Five Towns Jewish Home - 12-13-18

December 13, 2018

Distributed weekly in the Five Towns, Long Island, Queens & Brooklyn

Your Favorite Five Towns Family Newspaper

RABBI NATAN GAMEDZE In Search of Truth from Swaziland to the Holy Land

See page 7

Around the

Community Chanukah Celebrations Light Up the Town

pg

46

98

FOREVER ENGRAVED Far Rockaway Resident Shapes Stone into Memories

56

pg

JCCRP Brings Happiness to Holocaust Survivors

Some of George H.W. Bush’s “WASP” Values are Worth Keeping

72 Team Talent Delights at RCCS Auction

Parshas Vayigash 6 Teves 5778 Candle Lighting Time 4:10 pm Sponsored by

See page 26

Passover Vacation Section PAGE 12

104

pg

122

Starts on page 115

2

DECEMBER 13, 2018 | The Jewish Home

3

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 13, 2018

-COME ON IN-

SUN 12/16 to FRI 12/21

our baked goods are

STORE HOURS

HOT & FRESH!

Sun - Tues Wed Thurs Fri

QUEENS

LAWRENCE

7 AM - 9 PM 7 AM - 10 PM 7 AM - 12 AM 6 AM - 2 PM

7 AM - 9 PM 7 AM - 10 PM 7 AM - 12 AM 6 AM - 2 PM

SUNDAY-WEDNESDAY - 1 LB MIN $

*MAIN*

1899

$

/LB

$

Bbq Cornchip & Potato Chip Fingers

1 Whole Chicken and 2 Sides of a Veggie and Starch

DISHES

1099

499

$

/EA

Asian Beef Sticks

only

999

7

Swedish Meatballs

*SIDE*

12

1

/LB

$

/LB

8

99 /LB

KFC Chicken

Knishes and Hush Puppies

Grilled Chicken w/ Onions

699

$

899

$

/LB

All String Beans

$

599

$

/LB

599

7

$ 99 Tevya’s Ranch CERTIFIED BLACK ANGUS London Broil

/LB

/LB

/LB

1599

$

/LB

899

Baked Salmon

Grilled Veggies

$

/LB

/LB

GROCERY

asst

7

$ 99 Tevya’s Ranch CERTIFIED BLACK ANGUS Silver Tip Roast

/LB

Tevya’s Ranch CERTIFIED BLACK ANGUS Mini Top of the Rib Roast

499

Chinese Rice

Sweet Potatoes

Mashed Potatoes

Must Gum

699

$

/LB

Tevya’s Ranch CERTIFIED BLACK ANGUS Pepper Steak

OVEN READY

DISHES

¢ 69 Elite

/LB

Tevya’s Ranch Natural Pasture Rib Eye Steak

Tevya’s Ranch Natural Pasture LEAN Chulent Meat

Veggie Lomein

2/$

99

899

$

/LB

$ 99

/LB

$ $

569

$

/LB

Butterfly (thin) Chicken Cutlets

16 oz

$

499

699

$

7

$

/LB

Chulent Pastrami

1st Cut Brisket Corned Beef

99

$

1

Glicks Chow Mein Noodles

3

2/$

5

2/$

Post Fruity Pebbles, Cocoa Pebbles

¢ 89 Hunt’s

Duncan Hines Brownie Mix

Tomato Sauce

asst

15 oz

11 oz

399

499

399

$

379

$

Ta’amti Falafel Balls

449

$

Angel’s Bourekas

/LB

Breaded Chicken Cutlets

Kosherific Fish Sticks

Manischewitz Cello Soup

$ 29

699

$

/LB

“Miracle” Roast Beef

*compare to navel pastrami*

*Lean & Tender*

FROZEN

¢

899

$ 99

/LB

299

$

Chef A Yam Tilapia

$

Seasons Homemade Gefilte Fish

asst

Macabee Eggplant Cutlets

Dairy 1

$ 99

1

$ 99

Real Foods Barilla Corn Thins Marinara Sauce 24 oz

299

$

7

$ 99

Heinz Ketchup

Traditions Cup of Soup

44 oz

12 pack

99¢

1

$ 99

Season Season Whole Whole Baby Corn Hearts of Palm

Provisions 399

$

Tirat Zvi Thinnies

asst

5

2/$

Ta’amti Pickles, Olives

6.5 oz

– WE– deliver

1

–PLACE– Your Order AT

299

2/$

Yo Crunch Yogurt

$

$

899

99¢

8 oz

5

2/$

Les Petites Natural & Kosher Mehadrin Kids Shredded String Cheese Chocolate Leben Pizza Cheese 18 oz *Lawrence Only*

Mehadrin Kids Yo Smart Yogurt 3.5 oz asst

*Lawrence Only*

599

$ 99

asst

Friendship Cottage Cheese

Strauss Milky Mini

Makabi Soft Cheese

16 oz asst

*Queens Only*

6 pk *Queens Only*

$

Joburg Sausage

1

5

2/$

seasons queens

www.Seasonskosher.com

718-268-6469 68-18 MAIN STREET, KEW GARDENS HILLS, NY 11367

7

2/$

seasons LAwrence 516-295-3300 330 central avenue, lawrence, NY 11559

4

DECEMBER 13, 2018 | The Jewish Home

DIRSHU INTERNATIONAL ‫תשע"ט‬ CONVENTION 2019 ‫שבת פרשת בא‬ ‫ תשע"ט‬,‫ז' שבט‬-'‫ · ה‬JANUARY 11-13, 2019

This ‫ שבט‬Celebrate Join together with Lomdei Dirshu Simchas Torah Once Again ...

to participate in the upcoming convention marking

outstanding Ameilus B’Torah – which will celebrate

the tremendous achievements of many thousands from across all segments of Klal Yisrael who have learned with accountability in an unprecedented way.

BottomLineMG.com

The event will be graced by Gedolei Yisrael, Roshei

Yeshiva, and Rabbanim from across North America and abroad – all gathered for an uplifting maamid of Kiddush Shem Shamayim and Kavod HaTorah.

2701 SUMMER STREET STAMFORD, CT 06905 Th eM ot pro zei Sh abb Mis gram wil os / G hn ah l fe the Be at rand Da f H rurah ure th Mela aYo v mi Chele e siyu e Mal B'H m ka kG o ala cha imme n lo Pro gra f m

Be Part of a Truly Uplifting Torah Experience RESERVE NOW! For reservations and information about the complete Shabbos convention please call

888-5-Dirshu x.107 or email Shabbos@DirshuNJ.org

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 13, 2018

CONVENTION HIGHLIGHTS The overall program will c"qa be graced by the presence of Gedolei Yisrael, Roshei Yeshiva and Rabbonim, shlita:

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

Shirium in Halacha from leading Poskim and Dayonim

Comprehensive program for women

Tefillos and zemiros led by R’ Isaac Honig & The Shira Choir

Motzei Shabbos/ Grand Melave Malka with live music by The Berko Brothers

The Motzei Shabbos program at the convention will feature a presentation with details about the upcoming

Dirshu World Siyumim 2020/‫תש"פ‬ EUROPE: Mid/Late Jan. 2020

SOUTH AFRICA: Late Jan. 2020

NORTH AMERICA February 9, 2020

ERETZ YISRAEL Early/Mid Jan. 2020 Yad Eliyahu

5

6

DECEMBER 13, 2018 | The Jewish Home

Dear Readers,

N

and his many family members. But a chance encounter with the Rambam’s Mishna Torah and a student studying Hebrew set off something in Rabbi Gamedze’s soul.

Now, instead of red and gold robes, Rabbi Gamedze wears black and white. Instead of pounding chants, he soothes himself with words of Gemara. From the soaring peaks of Swaziland to the rolling hills of Tzfat, he has finally come home.

A journey in which one’s previous life is completely upended is fascinating. Sometimes I wonder what I would do if I was put into that position. Would I leave my old life behind if I was shown a Misha Torah or saw someone reading Hebrew? What if someone opened my eyes to the beauty of Judaism, would I still be able to make that leap?

I’m grateful that I don’t have that challenge. Baruch Hashem I was born into the Chosen Nation. But being part of the Chosen Nation has its responsibilities too.

As a Jew, we’re constantly supposed to be renewing ourselves; we’re meant to improve and change our lives every day in some way.

Whether it’s working on ourselves, helping ourselves, or doing more mitzvos, every day is an opportunity to change who we are. Perhaps, by year’s end, as we reflect on the past few months, we’ll see that we have completely changed our lives – from rolling plains to mountain peaks.

ot many of us welcome change. We like to know where we’re going to be at a given time. And most of us have our daily and weekly schedules down pat: there’s the gym in the morning, carpools in the afternoon, manicures on Wednesday, grocery shopping on Thursday, and putting up cholent on Friday. We like living on our block, surrounded by our neighbors.

We appreciate the routine of going to work, coming home, eating supper, going to sleep.

They say that routine is boring, but there’s a comfort in knowing what comes next. But what happens when your life is completely thrown for a loop? What happens when you so completely turn your life around to become a different person and realize that you’re a more settled, more thoughtful individual?

Rabbi Natan Gamedze’s journey took many years. Despite his many travels – literally and figuratively – Rabbi Gamedze asserts that his journey is far from over. As a thinking person, he is constantly changing, developing, improving. He may have found his place in the holy city of Tzfat, but where he is as a person is still evolving.

Rabbi Gamedze’s childhood was very different than of those living in the United States. As a prince in the country of Swaziland, in Africa, Rabbi Gamedze’s wardrobe included bright and colorful robes and jewelry. Traditional dances with swords, shields, and chants were the lullabies of his youth. He was surrounded by his subjects

Wishing you a wonderful week, Shoshana

Yitzy Halpern PUBLISHER

publisher@fivetownsjewishhome.com

Yosef Feinerman MANAGING EDITOR

ads@fivetownsjewishhome.com

Shoshana Soroka EDITOR

editor@fivetownsjewishhome.com

Nate Davis Editorial Assistant Nechama Wein Copy Editor Berish Edelman Adina Goodman Mati Jacobovits Design & Production Gabe Solomon Distribution & Logistics P.O. BOX 266 Lawrence, NY 11559 Phone | 516-734-0858 Fax | 516-734-0857 Classified: Deadline Monday 5PM classifieds@fivetownsjewishhome.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.

Shabbos Zemanim

Weekly Weather | December 14 – December 20

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

Partly Cloudy

Rain

Showers

Partly Cloudy

Sunny

Sunny

Partly Cloudy

50° 46°

50° 37°

44° 35°

45° 33°

40° 29°

42° 34°

45° 39°

Friday, December 14 Parshas Vayigash Candle Lighting: 4:10 pm Shabbos Ends: 5:15 pm Rabbeinu Tam: 5:41 pm

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 13, 2018

7

8

DECEMBER 13, 2018 | The Jewish Home

Contents LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

8

COMMUNITY Readers’ Poll

8

Community Happenings

46

NEWS Global

12

National

32

Odd-but-True Stories

41

ISRAEL

41

Israel News

21

World Builders PEOPLE

On the Wings of Song by Miriam Liebermann

82

Rabbi Natan Gamedze: In Search of Truth from Swaziland to the Holy Land 98 Forever Engraved by Malky Lowinger

104

The Heroes of the Battle of Bir Hakeim by Avi Heiligman

126

PARSHA Rabbi Wein

86

A Higher Dimension by Rav Moshe Weinberger

88

JEWISH THOUGHT Foresight is 20/20 by Eytan Kobre

90

Seeing vs. Hearing by Shmuel Reichman

92

The Wandering Jew

96

HEALTH & FITNESS Can You Fall in Love Again? by Dr. Deb Hirschhorn

110

Your Shabbos Guide to Healthy Eating: Challah by Cindy Weinberger, MS RD CDN 112

Dear Editor, This is in response to Daniel Feldman’s letter in TJH last week.

Thank you for your response regarding the young woman wondering whether to omit her high school from her shidduch resume. As a shadchan, my experience has been that listing the girl’s high school is a standard detail on a resume, and its absence on the resume would raise eyebrows. I am just citing reality as my experience as a shadchan, not my personal opinions on the matter, just as a doctor would cite research based evidence on something based on his experiences, rather than the way he would “like” it to be. Omitting this information could unfortunately bring more attention to it, consequently making it more difficult for her. I wish this was not the case and that young men and women could omit that information without people questioning it, but that is the reality I have seen.

This young woman will find someone amazing, iy”H. She will find someone who is smarter than one who judges others based on the name of a school.

Regarding your offer to be in touch regarding shidduch prospects for her, thank you! Please feel free to contact me through the editor.

Michelle Mond Shadchan

Dear Editor, Hershel Lieber’s articles in your publication are important reading for all generations. They tell of a time – just a few decades ago! – when there were Jews who were thirsty to learn about their heritage and were caught in a wasteland of Yiddishkeit. Reb Hershel and others like him were moser nefesh, leaving their family and their comforts, to help open these people’s eyes to the beauty of their heritage. Thankfully, they were successful in bringing some people back to Yiddishkeit.

Nowadays, kiruv tells a different story. Although there are Jews who are stuck in countries that are not hospitable to Jews, most of the kiruv that needs to be done is with those on college campuses, who are swallowed up by the BDS movement and the like. They come to university only knowing that they are Jewish, and they come out being told that Israel is the enemy of the world. We need to encourage these people and educate them with facts about Israel and Jews in general. If they can know the facts, then they will be able to stand up for themselves armed with knowledge and evidence.

Keep up the good work!

Sincerely, Chana Wagschal Continued on page 10

FOOD & LEISURE The Aussie Gourmet: Eggplant Parmesan 114 LIFESTYLES

Your Money

114

Dating Dialogue, Moderated by Jennifer 106 Mann, LCSW

Keyboard Wisdom by Rivki D. Rosenwald Esq., CLC, SDS

132 134

HUMOR Centerfold

Winter

84

POLITICAL CROSSFIRE Notable Quotes

116

Some of George H.W. Bush’s WASP Values are Worth Keeping by Fareed Zakaria 122 China Tried to Strike at Trump by Marc A. Thiessen CLASSIFIEDS

What’s your favorite time of year to take a vacation?

124 128

33 % 55 %

Summer

Spring

7 % 5 % Fall

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 13, 2018

2 paces

to 2,000 years of history

Step right into your entire heritage at The Baron Collection, a boutique set of upscale condos that live at the epitome of emotive design, ancestral connection, and proximity to the heart of the Old City.

THE DEFINITIVE COLLEC TION O F LUXU RY CO N DOS A N D A P PA R T M E N T S I N R A M AT E S H KO L JERUSALEM ISR AEL

FOR INQUIRIES AND S H OW I N G S C A L L US: 323. 283.8158 IL: 058.581.3232 OR VISIT THEBARONCOLLEC TION .CO. IL

9

10

DECEMBER 13, 2018 | The Jewish Home

Continued from page 8

Dear Editor, A few days ago, after Shabbos, I turned on my computer and was checking the news after a day offline, when I was saddened to see that yet another person from the community had been killed by a motor vehicle.

The victim this time was Dr. Friedman, a prominent physician and Hatzoloh leader, killed after leaving shul on motzei Shabbos. He was killed in Nassau county, just outside NYC, in the same area that some other community members were in recent months. Less than one month ago, about a mile away, at/around the NYC/Nassau border, Naftali Rhodes was killed by a motor vehicle. About eight months prior, in April, a young Orthodox engaged couple in a car was killed by drag racers not far away.

But these are by no means the only recent such victims.

In the same past weekend period in which Dr. Friedman, z”l, was killed in Nassau County, two other Jewish people were killed by cars in nearby NYC. Beatrice Kahn in Riverdale, on Shabbos morning, and Iosif Morgenshteyn at E. 28th street and Shore Parkway in Brooklyn, while changing a tire on motzei Shabbos.

A nonagenarian Holocaust survivor from Kovno, Nissan Krakinowski, was killed by a car in Brooklyn right after Yom Kippur near the Shul where he went to daven. Mr. Stanley

Friederwitzer was killed in South Florida on the way to Shacharis about five weeks ago.

Those are just some of the cases that come to mind from the past few months. If you dig deeper, and if you go back further, there will be more names of more victims. And though we focused on fatalities, R”L, victims are also the many injured that live with pain, suffering, and impaired function, R”L, for long periods after crashes. And the families and friends of the people hit.

We cannot anymore delude ourselves into thinking that we are immune from such danger, Hashem yeracheim, when so many of the victims are from our own community. It is time for the Orthodox community to wake up and take action to increase street safety. Just like it did to help people in general when it created Hatzoloh decades ago. From traffic calming, to design of streets for greater safety, to greater enforcement of traffic laws, to speed cameras, to reflector belts, it is time to arise and take a stand.

Let the public and our elected officials know without any doubt that we are very serious about matters of public safety and pikuach nefesh.

May Hashem help us with our efforts, and may we know no more such sorrow.

Sincerely, A concerned community member

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.

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 13, 2018

‫בס”ד‬

Yo u a r e c o r d i a l lY i n v i t e d to a

ParlorMeeting Reception in Support of

The NaTioNal associaTioN of chevra Kadisha S u n d ay, d e c e m b e r 2 3 , 2 0 1 8 at o u r h o m e

5 2 8 o a k d r i v e , fa r r o c k awaY, n Y 1 1 6 9 1 GueSt Speaker

Rabbi Moshe Brown r av a G u d at h i S r a e l o f w e S t l aw r e n c e

reception 9:30 am p r o G r a m B e G i n S at 1 0 : 0 0 a m hoStS:

Benzion Krupka Yanky Safier

11

DECEMBER 13, 2018 | The Jewish Home

The Week In News FULLY STO CKED WITH O UR FALL-WINTER CO LLEC TIO N

Chinese Exec Arrested in Canada at U.S. Behest

BABY

BOUTIQUE A F I N E L I N E O F L AYE T TE CHANIE GOLDBERGER 6 4 6 . 8 6 7. 4 9 6 9 welcom eb abyb outique @ gm ail .com @welcomebabyboutique DELIVERY AVAILABLE

mazdesign 718.471.6470

12

China has summoned its U.S. and Canadian ambassadors as tensions escalated following Canada’s arrest of a senior Chinese tech executive earlier this month at the United States’ behest.

Canada has held Meng Wanzhou, the CFO of tech giant Huawei, since December 1st and is debating whether to extradite her to the United States.

The U.S. wants to try Wanzhou for assisting other companies in skirting U.S. sanctions by misrepresenting Huawei’s ties with its sister corporations.

China’s Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Yucheng said that China had summoned the American ambassador as part of its “strong protest against the U.S.’s unreasonable direction to Canada of detaining the Huawei executive.”

After summoning Canadian Ambassador John McCallum, Le blasted the decision to detain the executive, saying that it “severely violated the Chinese citizen’s legal and legitimate rights and interests, it is lawless, reasonless and ruthless, and it is extremely vicious.”

Le added that both the U.S. and Canada will face “serious consequences” should it decide to continue keeping Meng in custody.

“Release the detainee immediately and earnestly protest the person’s legal and legitimate rights and interests, otherwise it will definitely have serious consequences, and the Canadian side will have to bear the full responsibility for it,” he warned.

Since August, when a U.S. federal judged signed off on a warrant for

Meng’s arrest, American law enforcement officials were hoping to apprehend the 46-year-old. When they saw that she was set to transfer from a Cathay Pacific flight at Vancouver International Airport, they asked Canadian authorities to arrest her during the 12-hour layover, giving U.S. prosecutors the chance to seek her extradition.

Meng, the daughter of Huawei’s founder, was taken into custody on December 1, the same day that President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to a truce in their trade war.

The United States has not shared details of its case against Meng and its efforts to get her to stand trial over allegations she helped Huawei dodge U.S. sanctions on Iran.

Meng, who also serves as deputy chairperson of Huawei’s board, faces “serious charges of fraud involving millions of dollars” in the United States, according to the affidavit of a Canadian law enforcement official.

She could receive substantial jail time if convicted, the statement said.

The United States accuses Meng of helping Huawei, one of the world’s biggest makers of smartphones and networking equipment, get around sanctions on Iran. She’s said to have told financial institutions that affiliate Skycom was a separate company in order to conduct business in the country, when in fact it was a subsidiary.

“Meng and other Huawei employees repeatedly lied about the nature of the relationship between Huawei and Skycom and the fact that Skycom operated as Huawei’s Iran-based affiliate in order to continue to obtain banking services,” the United States said in the arrest request it delivered to Canadian authorities.

Brexit Vote Postponed

On Tuesday, Britain was supposed to vote on its departure from the European Union but the vote was postponed by Prime Minister Theresa May, avoiding an almost inevitable sour setback from Parliament.

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 13, 2018

PESACH 2019 BOCA RATON, FLORIDA

Boca Raton Resort & Club A WALDORF ASTORIA RESORT

• Gorgeous half-mile stretch of Private Beach • 2 Championship Golf Courses • 30 Clay Tennis Courts • Enjoy the exciting Surfing Simulator • Fantastic Scholars- in-Residence • 40,000 sq. ft. World Class Spa • Haute Gourmet Cuisine by the Waldorf Astoria Resort Chefs & Prestige Caterers • Scholar in residence Rabbi Shai Finkelstein, Baka, Jerusalem • International Kosher Mehadrin (IK) Glatt Kosher Supervision

PALM BEACH, FLORIDA

PGA National Resort

• Entire Hotel Kosher for Pesach • AAA 4-Diamond Resort • All Rooms Have Private Balconies • 5 Tournament-Ready Golf Courses • 19 Har Tru Tennis Courts • Fantastic line up of Scholars-In Residence • Exceptional Cuisine by Foremost Caterers • ORB Glatt Kosher Supervision

FLORENCE, ITALY

Four Seasons Florence • Entire La Villa building Kosher for Pesach • Luxury 5-star Resort • Hotel set amidst a 350,000 sq.m. Botanical Gardens • Gourmet cuisine by Michelen rated Four Seasons chefs • Professional Day Camp • Scholar-in-Residence: Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau, Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv • Glatt Kosher Supervision by Rabbi G.M. Garelik

FIUGGI (ROME), ITALY

Grand Hotel Palazzo Della Fonte • Entire Hotel Kosher for Pesach • Haute Gourmet Italian Cuisine • Beautiful Spa, Indoor & Outdoor Pools • Free Daily Shuttle to Rome • Optional Amazing Day Trips • Professional Day Camp • Scholar-In-Residence: Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks • Glatt Kosher Supervision by Rabbi G.M. Garelik of Milan

RYE BROOK, NEW YORK

Hilton Westchester • Entire Hotel Kosher for Pesach • Only 30 Minutes from New York City • Hotel Beautifully Renovated • Spectacular Lineup of Scholars-in-Residence • Fantastic Entertainment & Daily Activities • Professional Day Camp • Exceptional Gourmet Cuisine by Prestige Caterers • ORB Glatt Kosher Supervision

OUR 61ST YEAR

LEISURE TIME TOURS www.leisuretimetours.com info@leisurett.com

718-528-0700

13

14

DECEMBER 13, 2018 | The Jewish Home

In a speech on Monday to a raucous parliamentary session, the prime minister crisply acknowledged that the proposed divorce deal she negotiated with the EU and announced last month would have gone down to “significant” defeat if taken up by lawmakers as scheduled. No new date has yet been set for a vote.

The British leader indicated that she will try to salvage the deal somehow, but EU members are signaling they’re unlikely to go along with any major new changes. The prime minister’s political opponents at home appear re-energized in their drive to push her out of office.

Shouts of “Resign!” rang out in the parliamentary chamber as the prime minister spoke. The leader of the opposition Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, excoriated her, telling lawmakers that May’s government had “lost control of events.” Even so, Labor and its allies don’t appear to have the votes for a no-confidence motion against the prime minister – at least not yet.

The prime minister’s own Conservative Party hasn’t been much of a bulwark for her; internal rivals like Conservative lawmaker Jacob Rees-Mogg blasted the proposed

deal she struck with EU negotiators as “undeliverable.” Before the postponement of Tuesday’s vote, dozens of Conservative lawmakers indicated they would not lend their support to the deal.

Investors are increasingly worried about what could be a disastrous economic fallout from a so-called “hard Brexit,” Britain leaving the European Union without a legally binding agreement on relations going forward. Economists have said a nodeal departure from the bloc would likely result in a deep recession in Britain. European economies would almost certainly suffer too, although not as severely.

For now, it won’t be easy to make everyone happy. Brexit backers say Britain would remain bound by too many European rules, and “Remainers” say it would throw away all the advantages of membership in the bloc with almost nothing to show in return.

One big sticking point has been the border between Northern Ireland, which would leave the EU, and the Republic of Ireland, which would stay in the bloc. The frontier between them is open now, and that’s an important element of the 1998

accord that ended years of sectarian bloodshed. The Republic of Ireland, backed by fellow EU members, does not want to leave open any possibility for the creation of a “hard” border, with customs posts and other infrastructure. Britain wants to avoid that too. Under the draft deal, that’s addressed with a provision known as the “backstop” – that if there’s no other agreement in place, the United Kingdom, including Northern Ireland, would remain part of the EU’s customs union, and couldn’t leave without European consent. Many British lawmakers, including allies and critics of May, fear that gives the EU too much leverage.

The Brexit departure date is looming: March 29, 2019. What will happen in the next few months better take place rather quickly.

Talks Begin to End Yemen Civil War The two sides bogged down in Yemen’s bloody civil war recently met in Sweden amid hopes that

an agreement can be reached that would put an end to the bloodshed in the country.

Moderated by UN negotiator Martin Griffiths, negotiators representing President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi commenced talks with the Houthi rebels on Thursday in the Stockholm suburb of Rimbo.

While the specifics of the summit were not released, reports said that the UN aimed for the meeting to be a confidence measure. The current talks are the second time the two sides have met; the previous round in 2016 ended without any results.

“The people of Yemen have suffered far too long,” said U.S. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert as the summit began. “The parties owe it to their fellow Yemenis to seize this opportunity. We have

IN OUR NEW 5 TOWNS LOCATION

5 Towns…………..……85 Elderd Lane Boro Park………..….….3817 13th Ave. Flatbush…………………1720 E 14th St. Williamsburg………146 Spencer St. Monsey………………………..….. 7 Twin Ave Monroe………………52 Bakertown Rd. Lakewood…………………………130 1st St. Queens………………………72-38 Main St. Jerusalem……………..…Rav Shefa Mall

85 ELDERD LANE BEHIND JILDOR SHOES

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 13, 2018

15

16

DECEMBER 13, 2018 | The Jewish Home

Ayesha fashions HONG KONG TAILOR WELL KNOWN IN HONG KONG, LONDON, NEW YORK SERVING JEWISH COMMUNITY FOR YEARS

CUSTOM SHIRTS FROM $49

CUSTOM SUITS FROM $375 BALTIMORE

Once again

MR. TARIQ will be in your city with hundreds of new fabric samples for suits and shirts For an appointment please call the hotel opertar or call his cell: 718-708-3858

no illusions that this process will be easy, but we welcome this necessary and vital first step.”

With hundreds of thousands already dead, the ongoing civil war in Yemen is considered the world’s worst humanitarian catastrophe. Yemen has been torn apart by violence since the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels toppled the Yemeni government in 2014.

After the Houthis quickly gained control of large parts of the country, neighboring Saudi Arabia intervened on the side of the regime in order to prevent rival Iran from establishing a foothold in the region. Saudi Arabia’s naval blockade has caused a famine so widespread that the UN has already ceased counting the casualties.

Currently, the UN World Food Program estimates that 15 million Yemeni civilians are facing a “food catastrophe” and say that the number will soon climb to 20 million if food is not imported quickly. The country is also battling a cholera epidemic.

BORO PARK PARK LAKEWOOD MONSEY/SUFFERN BORO LAKEWOODFIVE TOWNS

DecemberTH18th 2018 December 19th 2018 December 23rd 2018 December 16th 2018 December 20th 2018 JULY 1 & 2 ND JULY 3 RD 13 ave // 47 st Ramada Five towns Inn Double Tree by Hilton Howard Johnson Inn Ave PlazaBrooklyn Hotel 13 StRT9 Toms River Ramada 2373Airmont Rt. 9 Toms River NJ NYAve 11219cor. 47 2373 NJ 655 Rockaway Turnpicke 1726 Reisterstown Road 17 North Rd 718-552-3200 Tel: 732-905-2626 Tel: 410-653-1100 Tel: 845-368-1900 Tel:Tel: 718-552-3200 Tel: 732-905-2626 Lawrence NY 11559

BALTIMORE FIVE Kong TOWNS MONSEY/SUFFERN Shop 42A-G/F peninsula CTR 67 mody Rd Hong JULY 8 TH &hktailor1@gmail.com JULY 10 TH 5 TH 9 TH JULY Tel: 4 TH &852-2721-2224 email: Howard Johnson Inn Baltimore Double Tree by Hilton Five Towns inn North pikesville 1726 17 North Airmont Rd 655 Rockaway Turnpike Reisterstown Road MD 21208 Tel: 845-368-1900 Lawrence NY Tel: 718-708-3858 Tel -410 -6531100

Assange Rejects Deal to Leave Embassy

publishing truthful information.”

Earlier, Ecuadorian President Lenín Moreno said that the deal with the UK would allow Assange to finally leave his country’s diplomatic mission. “The way has been cleared for Mr. Assange to take the decision to leave in near-liberty,” said Moreno.

Assange has been holed up in the Ecuadorean embassy since 2012 after becoming wanted for publishing classified U.S. information.

Wikileaks has released considerable quantities of highly sensitive documents in recent years, including a mass leak of U.S. State Department’s diplomatic cables, the U.S. military’s complete order of battle for the Iraq surge, and Hillary Clinton’s emails during the 2016 election.

Last month, U.S. prosecutors inadvertently revealed in a court filing that Assange had been indicted for a crime. The accidental filing did not say what Assange has been charged with. Prosecutors said they did not want to publicize the charges “due to the sophistication of the defendant and the publicity surrounding the case,” adding that they were hoping that Assange would “no longer evade or avoid arrest and extradition in this matter.”

Putin’s Daughter’s First Interview

shop G/F 42A Peninsula ctr 67 Mody Road Hong Kong Tel: 852-2721-2224 / Email: hktailor1@gmail.com

The head of the whistleblowing organization Wikileaks rejected a deal that would allow him leave Ecuador’s London Embassy for the first time in six years.

Ecuador and England had hammered out a deal that would enable Julian Assange to leave the embassy for the first time since 2012. As part of the agreement, the UK promised that it would not extradite Assange to any country with the death penalty.

Assange rejected the deal, however, saying that the promise did not rule out extradition to the United States.

“The suggestion that as long as the death penalty is off the table Mr. Assange need not fear persecution is obviously wrong,” said Assange’s attorney Barry Pollack. “No one should have to face criminal charges for

Despite being one of the world’s most recognizable people, very little is known about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s personal life.

Putin has given virtually no interviews about his family, and almost nothing is known about the leader’s loved ones. Unlike the U.S. and Europe, Russia has never thrust their leaders’ families into the spotlight since the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, and the press has never been allowed to dig into the issue.

That’s what makes the recent interview with Putin’s daughter so noteworthy. Last week, Putin’s daughter, Katerina Tikhonova, gave a rare interview to Russia’s state-run television channel about her work at

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 13, 2018

17

18

DECEMBER 13, 2018 | The Jewish Home

the Russian scientific research facility Innopraktika.

Tikhonova, which is reportedly an assumed name, spoke during the interview about her neuroscience studies. Flanked by a person with his head plugged into electrodes, she said that “you can really say that a person realizes the potential of technology, and himself, at the same time.”

A New York-based great-granddaughter of former Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev told the New York Times that Tikhonova’s groundbreaking interview was likely ordered

by President Putin and probably stemmed from political calculations.

“The interview is a way to show that the family is involved in building Russia, and it’s not just Putin sitting in the Kremlin. It was to show that his girl, his family, is putting a stamp on the future, on science, on the future of Russia,” opined Nina Khrushchev.

Putin, 66, is a former KGB spy who enjoyed a meteoric rise from a small-time mayor to Russia’s most powerful person. In 2015, he said in a rare interview that he kept his family life under wraps in order to ensure that his daughters grew up like regular people.

“The thing is, you see, I do not want them to grow up like some royal princes,” said Putin. “They need to have a normal environment and ordinary interaction with other children. The minute I give their names and ages, they would be identified immediately and would never be left in peace.”

Because Putin has been so tightlipped about his family, there is not much known about his progeny. The media has surmised that Putin has two daughters with wife, Lyudmila Shkrebneva, whom he was married to for three decades before their divorce in 2013. His daughters are named Maria and Katerina. Both girls attended university under false names. Maria is married and living in Moscow with her Dutch husband.

Katerina is divorced. She has been the more flamboyant of the two, living the high life and making waves as an accomplished acrobatic dancer.

She now has a senior position at Moscow State University.

Maria has one child. Putin told filmmaker Oliver Stone in 2017 that he was a grandfather. When Stone asked if he played with his grandchild, Putin replied, “Very seldom, unfortunately.”

Merkel Steps Down as Faction Leader

Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer has replaced Chancellor Angela Merkel to become Germany’s Christian Democrat Union’s (CDU) newest leader.

Kramp-Karrenbauer beat out wealthy attorney Friedrich Merz 450 to 392.

The CDU’s new leader thanked Merkel for the years she spent shepherding the faction but said that she would modify her predecessor’s immigration policies.

“I want to convene a ‘workshop discussion’ on migration and security with experts and critics of migrant and refugee policies to work on concrete improvements,” Kramp-Kar-

renbauer said. “You stand on the shoulders of your predecessor. What is good is continued and where there is room to change things, we will make changes.”

Kramp-Karrenbauer is attempting to stiffen Merkel’s lax immigration policies as anger over the issue gave the extreme-right Alternative for Germany (Afd) three seats in the most recent elections.

Merkel had announced in October that she would step down as the CDU’s leader after the party was rocked by losses in the most recent elections. Merkel will remain chancellor until 2021 but will not lead the party she has headed since 2000.

U.S. Flexes Its Muscles in Ukraine In an unusual announcement, the United States State Department revealed that a U.S. spy plane recently flew over Ukraine in order to gather information on Russian troops’ movements.

Camp Derech South Africa Amazing 5-week adventure through South Africa with your friends in July 2019!

Discover South Africa! ✓ Safari game drives ✓ River kayaking ✓ Humpback whales ✓ Extreme sports ✓ Ziplining tours ✓ Scuba diving ✓ Elephant and cheetah interactions ✓ Shabbat with different Jewish communities ✓ Much more!

Email: derechsa@gmail.com Website: www.derechsa.com Instagram: derech_south_Africa

Facebook: @DerechSouthAfrica

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 13, 2018

THE HOSPITAL WITH A HEART SAVES THEM BY THE THOUSANDS. The Jesselson Heart Center at Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem is one of Israel’s leading providers of comprehensive cardiac care. Offering revolutionary procedures not commonly performed elsewhere in the world, Shaare Zedek’s cardiology department is recognized as an international center of excellence. For cardiac testing, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation, “The Hospital With A Heart” is Israel’s primary destination.

Shaare Zedek relies on the generosity of donors from around the world. Join us in our life-saving mission at www.acsz.org/donate.

www.acsz.org | national@acsz.org | 212.764.8116

19

20

DECEMBER 13, 2018 | The Jewish Home

One Crucial Night

To Raise Mental Health Awareness

RABBI EPHRAIM

SHAPIRO

the importance of getting help: the torah perspective

Famed international speaker

DR. NORMAN

BLUMENTHAL

defining mental-emotional health;

understanding what it means. when to seek professional assistance. how therapy helps.

Director, OHEL Miriam Center for Trauma, Bereavement and Crisis Response; Licensed clinical psychologist

LEARN ABOUT SUPPORT & RESOURCES

Available in Our Community

When

MONDAY NIGHT

DECEMBER 17 8:00 PM - 9:30 PM

Where

BNAI JACOB SHAAREI ZION SYNAGOGUE 6602 Park Heights Ave, Baltimore, MD 21215

TorahAnytime.com TheYeshivaWorld.com Matzav.com

The State Department said that the OC-135 passed over Ukraine on December 6 and carried observers from the United States, Germany, France, Canada, Romania and England. The Pentagon said that the “extraordinary flight” was intended to show Russia that the U.S. was committed to protecting Ukraine “against Russian provocative and threatening activity in the Sea of Azov.”

The surveillance mission was carried out under the auspices of the Open Skies Treaty, an accord the U.S. and Russia are signatories to that allows other members to conduct flights over each other’s territories.

The December 6th flight was the first time the U.S. invoked the treaty since Russia took over the Ukrainian Crimean Islands in 2014 and came after a request by Ukraine.

Last week, CNN reported that the U.S. Navy was preparing to send warships through the Black Sea as a show of strength following Russia’s seizure of Ukrainian navy ships last month on the Kerch Strait. Officials said that Russia could expect a muscular U.S. response to any Russian saber-rattling vis-a-vis Ukraine.

“Russia’s unprovoked attack on Ukrainian naval vessels in the Black Sea near the Kerch Strait is a dangerous escalation in a pattern of increasingly provocative and threatening activity,” said Pentagon Spokesperson Eric Pahon. “The United States seeks a better relationship with Russia, but this cannot happen while its unlawful and destabilizing actions continue in Ukraine and elsewhere.”

Russian Human Rights Activist Passes Away Lyudmila Alexeyeva, a Russian civil rights pioneer who challenged the repressive Soviet Union, has passed away at the age of 91.

Alexeyeva’s civil rights career began when she founded the Moscow Helsinki Group in 1976. The organization’s stated mission was to report whether the Soviet Union was adhering to the Helsinki Final Act, a treaty signed with the U.S. in 1975 that obligated the countries to protect the civil liberties of its citizens.

Alexeyeva was persecuted by the communist regime for her activities and was expelled from her homeland in 1977. Following the Soviet Union’s collapse, Alexeyeva returned to Russia in 1993 and continued to advocate for civil rights in the new democracy through the Moscow Helsinki Group.

“In Soviet times, we couldn’t do anything to defend human rights,” she recounted during a 2009 interview with the Associated Press. “We couldn’t even defend ourselves. Our activity was confined to proclaiming that the state should respect human rights and defend them.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin sent condolences to her family despite being a frequent target of Alexeyeva. According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, Putin “greatly appreciates Lyudmila Alexeyeva’s contribution to the development of civil society in Russia and had great respect for her point of view on several issues concerning the life of the country.”

Alexeyeva had emerged as a fierce critic of Putin over his handling of the Chechen War and the crackdown on human rights organizations and the media. Her own Moscow Helsinki Group was forced to fire most of its staff in 2014 in the aftermath of legislation that forced them to register as foreign agents.

Following her passing in a Moscow hospital, Human Rights Watch Chairman Kenneth Roth said that “we have lost a giant among human rights defenders – a courageous, principled defender of the rights of all Russians from the dark Soviet days to the increasingly dark Putin days.”

21

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 13, 2018

7 Injured in Ofra Terror Attack

Seven Israelis were injured after a terrorist opened fire from a car next to the village of Ofra in Binyamin on Sunday The terrorist had driven up to a hitchhiking post near the village and pumped at least 11 bullets into the assembled crowd before speeding off. The IDF and the Shin Bet launched a massive manhunt for those responsible and sealed off nearby Arab towns.

Among the critically injured was a woman in her 30th week of pregnancy. Shira Ish-Ran, 21, was rushed to Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek hospital, where doctors performed an emergency caesarean section to save her baby.

Despite the valiant efforts of doctors to save the newborn, the infant passed away on Wednesday of this week.

“A pregnant woman who loses so much blood cannot provide the oxygen needed for the baby in her abdomen,” Dr. Alon Schwartz said during an interview with Army Radio. “This was apparently the harm to the baby that we discovered.”

Schwartz, a surgeon, related that the woman “arrived in a state of shock and had lost a lot of blood.

She has a gunshot wound in the lower stomach area.”

Shira’s mother, Liora, was able to see her daughter in the hospital.

“I saw that she wanted to hold our hand so I gave her my hand, and she held it. I saw her looking at her dad, and he also gave his hand. And then I saw tears streaming down her cheeks. I saw that she was trying to speak, but she couldn’t because of the tubes connected to her. So I sang to her and we told her that all the people of Israel were praying for her.

She’s a miracle, and she has the most

wonderful medical team looking after her,” Liora said.

Shira’s parents had to leave the hospital room because Shira’s blood pressure was spiking during their visit. They urged the government not to hold back in the search for the attackers and when dealing with terrorists.

Shira and her husband, Amichai, had been coming back from visiting from his parents. Amichai was moderately injured in the attack.

Local settlement leaders called on Prime Minister Netanyahu to respond to the grisly attack by legalizing hundreds of illegally-built homes in Ofra.

