The Jewish LIght November 2017 by The Jewish Light

Volume 7, Number 11 November 2017

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Serving the Local New Orleans, Northshore, and Baton Rouge Jewish Communities

Chanukah for Families. Eight Days of Fun. By Sarah Gershman Chanukah’s proximity to Christmas can complicate the holiday. For those who try to make Chanukah more like Christmas, it inevitably seems to fall short. Yet while Chanukah was traditionally not one of the most central holidays of the Jewish calendar, it can, nonetheless offer many opportunities for fun and joyous celebration. Here are some suggestions for how you can make this Chanukah memorable, while still staying true to the essential meaning of the holiday.

tion on the Environment and Jewish Life is sponsoring a special program called “How Many Jews Does It Take to Change a Bulb?” The organization is helping Jewish institutions, families, and individuals purchase and install energy efficient, cost effective compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs during the week of Chanukah. Chanukah is also a wonderful time to bring light into the lives of those around us. The winter months can be especially difficult for those who need help. Why not take come Bringing Light out of Darkness There are many ways to make time this holiday to volunteer as a this year’s Chanukah a real "Festi- family at a local soup kitchen, val of Light." As Rabbi Arthur Waskow writes in his book, Seasons of Joy, “Chanukah is the moment when light is born from darkness, hope from despair.” Historically, this was reflected in the unlikely victory of the Maccabees over the Greeks, in the oil that brought light for eight days instead of one, and in the very act of lighting candles during the darkest time of the year. Before lighting candles, try taking your family on a night walk. Go outside together and feel how dark it is. Even in the city, the month of December has a special shelter, or any place that is meaningful to you? Often, Jewish homes darkness to it. Then come in from for the aged have Chanukah parties the cold and light the Chanukah or communal Chanukah lightings. (menorah). Feel the contrast These are opportunities to connect between the darkness outside and your children with the older genthe light inside. eration and help make the celebraThe oil in the Temple menorahtion more festive for the residents. -which was only enough for one day but miraculously lasted for Get Creative Chanukah can be a great time for eight--can be understood as an early example of energy conserva- simple and fun family art projects. tion! This year, COEJL, the Coali- There is a custom for each member of the family to have his/her own Chanukah. This year, why not make your own? You can buy lots of small votive candles (yartzeit candles are an inexpensive way to do this) and decorate the glass with a collage of colorful pieces of tissue paper. When the votives are lit, light shines through the tissue paper

like stained glass. This is great for the Friday night of the holiday, when the candles are supposed to burn for at least two hours—as long as Shabbat candles burn. No matter what kind you use, try to place it in as visible a spot as possible to fulfill the mitzvah of pirsumei nisa (publicizing the miracle). And don't forget the decorations. Judaica stores sell lots of colorful Chanukah decorations that make the house feel more festive. You may want to choose your own Chanukah decorating theme. I know one family that decorate their house with homemade pic-

tures of Jewish holiday objects, which symbolize to them the uniqueness of Judaism--definitely a theme of the holiday. Make Each Night Special One of the wonderful things about Chanukah is that it lasts eight days! Giving each night a special theme can increase the excitement and take some of the attention away from presents. Themes might include “Tzedakah (charity) night,” “Sing-Off Night,” “Party Night,” and of course, “Presents Night!” I know a family that eats a different kind of potato latke (pancake) for dinner each night. Apples, cauliflower, or even meat can be delicious additions to the traditional potato latke. Cheese is also a great Chanukah food, as it

recollects the heroism of Judith, who cleverly fed King Holofernes salty cheese and wine. When the King promptly fell asleep, Judith cut off his head and thereby saved her town from his tyranny. Chanukah is also an ideal time to do fun activities like playing music, taking pictures, or making home movies documenting the year’s celebration. One family I know drips Chanukah candle wax each night on their family album. Then, the following year, they take out the album, look at the wax, and try to remember where they were and what they did on each night. Celebrate our Uniqueness One of the miracles of Chanukah is that the Jewish people were able to re-consecrate the Temple-our spiritual center and a powerful symbol of our uniqueness. Chanukah today presents us with the opportunity to re-consecrate our own uniqueness as a religion, a people, and a culture. Chanukah is a time to discuss as a family some of the blessings and challenges of being Jewish in a predominantly Christian country. One way to spark discussion on this subject is to watch a movie that in some way tackles the subject of assimilation. Some suggestions include: My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Avalon, Keeping the Faith, The Jazz Singer, Monsoon Wedding, and American Desi. Snowflakes could be a wonderful seasonal Chanukah symbol, as no two are alike. You can even make “Chanukah Snowflakes” out of colorful paper and use them to decorate the house. Have a joyous and meaningful Chanukah! Sarah Gershman is a Teaching Fellow at the Partnership for Jewish Living and Learning in Rockville, MD. Sarah is the president of Green Room Speakers. For all things Jewish: MyJewishLearning.comì

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Jewish Community Center-Celebration Fundraiser November 11 7:00PM - 11:00PM

5342 St. Charles Avenue New Orleans, LA 70115 (504) 897-0143 x121 leslie@nojcc.org Contact Leslie Fischman ì

JCRS Aid for Houston Families Gift Wrap-A-Thon #2 Sunday, November 12, 2017 9:00 - 4:00 pm

If your group has an event that you would like for us to include on the Community Calendar please e-mail the information to jewishnews@bellsouth.net. All submissions are subject to acceptance by the Editor. ì

at the Goldring-Woldenberg Jewish Community Campus (Metairie JCC) 3747 West Esplanade Ave., Metairie, LA

Beth Israel - Annual Fundraiser November 12 6:00PM - 8:00PM

Congregation Beth Israel 4004 West Esplanade Ave Metairie, LA 70002

Chabad-Children's Program November 12 3:00PM - 4:30PM

Congregation Gates of Shir Chadash in the Park Prayer Sisterhood

Torah Academy 5210 W Esplanade Ave Metairie, LA 70006 504-456-6429 PJ Library and Camp Gan Israel invite the entire community to intertwine a beautiful Jewish tradition, culinary skill building and an afternoon of Jewish unity and fun for kids. We will mix, twist, and decorate our way into the magical world of challah-baking. This Challah Bake is for children of all ages, divided into two programs: New this year is Baby Challah Bake for ages 0-3, including special Challah Sensory Experience and Interactive Shabbat Music Circle. Kids 4 and up will be treated to an LED Lights and Juggling Show while we watch the challah rise. Everyone takes a challah home! All children must be accompanied by an adult. ADMISSION - Early Bird: $10/ child, $36/Family; November 1-12: $12/Child, $40/Family Mushka Kazen 225-252-5385 mushkalele@gmail.com ì

Sunday, November 12 9:30-11:30am

JCRS has received dozens of requests for Hanukkah gifts for Houston Jewish families affected by Hurricane Harvey. ***CALLING ALL VOLUNTEERS*** Muffins, snacks, lunch and refreshments will be served throughout the day! Please join us to wrap OVER 100 gift bags for NEW requests from Houston families as part of our Oscar J. Tolmas Hanukkah Gift Program!

Gates of Prayer 4000 W. Esplanade Cordially invites you to attend WRJ Southwest District Area Day Please join us as Pat Blum, Area Director and past president of WRJ Southwest District, leads us in a morning of learning: ‘How to turn members into leaders’ and ‘What is Women of Reform Judaism and why do we belong’ FREE, but please consider bringing a Judaica ...item of any value for distribution at sisterhoods in ...South Texas affected by the hurricane RSVP to Jennifer Daley at (469) 585-9510 or jdsports27@hotmail. comì

Sunday, November 12, 2017 3:30 - 5:30 pm

Enjoy an afternoon in Audubon Park with your Shir Chadash community, as you mingle with old friends, meet new ones, and enjoy some nosh, games and fun! We look forward to you joining us as we welcome new members to our community. The playground/benches closest to the corner of St. Charles and Walnut Street. Please bring outdoor games, blankets, lawn chairs, etc.ì

Jewish Children's Regional ServiceHouston Wrap-A-Thon November 12 9:00AM - 4:00PM

Goldring-Woldenberg Jewish Community Campus 3747 West Esplanade Ave. Metairie, LA 70002 JCRS has been "flooded" with requests for Hanukkah gifts for Houston Jewish families affected by Hurricane Harvey. Please join with volunteers of all ages to wrap hundreds of new Hanukkah gifts. All gifts and wrapping materials to be supplied. Refreshments served throughout the day. Community Service hours for students.ì THE

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Saints game will be shown on TV! Door prizes! Community service hours for students! Awards for best wrappers! All wrapping materials will be supplied. For more information contact Bonnie Lustig at (504) 828-6334 or bonnie@jcrs.orgì

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Morris Bart Sr., Lecture his colleagues at the Cowen Institute Jewish Medical Ethics Yizhar Hess, CEO of climbed down from the ivory tower Series At The J: Meetings Dinner and Masorti Israel to make a difference in the lives of Date: November 13, 2017 Wednesday, November 15, New Orleans’ public school students Discusson Time: 11:45AM - 1:30PM

New Orleans JCC - Uptown 5342 St. Charles Avenue New Orleans, LA 70115 From Ivory Tower To Engaged Anchor Institution: How Tulane’s Cowen Institute Is Creating Opportunity For All Of Our City’s Young People When Hurricane Katrina presented Tulane University with an existential crisis of unprecedented proportions, then president Scott Cowen seized the moment of intense selfreflection by turning Tulane into an engaged anchor institution in the New Orleans community. In 2006, Tulane University became the first major research university in the U.S. to make public service part of the core curriculum and community engagement became the new norm across campus. At Tulane’s Cowen Institute, two seemingly intractable community issues-- public education and youth disconnection-- have been at the forefront of the university’s civic mission. Dr. Cowen will tell the story of Tulane’s powerful transformation and describe how he and

and young people who are out of work and out of school. Lunch will be served. RSVP by Thursday, November 9 to Rachel Ruth at 897 0143 x161 or rachel@nojcc.org. Rachel Ruth (504) 897-0143 rachel@nojcc.org - No charge members / $10 non-membersì

November 14, 6:30PM

Touro Synagogue Join Rabbi Berk and Dr. Walter Levy in exploring how we bring Jewish medical ethics to our professional lives. The session is driven by relevant ethical issues affecting health care providers. Past discussions focused on our response to Jewish Community the Ebola crisis, the ethics of gene editing and “savior babies,” meanCenter Speaker ing and nature of physician work, November 14 and off label use of and repurposing 7:00PM - 9:00PM of drugs. Rabbi Berk rovides Jew5342 St. Charles Avenue ish contextual incite to these disNew Orleans, LA 70115 cussions. Dinner will be provided. Tova Mirvis will speak about her We hope you can join us! moving memoir, "The Book of SepPlease RSVP to aration" as part of The Cathy and Info@TouroSynagogue.comì Morris Bart Jewish Cultural Arts Series. This work is her account of Shir Chadash-Speaker how she broke away from Orthodox November 15 Judaism and her husband to make a 7:30PM - 9:30PM new life. She chronicles her divorce Shir Chadash and her separa3737 West Esplanade Ave tion from modern Metairie, LA 70002 Orthodoxy in this Talk and Q&A with the head of bold memoir. Israel's Masorti Movement, dealing Judy Yaillen, judy@nojcc.orgì with many of the issues facing Israel's progressive Jewish communities at this time. (504) 889-1144 Rabbi Deborah Silver Rabbids@shirchadash.orgì

Table of Contents Community News

Chai Lights

Holiday Features

Education

Bookshelf

Arts & Culture

Entertainment

Health

Southern & Jewish

The Nosher

Focus on Issues

Judaism

Kveller

Jewniverse (Jewish Culture & History)

Israel Under Radar

November 2017

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2017, 7.30 pm

Shir Chadash welcomes Yizhar Hess, CEO of Masorti Israel who will discuss The Jewish State or State of the Jews? The Role of the Conservative/Masorti Movement in Shaping the Pluralistic Future of the State of Israel RSVP if planning on attending to shirchadash@shirchadash.org There will be time for questions. Light refreshments will be served.ì

Temple Sinai-Bridge House Thanksgiving Meal November 19 10:00AM - 1:00PM

Bridge House 4150 Earhart Boulevard New Orleans, LA 70125 Help Temple Sinai's Social Action Committee provide a Thanksgiving meal, clothes, and toiletries at Bridge House/Grace House to members of New Orleans' homeless and indigent population. The meal also serves to raise awareness about Bridge House/Grace House's residential substance abuse treatment programs.

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Send editorial to us via e-mail at jewishnews@bellsouth.net or reach us by phone at (504) 455-8822. Our mailing address is United Media Corp. P.O. Box 3270, Covington, LA 70434 • To place advertising in THE JEWISH LIGHT, call United Media Corp. at: New Orleans (504) 455-8822 Northshore (985) 871-0221 Baton Rouge (225) 925-8774 THE JEWISH LIGHT carries Jewish Community related news about the Louisiana Jewish community and for the Louisiana Jewish community. Its commitment is to be a “True Community” newspaper, reaching out EQUALLY TO ALL Jewish Agencies, Jewish Organizations and Synagogues. THE JEWISH LIGHT is published monthly by United Media Corporation. We are Louisiana owned, Louisiana published, and Louisiana distributed. United Media Corporation has been proudly serving the Louisiana Jewish Community since 1995. Together, we can help rebuild Louisiana. We thank you for the last 22 years and we look forward to an even brighter tomorrow.

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Bridge House/Grace House is a 24-hour, 7 day a week, residential treatment facility that provides gender specific treatment to men and women in three locations. Contact Cara Lahr clahr@templesinaino.orgì

Torah Academy & PJ Library- Early Childhood Development Series November 19 10:00AM - 11:30AM

a tour through the life and works of one of the most extraordinary human beings of all time and in the company of the most engaging, informed, and insightful guide imaginable. Walter Isaacson is at once a true scholar and a spellbinding writer. And what a wealth of lessons are to be learned in these pages—about the essential role of curiosity and the ability to observe closely, as just two examples. Bravo Walter Isaacson once again.” – David McCullough, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of "The Wright Brothers" and "1776" Judy Yaillen, judy@nojcc.orgì

Calling all children for Latke Latkes With A Twist cooking, menorah making and Party more @ Whole foods Market! December 14 Libby Groner 7:00PM - 10:00PM libby@jewishlouisiana.comì 4th Annual Hanukkah Party with latkes, music, cocktails and Beth Israel-Chanukah more.... Mark Rubin Party (504) 828-6334 mark@jcrs.orgì December 10 5:00PM - 7:00PM

Congregation Beth Israel 4004 West Esplanade Ave, Metairie, LA 70002

Torah Academy 5210 West Esplanade Ave. Chabad-Chanukah @ Metairie, LA 70006 Riverwalk Hands-On Experiences For ParDecember 12 ents & EC Children. 5:00PM - 7:00PM Torah AcademyEarly Childhood Enrichment Riverwalk Professionals Will Share Their Thanksgiving Dinner 1 Poydras St November 21 Secrets. New Orleans, LA 70130 3:00PM - 5:00PM Lina Warshawski, 504-456-6429 The largest Jewish gathering of lwarshawski@torahacademynola.com Celebrate Thanksgiving together the year. A public Menorah lightwith the Torah Academy family. ing and Chanukah celebration on Friends and the wider community 43rd Annual Shared the Mississippi River. Music, are invited to attend! Dreidel House for children, enterThanksgiving Service Rivkie Chesney tainment and kosher food. at Gates of Prayer rchesney@torahacademynola. Mendel Rivkin comì St. Clement of Rome mendel@chabadneworleans. Catholic Church In the Mood for a Melody comì Sunday, November 19, 7:30 pm

Saturday, December 2

Featured Speaker: Rabbi Bob Loewy A Fundraiser At The Touro “34 Years of a Special Relation- Piano Bar & Lounge ship” A Look at Catholic/Jewish Join us for the Touro FUNdraisRelationsì er! Touro will be transformed into a piano bar and game room—with Chabad-Women's food, drink, merry-making and fabProgram ulous, participatory entertainment. It’s an evening of informal fun November 20 7:00PM - 9:00PM that you don’t want to miss! 45141 West Esplanade Ave. Save The Date!ì Metairie, LA 70002 The monthly Rosh Chodesh Society Chabad-Jewish Story is a chance for women to get Hour together and learn in a relaxed December 4 atmosphere of camaraderie, while 5:00PM - 5:45PM enjoying refreshments and lively Join us for a Chanukah story and discussions. activity at the Jefferson Parish Sponsor: Jewish Learning Institute library- East Bank Regional. affiliate: Chanie Nemes Libby Groner Chanie Nemes 504-957-4987 libby@jewishlouisiana.comì chanienemes@gmail.com $ 75.00

Jewish Community Center-Speaker November 21 7:00PM - 9:00PM

Anti-Defamation League- Botnick Torch Of Liberty Dinner December 5 6:00PM - 9:00PM

Torah Academy Chanukah party for young families

Chabad-Mobile Menorah Parade December 16 7:30PM - 9:30PM

Chabad House 7037 Freret St New Orleans, LA 70118 This Mobile Menorah parade runs from Chabad Uptown through downtown, the French Quarter and the Marigny. It features unique Chanukah throws and Jewish music. An after-party at Chabad Uptown is held for participants. 504-939-2565 • Mendel Rivkin mendel@chabadneworleans.comì Call Our Trained Experts & Experience the Difference

