about from not letting go. He let his obsession for what he perceived he was lacking and allowed it take over and ultimately he, himself, was the one who lost the most because of his own lack of self control. We can have such a situation where

we get stuck on something. If we have an itch, it can be a tiny itch but we can’t get past it. We can’t concentrate, we can’t enjoy an outing, we can’t think past the itch. Sometimes it’s not just the little things even. A person who is single can be stuck on focusing on her stage in life. She can’t appreciate life’s good moments because all she can think about is that she is missing a marriage partner. It’s not that it’s wrong to think about a specific issue and deal with it but everything has a time and place. It’s worth taking an itch seriously enough to put on anti-itch lotion or to scratch it for a minute, and it’s worth focusing on one’s singlehood to daven, contact shadchanim and take other positive steps to improving our situation. There comes a point, though, where we take the character trait of Haman and we take off with whatever issue is at hand, letting it dominate our lives.

That’s the point when we know we have a problem. When we have an evil person like Haman it’s clear that we want to be doing the opposite of whatever he did. So for us that would mean letting things go, becoming more easygoing about situations, and most importantly, training our thoughts so we can think about other matters throughout the day, not just the one issue that is irking us. With our spouse it’s certainly possible to feel this kind of attitude, that everything is worthless to me if I come home and my wife did not cook supper just so, if my husband did not ask me about my day, take care of the errand I asked him to do, etc. We can take years of work that we put into our marriage and throw them in the garbage, flying off the handle and getting so upset because we feel that everything beautiful in our marriage until now is worthless because of a specific area of our mar-

riage. Letting this kind of feeling dominate our life is allowing us to follow in Haman’s footsteps, a very foolish plan of action. So the next time we start to get stuck on something let’s think of what kind of person we aspire to be, and let’s allow ourselves to move past our feelings and rise above the situation. Five Towns Marriage Initiative provides educational programs, workshops and referrals to top marriage therapists. FTMI will help offset counseling costs when necessary and also runs an anonymous shalom bayis hotline for the entire community Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday evenings, 9:3011p.m. For the hotline or more information, call 516-430-5280 or email dsgarry@msn.com.

My Israel Home

Local vs. Global In Jewish law, there is a wise dictate called Aniyei ircha kodmim – literally “the poor of your city take precedence” – wherein each community has an obligation to address the needs of its citizens before assisting residents

of other communities. Although this term technically focuses on charity, it is often expanded to include all forms of communal activity. Having gained exposure to many Jewish communities, I find it fasci-

We should appreciate that our private activities, performed away from the spotlight, have tremendous ramifications. nating to see the interplay between the importance of “taking care of your own” and the expansive concept of Kol Yisrael areivim zeh bazeh – that all of

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face on a daily basis, it’s hard to put on blinders and focus exclusively on the needs of one’s sub-community. By interacting with Jews in foreign countries and internalizing their pain, one connects on a visceral level with the collective Jewish people. And these experiences help us recognize that we are all part of one global — albeit diverse — community. What Can We Do? I once read an enlightening article which presented a two-part explanation of Kol Yisrael areivim zeh bazeh: In addition to communal action, which forges us into a single nation wherein the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, the actions of each individual also affects the well-being of the entire nation. This concept, how individuals’ activities impact all Jews, reminds me of a beautiful story about how Rav Avraham Yitzchak Kook, when he was a diligent young student learning in Yeshiva, would spend a few nights a week learning Torah all night. Rav Kook’s chavruta (study partner), Avraham Shoar, recalled the following late night conversation in which Rav Kook explained why he felt compelled to learn all night: “He said to me in a secretive voice, ‘Do you know – perhaps just the two of us are now sustaining the

entire world. Perhaps the Holy One, blessed be He, is judging the world right now. And mankind’s sins are being considered, and they outweigh the good. Now the angel Michael . . . picks up the words of our Torah learning and places them on the scale, and our words of Torah help outweigh the other side. If so, we have merited to sustain the entire world.’” Perhaps, in addition to participating in communal activities that courageously battle the many faces of evil, we also need to commit on a personal level. Possibly we should appreciate that our private activities, performed away from the spotlight, have tremendous ramifications. Recommitting ourselves to noble ideals that we hold dear – be it increased Torah study or acts of kindness, making aliyah, or refocusing

on shalom bayit, to name just a few – have the ability to “tilt the scales” and bring salvation to the Jewish people. May the joyous holiday of Purim, which demonstrates the power of v’nahafoch hu – of the Almighty turning things upside down and providing salvation when times appear to be most bleak – usher in a period of peace and tranquility. Gedaliah Borvick is the founder of My Israel Home (www.myisraelhome.com), 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.

MARCH 3, 2015

hile visiting Italy last week, my wife and I attended the Florence Jewish community’s memorial service for Dan Uzan, the Jewish man who was slain outside a synagogue in Copenhagen, Denmark. Two weeks earlier, soon after returning home from a week of meetings in England, I was informed that a kosher restaurant in London which we had visited was vandalized by a youth gang.

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Connection and Commitment

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Gedaliah Borvick

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MARCH 3, 2015

Israel Today

Rafi Sackville

An Israeli Journey

ike many people around the world, Israelis have a habit of preparing for extreme scenarios when it comes to weather. The talk in the staff room throughout the week preceding the eleventh grade week-long trip south was about the impending storm that would—depending on which model was most in vogue—either leave us stranded in flash floods in the Negev or caught us up to our knees in snow later on in the week in Jerusalem. Students in New York Jewish schools have an array of trips to look forward to: Washington in the eighth grade, end of the year flights to places such Disney World, and jaunts to Israel, some of which include staying in beautiful hotels. How would they cope with Masa Yisraeli (Israel Roots Journey)? The journey is a six-day odyssey that started at school at midnight on a Sunday and officially began six hours later in the heart of the Negev with a daylong hike up and down the Rimon Crater. During the first day, participants were asked to reflect about themselves while trekking in the middle of the vast expanse of the Negev. They slept in the freezing cold under small tents and continued hiking the following day. Not until Tuesday night did they get a chance to shower. The desert temperatures fluctuated so rapidly that we went from heavy jackets and gloves to t-shirts

off the top of a mountain we had climbed. While we were up there, a student affectionately known as Shnitzel couldn’t believe his luck when he looked at his phone. “I’ve got five bars up here! I only ever get three at Maalot!” he yelled in delight and proceeded to call as many people as he could. We spent the afternoon playing outdoor activities in a park in Mitzpeh Rimon. The sandy haze turned the air an orangey red and it was difficult to see from one end of the park to the other. That night the students slept in a Bedouin tent. I did guard duty between 1-2 am. I’ve never heard so much snoring in my life. Even the cats were unusually hesitant before sneaking into the tent. We spent much of the following day in Dimona, south of Be’er Sheva. It is a city that seems to have been forgotten by the rest of the country. It is rundown and suffers from a high rate of unemployment and poverty. After a morning activity, we heard a lecture by Nissim Elmakias, who runs the local Meir Panim soup kitchen. He told us stories that would have broken the strongest of hearts. From there we split up and went to volunteer in several child care centers. It was hard to witness the difficulties some children have to face. Alex and his twin sister, Katya, told me they had to stay in day care centers after school most days of the week because their mother works till late. And their father? I asked. Alex told me he had died a few years earlier. Theirs was typical of the stories we heard. Through a rainstorm that turned our bus the color of the desert, it was off to Ashkelon for the night. We stayed in a rundown hotel that deserved no stars. Our principal turned up for a brief visit. She told the students to take note of the state of their rooms lest the hotel find them liable for damages. Benny, a serious young man who had spent the previous two days walking through the desert holding a closed umbrella, put it succinctly when he sent out this WhatsApp message: The problems in our room are as follows: the window doesn’t open, the door to the bathroom doesn’t lock, every item connected to wood in the room is scratched, and there’s an indeterminate type of filth or mold on the ceiling. Our presence in the Holy City the following day marked the change of theme that focused on our country. After a two hour visit to the Israel Museum we ended up at the Kotel for a ceremony. The kids spontaneously broke out singing and dancing in a large circle. One woman approached me. She was upset because she considered such an activity brain-washing. Before I had a chance to reply, another woman made her way over and complained that the circles of students would lead to too much fraternization. In this wonderful country of ours one doesn’t have to go too

The twelve hour trek took us from the bottom of the crater to its peak from where the surrounding ever-ness consumed us like grains of salt thrown to the wind. within forty five minutes. The twelve hour trek took us from the bottom of the crater to its peak from where the surrounding ever-ness consumed us like grains of salt thrown to the wind. Some of the hills were treacherous enough to send two girls in our group into hysterics. One cried with every step she took. It was exhausting coaxing her through the day. However, the look of happiness on her face when we arrived in camp was priceless. She had done what she had initially considered impossible. Probably the best way to describe some of the hysteria is as follows: On more than one occasion a student would get to a breaking point and refuse to take another step forward. “I’m not going anywhere! No! You’ll have to bring a helicopter to this stinking canyon, crater, or whatever you want to call it, before I move.” He or she would lie on the ground and scream at the madricha (guide) to back off, yet in the middle of the tantrum take out a cellphone and Instagram a selfie to friends. The following day concentrated on group dynamics. The winds were brutal. At one point we faced dusty gusts of up to 60 kph. One student almost flew

far to find an opposing point of view. From the Kotel it was off to the center of town where our students, as well as those from four other schools who had taken the journey, met for a concert. The program included Israeli music, comedy skits and a group of deaf performers who sign languaged their way through some of the songs. A montage of photos from each school’s week played in the background. The last two nights we stayed in Nes Harim, half an hour outside Jerusalem. We drove into the city on Friday morning and spent three hours at Har Herzl cemetery where we stopped at the graves of soldiers and prime ministers. We were honored to be present at a ceremony marking the anniversary of a fallen soldier, and we witnessed the sadness of a mother tending her son’s fresh grave. Back at Nes Harim, six students were assigned to small bunks. It was very cold outside and crowded inside the bunks. Instead of leaving their shoes outside their bunk in the rain, one creative group of boys placed them in the fridge. Shabbat was a time for unwinding both mentally and physically. The madrichim, who had worked so hard throughout the week, gradually withdrew from students. In the large dining room, we ate Shabbat meals and sang zemirot. By the time we returned to Maalot at midnight on Motzei Shabbat, teachers and students were beyond the point of exhaustion. The journey might have ended, but in a sense it has only just begun. The hope is that the bonds our students made will continue and that their exposure to the many wonderful filters through which they were able to see our country will remain with them for life. As an educator, nothing was more invigorating and inspiring than witnessing our students overcome the physical and mental difficulties that the journey presented. They found reserves of strength that will serve them well in the future. Moreover, my job as a teacher/ chaperone was made easier by our incredible staff who never wavered over the five nights and six days. The program is available in English and is highly recommended for all ages. Consider it when you’re planning your next trip to Israel. There’s more to be gained from walking through the Negev than spending time in the comfort of any fancy hotel. Rafi Sackville, formerly of Cedarhurst, lives in Ma’alot in Western Galil. He teaches in the local high school.

Forgotten Heroes

Israeli F-16s with the Python 5 missiles

originally meant for Iran to Israel. Four planes touched down on Ramat David Air Base in June 1980. Soon they were joined by several others, including one that would set records for the F-16. Israel kept to its tradition of using their own avionics and made other changes to the planes that would provide it a distinct advantage in battle. These planes were F-16A Fighting Falcons and were nicknamed Netz (hawk) by the Israelis. Soon a special mission was handed to the pilots of eight F-16s that would rock the world.

ntelligence groups worldwide had for a while been keeping an eye on Iraq and specifically their nuclear reactor purchased from France in 1976. Called an Osirak reactor, Iraq claimed it was for peaceful scientific purposes but the Mossad suspected there were

U.S., and the IAF knew that could spell disaster to the volatile region. America wasn’t a major supplier of military equipment to Israel until the early ‘70s and while Iran posed a threat to the only democratic country in the Middle East, it also brought a unique opporAn Israeli F-16 fully armed for a strike mission tunity. If the IAF could obtain the Falcon instead of Iran, it would up to something more sinister. At first put them on par with Russian-supplied Israel tried to sabotage the reactor and Arab countries. depose of some of its scientists but to no The United States also did not want avail. After diplomatic relations failed, its planes going to the Islamic Republic the only option that remained was to of Iran and instead sent the 75 planes bomb it into oblivion. F-15 Eagles were originally designated for the mission but once the F-16 entered service, eight pilots trained for a possible one-way mission. It was a long flight, and they didn’t know if they would have enough fuel to make the round trip. On Sunday afternoon of June 7, 1981, the eight F-16 Falcons lifted off from Israel and headF-16 No.107 with its kill markings at the IAF Museum ed towards Iraq. There

were several prominent pilots in this group including Israel’s first astronaut, Ilan Ramon, and the future head of the military intelligence (Aman), Amos Yadlin. He was flying plane no. 107 which soon became world famous. The raid on the reactor was a huge success as Iraq’s nuclear program was totaled for good. All of Su-17 fighter and a Gazelle helicopter the Falcons landed safely back in Israel, in one strike. Colonel Eitan Sativa was and the world silently thanked them for at the controls for these two kills as well as one from four days prior. their heroic feat. Altogether this particular plane Two months before the historic raid, two F-16s recorded the first kills in the holds the record for kills in an F-16 with fourth generation fighter when they shot 6.5 and the distinction of being a part of down two Syrian Mi-8 helicopters. Five the Osirik raid. The half kill was shared weeks after the raid, the commander with another IAF fighter. This record of the squadron and pilot on the Osirik still stands even though several updated Raid, Amir Nachumi, got into an aerial models of the F-16 were put into serdogfight with a Syrian MiG-21 before vice. No. 107, the earliest model used in battle, was eventually put in reserves shooting it out of the sky. Israel continued to obtain more ad- as a training plane and in 2014 it was retired for good. Tovanced Falcons that day it is proudly on proved vital in the display at the Israeli coming war. These Air Force Museum planes could go in Hatzerim. twice the speed of The F-16 will sound, making it idesoon be replaced by al to outrun Russian the F-35 Lightning MiGs operated by II, also known as the the Syrians. During Joint Strike Fighter the First Lebanon and Adir (meaning War in 1982 over 40 awesome) in HeSyrian planes were brew. Recently, the downed by F-16s Israelis added fourand the leader for teen more to their these kills was the order and the first F-16 just identified are scheduled to aras no. 107. rive in Israel later Another one Ilan Ramon in front of a F-16 this year. This is not of the pilots who bombed Osirak, flight leader Ze’ev Raz, to take anything away from the ecowas at the controls of no. 107 in April nomically efficient F-16 that performed 1982. He downed a Syrian MiG-23 with magnificently for Israel. The no. 107 a rocket. Two months later, the First plane in particular was the trendsetter Lebanon War broke out, and F-16 Fal- for all F-16s and its record of 6.5 kills cons were right in the think of the aerial still stands. dogfights. No. 107 shot down two MiG23 fighters on June 9 with two different Avi Heiligman is a weekly contributor to The pilots in the cockpit. Four days later, the Jewish Home. He welcomes your comments plane became an ace (meaning it had and suggestions.for future columns and can five kills in total) when it shot down a be reached at aviheiligman@gmail.com.