“I call on the Prime Minister to normalize [the status] of the town of Ofra,” Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked tweeted on Monday morning following the attack.

A member of the Religious Zionist Jewish Home faction, Shaked said that “the legal opinion on this matter is already prepared.”

“Against [Palestinian Authority chief] Abu Mazen’s ‘terrorism price list,’ we must put our own price on terror – every terror attack will lead to the strengthening of settlements, rather than their weakening, so that every potential terrorist will know from the get-go that the strengthening of the settlements will be in his name.”

Australia to Recognize Jerusalem

‫בס”ד‬

PLEASE JOIN US FOR A

Fun & Inspiring Evening WITH FRIENDS OF

RABBI SHMUEL WITKIN Kehillas Bnei Hayeshivos RABBI ARMO KUESSOUS RABBI SRULY FUCHS RABBI TZVI HERSH MEDETSKY

Guest Speaker

RABBI EYTAN FEINER Rov Cong. Kneseth Israel

MUSIC BY

NAFTALI BLUMENTHAL

ON MOTZEI SHABBOS

12.22.18 AT 8:30 PM

AT THE HOME OF RABBI & MRS. TZVI HERSH MEDETSKY 36 ROCK HALL RD. LAWRENCE NY, 11559

Have a Great Time, Be Inspired & Make a Difference In the Lives of Children with Special Needs

The Australian government is set to formally recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel on Wednesday of this week, but will likely delay moving its embassy there from Tel Aviv due to cost concerns.

Senior government sources told The Australian newspaper that Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s cabinet approved the policy change at a national security meeting on Tuesday night following extensive discussions on the matter. Cabinet ministers agreed that moving the embassy

COMMITTEE Shmuel Backenroth Yitzy Berger Heshy Berkowitz Yossi Deutsch Menachem Diamantstein Asher Feigenbaum Yossi Fischler Avrumi Gutfreund Yitzi Gross

Menachem Hans Eli Langer Meir Schattner Yaakov Schattner Yekusiel “Kus” Sebrow Yehuda Schwartz Uri Sprecher Moshe Wegh Yaakov Zwick

FO R D O N AT I O N S P L E A S E G O TO J E W E L S S C H O O L . O R G

22

DECEMBER 13, 2018 | The Jewish Home

Mr. & Mrs. dov & esther KarfunKel Guests of Honor

‫לע׳׳נ הר׳׳ר יחיאל מיכל‬ ‫בן הר׳׳ר ישראל יהודה ז׳׳ל‬ in memory of His fatHer

r’ mecHel KarfunKel z”l

Mr. & Mrs. Meir & MalKa fried parents of tHe year

Mr. & Mrs. Pinny & taMar hesKiel younG leadersHip award

the darChei dinner ‫שבט‬ ‫ז‬ ‘ 13 2019 ‫תשע‘‘ט‬ January

at t H e y e s H i va

‫ישי ב ה דר כ י תור ה‬

harav shMuel & rebbetzin Chaya feldMan Harbotzas toraH award

yeshiva darChei torah 257 Beach 17th Street Far Rockaway, NY 11691 718.868.2300 ext. 301 dinner@darchei.org darchei.org/dinner

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 13, 2018

The Darchei bachur ... has been trained to learn with hasmoda. He diligently probes the subtle nuances of the sugya until he emerges with clarity.

At the annual Siyum Hagadol, the community honors the bachurim who, in turn, light up the neighborhood with their burning Simchas Hatorah on full display.

HEI W

9 IN

01

D

AY

Sign up to receive more stories Text darChei to 22828 Email stories@darChei.org or visit darChei.org/dinner

C R A

THE D

The Darchei Bachur.

His learning is his passion.

NER

2

23

24

DECEMBER 13, 2018 | The Jewish Home

to Jerusalem would take place at a later stage, the report said, due to the estimated $200 million it would cost to relocate the diplomatic mission.

Sources told the paper that Canberra would establish a consular office in Jerusalem until the embassy could be moved there.

The decision would likely be announced during Wednesday’s Council of Australian Governments meeting.

It was not clear if the government intended to recognize the entirety of Jerusalem as the Israeli capital, or just West Jerusalem, which Israel has held throughout its existence – as opposed to the eastern sectors of the city that it captured in the 1967 Six Day War. In October, Morrison told reporters he was “open-minded” in following the United States in recognizing Jerusalem as the Israeli capital, in what would be a sharp break in longstanding Australian foreign policy.

The announcement was welcomed by Israel, but heavily criticized by Palestinians and a number of Muslim-majority countries in Asia, including neighboring Indonesia, with which Australia is trying to clinch a landmark free-trade deal. Relations between Australia and the Muslim-majority Indonesia have been strained since Morrison’s announcement, with Jakarta officials initially indicating the deal may be called off over the changed foreign policy.

A top-secret bulletin drafted by the Australian Security Intelligence Organization, obtained by The Guardian in October, said the move “may be perceived as shifting to a pro-Israel/anti-Iran stance,” and warned it could damage Australia’s diplomatic and business interests in the Islamic republic.

Morrison floated the idea of recognizing Jerusalem moving the Australian embassy there days before an October by-election in a Sydney electorate with a large Jewish population that featured his fellow party member Dave Sharma, a former ambassador to Israel. The campaign in Wentworth drew international attention after Morrison raised the prospect of the embassy move, a remark that was slammed by critics and opposition lawmakers as a cynical attempt to pander to Jewish voters.

The government lost the by-election and its single-seat majority in the House of Representatives, forcing Morrison to rely on deals with in-

dependent lawmakers to guarantee confidence in his government, enact legislation and ensure money supply.

OK to Fly Over Oman & Sudan

This week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Israeli planes can fly over Sudan and Oman. He added that he is working on getting Saudi Arabia’s permission for this as well.

“When I was in Oman, Sultan Qaboos [bin Said] confirmed to me right away that El Al can fly over Oman,” the prime minister told Israeli diplomats in Jerusalem. “Therefore, only one small thing remains for us to do,” he added, pointing to Saudi Arabia on a map. “We need to get that El Al can fly over this, and that’s it – we open new markets.”

Netanyahu also indicated that Israel is allowed to fly over Sudan – a Muslim-majority nation in northern Africa that does not have diplomatic ties with Israel.

“Currently we can fly over Egypt, Chad, and apparently, we can fly over Sudan, and then we can fly directly to Brazil, which would save about two hours,” the prime minister noted.

In October, Oman welcomed the Israeli premier in a surprise visit, which marked an apparent sign of Israeli progress in improving ties with the Gulf states. Israel is also said to be working toward normalization of relations with other states in the region, including Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.

The most important routes for Israel are those connecting Tel Aviv and San Francisco, China and India, Netanyahu, who is also foreign minister, noted.

“We are flying with Air India every day across Saudi Arabia, and soon we’re going to fly to Mumbai,” he said. “Tel Aviv-Mumbai is fewer hours than Tel-Aviv London. When I meet with Arab leaders, they tell me, ‘We have security and economic interests and we also want to enjoy the fruits of progress and we will no longer mortgage our normalization with

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 13, 2018

Going out of town for Yeshiva doesn’t mean leaving home... ‫אס‬

‫דאל‬

‫שי‬

‫י‬

IT MEANS DISCOVERING A SECOND HOME. IN DALLAS, TEXAS.

‫בה גדולה ד׳‬

Why choose TTI? CHINUCH

Intensive, interactive ‫ הלכה‬,‫ בקיאות‬,‫ עיון‬,‫שעורים‬ ‫למעשה‬. Strong emphasis on Mussar, Midos and personal growth.

EDUCATION Outstanding General Studies, SACS accredited, honors classes, STEM program, SAT prep and college credits.

WARMTH Expert Mechanchim, committed to the long term success of every Talmid. They build relationships that last a lifetime!

RESULTS The results speak for themselves! Our Talmidim have continued on to promising careers in Rabbanus, Chinuch, Medicine, Law, Finance and more. And, most importantly, they are solidly rooted in Torah and Hashkafa, prepared for life after Yeshiva.

A SHABBOS TO REMEMBER See it for yourself! Join us for our incredible 8th Grade Shabbaton, January 10-13, 2019.

Contact the Yeshiva office or check our website for more details.

The Menahel will be visiting the following cities: MIAMI Tuesday, December 11 BALTIMORE Wednesday/Thursday, December 12/13 QUEENS Monday, December 17 FIVE TOWNS Tuesday, December 18 PASSAIC/MONSEY Wednesday/Thursday, December 19/20 PLEASE CONTACT THE YESHIVA OFFICE FOR DETAILS

Call 972.250.4888 Email sbroderick@texastorah.org Visit texastorah.org

SEVP approved to enroll F-1 Visa Students

25

26

DECEMBER 13, 2018 | The Jewish Home

the State of Israel to the Palestinians’ caprices,’” Netanyahu said.

Netanyahu has for years spoken about the warming of ties between Israel and the Arab world, citing not only Iran as a common enemy, but also many countries’ interest in cooperating with Israel on security and defense matters, as well as Israel’s growing high-tech industry.

In November, Netanyahu welcomed Chadian President Idriss Déby for a historic visit to the Jewish state, laying the groundwork for normalizing ties with the Muslim-majority countries of Sudan, Mali, and Niger, according to a report on Israel’s Channel 10 News.

Déby told Israeli leaders in Jerusalem that he wishes to restore diplomatic relations. During a press conference with Déby, Netanyahu remarked that “there will be more such visits in Arab countries very soon,” without providing details.

Israel’s ongoing thawing of relations with various Arab and Muslim countries in the Middle East and Africa is said to be sending Palestinian Authority officials scrambling, concerned that support for their cause is waning among allies.

Anti-Hamas UN Resolution Fails to Pass

The United Nations failed to pass a resolution condemning Hamas despite support from both the United States and the European Union (EU).

Prior to the vote last week, the UN voted by a majority of 75 to 72, with 24 abstentions to require a two-thirds majority for the resolution to be adopted. As such, the anti-Hamas resolution did not pass despite earning a majority of 87 to 53.

The rejection of the resolution was a blow to U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley, who had heavily pushed for the UN to condemn Hamas. Haley, who is stepping down from her post in January, harshly criticized the UN after the resolution was rejected.

“The question before us now is whether the UN considers terrorism is acceptable if it’s directed at Israel,” said Haley. “Is the hatred of Israel so strong that you will defend a terrorist organization, one that is harming the Palestinian people? Isn’t it time to let that go? For the sake of peace and the sake of this institution I respectfully urge my colleagues to this resolution.”

The resolution would have been the first time the United Nations condemned Hamas, which is defined as a terror group by both the U.S. and the EU. Hamas, which had heavily lobbied against the resolution, celebrated after it failed to pass. “The failure of the American venture at the United Nations represents a slap to the U.S. administration and confirmation of the legitimacy of the resistance,” the terror group’s spokesman, Sami Abu Zahri, chortled.

Israeli leaders maintained that the vote was still a victory, however, pointing to the fact that more than half of the world’s nations came out against Hamas.

“The draft condemnation of Hamas in the UN General Assembly received a sweeping majority by countries that stood against Hamas,” noted

Prime Minister Netanyahu. “This is the first time that a majority of countries have voted against Hamas, and I commend each of the 87 countries that took a principled stand. I thank the American administration and U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley for the initiative.”

Titled “Activities of Hamas and Other Militant Groups in Gaza,” the resolution “condemns Hamas for repeatedly firing rockets into Israel and for inciting violence, thereby putting civilians at risk.” The declaration also demanded that “Hamas and other militant actors including Palestinian Islamic Jihad cease all provocative actions and violent activity, including by using airborne incendiary devices,” referring to the incendiary kites that Hamas has utilized to torch Israel’s south.

The resolution blasted Hamas for violating international law, “including in regards to the protection of the civilian population.” The declaration urged Hamas to undertake “tangible steps towards intra-Palestinian reconciliation,” including “concrete steps to reunite the Gaza Strip and the West Bank under the Palestinian Authority and ensure its effective functioning in the Gaza Strip.”

5TJT GRAPHICS | SHAINDEL

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 13, 2018

THIS S U N DAY !

37th Annual Brunch for Women to benefit

S U N DAY M O R N I N G D EC E M B E R 1 6 , 20 1 8 1 0 : 0 0 AM T H E WH I T E S H U L CO N G R EGAT I O N KN ES E T H I S R AEL 728 EMPIRE AVENUE, FAR ROCKAWAY, NEW YORK

GU E S T S O F H O N O R D R . HYLTO N AN D L E AH L I G H T MAN GU E S T S PE A K E R C HAN I J U R AVEL LC SW

T E H I L L I M R E C I PI E N T SAR AH L I S S

F R EE BABYS I T T I N G AVAI L AB L E • AD M I S S I O N BY D O NAT I O N CHAIRPERSONS T ZI P PY DAVI D • EST H ER F EI G EN BAU M • MAR I LY N WO LOWI T Z B I KU R C H O L I M O F FA R R O C K AWAY A N D T H E F IVE T OWN S P.O. B OX 2 94 , L AWR EN C E , N Y, 1 1 5 59 7 1 8 . 32 7. 59 8 9 • 51 6 . 3 7 1 .96 62 • W W W. F R 5T B I K U R C H O L I M .C O M

27

28

DECEMBER 13, 2018 | The Jewish Home

UN Confirms Discovery of Hezbollah Terror Tunnel

United Nations peacekeepers recently confirmed that Israel had discovered a tunnel dug by Hezbollah which snaked under its border with Lebanon.

Calling the tunnel a “serious concern,” the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said that it would demand answers from the Lebanese government regarding Hezbollah’s tunneling activities.

“Based on the site inspection, UNIFIL can confirm the existence of a tunnel at the location,” said the group. “UNIFIL is now engaged with

the parties to pursue urgent follow-up action. It is very important to determine the full picture of this serious occurrence.”

Israel had announced last Monday that it would embark on a campaign to destroy Hezbollah’s tunnels. Titled Operation Northern Defense, the military estimated that the terror militia had around ten such tunnels, adding that they were to be used by Hezbollah to capture the Galilee in the next war between the two sides.

The IDF has already exposed at least three terror tunnels since Operation Northern Defense began.

The first tunnel that was discovered starts in the Lebanese border village of Kafr Kela and crosses 40 meters into Israeli territory. The third tunnel was discovered on Tuesday. As with the others, explosives were placed inside the tunnel to ensure that Hezbollah can no longer use it.

Saying that Israel’s tunnel-busting effort “is not an isolated operation, but a wide and ongoing operation,” Prime Minister Netanyahu said during a televised address that Israel had managed to foil an intensive Hezbollah operation to capture parts of the Jewish State in a future

COACH DIPLOMA & CERTIFICATION PROGRAM Professor Rabbi Joshua Ritchie, MD, Dean

REFUAH: Caring, Kindness and Coaching

Learn Powerful Professional and Personal Coaching and Counseling Skills

Become a Certified

Life Coach

with workshops and supervised practice sessions by live interactive telephone conference or video conference.

You will become an effective Solution Focused & CBT Life Coach.

As a Life Coach you are an important influential member of your community and will discover dramatic ways to make a difference in your life and for those around you.

Classes start Soon REFUAH INSTITUTE Telephone: 646-395-9613

You can speak with us Sunday – Thursday

Email: refuahoffice@gmail.com, www.refuah.net

battle.

“The aim of Hezbollah has been to dig tunnels into our territory. It is part of an effort with a breadth and depth that we have not seen before,” said Netanyahu. “Capturing parts of the Galilee by Hezbollah is a concrete threat,” added Netanyahu. “It is also part of a regional and global terror effort led by Iran. The operation will continue until the outcome is achieved, however long that may take.”

IDF forces remain on high alert for any possible Hezbollah counterattack. As part of the heightened tensions, the IDF called up hundreds of reserves and deployed special forces to the northern border.

Chile Bans BDS – For Now

The nation of Chile has banned all of its cities from boycotting Israel after a Chilean city attempted to cut off any ties with companies that did business in Israel.

Saying it would become “the first municipality in Latin America free of Israeli apartheid,” the city of Valdivia announced that it would join the Boycott, Divestment, and Sections (BDS) movement last week.

However, the Chilean State Comptroller swiftly ruled that conducting foreign relations is under the sole purview of the Chilean government and pronounced Valdivia’s move to boycott Israel illegal.

The comptroller also found that banning ties with Israel violated Chilean law prohibiting “equal and non-discriminatory treatment.” The statute forbids “arbitrary discrimination that is based on considerations such as nationality and that cause a deprivation, disturbance of threat of the exercise in fundamental rights.”

The decision came following pressure by the Chilean Community of Israel (CCHIL). Following the State Comptroller’s ruling, CCHIL

head Gabriel Colodro told The Jerusalem Post that he is “pleased to receive the positive response of the Chilean National Comptroller declaring that boycotts against Israel are illegal in the municipal field.”

With hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees in the country, Chile has become a new front in the effort to isolate Israel. Earlier this month, the Chilean Congress passed a resolution to boycott the Jewish State and declared East Jerusalem to be the capital of Palestine. The motion also accused Israel of practicing apartheid. The resolution is soon to be voted on in Congress before becoming law.

The resolution’s text alleged that “since 1947 there has been a permanent expulsion of Palestinians and loss of their territory, which made impossible the full exercise of the right to national sovereignty held by the Palestinian People.”

The motion was celebrated by local Palestinian advocates, who said that the move was only the beginning of a campaign to isolate Israel in Chile.

“We are glad that the Chilean Congress has marked the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People with concrete measures of solidarity and respect for international law,” said Mahmoud Nawajaa from the Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC). “We urge the Chilean government to respect the Congress resolution and make sure that no products from illegal Israeli settlements are allowed into the country.”

According to the World Jewish Congress, there are 18,000 people living in Chile who identify as Jews.

Qatari Money Bolsters Hamas

On Thursday, Qatar transferred its second infusion of cash to the Hamas terror group in Gaza. Israel allowed the oil-rich Gulf state to give $15 million to Hamas as part of a long-term ceasefire it has been working on.

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 13, 2018

As part of the emerging agreement, Israel will allow the funds to reach Gaza in exchange for Hamas restraining its forces from attacking Israel. Hamas is slated to use the money to rebuild Gaza while Israel will significantly ease the restrictions of its decade-long siege it has imposed on the area.

The first cash infusion occurred in November, as Qatar sent $15 million in large black suitcases through the border crossing. The transfer aroused a storm of controversy within Israel; two days after the cash reached Hamas, the terror group pounded Israel with more than 500 rockets in response to a Special Forces operation gone awry.

Many Israelis from across the political spectrum accused the government of essentially paying “protection money” to Hamas. The detractors to the move included then-Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman, who resigned his post and slammed Prime Minister Netanyahu for “capitulating to terrorism.”

An investigation by Ynet illustrated how the cash is being distributed.

Out of the overall $150 million that is to reach Hamas, $90 million is supposed to be used to pay 30,000 civil servants in Gaza who have not received salaries for several months after Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas cut off payments due to a rivalry with Hamas.

The civil servants will get around $1,500 a month. Another 50,000 residents living in abject poverty will be given a monthly $100 allowance.

Another $60 million will be invested in a new power plant in the Strip, relieving the massive energy obligation that has burdened Israel since it pulled out from Gaza in 2005.

Armed terrorists from Hamas’ Izz A-Din Al Qassem Brigades will officially not be entitled to the Qatari money as a result of uncompromising Israeli demands.

The $60 million worth of Qatari-bought fuel will also enter the Strip in installments over a six months’ period.

The Qataris initially planned for the Palestinian Authority to buy the diesel from Israel tax-free through the UN and then resell it to the Gaza power plant with a 65% tax and pocket the difference. The PA, currently overwhelmed by financial woes, would have turned a $39 million profit. But Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has refused to cooperate with Qatari authorities.

29

pay with points travel planning hotels mileage redemption business travel

WHEN YOU THINK VACATION israel

airline miles

travel concierge

credit card points

consulting

THINK PEYD

WWW.GETPEYD.COM PHONE: (646) 801 - PEYD (7393) WHATSAPP: (516) 350-0838 INFO@GETPEYD.COM

As such, Qatar and the United Nations signed an agreement under which the UN will buy the fuel from Israel and transfer it to the Strip’s power plant. The UN will accompany each tanker from the moment it enters Gaza until the power station to ensure that Hamas does not replace it with inferior materials along the way. The fuel has helped restart three out of the four turbines in the Gaza power station, which has significantly increased the supply of electricity in the coastal enclave.

WaPo: Saudi Arabia Used Israeli Tech in Assassination A new report in the Washington Post has alleged that Israel gave a cyber-company the go-ahead to sell advanced cyber weapons to Saudi Arabia that were later used to monitor and kill journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

The report said that Israel allowed the Herzliya-based company NSO Group to sell its Pegasus system to the desert kingdom in order for Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman to surveil subversives and dis-

30

DECEMBER 13, 2018 | The Jewish Home

ing this technology, Saudi Arabia succeeded to follow after Jamal Khashoggi and his interactions with Omar Abdulaziz,” said the Canada-based activist’s lawyer.

OPEN HOUSE for WOMEN SUNDAY, DEC. 16th

12:45-3:15

Discover Your Future at Touro’s Lander College of Arts and Sciences in Flatbush

More Than 20 Majors & Pre-Professional Fields

Touro Israel Option

Diverse Honors Options

2 Annual Job Fairs & Career Placement

Financial Aid & Academic Scholarships for Qualified Students

For information contact Mrs. Shirin Siony

718.252.7800 ext. 59234 or shirin.siony@touro.edu 1602 Avenue J, Brooklyn Touro is an equal opportunity institution. For Touro’s complete Non-Discrimination Statement, visit www.touro.edu

sidents.

Israel decided to allow the sale to take place despite misgivings over handing such a sensitive system into the hands of an Arab nation. Despite the hesitations, the government permitted the deal in the hope that it would enable budding relations between the two nations to continue to grow. The sale was done through a front company located in the country of Luxembourg.

NSO’s Pegasus is considered one

of the best monitoring technologies in the world. Enabling the user to hack any cellphone in the world, the software has long been sought by repressive regimes such as Qatar and China.

The Luxembourg-based Q Cyber Technologies didn’t confirm or deny the report, telling the Washington Post that “the customer makes representations that the product will be used in a way that’s lawful in that country. Obviously, there are some-

times abuses.”

Saudi Arabia reportedly used Pegasus to monitor Khashoggi and a Canadian-based acquaintance Omar Abdulaziz as they made plans to start a popular movement against Bin Salman and the Saudi regime.

Abdulaziz filed a lawsuit against NSO last week, alleging that the spyware company played a crucial role in Khashoggi’s October assassination in Turkey.

“The lawsuit proves that by us-

Law Limiting President’s Power to Choose PM

Israel’s governing coalition decided to support a watered-down bill that would restrict whom the president can task with forming a government. The new law would allow the president to only choose a head of a political party with forming a government. Current legislation allows the president to choose any lawmaker.

Last month, Netanyahu accused President Rivlin of conspiring with Netanyahu rival and former Interior Minister Gideon Sa’ar to topple the prime minister in the next election.

According to reports, Rivlin, a nemesis of Netanyahu, would have appointed Sa’ar and not Netanyahu due to the multiple corruption probes implicating the premier.

“There is a lacuna in the law that must be fixed; it’s clear,” Netanyahu told fellow Likud ministers on Sunday. “I saw a report that the president intends to have whomever gets the most recommendations form the government. I welcome that, and in any case clarify that the Likud does not condition passing the amendment to the law on any other law.”

Former Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman had charged that Netanyahu was purposely delaying a bill sponsored by Liberman’s Yisrael Beytenu party mandating the penalty for terrorists to ensure that the “Gideon Sa’ar Bill” passed. The bill will now need to pass three Knesset readings in order to become binding.

Under Israeli law, the president is responsible for tasking the most likely party to form the government with building the coalition. The law is vague and does not specify who the president must choose. For exam-

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 13, 2018

Hagaon Reb Mechel Zilber ‘Challenges’ Shas Yiden Avreichim

By Eliezer Sandler

Recently, the internationally acclaimed Shas Yiden Kolel Network in Israel under the leadership of Maran Sar Hatorah, Hagaon Harav Chaim Kanievsky, shlit”a, celebrated its 9th Siyum Hashas and completion by each avreich of 13,555 blatt-per-year. One of the central highlights was the oral farher of all 42 geonim avreichim by the world renowned Daf Yomi Magid Shiur, Hagaon Harav Mechel Zilber, shlit”a, Rosh Yeshiva Zevil, Yerushalayim.

The build-up over the last couple of months to the intense farher was ‘pressure-filled’. Rav Zilber is well-known for his searching and wide-ranging complex questions from the length and breadth of Shas, with many potential pitfalls. They are not merely “Where is it written – page number and location on the page?” Even such a quiz would be a colossal feat. However, Rav Zilber presses

for multiple answers, locations, as well as the Rashi’s and the Tosfos!

The battery of avreichim faced off against Rav Zilber. What began as question and answer, soon became a multipronged thrust and parry from both sides. The more that Rav Zilber tried to enmesh the avreichim, the more he found himself challenged. As one of the guests exclaimed – “this was like a Torah fireworks display.”

Rav Zilber’s Brocho In a letter penned in the evening following the farher, Rav Zilber wrote the following: “My eyes saw wonders, the preciousness of the proficiency of these incredible scholars… Through their great love of Torah they merit to ‘wander’ through the entire Shas… acquired all-encompassing

Example of questions: Where in Shas is Eliyahu mentioned and it does not refer to Eliyahu Hanavi, and who is he?

Immediate responses: Kiddushin 70a – Anyone who marries a woman not suited to him from an inappropriate lineage, Eliyahu binds him…

Rashi comments that it was another angel named Eliyahu.

Where in Brochos does it refer to Shabbos, and where in Shabbos does it refer to Brochos?

Immediate Responses: 15 places in Brochos: 6b not to run on Shabbos, 8b Shnayim mikra, 18a Mourning on Shabbos, 20a Kiddush on Shabbos, 27b Shabbos prayer, 39b lechem mishneh etc.

References to Brochos in Shabbos: 23a Blessing for lighting Chanukah candles, 119b the blessing vayechulu, 116b blessing for bris milah

knowledge of Shas…

“To acquire such pansophic knowledge in every aspect of Shas is not possible through only effort and intense study. It is through minimizing sleep, curtailing idle talk and chatter and to separate from worldly pursuits – and to toil in Torah by day and by night…

“May they be blessed to do the same in Talmud Yerushalmi, the Shulchan Aruch etc… to acquire kinyanei Torah with their blood and souls to the glory of the all the House of Israel.”

The incredible study regimen of each avreich includes 13,555 blatt per year and 160 study days more than other kollelim around the world. For details of the regimen and a video of the farher and the siyum with Rav Chaim Kanievsky, shlit”a, please click on www.shasyiden.com

31

32

DECEMBER 13, 2018 | The Jewish Home

Have you heard the scoop?

ple, in 2009, then-President Shimon Peres tasked Benjamin Netanyahu with forming the government despite rival Kadima party having won more Knesset seats than Likud.

U.S. & Somalia

actual snapshot from happy campers and moms!

+1 (917)-556-8998

+1 (516)-343-4543

+1 (914)-596-8124

Well, It’s time to..

GET IN THE LOOP! Early bird special ending February 1st

29 years of pre-school camping!

REGISTRATION SUMMER 2019 IS IN FULL SWING! Register Hassle- free Online at www.camptoraschaim.com or call 516.569.4996 to recieve an application by mail or email.

The U.S. has re-established a permanent diplomatic presence in Somalia more than two decades after closing its embassy in Mogadishu, the State Department announced last week.

“This historic event reflects Somalia’s progress in recent years and is another step forward in formalizing U.S. diplomatic engagement in Mogadishu since recognizing the Federal Government of Somalia in 2013,” department Spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement.

The U.S. closed its embassy in Mogadishu in January 1991 after the overthrow of the country’s president.

In 2015, the U.S. took steps to re-establish diplomatic ties with Somalia by reopeng its diplomatic mission but basing it in Kenya.

President Donald Trump tapped Donald Yamamoto earlier this year as the permanent U.S. ambassador to Somalia, a nomination confirmed by the Senate in October. Nauert’s statement on Tuesday said “Yamamoto and his staff look forward” to working with the Somalian government.

The East African nation has been a regular focus of U.S. counter-terror efforts and has been subject to widespread famine in recent years.

U.S. military strikes in Somalia have targeted suspected fighters for AlShabaab, a militant group linked to al-Qaeda, and ISIS. Just a day before the U.S. said its diplomatic mission had been re-established, U.S. Africa Command announced that U.S. forces had conducted a strike that killed nine militants in Somalia.

NYPD Drones

If you think the police are watching you, you may be right.

Last week, the New York City Police Department announced that it will be adding drones to its arsenal.

The unmanned aircraft will be used in hostage situations and search and rescue operations. It will also be used in incidents involving hazardous spills and to document crime scenes and collisions. During large events, drones will be used to help police monitor pedestrians and traffic conditions.

The nation’s largest police force is hoping the drones will help its officers prevent and solve crimes. But not everyone is happy.

The New York Civil Liberties Union said the department’s drone policy isn’t restrictive enough to protect the privacy of New York residents.

But officials are pointing out that the drones will be used in certain situations. “So, let me be clear, NYPD drones will not be used for warrantless surveillances,” Chief of Department Terence Monahan told reporters. “NYPD drones will be used to save lives and enhance our response in emergency situations.”

The NYPD fleet of 14 drones is comprised of 11 small drones for tactical operations and two large weather-resistant drones with features that include thermal imaging capabilities, a powerful zoom camera and 3D mapping, the NYPD said. One drone can be used for training and testing.

“As the largest municipal police department in the United States, the NYPD must always be willing to leverage the benefits of new and always-improving technology,” NYPD Commissioner James P. O’Neill said.

More than 900 police, fire and emergency units nationwide use drones in some form.

U.S. Exports More Oil Than It Imports Marking a dramatic shift from decades of energy dependence, the

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 13, 2018

33

LMNOmarketing.com

‫בס׳ד‬

BAIS YAAKOV ATERES MIRIAM th

7

ANNUAL DINNER

Growing by Leaps & Bounds Guests of Honor

MR. & MRS. DOVY SCHWADEL

On track to enroll 300 students for the coming school year

Harbotzas Torah Award

RABBI & MRS. YEHOSHUA RUBENSTEIN

Chinuch Legacy Award - Great Grandparents of the Year

Purchase our building

2018-2019

Charidy Campaign

2017-2018

RABBI & MRS. MOSHE NEUMAN

January 5, 2019 MOTZOEI SHABBOS, PARSHAS VA’EIRA

‫ כ“ט טבת תשע“ט | פרשת וארא‬,‫מוצאי שבת‬ RECEPTION 8:30 | PROGRAM 9:30 | DESSERT 10:15

Congregation Beth Sholom, 390 Broadway, Lawrence NY 1214 Heyson Road Far Rockaway, NY 11691 Tel: 718.868.3232 Fax: 718.868.3235 dinner@baisyaakovam.org www.baisyaakovam.org

2019-2020

Building campaign launches

2016-2017

School continues to grow

2015-2016

Welcome Mr. Avraham Mayer, Executive Director

Parallel classes established

BYAM opens with 31 students

2014-2015 2013-2014

2012-2013

34

DECEMBER 13, 2018 | The Jewish Home

U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) has reported that the United States has begun exporting more barrels of oil than it imports.

Through the end of November, the U.S. exported a net 211,000 barrels of crude a day, the first time in 75 years that it exported more fuel than it imported.

The news came the same day as an emergency OPEC meeting over falling oil prices ended without any conclusions. OPEC had wanted to cut oil production as increased U.S. oil exports have seen oil prices plunging.

“It seems EIA has a habit of sending bad news to OPEC during its Vienna meetings. In the past, it has been surging U.S. production numbers. But this time was truly remarkable and historic showing data for net crude imports as -211,000 bpd,” energy ana-

8

lyst Joe McMonigle told Reuters.

Observers say that the shale and fracking revolution has turned the United States into an energy powerhouse, a development they predict will eat into the revenues of traditional Middle Eastern oil producers such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

“We are becoming the dominant energy power in the world,” President Michael Lynch of Strategic Energy & Economic Research told the New York Times. “But, because the change is gradual over time, I don’t think it’s going to cause a huge revolution, but you do have to think that OPEC is going to have to take that into account when they think about cutting.”

Becoming energy independent was largely seen as a distant dream for the United States. The fracking revolution, however, and President Obama’s decision to lift a ban on exports, caused the U.S. to hit a goal that once didn’t seem possible.

With new pipelines from the Permian Oil Basin under construction, the U.S. is slated to increase its imports over the next few years.

“The U.S. is now a major player in the export market,” noted energy analyst Brian Kessens. “We continue

th

Dinner Reservation & Ads Ad deadline: Monday, December 24 Phone: 718-506-1110 Fax: 646-352-0650 dinner@bnosyaakov.org www.bnosyaakov.org

Please Join us

Sunday, December 30, 2018 ‫כב' טבת תשע"ט‬

Kol Yaakov Hall 1703 Mcdonald Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11230

Guests of Honor

Mr. and Mrs. Leon and Rachel Goldenberg

Keser Shem Tov Award

Rabbi and Mrs. Ilan and Masha Ginian

Reception at 6:30 pm Dinner at 7:00 pm

Audio-Visual Greeting

HaRav Shmuel Kamenetsky ‫שליט"א‬ Rosh Yeshiva of Talmudical Yeshiva of Philadelphia

Amud Hachessed Award

Mr. and Mrs. Shuli and Pamela Halpert

Parents of the Year

Mr. and Mrs. Aron Tzvi and Briendy Robinson

Chinuch Award

Rabbi and Mrs. Yisroel and Basya Ungar

Guest Speaker

Rabbi Dovid Goldwasser ‫שליט"א‬

Featuring

Bnos Yaakov Slideshow

Dinner Chairman

Mr. Chaim Goldbaum

Executive Board Members Mr. Yankie Elbogen Mr. Avi Schron Mr. Yitzchok Stern

to re-tool our export infrastructure along the Gulf Coast to expand capacity, and you continue to see strong demand globally for crude oil.”

Nauert to Replace Haley

Marine Pilot Killed in Plane Crash

A U.S. Marine Corps pilot was killed after his fighter jet slammed into a refueling tanker off the coast of Japan last week.

The Marine Corps announced that Florida native Capt. Jahmar Resilard, 28, was killed when his F/A18 hit the KC-130 tanker. Resilard’s body was found a few hours later by rescue forces off the coast of Kochi.

The U.S. military said that Resilard had been on a routine flight and said that a full review of the incident was being conducted. Initial findings suggested, however, that foggy weather was to blame for the tragic accident.

The downed pilot was part of the Yamaguchi Prefecture-based All Weather Fighter Attack Squadron 242. Marine All Weather Fighter Attack Squadron 242 Commander Lt. Col. James Compton said in a statement that “the Bats are deeply saddened by the loss of Captain Jahmar Resilard. He was an effective and dedicated leader who cared for his Marines and fellow fighter pilots with passion.

“His warm and charismatic nature bound us together and we will miss him terribly.”

Following the accident, President Donald Trump said that his “thoughts and prayers” were with the survivors and hailed Japan’s “immediate response and rescue efforts.”

The U.S. armed forces have been sensitive to plane crashes in Japan amid a recent slew of mishaps. In June, a U.S. Air Force F-15 plunged into the sea near Okinawa. Three people were killed when a C-2 cargo jet crashed while attempting to land on an aircraft carrier near Iwakuni.

President Donald Trump recenly announced that State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert will replace outgoing UN Ambassador Nikki Haley.

Haley had announced in October that she would be stepping down in January from the position.

Nauert, 48, is a former anchor for Fox News and had been a frontrunner ever since Dina Powell took herself out of consideration for the job.

Nauert beat out a slew of other candidates, including U.S. Ambassador to Canada Kelly Craft and U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell.

Nauert is expected to face a bruising confirmation process at the Senate due to her lack of diplomatic experience. Nauert’s foreign policy experience is limited to the few months she served as the Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs between March and October 2018.

Nauert is expected to continue Haley’s hawkish line at the UN along with the latter’s strident support of Israel. According to JNS, Nauert supported Israel’s right to defend itself from Hamas rockets amid a recent bombardment of the south by the terror group.

“We condemn in the strongest terms the rocket, missile and mortar attacks that are taking place from Gaza into Israel,” Nauert had said.

“We call for the sustained halt of those attacks. We stand with Israel as Israel defends itself against these attacks. It is simply unacceptable to target civilians.”

Nauert’s appointment was welcomed by Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon, who said that the nominee had worked side by side with Haley to defend Israel in the often-hostile body.

“Ms. Nauert has stood by the State of Israel in her previous positions, and I have no doubt that the cooperation between our two countries will continue to strengthen as ambassador to the UN,” Danon said. “In

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 13, 2018

my favorite weekly specials

Store Hours:

Order Online: www.FrankelsKosher.com or by Email: orders@Frankelskosher.com

Dec 12, - Dec 18,

1913 Cornaga Avenue • Far Rockaway • T. 718-327-4700 F. 718-327-4701 E. orders@Frankelskosher.com

flower arangments

Cholov Yisruel

1/2 Gal

Y THURSDA A D & SUN Y ONLY

Milk

Tulips Blooms & Buds Bouquet

$.75

$12

major deals 33.3 Oz Reg Only

3/$1

(Great For Cholent)

Pineapple/ Cantaloupe/ Watermelon/ Honeydew Chunks 24 Oz

$10.99 Lb

Red Seedles Grapes

Cheek Meat

$5.99 Lb

grocery Ronzoni

Gefen

Ziti Or Elbow

Chunk Light Tuna In Water

16 Oz

Lieber’s

Gefen

9 Oz

32 Oz

Chocolate Chips

2/$3

$1.49

$5.99

Hunt

General Mills

General Mills

Frankel’s

18 Oz

Fruity Colors 10.7 Oz

10.8 Oz

$1.49

$2.69

Lieber’s

Snack Factory

Snackers 13.7 Oz

5/$4

$5.99 Lb

$.79 Lb

$2.49 Lb

2/$4

$1.69

2/$1.29

On Sale Display

Large Pomegranate

Onions 3Lb Bag

Avocado

Swing Yogurt

Swiss Miss Pudding

$0.99

$2.49

3/$3

Tuv Taam

Esti

Chef Tzali

7 Oz

All Varieties 10 Oz

J&J

Chobani

Greek Yogurt

All Flavors 24 Oz

All Flavors 5.3 Oz

All Flavors 5.3 Oz

52 Oz

Spanish Eggplant Matbucha

2/$7

$2.99

$2.99

$3.49

Freunds

Pardes

Heaven & Earth

Kineret

16 Oz

24 Oz

14 Oz

Tilapia Fish

$0.99

Stir Fry Vegetables

Babgnush/ Hummus/ Eggplant Humuus

Riced Cauliflower

Gefilte Fish 20 Oz

Chocolate Chips Cookies Dough 24 Oz

$4.49

Top Quality Meat & Poultry

Blade Cut London Broil

Silvertip London Broil

$16.99 Lb

$7.99 Lb

$8.99 Lb

Pepper Steak

Family Pack

Jack’s

Thin Sliced

Ground Beef

Hot Italian Cured Beef Sausage

Jack’s Facon

Soak 1St To Remove Salt

$2.49

Tropicana Orange Juice

5Pk

meat department Skirt Steak

$4.99

5/$5

8’ Squere Pans

$4.99

Butterfly Chicken Cutlets

$4.99

All Flavors 7 Oz

Pandora

Glatt Kosher

Extra Clean

Golden Delicious Apple

Yogurt

$2.69

72 Ct

Wednesday, Dec/12/18 thru Friday Dec/14/18

dairy - frozen

Honey Glazed Peanuts

Neronim Candle 4 Hours

1 Oz

2/$5

Honey Nut Cheerios

$2.99

Pretzel Crisps

3 DAYS ONLY

Clementines Bag

Mehadrin

$0.99

Classic Trix

$20

Frankels Carrot & Parsnip Diced

Pure Honey

6 Oz

Bbq Sauce Original

Shabbos Bouquet

PRODUCE SPECIALS WEDNESDAY THRU FRIDAY

Chuck Eye Roast

Seltzer

$15

produce

Limit 3 - W/P Of $125 Reg Item

Best Health

Sun: 7-7 Mon: 7-8 Tue: 7-8 Wed: 7-9 Thur: 7-11 Fri: 7-2:30

$3.99

$8.99 Lb

$3.99 Lb

$7.99

$6.99

Clean Dark Chicken Cutlets

Turkey Drumstick

Of Tov

$3.49 Lb

$5.99 Lb

$1.99 Lb

$3.99

deli

Thursday & Friday

Satmar

Satmar

Chopped Liver

Satmar

Gala

Apple Kugel / Apple Cherry / Bluberry

Medium

7 Oz

$4.49

Skinless Chicken Legs

$2.99

$5.99

$3.99

bakery

Turkey Chunks

Beigel’s

Rye Bread

Schrieber’s

Loose Rugelach

Frankel’s

2 Lb

$5.99

$2.99

$7.99 Lb

$3.99

16 Oz

Heimishe Medium Challah

take a peek at our everyday low prices Cholov Yisruel

Cream Cheese 8 0z

Hatov/Givat/ Fresh & Tasty

$2.99

We now have

live delivery updates via text.

