Jewish Voice and Opinion February 2013

THE JEWISH VOICE AND OPINION Promoting Classical Judaism

Febuary 2013

Vol. 26 • No. 6

Adar 5773

Bibi Forms a Government…with Yair? With Naftali?

With Both? With Shas? Let the Games Begin During the recent Knesset

campaign in Israel, most pundits and even some politicians pidgeonholed Yair Lapid and his Yesh Atid (There Is a Future) party as center-left. If Mr. Lapid and Yesh Atid were not considered as left-wing as Meretz, they were still regarded as akin to the Labor party, the remnants of Kadima, and Tzipi Livni’s Hatnua (The Movement).

But it turns out that they were wrong. A television journalist turned politician, Mr. Lapid would never pass muster as a leftist with Peace Now or J Street. Although he favors a two-state solution, it would

The New Face of Israeli Politics: Yair Lapid, left, and Naftali Bennett be only on his terms, which include retaining all of a united Jerusalem—the eastern and western neighborhoods—for Israel as well as all the major

settlement blocs in Judea and Samaria. He started his recent political campaign with a speech delivered in the Samarian community of Ariel.

Yesh Atid’s platform allows the option of some land swaps with the Palestinians. It says that during peace negotiations, no new communities will be built.

But until an agreement is signed, so-called “natural growth” of existing communities will be taken into consideration.

The platform further states that Israel’s future borders will be decided on the basis of Israel’s security needs, as well as populations and communities created since 1967.

No “Right of Return” He will not even discuss the Palestinians’ so-called “right of return”: the PA demand that

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In a Tough Neighborhood, Israel Engages in a Preventive Strike and Beefs up Its Border with Syria For Israelis and some Ameri-

cans, there must have been a sense of déjà vu last month when Israel engaged in a preventive strike against a weapons convoy along the Syria-Lebanon border. The US, which had been told about the operation in advance, and the Jewish state, which carried it out, probably thought Syr-

ian President Bashar Al-Assad would not be likely to issue a complaint about the action against the convoy, given that he remained silent when Israel destroyed his clandestine nuclear reactor in 2007 at Dir a-Zour.

Instead, for reasons that had nothing to do with Israel, Syria not only complained about

the action against the convoy, it concocted another story that seems to be fictitious, but might actually be true.

Except in very oblique terms, Israel is not admitting to anything.

Chemical Weapons Throughout the month of January, Israeli surveillance revealed increasingly clearly

just how close Mr. Assad is to using chemical weapons against the rebel Sunni forces arrayed against him and his Alawite-Muslim government security teams. Mr. Assad’s family has been stockpiling chemical weapons throughout the country since the 1970s.

The Alawites follow the

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Inside the Voice Gilad Shalit Visits NBN Lone Soldiers.... 5 Kol Ami: Purim Costumes?................. 6 The Current Crisis............................... 7 Legal Savings.....................................10 In Defense of Public Service.........18 Holy Name in Haiti...........................20 Zionism 101.................................................21

Achieving Change Through Torah....24 “Run, Hide, Fight”......................................26 Israeli Red Wine for Purim....................27 “Asher Lev” on Stage...............................29 The Log..........................................................30 New Classes........................................40 Mazal Tov.............................................40

Chesed Ops..........................................41 Contests and Scholarships............42 Ess Gezint: Purim by Design..........48 Index of Advertisers ........................53 Honor the Professional...................55 Letters to the Editor ........................56 Walk to Shul.........................................59

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February 2013/Adar 5773

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Gilad Shalit Visits 50 Lone Soldiers On a cool-enough-for-ajacket day last month, while

Israeli politicians were putting in their final efforts to win more votes in national elections, former kidnapped Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, visited the Friends of the IDF (FIDF)-Nefesh B’Nefesh (NBN) Lone Soldiers Program at the organization’s offices in Jerusalem. There, Mr. Shalit had the opportunity to meet with 50 Lone Soldier olim from across the world.