•Monthly Payment Plans • Drywood Termite Fumigation

December 13 4:00PM - 6:00PM

Rivkie Chesney rchesney@torahacademynola. comì

Jewish Children's Regional Service-

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ADL's annual A.I. Botnick Torch Jewish Community Center of Liberty dinner honoring Robert 5342 St. Charles Avenue Merrick and Arthur Roger New Orleans, LA 70115 Lindsay Friedmann The Cathy and Morris Bart Jewish 504-780-5611• lbaach@adl.orgì Cultural Arts Series is proud to have Walter Isaacson join us to Chabad-Kid's hear about his newest work, an Chanukah Extrvaganza biography of Leonardo da Vinci. December 10 "To read this magnificent biogra2:00PM - 4:00PM phy of Leonardo da Vinci is to take THE

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November 2017

Community News JCRS "Latkes with a Twist" presents LATKES DELICIOUS!! December 14, 2017, 7:00PM

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Non-Members - $18 RSVP:info@tourosynagogue.comì

Temple Sinai-Bridge House Christmas Meal December 17 10:00AM - 1:00PM

Come out to The Little Gem Saloon and see what the Washington Post called one of most amazing Hanukkah parties in the US!! Chefs Mike Friedman and Greg Augarten, co-owners of PIZZA DELICIOUS, will be creating an unbelievable Latke Bar will all the toppings! Enjoy live music by The Marc Stone 3, a silent auction and complimentary Vodka Latke Punch courtesy of Sazerac Brands. Proceeds from the event will support PJ Library and Jewish children throughout GNO with needsbased scholarships for college, Jewish summer camp and special needs assistance. PURCHASE YOUR TICKETS TODAY!! Sponsorship opportunities are available and auction items are most welcome. For more information on this event, call Mark Rubin at (504)828-6334 or email mark@ jcrs.orgì

In the Kitchen With Rabbi Silverman

Join Rabbi Silverman throughout the year to explore classic Jewish foods. We will discuss the importance of various dishes to the cultural milieux of world Jewry, and we’ll get the kitchen a little messy as we prepare those foods with our own hands! Latkes And Sufganiyot Thursday, December 14 6:00pm

In The Touro Kitchen Space Is Limited Materials and Registration Fee: Members - No Charge 6

November 2017

6227 St. Charles Ave. New Orleans, LA 70118 Join Temple Sinai's Social Action Committee as they provide a Christmas meal, clothes, and toiletries at Bridge House to members of New Orleans' homeless and indigent population. The Christmas meal will also raise awareness of Bridge House/Grace House's residential substance abuse treatment programs. Bridge House/Grace House is a 24-hour, 7 day a week, residential treatment facility that provides gender specific treatment to men and women in three locations. Cara Lahr, clahr@templesinaino.orgì

Jewish Community Day School Chanukah Program December 19 8:30AM - 11:30AM

3747 West Esplanade Ave Metairie, LA 70002 Jewish Community Day School Chanukah Program with Grandparents & Special Friends starting at 8:30am Lauren Ungar 504-887-4091 lungar@jcdsnola.orgì

Chabad-Women's Program December 20 7:00PM - 9:00PM

Chabad Center, Metairie 4141 W Esplanade Ave Metairie, LA 70002 The monthly Rosh Chodesh Society is a chance for women to get together and learn in a relaxed atmosphere of camaraderie, while enjoying refreshments and lively discussions. $ 15.00 Chana Nemes 504-957-4987 chanienemes@gmail.comì

New Orleans’ Best Kept Jewish Secret: A Magical Israel Experience Don’t just see the land, capture a taste of its soul

Whether you have never been to Israel, or you have visited Israel many times before, you now have a chance to join a spectacular trip to Israel with a multi-option itinerary, uniquely designed to suite you preferences and provide you

with an experience you will never forget. From March 4-13, 2018, Rabbi Mendel and Chaya Mushka Ceitlin will be leading a local group on a spirited fun-filled VIP trip to Israel! They will be joining The Land and Spirit Israel Experience. “This is a great opportunity to see Israel as never before and I invite you to be part of our delegation from New Orleans”, said Rabbi Ceitlin. The Land and Spirit journey to Israel is a VIP and educational experience through Judaism’s most holy and historical sites. Participants will be treated to an 8 day life-changing VIP luxurious Israel experience that is a cut above the rest in every possible way. “What I like about this trip, explained Rabbi Ceitlin, is that there is no fundraising, no agenda being pushed, and there are Jews from every walk of life and background experience - and everyone feels like family, without judgment or expectations. It’s not a "religious" or "fundraising trip" - it's for EVERYONE! It is for YOU! This trip includes many unique features you will not find on other trip of its kind: • Five Star Amenities: Concierge service from the moment you arrive, first-class accommodations at luxurious hotels, five-star gourmet meals and the very best Israel has to offer in education and entertainment. • Mission of Solidarity: Head to the front lines of Israel’s fight for survival. The trip is highlighted by a visit to the beleaguered community of Hebron and an intimate barbecue with Israel Defense Force soldiers and officers where we will be able to express our support to our brothers and sisters. • Journey of Learning: Explore Israel’s soul. The Land and the Spirit will bring our rich history to life as we discover the origins of our nation and the spiritual secrets of the land’s holy sites. • Israel Today: Hear from Chief Rabbis, military brass and political leaders. Our group will be

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addressed by Israel’s leaders and gain an insider’s view of modern-day Israel’s challenges and triumphs. “Being a joint trip with other communities, allows for lower costs due to economies of scale, as well as access to many places and people we wouldn’t otherwise have access to”, explained Rabbi Ceitlin. In the past, the trip has been addressed by PM Benjamin Netanyahu, Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat, MK Yuli Edelstein, Gil Hoffman, Chief Rabbi Israel Meir Lau, Rona Ramon, Natan Sharansky and many others (see www.landandspirit.org for the full list) Registration for the 2018 trip is well ahead of the pace of recent trips. Spaces will sell out well ahead of the trip and you are encouraged to make your reservation ASAP. For more information, to make a reservation and to view the trip itinerary online you can visit: www. landandspirit.org or email mendelc@jewishlouisiana.com or call 504-534-8685.ì

Volunteer Tutors are needed for ‘Start the Adventure in Reading’ (STAIR) Program

Your chance to make a difference in a child’s life The National Council for Jewish Women, Greater New Orleans Section, is reaching out to the community to secure much needed volunteers for the Start the Adventure in Reading Program (STAIR). STAIR Training will take place: Monday, November 13 from 5:30 – 8:30 at 1535 State St. Dinner will be served. Sign up now to attend the November 13th training. Email Carol Newman: caroln08@gmail.com or call 504-416-5011. STAIR’s overall mission is to improve the reading skills and selfesteem of lower elementary school students, usually 2nd graders. STAIR tutors develop a one-on-one relationship with a student. As a STAIR volunteer tutor, you will work with a student after school 1 or 2 days a week or on Saturday mornings using the user-friendly STAIR curriculum. The tutoring sites are in Orleans, Jefferson, and St. Tammany Parishes. Those interested can also become a substitute for STAIR at a particular site. For questions and to RSVP for the STAIR training, contact NCJW STAIR Liaison Carol Newman – caroln08@gmail.com or 4165011.ì THE

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JEFFERSON PARISH DISTRICT ATTORNEY

PAUL CONNICK, JR.

ChaiLights features announcements of births, B'nai Mitzvahs, engagements, weddings, and honors. To request your special event be published in The Jewish Light send your material to United Media Corp., P.O. Box 3270, Covington, LA 70435 or e-mail jewishnews@bellsouth.net. Events are published on a first come, first served basis, as space permits. Photographs are welcom; professional ones preferred. The must be clear and in focus. ì

Beth Israel Mazel Tov to... Parents Julie & Alex Steinhaus on the bris of Gabriel Steinhaus on October 18th! Richie Bruchis for passing the written and practical test to become a licensed plumber.ì

Temple Sinai Mazel Tov to... Dr. Gerald and Joan Berenson on being honored at the Jewish Community Day School’s (JCDS) annual gala for their significant contributions to JCDS. Catherine Cahn, daughter of Cory and Sarah Cahn, for her portrayal of Lady Bracknell in the Isidore Newman School’s staging of The Importance of Being Earnest. Madelyn Fireman on her sister Marlana becoming an Avodah Corps Member in New Orleans. During her year as Corps Member, Marlana will work for HousingNOLA. Joe Giarrusso III for his election to the New Orleans City Council. Walton Goldring and Ann Rabin for organizing a luncheon for Key to the Cure. The following members for organizing the Key to the Cure gala: Barbara Greenberg and Lauren Wakeman (co-chairs) Allison Hoffman (social media chair) Sue Singer (corporate liaison) Sandra Pulitzer (entertainment chair) Felicia Kahn and Joel Myers for being recognized for their activism at the The League of Women Voters of New Orleans’ 75th anniversary dinner. Maline Levy-Berenger on her

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marriage to Ronald A. Berenger. Billy Mimeles for receiving a Weiss Award from the New Orleans Council for Community and Justice. The award honors outstanding individuals and businesses who have given selflessly in service to the community. Michael J. Reimer, father of Rabbi Matthew Reimer, for receiving his PhD in International Relations from Rutgers University, Division of Global Affairs. Alon Shaya on launching his own company, Pomegranate Hospitality. Scott Sternberg, grandson of Audrey Sternberg Raphael and the late Manfred Sternberg, on his appointment as general counsel to the Louisiana Press Association. Robert and Regina White on the birth of their granddaughter Stella Katherine Saladino, daughter of Shannon White and Joshua Saladino. Mazel tov as well on the appointment of Shannon as CEO of the Besh Restaurant Group.ì

Happy Chanukah to all my friends in the Jewish Community.

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Touro Synagogue Mazel Tov to... Aaron Ahlquist on being named Regional Director of the ADL -Anti Defamation League, South Central Regionì

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Shir Chadash Mazel Tov to... Chuck and Jackie Stern on the birth of their grandson Isaac Arthur Glickstein, Son of Erica Stern and Jed Glickstein, brother of Jonah Chaim Glickstein Sylvia & Israel Finger and the entire Finger family on the birth of their granddaughter, niece and cousin, Eden Ziona Schwarz, daughter of Andy & Shira Schwarz, big sisters Nava and Dalia.ì

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If you have a condolence that you would like for us to include in Life Cycle please e-mail the information to jewishnews@bellsouth.net. All submissions are subject to acceptance of the Editor. ì

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Juliet Faine Nowak mother of Dale Singer (Alan), grandmother IN MEMORIAM Gail Victor wife of Harold of Michael Singer (Courtney), great grandmother of Audrey and Victor Leo Singer Paul Michael Chirlian husband of Touro Synagogue Barbara Chirlian Cecille Menkus Friedler wife of Deanna Jean Schoenfeld Spence Gerald Friedler, sister-in-law of mother of Gretchen Zalkind Patsy Kanter and Ann Eisen (David) (Robert), aunt of Nathan Kanter Elissa Genet Young sister of Errol (Carrie) Genet (Adrien) Lillian Ross Jan Phillip Saltzman father of Alan Levinson Scott Saltzman (Shelley), Rosina Minnie Kahn Sapir wife of grandmother of Tierney Saltzman Franklin Sapir

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November 2017

Jillian is a mother whose child was diagnosed with autistic symptoms at a very early age. Soon after contacting JCRS, the agency began funding Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) Therapy for her daughter, Rivka. Over time, Rivka’s evolving needs have led to a variety of JCRS–funded interventions, including: Sensory-Integration/ Occupational Therapy, Speech/ Language Therapy, Relationship Development Intervention (RDI) and academic tutoring. At age eighteen, Rivka’s achievements are remarkable and have vastly exceeded all expectations of a child who once experienced significant developmental delays. Talented in art, dance, and videography, Rivka is considering a career in commercial design. She attends a private school for girls and competes with minimal need for academic enrichment. Rivka has even documented her journey in life in video, from her early feelings of discomfort around

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She is thriving, achieving and succeeding!! Please consider making a gift today to help Jewish children with Special Needs in your community. We need your new and continued support as our 2017-18 Special Needs Program budget is nearly exhausted due to the tremendous need within our Jewish community. THANK YOU!! Jewish Children's Regional Service (JCRS) P.O. Box 7368 Metairie, LA 70010 Visit our newly re-designed website: www.jcrs.orgì

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Holiday Features

JEWISH LIGHT

Answering Some Oft-Asked Hanukkah Questions By MJL Staff (My Jewish Learning via JTA)

(Flickr Commons)

How do you pronounce Hanukkah? Is there a correct spelling for the holiday? Why does Hanukkah last eight days? These are just some of the frequently asked questions about the Festival of Lights. Here are the answers to those and many more. How do you pronounce Hanukkah? English speakers generally pronounce it HAH-nuh-kuh. However, some people prefer the Israeli pronunciation, which is khah-new-KAH. Is there a correct way to spell Hanukkah? Hanukkah is a Hebrew word, not an English one, and there is no standard transliteration. My Jewish Learning uses “Hanukkah,” but “Chanukah,” “Chanukka” and “Hanukka” are also common spellings. Why does Hanukkah last eight days? There are two explanations for the eight-day length. One is that Hanukkah commemorates not just the Maccabees’ victory and rededication of the Temple, but the miracle of the oil: one day’s supply for the Temple lamp lasted eight days. Another explanation is that the first Hanukkah celebration was actually a delayed Sukkot celebration, and Sukkot — which, like Passover, is a pilgrimage festival — traditionally lasts eight days. What is Hanukkah about? Hanukkah celebrates the Maccabees’ rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem after its defilement by the Syrian Greeks in 164 BCE. According to rabbinic tradition, the holiday also commemorates the miracle of the oil noted above. Some people see Hanukkah as a celebration of religious freedom, whereas others see it as a triumph of tradition over assimilation. For many people, it is simply an opportunity for festivity during the darkest time of the year, the winter solstice. Is it OK to celebrate both Hanukkah and Christmas? Depends on who you ask. Many THE

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Jews strongly disapprove of Jews celebrating Christmas, which is a Christian holiday, and some feel alienated by the ubiquity of Christmas in American culture. However, others see Christmas as more a cultural celebration than religious holiday and enjoy participating in Christmas celebrations with nonJewish friends or non-Jewish family members. Why does Hanukkah fall on a different date each year? Hanukkah always falls on the 25th of the Hebrew month of Kislev, which usually is sometime in December. Because the Jewish calendar is a combination of solar and lunar, the date on the Gregorian calendar fluctuates each year. Is the candelabra lit on Hanukkah called a menorah or a hanukkiyah? Menorah simply means lamp and can refer to other candelabras. A hanukkiyah is a candelabra specifically for use on Hanukkah. However, many people call it a menorah or Hanukkah menorah — you usually can tell from context when a person is referring to a Hanukkah candelabra and not a general lamp. Why do Jews play dreidel on Hanukkah? There are different explanations for this tradition, but historians believe the dreidel is an adaptation of another top-spinning game that Europeans played at Christmas time. Do Jews traditionally exchange gifts on all eight nights of Hanukkah? Actually, exchanging gifts on Hanukkah is a relatively new tradition. American Jews used to exchange gifts on Purim, but in the late 19th century there was a shift from Purim to Hanukkah. Christmas, which falls at the same time of year, became a national holiday in America at this time, and the Jewish custom of gifts on Hanukkah shifted as the Christian holiday’s consumerism grew. When it comes to how many gifts to exchange and when, families have different traditions. Many people prefer to limit the gift exchange to just a few nights in order to de-emphasize the materialistic aspects of the holiday. Why is the first night of Hanukkah one day before the date listed on my calendar?

While dates on the Gregorian calendar begin at midnight, dates on the Hebrew calendar begin at sundown — that means a holiday starts hours before the corresponding date on the Gregorian calendar. This difference is particularly noticeable on Hanukkah, since celebrations tend to take place at night rather than during the day. So while your calendar may say Hanukkah starts on Dec. 13, it actually begins the preceding evening. What’s the proper way to greet someone on Hanukkah? Happy Hanukkah, "chag sameach" (Hebrew for happy joliday) or "Hanukkah sameach" (Hebrew for Happy Hanukkah). If you're not sure whether the person you are greeting celebrates Hanukkah or not, you can always say Happy Holidays or Season’s Greetings. Do Jews traditionally go to synagogue on Hanukkah? Jewish law does not require Jews to observe Hanukkah anywhere outside the home. However, some special liturgy and readings are added to the daily and Shabbat prayer services that take place during Hanukkah. I tried to find the story of the Maccabees in the Bible, but

couldn’t. Where is it? The Book of Maccabees, in which the Hanukkah story is detailed, was not included in the Hebrew Bible and instead is in a category of texts called Apocrypha. For centuries, some Jews used to read the story from an Aramaic-language scroll called The Scroll of Antiochus, which detailed the Maccabees’ victories and added numerous legends. Why do Jews eat greasy food on Hanukkah? It is traditional to eat fried foods, such as latkes and jelly doughnuts (called sufganiyot in Hebrew) as a way of commemorating the miracle of the oil that lasted eight days. If you’re worried about the health (or waistline) implications, try baking your latkes — or consider celebrating the oil by dipping bread into a variety of gourmet olive oils. Another traditional Hanukkah food, cheese, unfortunately isn’t much better for those concerned about fat. The cheese tradition is in honor of Judith, a woman who helped the Maccabee effort by feeding salty cheese and wine to one of Antiochus’ generals — and then beheading him.ì

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November 2017

Education

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Here's How These Jewish Day Schools Are Navigating the Perilous Political Divide By Derek Kwait

Gun control advocate Mandi Perlmutter, left, talks with students after being invited to speak at the Rae Kushner Yeshiva High School in New Jersey. The week before, the school hosted a selfdescribed "Gun Rabbi." (Courtesy of Rae Kushner Yeshiva High School)

When head of school Avi Baran Munro went to work the morning after last year’s presidential election, she wasn’t sure exactly how students at her Pittsburgh Jewish day school would handle the news – and their own political divisions. Many eighth-graders whose families voted Democratic showed up at the Community Day School fearful of what might happen to their immigrant family members and friends, she recalled. Meanwhile, an outnumbered minority of Donald Trump supporters wondered if they would be stigmatized for their political views.