Text # to (347) 689-6900 for your delivery status.

Norman’s

Taste Yogurts 5 0z

$.59

Gevina

Greek Yogurts

4/$5

Norman’s

Cream Cheese

Fresh & Tasty

Milk

Cholov Yisroel

$2.99

2/$4

Free

Fresh

While U Shop Thursday Night

2 Pies

Chulent W/ Kishka

Cholov Yisroel

Cottage Cheese

Hatov/Givat/ Fresh & Tasty

$2.99

Pizza

$21.99

Mehadrin

Chocolate Leben 12 Pk

$10.99 Fresh Full Pan

Potato Kugal

$48

American Cheese 108 Slices

$14.99

Givat

Yogolite

Postiv

Fresh

Fruit Platters

Fresh Salmon Fillet

$5.99 + tax

$8.99

Seltzer

24 Oz

$0.65

All Flavors 33.8oz

Best Health

Romaine Lettuce

Greenhouse Grown

$10.99

Family Pack

Weekly Yiddish Newspapers & Magazines Der Blatt, Der Yid, News Report, Der Blick, Dee Voch, Etc.

Specials Are Running From Wednesday Dec/12/18 Thru Tuesday Dec/18/18. Produce Sale Effective Dec/12/18 Thru Dec/14/18 We Reserve The Right Tp Limit Quantities, While Supplies Last. Not Responsible For Typographical Or Photographic Errors. No Rain Checks.

35

36

DECEMBER 13, 2018 | The Jewish Home

the past two years, we have worked closely with Ambassador Nikki Haley to change the hostile spirit in the UN, which has led to unprecedented achievements. Ambassador Haley will always be a true friend of the State of Israel.”

Kelly to Leave the White House

President Donald Trump has confirmed that Chief of Staff John Kelly will leave the White House “by year’s end,” ending the former Marine General’s run atop the Trump administration.

“John Kelly will be leaving – I don’t know if I can say retiring – but he’s a great guy,” Trump said on Saturday. “John Kelly will be leaving at the end of the year. We’ll be announcing who will be taking John’s place – it might be on an interim basis. I’ll be announcing that over the next day or two, but John will be leaving at the end of the year. ... I appreciate his service very much.”

Early reports had pointed to Vice President Mike Pence’s Chief of Staff Nick Ayers as Kelly’s likely replacement. Ayers, 36, has received attention for his ability to keep Pence’s operations running smoothly. However, Trump was blinded after Ayers suddenly took himself out of the running. Announcing that he will leave the White House shortly, Ayers said that he “will work with the #MAGA team to advance the cause.”

Kelly was hired in June 2017 to replace Reince Preibus and quickly made his mark by instituting discipline in the Trump administration.

Recognized for his tight control over who had access to the president, Kelly launched a full-blown operation to clamp down on the White House’s feuding personalities and power struggles. However, his tight control over the president may have irked Trump, who pushed back against the “suffocating” regime Kelly was running. Since October 2017, Kelly has been trailed by rumors predicting his firing.

Judge: Where are Hillary’s Emails?

A federal judge has suggested that the State Department had colluded with Hillary Clinton in order to hide the 30,000 emails she had kept on her private server.

The ruling came during a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit by the conservative legal group Judicial Watch. The organization had requested Clinton’s emails and subsequently sued after the State Department said that it could not locate them.

Calling the Clinton email scandal “one of the gravest modern offenses to government transparency,” Senior District Court Judge Royce C. Lamberth ordered the State and Justice Departments to detail how they would track down Clinton’s missing correspondence within ten days.

The judge also slammed the State Department for attempting to evade Judicial Watch’s request and questioned if Clinton’s improper use of a private server was an attempt to skirt Freedom of Information Act filings.

“At best, State’s efforts to pass off its deficient search as legally adequate during settlement negotiations was negligence born out of incompetence,” Lamberth wrote in the 10-page decision. “At worst, career employees at the State and Justice departments colluded to scuttle public scrutiny of Clinton, skirt FOIA, and hoodwink this court.”

Lamberth also ripped the Justice Department for refusing to turn over Clinton’s correspondence relating to the 2012 assault on the U.S. Embassy in Benghazi.

“When asked why State masked the inadequacy of its initial search, counsel claimed that the officials who initially responded to Judicial Watch’s request didn’t realize Clinton’s emails were missing and that it took them two months to ‘figure out what was going on’… Counsel’s responses strain credulity,” said Lamberth.

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 13, 2018

37

38

DECEMBER 13, 2018 | The Jewish Home

A hand-crocheted yarmulke that once belonged to Frank Sinatra was auctioned off by Sotheby’s over the weekend for $9,375

Joseph progressed from radicalized, virtual jihadist to attack planner,” FBI special agent Jeff Fortuanto said.

On October 30, three days after the Pittsburgh massacre, Joseph told the agent that he fantasized about doing something similar in Toledo, the affidavit shows.

“I admire what the guy did with the shooting, actually,” Joseph told an undercover agent, referring to the Tree of Life Synagogue attack last month. “I can see myself carrying out this type of operation...”

He then sent details of his plan to carry out an attack on at least one Toledo synagogue to an undercover agent on December 2. In the days that followed, he made notes of what types of weapons and ammunition he would need for the attack, when to commit it to kill as many people as possible, and how to escape or, if necessary, shoot it out with police.

Specifically, he said he wanted to kill a rabbi. He expected the undercover agent he was messaging to be his partner in carrying out the attack, court records state.

Greater Toledo is home to four synagogues.

Rabbi Yossi Shemtov of Chabad House of Greater Toledo and Rabbi Samuel Weinstein of Temple Shomer Emunim praised law enforcement for thwarting any possible attacks.

“We are grateful to the FBI and to almighty G-d,” Rabbi Shemtov said.

Clinton’s use of a private server to send emails as opposed to her official State Department address was a hot-button partisan issue during her failed presidential bid in 2016.

While Clinton contended that she had used a private server for reasons of convenience, then-candidate Donald Trump called the affair “worse than Watergate” and memorably led campaign rallies with calls to “lock her up.”

Attacks Thwarted in Ohio In a strange confluence for northwest Ohio, federal prosecutors on Monday announced the arrests of Elizabeth Lecron, 23, of Toledo, and Damon Joseph, 21, of Holland, Ohio, both of whom are accused of parallel but unconnected plans to unleash massacres in the Toledo area.

Lecron wanted to commit mass murder at a Toledo bar, according to the FBI, and frequently posted material on social media that glorified the Columbine school killers and Charleston, S.C., church shooter Dylann Roof.

Joseph said that the was a supporter of ISIS and wanted to attack synagogues in the area and kill a rabbi. He was arrested while collecting two assault-style rifles from agents.

“In a matter of months, Damon

Journalists are Time’s “Person of the Year” Time magazine has chosen “The Guardians and the War on Truth” as their 2018 Person of the Year. Among those given the honor are slain Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Philippines-based editor Maria Ressa, jailed Burmese Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo and their

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 13, 2018

wives, and the staff of Maryland’s Capital Gazette.

“Like all human gifts, courage comes to us at varying levels and at varying moments,” the magazine’s editor-in-chief Edward Felsenthal wrote in an essay about the selection.

“This year we are recognizing four journalists and one news organization who have paid a terrible price to seize the challenge of this moment: Jamal Khashoggi, Maria Ressa, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo and the Capital Gazette of Annapolis, Md.” President Donald Trump was their second choice for the honor; special counsel Robert Mueller was the paper’s third choice for the slot.

The shortlist also included families separated at the U.S.-Mexico border, Russian President Vladimir Putin, “Black Panther” director Ryan Coogler, new royal Meghan Markle, South Korean President Moon Jaein, the March for Our Lives activists, and Christine Blasey Ford.

But Time ultimately chose “The Guardians and the War on Truth” for “taking great risks in pursuit of greater truths, for the imperfect but essential quest for facts that are central to civil discourse, for speaking up and speaking out,” according to Felsenthal.

The four journalists and the Capital Gazette, which was targeted by a gunman who killed five employees in June, “are representative of a broader fight by countless others around the world … who risk all to tell the story of our time,” he wrote.

With the naming of Khashoggi in this year’s recognition, this was the first time that the publication gave the honor to someone who was no

longer alive.

Time has made the Person of the Year designation – originally “Man of the Year” or “Woman of the Year” – every year since 1927.

EPA Eases Regulations on Coal Industry

The Trump administration said it would scrap regulations imposed during the Obama years that force coal plants to buy expensive technology to monitor their carbon emissions.

The regulatory rollback is in line with President Trump’s assertations that environmental regulation is crippling the U.S. energy industry. In explaining the move, EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler said that the government decided to remove the obligation to monitor emissions in order to encourage investment into the coal industry.

“We are rescinding unfair burdens on America’s energy providers and leveling the playing field so that new energy technologies can be part of America’s future,” explained Wheeler.

The EPA head chided the Obama administration for forcing coal plants to invest massive amounts of money in technology Wheeler said was still unproven.

“Their determination was disingenuous,” Wheeler asserted. “They knew that the technology was not adequately demonstrated, which is what is required under the law.”

Known as the “New Source Performance Standards,” the regulations restricted power plants from crossing a certain emissions threshold.

The standards had long rankled the coal industry, which alleged that the onerous rules effectively stopped any new plants from opening up due to the financial burden the technology brought with it.

Coal executives say that they are cautiously optimistic in the wake of the EPA’s decision to roll back the performance standards. “It does appear that this proposal would make it feasible for new coal plants to be a via-

Who Needs Achiezer?

Everyone.

YOUR MOTHER YOUR FATHER YOUR BROTHER YOUR SISTER YOUR FRIEND YOUR NEIGHBOR

EVEN YOU.

CRISIS INTERVENTION 24 HOUR URGENT LINE HEALTH INSURANCE ENROLLMENT HOSPITAL AND MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT ZICHRON DOVID CHESED SHEL EMES DIVISION WESTWOOD FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT DIVISION

www.Achiezer.org/Dinner

39

40

DECEMBER 13, 2018 | The Jewish Home

CHANUKAH SALE

20% OFF list prices

ALL of our 2,000 titles

INCLUDING THE FOLLOWING NEW RELE ASES

LAST CHANCE! SALE ENDS THIS MONDAY 12-17-18

Available at your local Hebrew bookseller or at www.artscroll.com • 1-800-MESORAH (637-6724)

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 13, 2018

ble option in the future in the United States,” said American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity CEO Michelle Bloodworth.

Observers dismiss claims that a lack of regulation would cause coal to rebound, pointing to the abundance of cheaper and environmentally friendly options that have developed over the last decade.

Speaking with Bloomberg, Moody’s Investors Service Vice President said that “we don’t see the EPA’s rollback of carbon capture technology and storage requirements sparking any new coal plant openings in the foreseeable future. Existing coal plants are being challenged by lowcost natural gas and renewables, and an easing of regulations won’t change that,” he said.

Drive-Thru Sailing

People in Dubai do things on a grand scale. Drive-thrus there aren’t just for cars. A new initiative in the country allows those on the sea to grab an ice cream or a hamburger as they navigate their WaveRunners.

The world’s first “sail-thru supermarket” is the perfect place to pick up some groceries without having to leave the comfort of your yacht. The purpose-built ship, anchored out at sea, is the work of UAE-based retail company Majid Al Futtaim. Customers have the choice of more than 300 snacks and treats from the vessel.

Anyone passing by on a yacht or Jet Ski can order and collect at the boat’s window counter – or order via app or phone call.

Others craving a bag of chips or a cold soda on a large boat will have their purchases delivered to them.

And for those hanging out on the sand, there’s no need to get off your towel. Purchases made via the app can also be delivered to your perfect spot in the sun.

The aim, says Majid Al Futtaim Retail CEO Hani Weiss, is “making

sure that we can serve our customers not only on shore, but always.”

For now, the boat/grocery-onthe-go is open six days a week from 10 a.m. to 7 a.m. Because sailing can make you real hungry.

Legal Snowballs

Making snowmen and throwing snowballs are the perfect activities for a snow day, right? Wrong – if you’re living in Severance, Colorado.

The town, 60 miles from Denver, long had a law on the books making it illegal to throw snowballs. Now, a nine-year-old has stood up for all those young boys out there itching for a good snowball fight – and got the town to reverse the decades-old law.

Dane Best thought the law was “silly.” He collected letters and signatures in support of snowball fights and presented his case at the Severance Town Council meeting last Monday.

“It is an outdated law,” the youth said. “And I want to throw a snowball without getting in trouble.”

The budding politician managed to get the law reverse unanimously, and the council approved a measure to legalize throwing snowballs within town limits.

Mayor Don McLeod pointed out that the law was part of a more elaborate ordinance, Sec. 10-5-80, that said, “It is unlawful for any person to throw or shoot any stone or any other missile upon or at any person, animal, building, tree or other public or private property; or at or against any vehicle or equipment design for the transportation of persons or property.”

When Dane and his classmates visited town hall this fall on a field trip, McLeod pointed out that the law – although it’s not enforced – would include throwing snowballs at people.

“The kids were super intrigued when they found out they have been breaking the law this whole time,” the mayor said.

“Every year when the kiddos come to town hall, I point out little laws we have, and I challenge these

When Does Achiezer Close?

Never.

THURSDAY: 12 PM TUESDAY: 2 AM SHABBOS: 10 AM WEDNESDAY: 3 AM FRIDAY: 5 PM MONDAY: 9 PM

ALWAYS THERE.

CRISIS INTERVENTION 24 HOUR URGENT LINE HEALTH INSURANCE ENROLLMENT HOSPITAL AND MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT ZICHRON DOVID CHESED SHEL EMES DIVISION WESTWOOD FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT DIVISION

www.Achiezer.org/Dinner

41

42

DECEMBER 13, 2018 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 13, 2018

third graders to change them. Dane was the first student to take me up on this, and I’m very proud that he did.”

Dane is not going to let snowballs be his last fight. According to KCNC, another current town law allows a maximum of three pets per household and only includes cats and dogs.

Dane plans to launch a campaign on behalf of his (illegal) pet guinea pig.

There’s (s)no’ stopping him now.

A Dream Job

Lest you think that you’d like to travel the world but are not the best behind the lens, you can also consider a career as a nanny. Earlier this year, Sun Online shared the story of a traveling nanny who has been to over 20 countries and stayed in seven-star hotels while working for rich families. Sarah Kinghorn revealed how her trips are all-expenses paid, from accommodations and food to phone use and activities, and she gets paid $25 per hour on top of that.

Sounds like a great way to tour the world on someone else’s dime.

CommUnity THE ACHIEZER GALA

SUNDAY JANUARY 6, 2019 THE SANDS ATLANTIC BEACH

Catch Me if You Can

DEDICATION OF THE EDITH LOWINGER A”H ACHIEZER VOLUNTEER NETWORK

To be installed by

The Lowinger, Keilson, Rosenman & Zafir Families The best part about vacations are the photos of them – right? A British family thinks that their vacation will not be complete without proper photos of them enjoying their time off.

The family is hoping to lure a professional photographer to tour the globe with them for a year. Those hoping to apply shouldn’t worry about funds; the job comes with a $100,000 salary. All travel expenses are included, as well as food and accommodations. Oh, and there’s thirty days of vacation (while you’re on vacation!) and sick pay too.

The job will commence in February 2019 and will involve crisscrossing the globe for the next 12 months.

The lucky photographer will have his or her passport stamped in numerous places in Europe, America, South America and Australia as the family owns “a number of holiday homes and other residences” in those destinations. Included on the itinerary are events such as the Formula One Grand Prix in Monaco and Abu Dhabi, Mardi Gras in New Orleans and the Rio Carnival as well. Plus, diving in the Maldives and skiing in Val d’Isere are also on the list of things that the family is planning to do in the coming year.

According to the job description posted on Perfocal, the exciting role will involve working for up to 10 hours a day, taking lifestyle shots of the mystery family, who have chosen to remain anonymous for the time being. The lucky employee could be away for three months at a time and may only get a few days home in between trips. In other words, it’s a fulltime commitment, which may require you to travel at a moment’s notice.

PILLARS OF CHESED AWARD

Criminals are not the most trustworthy bunch. A Washington State police department was reminded of that recently as it caught up with a perp.

The Richland Police Department told its story of being jilted in a Facebook post on Monday that was directed at 38-year-old Anthony Akers. Police said Akers had promised to turn himself in after being informed he was wanted for “failure to comply,” but the cops got stood up.

“Dear Anthony, is it us?” the post read. “Last Wednesday, we reached out to you as ‘Wanted.’ You replied and even said you were going to turn yourself in. We waited, but you didn’t show.”

Akers reportedly has a history of “drug abuse and protection order violations.”

The police department offered to swing by his home to pick him up and asked Akers to call them.

Akers responded, essentially telling the cops: “It’s not you. It’s me.” Akers said he “obviously” has “commitment issues” but promised he would be at the police station the next day “not later than lunchtime.”

“Thank you in advance to your response if you are patiently giving me another chance with us, I know I don’t deserve it. P.S. you’re beautiful,” Akers wrote.

Later, he posted a picture of himself outside the police station.

Akers wrote: “Here for our date, sweetheart.”

Yossy & Miriam Lea Ungar

EXCELLENCE IN MEDICINE AWARD

Dr. Martin Kessler Dr. Ari Hoschander

Partners, KH Plastic Surgery, P.C.

MAN OF THE YEAR

Michael H. Goldberg

Executive Director, Long Island Jewish Medical Center Northwell Health

YOUNG LEADERSHIP AWARD

Shalom & Leah Jaroslawicz

DINNER CHAIRMEN

Uri Dreifus

ING

BRAT

rs 11 Yea CELE

TION EDICA OF D O THE T ITY MUN COM

|

Dr. Azriel Hirschfeld

|

Adam Okun

RESERVATIONS & ADS:

516.791.4444 ext. 113 Dinner@Achiezer.org www.Achiezer.org/Dinner

@AchiezerFR_5T

@Achiezer

43

44

DECEMBER 13, 2018 | The Jewish Home

Criminals may not be trustworthy but this one certainly has a sense of humor.

Royal Flush

It was nine years ago when Paula Stanton accidentally flushed her diamond wedding ring down the toilet.

She had received the gold ring from her husband as a gift for their 20th wedding anniversary.

“It was heartbreaking,” Stanton, 60, said about losing the ring. “I was embarrassed to tell my husband because it was meaningful.”

Her husband bought her duplicate ring as a replacement, but Stanton said she always hoped that maybe one day the original would be found.

Two years ago, Paula happened to mention her ring to Ted Gogol of the Somers Point Public Works Department in New Jersey and explained what had happened. Gogol told her he had never come across the ring but

would keep her in mind.

Fortune was smiling upon Paula last month when Gogol, working just a few hundred feet away from the Stanton home, saw something glimmer and shine in the muck. He plucked the shiny metal object out of the pipe, cleaned it off, and was shocked to see that it was Paula’s long-lost diamond ring.

“That ring didn’t want to leave her family,” Gogol said. “There are so many things that could have happened. It could have been washed away, it could have been crushed, but it was just meant to be.”

Paula couldn’t believe the news when she saw a note on her door from the public works department.

She now wears both rings and vows not to lose them.

Names You Can Taste Move over, Sara. Goodbye, Isaac.

Millennials are scrapping traditional baby names for those with more, um, flavor.

Recently, parenting website BabyCenter released their annual “Top 100” names list – which Jackson and

Sophia crowned for the sixth year running – and reported that food-inspired “names you can taste” were among 2018’s top trends. The findings are based on the “hundreds of thousands” of baby names collected from the website’s registered users.

According to the study, Millennial and Gen Z parents were influenced by their “passions and values” when it came to naming little ones this year, with some apparently taking a cue from trendier pantry staples.

For girls, the name Kiwi was reported as up by 40 percent; Kale, 35 percent; Maple, 32 percent; and Clementine, 15 percent. For boys, spice-inspired names like Sage reportedly experienced a 15 percent spike in popularity.

Parents eager to select an even more unique name for their tiny bundle of joy can take inspiration from monikers like Baker, Honey, Napoleon and Plum on BabyCenter’s cu-

linary-inspired list as well.

“Parents are inspired by the things they love as well as the sound of a name,” BabyCenter exec Linda Murray said in a release. “In the past, we’d look to the Bible or royalty for name inspiration. Today’s parents turn to other sources. We’ve had two decades plus of ‘unique’ names, and anything goes.”

Other parents are choosing names that evoke feelings are peace. The girls’ name Peace is up 66 percent, Harmony is up 15 percent, 26 percent more people are calling their kids Rainbow, and Hope had a 10 percent surge. For boys, names like Ocean (up 31 percent) and Sky (up 38 percent) were gaining traction.

Times have certainly changed since 2004, when an actress made headlines around the world for naming her daughter Apple.

“It sounded so sweet and it conjured such a lovely picture for me – you know, apples are so sweet and they’re wholesome and it’s biblical – and I just thought it sounded so lovely and ... clean! And I just thought, ‘Perfect!’” she told talk show host Oprah Winfrey at the time.

“Lettuce” hope your daughter is just as happy with that tasty name as you are.

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 13, 2018

Y E S H I VA O F FA R R O C K AWAY

Celebrating a

YOVEL OF HARBOTZAS TORAH ‫אות הכרת הטוב‬ HAGAON HARAV AND REBBE TZIN

YECHIEL YITZCHOK PERR SHLIT”A

ROSH

H AY E S H I VA

‫שע"ט‬

‫ ת‬-‫תשכ"ט‬

YESHIVA of FAR ROCKAWAY ⋅

‫איתן‬

‫דרך‬

‫ישיבה‬

⋅

JONAH LOBELL DINNER CHAIRMAN

MOLDING TALMIDIM BUILDING GENERATIONS

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2019 | THE SANDS

45

46

DECEMBER 13, 2018 | The Jewish Home

Around the

Community Glow HAFTR

H

AFTR students were treated to an amazing Chanukah experience. For the first time, HAFTR PTA organized a Chanukah Chagigah during school hours.

It gave a chance for every

student, who live near and far, to enjoy the festivities.

The students Pre-K through 12th grade were treated to a glow in the dark concert.

All students received special t-shirts to wear to the event, and they all danced

together as one in matching Chanukah spirit-wear! It was truly amazing to see all of the divisions celebrating Chanukah together with an abundance of ruach.

Mordechai Shapiro put on an amazing concert,

singing all of the kids’ favorite songs, including Chanukah songs, and all the students sang along with all their might. It was wonderful seeing all the rabbis and teachers dancing with their students. It was truly

an amazing event. Students commented that it was the best day ever! Thanks to the PTA for all their hard work and to the many sponsors who donated to this wonderful event.

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 13, 2018

47

48

DECEMBER 13, 2018 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

Rav Dovid Frischman and his seventh grade talmidim at Yeshiva Darchei Torah bringing the message of Chanukah to patients in St. John’s Hospital in Far Rockaway

JEP/Nageela and the Five Towns Community Make Chanukah Magical Together

By Jennifer S. Zwiebel

L

ast Thursday evening, the fifth night of Chanukah, Jews from all types of backgrounds united as one to light the menorah and enjoy a special evening of magic, music and memories at JEP/Nageela’s “Magic of Chanukah” event in Cedarhurst.

Hundreds of people filled the Shulamith School for Girls’ auditorium including current and former volunteers, campers, and staff and their families and local Five Towns community friends.

The program began with a Chanukah candle lighting ceremony as Rabbi Dovid Shenker, JEP/Nageela’s director, invited Justin Goldis, a participant in the Woodmere JIL (Learning partners) program to join him in saying the brachos. After the menorah was lit, Jeff Neckinoff of Azamra Entertainment added to the festivities with his Chanukah musical favorites, followed by the Extreme Magic of Eric Wilzig, a mesmerizing performance.

Ohavia Feldman, executive director of JEP/Nageela, emceed the evening and led the exciting raffle extravaganza with JEP’s head of IT,

Sam Lipke. Ohavia’s daughter, Nechama Shoshana, volunteered to be “elevated” on stage by the magician and shocked the audience as she lay suspended in mid-air right in front of their eyes!

One of the most nail-biting suspenseful moments was the magician hanging upside-down in a straight-jacket between the “Jaws of Death” with just a minute to escape, which he magically did!

JEP/Nageela counselors and their campers shared in the amazing moments together, as did their families.

Many volunteered their time to help set up the event and greet attendees, as well as assist in the raffles and give out doughnuts. The organization is grateful to all our JEP/ Nageela family members and new friends who made this happen.

“It was a magical night – looking around the room and seeing Jews of all backgrounds celebrating the miracle of Chanukah, from adults to kids of all ages. Eric and Eliana Wilzig amazed us all.

It was truly magical!” said Meyer Mintz, JEP/Nageela board member.

The idea for the magic show and all-inclusive community event was came to

fruition thanks to Mintz and former JEP volunteer and Five Towns community aishet chayil and friend to many, Liz Schwartz. Due to her active involvement in chessed, non-stop energy and enthusiasm, and close ties, the event was fully supported by friends in the neighborhood who even raised money for the organization.

“What an amazing night!” said Sima Greenstein, one of the sponsors and donor of a stunning silver menorah from J. Greenstein and Company, Inc. used for the candle lighting ceremony. “It brought me back to a time in high school when I was a JEP leader and helped many public school students connect to Judaism in a fun and important way.

The work that these leaders do today, and the camp that is offered to all these children who may not have the oppor-

tunities to explore their Judaism, is unbelievable! Every Jewish neshama is precious and JEP is there to make sure the fire stays lit!”

Other neighborhood friends helped sponsor the event and provided wonderful raffle prizes. Some of the raffles included a pair of delicate leaf-shaped diamond earrings from The Jeweler’s Wife, a brand-new luxury stroller from Petit Pram, a chest full of toys and books from Blue Door Books, a week’s cleanse from Jus by Julie, home improvement $50 discounts from The Pipe Doctor, a trial gym membership at the Woodmere Fitness Club, and much more!

Camp Nageela Board Chairperson, Wendy Turetsky, shared, “JEP’s family Chanukah event was an amazing display of ahavas Yisrael and extraordinary

talent. Our creative board member, Meyer Mintz together with our director of PR and development, Jen Zwiebel, and past JEP volunteer, Liz Schwartz, put together an event that dazzled and entertained the audience. The magician was nothing short of spectacular, and the audience was an impressive mix of JEP and local families. I hope this will be a perennial event!”

After the performance, more raffles were sold and attendees received complimentary Chanukah donuts generously donated by local Five Towns establishments, the Five Fifty Restaurant and Zomick’s Bakery.

We thank all who helped us Have-a-Nageela Chanukah together! For more information about JEP/Nageela, visit jepli.org or contact Jen Zwiebel at 516-374-1528, ext.

240.

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 13, 2018

49

50

DECEMBER 13, 2018 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

MTA Celebrates at Chanukah Chagiga

T

he ruach and achdus were felt throughout the MTA campus, as the entire yeshiva celebrated together at its Chanukah Chagiga on Thursday, December 6. The event kicked off with latkes and sufganiyot, a video presentation, and a dvar

Torah from Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Michael Taubes. Then, talmidim, rebbeim, and faculty had an incredible time dancing to great music by Shiur Soul, followed by a performance by the MTA choir and a live Chanukah Auction drawing.

Chanukah Party with the NYPD By: Sarah Levine

O

nce again families from the Far Rockaway and Five Towns communities ignited the flames to continue building connections with the NYPD 101st Precinct this Chanukah.

On Thursday, December 6, a Chanukah party with a menorah lighting, food, live music, dreidel playing, and gift giving took place at the precinct. Officer Campbell from Community Affairs and Yosef, a teen from the community, jointly lit the menorah. Jeff Neckonoff, a DJ from Azamra, played music throughout the entire event. Police officers and families enjoyed latkes with toppings, doughnuts, and drinks while giving holiday wishes to one another. Afterwards, Officer Campbell, along with another officer and a member of the NYPD community council, handed out a gift bag to every child.

It was a fun afternoon for ev-

eryone there!

Thank you to Schulman Podiatry, Pesach Osina, and Azamra DJ for generously sponsoring the food, gifts, and music for this event.

Thank you to the NYPD 101st Precinct for graciously opening their doors to us and to the officers who gave of their time to join us.

This was the fourth event geared towards building positive relationships be-

tween the Jewish community and the NYPD. Everyone has walked away from these events being inspired to continue in community service and unification with the NYPD. If you would like to get involved in the future, please send your full name and cell phone number, along with a message saying you want to join the group, to Shmuel Russell at samrussell.harmony@gmail.com.

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 13, 2018

51

52

DECEMBER 13, 2018 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community Talmidim of Mechina Toras Avraham of Yeshiva of South Shore dancing spiritedly with their rabbeim during their annual Chanukah mesiba this week

Hello Dr. Stern, Is it always necessary to cut and stitch the gums while performing dental IMPLANTS?”

Tamar Weinberg , Monsey

Hello Tamar, Definitely not! Thanks to laser technology, piezosurgery and the use of accessories similar to those used in neurosurgery, plastic surgery and orthopedics, the experience is completely different, and the healing process is faster and easier than ever before.

Dental implants within an hour – thanks to advanced lasers and technology In Dr. Gedaliah Mordechai Stern’s dental clinic Dr. Stern has been giving patients a new smile through dental implants for over 35 years.

Internationally experienced in dental and oral rehabilitation, Dr. Stern will help you through the process at his special clinic. With vast experience, Dr. Stern is committed to the highest standards of professional service.

USA: 718-305-5480 1607-55st. Brooklyn, NY 11204 Israel: 02-625-8258 | 57 Usishkin, Rechavia Jerusalem www.implantsandlasers-r-us.com | gmsdental@gmail.com For answers to any dental implant questions you may have, or to receive a copy of our free booklet “Answers to Frequently Asked Questions about Dental Implants” please visit our website or call.

Dr. Gedaliah Mordechai

Stern

Diplomate american board of oral implantology

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 13, 2018

53

54

DECEMBER 13, 2018 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

Simcha Leiner Comes to HALB to Celebrate Chanukah

PHOTO CREDIT: IRA THOMAS CREATIONS

Chanukah at HANC MS

T

he 7th Grade boys had their annual Chanukah party at the Lovy house on Monday, December 3rd. The boys enjoyed delicious pizza, fries, chips, soda, and more for their amazing dinner.

Following dinner, the boys heard a great Chanukah story from Rabbi Harris, and then they played Scattegories which brought great excitement and fun to the already fantastic party. To cap off the party, the boys had a knee hockey tournament in the Lovy basement.

On Thursday night the seventh grade girls enjoyed a Chanukah party with Morah Jaeger, Morah Klein, Mrs. Morey and Rabbi Hecht at the home of Morah Jaeger. As the girls were eating the delicious dairy dinner served, there was a strong feeling of achdut and joy in the air. Dinner was followed by a game of Chanu-

kah Headbanz, where the girls had a great time laughing and trying to only answer in yes or no questions!

After the game, everyone helped themselves to doughnuts, candy, and the chocolate dipping station. With dessert still going strong, it was time for the next part of the program: Chanukah and HANC themed cake decorating competition! The girls were divided into four groups, and each one had to decorate their cake with all of the supplies provided, making sure that it had to do with HANC and Chanukah! The girls had a grand time decorating with their groups, and each group stood up and presented their cake and idea, with funny parts that left us all laughing.

Too soon after, it was time to leave. Baruch Hashem, the party was a tremendous success and a great time was had by all.

In honor of Chanukah, the eighth grade girls had an incredible paint night festivity at the Fuld home on Tuesday night. Each girl got an 11x14 canvas with an easel, brushes and paint. It was so exciting and professional. We were taught how to draw and create a beautiful picture of a menorah using different techniques such as blending and swirls.

The Chanukah fun continued with an over-the-top make your own ice cream table filled with different toppings of your choice, from whipped cream to candy to chocolate chips and more. Adina Lippman, Eliyah Bivas and Aviva Afrahim shared beautiful divrei Torah on Chanukah, which really brought inspiration and encouragement to everyone there.

Thank you so much to Morah Hakimian for organizing the best activity and delicious dessert table.

We will never forget this night, especially with our new gorgeous paintings hanging in all our living rooms.

The eighth grade boys were invited to Rabbi Olshan’s house for a Chanukah party on Thursday night. There was great fun, good food, amazing entertainment and a lot of achdut. The entertainer was Adam Rinn and one of his tricks was putting a 27-inch sword down his throat. (Do not try this at home!) He also made us pick a phone number from a phonebook, and he had predicted the number prior to the show, which was mind blowing. Thanks to Rabbi Olshan for letting all the boys come over and opening his house to us. Thank you to Rabbi Hecht and HANC for giving us a great Chanukah event. (Written by: Benjamin Mottahedeh)

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 13, 2018

55

Back for our 3rd year!!

Big Camp E xcitement o Small Camp E

nvironment!

Registration now Open!

Exclusively for 3rd & 4th graders

Located in Young Israel of Far Rockaway Directed by Gittel Hiller (Stein) For applications and more info: campsummersault@gmail.com or 347.306.9685

hudineuberger@gmail.com

First Half: June 27-July 23 Second Half: July 24- Aug 16

Fantastic Program o Instructional Swim o Weekly Trips o Food Decorating o Painting o Aerobics o And Much More!

56

DECEMBER 13, 2018 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

Chanukah happiness at HANC ECC West Hempstead was shared by all of their children and their guests

JCCRP Hosts Chanukah Party for Holocaust Survivors

L

ast Tuesday, and as on many mornings at the White Shul, there was a beautiful brunch served in the banquet hall. No, it was not for a bris, bar mitzvah or a fundraiser. It was a most special brunch for those community members who oftentimes are most neglected and forgotten. It was a Chanukah party for our local Holocaust survivors.

Over 140 Holocaust survivors from our community attended a Chanukah Party & Concert sponsored by the JCCRP, creating an opportunity for these most deserving members to come out and enjoy the morning together. In addition to the delicious food, everyone enthusiastically enjoyed a concert by a world famous pianist as well as raffle prizes and door prizes. Each participant received a care package filled with Chanukah

related items such as a menorah, candles, latkes, applesauce, dreidels, etc.

The party was enhanced by the attendance of NYC Councilman Rafael Espinal (D-37 th District) who joined in the festivities. Although, the Councilman represents constituents in Brooklyn, he attended because of his amazing commitment toward survivors. Councilman Espinal has worked tirelessly together with the Jewish Caucus’s chair, Councilman Chaim Deutsch (D- 48th NYC District), to secure funding for the seniors of our community, especially our Holocaust survivors. The Councilman spearheaded the NYC Council initiative to help vulnerable survivors residing in New York, which to-date totals over 10 million dollars in funding!

Moshe Brandsdorfer, executive director of the JCCRP, presented a book,

“The Bleeding Sky” to Councilman Espinal. This book was a most unique gift because it relates the miraculous story of Molly Spiegel’s survival through the concentration camps and Holocaust. Molly Spiegel is Moshe’s paternal grandmother.

After accepting the book, Councilman Espinal spoke passionately about his shock when finding out about the poverty amongst survivors and how this impacted him on a personal level. The councilman vowed to continue his work in caring for all vulnerable New Yorkers.

Other important guests included Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato (Assembly District-23) and Manuel Silva, chief of staff for Councilman Donovan Richards (D-31).

Barbara Satt, the director for Holocaust services at the JCCRP, ex-

pressed, “These seniors call on the JCCRP for so many of their needs such as benefits enrollment, home repairs, kosher food pantry, landlord issues, help with medical bills, and other needs that arise. It was our pleasure to provide for them yet another valuable service and bring them together for a morning of healthy entertainment and socializing. The feeling of Chanukah and pride to be a Jew was palpable.”

Sharon, an 85-year-old Holocaust survivor who lives in Far Rockaway, stated, “In spite of our tragic history, we come together to celebrate Chanukah and enjoy each other’s company.

It was absolutely beautiful. I can’t wait until the next event.”

The JCCRP thanks UJA Federation of NY, Claims Conference on Jewish Materials Claims Against Germany, Met Council, Jewish Federation of North America, NYC Council (Elie Wiesel Initiative), members of the NYC Council Jewish Caucus and NYC Councilman Donovan Richards (D-31), Councilman Eric Ulrich and Councilman Chaim Deutsch for providing support for Holocaust survivor services.

To learn more about future programming or services for Holocaust survivors and seniors please email info@jccrp.org or call 718-3277755.

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 13, 2018

57

58

DECEMBER 13, 2018 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

Rabbi Mordechai Yaffe, Rosh HaYeshiva of Mesivta Ateres Yaakov, visited talmidim learning in Eretz Yisroel over Chanukah. His visit culminated with a beautiful mesiba held at Yeshiva Aderes HaTorah, which was attended by over 70 alumni.

Chanukah at TAG

C

hanukah at Torah Academy for Girls was truly an enlightening and enjoyable experience for all grades. The halls were scented with the aroma of latkes and doughnuts topped off every

party. The Women’s League presented an adorable crushable doughnut to our talmidos in grades N-5th.

Chagigas in the junior high and high school divisions kept everyone dancing, and our Ganger

Early Childhood Division invited parents to come spend time with their daughters creating artwork in conjunction with Chanukah. The arts and crafts projects, the dreidel games, the baking, and, of course,

the opportunity to express hakaras hatov to our hardworking staff, played an important role in providing a true atmosphere of simcha.

Over 300 children came to enjoy great food, great gifts and a great show with Eric Willzig at the Annual White Shul Youth Department Chanukah Shul this week

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 13, 2018

RAH O = 1 + 1 2+2= ORA H MY

MI

3+3= ORAH

...

ND

D E S I G N & C O N Q U E R : 5 1 6 . 9 8 7 . 8 8 5 3

ORAH IS ALW A YS O N

W E W E L C O M E A L L O U R N E W C A M P E R S T O T H E O R A H F A M I LY !

CAMP DIRECTOR: LEEBA BRISK PROGRAM DIRECTOR: ELISHEVA SEGELMAN phone: 718.324.6724(ORAH) EMAIL: ORAHDAYCAMP@GMAIL.COM W E B S I T E : O R A H D A Y C A M P. C O M

59

60

DECEMBER 13, 2018 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community Simchas Chanukah at Siach Yitzchok included a dreidel drop, a hypnotist, singing, and dancing

GiftOfUnity and DRS Distribute Chanukah Cheer

W

hat a special way to add light during Chanukah!

Rabbi Farber’s shiur at DRS made 150 Chanukah packages that were distributed to Jewish patients at North Shore University Hospital. The packages contained Chanu-

kah and Shabbat themed gifts for the patients to enjoy. We are sure these packages will brighten the Chanukah of these patients. Rabbi Hillel Fox, chaplain at North Shore University Hospital, and Debra Sheridan, Director of Chaplaincy Care and Education,

are pictured distributing special Chanukah Packages from Giftofunity that were assembled by DRS Yeshiva students to the Jewish patients.

GiftofUnity is an organization that provides opportunity to unite Jews.

The goal is to give a gift that will en-

able one Jew to feel recognized and love by another. “Giving creates Love and Love creates Unity.” If you would like to get involved or have suggestions please email Giftofunity@gmail. com or call 516-524-8479.

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 13, 2018

61

62

DECEMBER 13, 2018 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community At the Chanukah Mesiba of Kollel Tirtza Devorah

Rav Yaakov Bender, Rosh Hayeshiva; Mr. Ronald Lowinger, founder and president; and Rav Dovid Bender, rosh kollel

Rav Dovid Bender, Rosh Kollel, addressing the mesiba

Mrs. Lloyd’s fourth grade class at Yeshiva of South Shore had a fun time using the scientific process to see how different types of oils burned in honor of Chanukah

KADIMA at the Gural JCC Brings Chanukah Light To All

M

ention Chanukah to most people and their eyes immediately light up and big smiles appear. For children, Chanukah is a holiday of chagigahs, gelt, dreidel playing, yummy treats, a day or two off from school – a favorite time of year. For parents, too, the Festival of Lights is a joyous time, as we delight in our children’s excitement and together recall our people’s history and celebrate their many unlikely but powerful victories. For single parent families, however, Chanukah is yet another reminder of the strife their families are undergoing, the personal battles they have yet to face and the overwhelming challenges they are struggling to overcome.