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uring the air battles over Israel in the ‘60s and ‘70s. the Israeli Air Force proved that superior training and top-of-the-line jets can win wars. However, in 1979 the Shah of Iran was overthrown and the new government frightened some Israeli military commanders. Iran was slated to receive the F-16 Falcon fighter from the

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Israel’s F-16 Falcon Fighter and the Remarkable No. 107

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Avi Heiligman

Zwanger-Pesiri Radiology Putting Patients First

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BY TAMMY MARK

t some point during our lifetime, most of us will find ourselves in a doctor’s office being handed a prescription for a diagnostic test. Whether for a fractured finger or a more serious matter, the next step is the same: follow doctor’s orders and get the test done as soon as possible. That next step can prove to be one of the most critical decisions in your medical care. Most patients will simply follow instructions, making an appointment wherever they are recommended to go; usually the closest or most convenient imaging facility. Many people do not know that not all diagnostic imaging facilities are equipped with the same technology. Modern machines with higher resolution images will provide more comprehensive findings which can have a tremendous impact on patient diagnosis and treatment. r. Steven Mendelsohn of Zwanger-Pesiri Radiology is dedicated to providing patients with the highest level of diagnostic technology in the most compassionate environment. Dr. Jerome Zwanger originally founded his radiology practice in 1953, partnering with Dr. E.J. Pesiri in 1958. Now headed by Dr. Mendelsohn and Dr. Susan ZwangerMendelsohn, Zwanger-Pesiri Radiology has grown The Zwanger-Pesiri Radiology facility in Lynbrook from one office into one of the most respected radiology practices in the U.S. today, with 17 offices across ity images using 3.0 Tesla magnet strength and is the Tomosynthesis, the unit shows thin slices of the breast Long Island. The newest facility opened in Lynbrook most powerful MRI on the market. Typical machines like a CT scan, producing a 40% increased ability to in November 2014. are much less powerful, with some as low as 0.2T, detect invasive cancer. This also decreases patient The equipment at all of the Zwanger-Pesiri facili- yielding much lower resolution images and requiring recall rates, thereby improving the quality of life for ties is modern and top-of-the-line. The MRI machines patients to lie still for much longer periods of time. recovering patients. at Zwanger-Pesiri are typically replaced every 5 to 7 Whereas a scan for a small muscle tear could take Always striving to be at the forefront of technolyears, sometimes sooner if there’s a significant leap 45 minutes on an old machine, it can take as little as ogy, the Zwanger-Pesiri Lynbrook office has the first in technology. The CT scanners eight minutes on the new ma- outpatient MRI/PET scanner in the entire country. at Zwanger-Pesiri are the newest chine. “Eight to 10 minutes to Patients have been referred to Zwanger-Pesiri from models, utilizing low-dose imagcomplete an MRI scan is a big as far away as Venezuela for this highly specialized ing which radically reduces the difference in patient comfort,” technology. Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging radiation exposure, yet produces Dr. Mendelsohn points out. “Ad- combined with Positron Emission Tomography, the the very best picture quality. ditionally, it deteriorates the im- MRI/PET scan replaces the PET/CT utilized for canThe quality of the machines cer patients. MRI/PET is a higher quality; the maages when patients fidget.” varies dramatically at other imagAnother common concern is chine is able to identify more metastatic cancer than ing facilities, where machines can the patient preference for open the CT of a PET/CT. By removing the CT element, be 20 years old or more. “An 8 or MRI units. The images from the MRI/PET eliminates unnecessary radiation ex10-year-old machine can’t be lowthese units are subpar. Zwanger- posure equivalent to that of 100 to 150 chest X-rays, dose; the technology just wasn’t Pesiri has “open bore” machines and many cancer patients are already exposed to high there,” Dr. Mendelsohn explains. that, at over 2 feet wide, are much levels of radiation in their treatment. Even the newer diagnostic imagwider than most. These maing machines can range in qualichines can accommodate larger ty, and Dr. Mendelsohn compares ot to be overlooked, the radiologist is a vital patients and very few encounter it to the idea of buying a new car component of the diagnostic process. While any difficulty. most facilities employ radiologists with subwith high-end or low-end options. Zwanger-Pesiri Radiology The newest MRI unit at also provides women with the specialties in musculoskeletal and neuroradiology, Zwanger-Pesiri is called the 3T latest in mammogram technol- they are typically limited to office hours and require MRI. It captures the highest qualogy. Using 3D Mammography or other specialists or general radiologists to fill in. The Dr. Mendelsohn

“Our mission is to give each and every one of our patients an overwhelmingly positive experience.”

wanger-Pesiri Radiology has come to be regarded as a leader in the diagnostic field. Many New York City doctors utilize their studies, and top doctors from hospitals such as Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Hospital for Special Surgery, NYU Langone Medical Center and New York-Presbyterian Hospital will refer their patients to Zwanger-Pesiri facilities. Patients should trust their doctors, but also re-

MRI-PET-oncology

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discernible to the highly trained eye. The ZwangerPesiri team then works closely with the referring physician to ensure the best results. In addition to cutting-edge technology and experienced doctors, Dr. Mendelsohn places a high emphasis on patient care and considers his practice to be “patient-centric.” He examines everything from the patient point of view and applies this philosophy to all aspects of the practice. Patient flow is very important and waiting time is kept to ten minutes. ZwangerPesiri offers evening and weekend appointments, with same day X-rays; CT and MRI appointments are often available same day, as well. Having eliminated the “telephone tree” found at most busy offices, the phones are answered by people. The staff is specially selected to be kind and patient. The technicians at Zwanger-Pesiri are students that graduated from the top schools who are also able to chat with the patients and put them at ease. Dr. Mendelsohn realized that one of the most commonly asked questions is “When will I get my

member to ask questions about their options in diagnostic care. The discrepancy between the images taken on newer, higher quality machines versus the older or lower quality ones is vast, and patients can unknowingly be sent to a facility that retains 25-yearold MRI machines. Most insurance companies will pay out the same amount for that lower quality imaging as they will for the higher quality options. Patients should keep in mind that they have a choice in their healthcare and can request to be sent wherever they feel most comfortable. Dr. Mendelsohn believes that the combination of modern technology, top doctors and compassionate care are all vital elements of successful treatment which comes across to his patients at Zwanger-Pesiri. “Our mission is to give each and every one of our patients an overwhelmingly positive experience.” 

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results?” For the past three years, Zwanger-Pesiri has had a “patient portal” where patients can go online and find results as soon as they are dictated; 90% of the time, results are available within one hour. Traditionally, results were only sent to the referring physician. A patient going for an imaging test on Friday would most likely not receive results until Monday, at the earliest. Through the patient portal, the patient can find out the results later that same day; especially helpful for scans like routine mammograms which can cause unnecessary worry. Aside from his duties as CEO, Dr. Mendelsohn insists on maintaining and sharpening his skills as a radiologist. Although each of the specialists hired by Dr. Mendelsohn are hired to be the best, Dr. Mendelsohn will regularly read MRI and CT scans himself – checking on their turnaround time and quality of work. He is constantly working to stay informed on all the latest technologies and innovations.

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doctors at Zwanger-Pesiri are all subspecialty trained and every study is read by the specific specialist at all hours of the day. There are 57 radiologists, all connected via the internet, allowing the right specialist to be available for each particular case. This enables the specialist to pick up on nuances that may only be

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dgnya oiaxn xc` qpkpyn

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MARCH 3, 2015

Insights into Purim

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The Choice of Adar by Rebbetzin Tziporah Heller The Eyes Have It by Rabbi Jonathan Gewirtz A Matter of the Heart by Steven Genack

Is This for Real?

Obama Brings About World Peace: A Purim Satire by Larry Domnitch

Halacha

Just for Laughs

Halachically Speaking: Mentioning Haman’s Name by Rabbi Moishe Dovid Lebovits

To Your Health

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Purim’s Approach to Trauma by Deb Hirschhorn, PhD

In the Kitchen

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Wishing you a Howdy Purim! by Jamie Geller Purim Seudah Delights by Naomi Nachman

Double the Fun: TJH Interviews the Twins from France by Tamar Sullivan My Attempt at Purim Torah by Mordechai Schmutter Centerfold

All Washed Up—The Purim Tsunami by Rivki Rosenwald, Esq., CLC Uncle Moishy Fun Page

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Double the Fun! TJH Interviews the Twins from France BY TAMAR SULLIVAN

TS: Hi, thank you for speaking with us today! First of all, everyone knows you as the “Twins from France,” but what are your individual names? YG: My name is Yisrael Gourion and my brother’s name is Yaakov. It’s funny because they are two different names for the same person. My parents did it purposely. That makes your act that much better! How did you first start out becoming the performers you are today? When we were 15, we were in yeshiva in Paris. We were not allowed to play sports, but we wanted a break from learning during recess, so my brother and I started practicing juggling. I also had a unicycle in my closet in the dormitory, so we started performing casually for our friends and we got better and better. What came next? After a few years in Paris, we went to yeshiva in Bnei Brak. By then, we were very good at juggling and doing all kinds of tricks. In Bnei Brak, when the bochurim finish learning each night, they go to wedding halls together to eat and dance. There are over 20 wedding halls there. My brother and I always went together to wedding halls and we used to join the dancing and started doing some of our tricks. They turned into shows. People loved it. When people started asking us to come to their weddings and bar mitzvahs, we started to charge. Our first show was 100 shekels, and by the time we left Bnei Brak three years later, we were charging at some

places 1,000 shekels. We usually did three or four shows every single night. What happened next? After Chabad bochurim learn in Bnei Brak, they usually go to learn at 770 in New York. We hesitated because we didn’t want to lose the business we just

“Chabad and Satmar don’t always see eye to eye, but that night, there was so much achdut.” built up. But our rebbeim said that we should go, so we left everything. When we got to Crown Heights, we started over. We started going to simchas and performing for free. People were amazed and began hiring us again. The demand was even greater in America. The bracha followed us from Eretz Yisroel. What is your favorite performance? Juggling fire.

Sounds scary! How did you learn? First we became experts at juggling. Then slowly, slowly we tried juggling fire and practiced together. I was scared at first, but my brother and I helped each other. What is your most memorable experience as a performer? One thing that is very special is when I do bikur cholim and go visit and entertain kids in the hospital. Another very memorable experience was when someone called us one day to come do a sheva brachot in Williamsburg. When we got there, we found out it was the nephew of the Admor of Satmar. There were 5,000 people there! They asked us to do the entire show on the tisch – the table. It was very stressful and we felt so much pressure, but it turned out so nice. It was a big hit for us. Chabad and Satmar don’t always see eye to eye, but that night, there was so much achdut. It was incredible. Do you have any embarrassing moments from any of your performances? Sometimes we have a performance idea that doesn’t turn out the way we expect it to, but we don’t let it stop us. Once in Bnei Brak, we were doing a show for a wedding and a slightly drunk man wanted to join our acrobatics. He did a somersault while I was doing a handstand, and he accidentally hit me and twisted my hand. One of my bones came out of its socket. I pushed it back in and continued performing. It came

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out again, so I put it back in once more, but it was so painful that I fainted. When I woke up, I went home to bandage myself, while my brother left to go do the next two shows by himself. After I sat at home for a while, I decided to join him and just stay off of my hand – and I did. I had to let it heal for the next two months, but I didn’t stop performing. Where do you and your brother perform now? I live in Crown Heights, and my brother returned to Israel. For chagim, my brother and I are together wherever we decide to go to do events and shows. For weddings and simchas, I do the shows myself now. How do your parents feel about your work? Our parents don’t know about it… Just joking! They were the ones who pushed us in the beginning. We used to be very shy, but our parents encouraged us a lot and even paid us to get out there and do some acrobatic shows when we were younger. What is your family like? We are nine children total. My father is a doctor, and my mother is a piano teacher. My twin brother Yaakov and I don’t play piano because we never sat still growing up. We were always running off to play sports and be outside. Now we regret it a little bit.

Do your siblings ever join? Siblings come watch the show when they can, but they aren’t part of it. How and when did you start making DVDs? Well, we began making some YouTube videos for fun. We got thousands of views, which surprised us, so we decided to make a DVD. We started our first video three years ago in China when a Chabad shliach brought us over there to do a show. We were there for four days, so in our free time between performances, we shot the footage. We brought it back to America, made it into a DVD, and got it in the stores. Two years later, we made our second DVD in America. Tell me about the brand new DVD that was just released. It’s called The Twins from France Off-Line. It’s a nice collection of our YouTube videos. We’d rather make a DVD of all of our clips than have people put

their children in front of YouTube, so that is one reason why we made this video. Thank you so much for sharing all of this with us! Keep on making people happy with your acrobatics and stunts—can’t wait to see you next time you come to town! The Twins from France can be reached at (347) 534-6045 or at thetwinsfromfrance@gmail.com. 

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MARCH 3, 2015

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Rabbi Aaron Brafman– director, Rabbi Zev Braun-assistant director Rabbi Moshe Shonek– head counselor Rabbi Dovid Libman, Rabbi Menachem Engel, Rabbi Avki Klein– division heads Rabbi Ben Czeladicki– pre-school director including those entering pre-1a Located on the Yeshiva of Far Rockaway campus

Celebration of Hidden Miracles One might expect the Megillah to be replete with descriptions of the miracle of Haman’s defeat, giving credit to the Author of all miracles. Yet what we find is very different. G-d’s name is not mentioned even once in the entire narrative. The Megillah is a great dichotomy, where the Hero is always off stage, but yet the most central figure of the entire drama. Of course, not everyone who reads the Megillah will notice G-d’s subtle yet compelling presence. The events that He orchestrated are covered with many layers of seeming coincidence, political machinations, natural cause and effect. The Sages refer to this event as a “hidden miracle,” meaning that it is within our ability to appreciate the multi-layered reality unfolded before us – or just as easily to deny it and attribute everything to chance. Which brings us to an important question: Why would G-d simultaneously conceal and reveal His presence? Why not rescue the Jews through a thunder and lightning extravaganza that would merit an MGM

movie on the scale of The Ten Commandments? To answer this question, we must first ask a far more fundamental one: Why is the world so complex, so full of apparent contradictions? The world has intricate order and awesome beauty, yet at the same time there is so much chaos and unspeakable horror. Why? The answer is that the choice is up to us to look deep and acknowledge both aspects of reality. It is tempting to take refuge in superficial simplification, to ignore the cracks in the facade of perfection that we like to see when we look in the mirror. Of course, this requires its own bit of effort, like avoiding the news and ensconcing ourselves in the secure refuge of our comfortable cars and homes. All this entails some major denial. The opposite approach is to take masochistic pleasure in painting the world black. The toll that such people pay in bitterness and jaded cynicism is high, but they feel they are getting something precious in return, which is “seeing things as they are.” The problem is that such people are as much in denial of reality as the first group. The Jewish view is to see that chaos and order in fact do co-exist, and that each one has a purpose. We are meant to meet the challenges presented by life’s hard side, and to find inspiration in the beauty and joy that we see just as readily when our eyes are open. Every so often G-d opens the gates wide enough to give us a message that can sustain us when things seem hopeless. The message is: “I am here now, as I have been all along, and I will always be here for you. Not just when the sea splits, or when My presence overwhelms you, but when you elect to choose to see Me.” And this is the essential message of Purim. It is about making that sort of choice – the most significant and joyous choice you will ever make. Purim Practices 1) We read the Megillah twice, both at night (to celebrate the faith that we found in the midst of darkness) and during the day (to celebrate the fact that our faith was validated openly and joyously). 2) We give two kinds of food to at least one friend. This gift is not meant to alleviate need, but rather to create unity. We celebrate being part of a people who lives on miracles. 3) We give money to the poor. This spreads the pleasure of feeling cared for, and opens the hearts of both giver and recipient. 4) We strengthen our belief in God’s presence in the real world by having a whopper of a feast. Invite all your friends. Wear a costume to celebrate the fact that things are not always as they seem. Drink until you are so intoxicated that you recognize there are no longer heroes and villains – just characters in G-d’s unending  play that reveals His love and presence.

MARCH 3, 2015

Moses’ Birth and Death At the time of the destruction of the First Temple, the Jews were exiled to Babylon, which was later ruled by the Persian Empire. This empire eventually included most of the known world, placing the entire Jewish population under Persian authority, regardless of where they lived. Haman, the wicked prime minister of Persia, threw

Humility and the Fish There is yet more significance to the fish as the astral sign of Adar. Fish live their entire lives underwater, unobserved by the human eye. Our Sages tell us that blessing does not come to something that is under close observation, but only to something that is hidden from the eye. This is due to the direct relationship between modesty and blessing. Of course, from a Western view, where fame and success are identical twins, modesty seems inversely related to blessing. The Torah teaches, however, that the cost of all this exposure – rather than a blessing, i.e. maximizing oneself – is to risk becoming the sort of person who has no self, other than the mask that is donned in order to be the person that you think others would like to see. Moses is described in the Torah as “the most humble person.” He lived with modesty, and this became engrained in our national Jewish identity. We have always prized humility over pride. For this reason, the fish, the sign of Adar, is the penultimate sign of the Jewish people.