Rather than carry on as usual, their teacher, Cara Shuckett, gave the students time to go for a walk or write privately about their feelings. Afterward, they were invited to share their thoughts. A few days later, some students thanked Shuckett for providing the emotional space. In thinking about that day, Munro said the guiding principle was not to tell the students how to react, but to teach them how to listen with respect. “It’s like a fire drill,” Munro said. “When you practice listening respectfully, you learn to respect others’ rights to have a conversation and you try to hear the voice behind the opinion. We work on this all the time, so when we needed it, it was happening.” In these politically turbulent and divisive times, many Jewish day schools are emphasizing inclusion as a way to avoid partisanship without ignoring politics. Others are seizing on the opportunity to teach the value of honest debate, respectful disagreement and engaging with those who are different. “It’s not about politics them-

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selves, but finding teachable moments for students,” said Paul Bernstein, CEO of Prizmah, an organization that advises and connects Jewish day schools across North America. “Every school I’ve seen is working hard to be inclusive of different points of view, and a lot of that means using current events to foster nuanced conversations among students.” Ben Mann, head of school at the Solomon Schechter School of Manhattan, said that means taking inevitable student questions or concerns about current events and using them as opportunities to build better citizens. “We take a stance of Jewish values,” Mann said. “We don’t advocate a particular policy. Instead we say, ‘We believe in helping the disadvantaged. We take that seriously.’ Or, ‘We believe in feeding the hungry and healing the sick.’” In some cases, the divisive political climate has prompted schools to steer clear of politics in ways they normally wouldn’t. Nancy Leaderman, head of the Shalom School in Sacramento, California, said her school for the first time did not hold a mock election or mock debates last year. Amid a campaign marked by vitriol toward immigrants and discussion of the Republican candidate’s lewd behavior, she feared a mock debate would set up the kids to debate issues and take positions best not aired in school. At the same time, it has been hard to ignore the news over the last year and its impact on students. Leaderman said the school tries hard to strike the right balance. “If students wanted to say a prayer specifically for victims of a shooting, of course we would have let them,” she said. “But we know that plenty of parents don’t want their younger kids watching the news, and we have to respect that. Our parents and families look to our school not for political or ideological guidance, but for comfort. I think people want to hear a message of hope among tremendous stress.” At the Rae Kushner Yeshiva High School -- a Modern Orthodox school in Livingston, New Jersey,

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named for the paternal grandmother of Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser – there is a diversity of viewpoints when it comes to Washington politics. The head of school, Rabbi Eliezer Rubin, says his job is to ensure that students with divergent perspectives can have a dialogue with each other. The school has a weekly series of speakers that feature individuals with strongly held views that might be outside many students’ comfort zones, including gun control, Israeli politics and the experiences of racial minorities. Each speaker is followed a week later by someone who holds an opposing viewpoint. In between, the students are asked not to debate the subject, but to think about it and hear out the other side. One week the school brought in Rabbi Dovid Bendory, the selfdescribed Gun Rabbi, and the following week hosted Mandi Perlmutter, former leader of the New Jersey chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. “Conversations, even if emphatic and passionate, were in the spirit of healthy debate,” Rubin said. “The school is subtly and implicitly promoting broader dialogue. I think that’s had a transformative effect in how students listen to the perspectives of others.” Rubin said he has received no pressure from parents or the school board over any speaker or viewpoint presented, even regarding Israel, and that parents are “very comfortable” with the school’s approach to divisive issues. This is unusual. Across denominations, many schools report far more divisiveness among parents over how they teach Israeli politics than American politics. “We have more questions like ‘Is the Green Line on your maps?’ or ‘Are you using the AIPAC curriculum?’ than anything related to American politics,” Leaderman said. The Green Line demarcates the pre-1967 border separating Israel from the West Bank. See DAY SCHOOLS on Page THE

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Education

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This Classroom Job in My Kid's Pre-K Made Me a Jewish Day School Believer By Carla Naumburg

(Kveller via JTA) -- For some parents, sending their children to Jewish day school is a given. Perhaps they went to day school and want that same experience for their kids, or perhaps they didn’t and wish they had. This was not the case with my husband and me. He’s a day school grad who felt no particular need to continue that legacy. As the product of a completely secular upbringing, I have often wished for a stronger Jewish education, but I wasn’t sure if that was enough of a reason to justify the financial burden and schlepping required to get my girls across town each day to a Jewish school. Nonetheless, when my older daughter reached pre-K, I found myself touring two of the four Jewish day schools within driving distance of our house. During those tours, it was immediately apparent that my girls would get a strong secular education, as well as fluency in Hebrew, a strong Jewish identity, and a deep understanding of Jewish texts, values and practices that I never got as a kid. Most of all, they’d know where they came from, where they belong and where they could always return. I loved that. But I wondered if my husband and I couldn’t give our daughters a good-enough Jewish education and identity – with the help of our syna-

gogue, Hebrew school and extended family. We could hire a tutor, send them to Jewish summer camp and visit Israel. That would be enough, wouldn’t it? For us, day school would be a leap of faith, and I remember the exact moment I saw clear to make that leap. Josh and I were touring the kindergarten classroom at the Jewish Community Day School outside of Boston. In many ways, it looked the public school kindergarten classroom I remember from own upbringing, just with more Hebrew. There was a large circular rug on the floor with each child’s name written on strips of tape. Small plastic chairs were situated at round tables with the kids’ names in English and Hebrew. The walls were covered with the alphabet and Aleph Bet, and kids’ artwork. A toy Shabbat set complete with wooden candlesticks, kiddush cup and challah sat on a small table. There were blocks and legos, costumes and masks, and lots of books in Hebrew and English. The teacher led us to a board on the wall that listed all the classroom jobs, with a space for a child’s name next to each role. There was the beloved line leader, of course, and several other fairly common roles. But I was captivated by one particular job: the class comforter. The class comforter has two primary responsibilities: to accompany a sick classmate to the nurse’s office and, along with the teacher, to call children who are sick at home to wish them a "refuah shleimah," a full recovery. I felt my eyes welling up as the admissions director described this. I had rarely heard of a school calling sick children at home to check on

them, and in the few cases I had it was always the teacher calling, often with a reminder about making up work. This was something entirely different. This school was not only teaching the Jewish value of "bikkur cholim," visiting or helping the sick, but it was showing the children how, in the most concrete possible way, to live those values in the context of community. Being part of a community means helping and comforting those who need it, not because you’re their best friend or you’re bored with math. You walk your classmate to the nurse’s office even if he’s the one who kicked you yesterday, even if she’s the girl you excluded at recess, because that’s what Judaism teaches. I was thinking about my own daughter, a generally healthy child who was frequently home from preschool because of asthma, croup, ear infections or other illnesses. I was thinking about what it would mean to her to get a phone call from a classmate on a sick day. You matter. We’re thinking about you. We miss you, and we hope you come back soon. My own experience of becoming a mother had been so much harder than I’d ever imagined. For the previous five years I had felt confused, anxious and scared. The sheer num-

ber of decisions I had to make on a daily basis was overwhelming, and I frequently worried I was making the wrong choice. It was my community – my family and friends, our neighbors, our synagogue and the new mother support groups I attended each week – that got me through it. They gave me advice and ideas, and sat with me as I cried when there was no advice to be given. I hadn’t really thought about what being part of a community meant before becoming a mother. It was just something I had fallen into by virtue of which dorm I happened to be assigned in college or where I worked. Once I became a mother, I was fortunate to live in a town and be part of a religion and culture that values community. When we signed up my daughter for day school, we were choosing to be a part of another community – for ourselves and for our children. My daughters are now in third and second grade at Jewish Community Day School, and they are living and learning the values and practices I had hoped they would. In addition to studying literacy, math, engineering and other secular subjects, their Hebrew is better than mine. My See CLASSROOM on Page

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November 2017

Bookshelf

Julian Edelman's Children's Book Gets a Jewish Makeover By Penny Schwartz BOSTON (JTA) — If New England Patriots star Julian Edelman retires from the NFL anytime soon, he clearly has a promising second career as a Jewish children’s book writer. In front of about 400 children and their families Tuesday night at the Newton Centre flagship of the Jewish Community Center of Greater Boston, the 31-year-old wide receiver and Super Bowl hero read a special edition of a children’s book he co-wrote last year. Unsurprisingly Edelman, who has Jewish ancestry on his father’s side and has identified as Jewish in recent years, was treated like a rock star. “He's a really good receiver and I hope I like his book,” Ilan Sherman Kadish, one of Edelman’s many young fans in attendance, said before the player spoke. The event was organized by PJ Library, the Massachusetts-based global Jewish children’s book giveaway program supported by the Harold Grinspoon Foundation in partnership with other philanthro-

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pists and local Jewish community organizations. Twenty-five thousand copies of Edelman’s book, “Flying High,” a semi-autobiographical story about an endearing squirrel named Jules who is determined to play football, are being mailed this week to 5-year-olds in Jewish homes across North America through the PJ Library program. Before Edelman read his book, the audience was shown a video with footage from his rollicking visit to Israel in 2015 (which was co-sponsored by the Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston). The crowd cheered loudly after the video as Edelman, wearing a brace from a preseason knee injury that has kept him from playing this season, made his way onto the stage. Edelman said onstage that the story of Israel reminded him of his own struggles to push past those who overlooked him. He was picked in the seventh and final round of the 2009 draft by the Patriots and was not projected to succeed in the league. But he has notched over 400 career receptions, helped the team win two Super Bowls and become quarterback Tom Brady’s favorite target. “I fell in love with the people of Israel,” Edelman said, noting his admiration for how the small country thrives despite being surrounded by unfriendly countries. It's a theme he said he wanted to convey in a children's book, especially after the birth of his daughter, Lily, in November, to whom he dedicated the book. The new PJ Library edition of “Flying High” includes extra material on the front and back flaps that

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emphasizes the story's Jewish content and values. There is also a new reference to Theodor Herzl, the founder of modern Zionism. The dedication page includes one of Herzl's most famous quotes: “If you will it, it is no dream.” The quote shows up in illustrations throughout the story as its young squirrel protagonist trains hard and perseveres against his detractors — a group of animals that includes an eagle, a buffalo and a bear who ridicule him for being too weak, slow and small. The idea for the quote came from the Israeli-born Assaf Swissa, Edelman’s co-author. Edelman told JTA after the event that while the quote was not central to the original book, it turned out to be a good fit. “It definitely has meaning for me,” he said of the Herzl quote. A second “Flying High” book is due out in November, in time for Hanukkah, Swissa told JTA. Edelman has become an object of Jewish fascination since he publicly identified himself as a member of the tribe in a 2013 interview on the NFL Network. He has tweeted about Jewish holidays, wore an Israel pin during a game in 2014

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Julian Edelman reading from his children's book at the JCC of Greater Boston, Oct. 10, 2017. (Nikki Cole)

and was named one of the best Jewish football players of all time by the American Jewish Historical Society last year. PJ Library’s founder, Jewish businessman Harold Grinspoon, and his wife, Diane Troderman, both philanthropists, attended Tuesday’s event along with their grandchildren and other members of their family. Edelman is "an amazing guy. He's a heimische guy. He's so real,” Grinspoon told JTA, using a Yiddish term meaning friendly and down to earth. “I love the ['Flying High'] story because it's so true to who he is.”ì

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Bookshelf

JEWISH LIGHT

You Can Now Bake Challah Like a Boss, Thanks to This New Cookbook By Gabe Friedman

Shannon Sarna, The Nosher’s editor, offers something for cooks of all levels in “Modern Jewish Baker.” (Emily Goodstein)

NEW YORK (JTA) -- There's challah bread, which any carb lover can tell you is pretty darn tasty. And then there are next-level twists on the classic Jewish bread, like a Pesto and Goat CheeseStuffed Challah or a Banana Bread Chocolate Chip Challah. It may sound like the stuff of dreams, but a new cookbook can help make some of these delicacies a reality in your very own kitchen. "Modern Jewish Baker" is a new cookbook by Shannon Sarna, editor of the Jewish food blog The Nosher. (It's part of our sister site MyJewishLearning and owned by 70 Faces Media, JTA's parent company.) The book features myriad recipes for Sarna's inventive takes on traditional Jewish baked goods, from S'mores Hamantaschen to Buffalo Blue Cheese Babka. Beginning bakers, don't be alarmed: The book is a step-by-step guide, complete with beautiful photographs, that shows how a few basic recipes for, say, bagels or rugelach, can be transformed easily into fun fusion creations. In addition to "base recipes," as she calls them, Sarna provides instructions on a range of toppings and fillings that will have cooks of all skill levels turning on their ovens and turning out something special. Sarna spoke with JTA about her Jewish identity, what inspires her and how she puts the "modern" into "Modern Jewish Baker." JTA: When did you first make non-traditional, or what you call "mixed-up," Jewish bread? Did it come out the way you thought it would? Sarna: The very first time I tried a mashup was around 10 years ago, and it was a Rosemary Garlic Challah -- a little infusion of ItalianMediterranean flavors into the classic Jewish bread. From there I tried sundried tomato, Kalamata olive THE

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and “everything” flavor, but rosemary garlic was always my favorite, and other people’s, too. I've tried lots of flavors — including a Spaghetti and Meatballs-Stuffed Challah, which didn’t quite turn out the way I envisioned — but the first few Mediterranean-inspired flavors I experimented with were actually quite successful. Challah is an incredibly forgiving bread that takes well to adding various sweet and savory flavors, which is really the inspiration for the entire book: how to take a basic dough and add what appeals to you. You're Italian and Jewish, and you're a champion of recipes that mash different cultures together. Did the concept of combining culinary traditions lead you into trying all of these flavors? I am really proud that The Nosher features recipes from other Jews, like myself, who are a bit "mashed up" and want to celebrate their identities, family and heritage through food; those recipes are the ones that get me most excited and inspire me. But I think what really inspired me to combine culinary traditions was letting go of my fear of failure. Sure, some things aren’t going to work — but some things will. Who cares? No one can imagine that every dish they make will be a smashing success. How long did it take you to perfect the techniques and recipes in your book? It depends on the recipe. I started baking with challah, and that's the first recipe I really experimented with, so many of the challah recipes have been years and years in the making. Other recipes, like the bagels, were newer additions. But it still took me trial after trial to get it right. What does "modern" mean in the context of your book's title? Is part of your goal to reach those with a loose connection to their Jewish identity, or even nonJews? When you look at my recipes and understand my background, they and I are far from traditional. Each recipe is rooted in tradition in some way, and each chapter explains the Jewish significance or origin of the recipe. I think Jewish food, as we know, is having a moment — thoughtfully crafted deli sandwich-

es, gooey babka and Israeli imports like shakshuka, zaatar and labne now have mass appeal well beyond Jews, and so of course I hope Jews, and non-Jews, will enjoy both the classic and not so classic Jewish recipes. As a child of an interfaith marriage, I always have an eye toward providing avenues for meaningful engagement that are nonjudgmental and positive. If someone has an interest or inclination toward exploring their Jewishness, and babka or bagel baking can be their “gateway drug,” then I am thrilled. Do you think old-fashioned Ashkenazi Jewish food has

become more "hip" in the past few years? Take, for example, Frankel's Deli in Brooklyn, or Zak the Baker in Miami? I think the Jewish food renaissance — very much beginning with Jeffrey Yoskowitz and Liz Alpern’s establishment of The Gefilteria and their subsequent cookbook — has reclaimed Jewish food. In turn, they've inspired others who felt that Jewish food had so much more potential. Kugel could be made with seasonal ingredients, brisket could be made with grass-fed, See COOKBOOK on Page

Happy Chanukah to all my friends in the Jewish Community. It is an honor to serve our citizens!

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November 2017

Arts & Culture

Israeli Band Doesn't Let Disability Get in the Way of Making Music By Ben Sales

Yair Pomburg raps during a performance of the Shalva Band at North Shore Hebrew Academy on Long Island. (Ben Sales)

(JTA) — The crowd of middle schoolers goes wild when Dina Samteh hits her high notes, jumping out of their seats in the synagogue sanctuary, cheering and clapping. Samteh, 20, is blind, so she can’t see their conga line-style dancing. But she can hear and feel it. Next to her Yair Pomburg, 26, throws his entire body into beating the bongo drums, then steps forward and raps, in Hebrew, to the Israeli peace song “Od Yavo Sha-

lom Aleinu.” Over the course of a 75-minute concert, the seven members of the Shalva Band play everything from the Disney hit “Let It Go” to Matisyahu’s “One Day” to Adele’s “Someone Like You.” The singers belt out Israeli songs, religious Jewish songs and a smattering of pop before concluding with the Israeli national anthem, “Hatikvah.” The band manager perches on a wooden box and drums on its side. By the middle of the set, the kids are out of their seats and crowding the floor. In many ways it’s a typical, highenergy Jewish music concert for teenagers, and the crowd is feeling it from start to finish. But what makes the Jerusalembased Shalva Band unique is that its members are people with disabilities — Pomburg, for example, has Down syndrome. Others have Williams syndrome and cerebral palsy. “People said, ‘Wow, you sing so beautifully,’” said Samteh, recalling the first time she sang in public.