For many, due to the break-up of the family unit, there are no family get-togethers, gifts are unaffordable and therefore not exchanged, and the holiday’s joy is overshadowed by discord and sadness. At a time when most families are joined in laughter and cheer, single parent families often feel isolated and downtrodden.

In the Kadima program for single parent families at the Gural JCC, however, funded entirely by UJA-Federation of New York, Chanukah is yet another opportunity to bring separated and divorced families together and to remind them

that they are not alone and to provide them with many reasons to celebrate. While throughout the course of the year our program offers daily support and services and regular lectures, events and activities for all members of the family, at Chanukah we make it a particular goal to see that these families are not forgotten and that the holiday is a joyful one.

This past week was a beautiful example of how our Kadima program embraced the single parent families in our community and beyond.

Chanukah started off with bags of age-appropriate gifts provided to each family, many donated from our friends in the Merrick and Great

Neck communities, as well as by local families. Grateful parents stopped in to the JCC all week long to pick up the gifts and gift cards that they could happily share with their delighted children. Hundreds of gifts were distributed, and no family was left out.

In addition, our friends at the Jewish Center of Atlantic Beach provided well over one hundred Kadima members with a Chanukah party to remember. Families arrived from the Five Towns, Far Rockaway, Brooklyn, Queens and beyond to enjoy an evening of great cheer, including a delicious meal, arts and crafts project, entertainment, candle lighting words of encouragement and, of course, a

generous gift to each child attending. From infants through teens, the room was packed with families who were united and welcome. Their laughter and good feelings were genuine and heartfelt.

While at this point the children in our program had experienced a Chanukah to remember, we felt the moms could do with a pick-me-up as well. We were very fortunate to be the recipient of a birthday donation from a neighborhood friend and supporter of the JCC who treated over forty single moms to a fantastic paint night and dinner at the JCC. She spoke to the women of her own struggles years before as a single mom and how she was able to move on – Kadima! Our guests left with parting gifts of jewelry, a further contribution of our incredibly generous hostess and, more importantly, with feelings of belonging and of appreciation of the Chanukah light they found at the Gural JCC. If you or anyone you know would benefit from our Kadima program please contact Rachayle Deutsch at the Gural JCC (516)569-6733 ext.

222 or email rachayle.deutsch@guraljcc.org.

The Marion and Aaron Gural JCC is a proud non-profit partner of UJA-Federation New York.

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 13, 2018

63

64

DECEMBER 13, 2018 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

Chanukah at Shulamith Middle Division

W

hat a joy-filled Chanukah week we had in Shulamith Middle Division! On Monday, the inimitable Shimi Adar arrived to great fanfare. We danced, we cheered, and we celebrated together in the spirit of the chag. The eighth graders were overjoyed to welcome their friends from Kulanu who joined us for our rollicking chagiga.

Everyone was also excited as the G.O.

unveiled this year’s Big and Little Sisters.

Tuesday brought with it the opportunity to create one-of-a-kind edible menorahs, dreidels, and pans of latkes. Each structure was most unusual, as they were made from marshmallows, pretzels, fluff, and more. The girls had a great time working with their big and little sisters to construct these delectable

Chanukah creations.

On Wednesday, the Big and Little Sisters joined forces to create gift boxes for children of Chai Lifeline.

They decorated the boxes, wrote cards of achdut and friendship, and loaded the boxes with crayons, stickers, mini slinkies, and other fun items. The boxes looked beautiful, and the girls felt great to celebrate by giving to others.

The week of activities ended with a special Chanukah program dubbed, Miracles in Our Time. Guest speaker Rivky Plaut Morel inspired the girls with her lifestory and the miracles she has experienced. Many faculty members wrote stories of hashgacha pratit in their lives, and the students had fun guessing who experienced each miracle.

Gesher Chanukah Parent Workshops

T

he preparations for Chanukah are always a favorite for the children at Gesher. Learning about the story of Chanukah, with so many interesting and fun projects, is especially sweet. Even more sweet are the special treats associated with this special yom tov.

What makes it even more exciting is that the children know that they

are going to be sharing the Gesher experience with their parents Gesher’s annual parent workshops were held just before the Chanuka break. Many of the classes had performances prepared. The children had the opportunity to review their Chanukah songs and lessons with their parents, while enjoying some special treats.

Romania, Romania, Romania, Romania HAFTR’s kindergarten students took a walk to Judaica Plus this week and enjoyed a Chanukah scavenger hunt. With clipboards in hand, they checked around the store and found different types of chanukiot, dreidels, candles and more... It was a blast

Page 96

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 13, 2018

65

66

DECEMBER 13, 2018 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

Light & Love at Chai Lifeline i-Shine Chanukah Chagigah

Sheri Hammer and Annette Kaufman pose with an i-Shine child at the Chanukah Chagigah

O

ver 250 people from Far Rockway, Bayswater, West Hempstead and the Five Towns gathered to celebrate the annual Chai Lifeline i-Shine Chanukah Chagigah at Beth Shalom in Lawrence on Wednesday, December 5. An after-school program for elementary-age schoolchildren living

i-Shine Director of the Five Towns-Rockaway Andy Lauber poses with an i-Shine family at the Chanukah Chagigah

An i-shine family attends the Chanukah Chagigah

with illness or loss in their family, i-Shine provides support, homework assistance, mentorship, social activities, snacks and dinner.

Upon entering, i-Shine families and volunteers were transported into a circus-themed ballroom, where they feasted on a lavish buffet from Mike’s Burgers. The event was

An i-Shine participant enjoying the National Circus Project performance

sponsored by SMC Returns, along with many local supporters. Community-based businesses donated goods and services to the party, including Premier Skirting, Judaica Plus, and Jerry Meyer Studios.

The children were entertained by a performer from the National Circus Project, who engaged and captivated the audience. A DJ played familiar Chanukah favorites and had the group dancing well into the evening. At the conclusion of the party, nearly one hundred toys wrapped by Gila Koplowitz, as well as dozens of $50 gift cards, were distributed to the families. In total, Chai Lifeline gave away more than 50,000 toys to children and families battling pediatric illness around the world this Chanukah.

“The story of Chanukah is a tale

about how a small group of people overcame seemingly insurmountable odds to battle a powerful enemy,” said Rabbi Simcha Scholar, Chai Lifeline’s Chief Executive Officer. “It is a story of dispelling darkness and bringing forth light. I think the story of Chanukah is quite like the mission of Chai Lifeline. Our incredibly devoted staff and volunteers do everything they can to bring light to lives which have been darkened by the presence of illness or loss, and to help banish the darkness.”

Chai Lifeline is the international children’s health support network, providing emotional, social, and financial support to children with life-threatening or lifelong illnesses and their families. To learn more about Chai Lifeline and its services, please visit www.chailifeline.org.

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 13, 2018

Our annual Chai Lifeline i-Shine Chanukah Chagigah could not have happened without our generous community supporters.

The i-Shine afterschool program provides mentoring, tutoring, and supervised activities for children living with illness or loss in their family.

hanks to our corporate spon t l a i c sor Spe

OUR SPONSORS MICHELLE & ROBERT APPEL

DORA & EDWARD GLUCK

RONIT & DOV LEDERER

SUZANNE & ROBERT SEGAL

CAROLE & DAVID BECK

ANNE & ERNEST GOLDMAN

DEBRA & DAVID LEVINE

DAVID & DEBRA SELTZER

PESHA & EREZ BEN-AMI

SHLOMO GROSS

RACHEL & DAVID LYONS

NICOLE & JEFF SPIVAK

SHARYN & JEROME BLAUSTIEN

SARITTE & ELI GUTTMAN

TERI & AARON STEIN

DANI & JASON BOKOR

SYLVIA HAMMER

THE TUESDAY NIGHT MAHJONG LADIES in memory of Bernice Scharaga

REVA & BARRY BORGEN

SHERI & SHALOM HAMMER

LINDA & BEN BRAFMAN

JOY HAMMER

YAEL & GARY MANDEL

YAEL & URI COHEN

JOSH & TAMAR HELLER RACHEL & GOEFFRY HERSKO

LISA & CHAIM EHRLICH

NATALIE & DANNY HILLER

EVA & AARON WEXLER SHERRY & JOEL WIENER

GABRIELLE & MICHAEL MULLER

LIVIA & CHAIM JACOBS JULIE & BRIAN JEDWAB

DEBRA & CHAIM FELD

ANNETTE & GARY KAUFMAN in memory of Annette’s sister Diane Taragin Z’L

JAMIE & EVAN SCHARAGA

MALKIE KLEIN & FAMILY

BONNIE & HESHY SCHERTZ

ESTEE & AMIR KORNBLUM

MIMI & ROBERT SCHREIR

CAROL & STEVEN KRAUSS

MICHELLE & DAVID SEELENFREUND

SHIRA & OZI GLASS

ELANA & AVRAM WEISSMAN

ROB & SHAYNA MILLSTONE

BONNIE & JOSEPH FEIN

ARIEL & BARUCH GLAUBACH

ESTHER & BARUCH WEINSTEIN

JANA & YEZI MECHLOVITZ

DEVORA & DAVID ELKOUBY

SUSAN & TZVI FRIEDMAN

BARBARA & ALAN WEISCHELBAUM

REBECCA & JEFF MANSBACH

MADELEINE & ALLEN DORKIN

SURA & BERT FRIED

VARDA & AVI THURM

SHIELA & NEIL WIENER

HELENE & STEVEN MYERS ELANA & RONNIE OVED

MELISSA & LEWIS WIENERKUR ALYSSA & DANNY ZANGER

MICHELLE & ELI SALIG

LISA & DAVID ZASLOWSKY ESTHER & DOV ZEIDMAN STACEY & CHARLES ZRIHEN

A Special Thank you to...

DANIELLE ARONOVITZ

GILA KAPOLOWITZ

JASON MEYERS

JOY HAMMER

YEHUDIT LEVINE

DEVORAH ROSNER

SYLVIA HAMMER

NITI LIPSTEIN

ALYSSA SCHECHTER

NATALIE HILLER

LYNN MAEL

RACHEL TOCKER

SHARONA HOFFMAN

REBECCA MANSBACH

SHEILA WIENER

67

68

DECEMBER 13, 2018 | The Jewish Home

FINAL STRETCH

HELP BRING THIS BEAUTIFUL BASTION OF CHINUCH TO THE FINISH LINE

BUILDING

CA M PA I G N

An opportunity for partnership!

This is a historic opportunity to partner

with Siach Yitzchak and earn a share in its perpetual impact on the future of Klal Yisroel!

For 39 years, Siach Yitzchok, under the leadership of its dedicated Menahel, Rav Dovid Sitnick, has been a dynamic chinuch anchor of our community. The Yeshiva’s pioneering chinuch achievements are part of the beautiful spectrum of the Five Towns/Far Rockaway community’s essence and identity.

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 13, 2018

-

‫ה ב נ י ן‬

‫ז ה‬

‫ה ש ל ם‬

Dedication Opportunities Cheshek Shlomo Building Dedication ........ $2,000,000 Junior High School Name .............................. $1,000,000 Early Childhood Learning Dedication ...... $1,000,000 Bais HaMedrash Name ..................... $360,000 Reserved Main Entrance ..................................................... $360,000 Dining Hall / Auditorium .................................. $360,000 Harav Shlomo Freifeld zt”l Memorial Wall ...... $250,000 Founders Wall in Main Lobby ..................... $250,000 Gymnasium .......................................................... $250,000 Aron Kodesh ........................................ $100,000 Reserved Kitchen ............................................................... $100,000 Classrooms (18) ................................... $50,000 8 Reserved Limudei Kodesh Conference Room .. $36,000 Reserved OT/PT Rooms (5) ................................ $25,000 2 Reserved Bais HaMedrash Menorah .................. $18,000 Reserved Yizkor Plaque (2) .................................................. $10,000 Mezuza at each Floor’s Entranceway (5) ............. $10,000 Mizrach Wall Decorative Panels (12) ..... $7,200 1 Reserved Otzar Haseforim Bookcase (6) ....................... $7,200 Bais HaMedrash Bookcase (18) .......... $7,200 1 Reserved Bais HaMedrash Window (12) .............. $5,400 7 Reserved Classroom Mezuzah (18) .................... $5,400 6 Reserved Pre-School Netilas Yadayim Stations (6) ... $5,400 1 Reserved Classroom Windows (18) ...................................... $3,600 Classroom Cubbies (18) .................... $2,500 2 Reserved Set of Table & 4 Chairs in BM (50) ..... $1,800 1 Reserved Water Fountain (8) ................................ $1,800 1 Reserved Mezuza (50) .............................................. $1,800 4 Reserved Classroom Clocks (18) .......................... $1,000 3 Reserved

For information on dedication and additional sponsorship opportunities please contact Rabbi Mordechai Stein at the Yeshiva office at 718.327.6247 ext.16 or mstein@siachyitzchok.org

-

69

70

DECEMBER 13, 2018 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

Simchas Chanukah was palpable in YOSS as the rabbeim and talmidim joined hands in festive dancing and singing at the Chanukah Mesiba.

BYAM Birchas Hashachar/Amen Initiative

T

his past summer Rabbi Neuman introduced the Birchas Hashachar/Amein Initiative to the girls at Bais Yaakov Ateres Miriam.

The girls proudly davened Birchas Hashachar out loud and filled up their calendar charts with amens. They earned many zechusim with their brachos out loud. The many girls who participated received a gift card to Judaica Plus.

The excitement continued when Rabbi Neuman

announced at the Chanukah Chagigah that we would be continuing the initiative over the days of Chanukah vacation. Once again, the girls pulled out their siddurim on vacation days and said Birchas Hashachar aloud.

There will be a raffle for all the participants, and the class with the most participants will have a surprise treat.

May we continue to earn zechusim to bring yeshuos and refuos to Klal Yisroel. Amen!

NSUH Chanukah Candle Lighting Celebration

N

orthwell Health’s North Shore University Hospital (NSUH) held a Chanukah Candle Lighting Celebration with food and live music for patient families and hospital staff on the fifth night of Chanukah.

Rabbi Simcha Lefkowitz spoke inspiringly about the miracle of Chanukah and expressed gratitude to the hospital on behalf of the Five Towns Jewish Community. Rabbi Randy Sheinberg presented an animated Jewish story, and Cantor Guy Bonne gave a lively musical performance, accompanied by the Temple Tikvah Youth Mitzvah Choir.

Hospital administrators partici-

pating in the celebration whose presence enhanced the program were: Jeffrey Kraut, Northwell Health EVP-Strategy and Analytics; Dr. Alessandro Bellucci, NSUH Executive Director; Derek Anderson, Assoc Exec Dir-Hospital Ops; Donna Cice, Deputy Regional HR Officer; Debra Sheridan, Director of Chaplaincy Care and Education; Dr. Harvey Marchbein, Director-Labor and Delivery; Dr. Sindee Weiss, Program Director-Palliative Medicine Fellowship; and Rabbi Dr. Hillel Fox, NSUH Chaplain.

The NSUH Chanukah Celebration was sponsored by Michelle Sabzevari, Nabila Levian, and the Jewish Educa-

Pictured are some of the rabbis and hospital administrators who participated in the 2018 North Shore Hospital Chanukah Candle Lighting Celebration.

tion Project in memory of Mordechai ben Aharon, z”l, and Mordechai ben Mashiach, z”l. Rabbi Boruch Wolf, Chabad of the Medical Centers, Great Neck’s Kosher Dunkin Donuts and

Rebbetzin Ellen Polakoff provided delicious refreshments.

North Shore Hospital’s Chanukah Celebration was well attended and was a meaningful experience for all!

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 13, 2018

Around the Community

Rav Yaakov Bender giving out Chanukah gelt to talmidim of Yeshiva Darchei Torah

Chanukah & STEAM at Cheder Chabad

I

n honor of Chanukah, Cheder Chabad Girls of Long Island held a S.T.E.A.M. Fair: Chanukah Edition.

All students in grades Pre1A through 5th planned, discussed and deliberated, together with their teachers, on a topic of their interest.

They then conducted research into their chosen topic, hypothesized, tested their theories and eventually constructed their models and dis-

plays. Aside from all the learning taking place through their preparations for the fair, there was also a tremendous display of achdus and creativity as the girls worked in groups or as a class to get ready for the fair.

All the parents were invited to come, shep nachas, and take part in the fair which took place on the first day of Chanukah.

71

72

DECEMBER 13, 2018 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

2018 Auction Marks Emotional Final Stop of the RCCS Tour

T

ens of thousands of people of all ages, from all segments of Klal Yisroel, joined together for the 2018 Rofeh Cholim Cancer Society (RCCS) Auction. The auction marked the completion of the “RCCS Tour” which included the iconic yellow RCCs Tour Bus that has been traveling from community to community in recent weeks and has engendered much excitement for an incredible cause.

Tens of thousands of people from all around the world tuned into the live show using many different media outlets. Many tuned in at RCCSauction.org, others listened live to one of the several radio stations broadcasting the show, while others called into the live hotline. Most importantly all enjoyed an exceptional evening of entertainment and inspiration, with the goal of raising the funds needed to save the lives of cancer patients in our communities.

The show was hosted by wellknown community activist and motivational force R’ Chaskel Bennett, who kept the evening going with his wit and enthusiasm.

The highlights were many, with one being the amazing Team Talent Show: an array of performances by a select few who were brave enough to come on stage and show off their unique talents. The talents were eclectic, the performances were mesmerizing, the crowd and the judges were

blown away. From singing to ventriloquism, from impressions to magic tricks – the contestants of Team Talent were a sensational bunch.

The talent show was hosted by the one-and-only Kosher Guru and featured a panel of all-star celebrity judges. Jewish music legend Country Yossi, singing sensations Mordechai Shapiro and Berry Weber, and comedian Mendy Pellin appraised the competitors’ skills and gave their expert opinions on all the performances.

Taking home first place was young singer Shia Ostreicher, who blew everyone away with his angelic voice.

Another highlight was the personal live message from R’ Sholom Mordechai Rubashkin. R’ Sholom Mordechai described the plight of cancer patients, who are “locked in a box” of disease. He urged everyone to sympathize with their pain, while simultaneously strengthening their emunah and bitachon and believing that the geulah can arrive at any time!

The evening’s program began and ended with stirring remarks by the renowned and inspirational orator, Rav Gav Friedman, who provided powerful words of Torah and inspiration.

Most would agree that the most moving and inspiring parts of the evening were the live testimonials from the families who have been affected by cancer and who have been helped

by RCCS. Thousands were moved to

tears as the Nagel family described how their daughter has been battling cancer for three years, yet continues to hold on to hope and joy. With the help of RCCS, the family is looking forward to a brighter future.

There wasn’t a dry eye in the house – or amongst those watching at home – as one of the Nagel boys sang a beautiful song together with Mordechai Shapiro, his sister’s favorite singer.

The family was then presented with a surprise gift by Uncle Moishy, who himself has been a huge part of the success of the 2018 auction by appearing and performing at all the Tour Bus stops along the way.

As the crowd awaited an amazing performance by Elimelech Adler playing the harmonica and guitar simultaneously, their eyes started to tear as they heard his personal story with RCCS. Mr. Adler related the dedication of the RCCS patient department and their action to save his son’s life.

Renowned mechanech Rabbi Leibish Lish related powerful words of chizuk and led the entire crowd in the recitation of Tehilim.

R’ Chaim Rapfogel, COO of RCCS, shared a powerful message of thanks to the over 700 RCCS hostesses who opened their homes to host auction parties. RCCS global medical director R’ Zisha Lowy described an “ordinary” day in the patient department – which is anything but ordinary.

The devoted RCCS volunteers manning the phone lines were kept busy all evening, as the calls kept coming in from around the globe with donations and auction ticket purchases.

A huge cheer went out when this year’s goal of raising $2 million to fund lifesaving insurance policies for cholei Yisroel was met!

By the time the show ended, the auction had surpassed the original goal. This influx of funds will allow RCCS to take on many more cases and be there for more cholim and their families as they go through their painful and difficult ordeals. A huge thank you goes out to everyone who helped make this a reality. Mi k’amcha Yisroel!

Finally, it was time to draw the winners of the 30 incredible auction prizes, the three elite prizes – an Eretz Yisroel Tour, an African Adventure Tour, and a Europe History Tour, the Grand Prize of up to $50,000 cash, and the “Bonus Raffle” prize of $18,000. The excitement could be felt in the room.

Congratulations to all the winners!

But, of course, everyone who participated in this amazing auction is a winner!

It was a truly awesome event – the culmination of a truly incredible Tour in which tens of thousands rode along and created the largest get-well card for cholei Yisroel.

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 13, 2018

EXTENDED ONE WEEK! BUY 1 GET 1

ALL

HATS • SUITS • COATS SHOES • SHIRTS • & MORE!

456 Central Avenue, Cedarhurst NY 11516 | 516.791.1925 Sunday 11-6, Mon-Thurs 11-7, Friday 10:30-1:30 Sale ends 12/20/18. Second item must be equal or lesser value on like items only. Must mention ad. Not valid with any other offer, special, or discount. We are not responsible for typos. All prices are subject to change without notice. Other restrictions may apply.

73

74

DECEMBER 13, 2018 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

Cub Scout Pack 1818 Present Colors at Long Island Nets Game

C

ub Scout Pack 1818, the only shomer Shabbos and shomer kosher Cub Scout Pack in the Long Island area, chartered by the Marion and Aaron Gural JCC, were the Color Guard as the Long Island Nets hosted Jewish Heritage Night at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

The boys of Pack 1818, led

by Cub Master Bruce Werneck, had been practicing for weeks leading up to the big day. Walking onto the Coliseum floor the boys were struck by the enormity of the evening.

“At first I was scared,” said Porat Altman, “but once we started it felt really awesome!”

Before the ceremony began a moment of silence was observed in honor of the victims of the Tree of Life Synagogue in Squirrel Hill, Pennsylvania, where eleven people were murdered during Shabbos services.

Their names were displayed on the Jumbotron during the somber memorial. After, the Cub Scouts were announced to the floor where Yehuda Fistel, Zeke Wernick, and Ezra Kanarfogol carried out the American, Israeli, and Pack 1818 flags respectively.

Jewish music sensation Yoni Z wowed the crowd with his rendition of the Star Spangled Banner. Afterwards, the boys walked off the floor, and the game began between the Long Island Nets and the Lakeland Magic.

Everyone stayed to watch the game and participated in Chanukah themed arts and crafts, played the latest video games at the gaming truck parked beside the basketball court, and enjoyed the inflatables, all part of the Jewish Heritage Night celebration.

During halftime a basketball decorated menorah was lit to kick off the first night of Chanukah. It was truly a night that will never be forgotten by the boys. Special thanks goes to Sol Palen and everyone at the Long Island Nets for bestowing Pack 1818 with this honor.

For more information about joining​ this shomer Shabbos, ​k​osher Pack contact Batsheva Altman at (917)4504225 or Bruce Wernick at either 646-271-2969 or packmaster1818@gmail.com. ​

TEAM Shabbos – Next Week

J

ust one week away!

In just one week, shuls and communities across the county will join together for the annual National Association of Chevra Kadisha TEAM Shabbos. Following last year’s tremendous success, the fourth annual Traditional End-of-Life Awareness Movement (TEAM) Shabbos returns this Shabbos, Parshas Vayechi, December 22, 2018.

A project of the National Association of Chevra Kadisha (NASCK), TEAM Shabbos addresses end-of-life concerns that affect the Jewish community. The mission of TEAM Shabbos — to generate awareness, education, and direction regarding the value of life and critical end-of-life decisions

— is resonating strongly in communities throughout the U.S. and Canada.

The momentum is growing as shuls and communities nationwide enthusiastically embrace the opportunity to bring the topic of end-of-life, a subject which is too often avoided, out into the open in an informative, inspiring, and positive way.

There are several ways shuls can participate in TEAM Shabbos. Utilize the week leading up to Parshas Vayechi to open the conversation about relevant issues through the Shabbos drasha, shiurim, newsletters, and divrei Torah.

But TEAM Shabbos is not just about a shul drasha. TEAM Shabbos is encouraging community members

to get involved and take action! Communities can also use this opportunity to collaborate with NASCK in planning programs that delve into a vast array of end-of-life related topics. Individuals can be encouraged to purchase life-insurance, fill out a halachic living will, begin the process of writing a will in accordance with halacha, reach out to family members who may be considering choices other than a traditional burial for a loved-one, or open an endof-life conversation with their parents.

From New York to Toronto to Tennessee, the TEAM Shabbos initiative is creating a dramatic shift in the perspective about end-of-life care and preparation. Subjects that were once taboo and questions that have gone

unanswered can now be addressed in a constructive way. By taking advantage of the teachable moment that TEAM Shabbos offers and with the commitment of rabbis, shuls, and active community members around the country, we can continue spreading our message about the importance of properly preparing ourselves and others for illness and end-of-life decisions.

Has your shul joined the TEAM? Encourage your rav and shul to sign up today, and join hundreds of shuls across the nation to generate awareness about the Torah perspective on the value of life, here and hereafter.

To sign up or learn more, call 718847-6280, email info@nasck.org, or visit teamshabbos.org/register.

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 13, 2018

Around the Community

Mission Possible

BREATHTAKING? ORDER YOURS TODAY!

I

n conjunction with the middah of nosei b’ol im chaveiro, the Yeshiva Darchei Torah first grade boys colored their erev Shabbos

“helping charts” checklists that they will keep on their parents’ refrigerators, reminding them to help in their homes before Shabbos.

Going the Extra Mile: The SKA Gems Project

L

ast year saw the launching of a wildly successful chessed initiative of the Stella K. Abraham High School for Girls called GEMS – Going the Extra Mile. SKA students were asked to take the jewelry they no longer wear and send it the extra mile to young girls living in Jerusalem who will cherish it.

Letters of hakarat hatov and photographs sent from Israel showed how happy the previous recipients were with their gifts, and once again, beautifully wrapped bags of jewelry went to girls in Bayit Lapleitot in Jerusalem this year.

Our thanks go to Mrs. Aviva Goldstein who connected SKA with this wonderful project and Mrs. Leanne Taylor, SKA Chesed Coordina-

Timeless designs and fine craftsmanship are characteristic trademarks that set Today’s kitchen apart from all others.

Whether your plans include a new home or a home improvement remodeling project, we welcome the opportunity to create the design of your dreams and turn it into reality.

20 Years Experience

Free Remodeling Tips

tor, and her committee heads, Yael Jungreis, Jackie Myers and Sarah Sigman, who “went the extra mile.”

Today's Kitchen

Dating Dialogue Page 106

202-a Rockaway Tpke, Cedarhurst, Ny 11516 P (516) 371-1100 • F (516) 371-1101

75

76

DECEMBER 13, 2018 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

MTA Sophomores Lobby Congress for Israel

By Yosef Flamenbaum (‘21) and Sam Verstandig (‘21)

O

n Tuesday, December 4, a group of MTA sophomores joined Yeshiva University’s Political Action Committee on a trip to Washington, D.C., to lobby Congress. Over the course of the day, they met with members of the House of Representatives to discuss the importance of America’s continued

support for Israel as well as the many security threats and challenges that Israel faces. Afterwards, they had the opportunity to explore Capitol Hill and tour the White House, where they heard from Special Representative for International Negotiations and MTA alum Jason Greenblatt (‘85), as well as other administration officials.

After davening Mincha, the talmidim enjoyed dinner and Maariv at AIPAC headquarters before heading home.

Consulting a Manhig

A

t a meeting on Sunday night in Brooklyn with Hagaon Rav Moshe Hillel Hirsch, shlit”a, Rosh Yeshivas Slabodka and chaver, Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah of Eretz Yisrael, Rav Yaakov Bender, the Rosh HaYeshiva of Yeshiva Darchei Torah discussed several pressing issues.

L-R: Mr. Yumi Kleinbart, host; Rav Yaakov Bender, Rosh HaYeshiva Darchei Torah; Rav Hirsch; Rav Moshe Bender (obscured), associate dean; Rav Dovid Bender, Rosh Kollel; and Rav Avrohom Bender, menahel in the elementary school

Color War at Yeshiva Har Torah

B’Gan’s Latest: Home-Style With No Hassle

N

ot that anybody is ever surprised when the king of kosher innovation continues to innovate, yet B’gan has done it again!

Adding to their ever-growing line of quality kosher products that satisfy the most discerning kosher palates everywhere, B’gan has introduced a delectable new side dish, a scrumptious home-style vegetable kugel that is sure to be a winner at meal time.

Balabustes and chefs now have yet another B’gan product to add to their repertoire of tasty fare. True to the B’gan philosophy of quality and convenience, this delicious vegetable kugel is easy to prepare in just minutes with absolutely no hassle; just

heat and serve.

This new, natural and pure product is a welcome addition to the other kugels available from B’gan – Cauliflower and Broccoli – which have also been reformulated to be lower in calories and more home-style in taste.

The kugel line is perfect for those seeking healthy alternatives to higher calorie side dishes and wanting to live a healthier, lighter lifestyle.

B’gan Vegetable Kugel is proudly made in the USA and is available at a fine kosher supermarket near you.

Go ahead, pick some up today and upgrade your palate!

B’gan: Our Innovation Keeps Your Kitchen Hassle Free!

Dearest Mother, I hope this letter reaches you in good health. There was no peace in Yeshiva Har Torah this Chanukah. As we gathered with our brethren for a Chanukah repast, we were taken by unexpected broadside when a dvar Torah from General Menchel became color war breakout. For two days, war raged. Our unit, Taharah, fought valiantly against two others, Bitachon

and Gevurah, including skirmishes of cheering, Torah, trivia, Apache relay, banners, performance of original scores, and sporting endeavors.

I am pleased to report that although “everyone is a winner,” we eventually vanquished our enemies, and peace has returned betwixt the primary colors. Godspeed and please remember to feed the goats.

Your son

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 13, 2018

77

Around the Community

Students Receive Tips and Advice and Network with Alumni at Lander Career Night PHOTO CREDIT: BEN KANTER

A

lumni of Touro’s Lander College For Men are paying their educations forward by sharing their professional experiences with current students at a series of career dinners.

The multi-day event featured presentations and informal discussions. Alumni from a variety of fields ranging from marketing to medicine brought their stories to the table. Fourteen separate programs over four evenings gave students opportunities to explore several fields, gain an up-close real-world view and network with professionals currently employed in their chosen field.

“We are lucky to have dedicated alumni who are eager to give back to Lander. That sense of community is one of our greatest strengths.

It opens doors for our current students,” said Rabbi Dr. Moshe Sokol, Dean of Lander.

Established in 2,000, Touro’s Lander College for Men is both a rigorous academic institution and a tight-knit community. The campus in Kew Gardens Hills, Queens, offers a dual curriculum of intensive Torah study and a wide range of academic programs. The school prides itself on combining scholarship, career readiness and a commitment to Torah and mitzvot in a warm and supportive environment.

Lander’s unique curriculum and environment are bearing fruit for students. One hundred percent of applicants are accepted into dental and law schools, while 93 percent are accepted into medical schools.

Alumni also work at top firms in the business, accounting and finance worlds, including Morgan Stanley, Deloitte, Cushman & Wakefield, and Pricewaterhouse Coopers.

At the career nights, students dined on pasta, subs and soft drinks while they peppered alumni with questions about their career paths, their college and graduate school experiences and the lessons they learned on the job. Students inquired why alumni chose their fields, how they prepared for job interviews, how they manage work/ family balance and how they mesh their professional and religious lives. “I wanted to know what skills

Lander alumni Yehuda Azose and Jordan Kaplan discuss careers in finance with Lander students. Azose is a financial planner with Lee, Nolan and Koroghlian. Kaplan is a manager at S&P Global

are essential for success in marketing and what a typical day is like,” said Lander student Shimon Kanter.

Jonathan Buchbinder, a marketing strategist at Macy’s, was happy to provide some answers. A psychology major, Buchbinder focused on learning everything he could about consumer behavior while at Lander.

The small classes and group projects gave him a chance to build the knowledge he needed to launch his career. He uses that experience in his job every day. “If you put in the effort, you will reap the benefits,” he said.

Jordan Kaplan, a 2011 graduate who is an associate at S&P Global, emphasized the importance of networking. “Always keep your eyes and ears open, as you can build your network anywhere. I sat next to somebody on a bus who works at JP Morgan. We struck up a conversation and I now have a contact at another large financial company who I can reach out to with questions on business-related topics,” he said.

Kaplan advised students to focus on gaining meaningful experience when they are starting out. “The salary is important, but more important is looking for a first job that will offer you an opportunity to learn about the industry and build critical skills that can propel you to the next level,” he said.

Aryeh Gottlieb, a program manager for training and development at Northwell Health, always planned

Lander graduate Jonathan Buchbinder explains what he does in the marketing department of Macy’s to Lander students

to go into psychology. His professors at Lander prepared him for a Masters Program in Industrial and Organizational Psychology. He told students that once they have iden-

tified their goals, they should seize opportunities to achieve them.

Lander students were eager to take his advice.

Low Cost Quality Insurance Our Specialty Free Consultation

Free Policy Evaluation

SPECIAL DISCOUNTED PROGRAMS FOR A SYNAGOUGE,YESHIVA, NURSING & ADULT HOME FACILITIES (SAVE UP TO 50% AND MORE)

Large Commercial Insurance Policies Life Insurance Disability Insurance Self Employed Health Insurance Long Term Care Insurance Rabbi S. M. Leiner, CLTC Licensed Independent Broker for all types of Insurance Call: 917-543-0497 - Leave a message Mail: Rabbi S. M. Leiner, CLTC P.O. Box # 7655 600 Franklin Ave. Ga Garden City, NY 11530

78

DECEMBER 13, 2018 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

Leading Gedolei Yisrael to Grace Dirshu International Convention Motzei Shabbos Keynote Session to Feature Siyum on Chelek Gimmel Mishnah Berurah and Preview on Upcoming World Siyumim

By Chaim Gold

“I

t’s a Shabbos of Torah, Torah, and more chizuk haTorah” was the way one veteran Dirshu learner described a previous Dirshu International Convention. This year’s convention will be no different.

Over 2,000 people will attend the Shabbos and Grand Melava Malka, which will be graced by leading Gedolei Yisrael including such luminaries as HaGaon HaRav Reuven Feinstein, shlita, Rosh Yeshivas Staten Island; HaGaon HaRav Yeruchem Olshin, shlita, Rosh Yeshivas Beth Medrash Govoha, Lakewood; HaGaon HaRav Shlomo Feivel Schustal, shlita, Rosh Yeshivas Tiferes Yerachmiel; Hagaon HaRav Yechiel Mechel Steinmetz, shlita, Skverer Dayan of Boro Park; HaGaon HaRav Yitzchok Sorotzkin, shlita, Rosh Yeshivas Lakewood Me-

sivta and Telshe; HaGaon HaRav Dovid Olewski, shlita, Rosh Yeshivas Ger; and HaGaon HaRav Dovid Goldberg, shlita, Rosh Yeshivas Telshe, together with numerous other prominent Gedolei Roshei Yeshiva and rabbonim.

The International Convention, to be held this coming Shabbos Parshas Bo, 5-7 Shevat/ January 11-13, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Stamford, Connecticut, is called Shabbos Chizuk L’lomdei Torah. Indeed, its name truly encapsulates and defines what the Shabbos is all about. The Shabbos is to pay tribute and give chizuk to the myriad lomdei Torah and their wives who, day in, day out, week after week, month after month, throughout the year, Shabbosim, yomim tovim, easy times, hard times…are dedicated to learning Torah and taking regular tests to ensure retention.

GET YOURS TODAY! “Naphtali Hoff has achieved the implausible: a new management book that is fresh, novel, and highly-readable. Dr. Hoff draws on current industry trends and his own rich leadership expertise to deliver a book that has actionable insights and strategies for organizational leaders. While marketed to “the new boss,” I believe that this book is equally valuable for veteran and aspiring leaders, too.”

— RABBI HERSHEL LUTCH, MBA, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, MEOR

BECAUSE EVERY NEW LEADER DESERVES TO HIT THE GROUND RUNNING AND ENJOY SUSTAINED SUCCESS 1. Achieve immediate, sustainable success 2. Manage effective change 3. Provide clear, useful feedback 4. Connect with your team 5. Maintain work-life balance And so much more!

Available on Amazon and at other fine online retailers.

BecomingtheNewBoss.com

Climactic Grand Melava Malka Open to Public The climax of the Shabbos will be motzei Shabbos’s keynote session where a siyum on Chelek Gimmel of the Mishnah Berurah in the Dirshu Daf HaYomi B’Halacha program will be held. The siyum is a profound milestone and simcha for the tens of thousands of Daf HaYomi B’Halacha learners the world over, whose shemiras Shabbos has been immeasurably enriched and enhanced as a result of their increased knowledge in these complex, vitally important halachos.

The Motzei Shabbos Grand Melava Malka will be open to the wider public. In addition to the simcha of the siyum and the opportunity to derive chizuk from leading Gedolei Yisrael at the Grand Melava Malka, there will be a presentation featuring many details about the upcoming, exciting Dirshu World Siyumim to be held in 5780/2020.

Rav Reuvein Feinstein, Rosh Yeshivas Staten Island

Next Year: Historic World Siyumim The Dirshu World Siyumim will, b’ezras Hashem, be historic. They will celebrate the efforts of more than 100,000 lomdei Dirshu who dedicate their days and nights to learning Torah with accountability in Dirshu’s various Shas programs such as Kinyan Torah and Kinyan Shas.

There will be major siyumim in four continents, starting with a massive siyum in Eretz Yisroel at the Yad Eliyahu Stadium in Tel Aviv, in early/ mid-January of 2020. This will be followed by a large siyum in Europe and an unprecedented gathering in South Africa. The culmination of the world siyumim will be a gigantic siyum in the Prudential Center in the Meadowlands in New Jersey. Exciting details about these upcoming programs will be shared at the melava malka on motzei Shabbos.

who has shown deep dedication to limud haTorah. The men show that dedication by learning and chazering every day, day in and day out, and then taking monthly tests over a protracted amount of time. Similarly, every Dirshu wife displays mesiras nefesh for her husband’s learning and spiritual ascent by enabling him to devote tremendous amounts of time to his daily learning and repeated reviews so that he will know the material sufficiently to earn an exemplary mark on the test. This often does not come easily. It frequently means sacrificing the help of a husband in the most hectic of times, such as the morning rush to school or the evening bedtime crunch. That is why Dirshu siyumim and Shabbos conventions always have an important place for Dirshu wives, true partners in the Torah success of their husbands.

One of the highlights of previous conventions has been the unique shailos and teshuvos session on Friday night after the seudah with the Skverer Dayan, Rav Yechiel Michel Steinmetz, shlita. Questions that literally span the entire gamut of halacha are posed to the dayan who, with his encyclopedic knowledge, answers them all comprehensively, and often with a good dose of humor as well.

The Back-Scene Backbone of Lomdei Dirshu At the convention there will also be a comprehensive women’s program catered especially to the wives of the lomdei Dirshu. Indeed, every person present at the convention is a person

The Uniqueness of the Dirshu Convention At the previous Dirshu Shabbos Chizuk L’lomdei Torah, it was Rav Steinmetz who encapsulated what he saw as the uniqueness of the Dirshu convention saying, “A unique koach

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 13, 2018

79

Around the Community of Dirshu is that it not only gives a person Olam Habaah, it also gives a person phenomenal Olam Hazeh!

Where else can you have a convention where, after a moving oneg Shabbos followed by going to sleep at 1:00 a.m., the next morning at 5:00 a.m., one hears a resounding kol Torah in the beis medrash? Where do you have a convention where, after the seudah on Shabbos afternoon, the ‘taanug’ of sleeping on Shabbos is replaced by the even greater pleasure of learning and chazering another blatt Gemara and another seif in Shulchan Aruch?!”

The tremendous hisorerus and encouragement of the gedolim comes as Dirshu is preparing for its many worldwide siyumim next year. Before that, however, on Shabbos Parshas Bo, the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Stamford, Connecticut, will be transformed this Shabbos into a giant beis medrash; a beis medrash filled with limud haTorah and a beis medrash celebrating the unique simchas haTorah of thousands who are being mesayem Chelek Gimmel of Mishnah Berurah in Dirshu’s Daf HaYomi B’Halacha program.

Partial view of the participants at the previous Dirshu Convention

After a previous Dirshu convention, Dirshu received a letter from the wife of one of its lomdim expressing her feelings about how limud haTorah with a plan has transformed their lives.