While many American Jews associate NBN with family aliyah from North America and the United Kingdom, the organiza-

tion, which works cooperatively with the Israeli government and the Jewish Agency for Israel, is also involved in helping young single Jewish men and women make the move to Israel in order to serve in the Israeli Defense Forces or Sherut Leumi, the country’s voluntary national service.

In Israel, newly arrived soldiers who come without any other family members, are known as Lone Soldiers.

The FIDF-NBN Lone Soldiers Program assists these soldiers and National Service workers with their transition into their new lives in Israel by offering guidance, social and emotional support, quarterly care packag-

es, adoptive local families, and financial aid. The Lone Soldiers’ parents receive assistance from FIDF-NBN in the form of information and support.

Further information about this important NBN department can be found on its website, www.nbn.org.il/lsp.

Truly Alone While never a Lone Soldier himself, Mr. Shalit knows well what it is to be alone without family. In June 2006, while serving as a Corporal in the IDF’s Armor Corps, he was kidnapped

by Palestinian terrorists who had infiltrated into Israel from Gaza through an underground tunnel near the Kerem Shalom

border crossing. After attacking an Israeli army post from the rear, two of the terrorists were killed, as were two IDF soldiers. Three Israeli soldiers were wounded, and Mr. Shalit, who suffered a broken hand in the skirmish, was abducted by the surviving terrorists.

On October 18, 2011, after being held hostage for more than five years, Mr. Shalit was released as part of a prisoner exchange deal with the terrorist group, Hamas, which has controlled Gaza since 2007.

During his captivity, defined as illegal according to international law, Hamas re-

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THE JEWISH VOICE AND OPINION, Inc. © 2013; Publisher and Editor-in-Chief: Susan L. Rosenbluth Phone (201)569-2845 Managing Editor: Sharon Beck, Advertising: Rivkie Stern The Jewish Voice & Opinion (ISSN # 1527-3814), POB 8097, Englewood, NJ 07631, is published monthly in coordination with The Central Committee for Israel. A one-year subscription is $25. Periodicals postage is paid at Englewood, NJ and additional mailing offices.

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Kol Ami: Purim Costumes?

By Jacob Benveniste Purim is coming, and, in preparation for the big day, which begins with the Megillah reading on Motzei Shabbat, February 23, and continues on Purim day, February 24, every Jewish

I’m going to be a ninja because they’re sneaky and good at fighting.

Ethan Zaret, age 8 Surfside, FL

A Renaissance girl, because they’re pretty and have long dresses.

Ella Zaret, age 10 Surfside, FL

child around the world is choosing, or has already chosen, a costume. In Surfside, Florida, the question was: What costume are you going to wear and why?

Y

I might be Billy the Marlin [official mascot of the Miami Marlins baseball team] because he’s funny.

Benjy Sherwin, age 9 Surfside, FL

I’m going to be Elvis because my shul’s Purim theme is Vegas. Elvis is an icon of Las Vegas.

Jack Benveniste-Plitt, age 12 Surfside, FL

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The Current Crisis: “Even in Laughter, the Heart Can Ache” This is not a Purim shpiel, and the names have not been changed to protect the guilty, but if it were a skit, Bernard Kaplan, principal of Great Neck North High School, would be playing himself.

Mr. Kaplan takes great pride in the fact that his school has an “open campus.” Students are allowed to leave school during their free periods or at lunchtime, and, on their own, can walk about town, eat, and enjoy the pleasure of being young and in Great Neck. Parental permission was not needed. Until now.

It seems, a few blocks from school, some of these kids discovered Torah Ohr, where Rabbi Avraham Kohan does some pretty bizarre things. Like what, you say? Well, according to the letter the scandalized Mr. Kaplan sent home to parents, the rav serves the kids “free food” and then, while they are eating, offers them “Orthodox religious instruction.” He admits only Jewish kids, and boys and girls are separated: girls on Tuesdays from 11-1, and boys on Thursdays and Fridays.