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“It really excited me that people were coming and saying something good about me. I felt that finally I found something good about myself, aside from being blind. “Since I began singing, I had a dream of being on stage and singing all the time and making people happy.” Samteh and her bandmates appear to have met that goal. The Shalva Band is on its first international tour, with more than a dozen stops at day schools and fundraisers in the United States, Canada and Mexico. After a week back in Israel, it’s on to the United Kingdom and Russia. The band was founded 12 years ago by Shai Ben Shushan, a drummer who had sustained a head injury in special forces combat. He had to live six months with his mouth surgically shut, after which he relearned to speak and eat. The experience of disability led Ben Shushan to volunteer with Shalva, an Israeli organization that provides a range of services to people with disabilities, including therapy, arts programs, job training and advocacy work. At that time, its directors had noticed several kids with standout musical talent and tapped Ben Shushan to form a band.

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The Shalva Band traveled with backup musicians, including musical therapist Dana Weiss, who also plays the flute. (Ben Sales)

Shalva Band members range from their late teens to mid-20s; some have been practicing together since they were 6. They say they love making music — but also perform just to prove they can. “Every individual with or without disability has some capabilities, and it’s critical to focus on those if you want a person to have any meaning and fulfillment,” said Kalman Samuels, a co-founder of Shalva. “These band members were chosen because they showed musical ability.” Ben Shushan spent a year teaching the kids music — they began with basic melodies and rhythms — before the band was ready to See ISRAELI BAND on Page

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Mark Feuerstein Dishes on His Very Jewy New Sitcom, '9JKL' By Cindy Sher

From left to right: Mark Feuerstein, Linda Lavin and Elliott Gould at the CBS Studio Center in Los Angeles, Aug. 1, 2017. (Sonja Flemming/CBS Broadcasting Inc.)

CHICAGO (JUF News via JTA) — A grown man moves into a New York apartment sandwiched between his meddlesome, boundary-less parents on one side and his brother, wife and their newborn baby on the other. Sounds kind of like a sitcom, right? It is. But the premise also happens to be inspired by the real life of Jewish actor Mark Feuerstein — of "Royal Pains," "Prison Break" and "West Wing" fame. While filming a show in New York a few years ago, Feuerstein found himself living in an apartment on Manhattan's Upper East Side next to his mom and dad. And, yes, soon after he took up residence there, his brother moved into the apartment next door. The sitcom, which premiered last month on CBS, features the cleverly cryptic title "9JKL," -- the apartment units 9J, 9K and 9L where Feuerstein and family lived mere inches apart. Just like in real life Feuerstein’s character, Josh Roberts, is a practicing Jew, a New York native and an actor. But unlike in real life, Feuerstein plays a newly divorced guy who is between acting gigs. His on-screen parents are played by the veteran actors Linda Lavin, star of TV’s "Alice," and Elliott Gould, who has appeared in myriad films such as "M*A*S*H" and TV shows like "Friends." After his stint living in New York, Feuerstein eventually moved back to Los Angeles. It was when he had some space — literally — from his parents that Feuerstein decided his former living situation would be perfect fodder for a TV comedy. His wife, former "Friends" writer THE

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Dana Klein, executive produces and writes the show with Feuerstein. But "9JKL" isn't the couple's only baby: they have three children, ages 11, 9 and 7. I interviewed Feuerstein by phone between rehearsals for the show. JTA: What was it like living next to your mom and dad? Feuerstein: Every morning my father would come over in his tighty whiteys and go [using a thick NY accent], ‘Mark, what do you want for breakfast, scrambled eggs or French toast?’ And then at night, I would come home after a 15-hour day and my mother would say, ‘Would you like to come in for a salad?’ So I would go into their apartment and have a salad at, you know, midnight, to hear about how many blocks she walked on Madison Avenue that morning. Will "9JKL" feel Jewish — either explicitly or in tone and feel? There’s so much that feels Jewish, like "Seinfeld" or any other great Jewish comedy. … There’s no question when a holiday is celebrated or some life moment happens that it will be the Jewish version of it. When, and if, we can get it in there, we will be celebrating everything from Hanukkah to Lag b'Omer. Do you feel the weight of representing a Jewish family on the show? I am constantly torn, [but] the only true marching order is to write a show that feels grounded, real and funny. With that directive, there is no religious affiliation that is essential to making a TV show that feels real and funny. But, that being said, I myself am a proud Jew. I also want to tow a line that allows us to reach the widest audience possible. So you’re constantly navigating that. Do you have a favorite Jewish tradition? I love the High Holiday ceremony of tashlich, of casting away our sins [in the water] in the spirit of teshuvah, atonement. In New York, I would love going to the East River with my whole congregation — and we knew we weren’t polluting the river because it was already disgusting. How do you like working with

your wife? I’m so lucky that she agreed to take this on with me. She’s incredible in the writers room; she does it with grace and style. I think we have a nice chemistry working with each other. We have a mutual respect and love, and our kids are so happy, except for when it keeps us from putting them to bed. How do you like working on a traditional sitcom format, especially at a time when so few TV comedies these days still follow that model? Everybody is so focused on innovation and doing something cool

and new, but we wanted to bring [this show] back in time. We love shows like "Everybody Loves Raymond" and "Seinfeld." There is something about the format that hearkens back to a different time. There are real people in our studio audience, who are really reacting to the jokes and the story lines. In today’s [political climate], it’s nice to have a show out there about a loving family, albeit dysfunctional, where you can escape from the political diatribe in the media these days and just watch a loving family that likes to make fun of each other and get in each other’s way.ì

Best Wishes to my many Jewish friends and constituents for a happy Chanukah

Charlie Kerner Justice of the Peace

Jefferson Parish 3rd Justice Court

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This Jewish Man Was Once New York's Toughest Cop. Now He's a TV Star. By Curt Schleier

Ralph Friedman stars in "Street Justice: The Bronx" on the Discovery Channel. (Courtesy of the Discovery Channel)

(JTA) — There are almost as many reality cop shows on television as there are Real Housewives. "Cops" is the granddaddy of them all, in its 30th season, plus there's "Night Watch" and "Live PD," to name just a few. The newest is "Street Justice: The Bronx," which premieres Sept. 19 on the Discovery Channel. The series' trailer features a heavily tattooed, muscular older gentleman, head shaven, wearing a 41st Precinct T-shirt. As dramatic music pulsates in the background, he describes how dangerous the streets of the Bronx were in the 1970s,

when he patrolled there. Words flash on the screen describing him as the most decorated detective in NYPD history. And then he introduces himself: “My name is Ralph Friedman and these are my stories.” From the get-go, it's clear that this cop isn't like all other cops. Friedman, 68, made over 2,000 arrests and earned 219 department awards, plus another 36 civilian honors. He was cut by knives and razors, and had bones broken by tire irons. (Never shot, thankfully.) And then there is his background: Friedman grew up in a largely unobservant Jewish family in the Kingsbridge section of the Bronx, only a few subway stops north of Yankee Stadium. He remembers staying home on the High Holidays and studying for his bar mitzvah, but “never pursued anything further than that.” After high school, he took a job with a moving company making $4.50 an hour. “That was tremendous back then

Best wishes to my friends in the Jewish community for a happy Chanukah. Thank you for your continued support.

Chief Judge Sidney H. Cates, IV Civil District Court for the Parish of Orleans

16 November 2017

because everyone else was making $1.15," he said. On a lark, Friedman accompanied some friends who were taking the police civil service exam. He passed and was called in nine months later. “Being a cop you could have a future, even without a college degree," he said. "If I stayed a mover, I’d be lifting that same refrigerator for 30 years.” Friedman joined the NYPD Shomrim Society — the association of Jewish cops — from the moment he took the job, and is still a member. Today there are approximately 3,000 Jews in the New York Police Department in a total force of 34,000. Still, Friedman's decorated career lasted just 14 years — his time at the NYPD cut short, ironically, not by a bad guy but a fellow cop. The “coup de grace that ended my career,” he said in a telephone interview, occurred when he and a partner were racing in an unmarked car to a signal 10-13 — "officer needs assistance" — and were struck by a blue-and-white police car rushing to the same call. His car was T-boned right where he sat, resulting in 23 broken bones, a hip shattered into 100 pieces and a disability pension. It took him more than two years to recover. Unable to work, Friedman traveled and worked around his house. But his quiet existence changed in 2015, when the New York Post did a major story about him that caught the attention of St. Martin’s Press. In July, the book publisher brought out his memoir, "Street Warrior: The True Story of the NYPD's Most Decorated Detective and the Era That Created Him." Jupiter, the company that produces "Street Justice," took note. The series uses a combination of archival footage and re-creations to trace some of the more dramatic moments of Friedman’s career. In the premiere episode, for example, a young Friedman is working the precinct desk when a detective upstairs is shot and killed by a perp who grabbed the cop’s gun while being fingerprinted. Friedman’s stories may seem like dramatic fiction, but not to anyone who lived in the area during that time. Sections of the Bronx more

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closely resembled Mosul than a part of the Big Apple with its vacant, burned-out buildings lining major thoroughfares. It’s no surprise that his precinct, the notorious 41st, was known derisively as Fort Apache. It encompassed only about two square miles, but it was the scene of over 100 homicides annually during this period. The Bronx is in the midst of a resurgence fueled in part by a continuing decline in crime that some, like Friedman, credit to aggressive police tactics that have lately fallen out of favor. New York City's current mayor, Bill de Blasio, made reducing stop-and-frisk policing a key plank in his mayoral campaign. Before he took office, a U.S. District Court judge said the tactic could be unconstitutional, and the department worked to decrease the frequency with which stops were being used by police. In 2013, the same judge said that stop and frisk was racial profiling by another name. Friedman, unsurprisingly, is not pleased with the changes. “When I was on the job, they wanted you to be very proactive, go out and arrest bad guys and do your job," he said. "Today it’s not like that with this mayor. Police are more reactive, after a crime has been committed. They don’t want you out there doing real police work. Today, no one has your back. "When we went out and stopped a guy on a hunch and found a gun or drugs, it was considered a good arrest. Today you’re violating the guy’s rights. You’re being micromanaged and the public will suffer.” Asked if he felt there was any truth to the accusations of racial profiling, Friedman was interrupted by the Discovery Channel public relations person person, who ordered “next question.” But Friedman did not have to answer the query for a reporter to get a feeling for his views. “I would love to be a cop today, but I don’t think my methods would blend in with today’s policing," he said. In the show and in an interview, Friedman comes across as a nononsense, unapologetic guy. See NEW YORK COP on Page THE

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Chef Wants to Make Vegan Cooking the 'New Kosher'

Health

By Elisa Spungen Bildner

(JTA) -- With the temperature in the mid-80s, it was not the night to kick off Shabbat dinner with chicken soup, or rather, given our family’s eating mishegas, vegan chicken soup (yes, there is such a dish). So where or whom do I turn to for a seasonal alternative? Answer: Chef Mark Reinfeld, who as the "30-Minute Vegan” has a series of books filled with recipes that I’ve found are sure to come out right and always taste great. (Reinfeld most recently authored “Healing the Vegan Way: Plant-Based Eating for Optimal Health and Wellness.”) When vegetarian and vegan newbie friends ask me to recommend fail-safe cook books, Reinfeld’s are at the top of the list. So for this sultry Shabbat, I chose Raw Peaches and Cream Soup (don’t get fatootzed about the word “raw”), which turned out to be a hit with a Friday night dinner crowd that included rabbis, an Episcopal priest and their spouses. I was lucky to meet up with Reinfeld on a very un-summer night in February near Boulder, Colorado, where he lives. There he told me about growing up in a traditional Jewish family in Stony Brook, Long Island, that kept kosher and ate chicken every Friday night. After Reinfeld spent his junior year at the London School of Economics, which he followed with a backpacking trip across Europe, he found he just couldn’t embark immediately on his plan A, attending law school right after college. After his acceptance into New York University Law School, Reinfeld deferred his admission and decamped one more time to Europe. In Paris, he worked as an au pair. In the mornings, he helped his charges with their homework. But he spent his afternoons walking the streets of the French capital “holding a baguette and bottle of wine,” as he likes to put it. From there he traveled to Amsterdam and Berlin. Forrest Gump-ishly, he witnessed the fall of the Berlin Wall, then managed to hit Prague THE

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in time for the Velvet Revolution that brought down the ruling Czech Communist Party. His next stop: Kibbutz Mishmar HaEmek in Israel, where he worked with (and then ate) chicken five and sometimes seven days a week. Reinfeld remembers the kibbutzniks chasing and catching the chickens in vast shed-like coops, then handing them over to the volunteers. “We’d have to take them out to a truck,” he recalls. “The chickens were screaming and their legs were breaking in your hands. That is precisely when I realized that I couldn’t do this, and I couldn’t eat them. So I gave up chicken cold turkey.” Reinfeld laughs before describing another I-can’t-eat-animalsanymore epiphany: It happened when he bonded with cows in the field next to the kibbutz. Back in America, Reinfeld started law school, dropping out after the first semester when he realized this wasn’t the direction he wanted his career to take. “I didn’t have a plan B,” he notes. Somehow the spirit of his maternal grandfather, Ben Bimstein, a caterer who Reinfeld describes as a “culinary genius” and a renowned ice carver, guided his next move. “Until his dying day,” Reinfeld says of Bimstein, “he was still carving ice in his wheelchair with his oxygen tank and something like a chainsaw.” Reinfeld loaded his possessions into his car, drove west until he hit San Diego and landed a kitchen job at the natural foods grocer Jimbo’s. From there he quickly became a meatless entrepreneur, starting Blossoming Lotus Personal Chef Service in Malibu, California, and ending up, with the help of angel investor Bo Rinaldi, as the coowner and chef of the award-winning Blossoming Lotus restaurant in Kauai, Hawaii. With Rinaldi, Reinfeld wrote “Vegan World Fusion Cuisine,” garnering honors including a Gourmand World Cookbook Award for best vegetarian cookbook in the USA. By this time, Reinfeld also was a practitioner of Vipassana, a type of Buddhist meditation, and actually started his restaurant while observing an 18-month period of silence. See VEGAN on Page

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VEGAN Continued from Page 17 (“I could type very fast in those days,” he says, laughing.) That didn’t take him away from Judaism, and in a 2013 article for ReformJudaism.org titled “Vegan is the New Kosher,” he outlined the Jewish basis for a plant-based diet. Reinfeld couples the Talmudic principle of "tza’ar ba’alei chayim" (Bava Metzia 32), which prohibits cruelty to animals, with Genesis 1:29: “God said, "Behold, I give you every seed-bearing plant that is upon all the earth, and every tree that has seed-bearing fruit; they shall be yours for food,” and urges Jews to make the compassionate choice. “The reality is that factory farmproduced meat, eggs, and dairy (whether kosher or non-kosher) are raised and treated in a way that is a blatant violation of the principle of

Tza’ar Ba’alei Chayim,” Reinfeld writes. A philosophy major as an undergraduate, Reinfeld says he understands that animals kill and eat animals, and that some people eat animals out of necessity. “If you saw a lion pouncing on a gazelle, you may wince, but you know it’s part of nature and you’re not going to sit the lion down and say ‘I think you have anger issues, why don’t you try tofu?’” he says. Inhabitants of remote fishing villages in Alaska or isolated tribes with limited access to adequate protein must fish or hunt. “Where there’s necessity,” Reinfeld says, “there is a different moral issue, but when we have a choice of how much violence we bring into the world through our food selection, and we know we can meet our body’s nutritional needs, eat tasty food and minimize our environ-

Happy Chanukah to my many friends in the Jewish Community. Thank you for your continued support! Constable Tasso “Tiger” Taylor III St. Tammany Parish, Ward 3

Wishing my many friends & supporters in the Jewish Community a Happy Chanukah.