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Fish and Fertility Adar is the Jewish month of good fortune. In fact, Purim is the most joyful time of the entire year. “When Adar arrives, we increase our joy,” say the Sages. How did Adar get its well-earned reputation for joy? The astral sign of Adar is the fish (Pisces). Fish are very fertile, and for that reason are seen as a sign of blessing and fruitfulness. The Hebrew word for blessing is bracha, from the root letters bet, reish, kaff. In Jewish numerology (gematria), the letter bet has a value of 2, reish is 200 and kaff is 20. Each of these is the first plural in their number unit. What this tells us is that the Jewish concept of “blessing” is intertwined with fertility, represented by the fish of Adar. After all, if there is something good, why not let it increase? The opposite of blessing is constraint or limitation. Adar is the month in which Haman threatened to not only limit our presence, but to erase it entirely. But destiny had a different plan.

lots and came up with a designated day to make his entire kingdom Judenrein, cleansed of Jews. Haman’s “lucky day” was the 13th of Adar. And when he observed that this day came up, seemingly by chance, he rejoiced – because the 7th of Adar was the day that Moses died. Moses was the quintessential Jew; the Sages say that he is equal to the Jewish people collectively – the head that controls the “body” of the nation, providing it with vision, articulation and direction. To Haman, the lot falling in Adar meant that his plan to destroy everything that Moses built was bound to succeed. What Haman didn’t know, however, was that the same 7th of Adar was also the day that Moses was born. What Haman presumed would be the day of Jewish national death, turned out to be a day of national rebirth.

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veryone knows that the Jewish year begins in Tishrei, with Rosh Hashana. But surprise, surprise – there are actually two ways of calculating the order of our calendar. The more familiar version follows the calculations made by Hillel the Elder in the Talmudic era and refers to the months by their Babylonian names – Tishrei, Cheshvan, etc. The other method is that used by the Torah itself. The Torah text does not assign names to the months, but rather refers to the “first month,” “second month,” etc. The “first month” is Nissan, featuring Passover, the anniversary of our liberation from Egypt. In the other calendar, Nissan would be the seventh month! Jews seem to have a knack for complicating things. Actually, it is the natural result of looking at things deeply. From that perspective, something fascinating emerges from the two ways we count time: Tishrei is the month that marks the creation of mankind. For us mortal beings, this is the central event of human history. Thus, Tishrei is the first month. G-d, however, sees things from a different angle. As expressed by His Torah, the emergence of the Jewish nation is the beginning of meaningful history. Thus, Nissan is the first month. Which brings us to Adar, the month of Purim, the month that directly precedes Nissan. From the Torah’s perspective, Adar is the last month of the Hebrew calendar. Adar is often described as the “month of darkness,” because during Haman’s time we were closer than ever to suffering total annihilation. The light of Nissan, the light of liberation, could have been extinguished, had Haman’s plot succeeded. Through the miracle of Purim, the darkness turned to light.

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MARCH 3, 2015

The Observant Jew

Rabbi Jonathan Gewirtz

The Eyes Have It

he Gemara in Megilla (9a) tells us of an amazing miracle. Greek King Ptolemy took seventy-two elders and placed them in seventy-two different homes and ordered them to translate the Torah into Greek. The translation itself was devastating because suddenly everyone could “read” the Torah and thought they could interpret it, but Hashem made a miracle anyway. The elders realized that certain things could be misconstrued by Ptolemy so they made changes to some wording. Miraculously, all seventy-two of them made the exact same changes! Now, some of you may say, “What’s the big miracle that seventy-two rabbis in seventy-two different rooms agreed? Put them in ONE room and get them to agree!” It’s true that Jews are sometimes argumentative and you often have two Jews and three opinions. There’s an old joke about a couple that comes to their rabbi with a disagreement. First, he speaks to the wife. She tells him the story and he says, “You’re right.” Then he meets with the husband. After hearing his story, the rabbi says, “You’re right.” The rabbi’s assistant, who had been in the room for both conversations, came to him once the couple had left. “What’s going on?” he asked. “They can’t both be right!” The rabbi thought a moment, and then said, “You’re right.” The truth is that each of the people could indeed be right. Depending on the perspective the person has, his actions in the moment could have been correct. The trick, however, is realizing that the perspective we have may not be the only one. And Hashem makes that as clear as the nose on our face! You see, our eyes are spaced about two inches apart, which gives them each a slightly different perspective. Look at your nose and you’ll see that part of it is transparent. That’s because what one eyes sees from its angle, the other one doesn’t see. Both eyes are looking at the same thing but the different perspective makes each

one see something that the other can’t. When we look out at the world, our eyes take in the two different pictures and our brains fuse them into one, more complete image. This gives us depth of vision, and the 3-dimensional effect we call depth perception, which enables us to gauge distances.

“I do it this way,” he replied, “so I can begin to gauge how computer savvy the person is. It tells me how I have to speak to them to get the job done. Also, I’m not necessarily always going to use the same remote software so I can’t do that.” Then, he reflected on what I said, and remarked, “Of

It’s amazing how a slightly different perspective changes everything. People also have different perspectives and while we may not see what someone else does, if we’re willing to hear them out, we might be able to see it their way. Want an example? A friend of mine does computer support. I’ve often heard him on the phone telling his clients to go to a specific website that will enable him to log into their machine. Countless

times the person doesn’t do what he told them, and will, for example type the address into Google, thus giving them multiple results but not getting them where they need to be. I said, “What you should do is make a shortcut on the users’ desktops that when you click it, it automatically takes you to that site. This way people don’t waste your time.” I thought my idea was brilliant and that he should take my advice and implement it immediately. He didn’t. Instead, he gave me his perspective.

course, there is a way I could do it…” and I saw that by seeing it from my perspective, he now had a new outlook on the situation. You see? We were both right. Here’s another one. Reuven built an illegal apartment in his home. In his city, tenants are not allowed. Someone reported him. “I did everything to code,” he said, “I just didn’t

report it. And now someone got me in trouble and I’m out all this money.” He could not see why anyone would care what he did inside his own home. Well, the law is on the books because people don’t want multi-family housing in their area. Doing it is breaking the law. But there’s another angle. In case of fire, G-d-forbid, the firefighters can look over a building’s plans to know where rooms and hallways are. If someone changes the layout without registering it, a fireman’s life can be in danger because he may

end up hitting a wall that wasn’t supposed to be there. The guy “bending” the law may say, “What’s the big deal? I’m not hurting anyone,” but from the perspective of the firefighter’s wife and kids, he’s jeopardizing the life of their husband and father. It’s amazing how a slightly different perspective changes everything. Mordechai told the Jews not to participate in the feast of Achashveirosh. They thought he was crazy. “Miss the party and jeopardize our political standing with the palace? That’s suicide!” And yet, history shows that Mordechai’s perspective was correct; the feast was actually a catalyst for our downfall. Which was more crucial to the Purim salvation: the fall of Haman or the rise of Mordechai? If you look at each one individually, you can make the argument either way. In truth, though, we only get a full picture when we look at them both at the same time. So, before we rush to judgment and determine that someone else is absolutely wrong, let’s learn the lesson that’s right in front of our faces. Hashem made us able to see things from two different perspectives with the same brain to teach us that there’s more than one way to look at everything. Did you like this article? There’s plenty more where that came from! Pick up The Observant Jew, a compilation of some of the best articles from the first ten years of this column, at your local bookstore or order it online and bring the inspiration home. Jonathan Gewirtz is an inspirational writer and speaker whose work has appeared in publications around the world. He also operates JewishSpeechWriter. com, where you can order a custom-made speech for your next special occasion. Sign up for the Migdal Ohr, his weekly PDF Dvar Torah in English. E-mail info@ JewishSpeechWriter.com and put Subscribe in the subject. © 2015 by Jonathan Gewirtz. All rights reserved.

Purim Thoughts

A Matter Of The Heart such a route taken and why at this period in history? It may be argued that the Jews were just coming off the destruction of the first Beis Hamikdash. The Gemara (Nedarim 81a) says that the first Beis Hamikdash was destroyed because the Jews didn’t say birkot ha-Torah. In essence, G-d knew the mesorah was at risk and that the oral law was in great danger of being lost. The Jews were abandoning their emotional connection to the oral law, instead replacing it with rote and uninspired service. G-d had to hide in nature and draw His creatures in through a subtle and nuanced manner that could give them the opportunity to relate to G-d on a more human level. We were now given time to internalize G-d’s greatness without thunderous miracles scaring us into submission. G-d wanted our hearts to love and carry on the oral law and concealment was the only way to secure it. We can now get a better understanding into the nusach of the birkot ha-Torah that were instituted by the Anshei Knesset HaGedolah (Brachot 33a). The order and wording chosen by them is very telling in terms of what was at stake in post-destruction times. The first bracha chosen is “Baruch Atah Hashem... vetzivanu la’asok b’divrei Torah.” The Rav zt”l, when discussing Inyanei Chanukah, points out that while “lilmod has limited semantics, referring to the intellectual gesture exclusively, la’asok means to be involved, to be dedicated.” This further explains a midrash (Shochor Tov 35:1) where G-d says to David HaMelech “Asok b’Torah v’Ani elchom milchamtecha –devote yourself to Torah study and I will wage your battles.” And we know David Hamelech dedicated his heart to G-d as he attests, “I attained fear of G-d through my rejoicing and I rejoiced through fear; but my love for G-d surpassed them all (Tanna Devei Eliyahu Rabbah 3). Only after saying the bracha of the heart do we move to the bracha of our high nation status - “Baruch Atah Hashem... asher bachar banu mikol ha’amim v’natan lanu et Torato. Baruch Atah... noten haTorah.” G-d’s new “hidden and patient” interaction with us was in fact the new template for eternity. We know it says Purim will never be batel, as the verse (Esther 9:28) says, “And these days are remembered and observed in every generation.” This can explain why the Rambam (Hilchot Melachim 12:2) says the only difference after Moshiach will be shibud malchiot, because nature and G-d’s relation to us will remain in place so that we can exercise our love of Torah in an upward fashion. The converse of this equation (that G-d has given us the time and ability to reflect upon His wonders and open our hearts to Him) is that He may demand fervor and passion from us in return. As the Gemara (Sanhedrin 106b) says, “G-d wants our hearts,” and the Gemara (Yoma 72b) says any Torah scholar who is not “tocho k’baro, identical inside and out,” is no Torah scholar. And not only is that what G-d desires but we are judged on it every Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur as the prayer begins “L’keil orech din – to G-d who prepares man for judgment” to which we follow with “l’vochen levavot b’yom din – to the One who tests hearts on the Day of Judgment.”

The heart still belongs to Ha man and until we match his extreme hate to our extreme love we will not win this battle. al place’. Rav Acha Bar Yaakov says we see from here that the acceptance of the Torah was coerced. Rava says it was reaccepted (willingly) in the days of Achashverosh, as it is written ‘Kimu v’kiblu, kimu mah sheh’kiblu kvar.’” So Purim was a reaffirmation of Torah she’b’chtav and Torah she’baal peh However, the idea of this Gemara must be understood in tandem with a Beis Halevi and the Zohar. The Beis Halevi (Drush 18) explains that the first luchos had the Torah she’b’chtav and Torah she’baal peh written on it as these luchos were to be the final transmission of Torah, not necessitating the need for the oral law to be passed on ba’al peh. However, once Moshe broke the luchos, the luchos were given again but in a different manner. This time only Torah she’b’chtav was written upon them but it was mandated that the Torah she’baal peh would have to be passed orally from one generation to the next, in essence taking on a human experience that now made Bnei Yisrael the “parchment” of the Torah in the stead of physical parchment. We know that the second luchos were given over on Yom Kippur im(Taanis 30b). The Zohar (Tikunei Zohar 57b) famously says that within the word Kippurim lies the word Purim, indicating a connection between the two holidays. Rav Leib Eger explains that the connection between Yom Kippur and Purim is that the second luchos were given over on Yom Kippur, obviously connecting Purim to this oral transmission. But why is Purim representative of the oral law? The Gemara (Chulin 139b) derives that Esther is alluded to in the Torah by the verse (Deuteronomy 31:18) ““V’Anochi hastir astir Panai bayom hahu, And I will surely hide My Face from them on that day.” G-d chose to orchestrate the miracle of Purim through nature, in a hidden fashion, but again, why was

his gives an opening to understand how Rabbi Akiva’s 24,000 talmidim could be wiped out and the reality of losing a second Beis Hamikdash because of sinat chinam. The heart was now in play and its thoughts, passions and ways were critical in how we served G-d. The story is told about Rav Elchanan Wasserman zt”l and the Griz zt”l that when they were discussing Torah she’baal peh, Rav Elchanan mentioned to the Griz that perhaps they should look inside to get reward for otiot machkimos (the letters bring wisdom). The Griz responded that such a notion only applies to Torah she’b’chtav and not Torah she’baal peh for in regards to Torah she’baal peh, it’s the understanding of the sugya that brings fulfillment of talmud Torah, not the reading of the letters. This story illustrates that man must reach the depths of the oral law with his full capacities. He must apply his heart to reach maximum understanding as it’s the closest vehicle to come close to G-d. The oral law is our mission and from Purim and on we must use our hidden heart just as G-d agreed to hide Himself within nature. The verse (Proverbs 7:3) states, “Let love and faithfulness never leave you. Bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart.” There’s no question that the edifice of the tablets exist, but it’s for us now to fill them in with our heart Now we can return to the original question as to why the megillah reserves the “heart” for our archenemy Haman. The answer is not so difficult. The Chofetz Chaim comments on the episode where Yaakov sent messengers to Eisav and instructed them to tell him that he had dwelled until this point with Lavan (Genesis 32:4). What was Yaakov’s purpose in sharing this seemingly irrelevant information? Rashi explains that the numerical value of the word “garti, I dwelled” – is 613, the number of mitzvos in the Torah. In other words, Yaakov was telling Eisav that although I dwelled in the house of the wicked Lavan, I still observed the 613 commandments, and I also didn’t learn from his evil ways. The Chofetz Chaim asks on the end of Rashi that there seems to be a few extraneous words, “and I didn’t learn from his evil ways.” The Chofetz Chaim questions that if Yaakov held the 613 commandments then obviously he didn’t learn from Lavan’s ways. The Chofetz Chaim answers that Yaakov was giving himself mussar, that though he held the commandments in principle, he didn’t learn from the passion and hatred with which Lavan carried out his maneuvers. Lavan did it with pure, unadulterated hate, to such a level that Yaakov felt inferior in his love. Haman is from Amalek, our symbolic archenemy, who rears its head as Edom and Yishmael today, enemies that have attacked us from the dawn of civilization until the present, and we have yet to win the war. It must be that our love for G-d is not as strong as our enemies’ hate for us. The heart still belongs to Haman and until we match his extreme hate to our extreme love we will not win this battle. These are matters of extremities, of emotion, not habitual exercise of commandments. From Purim and on, our heart is an open book and must be faithfully, correctly and entirely devoted to G-d. 