Mr. Kaplan is appalled because Rabbi Kohan thinks “it is perfectly okay for them [sic] to entice our students with free lunch in order to give them orthodox [sic] religious instruction, or what many would frankly call proselytizing children.”

When Mr. Kaplan visited the shul, he found (shock, horror, dismay) “at least several dozen [emphasis added] of our students sitting at long tables in a room that had to be entered through a side door. They were quietly eating while a man was instructing them in orthodox religious beliefs. There is no sign on the building even identifying it as a Temple.” (Shocking!)

The outraged Mr. Kaplan spoke to Rabbi Kohan and was incensed that the poor benighted soul did not have the seichel to know he was doing anything wrong. In fact, when Mr. Kaplan called the police,

even they did not think Rabbi Kohan was doing anything wrong.

You’d think in Great Neck the police would be more sophisticated.

Mr. Kaplan, who doesn’t believe high school students need parental permission slips to do whatever it is kids might do on the streets of Great Neck, is incensed that Rabbi Kohan doesn’t think these free spirits need any special permission to learn a little Torah.

Wanna bet if any of these kids wandered into the Great Neck Alternative Lifestyle Bookstore, where someone offered them cans of silkworm pupas for lunch, Mr. Kaplan would commend them for ferretting out new experiences and interesting people?

In the meantime, does anyone know where we can get hold of Rabbi Kohan? Anyone who can get several dozen high school kids voluntarily to sit still and learn a little Torah during their free periods from school when they could be roaming the streets of Great Neck, finding who-knows-who to do whoknows-what with, is someone we would like to get to know better. Nobel Prize Committee, call your office. *** A friend of ours who owns a business with a staff of about a hundred workers swears he really did send this letter out to his employees: Dear Friend, As CEO, I have resigned myself to the fact that Barack Obama is President and that my taxes and government fees are all going to increase greatly. To compensate, I would have to raise our prices by about 10 percent. No can do right now due to the dismal state of the economy. So, instead, I will have to lay off 60 of our employees.

To do this, I just walked through the parking lot and found 60 “Obama” bumper stickers. These folks voted for change; and I gave it to them. I will see the rest of you at the company picnic. Y

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February 2013/Adar 5773

Gilad Shalit

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continued from page 5

peatedly defied the International Committee of the Red Cross which continually asked the terrorists for permission to visit Mr. Shalit to ascertain his conditions of detention. Hamas refused all such requests.

Mr. Shalit’s release, while greeted with joy in Israel, was not without controversy. The price for his freedom was the release of 1,027 Palestinian terrorists who had been serving their sentences in Israeli prisons. Many of the terrorists had “blood on their hands,” meaning they were directly responsible for the murders of Israeli citizens and others.

Constant Threats Ever since Mr. Shalit was released, Palestinian terrorists from Hamas in Gaza as well as from the Palestinian Authority in Judea and Samaria have threatened to kidnap additional IDF soldiers as a means to freeing larger numbers of impris-

oned terrorists. While many Israelis said giving the Arabs an incentive to kidnap IDF soldiers to be used as bargaining chips was a reason not to have traded Mr. Shalit, others point out that, even before the prisoner swap, terrorists had threatened such abductions.

At the beginning of February, the IDF and the Israeli Security Agency (Shin Bet) announced that they had uncovered and disrupted a terror infrastructure belonging to Hamas which had established a regional headquarters in Hebron to enable it to carry out attacks in Judea and Samaria.

About 20 terrorists—all known Hamas members who had previously served prison sentences in Israel for terror activities—were arrested, charged with weapon possession, contacting a hostile organization, and conspiracy

photography | cinematography with style

95 w. e n g l e w o o d a v e n u e t e a n e c k n j | 201.862.0288

w w w. m e n d e l m e y e r s . c o m

Gilad Shalit, center, visits with IDF Lone Soldiers in Jerusalem to kidnap an IDF soldier.