R. Reid Falconer

Representative District 89 Louisiana House of Representatives

mental impact,” then one can draw a different line. Back on the mainland, Reinfeld continues his vegan entrepreneurship. Called “the male equivalent to a vegan Rachael Ray” in a Publisher’s Weekly review of "Soup’s On," a cookbook in his "30-Minute Vegan" series, Reinfeld is dedicated to popularizing vegan eating and living and compassion toward animals. Through his Vegan Fusion company, he offers consulting, chef services, culinary workshops, and chef and cooking teacher training internationally and online. In July, Reinfeld was inducted into the Vegetarian Hall of Fame. Time for another late summer Shabbat dinner -- and the soup. I promise you, it’s a snap to make and takes minutes. And I also guarantee that you won’t be able to tell the difference between cashew cream, a staple of vegan cooking, and the “real” thing, heavy cream. My Episcopal priest friend, a regular at our Shabbat table, loved the soup, and weighed in after his last spoonful: “Honest and fulfilling. Not a sweet, cutesy, fruity thing.” Raw Peaches and Cream Soup Serves 4 Ingredients: Sweet Cashew Cream: • 3/4 cup chopped raw cashews • 3/4 cup water • 1 1/2 tablespoons raw coconut or agave nectar or sweetener of choice, or to taste (I used agave) Raw Peach Soup: • 7 ripe peaches, pitted and chopped (5 cups) • 1 1/2 cups fruit juice (try apple) • 2 tablespoons raw coconut nectar, agave nectar or pure maple syrup (which I used), or to taste • 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice • 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice • 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon • Pinch of sea salt • 2 teaspoons mirin (Reinfeld

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says this is optional, but I’d recommend it as well. Mirin is a Japanese sweet rice wine that is easy to find.) • 2 tablespoons chiffonaded fresh mint, for garnish Preparation: Place the cashews in a small bowl with ample water to cover. Allow them to sit for 20 minutes. Drain and rinse well. (This is why Reinfeld is such a practical vegan chef: Most vegan recipes instruct you to soak cashews overnight.) Meanwhile, place all of the peach soup ingredients, except the mint, in a strong blender and blend until creamy. Transfer to a bowl. Place the cashews in the blender with the water and the coconut nectar (or whichever sweetener you’re using) and blend until very creamy. Transfer to a small bowl. Garnish each bowl of soup with a drizzle of cashew cream and top with fresh mint before serving. Variations: * It would be a raw foodist’s call to 911 -- yes, this is how Reinfeld writes -- but you can grill the peaches until char marks appear, about 5 minutes, lightly basting with melted coconut oil before blending. * Replace the peaches with nectarines, mangoes, blueberries or papayas. (I tried several batches with blueberries, which also worked well, although less sweet than the peach. You might try to prepare two versions, and delicately place them side by side in each soup bowl, in a yin/yang design.) * Replace the apple juice with orange, pineapple or mango juice, or a combination of your favorites. * Create differently flavored Sweet Cashew Creams by adding 1/2 cup of fruit, such as blueberries, strawberries or mango. (Elisa Spungen Bildner is 99 percent vegan [she cheats on ice cream]. She is a member of the board of 70 Faces Media, JTA's parent company.)ì

Best Wishes for a Happy Chanukah to All of My Friends and Supporters in the Jewish Community

18 November 2017

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S outhern & Jewish Fellow Farewell: Four Young THE

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Jews Reflect on Two Years in Mississippi These Education Fellows will never forget their time in the Deep South By Shira Moskowitz, Elias Chajet, Becca Rosenthal and Ali Duhan

(JTA) Hello. We’re the 20152017 ISJL Education Fellows: Ali, Becca, Elias, and Shira. Over the past two years, we have grown personally and professionally; we have challenged one another and been challenged ourselves; we have taught and we have learned; and most importantly, we have laughed and had fun. It is difficult to sum up what our experience as ISJL Education Fellows has meant to us, but we gave it a shot. Thank you to our communities, the ISJL staff, and the residents of Jackson for being part of our journey. Think back to May 2015: What were your expectations for the Education Fellowship when you took the job? Shira: In May of 2015, it finally hit me that I had accepted a job in Jackson, MS. Until then, it had seemed like a nice party trick for the Jewish girl from New York to say she was moving to Mississippi. Suddenly, with only a month left, this “trick” became very real and I began to grow anxious. How would I handle the culture shock? How would I serve my communities? Ali: I honestly cannot remember. It seems like a lifetime ago, I am sure I had some expectations but any ideas I had about this fellowship have been replaced by the actual experience. Elias: Before finding this fellowship, I did not know what I wanted to do after graduation. I was looking for an adventure, something exciting from which I could also learn and grow. The ISJL presented me with that opportunity and I jumped at the notion of being a traveling Jewish Educator. I thought I understood just how large the ISJL’s 13 state region was but truly, I had no idea. I couldn’t comprehend how hard it would be to drive sixteen hours round trip for under THE

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48 hours of work. And I did not expect to fall in love with Jackson. Becca: I was expecting to have a two year adventure. I had not really thought about what that meant, but I knew that I would get to know a part of the country about which I had previously known almost nothing in an intimate way. I thought that Jackson was a way more politically and socially conservative place than it actually is, and I did not realize how intense of a roller coaster the next two years would be. What have you learned? Ali: The most interesting work never goes exactly as planned. Elias: When you need technology to work, the ghost in the machine will find a way to cause you stress. If you prepare far enough in advance, you will be successful, even if your tech fails you. Becca: I have gained a better understanding of how the Jewish world actually works. I have seen different ways in which large and small congregations tackle current challenges facing the Jewish community. I have also experienced the universality to how these issues impact our congregations. I have seen the power of congregations networking and finally realizing that their challenges are often not as unique as you think. Shira: I have learned how to work with a diverse group of people. I have taken my schmoozing and small talk abilities to the next level, and have seen all of the different ways that people can contribute to their synagogues. On a more personal level, I have learned how to live on my own and have become more comfortable with being alone after all of the long drives in the car. What is life in Jackson, Mississippi, really like? What surprised you most about your time here, what activities did you participate in…? Elias: After a two year hiatus from tennis in college, I was able to get back into playing competitively. While I loved getting back on the courts, nothing beats playing on church league basketball and softball teams. I had never once experienced group prayer before or after a game. Adding a religious component to a sports game brought out the best in everyone. Although I will find new leagues in my future home, nothing will compare to the camaraderie during church league sports.

Becca: Jackson is a small city, which means it’s easy to get involved. I have found some success in the local music scene, and I have gotten some really cool opportunities to play shows all over town and develop a little following. I even got to do the soundtrack for an indie movie that’s currently on the movie festival circuit. A few dozen people sing along to some of my original songs at shows, and it’s a surreal feeling. I’m going to miss this place a lot as I attempt to establish myself musically in my next city. Shira: Everyone in Jackson has been so friendly and welcoming. Whether I know them or not, people always want to take the time to chat. When I moved to Jackson, I started attending classes at the YMCA. The instructors were not only willing to teach me Step Fusion or Spin, but they made a point of getting to know me and always greeted me with a smile. The same goes for my doctors, who always remembered me and greeted me warmly (especially the nurse at

Jackson Healthcare for Women who hugs every patient upon arrival), and the women at Browbar, who always made it feel like I was catching up with old friends. Ali: Life in Jackson is just like life anywhere. You make friends, go to work, and eat food. I think I was expecting it to be different than life somewhere else. But other than its lack of public transportation, it turned out to be a pretty nice place to live. Jackson is also home to the most amazing produce you have ever experienced— many of us have participated in a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture share) with Two Dog Farms, and their vegetables never disappoint! What is your favorite memory from community visits? Becca: I was on a visit in Texas last year when I received an email informing me that I had 48 hours to write an email that would be sent to 20,000 people. I borrowed my host family’s computer and wrote about some of See FAREWELL on Page

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(food)

Here's a Hanukkah Menu with a Lighter Touch By Megan Wolf

(JTA) -- The holidays are a wonderful time to share meals with friends and family -- but must they be heavy and calorie filled? For Hanukkah, this simple and tasty Asian-inspired menu uses oil per the holiday tradition, but its low in calories and rich in flavors, col-

ors and textures. My bet is, your guests won’t even know the difference between regular fried rice and your version of this special cauliflower fried rice. Cauliflower, by the way, is an excellent stand-in for many popular carbohydrates -- potatoes (mashed cauliflower), rice (as prepared here)

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and pizza crust (you’ll never believe the egg. how delicious cauliflower pizza is). 5. Add sesame oil and soy sauce. Gochujang is a thick Korean Stir to combine and season to taste. sauce, similar to a spicy barbecue 6. Top with sesame seeds and sauce. It’s wonderful on chicken, sliced pickled radish. vegetables or here with meaty fish. 7. Serve immediately. It’s also lovely stirred into rice (or cauliflower rice!) dishes to add an extra bite. It’s easily purchased at many Korean restaurants, Asian specialty markets or traditional grocery stores. Your guests will love to celebrate with you without worrying about Spicy Seared Salmon (Megan Wolf) derailing their healthy eating habits. I mean, why can’t we eat SPICY SEARED SALMON healthfully before Jan. 1? Ingredients: Want a little decadence? A little • 2 tablespoons olive oil chocolate gelt never hurt anyone • 4 salmon filets and would be a perfect way to • 4 tablespoons Gochujang sauce round out this spicy and savory Directions: menu. 1. In a large nonstick skillet with a lid, heat olive oil until hot. 2. While the oil heats, prepare the salmon by brushing each filet with Gochujang. 3. Place salmon sauce side down (skin side facing up) in the skillet. Immediately top with the lid. 4. Cook for about 2 minutes on high heat, then remove the lid and flip skin side down. Immediately Cauliflower Rice (Megan Wolf) top with the lid again. Turn down CAULIFLOWER RICE the heat. Ingredients: 5. Continue to cook until your • 1 tablespoon olive oil desired temperature. In this preparation, I like my salmon cooked all • 2 cloves garlic, peeled and the way through, which takes about minced 8 minutes, depending on thickness. • 1 teaspoon minced ginger 6. Serve immediately. • 1 onion, sliced Note: This sauce is spicy and • 1 head cauliflower, cleaned and wafts into the air. Always make this stems removed dish with your range’s fan on! • 1 cup chopped broccoli • 1 cup shredded carrots • 1 cup peas • 1 egg • 1 tablespoon sesame oil • 2 tablespoon soy sauce • Sesame seeds • Pickled radish (I always purchase at a local Korean restaurant – they are easy to make, Toasted Cashew Asparagus (Megan Wolf) but even easier to buy.) Directions: TOASTED CASHEWASPARAGUS 1. In a food processor or blender, Ingredients: pulse cauliflower florets to resem- • 1 bunch asparagus ble rice. Do this in batches and set • 1/4 cup salted cashews aside. • 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil 2. In a large nonstick skillet, heat • Juice of 1 lime olive oil and cook garlic, ginger and Directions: onions until soft and fragrant. 1. Steam asparagus until bright 3. Add cauliflower, broccoli and green and tender, about 5 minutes. carrots, stir and continue to cook 2. While the asparagus steams, until soft. Add water 2 tablespoons toast cashews over medium heat at a time if needed (this will help to until warm and fragrant, about 3 steam the vegetables). minutes. 4. Add peas, then stir to combine. 3. Top asparagus with cashews, Make a well in the center of the sesame oil and fresh lime juice. vegetable mixture and scramble in 4. Serve immediately.ì

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Jewish Bow Tie Cookies: An Old World Treat of Fried Dough By Ronnie Fein

Jewish Bow Tie Cookies, or kichel (Ronnie Fein)

(The Nosher via JTA) -- My mother was a first-class baker, and there were always homemade goodies for dessert at our house. So when I went away to college and needed a nosh to remind me of home, I went to a nearby bakery for a little something. It was mostly good: Chinese cookies, hamantaschen, babka. But the kichels? Not so much. Not only were my mother’s kichels world class and nearly impossible to top, but what the bakery called kichel wasn’t at all what I was used to. Bakery kichels, as I learned, are thick, bow tie-shaped pastries that are sometimes sprinkled with sugar. They can be crumbly and dry, or hard and dry, depending on the bakery. They are the kind of cookie a kid, especially one who’s homesick, would never choose. Especially a kid whose mother made world-class kichels. Here’s why my mom’s kichels were so amazing: They were soft and crispy at the same time, and they would melt in your mouth before you even had a chance to chew or even realize they were on your tongue. They were paper thin but developed air bubbles that were fun to pop with my front teeth, especially because a feathery dusting of confectioners’ sugar would fall from the top of the bubble into the crevice and give a faint but

definite sweet to all parts. We didn’t need milk to dunk and soften these kichels. They were as light as a helium balloon; fried (it is Hanukkah, after all) but never greasy, sugar sprinkled but never cloying. The big trick for fabulous kichels is rolling the dough as thin as possible. It takes some time and patience, but the result — crispy, puffy, delightfully light cookies with just a sprinkle of sifted confectioners' sugar — is so worth it. Ingredients: • 1 cup all-purpose flour • 1/8 teaspoon salt • 2 large eggs, beaten • 1/4 teaspoon white vinegar • Vegetable oil for deep frying • Confectioners’ sugar Directions: 1. Place the flour and salt in a bowl. 2. Add the beaten eggs and vinegar and mix thoroughly until a smooth dough has formed (you can use an electric mixer or food processor). 3. Let the dough rest, covered with plastic wrap, for at least 30 minutes. 4. Roll out portions of the dough on a lightly floured surface until the dough is very thin, almost like paper. 5. Cut the dough into squares or rectangles or odd shapes. 6. Heat about 2 inches vegetable oil in a deep saute pan (or use a deep fryer) over medium-high heat until the oil reaches about 375 F. (a bread crumb or tiny piece of dough will sizzle quickly when you drop it into the oil). 7. Drop the cutouts, a few at a time, into the oil (they will puff up) and cook briefly on both sides until they are crispy and faintly browned. 8. Drain on paper towels. Sift confectioners’ sugar on top. Makes 30.ì

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No Jewish Woman or Family Should Face Cancer Alone By Elana Silber

Without support and resources, women diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer can find themselves alone on what one patient called her “cancer journey.” (Florian Gaertner/Photothek via Getty Images)

TEANECK, N.J. (JTA) -- When Ilene Fogelman was first diagnosed with advanced stage breast cancer, it was hard for her to decide whether or not to look to the internet for support and information. On the one hand, she wanted reassurance from women who outlived the three-year life expectancy for women and men with metastatic breast cancer, or MBC -- also known as stage IV or advanced breast cancer. On the other hand, Fogelman knew that joining Facebook groups that focused on people living with stage IV cancer would be emotionally challenging. It’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month and you will see a lot of pink, but you won't hear much about metastatic breast cancer. MBC is cancer that has spread beyond the breast to other organs in the body. It is a chronic illness that is treatable but as of now incurable.

Women with aggressive breast cancer are now living longer. That’s the good news. However, the incidence of metastatic breast cancer in young women is on the rise. A recent study in the Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention journal shows that over 150,000 women are living today with metastatic breast cancer. The study, led by Dr. Angela Mariotto of the National Cancer Institute, or NCI, and conducted in partnership with the MBC Alliance, reports that as of Jan. 1, 75 percent of those women were initially diagnosed with an earlier stage of breast cancer and experienced a metastatic recurrence months to years later. The NCI study also finds that the median and five-year relative survival rate for women initially diagnosed with MBC is improving, especially among younger women. Further, an increasing number of women are living with metastatic breast cancer in the United States, likely the result of improvements in treatment that have extended survival for many patients and the aging of the U.S. population. The study estimates that the number of women living with MBC increased by 4 percent from 1990 to 2000, by 17 percent from 2000 to 2010, and is projected to increase by 31 per-

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cent from 2010 to 2020. After Fogelman, who lives in Weston, Florida, learned at age 49 that she is one of those women, she did turn to Facebook. “The first real question I posted was about my then-6-year-old daughter, Mackenzie, regarding her behavior and talking with her about cancer,” she said. “In one of the answers, someone pointed me in the direction of Sharsheret. I went online, filled out a form and immediately received a call." Sharsheret is the only national nonprofit organization that supports Jewish women and families of all backgrounds facing breast and ovarian cancer at every stage – before, during and after diagnosis. Sharsheret has specialized resources for women dealing with metastatic breast cancer and advanced ovarian cancer. Fogelman was able to tap into an array of resources aimed at helping Jewish women like her cope with her diagnosis. A Sharsheret Busy Box included age-appropriate toys for her daughter, and resources helped her guide Mackenzie through what Fogelman calls the "cancer journey." "The Sharsheret support professional with whom I spoke thought I would benefit from a deeper conversation with a counselor," Fogelman recalled. "That’s when I met Sharsheret’s director of navigation and support services, who I speak to weekly. “Sharsheret’s counselor listened to me cry and listened to my worries We talked about what was on my mind. She taught me how to ‘bobble head’ all the well-intentioned advice I received so I

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wouldn't have to spend my energy explaining why I wasn't going to take said advice. She helped me understand that it is OK [and necessary] to have ‘cancer free zones'” -- that is, places and settings where survivors do not have to talk or think about their illness." Fogelman knows that despite the poor prognosis of MBC, survival rates for of women whose cancers are de novo metastatic -- that is, metastatic from the initial diagnosis -- has been increasing, especially among young women. “I only have to look at this past year and say that Sharsheret gave me the greatest support services with the oneon-one calls I have had," she said. "My counselor and I have laughed hysterically, and she has handed me a virtual tissue many times. "While I will never be OK thinking that I could leave my child and husband in three years, I now focus on making memories and setting them up for success. I don't think I'd be in a good place if not for her and Sharsheret.” Dr. Ruth Oratz, a member of Sharsheret's Medical Advisory Board, says research in the laboratory and clinic has led to great progress in helping women with metastatic breast cancer live longer and with a good quality of life. "Better understanding of the molecular basis of breast cancer has allowed us to develop new treatment approaches that target specific types of breast cancer, with improved efficacy and fewer side effects," said Oratz, a professor of clinical medicine at the Perlmutter Cancer Center at NYU Langone Health. "We recognize that we still face many challenges; research must continue. We also know that we must address all aspects of living with advanced cancer: physical, emotional and spiritual. Doctors and patients share a common goal to make living with cancer a better reality." We can’t change the odds, but with Sharsheret, no Jewish woman or family will face breast or ovarian cancer alone. If you are looking for a way to provide support, comfort and warmth to your loved one as she navigates breast or ovarian cancer, call Sharsheret at (866) 474-2774 to order a cozy throw blanket and introduce her to our personalized support and resources. Learn more at www.sharsheret.org. (Elana Silber is executive director of Sharsheret: Your Jewish Community Facing Breast Cancer.)ì THE