“I would like to share what Dirshu and the Shabbos mean to us. There is no way we can ever express the depth of our gratitude. While my husband, a kollel yungerman, always admired his father who is a great masmid, he

didn’t think he was capable of doing the same. At the first Dirshu Shabbos when my husband saw yungeleit just like him becoming Shas Yidden and being tested on the entire Shas, he came home determined to do the same! Since that Shabbos every moment in our life has become a treasure, life is a rush of excitement!

“Another amud, another Daf… Baruch Hashem, my husband makes a siyum so often that my two-year old

confuses the word siyum and Shabbos seudah. A seudah with a siyum is such a thrill as the children march into the dining room with a special dish while singing a niggun in honor of the siyum…. Although I never imagined I would leave my children behind for a Shabbos, this Shabbos is different. My children treasure the memory of ‘The Shabbos that Totty and Mommy went to learn how to learn more Torah!’”

80

DECEMBER 13, 2018 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

HAFTR HAWKS Win Big in Baltimore Tournament

L

ast weekend the HAFTR boys and girls Varsity basketball teams traveled to Baltimore for the 32nd annual Beth Tfiloh/ Weiner tournament. The tournament featured teams from all around the U.S. and the world, including Yavneh from Dallas, Chat from Toronto, and Boyar from Jerusalem.

Aside from the competitive games, the boys and girls were able to spend a beautiful Shabbos bonding together with their own teammates and making new friendships with players on other teams.

The Lady Hawks played very well in the preliminary games and earned their way into the semi-finals against Yavneh. While falling a bit short, the girls played their hearts out and pulled out a thrilling 3rd place trophy by winning a heart pounding double overtime 1-point victory against HANC. The HAFTR boys earned the number 1 seed in the playoffs due to their excellent play in the prelim-

inary games. By beating the home team, Beth Tfiloh, the Boyar team from Israel, Chat from Toronto and

From the Files of the Westwood Financial Management Division at Achiezer

A Heavenly Nod

S

hmuel and Rachel Loewi* were almost ready to throw in the towel. Though they both worked hard to make ends meet, the ends somehow never did quite meet.

When Shmuel heard about Achiezer’s Westwood Financial Management Division’s comprehensive way of examining spending and crafting a budget, they decided to try one more time.

The Loewis came into the office ready to “make this work,” and Aliza Wartelsky was absolutely blown away by their dedication. But it seemed their best efforts were just not

enough. Together with the Achiezer financial management counselor Stacey Zrihen, they had drawn up a sustainable budget, but there still remained $15,000 of debt in the background. The debt overshadowed the Loewis’ financial plans, impacted their shalom bayis, and left them feeling as if they would never be able to make a fresh start.

At the end of the day, Achiezer does not have the financial wherewithal to pay off every family’s debt – and that’s not our goal. But the Loewis had tried their best, and Someone Else was looking out for their wellbeing.

the defending champions and #1 ranked team Yavneh from Dallas, the Hawks found their way in the cham-

pionship game on Saturday night. In front of a packed crowd rooting for their home team Beth Tfiloh Warriors, the HAFTR Hawks pulled out an incredible victory in an intense double overtime game by the score of 59-48. The Hawks, down 7 with under 4 minutes to go in regulation, went on a 22-4 run to take home the championship banner.

Congratulations to Gabe Shamama who was selected MVP, to Benjamin Kornblum (25 tournament 3’s) Matthew Jedwab and Jessie Kornblum for being selected to the tournaments “first team all stars” as well as to Adam Herman and Megan Spivak who were selected to the “2nd team all star” list. Special “character awards” went to Abigail Appel, Noah Nierenberg, and team Manager Yossi Tahalov for their outstanding sportsmanship.

Congratulations to both teams for representing HAFTR and the community in such a wonderful way.

“I still cannot believe the amazing news I received after Yom

Tov! It literally feels like I am dreaming. I cannot thank you enough for all the help and chizuk you have given me (and my kids and all the people who have learned of the kindness I’ve been shown)! I know I still have a long way to go, but this is like a lottery win for me! I will forever be grateful!

”

Literally the day after their last session with the financial management counselor, a generous community member reached out to Achiezer with the following proposal: “I have $15,000 I would like to donate to one family to make a difference for them in a meaningful way.”

We didn’t need to think twice. “We know just the family.”

When we handed the Loewis the

“Please know, that you both played a role in the miracle that is my (and my family’s) daily existence!

Hashem should always repay you for this zechut!!!!!

I only hope that the rest of Klal Yisroel gets to see their light soon!

”

check, it was as if we had literally removed a giant load from their backs.

Later that day, they walked with all of their children to the post office to mail out the payments that would mark the beginning of their new start in life. At last, they could put their financial woes behind them.

After investing considerable efforts, when we couldn’t take this family all the way to the finish line, hashgacha stepped in, dispensing the help that was needed – and a nod of approval from Above. *Names have been changed.

Join us at our Gala on January 6, 2019 at the Sands Atlantic Beach. For more information, visit achiezer.org/ dinner or call 516.791.4444 ext. 113.

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 13, 2018

PLEASE JOIN US IN WELCOMING

MARON HAGOAN HARAV

MOSHE HILLEL HIRSCH SHLIT”A

‫ראש ישיבת סלבודקה – בני ברק‬ ‫וחבר מועצת גדולי התורה‬

‫ברוך‬ ‫הבא‬ ‫בשם‬ ‫השם‬

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 20

Community Parlor Meeting IN THE HOME OF MR. & MRS.

EPHRAIM KUTNER

41 LAWRENCE AVENUE LAWRENCE NY

8:00 PM THE ROSH YESHIVA SHLIT”A WILL ADDRESS THE CROWD PLEASE JOIN US FOR THIS SPECIAL OCCASION.

81

82 70

DECEMBER29, 13,2015 2018| The | TheJewish JewishHome Home OCTOBER

On the Wings of

Song

By Miriam Liebermann

I

t was t he songbook t hat most intrigued me. I was cleaning out my dear mother’s home soon after her passing, seven years ago. This was not an easy task.

I wanted to purposefully seek a welcoming home for each item I found. Of course, there were quite a few items that held sentimental value. Those items I eagerly carried to my own home. At one point, I was sorting through a huge collection of benchers, walking down the proverbial memory lane whilst doing so. So many bar mitzvah boys who were now into their 30s and 40s and beyond. So many young couples who had already thankfully married off their own children. But of all the benchers that had been stored in the bottom shelf of the breakfront in the dining room, it was that pale blue one which really commanded my attention. It was from a wedding in New York City that had been celebrated on April 3, 1949. The venue: The Park Royal Hotel in New York; the wedding of Milton and Rita Kramer.

It was entitled “The Kramer Family Songbook.” As a music lover, especially of Jewish and Israeli music, that book was certainly added to my own personal collection. I greatly enjoyed reviewing the contents of the songbook. The very first song included is the national anthem of the USA, “The Star Spangled Banner,” immediately followed by “Hatikvah,” the national anthem of our precious Eretz Yisroel. Then come three more American patriotic songs. This was 1949, soon after the war’s end. The Jewish community in America included many immigrants from war-torn Europe who were exceedingly grateful to be living in the land of the free and the home of the brave. And then the fun began as I discovered an extensive medley of songs in both Ivrit and Yiddish: songs of the chalutzim, the pioneers who cleared the swamps of Eretz Yisrael, songs of the workers; songs of Shabbat and our chagim, most with English translation.

I had in my hands a veritable treasure chest, especially for a music lover such as myself.

Years rushed by. Every so often I would pull out the book and review the songs. I would wonder about the young couple at whose wedding this songbook was distributed. I pictured the elegant, gracious kallah with her gallant chattan. I let my imagination run free and celebrated together with this couple, time and time again.

Last spring, we were hosting several friends for a Shabbat dinner. One inquired as to whether I had a bencher with English translation. I pulled open the drawer, located my favorite bencher, and laid it on the table. My dear friend Debby sitting on my right, took a look and announced, “I know this couple. They live in my neighborhood.”

I was absolutely stunned. It had never occurred to me that I would actually be able to connect with this couple. This was significant for me. It was obvious that my father must have attended the wedding, and it was he who had held onto this bencher. In 1949, my parents had not yet married. It had been 40 years since my father

died. We have very few photos of my father. Perhaps there would be a photo of my father in their wedding album. I was determined to track down this couple, visit with them, and hopefully peek into their wedding album.

I got to work. I contacted the shuls in the Five Towns neighborhood. I was able to find the right shul on my third try, although the secretary informed me that she was not permitted to give out private information. However, this lovely secretary just happened to be an old acquaintance of mine, and after I explained exactly why I was trying to reach this couple, she was able to connect me with the Kramers.

I called several times and spoke to Mr. Kramer. The timing did not work out. When I was close by, they were not available. However, we did talk on the phone and confirmed that not only did my father and his brother attend the wedding, but so did my grandfather, who had been a rav on the Lower East Side during that decade. Mr. Kramer very proudly informed me that there had been

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 13, 2018 The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015

thirteen rabbis attending their chuppah. By then, I was even more eager to visit with them.

I called again towards the end of the summer. There was no answer. I was a bit wary, and then I discovered that the “chattan,” Mr. Milton Kramer, had just passed away, at the age of 99. I read the articles printed in the local papers. He had obviously been a very special person who played a unique role in his community. Well into his 80s, he would attend shul early each morning and drive home his contemporaries. He began learning the daf yomi in his 70s. He was instrumental in building his community from the ground up. I was sadly too late to make the acquaintance of Mr. Milton Kramer. But recently, my husband and I went to visit with his lovely wife, Rita, may she be healthy and well.

We so enjoyed our visit with Rita and discovered that we are actually family. In fact, her brother, Reuben, would join us for our family Pesach

Rita and Milton’s wedding bencher that Miriam found Photo on opposite page: Milton and yb”lch Rita Kramer on their wedding day

sedarim. Those sedarim were among the highlights of my childhood years, and I can easily picture him still today. As we held the wedding album and together enjoyed the pho-

tos, along with Rita’s commentary, we immediately saw a photo of my grandfather, HaRav Menachem Pollak, standing under the chuppah, as he was one of the officiating rab-

83 71

banim at the wedding. And yes, I cerd tainly took note that Rita had been an incredibly beautiful kallah, and her dear husband, of blessed memory, a most gallant chattan. As the album focused on the immediate wedding party, there were very few photos of the other guests attending, so I did not see a photo of my father or my uncle, but I did feel most gratified in seeing my zayde under the chuppah. I had not had the privilege of meeting my zayde; he had passed away several years before I was born.

But sitting with Rita, poring over her beautiful wedding album, I felt connected.

Rita and I then leafed through the songbook and together sang some of the songs of yesteryear.

Yes, indeed, what a joy the visit had been! How fabulous it is to connect with our past.

May G-d bless you, Rita, with good health and continued joy together with your dear children and grandchildren.

30 84

OCTOBER 29, DECEMBER 13,2015 2018| The | TheJewish JewishHome Home

TJH

Centerfold

Riddle me this?

There are 11 bottles in front of you. You have a headache (perhaps from doing this riddle) and are told that one of the bottles contains an antidote that will make you feel better. The rest of the bottles are either Empty Bottles, Water Bottles or Poisoned Bottles.

You know the following facts about the order of the bottles:

?

Bottles: 1) 2) Empty Bottle 3)

You eat a jelly doughnut before and after every meal You tried paying for the Atlantic Beach Bridge with chocolate coins The entrance to your home is still blocked by 14 Amazon Prime boxes

4) 5) 6) Poisoned Bottle

??

You refuse to move the couch back to the window (written on my displaced couch)

?

7)

You start a new fad diet which consists of only potato latkes

8) 9) Empty Bottle

You pay for your coffee with rolls of nickels

11) Poisoned Bottle

?

You also know that: • There are 4 Empty Bottles in front of you.

There is always a Poisoned Bottle next to another Poisoned Bottle, but never on both sides.

• There are two other bottles between the Water Bottles.

• There are only 2 Water Bottles.

• Empty Bottles are just like Poisoned Bottles, there is always one of the same kind next to it but never on both sides.

• The antidote is in between a Poisoned Bottle and an Empty Bottle.

See answer to the right

When your friend asks you if you want to go spinning, you grab your dreidel You have 14 half-used rolls of wrapping paper in your minivan You are still trying to figure out why Chanukah is eight days if the miracle was only for seven When the check oil light goes on in your car, you head towards Judaica Plus

Answer to Riddle Me This: Here’s the correct order of the bottles.

Bottom’s up!

1) Water 2) Empty 3) Empty 4) Water 5) Poisoned 6) Poisoned 7) Antidote 8) Empty 9) Empty 10) Poisoned 11) Poisoned

10)

•

Signs that You are Stuck in Chanukah Mode

TheJewish JewishHome Home| DECEMBER | OCTOBER 29, The 13, 2015 2018

State-Ments 1. Mississippi

a. A Better Place to Be

2. Wyoming

b. So Much to Discover

3. North Carolina

c. Liberty & Prosperity

4. Colorado

d. Life Changing

5. Iowa

e. Still Revolutionary

6. Massachusetts

f. Forever West

7. Ohio

g. Feels Like Coming Home

8. New Jersey

h. Make It Yours

4-6 correct: You are mediocre, like New Jersey.

9. Arkansas

i. The Centennial State

0-3 correct: Honestly, knowledge is not for everyone.

10. Connecticut

j. The Natural State

 Answers 10. E

5. D

9. J

4. I

8. C

3. A

7. B

2. F

6. H

1. G

Nebraska recently took the bold move of changing their state slogan to something more cutting edge. Their new slogan is “Nebraska: Honestly, it’s not for everyone.” Most other states continue to use their same, old, boring slogans. Match the official slogan with the state.

 Wisdom Key 7-10 correct: The city of really smart is in the state of mind.

You gotta be kidding A local fundraiser noticed that his organization had never received a donation from one of the most prestigious yet “tight-walleted” community members. The person in charge of contributions called him to persuade him to contribute.

“Our research shows that out of a yearly income of at least $400,000, you give not a penny to charity. Wouldn’t you like to give back to the community in some way?”

The man mulled this over for a moment and replied, “First, did your research also show that my mother is very old and has medical bills that are several times her annual income?”

Embarrassed, the fundraiser mumbled, “Um ... no.”

The man interrupts, “Or that my brother, a disabled veteran and retired police officer, relies on my support?”

The stricken fundraiser began to stammer out an apology, but was interrupted again.

“Or that my sister who has five kids just lost her job,” the man’s voice rose in indignation, “leaving her unable to put food on her table?!”

The humiliated fundraiser, completely beaten, said simply, “I had no idea...”

On a roll, the man cuts him off once again, “So if I don’t give any money to them, why should I give any to you?”

31 85

86

DECEMBER 13, 2018 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015

3

Torah Thought

Parshas Vayigash

By Rabbi Berel Wein

A

fter Joseph is reunited with his brothers, and Jacob and his family journey to Egypt to settle there, Joseph brings his aged father in front of the Pharaoh of Egypt. Pharaoh, who was emperor then of the entire civilized world, asks Jacob a strange question. He asks him: “How old are you?” On the surface, this can appear to be a natural question that people ask when encountering someone of very advanced years.

Nevertheless, the question itself is disturbing to the one who is being questioned. It indicates that somehow that person has outlived his time and his usefulness. Otherwise, why would the question be asked and of what value is it to the questioner if the older person responds and gives him a number indicating how long he has lived on the face of this earth.

Jacob senses that there is a note of derision implicit in the question of the Pharaoh. He is reading the mind of the Egyptian king, and he realizes that Pharaoh considers him and all that he represents to be a relic of the past, a has-been, someone who is irrelevant to the current world, its challenges and accom-

plishments.

Because of this deeper understanding of the frame of mind of the Pharaoh when he first sees Jacob, Jacob himself answers in what initially appears to be a very strange fashion. He says that his life has

tions, and even the Pharaoh himself.

This is borne out at the conclusion of the short conversation between Pharaoh and Jacob. We are told that Jacob blessed Pharaoh, though the text does not reveal what specific blessings Jacob

He realizes that Pharaoh considers him and all that he represents to be a relic of the past, a has-been, someone who is irrelevant to the current world, its challenges and accomplishments.

been short and bitter with troubles and that he has not yet achieved in his days the accomplishment of his ancestors. In effect, he is telling the Pharaoh not to discount him and his life, short and troubled as it may have been. The old man is implying that he has something left in him yet to teach and guide future genera-

bestowed upon Pharaoh. However Jewish tradition teaches us that the blessing was that the famine – that then engulfed the world and had Egypt itself on the verge of collapse – would end.

Joseph had already confiscated all the wealth, land and people of Egypt in order to feed them during

the first two years of the famine.

Apparently now there were no resources left for the Pharaoh to overcome this deadly famine. The Pharaoh does not realize that the old man standing in front of him, a person that he seems to view with little value and importance, is really the messenger of G-d who will save Egypt and, in fact, the throne of Pharaoh as well, from destruction and annihilation.

Pharaoh was looking for new solutions, new ideas, new gods in order to extricate himself from the problems that faced him and his people. Jacob represents the old way, the way of faith and belief in service to G-d and to G-d’s creatures on Earth. It is true that this may not have, at first, appeared to be a popular package for the Pharaoh to adopt, but eventually it will be the only thing that will save him in Egypt.

The old confer blessings upon later generations. This is not often realized and therefore the blessings are discarded, but eventually it will be only Jacob’s blessings that will prove to be worthwhile and effective.

Shabbat shalom.

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 13, 2018

THE COMMUNITY-WIDE Motzei Shabbos Tanach Shiur Please join us for the 21st season of the Community -Wide Tanach Shiur

SCHEDULE FOR DECEMBER • 7 PM December 8, 2018 December 15, 2018 December 22, 2018 December 29, 2018

‫פרשת מקץ‬ ‫פרשת ויגש‬ ‫פרשת ויחי‬ ‫פרשת שמות‬

Chanukah Break - No Shiur Rabbi Pinchos Chatzinoff - Perakim 48-49 Rabbi Eliezer Cohen - Perek 50 Rabbi Zvi Ralbag - Perek 51

PROGRAM HOSTED BY: Young Israel of Lawrence-Cedarhurst 8 Spruce Street v"g jubn rzghkt ,c kyhb ,nab hukgk Sponsored by Mr. and Mrs. Mordy Kriger in memory of their beloved parents:

k"z rhtn cegh "r ic ctz 'r wv"g kmrv hk,pb 'r ,c gmbj vhj ,rn wv"g ehzhht ejmh 'r ,c vsbhv vbj ,rn

Co-Sponsored By:

Agudah of the Five Towns Rabbi Yitzchok Frankel Agudah of West Lawrence Rabbi Moshe Brown Bais Haknesses of N. Woodmere Rabbi A. Lebowitz Bais Medrash D’Cedarhurst Rabbi Dovid Spiegel Chofetz Chaim Torah Center Rabbi Aryeh Z. Ginzberg Cong. Bais Avrohom Rabbi Osher Stern Cong. Anshei Chessed Rabbi Simcha Lefkowitz Cong. Bais Ephraim Yitzchok Rabbi Zvi Ralbag Cong. Bais Tefila Rabbi Ephraim Polakoff Cong. Beth Sholom Rabbi Kenneth Hain Cong. Kneseth Israel Rabbi Eytan Feiner

Cong. Shaaray Tefila Rabbi Uri Orlian HILI Bais Medrash Rabbi Dov Bressler Kehillas Bais Yehuda Rabbi Yaakov Feitman Cong. Tifereth Zvi Rabbi Pinchas Chatzinoff Y.I. of Bayswater Rabbi Eliezer Feuer Y.I. of Far Rockaway Rabbi Shaul Chill Y.I. of Hewlett Rabbi Heshy Blumstein Y.I. of Lawrence-Cedarhurst Rabbi M. Teitelbaum Y.I. of North Woodmere Rabbi Yehuda Septimus Y.I. of Woodmere Rabbi Hershel Billet

A Priority-1 Community Initiative

For more information or dedication opportunities, please call Priority-1 at 516.295.5700.

87

88 64

DECEMBER 13, 2018 | The Jewish Home OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

From the Fire

Parshas Vayigash A Higher Dimension

By Rav Moshe Weinberger Adapted for publication by Binyomin Wolf

P

arshas Vayigash is one of the most emotional parshios in the whole Torah, with Yosef’s revelation to his brothers, his reconciliation with them, and his reunification with Yaakov Avinu after twenty-two years of separation. The pasuk that describes this reunification (Bereishis 46:29) is filled with action: “And Yosef harnessed his chariot and he ascended to greet Yisroel his father in Goshen and he appeared to him and fell on his neck and cried on his neck for a long time.”

The pasuk captures Yosef’s excitement with the five verbs used in pasuk: “tied,” “ascended,” “greet,” “appeared,” and “cried.” Yosef’s emotion at that moment contrasts sharply with Yaakov Avinu’s silence and passivity. This always bothered me. Rashi quotes our Sages who say that Yaakov “was saying Shema.” I could never understand how Yaakov could be so apparently heartless. Of all the times to say Shema, couldn’t he do it earlier or later? While some commentaries explain that it was zman Kriyas Shema, that does not really address the question.

I would like to share the following understanding which represents an extrapolation of the explanation of the Maharal in Gur Aryeh. In order to understand Yaakov Avinu’s Shema Yisroel at that time, we must first understand another famous recitation of Shema: that of Rabbi Akiva when he was martyred by the Romans, dying with the word “Echad” of Shema on his lips as he was being tortured to death (Brachos 61b). Following Rabbi Akiva’s

example, Jews forced to die sanctifying Hashem’s name throughout the generations have left the world saying Shema.

Most people believe that Rabbi Akiva said Shema at that moment in order to demonstrate that despite what was happening to him, he still had faith in G-d. But a careful reading of the Gemara reveals that this was not Rabbi Akiva’s intention. The Gemara says that “at the time they took Rabbi Akiva to be killed, it was the time to say Shema.” We therefore see that Rabbi Akiva did not say Shema because he was taken out to be killed, as a final moment’s scream of faith. Rather, he said Shema because it was the halachically prescribed time to say Shema.

Each Jew has a mitzvah to accept upon himself the yoke of Heaven by saying Shema twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening. It is natural to forget Hashem’s kingship over us in our daily lives so halacha mandates that we say Shema twice a day “in order that we remember.” Rabbi Akiva was therefore performing his daily obligation to accept the yoke of Heaven upon himself.

We learn from Rabbi Akiva that there are two dimensions to reality: the subjective dimension and the objection dimension. In the subjective dimension, a person goes about his daily life fulfilling his personal responsibilities by working, studying, and performing mitzvos at their proper time. He has his own personal schedule. But there is also an objective dimension wherein Hashem has a grand, universal plan, and a person recognizes that he is one piece of that larger reality. On

one’s average day, these two dimensions peacefully coexist, side by side.

A person lives his daily life and accepts upon himself the yoke of Heaven at the proper time, dutifully acknowledging the supremacy of the Divine.

There are occasions, however, where these two dimensions collide.

When that happens, when the Divine plan causes a simple shepherd-turnedgreat-sage-of-the-generation to be tortured to death by wicked idolaters, from the subjective perspective, no one would judge such a person if he screamed out (Menachos 29b), “This is the Torah and this is its reward?!”

But by saying Shema at the prescribed time despite the fact that the Romans were raking his flesh with iron combs, Rabbi Akiva revealed that he was connected to something much greater than his own subjective reality. He was saying, “I am part of the Creator’s world!

I am part of the world of zman Kriyas Shema, the objective reality of the prescribed time for Shema, for accepting the yoke of Heaven irrespective of my own subjective reality.”

What was the source of Rabbi Akiva’s ability to connect to the world of the yoke of Heaven even when his own subjective world was being torn apart?

Yaakov Avinu. In the heat of the greatest moment of his personal, subjective life, Yaakov’s silence and the fact that he accepted upon himself the yoke of the Divine objective reality at that precise moment revealed Yaakov’s recognition that there is a reality greater than his own. We see that Yaakov’s silence was not that of an emotionless

halachist, coldly saying Shema at the proper time regardless of the circumstances. Indeed, in the pasuk after their initial meeting, Yaakov Avinu tells Yosef, “I can die now that I have seen your face, that you are still alive.”

Yaakov felt so emotionally moved that he felt that his life was complete. But despite the fact that his heart was obviously bursting with emotion, he recognized that a Jew must know that there is something above and beyond his own personal life. That is why he made the decision to say Shema at that time.

This week is Asara B’Teves, one of the five fast days of the year. After the war, the rabbonim in Eretz Yisroel declared Asara B’Teves a universal kadish for those killed by the Nazis, ym”sh, whose yahrtzeits are not known. We have all heard numerous stories of those who went to the gas chambers saying Shema Yisroel or Ani Maamin, “I believe.”

My mother was in Auschwitz and was sent to the gas chambers at the very end of the war, just as everything was falling apart for the Nazis. She told me that while she and all of the other people were lined up on their journey to their deaths (a journey they never, thank G-d, completed), everyone was saying Shema, accepting upon themselves the yoke of Heaven, regardless of whether they had been observant before the war or not.

But we also know stories of Jews who tried as best as they could to live as Jews throughout the war, saying Shema twice a day, and performing

any other mitzvah they were able to observe under the circumstances. We know of people who tried to scrape together enough grease from train or wagon wheels to make a Chanukah candle or say whatever Yom Kippur davening they could remember on Kol Nidrei night. Such people revealed that regardless of what was happening in their personal lives, there is a greater reality, a Divine plan, a zman Kriyas Shema, an objective time to say Shema, to accept upon oneself the yoke of Heaven. They did not allow the destruction of their subjective dimension to drive them to despair because they recognized the existence of a higher reality beyond themselves. They drew their ability to do this from Yaakov Avinu and Rabbi Akiva, who revealed their recognition of that Divine reality irrespective of their own circumstances, whether joyous or horrific.

We see another example of Jews connecting to the greater reality of Hashem’s plan through another wellknown story from the camps.

Rabbi Lazer Silver, a great rav from Cincinnati, traveled to the camps when the war ended to help the survivors begin to rebuild their lives. One day, in one of the DP camps, he was organizing a Mincha minyan, and he had only

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015

65

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 13, 2018

89

in the camps. Rabbi Silver asked him what he had seen. He responded that one man in his barracks had somehow smuggled in a siddur. But instead of letting other prisoners borrow it, he used to charge them a piece of their moldy

Yaakov’s silence was not that of an emotionless halachist, coldly saying Shema at the proper time regardless of the circumstances.

nine people who could join. He asked a Jew nearby to join the minyan but the man refused. When questioned why, he responded that he would not join that minyan or any other minyan ever again because of what he had seen

bread for a few minutes with the siddur and then he would snatch it back. Sixty or seventy people used to regularly wait in line to give this man a bite of bread just to daven for a few minutes from a siddur. The man told Rabbi Silver that

if a Jew could charge starving people to use a siddur, he would never daven again.

Rabbi Silver responded to the man, “Fool! Why do you only look at that one man who was doing something wrong?

Why don’t you look at the dozens and dozens of starving Jews who were willing to give up their last bite of bread just to daven from a siddur for a few minutes?!” Such Jews wished to live their daily lives as Jews notwithstanding the calamity around them.

May we merit to recognize and connect to the higher level of the Divine reality, of the objective dimension, which exists beyond our own subjective reality, even as we live our daily lives, and may Hashem soon reveal the final chapter of His great plan soon in our days with the coming of Moshiach.

Rav Moshe Weinberger, shlita, is the founding Morah d’Asrah of Congregation Aish Kodesh in Woodmere, NY, and serves as leader of the new mechina Emek HaMelech.

90 20

DECEMBER 13, 2018 | The Jewish Home OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

Between the Lines

Foresight is 20/20

By Eytan Kobre

While everyone else is chasing the puck, I go where the puck is going to be.

-Wayne Gretzky

I

n a recent New York Times article, “We Aren’t Built to Live in the Moment,” psychologist Martin E.P. Seligman and journalist John Tierney posit that what sets man apart from beast is our ability to look to and consider the future in making decisions in the here and now. “We contemplate the future,” the authors argue. “Our singular foresight created civilization and maintains society.”

So, they posit, “[w]e are misnamed.

We call ourselves Homo sapiens, the

‘wise man,’ but that’s more of a boast than a description… A more apt name for our species would be Homo prospectus, because we thrive by considering our prospects. The power of prospection is what makes us wise.”

That’s exactly right.

Foresight is the hallmark of wisdom. “Who is the wise one? The one who sees that which is not yet born” (Tamid 32a; see also Bamidbar Rabba 14:6; Rashi, Devarim 32:6). When R’ Yochanan ben Zakai asked his five primary disciples to identify the ideal lifepath, R’ Shimon chose foresight (Avos 2:9). Indeed, “the wise one’s eyes are in his head” (Koheles 2:14). Everyone has eyes; not everyone uses those eyes to look ahead, anticipate future outcomes, and act accordingly.

Self-helpist Stephen Covey maintained that all great leaders share this

trait – they “begin with the end in mind.”

That was Yaakov. Upon learning that Yosef was alive, Yaakov gathered his family and possessions and descended to Egypt – but not before dispatching Yehuda “to make preparations before him to Goshen” (Bereishis 46:28) to arrange either housing or a yeshiva where Yaakov could transmit G-d’s teachings to his children and grandchildren (Bereishis Rabba 95:3).

Surely Yaakov could have waited until he arrived in Egypt before establishing a homestead and a place to study Torah. Why the rush?

Yaakov justifiably was concerned about what life in Egypt would mean for him and his progeny. He would have none of coming to Egypt only to begin looking for a suitable place to ensure the faithful transmission of his heri-

tage; he wanted a Jewish home and a place of Torah study up-and-running before he arrived. Nor would he leave to chance the neighborhood that his descendants would call home for the next 210 years. So he sent Yehuda ahead to settle pastureland far from the corrosive mores and influences of Egyptian culture (Rashi, Bereishis 46:28). Yaakov’s foresight paved the way for the Jewish people to retain their identity and heritage – the recipe for redemption.

R’ Yaakov Yitzchok Ruderman used to tell of a group of wealthy benefactors in Minsk who conceived of an idea to open a yeshiva designed for the best and brightest young minds sure to become the next generation of leading Torah scholars. To facilitate the students’ undivided commitment, the benefactors agreed to underwrite the

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 13, 2018 The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015

full cost of support for all the students and further assumed responsibility for locating suitable matches for them and even supporting them after marriage.

The benefactors approached the young R’ Ruderman and invited him to join this select group of students in the elite yeshiva. Intrigued, R’ Ruderman sought the counsel of his rebbi, the Alter of Slabodka. The Alter took R’ Ruderman to the window of his room and pointed to a nearby river. “Better you should jump into that river than join this yeshiva!” R’ Ruderman did not understand immediately, but he nonetheless heeded the Alter’s warning and declined the invitation to join.

Nearly twenty years later, R’ Ruderman was on a train and found himself sitting next to a man who, as it turns out, had joined that exclusive yeshiva. When R’ Ruderman asked the man what had come of the yeshiva, he learned that of the entire class of “elite” students, he was the only one to remain true to Torah ideals; the rest had joined the “reformers” and no longer were Torah observant.

“Only then did,” R’ Ruderman would reflect, “did I fully appreciate the words of our sages extolling the virtues of foresight as the hallmark of wisdom.”

Nachum Ish Gamzu once was traveling when a poor person approached and begged him for some food. Nachum Ish Gamzu obliged, and he told the beggar to wait while he unloaded his donkey. But while doing so, as misfortune would have it, the beggar collapsed and died of starvation. Nachum Ish Gamzu felt responsible for the man’s death and took upon himself self-inflicted sufferings as a result (Taanis 21a). The Alter of Kelm sees in this episode not insufficient concern or sloth, but a lack of foresight on the part of Nachum Ish Gamzu. His “error” (so to speak) was in failing to anticipate that he might encounter a poor, starving person on his journeys. An exacting standard, to be sure, but one he failed to meet.

With foresight, life events are akin to a rope that has no defined beginning or end (Yerushalmi, Sota 8:10) – shake one end and the other shakes along with it. So we commend not the one who sees “the future,” but the one who sees “that which has yet to be born” (Avos 2:9; Tamid 32b). To those with foresight, the past, the present, and the future are all bound together: past

experiences steer present actions into future outcomes (Chasam Sofer, Nedarim 30b). Or, as Thomas Jefferson put it, “History, by apprizing [people] of the past, will enable them to judge of the future; it will avail them of the experience of other times and other nations.”

knows what tomorrow will bring? I could be here today and gone tomorrow. And we cannot take our money to the World to Come. So I scrimp and save everything I can now and give it all to charity. I can give no more for household needs.”

“I too am well-off,” the second man

Foresight is about how choices we make today influence - even dictate - what happens tomorrow.

Foresight is not prophecy or clairvoyance. Those are concerned with divining the future; foresight is really about the present. It is not enough merely to know the expected outcome of our actions, we must see those outcomes as if they are here and now and then act accordingly (Ohr Yahel, Vol. 3; Lev Eliyahu, Shemos 28:3; Chofetz Chaim, Avos 2:9). Foresight is about how the choices we make today influence – even dictate – what happens tomorrow. And we are to tailor our present-day conduct accordingly.

Yaakov acted with foresight in dispatching Yehuda to forge a homestead and establish a place for Torah study even before the family arrived in Egypt.

Yosef possessed the same trait. What made him a “wise and understanding man” worthy of being viceroy to all Egypt (Bereishis 41:33) was not his ability to interpret dreams but his ability to act, during the years of plenty, with an understanding that years of famine were ahead (Lev Eliyahu). It is all too easy to overindulge during times of plenty; it is quite difficult to economize. It was what Yosef did with the interpretation of Pharaoh’s dreams that set him apart.

Two women once complained to R’ Shmelke of Nikolsburg about their husbands, who, despite being well-off, weren’t allowing them funds sufficient to meet the needs of their respective households. R’ Shmelke summoned the husbands.

“I am indeed well-to-do,” the first man explained, “but you know the nature of wealth; it comes and goes. Who

explained, “but you know the nature of wealth; it comes and goes. Who knows what tomorrow will bring? I could live to old age. And old age brings increased expenses for medical care and the like.

So I scrimp and save everything I can now and place it all into safe accounts. I can give no more for household needs.”

91 21

“You are both men of exceptional foresight,” R’ Shmelke answered wryly. “I give you both my blessing that G-d should save you from that which you fear. To you, who fears an untimely passing, G-d should spare you such a fate. And to you, who fears old age, I bless you that G-d should spare you such a fate…”

There is foresight, and there is foresight. The difference is not what we see today but how we act on it.

In our fast-paced society, where knee-jerk reactions are the norm and snap judgments are demanded, it is often difficult to take the time to consider where our words and deeds ultimately will take us. But doing so is a worthwhile investment. Because while hindsight merely explains what might have been different, foresight truly is 20/20 vision.

Eytan Kobre is a writer, speaker, and attorney living in Kew Gardens Hills. Questions? Comments? Suggestions? E-mail eakobre@outlook.com.

92 10

DECEMBER 13, 2018 | The Jewish Home OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

Torah Thought

Seeing Vs. Hearing Learning to Navigate Through a Darkened World

By Shmuel Reichman

T

here’s a story of a man who visited a friend in a far-off country. When he arrived, he

noticed an immensely tall tree in his friend’s backyard, easily over sixty feet tall. What was most puzzling,

Emotional Support for Unwanted Touching

MOUNT SINAI BETH ISRAEL

though, was the fact that he had visited this same friend just a few years ago, and he knew that there was no tree in his friend’s backyard.

Perplexed, he asked his friend, “I was here just a few years ago, and this tree wasn’t here. What happened? Did you have someone plant a fully-grown tree into your yard?”

His friend smiled and said, “This is the Chinese Bamboo Tree, a very rare and special kind of tree. When you plant it, you need to water it every single day for five years; if you miss a single day, the seed will die.

But here’s the catch: the seed doesn’t grow an inch for those entire five years, not a single inch! But when that fifth year passes, the tree grows at an accelerated and exponential rate; over the course of just a few months, the tree grows over sixty feet tall.”

Hearing this, the man was shocked. He was left with one question, which greatly perplexed him.

He pondered out loud, “Does it take five months for the tree to grow? Or five years?”

The answer is obvious: five years! Growth is a process, and every single stage in the process is absolutely fundamental towards the end result.

This relates deeply to an important idea in this week’s parsha.

A Unified Shema After twenty-two years of separation from Yosef, Yaakov is finally reunited with his long-lost son. In what can only be imagined as an emotionally climactic scene, Yaakov embraces Yosef in a fatherly hug. But Rashi brings down the midrash which says that Yaakov’s first response to seeing Yosef was to say Shema. For many, they question why Yaakov chose this moment to recite the Shema. Why not wait until after his joyful and emotional reunion with his long-lost son to pray? Of course, one can certainly say that Yaakov was trying to control his emotions and redirect himself to Hashem. Yet, perhaps there is something deeper at play.

The theme of saying Shema at what seems to be an inopportune moment appears again in next week’s parsha as well. Before Yaakov died, he calls all of his children to his bedside, where he wishes to tell them how Moshiach will come at the end of days. But, as the Gemara in Pesachim 56a explains, Yaakov lost his nevuah and was unable to reveal this secret. He suddenly became worried that perhaps this was due to the fact that one of his children was spiritual deficient and wasn’t tahor or worthy of receiving this information. Once he realized this

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015 The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 13, 2018 The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015

wasn’t the case, he thought that perhaps they are only pure as individuals, but not as a unit, as a collective whole. In other words, maybe they were twelve independent and separate Shevatim, unable to synthesize and harmonize as a single unit.

Immediately, in order to relieve this concern, all the brothers declared in unison, “Shema Yisrael, Hashem Elokeinu, Hashem echad.”

Only after this did Yaakov realize that it wasn’t due to a lack in his children, but rather that Hashem didn’t want to reveal these secrets at this point in time. He then proclaimed out loud, “Baruch shem kivod malchuso li’olam va’ed.” While every part of this Gemara requires explanation, the most striking question we need to ask is why the recital of Shema would alleviate Yaakov’s concern. How did this show that there was no lack in their unity as a collective whole?

Spiritual Seeing and Hearing The spiritual concept of seeing reflects the idea of observing something as it is, in a static state, lacking any movement. When you look at a picture, you grasp it instantaneously, all at once. There’s no process of constructing or building the picture in your mind; everything is just there, at once, without any effort.

The spiritual concept of hearing, however, is a very different concept.

Hearing requires a process, one of movement and parts. There is a movement of things, which then requires organization; it requires much more work and concentration. For example, when you hear someone speak a sentence, it exists within time, and you need to collect the pieces together, reconstructing it into a connected picture – it’s a process of creating oneness. It begins by listening to one word after another, after another, and then, only afterwards can we string them all together from our memory in order to make a coherent sentence out of them. If you say anything, it only gets its meaning and completeness when you string the sentence back together.

When you listen to someone talk, one word by itself means nothing

and is forgotten. If you add another few words, it still means nothing and fades to memory. The words from the past exist in a pool of knowledge and memory in your mind. You wait until the end of the sentence to give shape and meaning to the pool of words which created that sentence.

When you finally finish listening to the sentence, you must then reach back into your memory and look at the sentence as a whole; only then does it gain meaning and clarity!

If someone said all the words at once, you wouldn’t hear anything; it would just be noise. Speech only exists within time – where there’s a sequence of one word after another!

(At Matan Torah, Hashem originally spoke all ten dibros at once because Hashem doesn’t exist within time,

and therefore much more convincing than hearing something. This is why witnesses need to see an event with their own eyes, hearing isn’t enough. Furthermore, seeing occurs outside of you; in other words, your experience of sight is perceived as something external and not occurring within you. Hearing, on the other hand, is something which you perceive as taking place within you.

Hearing requires memory and reconstruction of many different parts. It takes place within you, whereby you have to put the words together yourself, one small fragment at a time. When you’re listening, words are received in small pieces, and you need to reconstruct it inside your head. You recall the fragments and create the picture or

If we put all the pieces together, connecting all the dots, we begin to see the magic manifest in our own personal story.

so for Him, speech as well doesn’t exist within time.) Thus, we see that listening requires you to gather disparate pieces into a oneness, to create clarity and meaning from chaos and confusion.

This is why the word “shema, listen,” also means to gather, as we see when the pasuk says, “Va’yishama Shaul es ha’am” (Shmuel 1 15:4).

The pasuk is interpreted to mean that Shaul gathered up the nation to fight.

There are some fundamental differences between the concepts of seeing and hearing – static versus process, clarity versus creating clarity. Seeing is reliable, while hearing is always questionable. This is why the Hebrew word for seeing, ri’iyah, is the same shoresh as a proof, ra’ayah. It’s because “seeing is believing”; when you see something, it’s much more real to you

sentence inside of your head. This is why hearing is so subjective, because each person is reconstructing their own picture inside their head.