Released in the Swap The investigation carried out by Israeli security forces revealed that the arrested terrorists had already begun preparations for kidnapping, including efforts to secure an apartment to be used as a hideout and an Israeli-Arab citizen to serve as a driver for the intended attack.

The investigation also revealed that members of the terror infrastructure maintained contact with Hamas officials outside of Israel in order to receive assistance, directions, and funding.

The primary contact operative abroad was Husam Badran, a prisoner who had been released in the exchange that secured the release of Mr. Shalit. In 2004, Mr. Badran was sentenced to 17 years in prison for his involvement in the execution of terror attacks during the Second Intifada. Upon his release in October 2011, he was exiled to Qatar.

Admiration At the NBN office last January, Mr. Shalit, now a sports columnist for the Israeli daily Yediot Achronot, expressed his support and admiration for the young men and women who came to Israel from the US, Canada, Australia, Costa Rica, Norway, Mexico, South Africa, France, Argentina, Brazil, and Spain, and are serving in various units, including the Israeli Infantry, Intelligence, Paratroopers, and Communications.

“I admire each of you for what you are doing for our country,” Mr. Shalit told them.

“Your decision to leave your families and friends and make aliyah on your own and join the army is truly courageous and admirable. Although you are far from your own families, you are not alone. We are all one family and are here to support you and make you feel most welcome as Israeli citizens.”

Expressing his pleasure with Mr. Shalit’s visit, Erez Halfon, vice-chairman of NBN said the organization was “very proud to be the home for Lone Soldiers serving in the IDF, taking care of all their needs in Israel, and providing them with ongoing support.”

97 Percent Success Rate Founded in 2002, NBN has been credited with revitalizing aliyah from North America and the United Kingdom by removing or minimizing the financial, professional, logistical, and social obstacles of moving to Israel.

The organization’s support and comprehensive social services to the 33,000 olim who have made aliyah under NBN auspices has ensured that 97 percent of them have remained in Israel.

By participating with the NBN in its Lone Soldiers Program, the IDF has shown its appreciation for NBN’s efforts and professionalism.

“We thank the IDF for their partnership in this important project,” said Mr. Halfon. S.L.R.

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In the Orthodox Community, Attorneys Seek Ways to Save Clients Money While the OU Seeks to Help Attorneys Get Work To most people the prospect

of needing a lawyer is frightening for many reasons, not the least of which is the cost.

In the New York-metropolitan area, legal fees edging up to $400 per hour and even as high as $1,000 per hour are not unheard of.

At the other end of the problem, the Orthodox Union is aware that many qualified attorneys are not sure how to develop their careers.

Just recently, two attorneys, one in Passaic and the other American-trained but living in Israel, have come up with two separate ideas on how to make the process a little less financially daunting.

Attorney Michael Lesher, a member of the Passaic Orthodox community, recognizes that most people don’t plan on litigation.

“When they find themselves in a legal dispute — either because they’re being sued or need to sue someone who has wronged them or are in the throes of post-marital troubles—most have no plan for how to cope with spiraling legal fees,” he said. “Divorcing parents, for example, often find that legal fees, especially if there are custody issues, can run into six figures. How many

people are prepared to pay that kind of money?”

Pro Se For many years, Mr. Lesher has been offering professional legal services to people who cannot avoid litigation, for one reason or another.

An option which he helps people pursue is for them to represent themselves, a choice he says is increasingly common today in family and civil courts. Legal disputes in these courts can be sufficiently important to the parties to warrant litigation, but usually do not award the money needed to pay most attorneys.

“The pro se option is not right for everyone,” Mr. Lesher conceded, “but many of the people I’ve taken on as clients have used it with success—and considerable savings.”

Avoiding Pitfalls Mr. Lesher said that most laymen do not know how to handle the technical aspects of the law: filing the correct papers, answering the adversary’s motions, pursuing the right legal strategy, and presenting the issues most effectively.