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he famous verse (Esther 3:5) in the megillah pronounces that Mordechai wouldn’t bow to Haman and Haman became “full of anger.” Anger, as we know well, is a fierce emotion of the heart, “lev” (linguistically pronounced as love in English, the true mission of the heart), and yet this passion appears in full force by our nemesis Haman. Why in a holiday of love and re-dedication by the Jews does the “heart” belong to the enemy, and what’s to be gleaned from this? Many roads and bridges must be crossed to resolve this question. The quintessential Gemara that puts the holiday of Purim in perspective is found in Shabbos (88a). There it states,”At the time of kabbalas haTorah, Bnei Yisrael stood at the foot of the mountain. Rav Avdimi Bar Chama Bar Chasa says this teaches that Hashem held the mountain over the Jewish people and said to them: ‘If you accept the Torah, good. If not, this shall be your buri-

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Steven Genack

Humor

Mordechai Schmutter

t a t p m e t My At

h a r o T m i r Pu

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MARCH 3, 2015

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don’t drink on Purim. Unless you count a half a cup of Bartenura, which no one ever does, for some reason. I almost never drink, because drinking gives me heartburn. People have suggested that I drink a little bit, and then a little more, and then a little more (but not all in one day) to build up a tolerance, but really, is this something that I should build up a tolerance to? I don’t even like the taste. The more expensive a wine is, the less I like it. In fact, I can tell how expensive a wine is by how little I enjoy it. I have to build a tolerance to something I don’t even like? But people still bother me about it, especially around Purim. And especially my high school students, who want nothing more than to see their teachers drunk. And to take pictures. “Isn’t there a mitzvah,” they ask, “to drink so much that you can’t tell the difference between Haman and Mordechai?” For years, I’ve been excusing myself by saying that there are heteirim. For example, the Gemara says that you can drink a little more than you’re used to, and then go to sleep. And when you’re asleep, you don’t know the difference. “We don’t rely on heteirim,” they say. “And like anyone takes a nap on Purim.” So I’ve come up with an excuse which makes so little sense that they stop arguing because they don’t know where to start. And that gives me the opportunity to go on with my lesson, which, whether they admit it or not, is the main reason I come to school. (I actually had extra siyata dishmaya in writing it because a few weeks ago I read Parshas Haman, which you’re supposed to read on the Tuesday of Parshas B’Shalach because that parsha contains the battle of Amaleik.) Because really, how drunk do you have to be to not be able to tell the difference between Haman and Mordechai? These are not very similar people. Arguably, they’re not even comparable. I would say they’re like apples and oranges, but they’re nothing like apples and oranges. Compar-

ing them to apples and oranges would be like comparing apples to oranges. So it’s more like comparing the sun to a bowl of cereal. I don’t mean to insult the cereal. But in other words, it has nothing to do with the sun. How much do you have to drink to not tell the difference between Mordechai and Haman? Maybe that’s why Chazal gave a whole extra day to recover. This is really one case where being ignorant is a significant advantage. (In other words, my students have one over on me.) Mordechai and Haman are as different as night and day. But the truth is that there’s another place where we’re supposed to try to find a difference between things: night and day. At the beginning of Brachos, which is about the furthest that some of us have gotten, the Mishna talks about what is the earliest possible time you can say the morning Shema. (This is less of a problem nowadays. They could ask this in those days because snooze buttons hadn’t been invented yet. Also, if you got a good gathering of rabbis for your seder, it could go on until Shacharis. I’ve heard stories.) There are different opinions as to when you can start saying Shema, and all of them involve when it’s bright enough to tell the difference in

appearance between two things – a techeiles thread and a white thread, a techeiles thread and a green thread – one opinion even says that you have to be able to recognize someone from a short distance away. Not that any of this matters nowadays because most of us are still in bed when people are figuring out whether it’s too early to start Shacharis. The only time this really concerns all of us is Shavuos mornings, when we’ve been up all night and can barely tell the difference between caf and decaf, and we want to daven Shacharis already so we can sleep until lunch. But the point is that all these differences are visual. And maybe that’s the difference that is hard to tell between Haman and Mordechai – a difference of appearance. We always assume they looked very different – all the coloring books have Haman with a pointier beard and a twirlier moustache, so he could twirl it while he plotted stuff. But maybe they didn’t look all that different. Haman’s daughter wasn’t able to spot the differences from up on the roof, and she was Haman’s own daughter. And this is despite the hat, that we assume Haman always wore 24/7, even while swimming, even though most of us generally have different hats for different occasions. (And Haman actually was a man of many hats – he was a prime minister, a barber, a bathhouse attendant…) So maybe you’re supposed to get drunk enough that you can’t tell the difference in appearance between Haman and Mordechai, but hopefully not drunk enough that you throw garbage on one of them and take a flying leap off the roof. When you’re drunk, everything is hazy, not that I would know, and sometimes you see double, and you have to wonder – is that two Hamans? Two Mordechais? But really, why would someone who is drunk ever have to tell the difference in appearance between Haman and Mordechai? I guess it matters if one of them is approaching, and you’re quickly trying to figure out whether it’s Mordechai and you should stand up, or whether it’s Haman and you should bend over and throw up on his shoes.

81 To sum up, because admittedly we haven’t been making sense, you may have to be able to tell the difference between Haman and Mordechai if one of the following two instances come up: 1. When you’re drunk, or 2. When you’ve

stayed up all Shavuos night. If you never get drunk and you go to sleep every night, this situation will never come up anyway. You’ll never have to tell the difference. This is why they say that if you’re not going to drink, then you should at least sleep. Maybe by the time you wake up it’ll be Shushan Purim, and you won’t have to worry about it. So really, I’m okay with my half a cup of

AUTHOR’S NOTE: The last time I presented this argument to my students and totally shocked them into silence, someone commented that it had never occurred to him to come up with a vort on why NOT to drink. “You came up with this sober?” he asked. “Obviously,” I said. “I’m not going to drink on a day that isn’t Purim so I can come up with a dvar Torah as to why I shouldn’t drink on Purim.” And yes, coming up with this thing counts as battalah. So it’s like I was drunk. 

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ks have o o b g in r o l o c e All th beard r ie t in o p a h it w Haman che, a t s u o m r ie l ir w and a t it while he l ir w t d l u o c e h so plotted stuf f.

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Bartenura. But that kind of brings us back to the question, right? Who sleeps on Purim? Definitely not people like me who pretty much get drunk on candy. (Ayin my candy article, last week’s issue.) But the truth is, you don’t really have to sleep. Look at Shavuos night. There is a minhag to stay up and learn all night. But they say that if you don’t learn – if you pretty much hang out and battul and eat cookies – then it’s like you’re sleeping. So here’s what I do on Purim: I drink a little bit – more than I’m used to – and then for the rest of the day, I don’t learn. I pretty much hang out and battul and eat cookies. And voila! It’s like I slept.

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It’s not like you can do an awkward combination of both. Fortunately, there are a lot of people named Mordechai nowadays, and not a lot of Hamans. But what if you’re not drunk? In what situation would it matter whether you can tell the difference? And the answer is: Shavuos night. (Or Pesach night, if you have an allnighter seder going.) In that case, you’re not trying to figure out a personal difference – you just need to recognize someone from a short distance away. You see someone approaching in the dark, and you want to know if it’s Mordechai coming to Shacharis, or Haman walking by to ask Achashveirosh if he can hang people on the enormous 100-foot structure he spent all night building in the dark so that you can daven Shacharis and go to bed. Sure, even if Mordechai and Haman have a similar appearance, there’s a pretty good chance they dress differently but who can tell the difference between their clothes? It’s still too early to tell the difference between techeiles (Mordechai’s favorite color) and Haman’s white barber smock. If you go to sleep at night, though, you’ll never have to make that distinction, because, like we said, by the time you wake up, everyone else is asleep and it’s definitely okay to start davening.

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MARCH 3, 2015

In the Kitchen

101 Jamie Geller

Wishing you a Howdy Purim! Irony of all ironies, the year before we made Aliyah we were dressed like Israelis (don’t ask) and delivered mishloach manot full of pitas and hummus. Then when I got to Israel I went for a cowboy and cowgirl costume for the family and made a down-home all-American meal. Now, I’m not all that creative, and not all that country, I just stole a page out of my friend Aliza’s playbook. A few years ago she hosted a food-from-the-frontier shindig and together we created a menu similar to the one you see here. I’m not embarrassed to admit it because, on this side of the pond, I’ve got a whole new crew to share it with. These recipes already had a test run, and I

know this meal is going to make y’all scream yeehaw (or at least yummy!). For your mishloach manot, use packaging from your local takeout joint to put together a cowboy-themed mishloach manot. Place the chili in small condiment containers and the chips in French fry paper “plates.” Download the cowboy party printables for your own Purim cowboy feast (http://www.joyofkosher.com/2013/01/cowboy-party-printables/). Now you have a menu, napkin holders, wine bottle covers and banners to add an exciting feel to your Purim party.

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Sweet Spicy Chili The secret is the cocoa, really! This spunky, chunky, spicy chili is a cool starter when topped with cold soy sour cream and fresh avocado slices. Adjust the heat to your liking by tweaking the ancho chile powder, cayenne and paprika. Ingredients ¼ cup ancho chile powder ½-1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, depending on desired heat 1 tablespoon sweet or smoked paprika 1 tablespoon ground cumin 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder 1 teaspoon oregano ¼ teaspoon cinnamon 2 teaspoons kosher salt 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1-2 tablespoons olive oil 1 large onion, chopped 2 ½ pounds ground beef 4 cloves garlic, minced 1 green, red, orange or yellow bell pepper, diced 1 cup tomato puree 2 cups water 1 (15-ounce) can pinto beans 1 (15-ounce) can kidney beans Guacamole or sliced avocado,

for serving Soy sour cream, for serving Multi-color tortilla chips, for serving Fresh torn cilantro leaves, optional Directions Combine ancho chile, cayenne, paprika, cumin, oregano, cocoa, cinnamon, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Mix to combine and set aside. Heat the olive oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Cook and stir onions until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the ground beef and garlic. Cook and stir until meat is no longer pink, breaking up any large chunks, 7 to 8 minutes. Stir in the spice mixture. Cook and stir until fragrant, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the bell peppers, tomato puree and water. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to low. Cover and cook about 1 hour. Stir in the beans, and continue to simmer, uncovered, 20 to 30 minutes more. Adjust seasoning to desired taste. Serve hot with dollops of chilled guacamole and soy sour cream and a handful of chips. Garnish with fresh cilantro leaves if desired.

Jamie Geller is one of the most sought-after Jewish food personalities worldwide. A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of NYU, Jamie developed an outstanding media career as an award-winning TV producer and marketing executive at CNN, HBO and The Food Network. Ever since her first cookbook, Quick & Kosher: Recipes from the Bride Who Knew Nothing (Feldheim, 2007), became a Jewish cookbook classic she has been at the helm of a rapidly growing media empire. The savvy bestselling author founded Kosher Media Network (KMN), an integrated media and marketing company along with Chairman Henry Kauftheil and spearheaded by Grey Advertising veteran Milt Weinstock. KMN is organized into four business segments: Publishing, Broadcasting, Digital, and Live. In the spring of 2010, KMN, unveiled its Joy of Kosher with Jamie Geller consumer brand, with the simultaneous launch of JoyofKosher.com – the first and #1 social networking community for the kosher foodie – and the awardwinning magazine, Joy of Kosher with Jamie Geller.

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“Overnight” BBQ Beef Brisket

For Brisket 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil Kosher salt Freshly ground 1 (4 to 5) pound brisket 1/4 cup wine Directions Preheat oven to 350°F. To prepare the sauce, heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook and stir onions until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and sauté until fragrant about 1 minute, careful not to burn.

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Chili Garlic Sweet Potatoes

Surprisingly, I tasted this dish at an allyou-can-eat Brazilian Steak house in Jerusalem, but thought it would be just perfect for my little bit country menu – especially when I saw the bottle of Chili-Garlic sauce on the shelf at my local market. A blend of ground chilies, garlic and vinegar, Chili-Garlic Sauce can usually be found in the Asian section of larger supermarkets (and apparently small Israeli markets as well) and will keep for up to one year in the refrigerator after opening. Ingredients 4 pounds sweet potatoes,

peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes or into thin slices ½ cup olive oil White pepper 1 cup chili-garlic sauce Directions Preheat oven to 400°F. Spread sweet potatoes evenly on two rimmed baking sheets. Toss with oil and sprinkle with pepper. Roast for 10 minutes. Pour chili-garlic sauce over potatoes. Roast another 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender and browned.

MARCH 3, 2015

Ingredients For Sauce 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil 3 large onions, thinly sliced 6 cloves garlic, chopped 3 ½ cups ketchup 1 tablespoon hot pepper flakes ½ cup light brown sugar, packed ¼ cup soy sauce ¼ cup dry red wine ¼ cup bottled BBQ sauce, such as Gold’s BBQ Sauce Freshly ground black pepper

Add ketchup, hot pepper flakes, sugar, soy sauce, barbecue sauce, and black pepper. Mix until combined and simmering. When sauce reaches a thick but pourable consistency and just begins to bubble, remove from heat and set aside. To prepare the brisket, heat olive oil in a Dutch oven or large heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat. Sprinkle the brisket with salt and pepper and sear 3 to 5 minutes per side or until nicely browned. Pour wine in pan and cook for two minutes. Pour sauce all over brisket and bake covered for 2 hours. When it is completely cooled, slice against the grain into thin slices. Allowing the meat to cool or even refrigerating and slicing it the next day will prevent the brisket from shredding when sliced and will yield nice uniform thin slices. Submerge the slices in the sauce, cover and refrigerate or freeze until ready to serve. Before serving, bring to room temperature and reheat, covered, in a 350°F oven until piping hot. Alternate Serving Suggestion: For Pulled BBQ Brisket Sandwiches, don’t slice the brisket. Allow to cool completely and then cover and refrigerate or freeze until reheating and serving as per the directions above. Just before serving, use two forks to pull or shred the meat and then stuff your favorite sandwich bread with the pulled brisket and top with avocado slices and/or Rainbow Coleslaw.

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This brisket must be made at least the night before for soft, tender, melt-in-yourmouth meat. Better yet, make it easy on yourself and make it now – freeze it for fabulous fall-apart brisket.

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Southern Fried Chicken Fingers

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MARCH 3, 2015

Only the best kosher fried chicken you will ever have! To make classic fried chicken, use a 3-pound chicken cut in ⅛ and all you have to do is adjust the frying time to 6 to 8 minutes on each side and then continue frying and turning 2 to 4 minutes or until chicken is golden and brown on all sides. Ingredients 1 cup soy milk or unsweetened coconut milk 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons kosher salt 2 teaspoon onion powder ¼ teaspoon cayenne powder (add more if you like a bit of spice) Freshly ground black pepper 3-pounds white meat chicken fingers 2 cups canola oil Paprika

Directions In a small bowl, combine soy milk and vinegar and let sit 5 minutes or until it looks lumpy and thick. In a large shallow bowl, stir together flour, salt, onion powder, cayenne powder and pepper and set aside. In a large Ziploc bag, pour soy milk mixture over chicken and let sit 30 minutes, refrigerated. Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy cast iron or heavy bottomed skillet over medium high heat. Take one piece of chicken out of the Ziploc and dip in the flour mixture, rolling around to coat well. Shake off excess before carefully putting in the oil; repeat with remaining pieces. Fry over medium to medium high heat for 1 to 2 minutes on each side. Continue frying and turning until chicken is golden and brown on all sides and cooked through. Remove from oil, drain on paper towels and sprinkle with paprika.

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Rainbow Coleslaw

I now share my new absolute all-time favorite coleslaw recipe. I will never buy coleslaw again (unless of course I don’t have time to make this!). Variation: Don’t have tofu cream cheese on hand, or don’t care for it? Use tofu sour cream instead. Although if you don’t care for the pareve cream cheese I am guessing the sour cream is off your list too. Easy enough, just use 2/3 cup mayo and call it a day. Also, try adding half a red onion thinly sliced for a slight bite. Ingredients 3 cups shredded green cabbage 1 cup shredded red cabbage 1 cup shredded carrots ½ red bell pepper, thinly sliced ½ yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced ½ orange or green bell pepper, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons white vinegar 1/3 cup regular or light mayonnaise 1/3 cup Tofutti cream cheese 2 tablespoons sugar ½ teaspoon kosher salt ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper Directions Combine cabbages, carrots and peppers in a large bowl. Whisk together vinegar, mayonnaise, cream cheese, sugar, salt and pepper until creamy. Pour desired amount of dressing over coleslaw mix and toss until well coated. Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to 3 days. Store any remaining dressing in a sealable container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Recipes reprinted with permission from joyofkosher.com.

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Repairing the world through Judaism’s timeless wisdom

Discover the Joy Of Kosher Magazine, Your Source For All Things Kosher Jam packed with easy, original, exclusive recipes The latest in kitchen design, food news, trends + hot new products Tips and tricks from leading chefs and food personalities Plus much, much more JOY OFKOSHER

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In The Kitchen

Naomi Nachman

Purim Seudah Delights Purim is always so much fun for the children. For those of us who have to prepare the seudah, we can bring in fun for everyone too – even at the meal. Here’s one idea for doing so. Why not utilize a “v’nahafochu” approach at the Purim table by serving dessert first! Well, at least something that looks like dessert. I plan to make spicy sweet potato

Spicy Sweet Potato Hamentashen Ingredients 2 puff pastry sheets 2 sweet potatoes 1 teaspoon honey ¼ teaspoon cinnamon ¼ teaspoon cumin Salt 1 teaspoon olive oil 1 egg Preparation Peel the sweet potatoes and boil them until they are soft, then drain. Once they are slightly cooled, mash them with a fork. Add honey, cinnamon, cumin, salt and. Mix well. Cut defrosted puff pastry dough into 3-4 inch rounds with a cookie cutter. Place the filling inside the center and bring up 3 sides of the dough to form a hamentashen. Brush circles with egg wash and bake on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper at 350°F for 20- 25 minutes until golden. Serve warm.

hamentashen as my appetizer and will have them plated just a few minutes before we are about to eat. Everyone will sit down and think I gave them dessert first – but I will really have given them a yummy beginning to what will be a delicious, festive and yom tov meal! My second recipe is for delicious, and easy flanken ribs which is perfect for your Purim seudah. They have a lot of flavor influenced by the Persian region where our heroes’ story takes place.