This is, of course, why no two people ever hear the same thing. If you’ve ever been to a shiur or lecture with a friend, you know that you always come out with completely different perceptions. This is because, during the reconstruction phase, we project our own worldviews and perceptions onto the words that we’re trying to reconstruct. We therefore end up reconstructing what we think the person said or meant, instead of actually reconstructing what was actually meant by the original speaker.

This is also why so many mistakes can occur during the learning process. The goal of hearing and learning is to get past the words that are being spoken and get back to the inner meaning behind them. You

11 93 11

might think a word refers to one thing, while the speaker uses that very same word for something else entirely.

Genuine listening requires negating your own ego and ownership over truth and actually trying to understand what the speaker truly means. This is true in all forms of communication, especially in relationships.

In Our Lives While the full scope of the applications of these concepts are beyond this article, we can briefly discuss a few examples of how the relationship between hearing and seeing manifests themselves. The first is the relationship between Olam Hazeh and Olam Habaah. Olam Hazeh – this world – is a place of hearing, a place of movement and process, a place of change and growth. In this world you get to choose who you’ll become. Olam Habaah – the World to Come – is a place of seeing, where you experience the ecstasy of everything you’ve built. No longer can you move or become but, instead, you enjoy everything you created during your life in Olam Hazeh. It’s a static place of no movement and no process. In truth, there is movement and process in Olam Habaah as well, albeit, a very different type.

Another example is the relationship between the weekday and Shabbos. During the week, you build and grow, while on Shabbos, you rest from creative activity, experiencing the person you created during that week and during your entire lifetime. This is why the Gemara in Brachos 57b says that Shabbos is me’ein Olam Habaah, a taste of Olam Habaah. Just like Olam Habaah is where you enjoy everything you built in this world, Shabbos is the time where you enjoy everything you’ve built during the week.

This also explains a very strange pasuk regarding Matan Torah. The pasuk says that when Hashem gave us the Torah, “ro’im es ha’kolos,” we “saw the sounds” (Shemos 20:15).

Matan Torah was an Olam Habaah experience, where we transcended the physical world of time and space; we all became nevi’im. In

12

OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

94

DECEMBER 13, 2018 | The Jewish Home

such a dimension, there is no hearing, there is no movement. Therefore, sounds weren’t heard; they were seen. Movement became static; becoming became being.

The concepts of hearing and seeing also explain the difference between two stages of our history. The first stage lasted until the time of Chanukah. It was a time of nevuah and miracles, a time of seeing. During this time period, Hashem openly revealed Himself to the world and was known to all. This is why a Navi was called a chozeh, a seer; it was a time where all people, not only the nevi’im, saw Hashem with absolute clarity. But right around the time of Chanukah and Purim, nevuah ended, and the world fell into darkness. What was the reason behind this?

The first stage was a stage of seeing, where everything was clear and easy. Now, we live in a world of darkness, a world of hearing, where we need to choose to see past the surface, connect the pieces together, and create that clarity ourselves.

There were no open miracles on Purim, we had to connect the pieces together ourselves and see the miraculous within the natural to see Hashem within the world we live in. in the light, you can see; in the dark, all you can do is hear. You must pick up on every hint you receive, put the pieces together, and form the image in your mind, while still walking in darkness.

But with this comes the opportunity to create clarity ourselves, sometimes even suddenly. When you see something, you experience it all at once, there’s no process, no surprises. With hearing, as a journey, there can be a long, winding path, leaning in various directions; then, at the very last moment, there can be something which suddenly retroactively changes the entire journey! It’s possible to have a twist ending. When Moshiach comes we’ll suddenly see how all of history was perfectly leaning towards the ultimate destination.

The same is true in our own lives; sometimes, only by looking back and putting all the pieces together, do we finally see the beauty and hashgacha in our own lives. Any in-

dividual moment of your life might seem meaningless; only if you hold this moment in context of your entire life will this moment suddenly shine forth with infinite brilliance.

This is why the Ba’alei Machshava suggest writing your own personal megillah. In Megillas Esther, there is no open miracle. Only by putting all the pieces together do we see the yad Hashem, how everything fit together so perfectly. The same is true with our own personal story. Every individual piece seems insignificant and happenstance. However, if we put all the pieces together, connecting all the dots, we begin to see the magic manifest in our own personal story. We begin to see the turning points in our lives; we retroactively see the lifechanging decisions and events. Whether it was choosing our school, our friends, our spouse, or going to a certain place at a certain time, our past becomes a masterpiece ready to be read by us.

We can take this a step further and apply this to Torah as well. Torah She’biksav, the written Torah, represents seeing; you learn it by seeing the text, not by hearing it orally. It’s static and complete, and nothing will ever be added to it. Torah Sheba’al Peh, the oral Torah, is learned through hearing, you learn from your rebbeim. It was originally only transmitted orally, and only later on was it actually written down to ensure that the mesorah wouldn’t get lost. But Chazal did so in such a way that ensured the need for a rebbe-talmid relationship. In other words, you can’t just read the Gemara; you need to learn it, to break it down, to question, to fight tooth and nail in order to understand every step of the shaklah v’taryah.

Torah Sheba’al Peh is the epitome of hearing. If you’ve ever learned Gemara, you’ll notice that every time you spend two pages proving a certain idea, you then reject it; you then spend two more pages building up an idea, and then reject this as well. What’s the meaning of this? No science textbook in the world would ever teach in such a way.

But the answer is obvious! Gemara is a process of hearing, a thesis, followed by an antithesis or rejection, followed by a synthesis or

solution, and then repeat (chessed, din, and tiferes). Our job in this world is to take the shards of truth which we have and to try to build up an understanding of the truth. We build up a havah aminah, an assumption, and then break it down, in order to develop a better one. We then build an updated havah aminah, and break that one down as well. The search for truth requires a constant process of breaking down and rebuilding to get an even better understanding of the idea!

But the greatest example of our hearing comes in our unique relationship with Torah Sheba’al Peh. Unlike Torah Shebiksav, which is complete and static, Torah Sheba’al Peh is continuously developing and growing. Every Jew has the ability to add their novel chiddushim and insights to the mesorah of Torah Sheba’al Peh. This is why Torah Sheba’al Peh itself begins with Shema. The very first Mishna in Brachos (1:1) discusses when you should say Shema.

Furthermore, this Mishna discusses saying Shema at night. This is because the entire theme of Torah Sheba’al Peh is about hearing, it’s about listening in the dark, putting all the pieces together, and creating clarity amidst chaos and confusion.

The Shevatim are One Why did Yaakov say Shema as he embraced Yosef instead of fully experiencing this emotional reunion?

The answer is that he did fully experience this emotional reunion, and it was only because he said Shema!

In other words, Shema represents the concept of process, of hearing in the darkness, of recognizing that one day all the pieces will come together. Yaakov saying Shema was his way of expressing his recognition that all the years of darkness and pain were ultimately leading towards this moment of revelation, of clarity.

We can also understand why the brothers responded to Yaakov by saying Shema. When Yaakov lost his nevuah, and thought that perhaps the brothers were not united, in order to allay this concern, all the brothers declared in unison, “Shema Yisrael, Hashem Elokeinu,

Hashem echad.” Only after this did Yaakov realize that it wasn’t due to a lack in his children, but rather that Hashem didn’t want to reveal these secrets at this point in time. Shema represents the idea of creating oneness out of disparate parts, just like listening is about gathering different words and pieces and creating a collective whole. The brothers were proclaiming, “Shema Yisrael, we, the twelve Shevatim of Klal Yisrael, come together and harmonize as a collective whole; Hashem Elokeinu Hashem echad. Just like Hashem is absolute oneness, so too, we are a single nation, a collective whole.”

With this, Yaakov realized that it wasn’t due to a lack in his children’s oneness, but rather that Hashem didn’t want to reveal these secrets at this point in time. And why would Hashem not want the children of Yaakov to know about the time of Moshiach? Hashem simply didn’t want to take away their free will; He wanted us to have to listen! To hear in the darkness, to build towards Moshiach, without knowing when, where, or how it will take place.

O

ur history is just like the Chinese Bamboo Tree.

The Chinese Bamboo Tree requires a long period of existing within the darkness, accomplishing what seems to be very little, lost in the void. Years go by, and all its effort seems to be in vain. Only with faith, belief, and undying trust can it get through this phase of darkness and skyrocket towards its true destination.

The same is true with Klal Yisrael. One day, we will see how centuries of tragedy were actually bringing us closer and closer to our ultimate destination.

The same is also true for each of us. We must be willing to listen in the dark, to see past the surface. We need to ride the waves of hardship and challenge, recognizing them as opportunities to grow, as opposed to burdens. One day, we will see clearly, we will recognize the why behind every what. Until then, we must learn to listen, to believe, to have faith.

For only one who listens will one day truly see.

2

S

Decades UC

A TR

K RE C

B R O O K LY N

13

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 13, 2018

95

L A K E W O O D

O R D of S

AC

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015

M O N S E Y

Newly Expanded Financial Aid Available!!

CES

Explore the opportunities Discover your potential THE NEW SEMINARY.

DO IT QUICK. DO IT RIGHT. please join us for an informative

OPEN HOUSE

MO NS EY

SUNDAY, DEC 30

BR OO KLY N

WEDNESDAY, JAN 2

LA KE WO OD

TUESDAY, JAN 8

7 Mariner Way Monsey, NY 7:30 pm 1492 E. 12th St Brooklyn, NY 7:30 pm 139 Ocean Ave Lakewood, NJ 7:30 pm

U N D E R G R A D U AT E P R O G R A M S Inspiration & Growth

SEMINARY PROGRAM

BA

BS

BACHELOR OF ARTS: SOCIAL SCIENCES

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE: BUSINESS, NATURAL SCIENCES

NEW!MINOR IN BUSINESS

GRADUATE

BSN

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE: NURSING

PROGRAMS N U R S E

BS/MS

OT

OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY LIU

MSW MASTERS OF SOCIALWORK LIU

P R A C T I T I O N E R

MSPMH-NP

P R O G R A M S

FNP

GNP

PSYCHIATRIC MENTAL HEALTH

NURSE PRACTITIONER

FAMILY NURSE PRACTITIONER

GERIATRIC NURSE PRACTITIONER

ADELPHI UNIVERSITY

LIU SCHOOL OF NURSING

ADELPHI UNIVERSITY

AN EXCLUSIVE PROGRAM OF

A P P L I C AT I O N P R O C E S S O P E N F O R

SPRING & FALL 2019

FINANCIAL AID AND ACADEMIC SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE N E W YO R K : 1492 EAST 12TH STREET, BROOKLYN, NY 11230 7 18.769.8160 f: 7 18.769.8640

THE New

Seminary asjv rbhnx

N E W J E R S E Y: 139 OCEAN AVENUE, LAKEWOOD, NJ 08701 732.366.3500 f: 732.367.8640

Rebbetzin Sora F. Bulka

MENAHELES

Rabbi Yeshaya Levy MENAHEL

email: INFO@THENEWSEMINARY.ORG online: W W W.T H E N E WS E M I N A RY.O R G

96 12

DECEMBER 13, 2018 | The Jewish Home DECEMBER 13, 2018 | The Jewish Home

The Wandering

Jew

Oy, Romania, Romania, Romania, Romania, Romania

By Hershel Lieber

A

s the title implies, this article deals with my trip to Romania, the first time in 1980. Between 1978 and 1979, I had already traveled to Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union three times – once with Pesi and twice alone.

Each trip involved different missions, of which I will share in future

columns. Being the quintessential sightseer, I always sought out tourist attractions and was keenly interested in each country’s history and culture. Pesi and I shared an interest in visiting museums and historical sites, and we loved walking the streets to absorb the local flavor.

We always brought home some me-

mentos from the places we visited, toys for our children and folk art to display at home – nothing expensive, yet every item was attractive and distinctive. I remember coming home from Poland once, with an entire suitcase full of souvenirs, which cost less than fifty dollars in total!

After returning from each trip, I would share my escapades with family and friends. On one occasion, a friend, who was always looking for new business ideas, approached me and asked if there were items that could be imported from Eastern Europe. He proposed financing my trip in exchange for me bringing back samples and then seeing if there was a market for them in the United States. I readily accepted his offer. I was never an entrepreneur, and this could be an opportunity to go into business and make some money!

I set myself an itinerary to vis-

it Poland, Romania, Hungary and Czechoslovakia, and in New York met with the trade commissions of each of these countries before my trip. They set up appointments for me with various companies in each of those places.

My first stop was in Poland, and I spent four days meeting with nine different exporters in Warsaw and Lodz. I chose various items, and they arranged to ship samples to me when I would return home. Besides the possibility of making a profit, the sensation of acting as a businessman gave me great satisfaction.

Leaving Poland on Friday morning, my next stop was Bucharest, where I would spend Shabbos with the Jewish community. My parents were in Bucharest after the War, and now, 35 years later, so was I. Jewish life in Romania was very different from other Iron Curtain

Some of the folk art that Hershel brought back from Eastern Europe

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 13, 2018

Rav Yitzchok Meyer Marillus, z”l, the last of prewar rabbanim

countries. There were four active synagogues in Bucharest, a mikvah, a community center with a kosher restaurant, a Yiddish theatre, a Yiddish-Romanian newspaper, and a small afternoon Talmud Torah for children. What was even more unusual was that Romania had diplomatic relations with Israel and allowed Jews to emigrate there. This was due in great part to Chief Rabbi Moshe Rosen, who had built a relationship with the Communist dictator Nicolai Ceausescu. To be sure, the rabbi did not have an easy time getting the government to approve his requests, but considering the situation of Jews in Eastern Europe at the time, Jewish life was far richer in Romania than in neighboring countries.

Over Shabbos I davened in two different shuls and was asked both times to be the baal tefilla. One shul was called the “Malbim Shul,” because the Malbim davened there when he was chief rabbi of Bucharest. A few years later, as part of Ceausescu’s plan to redesign the city, the shul was razed and gone forever.

Although I was able to meet and talk to Rabbi Rosen, the person who impressed me most was a chassidishe rav, Rabbi Yitzchok Meyer Marilus, who spent a lot of time with me. He ate with me on Shabbos at the restaurant and told me of his difficulties and successes. He spoke

Hershel in the A.B. Zissu Shul where he was the baal tefila for kabbalas Shabbos

The new Jewish family after their geirus in Bucharest

From the hatofas dam milah of the grandfather, his three sons and one grandson, to the tevila of all the participants including two toddlers, the simcha was overwhelming.

of his loneliness and his longing for a Yiddishe environment. But he was determined to stay on, and his mesiras nefesh kept the flame burning.

At one point during our conversation, Rav Marillus paused, and in a hushed tone told me that me coming to Bucharest was truly “min Hashamayim.”

He said that there were ten members of a gentile family waiting to go through conversion, and they needed a third member for the bais din to proceed with this geirus. For many years Rabbi Rosen refused to allow any geirus to take place in Romania, fearing that the underlying reason was to emigrate, since Jews could get visas to go to Israel. After determining their sincerity to keep the Torah and join Klal Yisroel, he finally gave the family the green light to convert, although he himself was reluctant to officiate. Besides Rav Marilus there was the shochet/

97 13

mohel who would join me in the bais din. The males would not have to do a circumcision since the matriarch of the family, the grandmother, did it for them. She based it on her reading of the Torah when Tzipora sharpened a stone and circumcised Moshe Rabbeinu’s son, Eliezer. She did exactly the same thing for her entire family!

The geirus was set for Sunday afternoon, and I would be the third dayan.

I cannot begin to describe the joy this family displayed during the entire ceremony. From the hatofas dam milah of the grandfather, his three sons and one grandson, to the tevila of all the participants including two toddlers, the simcha was overwhelming. I was overcome with happiness, and yet my eyes were welled up with tears. We then helped them choose Jewish names, all coming from Torah personali-

ties, which they were quite familiar with. It was an experience I will never forget! We took photographs, and Rav Marilus and I gave our new Jewish family brachos for spiritual growth and successful lives.

For the next ten days I continued meeting with manufacturers in Bucharest, Budapest, and Prague.

Nothing ever happened with the import business that I wanted to launch. The dream of building a lucrative business may have eluded me, but my trip to Romania was a resounding success.

Hershel Lieber has been involved in kiruv activities for over 30 years. As a founding member of the Vaad L’Hatzolas Nidchei Yisroel he has traveled with his wife, Pesi, to the Soviet Union during the harsh years of the Communist regimes to advance Yiddishkeit. He has spearheaded a yeshiva in the city of Kishinev that had 12 successful years with many students making Torah their way of life. In Poland, he lectured in the summers at the Ronald S. Lauder Foundation camp for nearly 30 years. He still travels to Warsaw every year – since 1979 – to be the chazzan for Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur for the Jews there. Together with Pesi, he organized and led trips to Europe on behalf of Gateways and Aish Hatorah for college students finding their paths to Jewish identity. His passion for travel has taken them to many interesting places and afforded them unique experiences. Their open home gave them opportunities to meet and develop relationships with a variety of people. Hershel’s column will appear in The Jewish Home on a bi-weekly basis.

72 98

OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home DECEMBER 13, 2018 | The Jewish Home

RABBI NATAN GAMEDZE

In Search of Truth from Swaziland to the Holy Land

By Rafi Sackville

F

rom the restaurant in the middle of the pedestrian mall in Tzfat, the view of the rolling hills surrounding the city provides a comforting backdrop to the bustle of tourists and shoppers only steps away.

Reverberating with the weight of thousands of years of Jewish presence, it is difficult not to feel a part of the history and the generations of Jews who have reaped spiritual benefit from the giants of Torah who have lived, learnt, and taught here.

In Swaziland, some 9,300 kilometers away (5,800 miles) and directly south of Israel, the open, rolling hills look similar, if somewhat greener than those in the Galil. The country is smaller than Israel by some 3,000 square kilometers and has a quarter of the population. Landlocked, it is caught pincer-like between Mozambique and South Africa.

Before the British carved up Swaziland in the 1880s, it was run by a monarchy whose king surrounded himself with a coterie of advisors. This small, but powerful group wielded absolute power over the remainder of the population.

The restructuring of the borders was a cumbersome affair that ended the homogeneity of the country. Different ethnic groups were massed together without consideration. In effect, this is what happened to the Gamedze (Gah-med-Zeh) family, who, at the time of partition, ruled Swaziland. In their place another family was appointed to reign. Their monarchical aspirations cut short, the British won the Gamedzes over by making concessions, which led to them becoming indispensable advisors to the new king.

It is a position they hold until today.

T

he grandson of the last Gamedze king, Rabbi Natan Gamedze, sits opposite me thoughtfully cupping a cup of coffee.

This unassuming, humble gentleman is, for all intents and purposes, a prince of Swaziland. Yet here he sits, dressed in a black suit and white shirt and sporting a large black kippah. He looks, sounds, and exudes all the qualities of what a good Jew should be.

A man of many talents (he speaks 13 languages), Rabbi Natan might have followed the path of his ancestors had

he not taken an unlikely journey that led him to Israel and to the study halls of Ohr Sameach and Brisk.

My wife and I had come to Tzfat to speak with Rabbi Gamedze and, despite our curiosity about his transformation, we were interested to learn about his upbringing and his fondest childhood memories. There is a hypnotizing effect about Rabbi Gamedze, who speaks in a deliberate and liquid delivery. He weighs each word with care as if they are fragile vessels in search of a safe resting place.

“Swazis have traditional dances for different seasons,” Rabbi Natan explains, “and my father would take me with him to visit the king, King Mswati III. Traditional warriors still dress up in their conventional garb, a vestment, just like a cloth with a skin underneath. They also don an animal skin around their loins, wear sandals or go barefoot, and carry a stick with a knob on top. They dance with shields and knives, while jumping up and down and singing.

“I was once at a ceremony in Jerusalem. They invited the ambassador to Swaziland. He was one of the princes.

When he came to Israel, he was wearing a suit. Before he met then-Prime Minister Ehud Barak, he traveled back to his hotel to change into his traditional clothes to make himself presentable. Swazis don’t have any inferiority complex about wearing it.

I can definitely say that it is to their honor that they are very proud of who they are.

“At those ceremonies, when I was young, I was afraid because of the knives. I was just a little boy and would hide behind my dad who would laugh and say, ‘Don’t you see? They are singing your song.’

“Those are probably the fondest memories of my youth.”

Rabbi Gamedze was educated in the best schools. This includes the period he studied in South Africa during apartheid. Was he affected by it in any negative way?

“I would call it self-respect, and to just be happy with who you are. Don’t try to be something or someone that you are not,” he says. “This is much of what I have carried throughout my life. I do not feel any special need just because I am a black person. I don’t

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015 The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 13, 2018

MADRAIGOS PARENTING MATTERS

Parenting Matters...

Parenting Matters...

Parenting Matters...

Parenting Matters...

EFFECTIVE PARENTING of teens & young adults

GROUP VI

EFFECTIVE EFFECTIVE EFFECTIVE EFFECTIVE PARENTING PARENTING PARENTING PARENTING

ofofof adolescents &&& young adults adolescents young adults adolescents young adults of adolescents & young adults

GROUP VVVV GROUP GROUP GROUP

Sharpen parenting skills and gain guidance from Sharpen parenting skills and gain guidance from Sharpen parenting skills and gain guidance from Sharpen parenting skills and gain guidance from professionals.

Receive helpful feedback and professionals.

Receive helpful feedback and professionals.

Receive helpful feedback and professionals.

Receive helpful feedback and enjoy support from parents ininyour situation. enjoy support from parents inyour situation. enjoy support from parents situation. enjoy support from parents inyour your situation.

Mondays 8:00-9:30pm Mondays 8:00-9:30pm Mondays 8:00-9:30pm Mondays 8:00-9:30pm Madraigos Madraigos Madraigos Madraigos 936 Broadway, Woodmere 936 Broadway, Woodmere 936 Broadway, Woodmere 936 Broadway, Woodmere Starting date: Monday, May 7th Starting date: Monday, May 7th Starting date: Monday, May 7th Starting date: Monday, Dec. 17th

For more informtion ororto RSVP, Please contact For more informtion orto toRSVP, Please contact For more informtion Please contact For more informtion or toRSVP, RSVP, Please contact Mindi Werblowsky, LMSW, Clinical Director Mindi Werblowsky, LMSW, Clinical Director Mindi Werblowsky, LMSW, Clinical Director Mindi Werblowsky, LMSW, Clinical Director mwerblowsky@madraigos.org 516-371-3250 ext.

112 mwerblowsky@madraigos.org 516-371-3250 ext.

112 mwerblowsky@madraigos.org 516-371-3250 ext.

112 mwerblowsky@madraigos.org 516-371-3250 ext.

112

Parenting Matters...

936 Broadway, Woodmere, NY 11598 I IP:IP:516.371.3250 I IF:IF:516.612.4515 I Iwww.madraigos.org 936 Broadway, Woodmere, NY 11598 Iwww.madraigos.org 936 Broadway, Woodmere, NY 11598 936 Broadway, Woodmere, NY 11598 IP:516.371.3250 P:516.371.3250 516.371.3250 IF:516.612.4515 F:516.612.4515 516.612.4515 Iwww.madraigos.org www.madraigos.org 936 Broadway, Woodmere, NY 11598 I P: 516.371.3250 I F: 516.612.4515 I www.madraigos.org

73 99

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015

100

DECEMBER 13, 2018 | The Jewish Home

feel I have to hang out with black people. I go around with whomever I please. I feel like the Swazis (wearing their traditional garb) because they are so proud of who they are. Even in apartheid South Africa it was impossible to make me feel inferior. Apartheid didn’t mean anything to me. I just thought it was very stupid.

“But I did have to travel back home to Soweto every day. It made me feel as though I was living in two worlds: in the open (white) university on the one hand, with a quota system for people of color, and a certain quota of Asians, etc., and on the other my living in Soweto.

“In other words, I feel that there are so many components to me, and as soon as I get into a certain situation, I know how to behave. Even in apartheid South Africa it was impossible to make me feel inferior.”

When asked whether he has considered taking his children back to Swaziland, Rabbi Gamedze admits he has yet to take them but “I think it important for my children to see my relatives. My immediate family lives in Johannesburg now,” he relates. “My children have never been to a place that is predominantly black. My wife went back with me. Coming from New York she was surprised to find herself the only white face in a sea of black.”

W

73

hile in university Rabbi Gamedze noticed a student reading from right to left.

The student was reading Hebrew, and Rabbi Gamedze was immediately intrigued. He enrolled in an introductory Hebrew course. After a few months, he had mastered basic Hebrew.

Rabbi Gamedze exudes a calming presence. His languid and quiet demeanor draws listeners into his world. He communicates naturally and personably. When describing the experience of the Hebrew course and listening to Middle

Rabbi Gamezde with the author

Eastern music punctuated through his headphones by the words, it is hard not to imagine the experience.

“It was during a language test,” he recalls. “I was half dreamy when all of a sudden I realized that someone was speaking. I listened closely to the voice and realized they were from Akeidat Yitzchak. I stopped the cassette. In my subconscious I had a realization I was dealing with something I had never come across before.

“I was about twenty.

The language seemed so familiar to me. The binding of Isaac spoke to me. I came from a moderately Christian home. The passage conveys much more than could be conveyed in any other lan-

guage. I was puzzled. It was like opening an inner dimension that I didn’t know existed.

“Let’s say one of the princes in Swaziland gets a bad knock and loses his memory. His brothers try to help him regain it. They go through some of the paces of Swazi dances, and lo and behold, the prince who lost his memory remembers, Ah yes, I know this dance, although he has no idea how.

“That is how I felt when I discovered lashon hakodesh. I knew it, but where it had come from I had no idea.

It was a little like a Sherlock Holmes mystery. I had to go out and discover how I knew it.”

Yet the prince in the story had actually learned the dance. In Rabbi Gamedze’s case, he had never previously been taught Hebrew. He points out that Judaism was never something

new to him.

“I started off on that Sherlock Holmes journey,” he explains. “I went to the library, where they had a collection of Hebrew books. I looked at books on kibbutzim, pottery, gardening, all in Hebrew. Then I saw something I had never heard of before. It was the Rambam’s Sefer Ahava from the Mishneh Torah.

“I went to see some of my Jewish friends and asked them if they’d heard about the Rambam. As a result, some of them started to show an interest in their Jewish tradition. They were totally secular. They started going to shiurim in the university. I watched their progress. Then they invited me to their homes, where they had begun to put up mezuzot. Then they were koshering their kitchens. I remember inviting them to a movie on a Friday night. When they told me they didn’t do that anymore, I asked them what the problem was. Well, now they were keeping Shabbat.

“I was really impressed, because my attitude to truth is that it obligates the one who hears it. Hashem is not going to waste His time telling people the truth if they are not going to listen.

When I saw my friends were willing to turn 180 degrees because Judaism obligated them to, I was impressed.

It’s not about whether it is comfortable for me, or whether I fit in. I’m glad my friends are religious, but at the time I had no idea what it had to do with me.

“We know that gerei tzedek are called Bnei Avraham, but why not Bnei Yitzchak or Bnei Yaakov? The simple reason is because Avraham left all other belief systems through his own choosing. First of all, by negating the present situation of worshipping idols in which he found himself.

“That’s one thing about the emet (truth); the beginning point of emet is that all the nonsense is ruled out.

“After all of Avraham Avinu’s self-sacrifice, his suffering, his rough life, his discovery of G-d, is the way that truth is expressed in this world.

For me it means that I am prepared to go through thick and thin because I know that this is true, not because of what I am going to gain.”

After mastering basic Hebrew Rabbi Gamedze was offered a doctorate program at Hebrew University. “I was sitting in one of the restaurants

74

OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 13, 2018

at the university having a cup of coffee,” he recalls. “In walks a professor from Hebrew University. He had been looking through a list of students and he saw this funny name with high marks. He asked me why I had continued learning Italian and German but stopped learning Hebrew. I said, ‘What am I going to do with this language? Even the Jews I know don’t understand when I speak in Hebrew.’

What I knew about Israel at the time was very primitive. This was around 1985-86. But luckily enough I’d read about Avraham Avinu, who was like a torch of light to me. And I thought, What’s that got to do with leaving your home and leaving your country and going way, way over there?

Why can’t you serve G-d where you are? Why davka go all the way to Israel? So, you know, as I say, Sherlock Holmes; I’m on the scent now.”

His arrival in Israel had sparked something familiar within him about the country. He instantly fell in love with the disorder and vibrancy of Israeli life.

“When I arrived in Jerusalem, I started studying Aramaic, Biblical, Mishnaic and modern Hebrew. Who speaks Aramaic? I studied for two years. By that time, I thought I’d lost the scent.

“Around that time, I got a call from my friends from Johannesburg telling me they were learning in Ohr Sameach and that they wanted to see me. I was amazed by their appearance. They were wearing kippot and tzitzit. They were transformed.

“I walked into the Beit Midrash.

From a secular point of view it looks like people are off their rockers choosing to study texts that are thousands of years old, because in the world we live in everything that is modern is better than the old version.

“My friends asked me to explain how it was that a non-Jew had brought them closer to their tradition. I asked them what they were talking about.

They said that if I hadn’t told them about the Rambam, they might not be studying in a yeshiva.

“I couldn’t explain it, because I was asking myself how was it that I was excited about something that was ‘their’ tradition, not mine.”

Rabbi Gamedze left the university and enrolled in Ohr Sameach, where

King Mswati III of Swaziland, Africa’s last absolute monarch

he studied for five years before moving into the Brisker Yeshiva where he got semicha. This was a huge leap for him, but as he is fond of saying, “My motto back then was ‘seize the signs, even if you don’t know where they will take you.’”

R

abbi Gamedze’s uniqueness lies far deeper than the color of his skin. He is a thoughtful and innovative teacher, who is quick to discern the needs of his students.

He finds a correlation between life and the study of Gemara. He evokes

While sitting in a hotel room, he couldn’t bring himself to eat. He stopped each time he brought the fork to his mouth.

One question constantly racked him: why hadn’t he been born Jewish if Hashem wanted him to be a Jew? He decided to take a break from studying. He traveled to Rome. While sitting in a hotel room, he couldn’t bring himself to eat. He stopped each time he brought the fork to his mouth.

He opened a Hebrew calendar and was surprised to discover that it was Yom Kippur. He made his way to the Jewish Quarter and watched the services.

It was another Sherlock Holmes moment. It was then and there that he decided to become Jewish.

Rabbi Gamedze knew the road would be difficult, particularly seeing as he would always stick out as the only black man in the room. Despite the hardships that lay ahead, he knew he was up for the challenge.

the lessons he learnt from Rav Simcha Wasserman at Ohr Sameach, who would say that the Gemara is like a big brain; it teaches you how to think.

He explains, “When you look at the intricacies of a certain sugyah, one might feel that it is a non-starter. Like you’ve got a whole ball of cotton, wool, and all the pieces are intertwined. And you know what a person feels like – he wants to make his life easier. He wants to cut the ball of cotton. But you can’t cut. You’ve got to take each piece and take it out of its knot and see where it fits and where it goes. That is extremely difficult. It takes a lot of effort.

“Rav Wasserman would say that what you have at the end of the day is one piece of string. What I try to convey to my students is that we have all kinds of stimuli bombarding us, and

101

it’s very confusing to know which way to go. This one is saying this, this one is saying that...but at the end of the day it’s just one thing.

“If the Gemara asks a question this way, the answer has to look like this.

So I’ll get people into thinking like this (in life). They eventually see the wisdom, which is much bigger than they could ever have imagined. They unscramble all the extraneous information, and this is the shtuyot, the nonsense, in life.”

When it comes to teaching young women, Rabbi Gamedze tells of the many girls who have come to ask his advice over the years. For example, they might come to him while they are dating. She is ready for marriage, but the boy isn’t. She might think she needs to look her best next to the boy she is dating. But Rabbi Gamedze doesn’t think this picture of outer beauty is healthy, especially with men, who seem to be hung up about superficial looks. He tries to show these young men about the inner beauty of the women they are dating.

“It’s not anyone’s fault that society is like this,” he shares. “This is the reality in society that we have to deal with.”

Today Rabbi Gamedze is involved in freelancing. He enjoys giving talks and being in the Torah world. He used to translate, but he came to the realization that this is not where his strength lies. He enjoys having an influence on his listeners.

He tells of a famous line he likes to quote from Rav Noach Weinberger, zt”l, who asked, “What can we give to Hakodesh Baruch Hu when the entire world is His?” His answer was: we can give Him back His children. When the child is lost, you can help bring him back to his Father.

“Imagine all the people I have taught over the years. Some of them are rabbis today. I even taught a young man who is a posek. One of my students lives here in Tzfat. She said to me, ‘Rabbi, before I met you I didn’t know there was a difference between Gan Eden and Olam Haba. I didn’t know, but you did. You open people’s eyes, and there’s nothing like opening somebody’s eyes when a person can see for themselves.’

“I have a rabbi friend, who deals a lot with Bnei Noach. I remember

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015

102

75

DECEMBER 13, 2018 | The Jewish Home

teaching him Gemara. He didn’t know Hebrew nor Aramaic. I said to him that when Gemara moves from a hava amina (I would have thought) to the maskana (conclusion) after going through all the ins and outs, we finally come to the reality.

“All the world around is one hava amina. Too many people say they are going directly to the maskana because we’re just not happy with the hava amina.

“There is this film that Aish Hatorah would use in an effort to be mekarev people. It is called ‘The Matrix.’

In the movie a person is fooled into believing that what he is experiencing is real. Everybody in the film is tied to heavy machines and energy is being siphoned from them, and yet they are led to believe they are dealing with the real article itself.

“How do we get people out of the matrix they find themselves in? In life there are two pills one can take.

You have a choice to take pill A and make like this conversation has nev-

er taken place, and you can go back to living like everybody else. You can forget that you ever met me. But if you choose this other pill, you’ll see a desolate place, a big desert where there is nothing going on, and there are nothing but props.

“A person goes to a movie, and while he’s seeing it, that becomes his

for 120 years and then the lights go on? That’s what I think about. I know this life is coming to an end; like we’ve been sitting here all day in this restaurant and the waiter says, ‘Last orders, please.’ We ask, ‘Why are you closing?

We thought this was everything.’

“I use this example a lot with my students. All of a sudden, it’s late at

when Hashem says, ‘Last orders,’ I’m closing shop. Where will I be holding when that happens? That’s the question. Have I been fooled by the whole system?”

It is a sobering thought, yet when couched within the framework of a Torah antidote, the question becomes palatable.

R It was then and there that he decided to become Jewish.

or her reality. That’s their experience.

Once the movie ends, the lights go on and people leave. But what happens when the person has been sitting here

night and the restaurant is closing up. People don’t have a problem. They bring out their checkbooks and pay.

But what happens in Olam Hazeh

JONATHAN PALEY, DDS, CERT. ORTHO.

abbi Gamedze defied the path he was expected to take in life, choosing in its place the world of Torah. His Sherlock Holmesian search for the clues of life has found him bringing truth to Hashem’s words. The spiritual gap between what he learnt growing up as grandson to the king of Swaziland to the position he holds today as a rav is a chasm that might defy understanding, but for Rabbi Gamedze it’s his life’s journey of struggle that he has embraced and uses to glorify Hashem. The hurdles, the stumbling blocks, are all fuel that helped transform this voyage into an ever-lasting search for truth.

SUSAN FRIEDMAN, DDS, CERT. ORTHO.

º Orthodontic Specialists for Adults and Children: STRAIGHTENING TEETH IS ALL THAT WE DO. º Creating beautiful smiles in the Greater Five Towns Community for over 18 years º ITERO digital scanner - no more goopy impressions! º Convenient early AM, late PM and Sunday appointments

Use used your un lars FSA dol hey before t t year’s expire a end!

º Most major insurances accepted • Free Consultations

FALL PROMOTION

$1000 OFF INVISALIGN TREATMENT (new full cases only, offer expires 12/31/18)

1229 Broadway, Suite 102, Hewlett l 516.569.4567 www.paleyortho.com fivetownsortho @fivetownsortho

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 13, 2018

103

76 104

OCTOBER DECEMBER29, 13,2015 2018| The | TheJewish JewishHome Home

Forever

Engraved Tsipora Karp Shapes Stone into Memories

By Malky Lowinger

W

hile many people struggle to discover their true calling, Tsipora Karp is using her G-d-given artistic talent to pursue her greatest passion.

Throughout the years, Tsipora has created a series of thought-provoking, poignant Holocaust-themed marble sculptures. Her works are uniquely prolific and eerily silent.

If stone could talk, these sculptures would speak volumes.

Tsipora is a proud third-generation member of the Far Rockaway community.

“My grandparents, Harold and Blanche Schechter, were among the first to live here. They davened in the White Shul and helped build the schools in the area,” she says. Tsipora remembers growing up in the neighborhood and attending TAG. “There were just eighteen girls in my grade,” she recalls. “Now there are six parallel classes. It got huge!”

Tsipora’s artistic abilities began to emerge when she was quite young. “I always loved to color,” she says. “My parents, who were very supportive, bought me a pastel set when I was in seventh grade.” By the time she reached the eighth grade, Tsipora was chosen to be art editor of her yearbook. “When you love something,” she explains, “you automatically get better because you enjoy it so much. Art is what calms me down and gives me chiyus.”

Tsipora describes herself as an energetic person and is grateful to have art as an outlet. “I can’t sit still very well. I need to be doing something with my hands. If I’m doing a sculpture, I can be listening to a shiur at the same time. That’s how I can concentrate.”

A

s art director at Camp Atara, Tsipora taught the campers how to work with ceramics and handle clay. It was probably her first venture into the world of sculpture. She also acquired a degree in art, as well as in interior design.

Her interest in Holocaust art was piqued when she was a young mother of several children. She was overwhelmed at the time, but somehow reading Holocaust history gave her equilibrium. “I read a lot about the Holocaust in those days.

It’s so very sad, of course. But it also helped me realize how lucky I am.”

Tsipora reflects, “It gave me chizuk, and it gave me perspective.” Tsipora’s grandparents, both Holocaust survivors, came from a small Polish town called Kozienice, home of the Kozienice Maggid, a pioneer of chassidism in Poland. Sadly, most of the town’s Jews were murdered after being deported to the Treblinka concentration camp.

The message that Tsipora learned from her grandparents was never to forget one’s Jewish heritage, no matter the circumstances.

“They taught me to try to dedicate my life to promote Jewishness, to join a Jewish organization and to remain active in Jewish causes.”

As time went on, Tsipora joined painting classes where she met other like-minded artistic women. One thing led to another, and she discovered the beauty and mystique of the medium of sculpture. “I was wowed!” she says. “To me, sculpture represented a higher, three-dimensional level of beauty. It opened up a whole new world of art for me. I just had to learn it.”

Tsipora’s first attempt at sculpture was a marble shofar. It wasn’t easy. “Sculpting marble is very different than clay. Working with clay is adding positive space. If you’re making a nose, for example, you add clay. But working with stone means working with negative space. You have to carve away at a piece of marble. And sometimes it breaks due to the veining and then you have to start all over again. It’s hard work, and very slow and delicate. You have to be very patient.”

“Marble,” Tsipora adds, “is gorgeous. Hashem is the ultimate Artist. You’ll never find two pieces that are the same. Every stone is different and unique. Marble represents the natural beauty that Hashem has given us to enjoy.”

Tsipora’s collection of marble sculpture contains about twenty-five pieces so far. That’s remarkable considering the amount of time and effort involved. “A painting takes about a week,” she explains.

“A sculpture takes six months. I used a hammer and chisel for about a year, but now I’m using an air

TheJewish JewishHome Home| DECEMBER | OCTOBER 29, The 13, 2015 2018

compressor, which is a power tool similar to a handheld jackhammer.”

After she chisels the stone, Tsipora begins filing, which is a long and laborious process. Then she applies sealant and buffs the work with wax. Finally, the sculpture is mounted on a wood or a stone base.

Tsipora’s Holocaust pieces are especially meaningful to her, and she feels they can be useful in helping others understand the misery and despair of that tragic era. “Not everyone can relate to a documentary,” she explains. “Some people find them long and boring. These works can educate people who can’t sit through a documentary. It can evoke the same reactions.”

Tsipora’s works on the Holocaust are beautiful, yet haunting.

The Yellow Star, sculpted out of golden-yellow marble with a burst of elaborate white veining, symbolizes the infamous star which was worn by the Jews during that era to humiliate and isolate them. The

Shoes Of Remembrance is a particularly poignant piece. It represents the worn-out shoes of those who were marched into the gas chambers. One can almost imagine these shoes, witnesses to the atrocities, screaming in pain.