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Rob Reiner on Judaism, Movies and His Experience 'Home Shuling' By Curt Schleier (JTA) — By his own admission, Rob Reiner was not the right person to direct “LBJ,” a film biography of Lyndon Baines Johnson, the 36th president of the United States. “I had a lot of trepidation,” he said in a telephone interview with JTA. Rob Reiner on the set of his new film, the biopic "LBJ." (Electric Entertainment)

In addition to a successful career as an actor, Reiner is one of the most bankable directors plying the trade today. His films run the gamut from lighthearted fare like “This is Spinal Tap,” “The Princess Bride” and “When Harry Met Sally,” to serious drama such as “A Few Good Men” and “Misery.” But "LBJ," which opens Friday, was different because he had a personal connection to the subject. “I was of draft age during the Vietnam War, and I looked at Johnson as the enemy," said Reiner, 70. "I thought he could send me to my death.” But he revised his views of the former president — both as a man and a potential movie subject — when he read Joey Hartstone’s well-researched script. Reiner said additional research, especially Doris Kearns Goodwin’s illuminating “Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream" and Robert Caro’s multi-volume Johnson bios, clinched the deal. Reiner discovered a man far more nuanced than he had imagined. Yes, Johnson expanded and prolonged the Vietnam War. But he also delivered on John F. Kennedy’s legacy and bullied a recalcitrant Congress dominated by Dixiecrats to pass the Civil Rights and Voting Rights acts, increase funding for education, and create Medicare, Medicaid and Head Start. “It was like there were two presidents -- one for the Vietnam War and the other with great domestic programs,” the actor-director said. “If it wasn’t for Vietnam, he’d have gone down as one of the greatest presidents of all time. I wanted to make a film that would reveal who this guy was.” It wasn’t just the dichotomy of Johnson’s politics that Reiner wanted to capture, but the contradictions of his personality, which informed THE

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his career. “What surprised me was his insecurity," Reiner said. "He had this recurring nightmare where he dreamed he was paralyzed.” Johnson also had a complicated relationship with his mother in which “at times he felt unloved. I thought that was interesting,” Reiner said. Also interesting was Reiner’s choice for the actor to play the lead: Woody Harrelson, best known as the slow-witted Woody on "Cheers" and for drawling comic roles in "White Men Can't Jump" and "Zombieland." “When people heard about the film, they’d ask me who I’d cast for the lead, and when I told them Woody Harrelson, they’d say ‘get out of here,'" he recalled. "I’d say, ‘wait until you see what he does.’” The prosthetics change Harrelson into a close approximation of LBJ, but it is Harrelson’s subtle yet powerful performance that is transformative. “I told him don’t try to imitate Lyndon,” Reiner said. “Just give me his essence and that relaxed [Woody].” The film delves into a trove of compelling anecdotal info with which most non-political science majors (and majors who may have gotten D’s) are likely unfamiliar. For instance, JFK (played here very competently by Jeffrey Donovan of "Burn Notice") took Lyndon as his running mate at the suggestion of his father and over the objections of brother Robert (played by Michael Stahl-David). "LBJ" is infused, in part, with the director's personal experiences as a political activist. Nearly two decades ago, he spearheaded a successful effort to raise cigarette taxes in California and use the money to fund early childhood development programs. Subsequently, Reiner was appointed chair of the commission to oversee the project, a post he held for seven years. Around that time, he briefly considered running for office. Reiner asked his wife and three children for their opinions and the results See ROB REINER on Page

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Why This Sikh Entrepreneur Created a Jewish Dating App By Josefin Dolsten

KJ Dhaliwal is behind a new dating app for Jewish singles. (Courtesy of Dhaliwal)

(JTA) — At first glance, KJ Dhaliwal and Sukhmeet Toor may be unlikely candidates to create the latest Jewish-themed dating app. After all, both men are Sikhs. And among the nine other members of their San Francisco-based team, there are exactly zero Jews on staff. The pair are behind Dil Mil, described as a "Tinder alternative" for the South Asian community. Since Dhaliwal, 27, and Toor, 33, founded the app in 2015, they claim it has made more than 5 million

matches — leading to about one marriage every day. It's only logical that Dhaliwal and Toor, two Indian Americans, wanted to build upon their success, and they launched Shalom on Wednesday. But why start with a dating app for the Jewish community? “The reason we started with the Jewish community was we saw a lot of similarities in terms of the values around community, the values around family, the values around marriage," Dhaliwal told JTA. "It’s a very tight-knit, highaffinity community, just like the South Asian community.” In addition, Jews and South Asians both tend to be more highly educated and of a higher socioeconomic status than the average American, said Dhaliwal, a selfdescribed "artificial intelligence/ machine learning enthusiast." The similarities led the founders to conclude that the technology that

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had been successful in the South Asian community would also work for single Jews. Shalom, like Dil Mil — which means "heart meeting" in Hindi and Punjabi — positions itself as a happy medium between apps for finding casual encounters, such as Tinder, and ones that are more focused on marriage like eHarmony and Match.com. It has some 15,000 active users from its beta mode run. “What we’ve done from a branding perspective — we’ve placed ourselves very strategically right in the middle of the spectrum, where people are coming to our product to get a longer-term, higher value relationship,” said Mudit Dawar, vice president of growth and marketing. The team picked Shalom because of its meaning (both hello and peace in Hebrew) and because it’s “a word that every single Jewish person understands," Dhaliwal said. “We solved a problem in that market where there wasn’t a userfriendly tool that was up to the times in terms of how the youth and our generation is using technology to find potential partners,” Dhaliwal said. What sets Shalom apart from competitors such as Tinder as well as the Jewish JDate, JSwipe and SawYouAtSinai, they claim, is its use of technology and multiple kinds of data to suggest matches. While many dating apps used by millennials allow for filtering for categories such as location, height and age, potential users are left with a largely random pool of potential matches on which to swipe right (if they are interested) or left (if they are not). Shalom and Dil Mil rely on algorithms that suggest matches based on user behavior and data, so that people are more likely to see profiles that are to their liking. “We think we definitely have a better product and the back-end technology stacked to actually match people based on data," Dhaliwal said. "We do a lot of work in making sure our algorithms are set up in a way that actually results in people matching with people they end up marrying one day." The app takes into account both external data, such as users’ social media profiles, and behavioral data, like how users have interacted with others on the app, in order to make

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connections. The result, Dhaliwal said, is “a really rich graph of what their intentions are.” “That’s our secret sauce,” he added. The app also allows users to integrate their LinkedIn and Instagram accounts in their profiles to build a richer picture of both their professional and social interests. Users can access Shalom both by downloading the app from the Apple Store and Google Play Store, as well as through Facebook Messenger. On Facebook, users chat with a bot that asks them questions about themselves and suggests possible matches. “The advantage [of Facebook] is it removes the friction of somebody who doesn’t want to download an app and sign up that way," Dhaliwal said. "It also gives us more exposure if somebody maybe doesn’t have a phone that they use or they don’t have data on their phone, maybe they want to use the desktop version, or they want to use just Messenger.” Conversing with the bot is counterintuitive at times. For example, users have to follow a specific format when giving their geographic locations. I experienced some of that confusion while trying to set up a time to speak with Dhaliwal, and I corresponded with his assistant, who signs her emails Amy Ingram. After a few emails back and forth, Amy said she didn't understand my last message. "I’m a personal assistant powered by artificial intelligence that schedules meetings via email and I am only able to respond to messages directly related to scheduling," she wrote, suggesting I contact Dhaliwal directly. The encounter with his scheduling bot left me a bit unsettled and wondering how I could have been fooled so easily, and whether bots are really the way to go. Still, the bots are only a tool, and it's up to humans to decide if the app has made the right match. That will be the real test, whether the Shalom app — bots and all — will have the success of its South Asian sister version, and whether Dhaliwal's latest venture is an IndianJewish match, or shidduch, made in heaven.ì THE

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We Have Seen the Future, and It Looks Orthodox By Lawrence Grossman

Young haredi Orthodox girls in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, N.Y., March 21, 2012. (Serge Attal/ Flash90)

(JTA) -- The 2013 Pew survey "A Portrait of Jewish Americans" shows that Orthodox Judaism, while currently attracting the allegiance of only about 10 percent of all American Jews, is the fastest growing sector of the community. The high birthrate and retention rate confirmed by the survey have led some observers to predict that within a generation, American Jewry will be predominantly Orthodox, culturally if not demographically. Of course we cannot presume that present trends will continue, but it's surely worth thinking about what such a Jewish community might look like. A glimpse of that hypothetical future community may be found in the 2017 American Jewish Committee's Survey of American Jewish Opinion, the latest installment of the organization's annual report on the attitudes of a representative sample of American Jews, conducted in August. The stark differences it finds between Orthodox and non-Orthodox Jews today go far beyond varying patterns of religious observance, and suggest the profound social, political and ideological changes that may lie ahead. The survey confirms that Orthodox Jews are highly pro-family and pro-natalist. An astounding 42 percent of the Orthodox respondents are aged 18-29, as compared to just 15 percent of Conservative Jews, 19 percent of Reform and 16 percent of those calling themselves "Just Jewish." And despite their relative youth, 83 percent of the Orthodox respondents are married, far more than the 54 percent of Conservative, 52 percent of Reform and 44 percent of Just Jewish who are. Jewish identity is strongest among the Orthodox. While virtually all respondents declared that being Jewish was important in their THE

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lives, a significant denominational difference emerged as to whether being Jewish ranked as very important: 99 percent of the Orthodox said it did, as compared to 71 percent of Conservatives, 44 percent of Reform and 30 percent Just Jewish. Another large gap emerged in regard to visiting Israel: 84 percent of the Orthodox had done so, 65 percent of Conservatives, 49 percent of Reform and 37 percent of Just Jewish. A remarkable 66 percent of the Orthodox sample had been to Israel more than once -- a higher rate than that for any of the non-Orthodox groups visiting once. In addition, the AJC survey demonstrates intense political polarization between Orthodox and nonOrthodox Jews. The Orthodox are far more politically conservative, Republican and pro-Trump than other American Jews. Only 3 percent of the Orthodox sample describe themselves as liberal, as compared to 46 percent of Conservative Jews, 64 percent of Reform and 60 percent of those who say they are Just Jewish. Sixty-nine percent of the Orthodox identify as politically conservative, as do only 29 percent of Conservative Jews, 14 percent of Reform, and 16 percent of Just Jewish. (About an additional 20 percent in each of the denominations identify as "moderate, middle-of-the-road.") Even as Orthodox Republicans outnumber Orthodox Democrats by 43 to 22 percent (the rest are Independents), other Jews are overwhelmingly Democratic -- 52 percent of Conservatives, 70 percent of Reform and 58 percent of the Just Jewish. And while 54 percent of the Orthodox voted for Trump in November, 60 percent of Conservatives, 89 percent of Reform Jews and 78 percent of the Just Jewish voted for Hillary Clinton. When the survey was done in August, 71 percent of the Orthodox had a favorable impression of Trump's performance as president. In contrast, 73 percent of the Conservatives, 88 percent of Reform and 81 percent of the Just Jewish judged it unfavorably. Responses to questions about Trump's performance on specific policy issues -- national security, terrorism, U.S.-Russia relations, NATO and the transatlantic alli-

ance, race relations, immigration and the Iran nuclear issue -- showed a similar pattern. Non-Orthodox respondents view the administration's record unfavorably by roughly 3 to 1, even as the Orthodox give it favorable ratings by about the same margin. On Israel, the survey findings clearly indicate that Orthodox Jews are much more hawkish and supportive of the current Israeli government than other Jews. Although clear majorities in all the nonOrthodox groups favor the establishment of a Palestinian state under current circumstances, 78 percent of the Orthodox oppose the idea. And asked their opinion of the way Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is handling his country's relations with the U.S., 86 percent of Orthodox respondents approve, 51 percent "strongly." In contrast, 38 percent of Conservatives, 51 percent of Reform and 53 percent of the Just Jewish disapprove. Questions on the relationship of religion and state in Israel elicited strong American Orthodox backing for the status quo. For example, 57

percent of the Orthodox believe that Israel's recognition of Orthodoxy as the sole official form of Judaism has no effect on the country's ties with American Jews, and another 28 percent feel it actually strengthens those ties. In sharp contrast, however, clear majorities of each of the non-Orthodox groups responded that the religious status quo in Israel in fact weakens the ties between the two Jewish communities. If, indeed, American Jewry turns more Orthodox in coming years, and the Orthodox maintain their current values and views, we will see a community more family-centered, more strongly Jewish, more politically conservative, more engaged with Israel and more committed to Israel's Orthodox and right-leaning camps. But before making plans to prepare for this future scenario, bear in mind that prognosticators have been wrong before. (Lawrence Grossman is the American Jewish Committee's director of publications.)ĂŹ

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Kveller My Family Celebrated Hanukkah with Our NonJewish Friends. This Is What Happened. By Melissa Henriquez (Kveller via JTA) -- Salad fixins? Check. Cookies? Check. Menorah, candles and dreidels? Check, check, check. My husband, kids and I were headed to family dinner at the home of a dear friend. She and her husband are not Jewish, but my friend is a history teacher who loves learn-

ing about and sharing multicultural traditions. Since she had never lit a menorah before, she asked me to bring ours — I was more than happy to oblige. For good measure, I also brought some dreidels and, because our kids ate all our gelt the first night of Hanukkah, some red and green Christmas M&Ms. We’d be celebrating the fourth night of Hanukkah together and decorating

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Christmas cookies — the delightful mingling of the seasons and faiths in our respective families — and I’d been looking forward to it all day. After all, it’s not every day you get to introduce the special traditions of your faith with others. We shared a wonderful meal and conversation while the kids played. We called them back to the table for the menorah lighting. I explained to the little ones that we needed five candles tonight — one for each of the four nights of Hanukkah, plus the shamash candle, the “helper” that lights the others and stands taller than the rest. All four kids put a candle in the menorah, and once the shamash was lit, I began reciting the blessing to a very captive audience — many of whom were hearing Hebrew for the very first time. Looking around the room — seeing all four of our kids staring awestruck into the bright glow of the menorah, shadows dancing on their tiny faces — I couldn’t help but break into a grin. And then, just as quickly as my grin came on, guilt washed over me. “Ugh, I should have sung it, I’m sorry, I just have a really bad voice,” I said. If this was our friends’ first Hanukkah experience, I wanted to do it right, and by reciting the blessing versus singing it, I was not only cheating myself but, more important, cheating them — bad voice and all. “Sing it, sing it!” my friend’s older son chanted. I took a deep breath and quietly sang the familiar tune that’s been with me since childhood, eyes averted and cheeks flushing with each line. “Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu melech ha'olam Asher kidishanu b’mitz’votav v’tzivanu l’had’lik neir shel Chanukah.” Looking up, no one was covering their ears —to my surprise. They were all watching intently, smiles

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playing on their lips. Phew. “Dreidel time!” My friend’s son knew about the

(Max Pixel)

game from a book at school and was eager to learn how to play. After dividing up the M&Ms, my 6-year-old daughter taught her friends the significance of the four Hebrew letters on each side of the dreidel, and then the kids went to town — changing the rules up just a bit, but having a blast along the way. (Now if someone could just explain to me how my 3-year-old son miraculously lands on gimel every.single.time?! Hmmm …) The game was such a hit that we left one of our dreidels at their house for our friends’ kids to play with. Sharing traditions with our nonJewish friends that night was a gift. If only more of us could experience multicultural and interfaith experiences like ours, I truly think the world would be a better place. We have so much to learn from one another. People say, “Be the light you wish to see” — and in uncertain times like the ones we are in, it feels good to be able to be a source of light. It feels even better to have friends who reflect that light, embrace it, and then emit it themselves in their willingness to learn and share with their own children. (Melissa Henriquez, a manager at a global marketing agency, blogs at Let There Be Light. Her writing has been featured on Babble.com and The Huffington Post. She and her husband, who is not Jewish, live in Michigan with their two children.)ì

Best Wishes to my many Jewish Friends and constituents for a Happy Chanukah! Kirk Talbot

Paid for by The Committee To Elect Jay 26 November 2017

State Representative District 78 www.thejewishlight.org

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Kveller

JEWISH LIGHT

How I’m Rededicating Myself Every Night During Hanukkah By Pamela Lebedda

(Wikimedia Commons)

(Kveller via JTA) -- I have been musing on how to combat what seems to be the new norm since the election last year of Donald Trump: The news is filled with hate crimes All over the country I read about how vandals are defacing synagogues, the homes of Jews and even Unitarian churches. Have my fellow Americans always hated this much? Is it just all right to say hateful things now with Trump as president? I don’t want to become more bitter and cynical. I also don’t want this to be the new normal, one that I just accept. I keep coming back to Hanukkah and the menorah – and the metaphor of adding light to the world. The Maccabees rededicated the temple; I plan to rededicate myself. The first night: Beginning with me As I light the first candle, I rededicate myself. I have become too cynical, and that is not the person I want my daughter to emulate. It is time to start with the little things. I don’t need to roll my eyes when someone takes too long to pay in the grocery store. I can count to 10 before I use my horn when the person in front of me daydreams at a green light. Moreover, I can give these strangers who surround me a break. The second night: Taking my spouse’s hand as we face the world As two candles are lit by the shamash, I can remember how I took my beloved’s hand beneath the huppah. Sometimes it gets lost in all the parenting and work stuff how much better things are when things are good with us. I have a feeling that safe spaces are going to be few and far between. On this second night, I rededicate myself to my spouse. The third night: Valuing our child for the light she brings My 5-year-old is a huge fan of her shoes. They have Anna and Elsa on them and they light up when she jumps. One evening we were drivTHE