Middle Eastern Spare Ribs Inspired by Paula Shoyer Ingredients 6 strips flanken 2 tablespoons brown sugar 2 tablespoons cumin 1 tablespoon garlic powder 2 teaspoons thyme 2 teaspoons cinnamon ½ teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon fresh ground pepper 2 cups barbeque sauce 1 cup red dry wine ½ cup water Preparation Preheat oven to 325°F. In a small bowl, mix all the spices together. Rub the spice mixture on all sides of the meat and marinate in the fridge for several hours in a 9x13 pan. While the meat is marinating, combine barbeque sauce and wine in a bowl. Take the meat from the fridge bring it to room temperature; pour the sauce over the meat. Cover well with foil and bake for 3 hours at 325°F. This recipe freezes well too.

Naomi Nachman, the owner of The Aussie Gourmet, caters weekly and Shabbat/ Yom Tov meals for families and individuals within The Five Towns and neighboring communities, with a specialty in Pesach catering. Naomi is a contributing editor to this paper and also produces and hosts her own weekly radio show on the Nachum Segal Network stream called “A Table for Two with Naomi Nachman.” Naomi gives cooking presentations for organizations and private groups throughout the New York/New Jersey Metropolitan area. In addition, Naomi has been a guest host on the QVC TV network and has been featured in cookbooks, magazines as well as other media covering topics related to cuisine preparation and personal chefs. To obtain additional recipes, join The Aussie Gourmet on Facebook or visit Naomi’s blog. Naomi can be reached through her website,www.theaussiegourmet.com or at (516) 295-9669.

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MARCH 3, 2015

Purim

Obama Brings About World Peace

a broad smile wreathed across his face, President Barack Obama stood as a man vindicated by his policies as he proclaimed, “We have prevailed.” The latest news of what can be called monumental has swept through the Middle East signaling the dawning of a new era of hope and optimism.

very sorry about the damage we inflicted upon so many innocents. Our fighters were bored and depressed because of joblessness and the lack of hope. Now, due to the generous policies of the Obama administration, which listened to our heartfelt concerns, we have changed.” As fighters were packing up and exiting armed camps throughout the Middle East, Baghdadi expressed the hopes of the former jihadists that their

"Our fighters were bored and depressed because of joblessness and the lack of hope."

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of ISIS, recently announced the breakup of the Islamic State. He stated his fighters will be returning to their homes to take up the job offers by the Obama administration’s Foreign Job Initiative. Baghdadi stated, “We are

real aspirations were always job security and true understanding of their difficult plight. “They will now go home and return to being respectable and productive citizens,” he said. As a result of the break-up of ISIS, the government of Egypt has formally

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offered apologies to President Obama for having launched attacks against ISIS without notifying the White House. Egypt’s stunned President Al Sisi stated, “We did not realize that such solutions to conflict ever existed.” The concern over the long-dreaded Iranian nuclear weapons has now ended as well. Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khameini, has publicly announced Iran’s plans to suspend all uranium enrichment programs, attributing the decision to “the ending of all economic sanctions against Iran and more importantly, the warm wishes of the great President Obama over the past several years. After such overtures, how could one refuse the request of a true friend like President Obama?” He added that Obama’s secret messages over the years had “moved him almost to tears.” United Nations weapons inspectors

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were flabbergasted when the Iranians allowed them full, unfettered access to all of their nuclear sites. At a press conference on the White House lawn yesterday, Obama remarked that along with dropping sanctions, “All the Iranians ever really wanted was respect and a true partner, and the settlement of long-standing disagreements after so many years of mutual mistrust.”

The umbrella of peace spread. Russian President Vladimir Putin responded to the overwhelming diplomatic achievements, delivering an emotional speech announcing the withdrawal of all Russian forces from Ukraine. Putin

rhetorically asked, “After all the diplomatic overtures, how could I not do the same?” Later this week, President Recep Tayyip Erdogen of Turkey is expected to announce the end of Turkey’s recent military buildup. Security experts are baffled by the unprecedented diplomatic successes. One official stated, “It is as if the rules of international relations paved throughout the millennia have suddenly undergone a complete change.” The UN has announced that it will begin the process of returning the surviving refugees resulting from ISIS expansion to their former homes. Some whose communities were completely ravaged by war will be resettled. Nations the world over are already offering assistance. President Obama stated, “I always knew that when conducting diplomacy, one should look for the needs of the other folks and be sure not to offend them. I always knew that appeasement and of course the offer of jobs are the best path to peace.” He continued, “Game over! I will now be heading back to the golf course.” 

MARCH 3, 2015

With

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A Purim Satire

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Larry Domnitch

You Gotta be

Riddle!

Kidding!

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MARCH 3, 2015

78 90

You throw away the outside and cook the inside. Then you eat the outside and throw away the inside. What are you eating? Answer on next page

A guy walks into a bar with an apple pie on his head. The bartender is taken aback and asks, “Sir, why in the world are you wearing an apple pie on your head?” The man replies, “It’s a family tradition. We always wear apple pies on our heads on Tuesday.” The bartender responds, “But, sir, it’s Wednesday.” Embarrassed, the guy says, “Gosh, I must look like a real fool.”

Signs That You Had Too Much Shalach Manos: > When your wife asks you to measure something you pull out a Fruit By The Foot. > When you are playing ball and you need to hydrate yourself you pull out a 12 ounce bottle of Kedem Grape Juice. > You know all 75 ways to eat a Presidor...and you are an expert at “skinning” them. > Your hamentash withdrawal is so bad that your doctor has given you a prescription for apricot jam. > You spend hours desperately searching for a local homemade chocolate chip cookie gemach. > When you open something that you bought at the supermarket you immediately look to see if it came with a poem. > When you go on the scale it says: “Never mind, just come back after Pesach.” > You make sure that everything you eat is matching. > When you see little rocks you pick them up to taste them. > Instead of putting on a scarf, you wrap yourself in cellophane.

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3. What is the most popular candy in the U.S.? a. Hershey Kisses b. Mike & Ikes c. M&Ms d. Twizzlers 4. How many quarts of popcorn are eaten annually in the U.S.? a. 500 million b. 2 billion c. 4 billion d. 16 billion 5. Ruth Wakefield of Massachusetts created the chocolate chip cookie in 1930. When her invention instantly gained popularity, she reached an agreement with Nestle Chocolate for her recipe to be written on its packaging. What did she get in return? a. She was given a lifelong supply of Nestle Chocolate b. She was paid 10% of the increase in net revenue that Nestle made after putting her recipes on its packaging c. She was paid $5,000 d. She was paid $250,000 6. Place the following drinks in the correct order, according to their popularity in the U.S.: a. Sprite b. Diet Coke c. Pepsi d. Coca Cola e. Dr. Pepper f. Mountain Dew 7. Potato chips were invented in Saratoga Springs in 1853 by Chef George Crum. Why did he create this crunchy treat? a. He realized that packages snacks were becoming popular so he invented them.

Answers: 1. C- Standard size is 8 ¼ inches. (Now they have all of these different sizes, but “ven I vas a kid ve only had von size. Ve were not spoiled like de kids today!”) 2. D- William James Morrison, from Nashville, Tennessee, was also an avid inventor. He created the first cotton candy machine (which he called “Fairy Floss”) and introduced it at the 1904 World Fair in St. Louis. 3. C- 340 million M&M’s are produced every day. 4. D 5. A-In 1930, Ruth Wakefield was mixing a batch of cookies for her roadside inn guests when she discovered that she was out of baker’s chocolate. She substituted broken pieces of Nestle’s semisweet chocolate, expecting them to be absorbed into the dough to create chocolate cookies. When she removed the pan from the oven, Wakefield realized that the chocolate did not spread to the rest of the cookie but stayed in chunks. Guests at the inn quickly gobbled up her “chocolate chip cookies.” 6. D, Coke; B, Diet Coke; C, Pepsi; F, Mountain Dew; E, Dr. Pepper; A, Sprite 7. C- Crum was a chef at the Moon Lake Lodge resort in Saratoga Springs, NY. French fries were popular at the restaurant and one day a diner complained that the fries were too thick. Although Crum made

a thinner batch, the customer was still unsatisfied. Crum finally made fries that were too thin to eat with a fork, hoping to annoy the extremely fussy customer. The customer, surprisingly enough, was happy – and potato chips were invented!

Wisdom Key:

5-7 correct: Congratulations! You have earned 8 cavities! (Yeah, I know, you probably had them already.) Correct: You are on a Comm Let the Tootsie Roll—you’re good, ission er dec but not great. ide Send y our st 0-2 Correct: Don’t woruff to ry—cucumbers are fun too. center

GO FUNNT Y?

fivetow nsjewisfold@ hhome. com

MARCH 3, 2015

2. Who invented cotton candy? a. A carnival clown b. A candy store owner c. An ice cream shop owner d. A dentist

b. He worked at an old age home and he realized that they were a good alternative to cookies. c. A frustrated customer thought his French fries were too thick and repeatedly requested that they be made thinner. d. There was an excessive amount of potatoes and he needed to figure out what to do with them.

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1. How long are standard size Twizzlers? a. 5 inches b. 6 inches c. 8 ¼ inches d. 12 inches

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Yummy Candy Trivia

ANSWER TO RIDDLE: Corn on the cob (sorry for being so silly…I mean corny)

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MARCH 3, 2015

Halachically Speaking

Rabbi Moishe Dovid Lebovits

Mentioning the Haman’s Name

hildren of all ages eagerly anticipate the moment on Purim when the ba’al koreh mentions Haman’s name. They bang on the floor and tables, shoot popguns, and indulge in all types of noise-making activities. What is the source for this custom? Does anyone say this should not be done? Is it for adults as well? All these questions and many others will be addressed in this issue. The Source We have an obligation to “erase any semblance of Amalek.” Furthermore, the posuk says, “Shem reshoim yirkav – The name of the wicked should rot.” Based on this, the custom evolved that children draw images of Haman on stones, or write his name on them. Then they bang the two objects together to erase the name of Haman. Some authorities explain that the purpose of banging the stones is to curse Haman the rasha. Since Haman is descended from Amalek, we also fulfill the precept of destroying Amalek by erasing Haman’s name and image when banging the stones together. Others say that it is an expression of joy and praise that we defeated the rasha and his family. The custom among most of Klal Yisroel is to bang on the tables or floor when Haman’s name is recited during the megillah. This custom should not be abolished, as it was established for good reason. Reasons Below we will detail other reasons for banging stones together as mentioned above, and the custom of stamping feet

and other sources of noise. The posuk says, “Shem reshoim yirkav – The name of the wicked should rot.” Since young children do not know how to say this, they bang when the name Haman is mentioned instead.

minds us of our obligation and keeps us focused on the proper intentions which are needed for the mitzvah to eradicate Amalek. The Sefer Matamim gives the following reason: Haman’s name is men-

As a sign of war, we bang when Haman’s name is recited. Others base the custom on the posuk, “V’haya im ben hakos harosha.” The words “v’haya im ben” end in hey mem nun – Haman. This is followed by “hakos harosha – bang the rasha.” In addition, the gematria of macho emcheh is zeh Haman. The Chasam Sofer opines that the reason for the banging is to show that we do not want to hear his name. Obviously, we do not want to miss a word of the megillah. Rather, we show our displeasure at the need to hear Haman’s name. Another reason is that we have a mitzvah to eradicate Amalek in every generation. We are in a constant battle with them. As a sign of war, we bang when Haman’s name is recited. This re-

tioned fifty-four times in the megillah. This is hinted to with the words “Macho emcheh – I will surely erase [Amalek].” The gematria of the word emcheh equals fifty-four. Children or Adults Many poskim who discuss this halacha say that children have the custom to bang, but make no mention of an adult doing this. Nonetheless, since some poskim mention that an adult should bang a little, this should be done. Although we normally discourage parents from bringing very young children to shul, it is common to find this at the megillah. Some explain that Haman wanted to destroy the Yidden from very young children to old men, etc. After the miracle, the megillah says that these days of Purim will not pass by the Yehudim and their remembrance will not pass their “zaram”. The Gr’a says that Yehudim refers to adults, and zaram refers to children. Accordingly, children of all ages should hear the megillah, and the way we get them to come to shul is for them to bang when Haman’s name is said in the megillah. The Mekor Chaim says that the custom applies to women as well. Other Customs When to Bang Some had the custom to bang when “orur Haman” is said during asher heiney after the megillah. Some had the custom only to bang when Haman was said

in a posuk with other degrading words such as ha’agagi and hara. Others only hit when the ten sons of Haman are read. There is a custom in some communities to bang and make noise when Haman is mentioned during al hanissin in Shemonei Esrei. The Ben Ish Chai had the custom to only bang for the first and last Haman mentioned in the megillah. However, the overwhelming custom is to bang at all Hamans. How Many Times? Some say that one should hit three times when the name of Haman is said, but once is definitely sufficient. Hands vs. Feet Although many people bang with their hands, many poskim are of the opinion that one should bang with his feet on the ground. Saying a Posuk when Banging The Medrash Rabbah says that if one does not say “zecher tzadik l’veracha” when he mentions a tzaddik’s name he has transgressed a positive commandment (asei). In addition, if one does not say “shem reshoim yirkav” (or cursed is this and this rosha) when he mentions the name of a rosha, he has transgressed a positive commandment. Based on this, some poskim suggest that one should say “Shem reshoim yirkav – the name of wicked people should rot” when making noise at the recital of Haman. Nonetheless, the overwhelming custom does not follow this view, since doing so would constitute as a hefsek of talking during the megillah (even though the listener did not make a bracha on the megillah). The reason why banging during the mentioning of Haman is not a hefsek is because it is done for a purpose. Those Who do not Have the Custom There are communities that do not have the custom to bang at all when the name of Haman is recited in the megillah. There are a number of reasons for this. First, it is not honor for a shul to have all that noise. Second, it is very common for the reader to continue before the noise concludes, and some people are not yotzei. Finally, all the noise at the recital of Haman is considered by many as too much of a hefsek during the megillah, since according to some opinions one should not be mafsik more than

Other Customs Relating to Haman and Purim: Hamantashen Hamantashen are eaten by Jews worldwide on Purim. Where did this custom come from? Traditionally, hamantashen were filled with poppy seeds, which is called “mon” in Yiddish. It is spelled mem, hey, nun, which spells Haman. The three corners represent the three Avos. When Haman saw the three Avos, his power waned. The corners are based on the posuk, “V’chol karnei resha’im agadei’a – I will uproot the ‘corners’ of wickedness.” Others say that the Yiddish spelling is mem, alef, hey, nun. Tash in Yiddish means pocket. The pastry was called mohntashin – poppy seed pockets – as the dough is wrapped around the filling like a pocket. Over time, the word changed, and people started calling it hamantashen. Others explain the name hamantash is a reference to Haman’s downfall. His strength was weakened (tash kocho – in Hebrew) and he did not destroy the Yidden. Today they are made with many different flavors, including prunes, nut, poppy, date, fruit preserves, chocolate,

or even caramel or cheese. Harav Yaakov Kamenetsky zt”l said the reason for eating hamantashen on Purim is that the consumed item is destroyed. When one eats a hamantash he is in essence fulfilling the obligation of erasing Amalek since we are getting rid of Haman (Amalek) by eating a hamantash. Some poskim say that the reason why we eat kreplach (see next paragraph) applies to hamantashen as well. Some have reservations about using Haman in a food that goes into our mouths and would rather call it “Purim cookies.” Kreplach The reason for eating kreplach on Purim is because it is a yom tov, but one is permitted to do melacha. Therefore, the yom tov is in a sense hidden. Simchas yom tov is accomplished with meat. Therefore, we hide the meat in a pocket to represent this idea. This is why kreplach are eaten on Erev Yom Kippur and Hoshanah Rabbah as well. Rabbi Moishe Dovid Lebovits is a former chaver kollel of Yeshiva Torah Vodaath and a musmach of Harav Yisroel Belsky shlita. Rabbi Lebovits currently works as the Rabbinical Administrator for the KOF-K Kosher Supervision.