Zeidy’s Hand is very personal to Tsipora. It is actually molded out of her grandfather’s hand and set in bronze, with his Auschwitz numbers etched into the arm. In this piece, the hand grabs on to bright red flames that shoot up into the air. Even the flames have special significance. “They’re shaped like two shins, which spells out shesh, or the number six, for six million,” Tsipora explains. She adds that the two shins can also spell shayish, which is the Hebrew word for marble. “Hashem’s letters,” she muses, “have so many meanings.”

Tsipora points out one of her own favorites works, The Yellow Butterfly, which was inspired by the poem written by Pavel Friedman in the

Theresienstadt ghetto. As a prisoner in the ghetto, he writes about the “bright dazzlingly yellow” butterfly which represents freedom. “Only I never saw another butterfly / That butterfly was the last one / Butterflies don’t live here / In the ghetto.”

The imagery of that poem so moved Tsipora that she decided to create her own visual likeness. “I created a yellow butterfly made of stone behind barbed wire.” People react in many different ways to this work, as well as to the others.

“Some people cry,” she notes. But she admits that young children do not always get it. “And that’s fine.

We don’t need to convey the details of the horror to them. Children can understand these on their own level.”

Over the last few weeks, Tsipora’s pieces have been featured at various art exhibits. Dr. Moshe Katz spoke at the event at Chabad of Midtown in Manhattan last month where Tsipora’s pieces were displayed. A few

77 105

weeks ago, her work was featured at the Anne Frank Center. Author Gillian Walnes Perry, who wrote the book, The Legacy of Anne Frank, was there for a book signing as well.

This week, during Art Basel in Miami, her artwork was exhibited by Rabbi Katz at the Chabad of South Beach.

“I didn’t make these to sit in someone’s living room,” Tsipora explains her desire to exhibit her pieces. “They are meant to educate.”

Tsipora’s art is unique. Her works can be beautiful but also somehow unsettling. Serene, yet filled with passion. Obscure, but also striking.

“Hashem has been kind to me,” she says. “He gave me this wonderful gift. I hope to use it in the right way and to make a Kiddush Hashem through my work.”

For more information about Tsipora’s art or to view her work, visit judaicabytsipora.com.

106 60

DECEMBER 13, 2018 | The Jewish Home OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

Dating Dialogue

What Would You Do If… Moderated by Jennifer Mann, LCSW of The Navidaters

Dear Navidaters,

My mother has always been beyond meticulous with her research before she allows me to be set up with anyone. Until someone is given the green light it can take a while, but I have still managed to go out quite a bit. Not too long ago, I was permitted to be set up with Chaim. We’ve gone out a few times, and he seems to have a lot of potential for me.

When I got home Sunday evening from a date with Chaim, my parents were waiting for me and told me that they had something very important to discuss with me right away. From the look on their faces, I thought, G-d forbid, that someone had died. They seemed very serious and concerned. Basically, what they needed to talk about was the fact that it had just come to their attention that Chaim’s parents did not have a great marriage.

In fact, “rumor” had it that they were possibly on the verge of divorce.

My mother has always been very concerned with me marrying someone who came from a home where shalom bayis was very important. My parents’ feelings are that if someone is raised in a home with lots of fighting, they will be unable to know how to be a good husband to me because fighting will be what they consider the norm. And since Chaim – my mother now knows – does not come from a peaceful home, how will he ever know how to be a good husband? My parents both then urged me to end things with Chaim.

I hear what they’re saying, and it makes sense to me, but I wonder if they are entirely correct. Chaim seems like an easygoing, considerate, eager-to-please person. Can’t someone come from a chaotic background and still be capable of having a great, successful marriage?

I’ve been able to put Chaim on hold with the holidays, claiming that I’m too busy to date right now. The fact is that I would hate to let Chaim go at this point because I really do like him. But I’m curious whether the panel agrees that you stay away from anyone who is coming from a home lacking in shalom bayis.

Disclaimer: This column is not intended to diagnose or otherwise conclude resolutions to any questions.

Our intention is not to offer any definitive

conclusions to any particular question, rather offer areas of exploration for the author and reader. Due to the nature of the column receiving only a short snapshot of an issue, without the benefit of an actual discussion, the panel’s role is to offer a range of possibilities. We hope to open up meaningful dialogue and individual exploration.

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 13, 2018 The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015

CELEBRATING

10 YEARS

OF SEMINARY EXCELLENCE

You can be in the MBR class of a decade

Under the direction of

Rebbetzin Aviva Feiner, Menaheles Mrs. Debra Green, Mechaneches

OPEN HOUSE

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 16TH 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

At the Machon Basya Rochel Campus 137 Lawrence Ave., Lawrence, NY. Across from the Lawrence LIRR Station

INSPIRING EACH INDIVIDUAL IN A WARM ATMOSPHERE OPTION TO FINISH YOUR COLLEGE DEGREE IN ONE YEAR CONVENIENT TRANSPORTATION FROM BROOKLYN BEAUTIFUL DORMITORY IN THE HEART OF FAR ROCKAWAY

Preparation for your future life and home ... Enriching Extracurricular Programs and Shabbatonim ... Dynamic and Approachable Faculty

516-362-5000

m b rs e m i n a r y @ g m a i l .co m

• FREE Pickup and Delivery always!

• Wash & Fold Laundry Service • Expert Tailoring, Same Day Work Available • Special Discounts for Rabbis. Teachers.

Hatzolah and Chaverim • Shomer Shabbos Owned and Operated

Call (718)887-9886

w w w. m b rs e m i n a r y.o rg

o ys to d a w t n nie conve cleaning.

3 w o at N ry op off r d your d d n up a y pick home. l k e e W pickup your d n a off e drop ervice. d i s b r Cu es In stor

or call/text (917) 612-2300 email otmdrycleaners@gmail.com for the next scheduled pickup.

Sign up FCC- Fr now for our equ Club an ent Cleaner d ge with ea t savings ch orde r

68-26 Main Street, Flushing, NY 11367

107 61

108

DECEMBER 13, 2018 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015

61

The Panel The Rebbetzin Rebbetzin Faigie Horowitz, M.S. hile I understand that your parents are concerned about Chaim’s relationship and communication skills that may affect him in a marriage, what’s important is the answers to related follow-up questions.

The question really is: has Chaim been exposed to healthy relationships in a marriage outside of his parental home? How are his relationships with roommates? Camp friends? Bunkmates? How does he handle conflict? Does he withdraw, negotiate, attack, or become defensive? Is he a growing person? Does he confide in a mentor? Discuss relationships with someone skilled?

These are more important than the fact that his parents have shalom bayis issues. The fact that you have already dated Chaim and like him will give you a basis to explore these questions with hm. You now have a roadmap.

I will also share some insights from some experiences I have had as a longtime volunteer with Sister to Sister, the network for Orthodox divorcees. As a facilitator on a panel on shidduchim at one of their annual weekend retreats, we heard concerns about labels and dating challenges of children of divorced parents. Experienced mothers whose children were married shared their experiences. They said that people want to know whether their children have been exposed to wholesome marriages and relationships outside their own divorced families. They also shared that people want to know if the children have been in therapy and/or dealt successfully with the divorce. Other questions that comes up in the inquiry process is whether the divorced parents maintain a decent relationship and whether the child has a good relationship with each parent.

W

In a talk by Dr. David Pelcovitz to therapists and others connected with Sister to Sister several years ago about staying together for the sake of the children, he spoke on the long-term effects of divorce in the frum community. He mentioned some markers of success – financial stability, marriage, etc. used in the general community and shared that the research shows that people who are children of divorce are just as likely to succeed as the general population. I do not have the research data available to me but I do remember that he said that in our community it seemed that children of divorced parents are very vested in raising a healthy wholesome family and making things work. Children are harmed when they are in a very high conflict environment.

To answer your question, I think that it is unfair to cancel out all those whose parents have or had shalom bayis issues. What is going on in the home and what the young person is like are really more germane questions.

The Mother Sarah Schwartz Schreiber, P.A. orry to inform you, Chaim is history.

Your mother has completed her meticulous research, swallowed the gossip and hearsay, sniffed out the “D” word, and decided that Chaim is disqualified.

No one on our panel will dispute that a couple’s shalom bayis is fundamental for the future marital health of their offspring. So are other middos like kindness, yiras Shomayim, work ethic, generosity, sense of humor – the list goes on – traits that a person may have inherited from his parents or has developed on his own. It’s the old nature vs. nurture debate. Some of

S

the most loving spouses I know are the progeny of a divorced home. By the same token, some of the most despicable characters I have met stem from intact, “prominent” families. Too often yechus serves as a smokescreen for mediocrity.

Going forward, I advise your mother, the forensics expert, to proceed with caution when doing her checking. Find out about the family, sure, but place greater emphasis on a young man’s personal reputation – his menschlechkeit, temperament and maturity.

Bear in mind, a shidduch is like a beautiful package – the wrapping (family, financial standing) can be alluring, but it’s what’s inside (the essence of a person) that counts.

Can’t someone come from a chaotic background and still be capable of having a great, successful marriage?

Speak to him about your predicament and seek his counsel on how to proceed with Chaim, while also keeping your parents happy.

Hatzlacha!

The Shadchan Michelle Mond his is a perfect example of the adage, “Man plans, G-d laughs.”

Your parents did deep research to make sure all your suitors come from perfect homes, and now that you are dating someone seriously secrets have come to light about this particular family. You do not mention anything that you are concerned about with Chaim, but are feeling pressured to end the shidduch nonetheless.

There are people who come from all different types of homes who manage to get married and have happy marriages. It is true that people who come from troubled homes have a harder time managing a happy marriage, but it is possible.

The key is to find out if the man you are dating has worked on himself, is personally happy, and is emotionally healthy. Your parents are truly doing what they feel is best for you but if you really feel passionate about this shidduch, I recommend you reach out to your family’s rav.

T

The Single Tova Wein find your parents’ behavior very troubling, though I’m sure their intentions are noble. Chaim sounds like a good guy whom you want to get to know better. And I think you should. I, like everyone else, know of many outstanding marriages, wherein one or both of the spouses come from divorced homes. In fact, I’ve noticed that sometimes, because these young adults grew up witnessing firsthand the ugliness of a disrespectful marriage, they are more sensitive and aware of the fact that a marriage is something that has to be treated with tender loving care and they therefore work harder at it. For that reason alone, they sometimes make the best husbands or wives.

Additionally, it’s very sad that Chaim, or any child from a divorced home, should be dismissed so quick-

I

62

OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

ly and – frankly – punished because of their parents’ inability to make their marriage work. Why should he or others be the sacrificial lambs, just because their parents can’t get it together?

Your parents, and possibly

you, are focusing on the wrong things. What you need to uncover is Chaim’s personal mental wellbeing. Be alert to his behavior, making sure that he hasn’t internalized his parents’ faults. As you date more, and should

Pulling It All Together The Navidaters Dating and Relationship Coaches and Therapists

W

arning: I have very strong feelings about this subject at-large.

If you were a new client of mine and came into the office, I would not necessarily share my personal views on this matter. I would help you process your feelings and help you figure out if you would feel comfortable proceeding. It would be all about you; helping you tease out your feelings from your parents’.

Helping you explore any potential “hang-ups,” concerns, or fears about dating someone from a divorced home. This is a very personal decision, and you would have to do what feels right for you. Maybe it would be breaking up, or maybe it would be continuing to date Chaim and being at peace with dating someone from a divorced home. However, since I know I have an audience reading this paper, I feel I have an obligation to share my personal opinion. It is an opinion, and I am not trying to pass it off as a fact that everyone must agree with.

In my opinion, I think that everyone who comes from a divorced home is just as worthy of being dated as everyone who comes from an intact family. When I meet with men and women who come from divorced homes, or have any kind of story that is not societal per-

fection, my heart breaks for them, as they have to deal with rejection after rejection over something that was not their doing.

They carry this burden around and feel “less than” or ashamed as people research their families. It absolutely breaks my heart! My goal is always to help them heal their shame and be able to live life with their heads held high.

Some of the most fabulous people I know, both personally and professionally, come from divorced homes. They saw what didn’t work in their parents’ marriages, and they devoted their lives to their own personal growth and having their own healthy marriages. Are there people from divorced homes who were negatively impacted and are not ready to be a healthy partner to someone?

Of course. Are there people from intact families who were negatively impacted, or weren’t but who have their own meshugas and are not ready to be a healthy partner to someone? Of course.

There are a lot of couples who stay together until they marry off their children. They are not happy, and there was oodles of dysfunction and toxicity that greatly impacted

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 13, 2018

you believe that he can very possibly be your bashert, you may want to visit a dating coach, once or twice, just to openly discuss your parents’ concerns about his upbringing. This way, both you and your parents can be reassured that Chaim is the real deal and that he is not an extension of his parents.

their children. But because they are “married,” the package looks nice and pretty. Sometimes, when a marriage is toxic, the healthiest decision is to divorce and the kids benefit from the shalom that then ensues.

It is my belief that every individual should be given a chance. It may turn out that Chaim is not the guy for you – or he may be Mr. Right! The only way to find out is to give him a chance. Keep your eyes open, as I would suggest to anyone dating, for red flags: being inconsiderate, selfish with his time, emotionally shut down, drinking or drugging, secrecy, lack of motivation, bad relationships with others, and a mentality that everything is everyone else’s fault, etc. Keep your eyes open for wonderful, healthy traits as well: happiness, fulfillment, chein, eager to please, attentive, growth-oriented, and healthy relationships with people, food and alcohol.

I understand your parents’ concern for you. I really do. From a very practical perspective, I ask, To what end? Do concerns begin and end with a divorced family? Or do we not date people with family members with learning disabilities, addiction, cognitive impairments, physical limitations, financial limitations, a father’s “wild past,” etc.?

Are we looking to mate with perfection? Sometimes this all feels very Darwin’s Law of Evolution by Natural Selection. Where does it stop?

(By the way, this Darwinian feeling I have not only applies to the shid-

109

It is my belief that every individual should be given a chance.

duch crisis, but to the tuition crisis as well; with Orthodoxy becoming more and more like a rich man’s club that is not very understanding or welcoming to the “un-rich.” What are we doing to ourselves?)

I typically do not present my strong feelings about a topic in my responses, and I am not looking to persuade you, the writer, into dating Chaim or not. It is a decision that you will have to reach. Is dating someone from an intact family a non-negotiable for you? You will decide. With shidduchim being as challenging as they are, this is my opportunity to ask for more open-mindedness, more sensitivity to those individuals who do not come from “perfect.” It’s a matter of will my imperfect match well with his imperfect?

I leave you with lyrics from Leonard Cohen’s Anthem: “Ring the bells that still can ring. Forget your perfect offering. There is a crack, a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.”

Just my opinion.

All the best, Jennifer Esther Mann, LCSW and Jennifer Mann, LCSW are licensed psychotherapists and dating and relationship coaches working with individuals, couples and families in private practice in Hewlett, NY. To set up a consultation or to ask questions, please call 516.224.7779.

Press 1 for Esther, 2 for Jennifer. Visit www.thenavidaters.com for more information. If you would like to submit a dating or relationship question to the panel anonymously, please email thenavidaters@gmail.com. You can follow The Navidaters on FB and Instagram for dating and relationship advice.

110 52

DECEMBER 13, 2018 | The Jewish Home OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

Dr. Deb

Can I Fall in Love Again?

By Deb Hirschhorn, Ph.D.

C

havi looked out the window, wondering if some magic would fall from the sky. It didn’t, but she thought that’s what she needed. She was so, so tired of the endless arguments with Sammy. He was so irrational, that was the worst of it. If she had the nerve to disagree

with his take on things – whoa – that was a capital crime. He would explode, tell her she was “attacking” him, and stop talking to her. She was a fun-loving person; she didn’t like being stuck in this bad place. She wanted o-u-t and she wanted it now.

That’s not all: it wasn’t enough to

no longer fight. She wanted a husband to confide in and do fun things with; she wanted a friend. And Chavi wanted love.

Dr. Deb says you can go from hate to falling in love all over again – with your husband. Really? How in the world is that possible?

What’s “falling in love” anyway?

Let’s look at this giddy feeling called “falling in love.” It’s all about how the other person makes you feel and how you feel about him (or her).

In fact, the real truth is that how you feel about him follows from how he makes you feel. Here’s why: The “falling in love” kind of love is about receiving. The other kind of love – the tender feelings for children, or the compassionate love that you have when you’ve been married 50 years – is about giving.

So, if that’s true, what is it you’re receiving when you fall in love?

What you receive is tremendous.

You get a clear, bright, and shiny message of validation of yourself as a person. Many people can try to give you this message but it doesn’t work with all those other people. The one person with whom it works proves to you in the course of being together that he (or “she”) really gets who you are. Only someone who has plunged the depths of your selfhood and finds you amazing, special, and wonderful can validate you.

There may be many people that you date who feel as though they love you, but in your opinion, they don’t know you. Therefore, it’s impossible

for them to validate you. You see, knowing the other person, genuinely knowing, is the cornerstone of intimacy. So you have opened your heart to one person, and you felt understood. This person, in return, continues to be intrigued by that process of knowing you and wants more.

What could be a better experience than that?

You’re exhilarated because after carefully letting down your guard to someone, this person has appreciated having been given the tremendous gift of yourself. As you let him into the private domain of your soul, he did the same. And what did you find inside his heart and soul? A self that is very similar to yours!

So what’s “falling out of love”? The answer is betrayal. You have opened up your soul; you’ve been vulnerable, and what did you get for it? You got hurt and betrayed. Even ignoring a spouse when she’s talking is betrayal. She is sharing herself, and this gift, once precious in your eyes, means nothing; you’re not listening anymore. When this continues, the commonalities aren’t so apparent.

Your spouse might be hurt too. He, too, feels betrayed. Whatever it was he expected from you doesn’t seem to be forthcoming.

Chavi feels betrayed. Yet, she really doesn’t want a divorce. Who wants to start looking for someone else when you have a family? And she knows very well it’s not so likely she will meet the right person. Sammy was the right person once. Maybe he

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015 The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 13, 2018

can be again….

Here are the steps Chavi and Sammy will want to take: 1. Sammy has to work on being dan l’chaf zchus to Chavi. He has to stop blaming her. He has to allow her to have different opinions and be alright with that.

2. Sammy must prove to Chavi that he has changed. He must be patient and not expect Chavi to run back to him the minute he insists he is now different. He has to understand that he needs to be the giver for Chavi to fall in love with him again.

3. Chavi must be patient, too – with him and with herself. Sammy will slowly realize that Chavi has been deeply wounded in the relationship, and healing takes time.

4. This is the wonderful step. It is akin to noticing how your child is improving in math or picking up a language. Chavi will start to see that Sammy is growing. New behaviors replace the old, ugly ones: consideration, gentleness, sensitivity, gener-

osity of time and effort. From this, respect and trust begin to grow.

5. Respect and trust will allow Chavi’s heart to open up, little by little.

6. In turn, Sammy will be able to talk about his dawning awareness of

How can Chavi help Sammy get this process started? How can they do the first step? I would suggest they sign a happiness pledge which would read something like this: “We, Chavi and Sammy want to be happy. We want to be happy together.

Only someone who has plunged the depths of your selfhood and finds you amazing, special, and wonderful can validate you.

his past selfishness and hurtfulness and his regrets for that. In these admissions, he, too, will be vulnerable, and this will open the door wider to falling in love again.

WITH AN EMPHASIS ON

SHABBOS, YOMIM TOVIM AND SIMCHOS DIET PLANS GROUP SUPPORT RECIPES

EAT BETTER.FEEL BETTER.

Therefore we commit to work hard on being dan l’chaf zchus. If something bothers one of us, we will assume it was meant differently than we took it.

We will not blame or attack. We will

53 111

practice saying nice things to each other many times a day.”

Is this process easy? No. Retraining your entire way of thinking is difficult. But what’s the upside of this difficult process? It’s more than falling in love and even more than preserving a family. It’s something rich and mature that you can’t feel the first time around: it’s a rock-solid knowledge of who this other person really is, leading to a much deeper bond, greater respect, and stronger trust than you could ever have with someone else.

Dr. Deb is a Marriage & Family Therapist.

Book a consultation with her to get clarity on the issues in your marriage and learn about her innovative program at: https:// drdeb.com/book. To book a call with Dr. Deb, go to her scheduler, https://drdeb. com/book, but if you want more information about her new program, please first watch the Masterclass on “Getting The Marriage You Want” at http://drdeb. com/myw-masterclass.

112 22

DECEMBER 13, 2018 | The Jewish Home OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

Health & F tness

Your Guide to Healthy Shabbos Eating: Challah

By Cindy Weinberger MS, RD, CDN

W

hen it comes to dieting many people feel the need to cut out bread completely. However, the right type of bread can actually be good for a diet. Certain breads fill you up with fiber and whole grains that your body benefits from. There’s no need to ban bread completely from your diet. Shabbos is a different story, though, especially since bread is an obligation for three meals on Shabbos.

Even though bread shouldn’t be banned, the rationale behind skipping challah on Shabbos makes sense.

Firstly, when you sit down for the Shabbos meal very hungry, chances are you will stuff your face with the first thing you get your hands on: challah. Overeating challah in general is a problem primarily because of the white flour and sugar and because chances are you don’t stop after one slice. After all, how could you when you’re served soft, freshly baked homemade challah with the sweet crumb topping?! However, an even bigger problem is that most people don’t just eat challah alone. Challah is generally doused in an array of dips. So not only are you getting all the calories from those five slices of challah, you’re also getting all the calories from the fatty, mayonnaise-based dips. Luckily, this problem can be avoided. I’m not going to ask you to cut out bread entirely on Shabbos because we know that is not going to happen. Stick with dietitian approved breads and portion sizes, and you’ll be okay.

If you insist on having your traditional white flour challah, one bite should be enough to be yotzei the bracha of hamotzi. If you must have a whole slice, have one thin slice. And stop there. (We’ll get to the dips conversation next week.) If you’re too tempted to eat more challah, remove it from the table. If you know that you cannot stop after one slice and simply “need” more challah, go for a healthier version.

What can we use as a substitute for white-flour challah? The ideal would be whole grain challah. Whether buying from the bakery or baking it yourself, whole grain challah means that the grain is still intact and hasn’t been processed and essentially re-fortified.

Whole grain challah (and bread) is rich in fiber which helps regulate digestion, lowers cholesterol levels, and helps keep you fuller for longer. Whole grains have been found to reduce your risk for heart disease, diabetes, and even assist in weight management and weight loss.

If you really want to get the health benefits, try eating sprouted whole grain bread at your Shabbos meal.

Sprouted grains convert some of their starch to protein, vitamins, and minerals, so breads made with them tend to be more nutrient-dense than non-sprouted breads. Sprouted whole grains have been found to fight against diabetes, cardiovascular disease, fatty liver disease, and high blood pressure.

The most popular type of sprouted bread is Ezekiel bread.

If sprouted whole grain bread sounds too daring for you, go with whole what bread. Whole wheat bread falls behind sprouted whole grain bread but it’s still a great choice. Look for any whole wheat bread that has less than 20 grams of carbs per slice. Ideally, look for a slice of bread that has no more than 110 calories per serving.

Additionally, look for bread with more than three grams of fiber – greater than 3 grams of fiber is considered a good source and greater than 5 grams is considered an excellent source of fiber. Filling up on fiber especially at the beginning of the Shabbos meal can do you a whole lot of good. Furthermore, any bread that has ingredients like flaxseed, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, and sesame seeds ought to have a high protein count. Pick a bread that has three or more grams of protein. Protein is equally important as fiber when it comes to dieting. Stay away from bread that has saturated fat and more than four grams of sugar.

Some people feel that bread is too addictive and thus dangerous for their diets and that they don’t find matzah as tempting. The truth is that bread and matzah are made of mostly the same ingredients; their nutritional facts are very similar. The omission of yeast or baking soda will have no nutritional impact. One nutritional difference between the two is that matzah has more calories and grams of carbohydrates per serving than bread due to its density. Matzah also has a higher glycemic index, making

it a poor choice for diabetics. Matzah is also highly processed and has a lot of sodium. Since matzah is so thin and not as dense as bread, it is also less filling than bread. However, one advantage over bread is that matzah has more protein and more fiber. But then again, if you choose a bread that is high in fiber and protein, you’ll get the same benefits as matzah without all the added calories and grams of carbohydrates.

On Shabbos, as you start your meal, you can choose to either have challah, which may require a lot of self-control, or you can choose from any of the healthier options and enjoy a little more than just a taste. Either way, don’t think that because you’re eating whole grain challah you can have five slices at the meal. Whole grain challah still has calories. Try to have no more than two slices of challah by each meal. Even healthier foods have to be eaten in moderation.

And remember: don’t fill up on challah – you still have a whole meal ahead of you.

Cindy Weinberger MS, RD, CDN, is a Master’s level Registered Dietitian and Certified Dietitian-Nutritionist. She graduated CUNY Brooklyn College receiving a Bachelor’s in Science and Master’s degree in Nutrition and Food Sciences. She is currently a dietitian at Boro Park Center and a private nutrition consultant in Brooklyn and in the Five Towns. She can be reached at CindyWeinberger1@gmail.com.

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 13, 2018 The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015

113 23

CHOOSE

ACHIEVEMENT FOR YOUR CHILD

Ensure your child’s ACADEMIC growth and SUCCESS in CAHAL's

EXCLUSIVE individualized, LANGUAGE-BASED program, learning MAINSTREAM curriculum with EXPERIENCED Rebbeim and teachers, in classes INTEGRATED in our community YESHIVAS.

BBY BYAM HAFTR haLB HANC MAY C 12 LASSES SHULAMITH SIACH TAG YDT YKLI YOSS CAHAL@CAHAL.ORG (516)295-3666

114 66

DECEMBER 13, 2018 | The Jewish Home OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

In The K

tchen

Eggplant Parmesan Dairy • Yields 8 servings

By Naomi Nachman

This is a client-favorite recipe and always a huge hit with my family. And although generally I try not to fry food, frying is really the key to make this crisp and delicious. If you have a pizza stone, you can bake the eggplant slices on it, instead of frying them. I usually make 2 or 3 at a time as they freeze so well. I also make this for friends who are gluten-free. I just swap out the bread crumbs for gluten-free crumbs and it works just as well.

Ingredients 2 medium eggplants 1 teaspoon kosher salt 2 cups matzah meal or breadcrumbs 1 teaspoon dried oregano 1 teaspoon garlic powder 1½ cups potato starch

Preparation 3 eggs 1 teaspoon water 6 tablespoons oil 1 (32-oz) jar marinara sauce 8 oz shredded mozzarella cheese ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Slice the eggplant into slices slightly thicker than ¼-inch. Sprinkle with salt; set into colander; let drain for 30-40 minutes. Press a paper towel into each slice to absorb all the liquid drawn from the eggplant.

Set up a breading station: Place potato starch in a small bowl; set aside. Combine matzah meal, oregano, and garlic powder in a second small bowl.

Set aside. Beat eggs and water together in a third bowl.

Working with one slice at a time, dredge each eggplant slice in potato starch, then into egg mixture to fully coat, then finally dredge in matzah meal, turning to make sure each slice is fully coated.

Heat half the oil in a large frying pan over medium high heat. Fry half eggplant slices until golden brown on each side (flip each slice only once). Remove from pan; set aside.

Before frying the second batch, wipe out the pan with a paper towel. Add remaining oil to the pan; fry remaining eggplant slices. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 425°F. Prepare a baking dish large enough to hold the eggplant in two layers.

Spread half the sauce in the prepared baking dish. Arrange half the eggplant slices over the sauce; a little overlapping is fine. Sprinkle with half the cheeses; cover with a thin layer of sauce. Add a second layer of eggplant; sprinkle with most of the remaining cheeses and top with remaining sauce.

Sprinkle a thin layer of cheese on top.

Bake for 15 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and golden, and the sauce is bubbly.

Adapted from Perfect for Pesach by Naomi Nachman, shared with permission from ArtScroll. Photo

by Miriam Pascal.

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.

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 13, 2018

Pesach 2019 PRESENTS

T H E U P S C AL E E X P ER I E N C E AWA I T S

Rancho Bernardo Inn SAN DIEGO,

BEN SHAPIRO

“A PEACEFUL HAVEN IN THE HEART OF THE MOUNTAINS.” Condé Nast Traveler Worlds Top 100 Resorts CALIFORNIA

RABBI ELCHANAN SHOFF

“EXTRAORDINARY WOULD BE THE ONLY WAY TO DESCRIBE IT. THE RESORT THAT HAS IT ALL.”

RABBI ANTHONY GORDON

AMI HOROWITZ

MUSICIAN SHLOMO KATZ

FEATURING MOSHAV BAND

W hite Oaks Resort

N I A G A R A FA L L S , C A N A D A

RABBI TZVI SYTNER

SALVADOR LITVAK

RABBI AARON SELEVAN

UPSCALE-GETAWAYS.COM INFO@UPSCALE-GETAWAYS.COM

1.877.895.3210

115

116 26

DECEMBER29, 13,2015 2018| The | TheJewish JewishHome Home OCTOBER

Notable Quotes “Say What?!”

This week’s partisan corpse abusers callously exploited the passing of George H.W. Bush, America’s 41st president, to get in their digs at the current commander-in-chief. Their vulgar level of incivility was inversely propositional to their sanctimonious calls for decency. “The View’s” Joy Behar rudely and crudely soiled the ABC show’s tribute to the 94-year-old World War II hero and lifelong public servant. While Whoopi Goldberg and other panelists paid homage to Bush’s character and love of family, Behar wielded an old Bush quote about federal Clean Air Act amendments to attack Trump on climate change.

I want everyone out there to imagine the following scenario: Let’s assume that when Bill Clinton was running for president, [someone] came up to him and said, ‘Unless you pay me $130,000, I’ll reveal [something bad about you]. And let’s assume that Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton together did exactly what is alleged that Donald Trump and Michael Cohen did together. I guarantee you The New York Times, NBC, MSNBC would be railing against any prosecutor who dared to suggest that this was a violation of the campaign finance law. Everybody would be on the other side of this issue. There would be Republicans out there saying strip him of the presidency, impeach him, indict him. Every Democrat would be saying this is a witch hunt, this is terrible. We need a single standard. If you wouldn’t go after Bill Clinton, don’t go after Donald Trump. If you’re going after Donald Trump, then you have to go after Hillary Clinton for everything she allegedly did.

- Law professor Alan Dershowitz on Fox News

– Michelle Malkin, The Daily Wire

A very, very long time ago, generations and generations ago, my family consisted of Sephardic Jews … During the Spanish Inquisition, so many people were forced to convert on the exterior to Catholicism, but on the interior continued to practice their faith … some of those people landed in Puerto Rico.

- Representative-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (Democrat/Socialist-NY) claiming at a Sunday night Chanukah party for left-wing group Jews For Racial And Economic Justice that she has Jewish ancestry

The only trouble is the actual holiday. Not the latkes and the dreidels, but the story of Hanukkah, which at its heart is an eightnight-long celebration of religious fundamentalism and violence.

- From a hate filled op-ed in the New York Times by assimilated Jew Michael David Lukas

I don’t care. All I can say is he’s doing a good job as president. The Democrats will do anything to hurt this president.

What happened before he was elected president is one thing, but since he’s been elected the economy’s done well, our country is moving ahead. We’re in better shape than when we were before he became president. And I think we ought to judge him on that basis.

– Retiring Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), when asked by CNN about Michael Cohen’s allegation that President Trump committed an election violation when he failed to disclose a payoff that was made while he was running

MORE QUOTES

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 13, 2018

117

118

DECEMBER 13, 2018 | The Jewish Home

Today could be a day in which the UN General Assembly unconditionally speaks out with moral clarity against one of the most obvious and grotesque cases of terrorism in the world.

Or it could be a day in which it refuses to do that. Ladies and gentlemen, last Friday the General Assembly approved six resolutions condemning Israel in a single day. Six. In an average year, the UN votes against Israel 20 times. Over the years, the UN has voted to condemn Israel over 500 times. That’s what an ordinary day at the UN looks like. Much as the United States finds that record appalling, no one can question whether the UN is on record in its hostility toward the State of Israel. But for good measure, there will be another vote this afternoon that gives everyone another chance to put themselves on record in a way that goes against Israel. The question before us now is something very different. The question before us now is whether the UN thinks terrorism is acceptable if, and only if, it is directed at Israel.

- U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley before a UN vote last Friday to condemn Hamas terrorism (the resolution failed)

The president called and he said, “Nikki, what happened?” And I told him, and he goes, “Who do we need to get upset at? Who do you want me to yell at? Who do we take their money away?” I’m not going to tell you what I told him.

– Ibid., speaking at Israel’s United Nation’s mission during a Chanukah candle lighting event

Dear Anthony, is it us? Last Wednesday we reached out to you as “wanted.” You replied and even said you were going to turn yourself in. We waited, but you didn’t show. After you stood us up, we reached out again – this time offering you a ride. You replied and said you needed 48 hours. The weekend came and went.

We are beginning to think you are not coming.

Please call us anytime and we will come to you.

509-628-0333.

- Facebook post by the Richland Police Department (Washington State) directed at 38-year-old Anthony Akers, who was wanted for various offenses and had in the past promised to turn himself in (Akers later responded to the post and indeed turned himself in)

I’m happy to say that Donald Trump met the bare minimum standards of decency. He’ll never be a George H.W. Bush — George H.W. Bush, Bush 41, was all class. Donald Trump is very often no class, but today he showed a little.

I’ll give him some credit for that.

- Former Bill Clinton advisor and political commentator Paul Begala reacting to President Trump’s attendance at President Bush’s funeral

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015

27

It’s very troubling what these special prosecutors can do. I tell people this — if a special prosecutor went after your life for the last 40 years, not you in particular but anybody, I think they could dredge up accusations. So I’m absolutely against it and I think it’s a miscarriage of justice, and we should not have them going after one person. And if we get this way and if we’re going to prosecute people and put them in jail for campaign finance violations, we’ve become a banana republic where every president gets prosecuted, and everybody gets thrown in jail when they’re done with office.

- Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) on NBC’s “Meet the Press” last Sunday

I’ve been saying it at all of our Senate Democratic retreats, that we need to speak to the heart not in a manipulative way, not in a way that brings forth everybody’s fears and resentments but truly to speak to the hearts so that people know that we’re actually on their side. But we have a really hard time doing that and one of the reasons it was told to me at one of our retreats was that we Democrats know so much, that is true. And we have kind of have to tell everyone how smart we are and so we have a tendency to be very left brain.

- Hawaii Democratic Sen. Mazie Hirono suggesting at a conference last week that Democrats occasionally have trouble connecting with voters because they are too smart

I do think that after 12 years in City Hall, dealing with international problems and security problems and economic problems and creating jobs and the environment and guns and women’s rights and tobacco and these things, that I have a lot of experience which would be useful if I was president of the United States.

- Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg in an interview with CNN, while visiting Iowa – the first state that votes in the presidential primaries

245 - The amount of times that former FBI director James Comey responded with “I don’t remember,” “I don’t recall” or “I don’t know” when he was questioned by the House Judiciary and Oversight Committees last week about FISA abuses and the Deep State spying on the Trump campaign

MORE QUOTES

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 13, 2018

Passover 2019

Alan Berger Owner and Director Robyn Hartman Co-Director For reservations or more information, please contact our team at: 1-877-PESACH4 (1-877-737-2244) or 516-734-0840 info@passovergg.com www.passovergrandgetaways.com

GG JH_WAO 8.75Wx11H Ad 5779_Nov2018 #2.indd 1

119

• Featured Scholars in Residence include: • Rabbi Kenneth Hain • Rabbi Dr. Jacob J. Schacter • Rabbi Shmuel Hain • Rabbi Dr. Joshua Joseph and Dr. Julie Joseph • Greg Zuckerman • Dr. Aliza Septimus • Dr. Steven Dyckman • Fabulous entertainment including Benny Friedman in concert and a musical Shabbat with Simcha Leiner • 3 Daily Gourmet Glatt Kosher Meals along with Daily Poolside Barbeques and Lavish Tea Room artistically executed by Grand Getaways and the Waldorf Astoria culinary team • Professionally run Day Camp & Teen Program • Rees Jones-Designed Championship Golf Course • Three Exquisite Pool Areas, Lazy River and Waterslide • Ashkenaz and Sephardic minyanim • Luxurious Waldorf Astoria Spa and Fitness Center • Onsite Emergency Room Doctor to assist with family needs • Complimentary Motor Coach Transportation to all Disney Attractions • Allergy and Special Dietary Consultant available at all Meals • Professional fitness instructor offering a variety of classes daily 11/19/18 1:02 PM

120 28

DECEMBER29, 13,2015 2018| The | TheJewish JewishHome Home OCTOBER

The only tweets that would have to be reviewed would be if a tweet had a probability of causing a movement in the stock, otherwise, it’s hello, First Amendment.

- Tesla CEO Elon Musk, on “60 Minutes” last Sunday talking about having been fined by the SEC for sending a tweet which caused a change in the stock price of Tesla

I want to be clear. I do not respect the SEC. I do not respect them.

– Ibid.

Very sad day & night in Paris. Maybe it’s time to end the ridiculous and extremely expensive Paris Agreement and return money back to the people in the form of lower taxes? The U.S. was way ahead of the curve on that and the only major country where emissions went down last year!

They are sick puppies. This whole thing started as an orchestrated attempt to take the president out of office as an insurance policy.

- President Trump’s lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, on Fox News, talking about the Mueller investigation

- Tweet by President Trump in response to massive riots in France about a number of policies including the implementation of a gas tax

There’s a new axis of evil: Russia, Saudi Arabia – and the United States.

- Paul Krugman, New York Times

AVI & SHNEUR FASKOWITZ PRESENT OUR 17TH YEAR!

WESTIN BEACH RESORT & SPA FORT L AUDERDALE HAS BEEN EVERY ROOMRENOVATED COMPLETELY

RABBI DOVID M. COHEN • DR. ERICA BROWN • PROF. MARC B. SHAPIRO WILLIAM B. HELMREICH • DR. JEREMY BROWN • REBECCA BROWN

GAD ELBAZ CONCERT

7 18- 969- 91 0 0 info@majesticpassover.com w w w.m a j e s ti c p a s s o v er. co m

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 13, 2018

121

Passover Mordechai Ben David

at the Hyatt Regency

o d n a l r O

Yeedle

Lior Suchard

Comedian Ashley Blaker

Magician Shlomo Levinger

Rabbi Moishe Dovid Lebovits

We Make Passover Memorable and Orlando Unforgettable ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊

Non-Gebrochts Cholov Yisroel Shmura Matzo Delectable Yom Tov Meals Around-The -Clock Tearoom Luxurious Hyatt Spa

◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊

Tennis Courts Ashkenaz & Sfardic Minyanim 20 Minutes from Disney & Universal World Class Entertainment Inspirational Speakers Swimming Pools, Waterslides & Waterfalls

For more details on activities amenities services and morevisit

www.PassoverGetaway.com Follow us > (201) 778-7450 info@passovergetaway.com

Tevi D. Troy

Dov Novoseller

Your host Novie

122 4

DECEMBER 13, 2018 | The Jewish Home OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

Political Crossfire

Some of George H. W. Bush’s WASP Values are Worth Keeping

By Fareed Zakaria

T

he death of George H.W. Bush has occasioned a fair amount of nostalgia for the old American establishment, of which Bush was undoubtedly a prominent member.

It has also provoked a heated debate among commentators about that establishment, whose membership was determined largely by bloodlines and connections. You had to be a white Anglo-Saxon Protestant to ascend to almost any position of power in America until the early 1960s. Surely there is nothing good to say about a system that was so discriminatory toward everyone else?

Actually, there is. For all its faults – and it was often horribly bigoted, in some places segregationist, and almost always exclusionary – at its best, the old WASP aristocracy did have a sense of modesty, humility and public-spiritedness that seems largely absent in today’s elite. Many of Bush’s greatest moments – his handling of the fall of communism, his decision not to occupy Iraq after the first Gulf War, his acceptance of tax increases to close the deficit – were marked by restraint, an ability to do the right thing despite enormous pressure to pander to public opinion.

But – and here is the problem – it is likely that these virtues flowed from the nature of that old elite. The aristocracy was secure in its power and position, so it could afford to think about the country’s fate in broad terms,

looking out for the longer term, rising above self-interest –because its own interest was assured. It also knew that its position was somewhat accidental and arbitrary, so its members adhered to certain codes of conduct – modesty, restraint, chivalry, social responsibility.