This is where Mr. Lesher can help. Admitted to the New York bar in 1989, he has worked over the years on many high-

ly contentious cases in state courts across the country and also in federal court. He has drafted pleadings, motions, discovery papers, and appeals on a variety of legal issues. He also prepares clients for oral arguments on the motions he has drafted for them, and he provides extensive support for trial if necessary, such as drafting question-specific guides for all witness examinations and cross-examinations.

“Because I don’t officially ‘appear’ for clients who represent themselves, or do the actual courtroom work, I charge much less than most litigators do, and I charge only for the work I do. Peripheral costs, such as travel time, time in the clerk’s office, waiting time in court for a judge to appear, time in depositions, time wasted on a deposition that doesn’t happen, etc., etc., can be avoided,” he said.

Effective Ethically, clients representing themselves must notify the court if they are receiving some legal assistance, but, according to Mr. Lesher, this manner of litigating helps to solve several problems at once. It helps the litigant avoid common pitfalls in court; it enables him or her to have high-quality legal

documents even though he or she is not officially represented by counsel; it avoids friction with a judge or clerk caused by ignorance of the law or the relevant procedure; and, most of all, it dramatically cuts costs.

Mr. Lesher said it is also very effective.

“It gets results,” he said.

“Many of my clients have been very satisfied with this manner of litigating—and I am happy to have helped them, both in business disputes and in more personal ones that have taken them into court.”

Paid Consultation He offers a one-hour initial consultation at his hourly rate of $200 for those who may be unsure how or whether to proceed in a legal matter.

More information about Mr. Lesher is available on his website, www.MichaelLesher. com, and he can be reached by email at MichaelLesher@ optonline.net.

“I look forward to hearing from anyone who may need my services,” he said.

Legal Outsourcing Thousands of miles away, in Israel, Avrum Aaron, a graduate of Yeshiva University and Columbia Law School, also recognized that many people he

http://jewishvoiceandopinion.com knew back in the US were having trouble with legal issues.

Eighteen months ago, working with his father, Arthur Aaron of Fort Lee, a businessman with more than 40 years of experience, Avrum Aaron decided to open Legal Outsourcing Partners, LLC, a fullservice legal outsourcing firm with offices in NJ and Israel.

Arthur Aaron is the firm’s president and CEO; Avrum Aaron is Chief Operating Officer. Originally from Teaneck, Avrum Aaron and his wife, the former Eliana Marcus, also from Teaneck, made aliyah ten years ago to Nof Ayalon in central Israel with their young family.

Like Avrum Aaron, attorneys associated with Legal Outsourcing Partners (LOP) are primarily American-trained lawyers who have made aliyah. Also like Mr. Aaron, many were educated at some of America’s finest law schools and were then trained

February 2013/Adar 5773

at prestigious American law firms before making aliyah.

“All are accredited by the appropriate bar associations and have years of experience working on all types of legal matters,” said Arthur Aaron, who runs the firm’s NJ office.

Three-Step Process LOP has established a threestep process, beginning with a free telephone consultation.

When prospective clients call, they are put in touch with an intake attorney who listens to the issue and then dispenses advice about the next step.

“If your intake attorney thinks you require legal representation, he or she will choose an expert attorney for you from our extensive data base,” said Avrum Aaron.

A conference call is then arranged with the client, the intake attorney, and the expert attorney, one chosen for his or her experience and expertise in handling the specific case.

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“The purpose of the conference call is for both attorneys to listen to your case and for you to develop a comfort level with your expert attorney,” said Mr. Aaron.

Opening a File Once the client is satisfied with the expert attorney LOP has chosen, a file is open and work begins on the matter. At that point, a representation agreement is signed.

“Most of our clients are comfortable after their first conversation, however, if, for any reason, you are not, then we will suggest an alternative expert attorney,” said Mr. Aaron. “At all times, our management team supervises the process and is available for consultation. The client interacts with the assigned attorney as needed, and can contact the expert attorney by dialing a US number or by other methods, including email or Skype.”

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All attorneys associated with LOP are available for consultations during US business hours.