MARCH 3, 2015

Ba’al Koreh The ba’al koreh should remain quiet until the noise dies down, as the congregants will not hear the megillah. If there is a lot of noise and the ba’al koreh started reading the megillah anyways, he should go back and repeat those words to make sure all people present hear the en-

Making an Early Minyan In many communities there is a minyan vasikin on Purim day. The question was asked if one is allowed to forbid banging at this minyan. One should bang for a short period of time as opposed to the regular routine when there are children in shul. Gragger There is a custom on Purim to use a gragger to make noise at the megillah. The reason for this is the following: On Chanukah we play with a dreidel which is spun on the top because the salvation came only from Hashem who saved us from the Greeks and who did a miracle for us regarding the jug of oil. On Purim, however, we fasted and contributed to the miracle. Therefore, we turn the gragger from the bottom to symbolize this. Others say the reason why the dreidel is spun on Chanukah is because our enemies wanted to destroy our neshama which comes from above, and on Purim our enemies wanted to kill us (our bodies), so we turn the gragger from the bottom. Why is it that the dreidel is spun on a table and the gragger is spun in the air? We waged war on Chanukah on this physical plane, so we spin a dreidel on the table which is on land. However, on

Purim there was no war, as we simply asked Hashem to help us. Therefore, we spin the gragger in the air.

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Today’s Noise Today we witness many novel noise sources during the recital of Haman. In most cases, mature adults make more noise than the children. The poskim mention that people are so busy with what kind of noise they are going to make that they lose focus of the entire megillah and are not yotzei with the recital of the megillah. In addition, one should avoid any dangerous items (such as firecrackers). Noise which is getting out of hand during the reading of the megillah should be stopped. It is a good idea to limit the duration of the noise, and one should be appointed to make sure that the congregants adhere to these guidelines. In addition, since the point of making noise is to embarrass the wicked Haman, one should not make noises which give him honor such as a long melody.

tire megillah. It is a good idea to read the megillah in case you miss a word or two.

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the time it takes to take one breath. The opinion and custom of Harav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach zt”l was not to bang at all.

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MARCH 3, 2015

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Notable Quotes

Compiled by Nate Davis

“Say What?” The White House announced that many Obamacare customers got the wrong tax information and may have to refile their taxes this year. It’s pretty inconvenient — mainly just remembering what you lied about the first time you filed your taxes. – Jimmy Fallon

Why don’t we just call it quits, and Jeb and Hillary can run on the same ticket? So I’m designing the bumper sticker. It could be “Clush 2016: What difference does it make?” - Laura Ingraham at CPAP arguing that there is no substantive difference between Jeb Bush and Hillary Clinton

Pitcher CC Sabathia is in the Yankees spring training camp at 305 pounds. He says he feels better at 305 than he does at 290. Yeah, try that one on your doctor. – David Letterman

Americans-in-waiting - The term that the White House now uses when talking about illegal immigrants

#soooooogood

G-d bless the jury and good people of Stephenville, Texas!! - Facebook post by Taya Kyle, widow of “American Sniper” author Chris Kyle, on the guilty verdict and life sentence for Eddie Ray Routh, who killed her husband and his friend, Chad Littlefield, in February 2013 Now you will have the rest of your wasted life to remember his name. Let me remind you: his name was Chad Littlefield. - Littlefield’s father, Ron, reading a statement in court to Routh, who had said he didn’t know Littlefield’s name when he shot him

Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald got in some hot water this week for saying that he served in the military’s Special Forces when he never did. It gets even worse when you find out the place he actually served was Old Navy. – Jimmy Fallon

The real stumbling block is the ethics. - Italian neurosurgeon Sergio Canavero predicting the possibility of head transplants within two years

Our hope is that diplomacy can work. And I believe, given our success of the interim agreement, we deserve the benefit of the doubt to find out whether or not we can get a similarly good agreement with respect to the future. – Secretary of State John Kerry asking for the benefit of the doubt on Iran, on ABC News

A fish is, of course, a discrete thing that possesses physical form. See generally Dr. Seuss, One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish (1960). - Supreme Court of the U.S. Justice Elena Kagen in a recent court opinion

Boston’s city council is considering increasing its alcohol tax. The plan would raise an estimated $900 million billion trillion. – Seth Myers

If Mr. McConnell, the leader of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House John Boehner want to have a vote on whether what I’m doing is legal or not, they can have that vote. I will veto that vote, because I’m absolutely confident that what we’re doing is the right thing to do. - President Obama daring Republicans to vote on whether or not his executive actions on immigration are legal

Mrs. Clinton, name an accomplishment. - Former Hewlett-Packard CEO and potential GOP presidential candidate Carly Fiorina calling out the former secretary of state at the Conservative Political Action Committed [CPAC] Convention

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A student at Philadelphia University has created a Batman costume that can withstand punches, machetes, and baseball bats. In fact, the only thing it can’t withstand is his father’s disappointment. – Seth Myers

Let me say this, the Prime Minister [Benjamin Netanyahu], as you recall, was profoundly forward leaning and outspoken about the importance of invading Iraq under George W. Bush, and we all know what happened with that decision. He was extremely outspoken about how bad the interim agreement was during which time he called it the deal of the century for Iran, even though it has clearly stopped Iran’s program, and more importantly, he has decided it would be good to continue it….he may have a judgment that just may not be correct here. – Sec. John Kerry—who voted for the Iraq war (“before he voted against it”) – claiming that Netanyahu’s judgment is questionable because he was in favor of the Iraqi war

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A new CBS News poll shows Chris Christie is ranked ninth out of all Republican presidential candidates. He’s just behind Bobby Jindal and just ahead of a gun wearing a cowboy hat. – Seth Myers

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Alex Rodriguez reported to spring training with the Yankees two days early. He’s ready to play ball. Here’s his schedule — tomorrow a urine test. Next day, he’s suspended for a year. – David Letterman

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MARCH 3, 2015

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Police in Florida are searching for someone who stole 360,000 nickels during a house party. Police believe the suspect is almost to the end of the street. – Seth Myers

An administration that disdains the use of disproportionate force has been, to say the least, disproportionately forceful in its efforts to undermine Netanyahu’s message and discredit the messenger. - Billy Kristol, The Weekly Standard Long before being nerdy was cool, there was Leonard Nimoy. Leonard was a lifelong lover of the arts and humanities, a supporter of the sciences, generous with his talent and his time. And of course, Leonard was Spock. Cool, logical, bigeared and level-headed, the center of Star Trek’s optimistic, inclusive vision of humanity’s future. I loved Spock. - Statement by President Obama upon the passing of Leonard Nimoy John Boehner said yesterday that President Obama’s veto of the Keystone XL pipeline was a “national embarrassment.” And then, out of habit, Joe Biden said, “Here!” – Seth Myers

President Obama’s former press secretary, Jay Carney, will reportedly become a senior vice president at Amazon. Carney says he’s excited to work for someone who doesn’t take six years to deliver. – Seth Myers

If I can take on 100,000 protesters, I can do the same across the world. - Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI) at the CPAC Convention

If Scott Walker sees 100,000 teachers & firefighters as his enemies, maybe it’s time we take a closer look at his friends. - Tweet by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.)

I was a little disappointed with Chris Christie. Chris Christie, of all the candidates here, was the only one that didn’t – [he] refused to do an interview with me. - Sean Hannity reporting from CPAC

A study has found that the most popular type of business in New Jersey is golf equipment stores, though most customers come in and say, “I need a blunt object and a bag about as big as a guy.” – Seth Myers

Do you know what this is? It’s a snowball. It’s just from outside here, so it’s very, very cold out ... very unseasonable. - Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK) before tossing a snowball on the Senate floor as part of a speech expressing skepticism about the reality of climate change

I think it’s destructive of the fabric of the relationship. - National Security Advisor Susan Rice on Charlie Rose saying that Netanyahu’s speech is destructive to the U.S./Israel relationship She thinks his speech is the problem, that his speech is destructive to the relationship? Apparently, Susan Rice has a spotty memory, or a politically convenient one. Or maybe she is drinking something weird. How could she possibly forget that her boss, President Obama, got caught on a hot mic trash-talking Prime Minister Netanyahu? Trash-talking? That’s destructive. Or that President Obama skipped going to Paris after a terror attack on a Jewish deli? Destructive. Or how about that Obama administration official who called Netanyahu a chicken youknow-what and a coward. Name calling? That’s destructive. And, of course, President Obama never disavowed those insults, nor apologized for his staffer. His silence? That’s destructive. Or how about the former Obama campaign staffers in Israel right now working to defeat Netanyahu in his upcoming election. Destructive. Or President Obama refusing to meet with Netanyahu next week? Destructive. Well, Susan Rice let us know who she thinks is destructive in this relationship. I will keep it a secret who I think might be delusional. – Greta Van Susteren, Fox News

When we talk about the price of housing, about the cost of living, I don’t forget life itself for a single moment. The greatest challenge in our lives is currently Iran’s bid to acquire nuclear weapons. - Tweet by Prime Minister Netanyahu

Waffle House is partnering with a mail delivery service app so customers can pick up their packages at the restaurant. So if you’re someone who is interested in getting packages delivered to a nearby Waffle House, congrats on being the sketchiest person on Earth. – Jimmy Fallon

It’s pretty crazy. It should be a violation. You shouldn’t be recruiting 10-year-old kids. - LeBron James telling a Detroit radio station that his 10-yearold son, who is a phenomenal basketball player, has already received scholarship offers from some colleges

Hillary Clinton is receiving criticism after telling a crowd to “unlock their full potential” because that line is commonly used by another possible candidate, Carly Fiorina. People said, “You can’t just steal someone’s slogan like that!” And Hillary said, “Yes we can!” - Jimmy Fallon

Oh, the naive Obama State Department. They say we can’t kill our way out of war. Really? Tell that to the Nazis. Oh wait, you can’t. They’re dead. We killed ‘em. - Sara Palin at CPAC, talking about taking on ISIS I’m afraid Putin will kill me. - Political foe of Vladimir Putin, Boris Nemtsov, who was killed this weekend, in an interview several weeks ago

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100

Parenting Pearls

101

A Restful Shabbos Table

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Rabbi Dani Staum, LMSW

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Rabbi Staum Responds: A wise colleague once related that if you want to get a good handle on the inner workings of a family ask one of the children to describe their Shabbos table. What goes on? What’s the atmosphere like? Rav Matisyahu Salomon, shlita, in With Hearts Full of Love, emphatically states that the proliferation of Shabbos

sheets with questions and divrei Torah are a modern phenomenon and are a mistake. For the child who doesn’t know the parsha well, asking him his questions turns the Shabbos table into a struggle and a stress. The Shabbos table must be a place of warmth and joy, where every child feels welcomed and happy. They should sing zemiros and enjoy the food. The Shabbos table must not become an extension of the classroom. This is not easily achieved. But the first step is for us to make it our mission to ensure that out Shabbos table be a happy place. Then we can figure out the details of how to accomplish it.

Practically speaking, it may be more worthwhile to discuss the parsha with the whole family together and ask questions, perhaps making a game out of

Rebbe/Morah, that they prepare the d’var Torah in advance so that they can say most of it in their own words. I tell my children that I try hard to pay

The Shabbos table must be a place of warmth and joy, where every child feels welcomed and happy.

it, to see who can answer the question first. With young children the reward for a correct answer can be a candy, for older children perhaps money. Reading or telling a story can be great too, such as a story from The Little Medrash Says or Mashal Tov. For older children Rav Zilberstein’s works on the parsha (What If by Artscroll and Veha’rev Na by Feldheim) can be very interesting and discussion-provoking. I was recently a guest at a Shabbos table where the ba’al habayis asked everyone at the table their opinion about a question from Rabbi Zilberstein’s sefer. It was fun to hear afterwards whose responses were most in sync with Rabbi Zilberstein’s which he proceeded to read aloud later in the meal. In addition, it was also a great exercise in “thinking in learning” and applying Torah to everyday life. At another Shabbos table I attended the mother asked everyone some riddles – first starting with Torah/parsha riddles, and then some math and thought riddles to get everyone at the table into it. Some families have adopted the custom of reading a brief halacha or two about hilchos Shabbos. At times, the children read the halacha while the adults listen. In our home we are particular that when one of our children repeats a d’var Torah at the Shabbos table from a parsha sheet they received from their

attention to what they are saying, and it’s very hard to listen to someone who is reading something just to get it over with. We also stress that when one child is speaking, the other children have to give them the courtesy of not speaking loudly. If they need something, they can

whisper. Every family also has to balance how long to insist the children should stay at the table. There should definitely be some modicum of structure at the Shabbos table, but as Rav Salomon states, it should not become a stressful place or an extension of the classroom. Each child should feel comfortable and welcome at the Shabbos seudah. Rabbi Dani Staum, LMSW, is the rabbi of Kehillat New Hempstead. He is also fifth grade rebbe and guidance counselor in ASHAR in Monsey and Principal of Mesivta Ohr Naftoli of New Windsor, NY. Rabbi Staum offers parenting classes based on the acclaimed Love & Logic Program. He can be reached at stamtorah@gmail.com. His website is www.stamtorah.info.

MARCH 3, 2015

Our Shabbos seudos are very nice but they are also very stressful. My husband does his utmost to read through all of the different Shabbos sheets. Each child has his/her own set of similar questions on the parsha. Some of the children are all too eager to share what they learned and answer questions, but others are hesitant and it becomes a bit of a stressful point. Should we insist that each child review their parsha sheets? Also, how long should we insist that they stay at the table?

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MARCH 3, 2015

102

Dr. Deb

Deb Hirschhorn, Ph.D.

Purim’s Approach to Trauma

he world turns upside down and you can’t get your footing. That’s a pretty good approximation of trauma. Someone you love is injured in a permanent way. You flunked out of school. A bomb struck. You lost your business. The world has turned upside down. The most difficult aspect of trauma to overcome is that upside-down part. We human beings are amazingly resilient and we can handle pain. We can press forward when necessary. But when up and down seem reversed and the world no longer looks the same – that’s tough. That is what happened to most of us on September 11, 2001. It wasn’t the world as we knew it. Yet, G-d said that this is going to happen, that He built this into the fabric of things, and that there is a reason for it. We are given an inkling of what this is about in our holy writings. Interestingly, Purim brings a message of hope in spite of this. I would like to share a bit of this with you from a shiur I heard by Esther Wein and show you how this information can help when the world has turned upside down.

Vayihi Why is it that Chazal say that whenever we see the word vayihi it means trouble ahead? The logic is in the grammar. The word vayihi is a combination of future tense – yihi – and the vav which converts it to past tense. Thus, something that might have been going well and appears as if it will have a good future becomes, in this word, a thing of the past. When G-d created our world, He proclaimed vayihi ohr. I always thought that that was a good thing: He created light. However, as Mrs. Wein explains from a deeper look by the Vilna Gaon, the reality is that we lost that particular Light, the first Light. In the clarity of that Light, Hashem was completely revealed. The vayihi part, the part that spells trouble ahead, is that shortly after Hashem created it, we lost it. The Good Part As the Vilna Gaon explains, G-d’s pulling back His revealed Self was part of the original plan and good will come out of it. How? Hashem guarantees that

eventually that Light will illuminate the world just as it did at Creation. And we don’t have to wait for Moshiach to start to see that process. Recall that when we were created, Hashem breathed a little of Himself into us. So we actually have a bit of that Light within us. Our job is to figure out how to let it shine.

beautiful, good people, and they’re not talking to someone else in their family that they grew up with. Well, one of those happened to me, very suddenly and unexpectedly, and I was caught in the middle. My world did turn upside down. I’m crying every day. I’m heartbroken. So how is this message about

When the world turns upside down, it will turn once more and our enemies will bring about our deliverance. The Vilna Gaon gives clear directions for this process. He points out that if one wants to enjoy fruit, then to get to it,one has to take off the peel. We all have a spiritual skin covering our “fruit,” and we must peel that skin, that klipah, off. Then we can shine G-d’s

vayihi supposed to help me? How do I turn it into a practical tool?” Research in resiliency – the ability to bounce back when terrible things happen – is well over 40 years old. The latest research says that resiliency is not necessarily within a person but a course

Light in the world. And not only “can” we do it, but Hashem guarantees that we will. This is hinted at in the word vayihi because, although it is past tense, the future tense is in it.

of action that a person can choose to take. The most powerful of their findings is called “backgrounding.” It is the decision to focus on positive steps a person can take rather than pain. One of the researchers described her own experience of giving birth to premature twins who together weighed 3 ½ lbs. and were not expected to live. (They lived.) They were not transferred quickly to a hospital with a NICU and developed some medical problems as a result. “I would maintain,” the researcher says, “that this backgrounding is not repression nor is it putting on a happy face. . .Indeed, if you scratch the surface of my own and others’ feelings, the

Tachlis “This all sounds very good and nice, but Dr. Deb, how am I supposed to use this information to get through? My world did turn upside down. It actually did. You remember you spoke this past Tuesday on Family Cutoffs? I didn’t even know what a family cutoff was – but I had one right under my own nose. It’s when people don’t talk to each other, people who should love one another,

anger can surface in incredible force. Backgrounding is a conscious decision to acknowledge that one has the legitimate right to feel anger or loss in certain ways but that these feelings are counterproductive to more important goals.” This concept, backgrounding, is the lesson of vayihi. Hashem promised us that we are the Light. But there is a shell, a klipah, keeping the Light from shining. That klipah might be anger, fear, or even hatred. Having them is normal, natural – and unhealthy. They are a distraction from our goals. The Purim story begins with the word vayihi. The Jews had returned to Eretz Yisroel, 50,000 strong. We were starting work on the Bais Hamikdash, all with the blessing of King Koresh. But it was not to be. Anti-Semites filled his successor’s ear – that was Ahashveyrosh – and the redemption was being threatened. Our world then turned upside down. Yet the Purim story is a story for all time: When the world turns upside down, don’t worry because it will turn once more and our enemies will bring about our deliverance. But before that end is reached, we have to do our part: focusing on aligning ourselves with G-d’s Light. What do I tell to the person with the sad story of family cutoffs? He or she must focus on living in a way to best let his Light shine – and don’t allow a distraction towards the pain. Dwelling on the pain will not change it. That is the message of research on how resilience is fostered by backgrounding. And that is the message of Purim.