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ing back home and she was making her shoes light up by banging her feet together. “Mama!” she said. “I light up the world!” “You sure do, baby,” I said. There are going to be some pretty dark days ahead. On the third night of Hanukkah I will help my daughter add more light to the world. I will rededicate myself to showing her how she can light up the world by actions and by deeds, and by just being herself. The fourth night: Not allowing the predominant incivility to become my normal My daughter will become politically aware with a president who is a cyber bully. This president has coarsely described women and people of color. Right now my daughter is too young to realize that he is speaking against her, but I am not. I will fight against his way of speaking and acting becoming the new normal. I will speak of the president respectfully as I will try to respect the office, but I will call out him and anyone in his administration if and when they do not treat others with that same respect. To quote Michelle Obama, when they go low, I will go high. The fifth night: Standing with my fellow citizens My husband is not Jewish. I light our menorah next to our Christmas tree. Our loves, our lives, show that two religions can live together in peace. When I light the fifth candle, I will rededicate myself to living in peace with all religions. When I am commuting on the train and I see a woman wearing a hijab, I will move over so she can sit next to me. I can be a safe person for that woman to sit next to — and I will be. I will cross the street to walk with the children of Ishmael because I have friends whose grandparents remembered how people crossed the street to walk away from them as they wore a yellow star. I will fight any and all legislation to “register” Muslims, Christians, pagans or atheists. “Wait,” you say, “no one is talking about registering Christians, pagans or atheists.” Yes they are. If they are talking about taking rights away from one religion, they are talking about

restricting all of them, including Jews. I have benefitted by the religious freedom in America; I will not sit by and let it only become religious freedom for some. The sixth night: Standing with the LGBTQ community As I light the candle for the sixth night of Hanukkah, I will thank God for my relative safety. I will think of those for whom Trump's presidency makes them feel very unsafe, specifically the LGBTQ community. I try to be inclusive when I speak of my child’s future spouse. I always use inclusive pronouns. She sees our friends who are gay, bi, lesbian and trans. To her they are just people who come to the house to play with her and lift her high. It hurts that people can’t see that no one can decide who they love. As a great poet said, love is love is love is love. I will march with my friends. I will stand with them. I will be a safe place for them. I will work so that we do not go backwards with the rights that they have won. I will dedicate my energies to helping those who love be able to marry as they wish. The seventh night: I will remember As I light the seventh candle, I will remember those who are no longer here. I will remember my mother and my grandparents and wish they were beside me. I will remember Joe McKnight, Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Tamir Rice

and too many others who died due to a culture of racism. I knew none of these people personally, but I know their families still grieve. I will dedicate myself to becoming an ally. I don’t know if I can qualify as woke yet, but I am waking up and I will not go back to sleep. The eighth night: Being the change Look at that menorah! It is blazing with light. We could shut off the lights and see by its light. I want my mitzvot to shine like this in the coming darkness. I will look at this light and remember that we are not alone, that when people join together to do good, their lights can illuminate a room, a city, a country. On this last night of Hanukkah, I dedicate myself to tikkun olam — repairing the world. I will write letters to my congressional representatives. I will boycott when a boycott is called for. I will not give up. There’s a lot to be done -- and it begins with me. What will you dedicate yourself to do this Hanukkah? (Pamela Lebedda is a Long Islander by birth, Pittsburgher by marriage, and resident of New Jersey because it falls someplace between the two. After a 12-year battle with infertility, she and her husband are parents to an adopted daughter. After 15 years editing, she is now writing a blog at pagestagerage.blogspot.com.)ì

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How This Pristine 15th-Century Hebrew Bible Survived the Inquisition By Cnaan Liphshiz

António Eugénio Maia do Amaral presenting the 15th-century Abravanel Hebrew Bible at Coimbra University in 2016. (Cnaan Liphshiz)

COIMBRA, Portugal (JTA) -From its mountaintop perch, the University of Coimbra towers majestically over the downtown square that used to be the regional headquarters of the Portuguese Inquisition. It’s a fitting location for the 737-year-old university, the seventh oldest in the world, which outsmarted and outlived the campaign of persecution against Jews and freethinkers unleashed by the Catholic Church and Portugal’s rulers in 1536. “This place was almost literally an ivory tower of knowledge during those dark times,” António Eugénio Maia do Amaral, assistant director of the university’s 500-year-old library, recently told JTA. Thanks to the university’s undocumented policy of subterfuge against the Inquisition -- Amaral said its librarians essentially hid

many books that censors would likely have wanted to destroy, reintroducing them to the indexes only after the Inquisition was abolished in 1821 -- Coimbra was in possession of a collection of rare, pristine Jewish manuscripts found nowhere else. One such manuscript is the Abravanel Hebrew Bible. Ranked by the university in a 2012 statement as its rarest artifact, the handwritten Bible from the 15th century is perfectly preserved. The book is filled with drawings on parchment that are so vibrant, they seem to have been recently created. The Abravanels — a distinguished, wealthy Sephardic family with branches in Spain and Portugal that fled to Amsterdam and the Balkans during the Inquisition — commissioned 20 such Bibles. The volume in Coimbra is among the best preserved of the handful whose whereabouts are known today The book is worth north of $3 million, according to the university's Joanine Library, which in 2013 was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. That's where the Bible is kept — along with hundreds of other precious manuscripts — inside a huge vault with special climate control and aerial disinfection facilities. The vault is typically only opened

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to scholars. Yet last year, Amaral took JTA inside to see the Bible. There was a brief moment of confusion when the employee asked to locate the book said she could not find it in the index system. But Amaral, who has worked at the library for more than 20 years, shrugged and said calmly that he would have to “let the fingers do the looking” once inside the vault. Amaral may have been laid back, but he was anything but cavalier. He expertly navigated the labyrinthine vault — two cards with digital keys are required for access — while donning librarian gloves. He took care not to breathe directly on the books he handled, so as not to introduce moisture. Alongside its technological solutions, the library employs a uniquely time-tested and green method for pest control: For centuries, it has been home to a colony of nocturnal, insect-eating bats. In the evenings, when the library is closed, the tables beneath their flight paths are covered with furs in order to protect them from the bats' excrement. The University of Coimbra has little information on how exactly it came to possess the Abravanel Hebrew Bible, possibly because it was hidden or scrubbed from the library’s indexes to hide it from Inquisition agents. What makes the Abravanel Bible so rare, however, isn't just its age — it's the pristine condition. Across the Iberian Peninsula, numerous books remain that Jews smuggled out during centuries of Inquisition, at risk to their own lives, but they are damaged. One such specimen: An 1282 copy of the Mishneh Torah, the code of Jewish religious law authored by Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, or Maimonides. The book has whole passages that an Inquisition censor singed away, making them lost forever. It's kept at the 400-year-old library at the Portuguese Synagogue in Amsterdam, which was founded by refugees from the Inquisition. The second-rarest specimen at Coimbra's library is another Bible dating to the 15th century. The Latin-language volume was one of the world’s first printed books, prepared by partners of Johannes Gutenberg, the inventor of the print machine. Printed in 1462 — just 12 years after the original 42-line Gutenberg Bible which is on display in Mainz, Germany — the one in Coimbra is the only surviving copy of an edition of four 48-line

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Bibles printed by two of his partners. Language differences aside, the printed book looks similar to the handwritten one. Both have illustrations and hand-drawn margins that writers used to keep their text straight before the invention of print. That’s no accident, Amaral said. “The margins and drawings were added to the printed copy to make it seem as though it was handwritten,” he said. This retrograding was partly done for aesthetic reasons — readers were used to seeing them — and partly as a “precaution,” Amaral said, because some Christian fanatics considered print machines “the works of the devil.” Thousands were murdered during a series of Portuguese Inquisitions that followed the Spanish Inquisition of 1492. At least 200,000 Jews fled the Iberian Peninsula for the Netherlands, South America and the Middle East during the period, which lasted nearly three centuries. Thousands more stayed and practiced Judaism in secret for generations. The library's archives also contain rare, chilling records that reveal the bureaucracy behind the Inquisition's barbarity. For example, the minutes of a 1729 trial against Manuel Benosh, a Portuguese Jew, indicated that he was “released” by the Inquisition to civil authorities with an instruction that he be “punished in flesh” — a euphemism for a death sentence by burning. Outside of Lisbon, Coimbra University is the largest owner of Portuguese Inquisition verdicts. “It was a mission that made this place not only a victim and opponent of the horrors of the Inquisition, but also a witness to them,” Amaral said. True to its tradition of defiance, the library was also one of the few institutions to openly refuse to comply with the censorship policies of the regime of António de Oliveira Salazar, Portugal’s pro-fascist dictator of 34 years, until 1968 “Again there were the same tricks as during the Inquisition,” Amaral said. “In the end, we now see who has prevailed.”ì

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Israel Under Radar

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Israeli Women Have Been Saying 'Me Too' for Years By Andrew Tobin

Israeli activists marching at the annual SlutWalk march through central Jerusalem, June 2, 2017. (Gali Tibbon/ AFP/Getty Images)

TEL AVIV (JTA) -- International fashion model Maayan Keret said she was raped at the age of 12. Since then, Keret said, she has been harassed or assaulted so many times she “stopped counting.” Yael Arad, a silver medalist in judo at the 1992 Summer Olympics, said that despite her “image and physical abilities,” men have tried to “take advantage of or harass” her three times. Knesset member Merav Ben-Ari said male soldiers on her army base verbally harassed her and touched her inappropriately. These are just a few of the many accounts of sexual harassment and assault shared by high-profile Israeli women in recent days in response to the #metoo campaign launched Sunday on Twitter by the American actress Alyssa Milano. A response to the sexual abuse allegations against Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein, the phenomenon spread quickly — in the first 24 hours, there were more than 12 million Facebook posts, reactions and comments about it. Here, in addition to scores of high-profile Israelis, thousands of ordinary women have added their voices to the accounts of sexual harassment and assault from women around the world. The Israeli media have highlighted the campaign and the issue of sexual assault. On Monday, Yediot Acharonot, one of Israel's most widely read newspapers, splashed the sexual harassment and assault accounts of six prominent Israeli women — Arad and Ben-Ari among them — across its front page under the headline "Also Us." As it happens, however, this is far from the first time that Israeli women have said “Me Too”— or “Gam Ani” in Hebrew: A Facebook page called "One Out of One," launched in 2013, has collected THE

JEWISH LIGHT

nearly 2,500 such testimonies in recent years, the vast majority of them anonymously. Gal Shargill, a 33-year-old attorney in Rosh Pina, started the page along with feminist activist Shlomit Havron. Their goal was to raise awareness about how widespread sexual harassment and assault are in Israel. The name, much like "Me Too," is a reference to the notion that nearly every Israeli woman has a story to tell. "We don't want to be victims anymore. We don't want to have to say 'Me Too,' but this is the situation," Shargill told JTA. "We have to say it to make it real, so we all know that we are all sexual harassment and assault survivors." One Out of One quickly drew national attention. The Facebook page now has more than 40,000 followers and is well known in Israel. Shargill and Havron also run a nonprofit organization of the same name that provides guidance and legal counsel to victims, as well as shares memes commenting on sexual harassment and assault. Orit Sulitzeanu, the executive director of the Association of Rape Crisis Centers of Israel, credited One Out of One with helping to "pave the way" for the #metoo campaign, which began in the wake of a New York Times story in which dozens of women alleged that Weinstein had sexually harassed or assaulted them. “Sharing testimonies was not something that took place on Facebook, and they made it possible,” Sulitzeanu said. “#Metoo just took what they did one step further with women saying ‘here, this is my name, this is my identity, and I’m talking.’” Some of the first stories Shargill and Havron shared were their own. Shargill said she was raped once and at work was sexually harassed repeatedly. The two women have also participated in the #metoo campaign, posting supportive messages on the One Out of One Facebook page and working through the surge of testimonials they have received in recent days. Whereas they might get 10 to 20 submissions in a typiSee ME TOO on Page

Happy Chanukah to all my friends in the Jewish Community, thanks for your continued support! Cynthia Lee-Sheng

Councilwoman-at-Large, Division B

Best Wishes for a Happy Chanukah! The Honorable Erroll G. Williams Orleans Parish Assessor’s Office www.nolaassessor.com

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to all of my friends in the Jewish community. Wishing you the very best today and always!

Steve Scalise

U.S. Representative Louisiana’s 1st Congressional District Paid for By Scalise for Congress

November 2017

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Israelis Will Power the Future of American Jewry, IAC Chair Says By Ben Sales

Adam Milstein is chairman of the Israeli-American Council. (Courtesy of the Israeli-American Council)

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(JTA) -- What can Israelis in America teach American Jews? If you ask Adam Milstein, chairman of the Israeli-American Council, the answer goes on and on. American Israelis, he says, can make American Jews more connected to the Jewish state. They can show them the warmth of Israeli culture. They can connect them to Israel's burgeoning tech scene. And they can teach them Hebrew. He acknowledges that American Jews have built lasting institutions and robust organizations, something his group -- which mixes Israeli culture with pro-Israel advocacy -is trying to emulate. But 10 years after the IAC launched, he feels Israeli Americans are the engine that will power the American Jewish community in the next decade and beyond -- especially when it comes to pro-Israel advocacy. Days before IAC's annual conference, which runs Friday to Monday in Washington, D.C., Milstein spoke with JTA about how the organization has grown. (The Milstein Family Foundation is partnering with JTA by underwriting independent coverage of Israelis in America.) JTA: How have Israeli-Americans changed over the past 10 years? Milstein: If you look at the community 10 years ago, we had many Israelis who came here from 1948, they were completely not connected to Jewish life. They had cultural events, lectures, but they were completely not engaged. To see an Israeli at AIPAC or a federation or anyplace was a rare thing. They kept to themselves, under the radar. They're not really Israeli. They're Americans of Israeli descent. Israelis don't view them as Israeli, they

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say, "Hey, you left." [And] they couldn't really take part in the political process because they were foreign. The Jewish community gave them a cold shoulder unless they were willing to give money, and then they became Jews. Now more and more Jewish communities and Jewish federations are working jointly with us. We build their communities coast to coast, and now Jewish communities are eager to work with us. [Israeli-Americans] found an identity that made them proud to be in America and help the nation of Israel from here. What new directions is IAC taking now? Anti-Semitism clearly is growing in the United States. We as people who came from Israel, we know how to stand proud and fight back, and we feel we should be part of this campaign against anti-Semitism. We are very involved in passing anti-BDS legislation. We are also helping to expose anti-Israelism in the U.N. We have a heavy social media presence to post pro-Israel media stuff and help rebuff antiIsrael media stuff. We have helped with the bipartisan effort to bring people from both sides of the aisle to pass the Taylor Force Act. How can IAC help bridge the gap between American Jews and Israel? We from the beginning acknowledged that Israel is not the perfect place, it's not a perfect country. [But] this is the only country for the Jewish people, the only country that can prevent another Holocaust, the only country that went to [Entebbe,] Uganda and saved hostages. Beggars can't be choosers. We only have one country in the world which is the state of the Jews. Israel is no longer the glue, it is the wedge. It's no longer a place that we pray for, it's the source of disagreement. Our view is we need to accept and support the State of Israel because it's not perfect, but it's the only one we have. We are becoming the pro-Israel See JEWRY on Page THE

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ISRAELI BAND Continued from Page 14 begin performing in Israel. A professional musician himself, he said directing the band comes with unique challenges: For example, it took Pomburg two years to get his first drum beat down. Now, however, Ben Shushan calls him “one of the best drummers I know.” On the international tour, the band is traveling with a support staff of more than one person per band member, including a musical therapist who also backs up as a flautist. Ben Shushan said the key to success is sensitive time management. “You want to know their abilities, but you need to know when to stop, to say it’s too hard,” he said. “It takes sensitivity to their feelings. If you see someone is having a hard time, you need to strengthen him.” But the overwhelming impression of the Shalva Band while on the road is that it is a hardworking group of musicians hoping for their big break. Following a concert at the North Shore Hebrew Academy on Long Island, the band members load their instruments in the back of a van and pile in, bantering or putting on headphones and tuning out. As Ben Shushan debriefs them en route to their next gig, he sounds less like a teacher and more like a manager pushing his musicians just a little harder: He chides the lead singers for paying too little attention to rhythm. He tells the group to focus less on the crowd and more on the music. He warns them not to wear out their voices. “I know it feels like I’m drilling into you,” he said, sighing. “But

you’re at a level now where you can take it.” The band performs more than 50 times a year around Israel, but is not yet profitable. Samuels estimates that Shalva invests $120,000 in the band a year. This two-week trip alone will cost upwards of $60,000, funded in part by the World Center for Jewish Education, an organization that works with schools to improve their Jewish studies curricula. Ahead of the trip — which began Oct. 25 and includes stops in Montreal, Toronto, New York, New Jersey and Mexico City — the band practiced for up to eight hours a day. Ben Shushan hopes eventually to put out an album and get the group on the radio. Despite their commitment, for some of the band members, music is just a hobby. Pomburg, for example, works at a soap factory and waits tables at Cafe Shalva, the organization’s in-house coffee shop, but said drumming is always a new and exhilarating experience. “I love to do the rhythm on the drum,” he said. “I get excited. I’m very happy to perform. I do my job well.” Still, others have enjoyed moments in the spotlight so much that they hope to go pro. Samteh, who joined the Shalva Band five years ago, has performed with leading Israeli musicians and traveled abroad several times to sing. At first, Samteh said, she found it difficult to share the stage. But now she can’t imagine doing it alone. “To sing with other people, you have to learn to listen,” she said. “In the beginning it was hard, but now it’s really successful. Now I don’t know how I would sing without them.” ì

NEW YORK COP Continued from Page 16 “If I said you were under arrest, you were under arrest," he recalled. "You could go easy or hard, but you were under arrest.” Asked what the public misunderstands about police work, Friedman said, “I don’t think they understand how dangerous even the menial jobs we do -- breaking up a family dispute or pulling over a vehicle -can be. You don’t know who is in that car. Did he commit a murder or a robbery. Did they jump bail?” But you don't need to take Friedman's word for it. One of the reenactments on the six-episode series begins with what seems like a family dispute but ends in gunfire. Friedman and his partner, Kalman Ungar, walk into an apartment and a man jumps out of a hallway and starts to fire at them. Ungar is hit five times but the shooter — who, according to the show's version, had just beat up his girlfriend — seems unscathed, despite the number of shots aimed at him. With his revolver empty, he attacks Friedman. In hand-to-hand combat, Friedman uses the last bullet in his gun to shoot the criminal. Fortunately, Ungar survived his

wounds. The shooter did not. (A contemporaneous New York Times account of the same 1972 shooting says the shooter had reported a robbery, and had mistaken the plainclothes detectives for the thieves.) Friedman says he never experienced anti-Semitism on the job. “People saw that I could handle myself," he said. "And I think I gave a better impression of Jews because I could handle myself.” Back in Friedman's day, the department had a reputation for being an Irish stronghold. The NYPD is more diverse now, and that "is a good thing, without a doubt" he said. "It reflects the makeup of the city. Good cops come in all shapes, sizes and colors. It's the person." Friedman’s hard-nosed attitude vanishes when he is asked which life he likes better. He laughs, then says: “There’s nothing better than being a cop on the street. There’s nothing better in the world than taking bad guys off the street. It was like an adrenaline rush. "But that’s a different life that’s behind me," he adds. "Now it’s nice to be recognized and meet people interested in my story.” Safer, too.ì

Wishing my many friends & supporters in the Jewish Community a happy Chanukah.