Many Issues The list of matters handled for clients is long, ranging from Arbitration and Mediation to Wills and Workmen’s Compensation. It includes banking and financial institutions; bankruptcy; collections and repossessions; foreclosures; corporate mergers, acquisitions, formation, and other matters; commercial law; estate planning; criminal, family, entertainment, environmental, international, and labor law; employee benefits; healthcare; immigration; intellectual property; litigation; real estate; securities; secured transactions; social security; corporate, business, individual, state, federal, and local tax law; and trusts.

The only issue LOP does not generally tackle is divorce,

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February 2013/Adar 5773

Legal Savings although their attorneys will take on custody matters.

If an attorney is needed to make a personal appearance, clients will be directed to one of LOP’s affiliate law firms in the US available to attend hearings or meetings, although, often, these meetings can be handled by video conferencing or teleconference.

Lower Cost According to the Aarons, the advantage of using LOP is cost. Once an agreement is signed, clients pay $150 per hour.

“Clients receive highquality legal service from an experienced professional for a fraction of the price that would be paid to a US-based lawyer,” said Avrum Aaron.

LOP’s website can be accessed at www.LegalOutsourcingPartners.com. The NJ office can be reached at 201-224-9183; the Israel office’s number is 201-357-7715.

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continued from page 11 Helping the Lawyers While Messrs Lesher and Aaron have found ways of helping the public and dealing with current legal issues, the Orthodox Union is concerned about the many attorneys who need help networking with others in their profession, and with deciding how to manage their careers.

On February 28th, the OU’s Job Board will hold an event for attorneys addressing the issues of “Job Prospects: Openings and Opportunities,” “Solo Practice: Stick Your Toe in the Water—It’s Not as Cold as You Think,” “Chapter 11: What You Don’t Want to Hear,” and “Credit and Legal Risks—What They Are, Who Gets Hurt.”

The program will take place at the OU, 11 Broadway, 14th Floor, in Manhattan, at 5:30pm.

Practical Suggestions Mordechai Schwartz, a founding partner of Schwartz,

Goldstone, and Campisi LLP, will offer a presentation on “Personal Injury Litigation: What Is Involved.” Among his topics will be: required experience, job prospects, and the attraction of litigation.

Sol Feder, a partner in the firm of Regosin, Edwards, Stone, and Feder, will address the issue of solo practice: its advantages; how the electronic era “allows you to keep up with the big boys”; and why joining a local Bar Association to get advice and guidance is a good idea.

Other attorneys who will present include Shaya Rochester and Yehuda Forster.

Speed Networking After the presentations, there will be time for “Speed Networking,” which will be moderated by Zaki Isaac B. Tamir, a partner in a litigation firm; Senior Appellate Counsel for the Kings County

DA Solomon Neubort, who grew up in Crown Heights and attended Lubavitcher yeshivas until graduating from Brooklyn Law School; Maimon Kirschenbaum, a partner with the firm of Joseph and Kirschenbaum; and the firm of Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer, and Feld LLP, a leading global law firm providing innovative legal services and business solutions to individuals and institutions.

According to the evening’s organizer, Michael Rosner, head of the OU’s Job Board, while some legal positions may be available, this program is not a job fair, but, rather, a networking event.

Registration is required to attend. Pre-registration admission is $10; $25 at the door. Email jobsco@ou.org, rosnerm@ou.org, or call 212563-4000 and ask for the Job Board.

S.L.R.

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Syria

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continued from page 1

tradition of the Shiites, the Muslim sect of Iran and Hezbollah, with whom Mr. Assad is allied. The rebels are Sunni Muslims, allied with Jordan and Turkey. Both Iran and Syria use Hezbollah to conduct proxy terrorist attacks against Israel.

The US and its allies, especially Israel, which borders Syria, have repeatedly expressed concern not only that Mr. Assad could use chemical weapons against his enemies, but also that Syria’s stockpile could be stolen and fall into extremist hands or be transferred to the Hezbollah terror organization in Lebanon.