Dr. Deb Hirschhorn, a Marriage & Family Therapist and best-selling author of The Healing Is Mutual: Marriage Empowerment Tools to Rebuild Trust and Respect—Together, is proud to announce that readers of The Jewish Home will receive a $50 discount on every visit to her Woodmere office. Attend the Food For Thought lectures at Traditions Restaurant in Lawrence on Tuesdays at 12:30 PM. (There is a lovely optional lunch menu for $12 cash.) Any questions, call 646-54-DRDEB or check out her website at http://drdeb.com. All stories in Dr. Deb’s articles are fabricated.

Health & Fitness

103

Getting Your Baby to Sleep

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David Elazar Simai, MD

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2. Make daytime playtime. Talking and playing with your baby during the day will help lengthen her awake times. This will help her sleep for longer periods during the night. 3. Put your baby to bed when drowsy but still awake. This will help

child before bed, however, active play may make your child too excited to sleep. 2. Be consistent. Make bedtime the same time every night. This helps your child know what to expect and helps him establish healthy sleep patterns.

Set up a quiet routine before bedtime to help your child understand that it will soon be time to go to sleep. your baby learn to fall asleep on her own in her own bed. Holding or rocking her until she is completely asleep may make it hard for her to go back to sleep if she wakes up during the night. 4. Wait a few minutes before responding to your child’s fussing. See if she can fall back to sleep on her own. If she continues to cry, check on her, but don’t turn on the light, play with

3. Allow your child to take a favorite thing to bed each night. It’s okay to let your child sleep with a teddy bear, special blanket, or some other favorite toy. These often help children fall asleep—especially if they wake up during the night. Make sure the object is safe. Look for ribbons, buttons, or other parts that may be choking hazards. Stuffing or pellets inside

answering and make your response time longer each time he calls. This will give him a chance to fall asleep on his own. b. Reassure your child that you are there. If you need to go into the room, do not turn on the light, play with him, or stay too long. c. Move farther from your child’s bed every time you go in until you can reassure him verbally without entering his room. Remind him each time he calls out that it’s time to go to sleep. 7. Give it time. Helping your child develop good sleep habits can be a challenge and it is normal to get upset when a child keeps you awake at night. Try to be understanding. A negative response by a parent can sometimes make a sleep problem worse. Once you have accomplished an effective bedtime routine, your quality of life will surely dramatically improve. In addition, your child will get used to an early bedtime and will perform better socially and academically. Most importantly, you will have the time to re-energize yourself and be an even better parent the following day. Wishing you and your babies lots of sweet dreams, Sincerely, David Elazar Simai, M.D.

her, or pick her up. If she gets frantic or is unable to settle herself, consider what else might be bothering her. She may be hungry, wet or soiled, feverish, or otherwise not feeling well. Toddlers and preschoolers often resist going to sleep, especially if they have older siblings who are still awake. Use the following tips to help your toddler develop good sleep habits: 1. Set up a quiet routine before bedtime to help your child understand that it will soon be time to go to sleep. Use this time to read him a story, listen to quiet music, or give him a bath. It may be tempting to play with your

stuffed toys can also be dangerous. 4. Make sure your child is comfortable. He may like to have a drink of water, a light left on, or the door left slightly open. Try to handle your child’s needs before bedtime so that he doesn’t use them to avoid going to sleep. 5. Do not let your child sleep in the same bed with you. This can make it harder for him to fall asleep when he is alone. 6. Do not return to your child’s room every time he complains or calls out. Instead, try the following: a. Wait several seconds before

Dr. David Simai is a Board Certified Pediatrician from the Five Towns. He is a full time attending in his own private practice since 2007 in Cedarhurst, New York. In addition, he is an Attending Physician at LIJ-Cohen Children’s Hospital, NorthShore Manhasset University Hospital and South Nassau Communities Hospital. He can be contacted for consultation at 516 374-2228 or via email at davidsimai@yahoo.com. NOTE: name, gender, geographical area and other identifying information were deliberately altered in this article in order to protect the patient’s privacy. This article is not intended to help diagnose or treat any specific disease. Always consult your personal physician before diagnosing or treating yourself or your child for any of the above mentioned illnesses.

MARCH 3, 2015

Dear Parents, Practicing medicine over the last decade, I have noticed certain patterns in the behavior of some parents. Reflecting back on the beginning of my career as a physician in a Chassidish neighborhood of Kiryas Yoel, Monroe, I rarely heard parents report or complain that their children had a hard time staying in their own beds. However, over Shabbos lunch with our neighbors in Monsey, I learned that clearly some parents desperately need guidance when it comes to the “bedtime routine.” My wife and I were almost brought to tears when we heard our hostess’s challenging and tiring life. The firstborn boy, then three and a half years old, was routinely sleeping in his parents’ bed. This issue seemed to overwhelm her and put an understandable fear of raising and coping with future siblings in the family. After starting my practice nine years ago in Cedarhurst, I quickly realized that the problem is prevalent here as well. It seems that for some firsttime parents, a bedtime routine is very challenging. For this reason, I have incorporated specific questions about sleeping habits into the routine physical exams. I try to discuss and educate parents about the danger of bed-sharing with their infants. The following is some useful information I would like to share with you from the American Academy of Pediatrics: What’s the best way to get my child to go to sleep? Babies do not have regular sleep cycles until about 6 months of age. While newborns sleep about 16 to 17 hours per day, they may only sleep 1 or 2 hours at a time. As babies get older, they need less sleep. However, different babies have different sleep needs. It is normal for a 6-month-old to wake up during the night but go back to sleep after a few minutes. Here are some suggestions that may help your baby (and you) sleep better at night. 1. Keep your baby calm and quiet when you feed or change her during the night. Try not to stimulate or wake her too much.

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Health & Fitness

Lori Boxer

The Female Gain Game Question: “Why is it that my friend can eat whatever she wants and never gains weight?” Answer: “Don’t worry, be happy; it’ll catch up with her!” ... and it always does. For those of you who are nodding your heads right now because you know someone that fits the above description, someone whose current can-eatwhat-they-want-and-not-gain-weight lifestyle is a constant reminder of how unhappy you are with your own weight, take heart: If it appears too good to be true, it is—and it won’t last forever. Here’s why. IN OUR 20’s a woman’s metabolic rate remains relatively high, which means we’re still burning calories with ease. However, while we might not SEE any fat building up on our hips, it is

starting to accumulate around our internal organs and under our skin. So, while eating poorly at this stage of life might seem like no big deal (even if a woman

calcium in our 20’s, we may be compromising the future health and wellbeing of our bones. IN OUR 30’s hormone levels (es-

Getting your eating lifestyle into shape early on in life is a lot easier than doing it after bad habits have had years to set in. hasn’t started to put on some weight), she could be setting herself up for heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes down the line. And, even in our 20’s our bones aren’t fully formed; they continue to strengthen through our late 20’s. So if we shortchange our diet of

trogen and progesterone) gradually begin falling. This is important because estrogen affects appetite—when estrogen levels are high, appetite drops; when estrogen is low (right before your menstrual cycle), appetite increases. Metabolism also starts to slow down when we hit our 30’s. Metabolism declines by 2% each decade after the age of 30—so, if you eat what you always ate and your metabolism is slower, guess what? You’re going to gain weight. Additionally, at the same time the metabolism declines, there’s a shift away from lean body mass and a shift toward fat mass. This shift in body composition means that most of the weight we gain now is fat, not muscle. IN OUR 40’s we’re continuing to lose muscle mass, and our metabolism is slowing down further still. Fat is more easily stored, particularly in our mid-section. Our hormone levels drop further, meaning we’re losing the heart-protective effects of estrogen, and we face an increased risk of heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes. Since diet is the single biggest predictor of all three diseases, the choices we make now will have a major impact on our future health. Some women will have symptoms of peri-menopause (the precursor to menopause) during this decade. Menopause is a major hormonal event in women, and it alone will significantly affect our metabolic rate.

We can’t turn back the hands of time, and we can’t stop the biological process of the metabolic slow-down. The antidote to that, however, is what we put into our mouths. Learning how to eat correctly to provide enough of the right kind of fuel for our bodies will ensure that our metabolism will work at its peak for our age. And when that happens, you can fit the occasional indulgence of chocolate, ice cream and pizza into your life and stay slim while doing so! Getting your eating lifestyle into shape as early on in your life as possible is a lot easier than doing it after bad habits have had years to set in. Plus, the sooner you do it, the more years you have to reap the benefits from those positive changes. So ... ladies, want to get even with your can-eat-what-she-wants-and-never-gains-weight friend? Get started right away on making the appropriate

dietary changes in your own life. You’ll get slim. Your friend will gain weight at some point with the same bad eating habits she has now, and then she’ll be asking, “Why is it that my friend can eat whatever she wants without gaining weight?” Lori Boxer is the Director of Weight No MoreSM Diet Center. In addition to serving the Brooklyn, Long Island and New Jersey communities for 25 years, they also provide Skinny SkypeSM service to clients nationwide and to Israel, and offer customized Workforce Weight LossSM Programs for businesses. For more information, please call their Woodmere office: 516.569.6400.

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The Mandel Family Presents

Pesach 2015

Our 10th exciting year!

at the Hudson Valley Resort Kerhonkson, NY Just 2 hours from Brooklyn

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JOIN US IN OUR NEW LOCATION! "THE HUDSON VALLEY RESORT"

Ask the Attorney Edmond J. Hakimian, Esq.

Looking for Work on Workers’ Comp

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MARCH 3, 2015

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I have an existing Workers’ Compensation case for about five months, and I continue to be out of work. At

the hearing I just attended, the insurance company made a big fuss about my payments and then the judge said

at the next hearing I must testify about attachment to the labor market. This is all very confusing to me, and I don’t

Serving the International Jewish Community for 27 Years

understand what has to be done here. Where do I go from here? The Attorney Responds: As soon as a workers’ compensation case begins, attorneys for insurance carriers seek ways not to pay or to reduce compensation to injured workers. Under Workers’ Compensation Law, if an injured worker is partially disabled, out of work and receiving payments from the insurance carrier, they are obligated to document a detailed search for work within their work restrictions. In the workers’ compensation field it is commonly referred to as “being attached to the labor mar-

If there is a finding by a judge that someone is not attached to the labor market, then payments typically can be stopped for several months.

Information and Reservations Call:

877.538.9948 or 954.251.1940

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ket.” The ramifications of not properly searching for work is a suspension of payments. Traditionally, carriers rarely pursued this issue. However, that has changed since 2012 after a New York Court of Appeals decision was issued on this matter, which made it significantly simpler and more advantageous for carriers to push the attachment issue. Even if an injured worker is found to have a 90% disability, they are still obligated to search for work. Since the decision in 2012 the carriers have been frequently requesting that injured workers with a partial disability testify regarding their attachment to the labor market. This has now significantly increased the demands on

Edmond J. Hakimian, Esq. specializes in workers’ compensation law and social security disability. He is an associate attorney at the Law Offices of Lee S. Braunstein, PC, which serves Long Island and all of New York City. Please send your questions or comments to EHakimianLSB@gmail.com or you may call the office at 516-739-3441.

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MARCH 3, 2015

No column is a substitute for com-

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petent legal advice. Please consult with the attorney of your choice concerning specific legal questions you may have.

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injured workers. Once there is a report from a doctor giving a partial disability in the Courts file, the carrier will typically raise the attachment issue, and then the injured worker will be required to immediately being a work search with appropriate documentation of such. Unfortunately, it is common for treating physicians not to discuss with their own patients that they are finding a partial disability. This usually leads to confusion once attachment is raised as the injured worker is caught off guard and does not even know what their work restrictions are, and what type of jobs they would be allowed to do. If there is a finding by a judge that someone is not attached to the labor market, then payments typically can be stopped for several months. The only way to resume the payments will be to contact the proper department at Court to submit additional documentation of attachment to the labor market and then request for a hearing to be scheduled. Subsequently at the hearing there will need to be a new trial with testimony and cross examination in order to convince the judge that the work search that has been done is now sufficient. Only after that is done can payments resume. Additionally, even if the judge decides to resume payments, if the carrier believes the search was not sufficient, they can file an appeal. Appeals currently take 12-18 months for a decision, and during this time payments will be stayed. Therefore, it is very important to document a proper job search from the beginning. Our office always monitors our clients’ files and once there a report finding a partial disability, we contact our client and inform them that they now have to look for work so they can be fully prepared. Additionally, we discuss with them exactly how the search must be documented, along with the special work search form that should be filled out. Furthermore, we refer clients to agencies that help individuals search for work. At this point you need to immediately do a thorough work search, as at the next hearing you will have to testify regarding this matter in great detail. It is prudent to retain an attorney as soon as possible to ensure that your case has a proper work up from the beginning of the case and to prepare you for the testimony that you will have to give at the next hearing. Therefore, it is highly recommended to retain an attorney immediately, as workers’ compensation matters are very complex matter and should not be done without competent representation.

Serving the International Jewish Community for 27 Years

Passover 2015

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It’s Freezing Where?

axpayers across much of the Midwest and East Coast have enjoyed a relatively light winter this year, with mild temperatures and little snow. But Old Man Winter made up for it last week. Temperatures dropped well below zero and wind chills broke records across the country. Friday morning saw

thermometers dip below freezing in the Florida Everglades, and parts of North Carolina were colder than in Barrow, Alaska! Care to guess where else temperatures have been falling? If you said, “in purgatory,” you’re right. That’s because the House of Representatives, where

Allan J. Rolnick, CPA

gridlock appears to have found a permanent home, actually passed a bipartisan tax bill last week. The America Gives More Act would take three of those maddeningly “temporary” tax breaks that Congress barely manages to extend every year and make them permanent. As the name implies, all three are intended to reward charitable giving: It lets taxpayers age 70½ and older contribute up to $100,000 per year from

their IRAs directly to charity in lieu of taxable required minimum distributions. It lets taxpayers deduct gifts of “conservation easements” up to 50% of adjusted gross income (rather than the current 30%) and carry forward any unused balance for up to 15 years. Finally, it extends “above basis” deductions for food donations from business inventories. Usually, when you give something out of your business inventory to charity, your deduction is limited to the cost you paid for the item. However, if you donate “wholesome” food inventories, you can deduct either: 1) the price you paid plus one-half of your expected profit, or 2) twice the price you paid. (We can only imagine how many hours some clever lawyer working for Frito-Lay will get to bill arguing that Cheetos’ new “Sweetos” cinnamon-sugar puffs qualify as “wholesome.”) As we all remember from “Schoolhouse Rock,” the bill now heads across the Hill to the Senate. Unfortunately, extending the three tax breaks would cost the Treasury $12.2 billion over the next 10 years, and the bill does nothing to replace that lost revenue. So President Obama has already pledged to veto it. Well, can’t blame the House for trying, right? “Comprehensive tax reform” is one of those lip-service goals that everyone in Washington says they support. But the political obstacles to making tax reform happen are so daunting that even the CSI team would be hard-pressed to discover who killed it. (Democrats insist it was Speaker Boehner in the Conservatory with the lead pipe, while Republicans point to Minority Leader Reid in the Library with the candlestick.) But last week’s vote shows that individual reforms just might still stand a chance. What’s next? Well, a bipartisan group of Kentucky and Tennessee legislators have introduced a bill letting whiskey distillers deduct their production expenses currently, rather than capitalizing them for up to 20 years while the product ages. Members of Congress — whom Mark Twain described as the only “distinctly native American criminal class” — have a reputation for loving their whiskey. So the Aged Distilled Spirits Competitiveness Act of 2015 should have a bright future! 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.