If at this point you think I am painting a fantasy of a world that never existed, let me give you a vivid example. On the Titanic’s maiden voyage, its first-class cabins were filled with the Forbes 400 of the age. As the ship be-

certain death for them.

Today’s elites are chosen in a much more open, democratic manner, largely through education. Those who do well on tests get into good colleges, then good graduate schools, then get the best jobs and so on. But their power flows from this treadmill of achievement, so they are constantly moving, looking out for their own survival and success. Their perspective is narrower, their horizon shorter-term, their actions more self-interested.

Most damagingly, they believe their

Rich or poor, talented or not, educated or uneducated, every human being has equal moral worth.

gan to sink and it became clear there were not enough lifeboats for everyone, something striking took place. As Wyn Wade recounts, the men let the women and children board the boats. In first class, about 95 percent of the women and children were saved, compared with only about 30 percent of the men.

While of course first-class passengers had easier access to the boats, the point remains that some of the world’s most powerful men followed an unwritten code of conduct, even though it meant

status is legitimate. They lack some of the sense of the old WASP establishment that they were accidentally privileged from birth. So the old constraints have vanished. Today CEOs and other elites pay themselves lavishly, jockey for personal advantage, and focus on their own ascendancy.

The man who invented the term “meritocracy” did not mean it as a compliment. The British thinker Michael Young painted a dystopian picture of a society in which the new, technocratic

elite, selected through exams, became increasingly smug, arrogant and ambitious, certain that modern inequality was a fair reflection of talent and hard work. Writing later about Tony Blair’s complimentary use of the term, Young warned that the prime minister was fostering a deeply immoral attitude toward those who were not being rewarded by the system, treating them as if they deserved their lower status.

Donald Trump uses a common refrain at his rallies to attack today’s elites and their arrogance. He focuses on their schooling and then says to the crowd, “They’re not elite. You’re the elite.” Trump has found a genuine vein of disgust among many Americans at the way they are perceived and treated by their more successful countrymen.

The violent protests that have been happening in France are similarly fueled by rural, poorer people who believe that the metropolitan elites ignore their plight. The 2016 Brexit vote reflected the same revolt against technocrats.

Let me be clear. I – of all people – am not calling for a revival of the WASP establishment. I am asking, can we learn something from its virtues?

Today’s elites should be more aware of their privilege and at least live by one simple old-fashioned, universal idea – rich or poor, talented or not, educated or uneducated, every human being has equal moral worth. (c) 2018, Washington Post Writers Group

123 5

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 13, 2018 The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015

THE SCHECHTER FAMILY invites you to

PESACH 2019

at the beautiful, oceanfront

Leaders in Passover Tours

THE SCHECHTER FAMILY

MARCO POLO BEACH RESORT

Join the Leaders in Passover Tours for our 24th Spectacular Year!

FIRST CHILD FREE! OFFER EXPI RES 12 /31/ 18

FOR RESERVATIONS CALL CARIBBEAN KOSHER TOURS:

800-327-8165

marcopolopassover@gmail.com

Call Joy of AMIT Children SOUTHEAST REGION

954-922-5100 203.510.3633

• Oversized newly renovated rooms, many with terraces • Poolside fitness center with sauna and steam room • Superb day camp program • Private seder rooms available • Gourmet glatt kosher cuisine with renowned Chef Andy Serano • Cantor led or private seders • Sumptuous Tea Room • Top name entertainment • Trips to major attractions • Daily services, shiurim, lectures • Scholar-in-Residence Program

PESACH 2019

i DESIGNS

Sunny Isles Beach, Florida

invites you to

19201 COLLINS AVE • SUNNY ISLES BEACH, FLORIDA

www.MarcoPoloBeachResort.com

124 6

DECEMBER 13, 2018 | The Jewish Home OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

Political Crossfire

China Tried to Strike at Trump - And Missed the Mark

By Marc A. Thiessen

“W

hen you strike at a king you must kill him,” Ralph Waldo Emerson once said. Well, this year China tried to strike at President Trump for daring to launch a trade war with Beijing – and missed the mark entirely.

After Trump imposed massive tariffs on Chinese goods earlier this year, Beijing responded in June with what appeared to be a clever strategy: targeting retaliatory tariffs against Trump voters in rural farming communities across the United States. China is the largest importer of U.S. soybeans, buying $14 billion of them in 2017. Three of the biggest soybean-producing states, Indiana, Missouri and North Dakota, not only voted for Trump, but also in the 2018 midterms had Democratic senators, Joe Donnell, Ind., Claire McCaskill, Mo., and Heidi Heitkamp, N.D., who were up for reelection. If Beijing imposed painful tariffs on soybeans, Chinese leaders likely calculated, they could create a rift between Trump and rural voters who put him in the White House, give Senate Democrats a boost and force Trump to back down.

But Trump did not back down. He countered by announcing $12 billion in aid for farmers, threatened to increase his tariffs on Chinese goods, and asked his rural base to stick with him while he faced down the economic predators in Beijing. That is exactly what they did. Far from abandoning the president, rural voters hurt by

Chinese tariffs rallied around Trump and the GOP. They threw Donnelly, Heitkamp and McCaskill out of office, allowing Republicans to expand their Senate majority. And while Republicans lost control of the House, few of the GOP losses came from rural districts. Competitive rural districts mostly ended up staying Republican; it was the urban-suburban districts that flipped to the Democrats.

China’s tariff ploy didn’t just fail to

wei had been arrested in Vancouver, at the request of the United States, on charges of violating sanctions on Iran. China demanded her release but nonetheless affirmed that it will still observe the 90-day tariff ceasefire Trump and Xi reached during their meeting last week in Buenos Aires – putting off a scheduled January 1 escalation of U.S. tariffs from 10 percent to 25 percent on $200 billion of Chinese goods while the two sides ne-

In other words, China went for a kill shot and ended up shooting itself in the foot.

sway the 2018 midterms; it actually backfired. The tariffs made the U.S. soybeans that China depends on more expensive, and Beijing soon found that alternative suppliers in South America could not produce enough to meet Chinese demand, leading to shortfalls.

In other words, China went for a kill shot – and ended up shooting itself in the foot.

That has emboldened Trump in his negotiations with Chinese President Xi Jinping – as shown by news last week that a senior executive of Chinese telecommunications giant Hua-

gotiate a deal.

Trump has leverage going into those talks. The U.S. economy is booming, while China has just posted its weakest growth in nearly a decade. Moreover, during the Group of 20 meeting in Argentina, Xi saw how Trump has been able to bend his trade rivals to his will, and deliver trade victories for his working-class political base, when he held an elaborate signing ceremony for the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement.

China will of course be a much tougher adversary than Mexico or Canada. As my American Enterprise

Institute colleague Derek Scissors points out, the Chinese Communist Party controls the economy through state ownership and massive subsidies in dozens of sectors where U.S. goods and services can’t compete fairly. Lifting tariffs is easy. Getting China to change its entire industrial policy will be hard – as will stopping China’s theft of U.S. intellectual property.

But Trump knows that he has no chance of doing so by filing complaints with the World Trade Organization. So Trump is playing a game of chicken with Xi, appearing to calculate that the United States is in a better position to survive an all-out trade war. The markets panicked this week over Trump’s recent pronouncement that he would be just as happy imposing tariffs as cutting a deal with China, but getting this message through to Xi is the only way to force his hand. As Trump tweeted recently, “We are either going to have a REAL DEAL with China, or no deal at all – at which point we will be charging major Tariffs against Chinese product being shipped into the United States,” adding, “remember … I am a Tariff Man.” He means it. Trump actually believes that tariffs are good for the U.S. economy. The question is whether Xi believes he believes it. The answer may determine whether we get a deal or a trade war. (c) 2018, Washington Post Writers Group

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 13, 2018 The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015

THE MANDEL FAMILY WELCOMES YOU TO our 14th exciting year

BACK AGAIN IN THE BEAUTIFUL POCONO MOUNTAINS

PESACH 2019 at the

POCONO MANOR RESORT AND SPA

Just 2 hours from NY

RABBI YEHOSHUA JURAVEL

Activities -Beautiful Indoor Pool -Indoor Tennis -Exclusive Spa -Horseback Riding -Golf -Archery -Basketball -Fishing -And Much More!

MICHOEL PRUZANSKY

RABBI ASHER STERN

~ Day camp run by Rabbi Shlomo Hyman of Englewood

~ Rabbi Avi Juravel, Rav ~ Entire hotel Kosher L’Pesach

~ Daf Yomi, Shiurim and lectures by & speakers noted Rabbonim

~ All baking done on premises

~ Amazing teen program

~ Fully Stocked Bais Medrash ~ Infant day care and babysitting

732.370.7777

THE SHNITZEL GUYS

PESACH IS ALL ABOUT FRIENDS, AMBIANCE! FAMILY

Pesach 2019-5779

~ Jugglers, clowns, animal shows, and more for the kids

www.pesachtime.com

- Scholars In Residence -

Looking forward to greeting you personally.

Your hosts, The Mandel Family

BRUCE BACKMAN’S BRUCE BACKMAN’S BRUCE BACKMAN’S

AT THE LUXURIOUS AT THE LUXURIOUS AT THE LUXURIOUS

in the the P ESACH in P ESACH in the P ESACH N ORTHEAST N NORTHEAST ORTHEAST

MARRIOTT MARRIOTT WESTFIELDS MARRIOTT WESTFIELDS RESORT WESTFIELDS RESORT RESORT Chantilly, VA

Washington, DC Region Washington, DC Region

WE ACCEPT AIR MILES CALL FOR MORE INFORMATION

ZIKA FREE

HIGHEST RATED AND MOST TRUSTED PESACH PROGRAM IN THE NATION’S CAPITOL HIGHEST RATED AND MOST TRUSTED PESACH PROGRAM IN THE NATION’S CAPITOL HIGHEST RATED AND MOST TRUSTED PESACH PROGRAM IN THE NATION’S CAPITOL F E AT U R E D A M E N I T I E S: FHOME E A T UTO R ITHE NG

Rabbi Dr. Howard Apfel Rabbi Aryeh Lebowitz Rabbi Zev Meir Friedman Prof. Nechama Price Rebbi, Yeshivat HaKotel Pediatric Cardialogoist

Rav Beis Haknesses of North Woodmere

Rosh HaYeshiva Rambam Mesivta

Senior Lecturer in Stern College

Imu Shalev

COO of Aleph Beta

•A

large number of oversized connecting guest rooms, free Wi-Fi gardens and ponds on 16 acres of property • Guest rooms outfitted with Hilton’s luxurious “Pillow Top Beds” • On-premises tennis, volleyball, basketball courts, and nearby golf course • Heated indoor pool and Jacuzzi • Spectacular tea room & nightly entertainment • Dynamic Scholar in Residence program • Daily shiurim and Daf Yomi • Warm and professional day camp and day care staff Decor by • Personal attention to every guest • Tranquil

- Featuring -

R ABBI SIMON JACOBSON “BEST FOOD IN THE

Indoor & Outdoor Pools

R ABBI DR. ARI BERGMANN BUSINESS”

8 TH

Tennis CHOLOV YISROEL E NTE RTA I N M E NT BY GLATT KOSHER GAD ELBAZ SHMURAH MATZOH Basketball NON-GEBROCHTS DAY’S BENTZI MARCUS

Horseback Riding Excursions F E AT U R E D A M E N I T I E S: F E AT U R E D A M E N ITI E S:

ZIKA FREE

HOME TO THE

“BEST FOOD IN THE BUSINESS” HOME TO THE

WAT C H T H I S S PA C E “BEST FOOD IN YISROEL THE BUSINESS” CHOLOV for information about our world-class entertainment and CHOLOV YISROEL GLATT KOSHER scholars-in-residence GLATT KOSHER SHMURAH MATZOH for PESACH 2019!

SHMURAH MATZOH NON-GEBROCHTS NON-GEBROCHTS

Spa Services Indoor & Outdoor Pools Indoor & Outdoor Pools Tennis •Golf Basketball Tennis • Basketball Art and Photography Classes Art and Photography Classes Professional Children’s Spa Services • Golf Programming Spa Services • Golf Professional Children’s Professional Children’s Programming Programming

RESERVE NOW RE ESSE ER RV VEE N NO OW W R

774.353.0170 774.353.0170 774.353.0170

PESACHINTHENORTHEAST.COM PESACHINTHENORTHEAST.COM PESACHINTHENORTHEAST.COM

Naomi Nachman The Aussie Gourmet

Yonatan Razel Singer/Songwriter

Simcha Leiner Singing Sensation

Ashley Blaker Comedian

Avi Rosalimsky Teen Director

125 7

126 32

DECEMBER 13, 2018 | The Jewish Home OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

Forgotten Her es

The Heroes of the Battle of Bir Hakeim

By Avi Heiligman

A member of the Jewish Brigade with a message for Hitler ym�sh

W

orld War II was so large and so vast that the many of the major pow-

ers needed more soldiers than their country could afford (the major exception was the United States).

Half a million soldiers from Romania, Poland, Yugoslavia, France, Czechoslovakia and Hungary fought to protect Russia. The French had the French Foreign Legion, which had been active for a century prior, consisting of soldiers from around the world. Conscripts from British Empire joined the British Army.

About 30,000 Jews from the British Mandate in Palestine formed the Jewish Brigade in the British Army, and they made a name for themselves at a particular battle in North Africa.

The Jews living in Eretz Yisrael were fully aware of the atrocities perpetrated against their fellow Jews in Europe and wanted to fight back. Haganah leaders had been pressing the British government to form a Jewish unit equipped with planes and tanks to attack the Nazis. At first the Brits were reluctant about arming Jews, but finally the British acquiesced. Along with the Jewish Brigade, an Arab Brigade had been planned as well but failed to gain momentum. Fifteen Jewish battalions were formed starting in 1940 and in 1944 were formed into the Jewish Brigade.

One of the regiments was fighting alongside Free French Forces under General Marie-Pierre Koenig at Bir Hakeim, Libya, North Af-

rica. The 400 men of the Palestine Regiment were all Jews under the command of Major Felix Liebmann of Tel Aviv. They had a few weapons and nothing to repel an air attack at the old Turkish fort. With little anti-tank equipment, they were sitting ducks in the middle of the Libyan Desert.

The attack began on May 26, 1942. The Germans tried everything to annihilate the ragged regiment.

88mm cannon, Stuka dive-bombers and Panzer tanks were all thrown at the key position but the regiment held its ground. A few tanks penetrated the center of the lightly armed Jewish position after several were blown up by mines. Jewish soldiers jumped on the tanks, destroying them with Molotov cocktails, incinerating the German tank crews inside. On June 2, a truce was sent to the Jewish position but the soldiers rejected the Nazis’ demand for surrender. The Germans and Italians were stunned when they found out that they were facing Jewish troops fighting for the British 8th Army.

For the next eight days the Jewish heroes held the position with little food and ammunition. Liebmann had no way of communicating with the nearby French because he had no radio. Eventually, on

June 10, he received word that the main British elements were safe.

The 8th Army and the Free French were able to retreat in good order.

Seventy-five percent of the unit was either wounded or killed but their heroic stand allowed the British 8th Army to fight another day. This was the turn of the tide in the fight for North Africa as the Germans were soon pushed out of the continent.

Soon the remnants of the Jewish force linked up with French and British forces at Gasr-el-Abid.

General Koenig watched as a soldier from the regiment folded up what was their flag. It depicted a gold Star of David on a blue and white background. He asked why they weren’t flying their flag, and Liebmann, originally from France, told him in French that it was against British orders. The general ordered that the flag be placed next to the Free French flag and that everyone should stand at attention. This is known as the first salute to the State

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015

33

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 13, 2018

127

Yishuv. General Koenig remained a true friend to Israel and the Jews for the rest of his life.

None of the soldiers of the Jewish Brigade were forced to fight and yet they fought under the harshest of conditions without retreating.

They were all volunteers, and in 1946 the brigade was disbanded.

This battle was just one of many that the Jewish soldiers from Eretz Yisrael fought while fighting for the British during World War II. Most of these stories are largely forgotten today. Yet these forgotten soldiers helped save the entire region during the Battle of Bir Hakeim. The results of the battle caused the German advance to be delayed and gave the Allies precious time to force the Nazis out of Africa.

Members of the Jewish Brigade in Italy, March 1945

of Israel.

The Battle of Bir Hakeim was the lead-up to the British 8th Army’s victory at El Alamein the next month.

This kept the Arika Korps and Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, the Desert Fox, from reaching the Suez Canal and attacking the Jews living in the

Avi Heiligman is a weekly contributor to The Jewish Home. He welcomes your comments and suggestions for future columns and can be reached at aviheiligman@gmail.com.

We welcome you to the magnificent, newly refurbished

Heritage Resort & Spa.

Creating memories for pesach 2019 to cherish for 45 y e a r s o f h o s p i t a l i t y

A lifetime.

Just 1 hr and 15 minutes from the Whitestone Bridge this full-facility splendid resort in the picturesque Litchfield Hills of Northwest CT offers New England at its best. It is truly quintessential destination for an unforgettable Passover holiday. The haute cuisine offered in a beautiful setting with music and shiurim to enrich your Pesach experience.

southbury, ct the

Heritage

Rabbi Dr. Aaron Glatt, Scholar in Residence

Contact us at:

mendyvimholidays@aol.com

Call 718.998.4477 or 410.484.5553 w w w . v i m s h o l i d a y s . c o m

128

DECEMBER 13, 2018 | The Jewish Home

Classifieds classifieds@fivetownsjewishhome.com • text 443-929-4003

SERVICES

SERVICES

SERVICES

Yoga & Licensed Massage Therapy Peaceful Presence Studio 436 Central Avenue, Cedarhurst Separate men/women Group/private sessions Gift Cards Available www. Peacefulpresence.com 516 -371 -3715

HOME CLEANOUT, RUBBISH REMOVAL & SHAIMOS, SERVING NY NJ TRISTATE AREA & FL. CALL: 201-578-4153

SHALOM HANDYMAN Plumbing, heating, boiler, installation, sewer, locks, dryer vent cleaning and more…

CALL 917-217-3676

Alternative Solutions Geriatric Care Management staff will assist you with: * Obtaining Medicaid and Pooled Income Trust * In-home Assessments, Individual and Family Counseling * Securing reliable home care assistance * Case and Care Management services Dr. S. Sasson, DSW, LCSW (718) 544- 0870 or (646) 284-6242 MOONBOUNCE FOR RENT $100/day Holds up to 500lbs.

Perfect fun for ages 3-8 Call or text 516-220-0616 to reserve your date

MUSIC PRODUCTION & STUDIO RECORDING We offer Professional audio recording and production for all your music recording needs!

CALL Yisroel 845-304-6635 GERBER MOVING FULL SERVICE MOVING Packing Moving Supplies Local Long Distance Licensed Insured 1000’S Of Happy Customers Call Shalom 347-276-7422 HAIR COURSE Learn how to wash & style hair & wigs Hair and wig cutting, wedding styling Private lessons or in a group Call Chaya 718-715-9009

Rabbi Dovid Fleischmann Certified Mohel

HOUSES FOR SALE Can’t afford your property taxes?

Mortgage?

Must sell for any reason?

Call for FREE Consultation.

Call now 212-470-3856 Cash buyers available!

HOUSES FOR SALE Don’t Get Stuck With a Two Story House Ya Know, It’s One Story Before You Buy It But a Second Story After You Own It! Call Dov Herman For An Accurate Unbiased Home Inspection Infrared - Termite Inspection Full Report All Included NYC 718-INSPECT Long Island 516-INSPECT www.nyinspect.com

PRICE REDUCED: Sprawling 4BR, 4BA Exp-Ranch, Oversized Rooms, LR W/Fplc, Formal Dining Rm, Large Den, Master Suite, Full Finished Basement, Storage Room & Office, Deck, Fabulous Property…$1.078M Call Carol Braunstein (516) 295-3000 www.pugatch.com

NORTH WOODMERE Beautiful spacious 4 bedroom colonial, finished basement, in ground pool, close to all. $939,000 Call Nat Farago 516-924-2971 nat1stoprealtygroup@gmail.com ML#3036766

CEDARHURST 500-3,500 +/- SF Beautiful, newly renovated space for rent. Ideal for Retail or Executive offices. Prime location. Convenient Parking.

Sam @516-612-2433 or 718-747-8080

COMMERCIAL RE

‫בס״ד‬

MUSIC PRODUCTION & STUDIO RECORDING Professional Audio Recording, Production, Song Arrangement, Mixing/Mastering

WWW.BABYSMOHEL.COM

Baby-Friendly Care

MAKE YOUR OWN MUSIC Create a music CD to share with family and friends at your Bar Mitzvah, anniversary, engagement, momentous family occasion.

 Personalized Attention

Expert Skill and Dedicated Service you Deserve

Have you ever wished you can Þnd away to share and express your talent with others?

516-314-3236 babysmohel@gmail.com

WE COME TO YOU! Enjoy Recording in the comfort of your own home!

DISCOVER YOUR PASSION AND EXPAND YOUR TALENT

AN EXCELLENT OUTLET TO POSITIVELY CHANNEL YOUR SON’S ENERGY IN A CREATIVE AND PRODUCTIVE WAY

Reach Your Target Market

Yisroel

845.304.6635

Yisroel

845.304.6635

Yisroel

845.304.6635

Yisroel

845.304.6635

Yisroel

845.304.6635

Yisroel

845.304.6635

Yisroel

845.304.6635

Yisroel

845.304.6635

Yisroel

845.304.6635

Yisroel

845.304.6635

Classifieds

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 13, 2018

Classifieds COMMERCIAL RE

COMMERCIAL RE

INWOOD OFFICE SPACE LOWEST PRICES IN TOWN! 500-7000 Square feet gorgeous office space with WATERVIEW in Inwood!

Lots of options. Tons of parking.

Will divide and customize space for your needs!

Call 516-567-0100

SF MEDICAL OFFICE SPACE Available, Reception Area, Waiting Room, Kitchenette, 2 Consult, 4 Exam Rooms, 2 Bathrooms, 30 Car On-Site Parking, For Lease …

Call Ian for More Details (516) 295-3000 www.pugatch.com

EAST ROCKAWAY: Retail Stores on Busy Corner, 1000SF& Up Available, Great High Visibility Location, For Lease…

Call for More Details Broker (516) 792-6698 5 TOWNS: LOOKING FOR: Restaurateurs & Professionals!!!

Orthoptists, Podiatrists, Chiropractors, Physical Therapists, Dentists, or Obstetrician/Gynecologists. Spaces Available in Cedarhurst, Hewlett, Lynbrook, Rockville Centre, Valley Stream area. For Lease... Call for More Details Broker (516) 792-6698 INWOOD 10,000 sq ft brick building.

Offices and warehouse. High ceilings.

Asking $16/foot.

Owner: 516-206-1100 mark@mbequitygroup.com

APT FOR RENT WOODMERE: BEST BUY Spacious 2BR Apartment, Washer/Dryer In Bldg, Elevator Bldg, Open Floor Plan, 1st Floor, Close To All...$199K Call Carol Braunstein (516) 295-3000 www.pugatch.com FOR RENT BY OWNER NO BROKERAGE INVOLVED. Beautiful, spacious 3 bedroom 2 bathroom, 2nd floor apt. for rent.

Newly renevated, brand new stainless steel appliances, washer-dryer hookup.

Located in Far Rockaway near many shuls/yeshivas. Near LIRR. For all inquiries, please call (718)-327-7889.

129

DECEMBER 13,v22018 | The Jewish Home9:10 PM MILLER COMMERCIAL 525C 5X3.qxp_2018 7/16/18 130

Page 1

Classifieds COMMERCIAL • LEASING • SALES

APT FOR RENT

HELP WANTED

FAR ROCKAWAY Two bedroom apartment for rent.

Newly renovated, first floor 1-917-602-2914

Due to a simcha, Torah Academy for Girls has an immediate opening for a qualified & experienced second grade Morah. Please send resume to mlevin@ tagschools.org

CO-OP FOR SALE

Executive Office Suites in Cedarhurst

BRAND NEW HIGH-TECH EXECUTIVE OFFICES • AVAILABLE PARKING • STEPS TO LIRR

AVAILABLE FALL 2018 DON’T MISS THIS EXCLUSIVE OPPORTUNITY

Raizie 917.903.1778 raizie@ftmr.com

516.374.4100 ftmr.com

FAR ROCKAWAY: NEW LISTING Spacious & Updated 2BR, 2 Bathroom Apt on 1st Floor W/Terrace In Elevator Bldg, Parking, Doorman & Laundry Room On Premise...$350K Call Carol Braunstein (516) 295-3000 www.pugatch.com

HELP WANTED

New! Exclusive W. Broadway Woodmere

DenaFriedmanGraphics

4000sf office space for 2 year lease 3 full bathrooms 14+ parking spots Call Raizie 917 903 1778

165

NORTH V I L L AG E AVENUE ROCKVILLE CENTRE, NY

▷ Daily Mincha Minyan (Maariv) ▷ 10 minutes from Five Towns and West Hempstead ▷ Unlimited parking ▷ Five minute walk to LIRR station (30 minute direct train to and from Penn Station) ▷ Labcorp, Quest, and Sunrise medical labs in building

▷ Pharmacy/Convenience Store in building ▷ Centrally located between Sunrise Highway, Southern State Parkway and Peninsula Boulevard ▷ Multiple suite sizes available; build to suit

EXECUTIVE SUITES COMING SOON- RESERVE YOUR SPACE NOW

For more information contact: 212.686.5681 x 4201 sharon@rhodesny.com

classifieds@fivetownsjewishhome.com text 443-929-4003

Assistants needed for elementary school, afternoon session. email fivetownseducators@gmail.com TRAVEL AGENCY IN CEDARHURST SEEKING TELEMARKETER. Excellent phone skills required.

Email resume to info@flywithclass.com.

Use subject line "Telemarketer" Shulamith High School in Cedarhurst seeking full time experienced administrative assistant. BA required.

Competitive Salary.

Send resumes to careers@shulamithhs.org

5 Towns Insurance Brokerage firm seeking an Experienced CUSTOMER SERVICE ASSISTANT Organized, patient, and understand technology.

Please send resume to tferguson@psg-insurance.com Salary range $32k-52k depends on experience FIVE TOWNS YESHIVA HIGH SCHOOL seeks an energetic, responsible and innovative individual to serve as full-time bookkeeper, responsible for tuition/fee collections, accounts payable, Quickbooks accounting and InfoGrasp updates, banking, and vendor relations, and reporting. Must be reliable, detail oriented, able to work within tight deadlines, and proficient using Quickbooks, Excel, MS Word.

Experience using InfoGrasp is a plus.

Salary commensurate with experience and skillset.

E-mail resume with salary history and references to mesivta18@yahoo.com

TJH Classifieds Post your Real Estate, Help Wanted, Services, Miscellaneous Ads here.

Weekly Classifed Ads Up to 5 lines and/or 25 words 1 week ................$20 2 weeks .............. $35 4 weeks .............. $60 Email ads to: classifieds@fivetownsjewishhome.com Include valid credit card info

Deadline Monday 5:00pm

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 13, 2018

HELP WANTED

HELP WANTED

CAHAL is seeking an afternoon woman Assistant Teacher for a Special Ed class in a girls' Far Rockaway yeshiva, and male morning Assistant Teachers for limudei Kodesh in 5-Towns yeshivas.

Send resume to shira@cahal.org, or call 516-295-3666 for information.

CATAPULT LEARNING Teachers, Title I Boro Park, Williamsburg and Flatbush Schools *College/Yeshiva Degree *Teaching experience required *Strong desire to help children learn *Small group instruction *Excellent organization skills Competitive salary Send resume to: Fax: (212) 480-3691 ~ Email: nyteachers@catapultlearning.com

CAHAL is seeking Substitute Teachers and Assistants for the school year.

Contact Shira@cahal.org or call 516-295-3666 to be included on our list of Substitutes.

OFFICE MANAGER Do you have good organizational skills? Office Manager position available at local school.

Responsibilities: work with vendors, coordinate staff schedules, manage schedules, etc. Must have good computer and communication skills.

Great pay and work environment.

Email resume to manager5towns@gmail.com HEBREW ACADEMY OF LONG BEACH, WOODMERE, NY IS SEEKING THE FOLLOWING Maternity Leave positions: Morah for grades 6-8 in Tanach and Halacha. Resumes to: Ulubetski@halb.org Seeking full time PHYSICAL THERAPIST for Special Education school located in Brooklyn. Experienced preferred.

Competitive salary. Room for growth. resumes@yadyisroelschool.org F/T & P/T REGISTERED NURSE openings to work with adults who have developmental disabilities within residential settings in Brooklyn, Manhattan, or Long Island. Current NYS RN, min 2 years hospital experience. OHEL: 855-OHEL JOB, www.ohelfamily.org/careers NORTHWESTERN MUTUAL CEDARHURST: FINANCIAL ADVISOR POSITION. Ideal candidate is self-motivated, hardworking, and entrepreneurial.

No financial experience required, bachelor’s degree preferred.

Contact Moshe.Alpert@nm.com 5 TOWNS BOYS YESHIVA SEEKING Elem Gen Ed Teachers.

Excellent working environment and pay. Only lic/exp need apply.

Email resume to yeshivalooking@gmail.com Due to continued growth, the Yeshiva of South Shore is seeking Elementary School Teachers.

Cert/Exp required.

Please forward resume to monika@yoss.org

131

Pugatch Realty Corp., in Woodmere, is looking to hire and train a select group of motivated Realtors. If you are looking to build a career in real estate, or looking to take your existing career to the next level, there is no better place to start that the #1 Real Estate Brokerage in the Five Towns…

Call Today (516) 295-3000 x 128.

All calls kept confidential.

SEEKING ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT FOR A HIGH SCHOOL. Hours: 10:00AM – 6:00PM Excellent computer skills a must.

Please submit your resume with a cover letter to: yeshivafrontoffice19@gmail.com Seeking full time OCCUPATIONAL THERAPIST for Special Education school located in Brooklyn. Experienced preferred.

Competitive salary. Room for growth. resumes@yadyisroelschool.org DRIVER FOR QUEENS DRY CLEANER ROUTE. Options to drive Tuesday am/ Thursday pm. Also hours available Monday am , Tue am and pm, Wed am and pm and Friday pm. Must have own car. Use of company van part time.

Competitive salary.

Contact Marc for info 917-612-2300 SHULAMITH EARLY CHILDHOOD is looking to hire a full time teacher assistant for the current school year.

Please email resume to earlychildhood@shulamith.org FIVE TOWNS YESHIVA HIGH SCHOOL seeks an energetic, responsible and innovative individual to serve as full-time bookkeeper, responsible for tuition/fee collections, accounts payable, Quickbooks accounting and InfoGrasp updates, banking, and vendor relations, and reporting.

Must be reliable, detail oriented, able to work within tight deadlines, and proficient using Quickbooks, Excel, MS Word.

Experience using InfoGrasp is a plus.

Salary commensurate with experience and skillset.

E-mail resume with salary history and references to mesivta18@yahoo.com

Yeshiva Winter Break 2019

www.glattkoshervacations.com info@glattkoshervacations.com (212)221-9777 / (212)681-6666

“DREAMS DOMINICUS LA ROMANA”

Glatt Glatt

27 20n a ,J 7-24 2019 1 Jan 17-27 JJan

Kosher Kosher Vacations

The Theperfect perfectway way to to vacation vacation Kosher Kosher

Life CAPTURE

I M A G E S LTD PHOTOGRAPHY I VIDEO

GABRIEL SOLOMON

GABE@LIFECAPTUREIMAGES.COM 516.499.9620 WWW.LIFECAPTUREIMAGES.COM

132

DECEMBER 13, 2018 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015

Your

15

Money

Paying Your Tax Bill with Magic Beans?

By Allan Rolnick, CPA

I

f you pay attention to financial news, you can’t escape hearing about Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin is just like country music, Justin Bieber, and pineapple on pizza — people either love it, or hate it, but there’s no middle ground. The billionaire Warren Buffet dismisses it as a “mirage,” a “Buck Rogers” phenomenon, and “rat poison squared.” But legions of fans see it someday replacing government-backed currencies. Odds are good that one of the millennials at your holiday table believes in Bitcoin as hopefully as they used to believe in Tooth Fairy.

Just as Pinocchio always wanted to be a real boy, Bitcoin wants to be real money. That means accomplishing two goals. First, it has to serve as a store of value. You have to be confident that if you put something in, you’ll be able to get the same value out. And second, it has to serve as a medium of exchange. That means you have to be able to use it to pay for things just like you would use cash.

So far, Bitcoin’s record in both areas is spotty. If you were one of the unfortunates who jumped into the market a year ago at $17,900, you’re

probably not feeling the love now that it’s collapsed to $4,000. Similarly, if you’ve tried to use it to pay for gas or groceries, you’ve probably gotten blank stares from the cashier.

And so, at least until now, Bitcoin and its blockchain-based peers like Ethereum have made news mainly for their wild price fluctuations. But

team.)

Treasurer Mandel, who at age 41 is young enough to consider himself an honorary millennial, is a longtime fan of the currency. But last month’s move is part of a broader effort to attract software engineers and tech startups to the state. “We’re doing this to plant the flag in Ohio

Just as Pinocchio always wanted to be a real boy, Bitcoin wants to be real money.

last month, Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel announced the Buckeye State would become the first to accept Bitcoin for tax payments. For now, the program is limited to business filers, although they can use Bitcoin to pay for any type of tax.

However, the state plans to expand the program to individuals down the road. (We’re not sure if that will happen before or after Ohio finally gets a decent professional football

as a national and international leader in blockchain technology,” said Mandel.

Ohio has set up a website (of course) at OhioCr y pto.com to accept payments. They’ve engaged a company called Bitpay to process the transactions and convert the coins into cash. The fee for that service is just 1%, which is cheaper than using a credit card.

Will virtual currencies someday

break through into the mainstream?

At this point, who knows? (We’re still waiting for the flying cars we saw on The Jetsons — although Rosie the robot housekeeper is almost here, and you can buy a watch to make video calls with Mr. Spacely for $279.) And while Bitcoin itself is grabbing most of the cryptocurrency headlines, it may not be the ultimate winner. (Google wasn’t the first online search engine, either.) If recent trends are any guide, Bitcoin will remain a punchline until suddenly, one day, it’s not.

Here’s the real bottom line of last month’s news. The world is changing — and, like it or not, we have to change with it. That’s true for tax professionals, too. The Flintstones may have been perfectly happy with someone telling them how much they owe. But the Jetsons want to know how to pay less. So make sure you have a plan so you can save money through 2019 and beyond!

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.

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 13, 2018

Which one of these children needs Chai Lifeline?

(Hint: They all do.)

Chai Lifeline is renowned for the care and love it bestows on children fighting cancer. But that’s only the beginning.

Chai Lifeline serves thousands of children with medical challenges that aren’t evident on the outside, everything from Crohns Disease to cystic fibrosis to heart disease and illnesses so rare only a handful of children have been diagnosed. And still, that’s only the beginning.

Chai Lifeline includes siblings and parents, too, with programs geared towards the entire family.

We care for more than 5,000 children and their families around the world and across the street.

Chances are, you know them. They just don’t look sick.

Whenever, wherever we’re needed, Chai Lifeline is there.

Chai Lifeline. Comprehensive, compassionate, professional assistance for families facing illness, loss or trauma.

151 West 30th Street, New York, NY 10001 I (877) CHAI-LIFE I (212) 465-1300 I www.chailifeline.org

Regional Offices: Greater New York I Southeast I West Coast I Midwest I Mid-Atlantic I New Jersey I Canada I England I Israel I Belgium Hospital Support: Meals | Transportation Assistance | Hospital Visits | Respite Children’s Programs: Arts and Recreational Activities | After-school programs | Sibling Programs | Educational Assistance in Limudei Kodesh Counseling for patients and siblings | Camp Simcha/Camp Simcha Special Family Programs: Advocacy and Information | Retreats | Insurance Advocacy | Family Recreation | Family Counseling | Bereavement Services Community Programs: Project CHAI, support for schools, camps, and communities facing crisis or trauma.

133

134 42

DECEMBER 13, 2018 | The Jewish Home OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

Life C ach

Keyboard Wisdom

By Rivki D. Rosenwald Esq., MFT, CLC

D

id you ever take a good look at your keyboard? It has a great lesson on it just waiting to be noticed, one we may have overlooked for years.

The U and the I are right next to each other. And often they get confused. One may mean to address the U and winds up instead connecting with the I. The interesting thing is this happens in relationships too.

One thinks they are focusing on the other person (the U) but they are often stuck in their own space, mired in their own opinion or thought pattern. The U and the I get confused.

And here’s an even more interesting thing about the keyboard. The “we” is all the way over on the other side. It cannot get tapped inadvertently. It takes a conscious thought and effort to get there.

Yet, one need not be disheartened; it’s not like you have to lower yourself to get there. It’s along the same

continuum. You just have to be open to having a wider viewpoint. Slowly but surely if you make an effort and give it a little attention, the “we” can be accessed.

And it certainly is worth it because then you have the ability to communicate a whole other message rather than just about U or I. So too in life. If we are open to

I alone – a united front.

Often, people in a relationship have their one way of thinking or feeling, or they may experience their world a certain way. This makes them feel their way is right! But it may just be right for them, and not right for the other person based on who the other person is, their past, and what matters to them.

“Delete” the focus on U and I.

seeing things from another vantage point, people can let go of the importance of these single entities and can embrace a double entity: a “we,” which is a combination that communicates something stronger than U or

However, when one allows for another perspective, they can cross over and connect more.

Thus, the keyboard helps illuminate that when one is stuck thinking only about the I, then they are really

just stuck, so to speak, hung up on their own “right” – similar to being stuck on the right side of the keyboard – and thus, stuck on what is right for a single I or U and not being able to get to the WE on the other side.

However, when this concept is “left,” then you can move away from being in the right and go over to the WE that embraces us all.

So, use your keyboard wisdom: “Delete” the focus on U and I. “Shift” away from being stuck in the “right.”

Don’t look for the “Escape.”

Access that “Return” button and move over to the W-E. And certainly, don’t put a “space” between the W and the E! Get connected and stay connected!

Rivki Rosenwald is a certified relationship counselor, and career and life coach.

She can be contacted at 917-705-2004 or rivki@rosenwalds.com.

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 13, 2018

135

136

DECEMBER 13, 2018 | The Jewish Home

g in all of in ic r p y a d y Best ever ong Island!

L & s n e e u Q Brooklyn, AY!

(

Free Parking

RY D E V E S T C U D NEW PRO

TM

much

Over 150 Spaces!

More for Less

Prices Good Sunday, December 16th through Friday, December 21st, 2018

California Delight Applelicious Fruit Pouches

1

2/$

90 Grams

Price Rite Instant Oatmeal Packets All Flavors

1

$ 99 10 Packets Gefen Couscous

69¢

8.8 oz

Polly-O Ricotta

Regular or Part Skim

Gefen Bread Crumbs Assorted

5

2/$

14 oz

Duncan Hines Classic Yellow Cake or Brownie Mixes

99¢

15.25 oz/18.3 oz

Stacy’s Pita Chips

1

$ 69 7.33 oz

Norman’s Cream Cheese

1

Coke or Pepsi Assorted

5

4/$

2 Liter

California Delight Whole Baby Corn

99¢

15 oz

Sheila G’s Brownie Brittle

1

$ 99 5 oz Avenue A Flour La Yogurt

All Purpose or Unbleached Assorted

1 89

$ 2/99 5 LB ¢ 6 oz

2

$ 79 8 oz

Dagim Flounder Fillets

Meal Mart Chicken Pop-Em’s or Shapes

Sharon’s Sorbet

$ 99 32 oz

$ 49 16 oz

Chicken Cutlets

Boneless Rib Eye Roast

$ 99 32 oz

4

$ 99 16 oz

Beef Neck Bones

2

$ 79 LB

Hass Avocado

89¢

EA

Viennese Crunch

7

$ 49

LB

9

Untrimmed

$ 99 LB

Spanish Onions

Tuna Steak

9

3

7

3

$ 79 LB

59¢

All Flavors

LB

$ 99 LB

Ripe Mango

5

5/$

Garden Vegetable Soup

4

$ 99 32 oz

Keilim Mikveh on Premises | Pre-Shabbos Buffet Every Thursday & Friday!

Savings Plaza | 11 Lawrence Lane, Lawrence, NY | (516) 371-6200 | info@kolsavemarket.com | /kolsavemarket Hours: Sunday-Tuesday: 9am-7pm | Wednesday: 9am-10pm | Thursday: 9am-11pm | Friday: 8am-till 2 hours before Shabbos We reserve the right to limit quantities. No rain checks. Not responsible for typographical errors.