Candice Bates-Anderson Judge Juvenile Court, Section C THE

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November 2017

Bookshelf

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ME TOO Continued from Page 29 cal week, Shargill said, they have received approximately 30 to 40 since #metoo went viral. She said they have received similar outpourings during the numerous sex scandals in Israel over the past four years. Among the recent high-profile cases were a Tel Aviv nightclub owner who was charged with rape or other sex crimes against six women, and a revered army general who avoided charges of raping two women under his command by pleading guilty to having sex with one of them. In December, President Moshe Katsav was released from prison after serving five years of a seven-year sentence for rape and other sex crimes against three women. Sulitzeanu said sexual harassment and assault are pervasive in Israel, and she put part of the blame on the country's mandatory military service. Young men in the army learn "they're entitled to anything," she said. An internal study by the Israel Defense Forces this year found one in six female soldiers are sexually harassed during their service, and

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COOKBOOK Continued from Page 13 Sulitzeanu said the nine rape centers that are part of her umbrella group get about 40,000 phone calls every year. According to the World Health Organization, one out of every three women worldwide experiences physical or sexual violence during their lifetime. But Sulitzeanu, who recalled boys pulling her pigtails and older men groping her in the Old City of Jerusalem market as a girl, said she has seen Israeli attitudes about sexual harassment and assault change for the better in the past few years. She said the the country's embrace of the #metoo campaign reflects this, including the prominent media coverage. "It's a mini-revolution," Sulitzeanu said. "We're used to security, [Prime Minister Benjamin] 'Bibi' Netanyahu, corruption on the front page. This is the first time ever we've seen something like that." She said the campaign has further "broken the code of silence" around sexual abuse. Still, Sulitzeanu worries about the many victims of sexual abuse her organization counsels every day who are not able to speak out. "To see so many famous women, so many strong women in sports, in politics and in the media, make you feel you're not alone -- that you didn't do something wrong to be abused," she said. "The problem is we also have to give legitimacy to people who aren't ready to speak up, women as well as men and children." Shargill said One Out of One would continue to do just that. "In a week or two, this [#metoo] campaign will be over and people will move on to the next thing," she said. "We will still be collecting testimonies in one place so that anyone can see them anytime."ì

Best Wishes

organic beef, and even deli food could be elevated. The “newish Jewish” delis are spread literally all over the country: DGS Delicatessen and On Rye in Washington, D.C.; General Muir in Atlanta; Wexler’s in Los Angeles; Mamaleh’s in Brooklyn. Just this past month, something new opened in Chicago and Rose Foods opened in Portland, Maine. Americans — Jews and nonJews alike — are hungry for good Jewish food. And I wouldn’t call it old-fashioned; I would call it classic. Do any recipes in the book stand out as especially easy (or easier) for a total beginner to try? I think pita bread is even easier than challah: It has a shorter rise time and it bakes up in literally three minutes or less. It’s also incredibly good — you can find a good challah in many places in the U.S., but it’s pretty rare to find really good, fluffy pita bread. What's your favorite recipe in the book? The Spicy Pizza Rugelach. That's partly because it was one of those rare recipes that came out exactly the way I envisioned it in my head. And partially because I feel like it embodies my character: a spicy, delicious half-Italian, half-Jewish treat. (The following recipe is reprinted with permission from "Modern Jewish Baker: Challah Babka Bagels and More," Countryman Press.) SPICY PIZZA RUGELACH The first thing that will strike you about this spicy pizza rugelach is the beautiful color. And then when you set your teeth into them, it’s like taking that first bite of a great New York slice topped with a sprinkle of red pepper flakes. Yield: 2 1/2 dozen pastries Ingredients: • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

• 8 ounces full-fat cream cheese,

at room temperature • 2 tablespoons sugar • 1/4 teaspoon salt • 2 tablespoons tomato paste • 2 cups plus 3 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour • 1/2 to 3/4 cup marinara or pizza sauce • 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella • 1 egg, beaten (for glaze) • 1 teaspoon dried basil • 1 teaspoon dried oregano • 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes Instructions: In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and cream cheese until smooth. Scrape down sides of bowl. Add the sugar, salt and tomato paste, and beat until combined. You can also do this by hand. Add the flour and mix just until dough comes together. Divide the dough into 4 pieces. Wrap in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 1 to 2 hours, or up to 24 hours. Preheat oven to 375 F. Roll each piece of dough into a large circle. Using an 8- or 9-inch round, cut dough into a perfect circle. I recommend using a pizza cutter for this task. See pages 164-165 for shaping. Spread each circle of dough with 2 to 3 tablespoons of marinara sauce in a thin layer, leaving 1/4inch border all around. Sprinkle each circle with 2 tablespoons of shredded mozzarella and press gently into sauce. Using the pizza cutter, cut the dough into 8 even triangles. Starting at the longer end, roll up each triangle. Place the point side down on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or silicone baking mat. Brush each rugelach with beaten egg and sprinkle with dried basil, dried oregano and red pepper flakes. Bake for 16 to 18 minutes, until golden. Allow to cool on wire rack.ì

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ROB REINER Continued from Page 23 were -- how to put this? -- discouraging. “I only polled 40 percent in my own family,” he recalled. “If I couldn’t carry my own family, I didn’t think I should run.” Nevertheless, Reiner has remained politically active in liberal causes, most recently as a founder of the Committee to Investigate Russia, which he calls “a nonpartisan [organization] that puts the spotlight on what the Russians were able to do, particularly in the last election.” Reiner is not a fan of the current administration, to put it mildly. As he describes it, "without changing a single frame," his film changed between the time it was first screened, when Obama was president, to its release this week with Trump in the White House — meaning a film about a troubled presidency transformed into one about how best to govern. And, yes, his activism “absolutely” has hurt his career, Reiner said. Even in liberal Hollywood, Reiner's outspokenness has earned him ridicule -- not unlike the incessant ribbing he took on "All in the Family" playing the liberal Mike "Meathead" Stivic opposite his arch-conservative father-in-law Archie Bunker. "There’s no question that people have turned away from me," he said. "You should see what some people call me on Twitter. But I have to live on this planet and be who I am.” And who he is, of course, is the

scion of Carl Reiner and the late Estelle Reiner from the Bronx, New York. Dad, of course, is the author/ producer/actor/director of such hits as TV's "The Dick Van Dyke Show" and the films "Oh God!," "Where's Poppa?" and a string of Steve Martin comedies. Mom famously ordered whatever Meg Ryan was having in the legendary "When Harry Met Sally" scene filmed at New York's Katz’s Deli. “My grandmother spoke Yiddish in the house, and my mother and father spoke a little Yiddish, too," said Reiner, who was a bar mitzvah. "They decided to bring a teacher in to teach me Yiddish, too. I learned a little, but he also taught the history of the Jews and it was like having a little shul at home. "It was home shuling," he quipped. Reiner’s sister-in-law is a rabbi, “and we’ll have Passover," he said. "My wife’s mother lost her entire family in the Holocaust and my aunt -- my father’s brother’s wife -- did also, something we always think about. “Yes, all this is reflected in my work. It’s my sensibility. I’m a Jew. I was raised a Jew. I value honesty and integrity and knowledge and education and all those values I was raised with.” Of course, Reiner was raised with another "Jewish value" as well: comedy. “Jews are funny," he said. "And there’s a reason we’re funny. You have Cossacks. You have Hitler. You have a lot of things weighing down on you. You have to have a sense of humor or you can’t survive.”ì

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DAY SCHOOLS Continued from Page 10 Rabbi Harry Pell, associate head of school for Jewish life and learning at the Solomon Schechter School of Westchester, just outside New York City, said parents occasionally take issue with how a current topic is presented in class. “The most helpful thing we can do is not to try to convince the parent of something he or she doesn't believe, but to help them see why other points of view may also have some validity, or at least why others might come to different conclusions,” Pell said. “We may focus on this as a skill we teach to kids, but it applies just as much to adults and is sorely needed in today's word.” Yossi Prager, North American director of the Avi Chai Foundation, says the concept of respectful debate has its roots in the Talmud. “ T h e schools of Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel disagreed vigorously and yet socialized with each other,” Prager noted. “The Talmud reports that the law follows the opinion of Beit Hillel because they took care to cite the opinion of Beit Shammai, showing both civility and a truth-seeking fairness to their opponents.” P r i z m a h ’s Bernstein said it’s important

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that what schools teach about respectful dialogue be reinforced at home. “How do you engage with other families that you may disagree with?” he said. “Many schools are trying to get that message across, not least because they see the school community as students, parents and teachers together.” (This article was sponsored by and produced in partnership with the Avi Chai Foundation, which is committed to the perpetuation of the Jewish people, Judaism and the centrality of the State of Israel to the Jewish people. In North America, the foundation works to advance the Jewish day school and overnight summer camp fields. This article was produced by JTA’s native content team.)ì

Best Wishes for a Happy Chanukah! Thank you for your continued support! Lambert Boissiere

Public Service Commissioner, District 3 November 2017

Southern & Jewish FAREWELL Continued from Page 19 the relationships I had formed with community members while on the road. The piece was called “Lessons from a Southern Belle with a Crowbar,” and you can read it here. Shira: One of the best parts of the fellowship is that our community members want to show off their cities to us. While on work visits, I have visited multiple art museums, attended a car show and Sara Evans concert all in one afternoon, and spent a day relaxing at the beach on South Padre Island. My favorite part of traveling to our communities is getting to know the students, teachers, and host families, and hearing their stories. Ali: I once spent 12 hours creating the greatest Purim carnival ever in Columbus, Georgia. We completely transformed the room to look like a circus tent. It was amazing, the education director wanted every student to forget they were in a synagogue, and we succeeded! Elias: Over the past two years I have been on 33 road trips to visit ISJL education partners. On each and every one of these road trips I have brought my fishing rod and tackle box. Some lakes brought me better luck than others; the Galves-

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ton Bayou was better than the rest. While catching fish during my down time was a blast, nothing will ever beat teaching the story of Jonah while bass fishing in Greenwood, Mississippi. What was your greatest creation at the ISJL? Shira: My greatest creation while at the ISJL involves food…duh! I wrote a program entitled Cupcake Commentaries in which students decorate cakes or cupcakes based on a biblical text. This program has even been adapted by other Fellows for teacher trainings. Ali: I made a few programs that took me months to create; timeconsuming programs are my favorite. I am probably most proud of my Shabbat-friendly Torah story programs, each program is two hours and teaches a different Torah portion that can be done without breaking the laws of Shabbat. I also like the programs I wrote with long titles such as Campfire Hot Chocolate Tot Shabbat with a DJ and Star Wars Clue Dinner Theater Program. Elias: Before coming to the ISJL, I was part of an educational drum circle group called Shul of Rock. When I arrived in Jackson I was immediately presented with an

opportunity to create a service based on Shul of Rock. Over the past two years I have developed multiple services and programs all incorporating percussion, under the title of “Druminyan.” Becca: I wrote multiple song parodies that I am really proud of. The Born to Run parody I wrote for the 2015 Education Conference was pretty funny. Hopefully, the Sukkot parody I recorded will get turned into a video and y’all will be able to see it. “To understand the world, you must first understand a place like Mississippi.” – William Faulkner What does this quote mean to you? Elias: As a transplant, I have had a unique experience in Mississippi. I’ve come to believe that Mississippi has one foot in the past and one in the future. While deeply proud of their southern roots, home grown innovators push for equality in the hopes of bettering their home state. It takes courage to break from the status quo and think progressively. If we all fought for what is right like Mississippians, I have no doubt that we would see positive change in our world. Becca: More times than I can count, I have been asked if I was surprised to learn that Mississippi-

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ans wear shoes and have running water; friends outside the region have asked even harsher questions about politics and culture. But most people with negative perceptions of Mississippi have never been here, let alone lived here. After living here for two years, I have learned how to live in the nuance and paradoxes that are the state of Mississippi. Ali: I do not understand Mississippi any more now than I did before, but I visited Faulkner’s house in Oxford; it was pretty cool! Shira: As a New Yorker, one of the biggest adjustments in moving to Mississippi was being surrounded by people with different viewpoints, which I had never tried to understand. The most valuable lesson I’ve learned while living in the South, is how to have conversations with people with opposing viewpoints. Not with the goal of changing someone else’s opinion but in order to understand why they hold that belief. These conversations have given me a greater perspective on Mississippi, but more importantly, the whole world. ì

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CLASSROOM Continued from Page 11

JEWRY Continued from Page 30

younger daughter helps lead services on Friday night. They are grappling with the Torah’s stories, what they mean and how they are relevant to life in the 21st century. Most important, they are learning, in the words of Ram Dass – a spiritual leader who grew up Jewish in the same town where we live – that we’re all just walking each other home. Or, in some cases, to the nurse’s office. (Carla Naumburg, Ph.D., is a clinical social worker and writer. She is the author of two books, "Parenting in the Present Moment: How to Stay Focused on What Really Matters" [Parallax, 2014] and "Ready, Set, Breathe: Practicing Mindfulness with Your Children for Fewer Meltdowns and a More Peaceful Family" [New Harbinger, 2015].) (This article was sponsored by and produced in partnership with the Avi Chai Foundation, which is committed to the perpetuation of the Jewish people, Judaism and the centrality of the State of Israel to the Jewish people. In North America, the foundation works to advance the Jewish day school and overnight summer camp fields.)ì

community in the U.S. There are other pro-Israel organizations, but we are the home of the pro-Israel community coast to coast. Are you also helping Israelis better understand American Jews? We understand where American Jews are coming from, we understand where Israelis are coming from. We don't get involved, whether the way conversions are overseen in Israel are correct or not, whether the Western Wall arrangement is correct or not. We are saying the decisions of the State of Israel should be done by its citizens. We are promoting the fact that Israel is a democratic country. I would not come and say, 'Israel, if you don't do this and this I will boycott you, I will stop funding you.' This is wrong. What makes American Israelis unique? I think we share with the people of Israel this character that's called Israeliness. You know how we make one another happy; we become friends overnight. We are really a

family from the get-go, coming and sleeping over without any prearrangements. We're proud Jews. We don't have to be Orthodox or Conservative or Reform or whatever. It's not that were trying to dissolve in America, become integrated. We are trying to bring our unique character into the Jewish community and together have a stronger Jewish community. What have you learned from American Jews? When we first came here we didn't even realize we lived in the Diaspora. We did not build institutions that helped us take part in the Jewish community. We have a lot to learn from the Jewish community, how to live in the Diaspora. We are finding ways to do activities, learn from their experience, learn from their philanthropy and bring this into our community. How do you maintain a secular Israeli culture in America? Obviously Hebrew is an essential part. A lot of our activities from a young age are in Hebrew. We have a lot of spiritual activities. We understand that to be secular alone, you will not stay Jewish, so to stay spiritual is an asset for us. We do

some programs nationally called Shishi Israeli where we bring hundreds of people together to spend Friday together. We celebrate all the Jewish holidays. We celebrate the independence of Israel. Israelis used to look down on their fellow citizens who moved abroad. Has that changed? It's absolutely changed. We are able to convince Israelis that we are a strategic asset of Israel in the United States. We are their family, we speak their language, we understand them. They give us much more respect. They visit with us. They recognize us.ì Call Our Trained Experts & Experience the Difference

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