Less than 2 Hours From Brooklyn  36-Holes of Championship Golf  Separate Swimming  Fitness Center / Spa  Tennis / Volleyball  Nightly Entertainment  Exciting Day Camp  Fully Stocked Bais Medrash  Ashkenaz & Sefard Minyanim  Entire Hotel Kosher L’Pesach – Non-gebroktz  Cholov Yisroel - Chassidishe Shechita Only  Hashgacha by Rav Yehuda Shain, Daayan U’moitz b’Lakewood  Lavish Tea Room - All Day Cappucino Bar  Private Dining / Private Seder Available RABBI YISSOCHER FRAND

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s 20 Year

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PESACH2015 withGreenwald Caterers

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Life Coach

Rivki D. Rosenwald Esq., CLC, SDS

All Washed Up

The Purim Tsunami

he Jews crossed the “sea” leaving Egypt. And the next thing they knew, they confronted a “lake”—Ama “lake.” It was ex“stream”-ly anti-G-d of them to just

happen to attack the people that G-d had just set free from Egypt. Amalake was in de-“Nile” about G-d’s greatness. A descendant who “trickled down” from Amalake was Haman who wanted

to “drown out” all the Jews in Persia. He “whet” his appetite with a lottery he hoped would “wash” them up. The story of Purim is about “flooding” out the bad guy and G-d “pouring”

His goodwill back onto His precious nation. How “dew” you think we prevailed? Mordechai “capsized” the plot. He told Esther, “O,” come on – “CEAN” (chin) up; this is your time. Thus Esther made great “waves” in Haman’s plan... And the “undercurrent” was

The story of Purim is about “flooding” out the bad guy and G-d “pouring” His goodwill back onto His precious nation. brought to the “surface.” The “tide” turned against Haman! “Water,” you think about all that? It’s something to “pond”-er. Who indeed is “running” the world? It seems only one king does really “rain” over it all. “Bathe” in the knowledge that you are connected to that king and “shower” in that glory. Let the celebrating “flow” on Purim! It’s a great “outlet!” And then “spring” “strait” into action. No more “cruising” along. “Channel” your ener-

gy toward being the best you can be. “ Buoy,” it’s time to finally erase Ama-“lake,” “Suez” to bask in the great “lakes” and everything else that G-d has “flooded” us with in this glorious world! Rivki Rosenwald is a certified relationship counselor, and career and life coach. She can be contacted at 917-705-2004 or rivki@ rosenwalds.com

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PESACH 2015

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presents

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MARCH 3, 2015

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TJH Classifieds SERVICES

SERVICES Buying or Refinancing a Home? Pre-Approval letters that brokers trust! Put as little as 3% down. Borrow up to 90% with no MI! We can beat any written offer! Specializing in very difficult scenarios Call Daniel at Landmark Funding Group. NMLS#367291 at 718-663-7202 All loans arranged through 3rd party lenders. Experience Math Teacher Available to Tutor All subjects, algebra, geometry, Math A, Math B, Trigonometry, Calculus etc. Guaranteed improvement, first hour free. Shomer Shabbat. Call Yossi at 516-581-3930

The Children’s Clothing Gemach in Cedarhurst Is fully stocked for boys/girls in sizes newborn-teen To make an appointment please call/text 516-712-7735

SERVICES

Photos 4 your Simcha Professional Photography and Video We love what we do and it shows in our work! Competitively priced! Check out our website & specials. www.photos4yoursimcha.com or call Yaakov 718-868-1800

Hair Course Learn how to wash and style hair and wigs Hair and wig cutting, wedding styling Private lessons or in a group Call Chaya 718-715-9009

Psychotherapist

Depression, anxiety, marriage, low self-esteem, Adults/Children Professional/Confidential Kenneth J. Levin, LCSW Insurance Accepted (516) 546-9170

We Buy Old Antique Seforim and Libraries

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Please call 732-232-1790

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COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE

$625K

21 WILLIAMS CT.

Do you know of any gemachs in our area?

CEDARHURST: 1,400 +/- SF Retail Store With Basement In Heart Of Cedarhurst, For Lease…Call For More Details - (516) 295-3000 www.pugatch.com LYNBROOK: 6,000 +/- SF Warehouse, 1/3 Beautiful Office, 2 OHD’s, Hi Ceilings, Close To JFK & LIRR, For Sale… Call For More Details - (516) 295-3000 www.pugatch.com

Include them in our TJH gemach list!

FAR ROCKAWAY

MOTIVATED SELLER!! 3BR/1.5BA SD near FR schools and shuls. Newly renovated, full BSMT. $389,000 Call Melissa @ 347-757-0224

56 MURIEL

LAWRENCE

Stunning renovation completed. Gorgeous cntr INVESTMENT PROPERTIES FOR SALE hall. 5 lrg bds. Mstr suite w/ sitting rm. Gourmet Short sales, bank-owned, foreclosures, Kosher Kitchen with Great Room. LR w/ Frplc, auction properties, land. Single-family or huge custom DR. 4 full bths & full bsmnt. Call multi-family. Inventory is always changing. Sherri for further details . 516-297-7995 CASH ONLY. Call Melissa @ 347-757-0224.

APARTMENT RENTALS FAR ROCKAWAY

WOODMERE: 3,600 +/- SF Retail Store In Busy Well Anchored Shopping Center, Will Divide, Plenty Of Parking, For Lease… Call For More Details - (516) 295-3000 www.pugatch.com

FAR ROCKAWAY

Young, legal, 2 family semi-detached, 3 over 4 bedrooms. 5 full baths. 1st oor is a duplex with a huge eat in kitchen w/radiant heat. Large master bedroom with bath..W/D hookup in both apts. Call Sherri 516-297-7995 $699K

OFFICES

CEDARHURST TOP LOCATIONS

Email FR5Tgemachs@gmail.com. #1 Far Rockaway and 5 Towns Rental Specialists

M ILKY FORST PROPERTIES INC. 420 Central Ave., Cedarhurst NY 11516

Milky Forst nc. Properties IAvrohom "Avi" Sobel

Licensed 420 Central Ave., Cedarhurst, NY 11516

Avrohom “Avi” Sobel Office: 516.239.0306

Licensed Real Estate Salesperson

Cell:

347.524.6530

Office: 516.239.0306 Cell: 347.524.6530

Email: asobel18@gmail.com milkyforstproperties.com

Real Estate Salesperson

Email: asobel18@gmail.com milkyforstproperties.com

MARCH 3, 2015

WOODMERE: 4 Bedrooms, 2 Bath Exp-Ranch Set On Lush O/S Property, LR, Eik, Formal DR, Den, Room To Grow, Prime Desirable Location, SD#14…$489K Call Carol Braunstein - (516) 295-3000 www.pugatch.com

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REAL ESTATE FOR RENT

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REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

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MARCH 3, 2015

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TJH Classifieds HELP WANTED General Studies JH math and middle school teachers for Sept. ‘15. M-Th afternoons. 5 Towns area boys’ school. Email candidateteacher@gmail.com

Salon in Cedarhurst is looking For a friendly, experience hair dresser, part time. Please send resume to: saraeidel@aol.com

Mileage ticketing agent. Do you know how to book mileage airline tickets? Travel agency is seeking dedicated individuals to join our team. Must be familiar with the following terminology - airline codes (ie UA, AA, BA), airport codes (ie yvr, yyz, cdg), airline alliances (ie star, skyteam, oneworld), classes of service ( ie J, F, Y) We’re looking for agents for short and long haul travel to work from our 5 Towns office. Contact admin@getpeyd.com for more info.

Due to simchos, Torah Academy for Girls, Far Rockaway seeking qualified, experienced elementary & jr high moras. Fax resume to 718-868-4612 attn: Rabbi Weitman

HELP WANTED

CATAPULT LEARNING Teachers for Title I in Boro Park and Williamsburg Chassidic boys schools *College/Yeshiva Degree Required *Strong desire to help children learn *Excellent organizational skills *Small group instruction *Competitive salary Email resume: nyteachers@catapultlearning.com Fax# (718) 381-3493

A wide selection of both the latest and classic novels, Biographies, Short stories, Holocaust, self-help, cookbooks, And more! OPEN MONDAYS FROM 6:30-7:30 PM AND FRIDAYS FROM 2:00-3:00 PM $25 yearly membership (718) 327-0604

MISC. YNM/5towns sheital Gemach is in desperate need of wig donations . Anyone who has wigs/ falls they no longer need- There are many women who you can make very happy . Tizku l’mitzvos! Please contact 347-408-8354 for details .

DJ YOSSY MUSIC and LIGHTING for any event, the crowd will love it. Djyossy.com 845 774 5949

Post your Real Estate, Help Wanted, Services and Misc. Ads here.

Weekly Classified Ads Up to 5 lines and/or 25 words

1 Week......... $20 $10 2 Weeks....... $35 $17.50 4 Weeks....... $60 $30

MISC. Can You Sell?

Looking for donation of car or minivan in good running condition. Tax exempt receipt available for full market value. Please call 347-342-8196 BAYSWATER JEWISH LIBRARY IS NOW OPEN

TJH Classifieds

Looking to make some extra cash? On-The-Marc is hiring motivated part time sales people. Six to 8 hours a week with unlimited income potential. Must have/own car. For more information Call Marc at 917-612-2300

EMAIL ADS TO: classifieds@fivetownsjewishhome.com Include valid credit card info.

Deadline: Mondays 5:00pm Publishes on Thursdays

115 THE JEWISH HOME

775

T5 OJEC

IM PUR

TO:

‫הקב"ה‬

MARCH 3, 2015

COME TO PURIM PREPARED.

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M: FRO

JOIN THE PURIM PROJECT by committing to improve an aspect of tznius and receive a bracha from the following Gedolim:

RAV CHAIM KANIEVSKY

MISHLOACH MANOS

Prepare a meaningful and important offering to Hashem. Join thousands of women who are finding ways to improve an aspect of their tznius in time for purim - as a tremendous zechus.

2 3

COSTUMES

Think about it. Is there an area in your dress and/or head covering that you can upgrade? One small change - and make it happen.

COMMIT

Identify the aspect in the area of tznius you are looking to improve and make that change. Be specific.

RAV AHARON YEHUDA LEIB SHTEINMAN RAV ALTER DOVID CHAIM STERN RAV SHIMON GALAI RAV YAAKOV EDELSTEIN

Send your Hebrew name and your mother’s Hebrew name to one of the following: Phone: 845.372.6487 Fax: 845.371.9774 Email: purimproject5775@gmail.com

PESACH in the NORTHEAST

LIVE CONCERTS WITH

YEHUDA GREEN 8TH DAY'S BENTZI MARCUS mn SCHOLARS IN RESIDENCE

RABBI SIMON JACOBSON RABBI EPHRAIM BUCHWALD CAPE COD, MASSACHUSETTS

WE ACCEPT AIR MILES CALL FOR MORE INFORMATION

GLATT KOSHER • NON GEBROKTS CHOLOV YISROEL • SHMURA MATZAH

RESERVE NOW

774.353.0170 PESACHINTHENORTHEAST.COM CATERED BY

GREENWALD CATERERS

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MARCH 3, 2015

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From My Private Art Collection

Rebbetzin Naomi N. Herzberg

The Experience of Purim in Marc Chagall’s Painting

his amazing painting was created as part of a mural by Marc Chagall in 1916-1917 for a school located in the Russian village of Petrograd. It is an oil painting on canvas and accurately reflects his Purim experience while growing up. It was painted in bright and cheerful colors in a faux- naïve style which was his trademark. Many of his pictures were painted in a childlike manner. The painting portrays in visual form the exchange of mishloach manot, which is part and parcel of the Purim custom and Jewish experience. Marc Chagall lived from 1887-1985 and was considered one of the most talented artists of his time. He was named Moishe Shagal at birth and grew up in Belorussia, which was in close proximity to Vitebsk. Under Czar rule it was very difficult for him to be successful and receive any form of cultural education, as Jews were not included in culture or given any form of higher ed-

ucation. Chagall also came from an extremely poor Jewish family, where his mother and father worked very hard to support themselves and their children. He was the eldest child and felt a strong need to leave the small Jewish village and pursue his art elsewhere. Elsewhere turned out to be in Paris by the Seine, which was known to be an artist’s haven. As stated by Chagall: “In La Ruche, you either came out dead or famous.” And so, he surged along to create his own unique type of artwork. Already present in France was the Modern Art movement; Cubism and Fauvism were very popular. His paintings were highly emotional representations of the Chassidish shtetl where he grew up, along with his eight siblings. He even attended a cheder as a young child. Chagall used many mediums to portray his creations. They included work with paint, stained glass,

and etchings. He loved drawing in school and so continued to study painting for three years perfecting skills and developing his style. The most famous of Chagall’s paintings depicts memories from life in his hometown. Later on in life he worked with mosaics, stone and clay sculptures. He even designed sets for plays and costumes. Chagall was quite versatile in his abilities to create art. For Hadassah Hospital in Yerushalayim he created stained glass windows which are extremely popular. The well-known artist Picasso one said about Marc Chagall, “When Matisse dies, Chagall will be the only painter left who understands what color really is.” Chagall possessed a deep and passionate love of life and sent this

message out in a whimsical and dreamlike fashion. 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.

117 THE JEWISH HOME

r e i t c P u t hi s

portraits by

Under New Ownership. Same Location. 523B Central Ave, Cedarhurst, NY 11516 Phone # 516.792. 2533

Anticipated opening date: March 1, 2015. Stay tuned for more details and exciting news.

MARCH 3, 2015

ď ł

Pre-announcing the Forthcoming Grand Re-opening

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Raise Your

// alliedimporters.com //

BottomLineMG.com

•• Rabbi Mordechai Ungar shlita

MARCH 3, 2015

DRINK DALTON CANAANRED AND WHITE.

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LIVE THE GOOD LIFE.

THE JEWISH HOME

Glass.

THE JEWISH HOME 

MARCH 3, 2015

iPad Giveaway

Join our email list & you will be entered into a raffle for an iPad3

www.wheelstolease.com/joinemaillist Congratulations to our last raffle winner, Jonathan Thurm!

Join our email list and you will be entered into a raďŹ&#x201E;e for an iPad 3

www.wheelstolease.com/joinemaillist

MARCH 3, 2015

* No Hassle Returns * Mileage Forgiveness Program * Damage Forgiveness Program

ď ł

Guranteed Lowest Pricing! Any Make Any Model Any Time

THE JEWISH HOME

Wheels To Lease

Painting a Jewish future in the holy land Tuesday March 10th, 2015 at the home of

Dr. & Mrs. Freddie Marton 2 Forest Lane, Lawrence, NY 11559 Featuring world renowned speaker:

Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau Former Chief Rabbi of Israel and winner of the Israel Prize for his contributions to Jewish society in Israel. Current Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv

“Acquiring land in the holy land” Showcasing a boutique exhibition

of Jerusalem art

1:00 PM- 5:30 PM Private Art Viewing

Join us in viewing a special selection of the work of Israel’s most renowned artists

Merom Q&A (By appointment only)

Yoram Raanan . Osher Sootil . Baruch Nahshon . Aduard Gurevith . Yiddy Lebowitz

6:15 PM

Delicacies Buffet

Rabbi Eytan Feiner Rav of Congregation Kneseth Israel, The White Shul Divrei Bracha and Words of Introduction

6:30 PM Featured speaker Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau

Merom Yerushalayim representatives will be available to discuss options for creating a beautiful home in Yerushalayim. RSVP event@meromyerushalayim.com

www.meromyerushalayim.com | sales@sun-chen.co.il | +1-718-732-3609

‫ פרונט‬front

Merom Yerushalayim cordially invites you to an exclusive event of