“Red Line” Israel has long said that transfer of these chemical weapons to Hezbollah would be a “red line” which Jerusalem could not ignore because it would essentially be a declaration of war by Syria and Hezbollah against the Jewish state.

Israel’s concern is what its security officials call “spillover,” violence reaching the Golan as shells from the fighting in Syria hit Israel soil. Chemical spillover could potentially be even worse. Syria has hundreds of tons of various chemical agents, including sarin and VX nerve agents, as well as older blistering agents like mustard gas, dispersed in dozens of manufacturing and storage sites.

Doctors have suggested that Mr. Assad’s forces are probably also using “Agent 15,” which causes paralysis.

To protect its border along the Golan Heights from conventional weapons, Israel has decided to build a fence similar to the one being constructed along the Sinai border. To protect itself against chemical warfare, the Jewish state has been relying on surveillance.

Last month, as a general precaution, Israel moved to the North several of its Iron Dome systems, designed to intercept missiles and neutralize them in mid-air.

During Israel’s recent Operation Pillar of Defense counter-terror offensive in Gaza, the system allowed only 55 of the 1,500 rockets fired at major cities to land, a success rate of 85 percent.

Convoy Strike On January 29, a report was issued about the Israeli strike against a convoy, which had been carrying Russian-made SA-17 anti-aircraft missiles from Syria to Hezbollah terrorist bases along the border

with Lebanon.

According to experts, the SA-17 antiaircraft weapons could obstruct Israel’s ability to fly reconnaissance flights over Lebanon. If the weapons had made it into the terrorists’ hands, the strategic balance of power in the region might have been altered.

At first, the Lebanese Army issued a complaint that Israeli fighter jets had penetrated Lebanese airspace. Hezbollah called the attack “barbaric.”

“Research Center” But the day after the complaint, Syria was no longer talking about the convoy.

Instead, Damascus accused Israel of staging an early morning air raid on a “military research center” 25 miles from Damascus.

Israeli warplanes, Syria said, had entered

Syria’s airspace via Mount Herman at low altitude and under the radar. Two site workers were allegedly killed.

The Syrian Army accused Israel of sending fighter jets to violate Syrian airspace and carry out “a direct strike on a scientific research center in charge of raising our level of resistance and selfdefense.”

Although Israel made no statements, the next day it was reported on a Lebanese news website that the target of the strike was not the convoy at all, but actually a chemical-weapons center only three miles from Damascus and just eight miles from the Lebanese border.

A source told the Lebanese website that four security guards were killed in

continued on page 14

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Syria

February 2013/Adar 5773

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continued from page 13

the attack and that the blast could be heard in Damascus.

Hezbollah-owned Al-Manar TV reported that four Israeli warplanes had taken part in the airstrike.

Taking Credit But the Sunni rebels seeking to overthrow and oust Mr. Assad denied that Israel had been involved at all in the strike on the facility. The rebels claimed they were the ones who attacked the military center, and they posted a video which allegedly documented a series of blasts at the site.

“The attack was carried out by the Sheikh Ahmed Yassin special forces unit, together with the A-Sham Martyrs Brigades. They destroyed the science center on the outskirts of Damascus,” said the rebels in a prepared statement.

According to the rebels, they fired six 120mm rockets and destroyed a large part of the

building, which they said was a center for chemical-weapons research. The statement added that the building had housed research teams from Russia and Iran, along with large numbers of Hezbollah terrorists.

White House Silence For several hours after the rebels claimed responsibility, White House spokesman Jay Carney would neither confirm nor deny that President Barack Obama was aware of either the attack on the convoy or at the weapons facility, or had endorsed one or both of them.

Instead, Mr. Carney directed queries “to the government of Israel for questions about deliberations or actions that they may or may not have taken.”

US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland was no more forthcoming.

“Without going into intelligence matters, we are concerned about

the relationship between the Syrian regime and Hezbollah and Iran,” she said.

The Obama administration broke its silence on the attacks

by Israel the next day, telling newspapers that Jerusalem had informed Washington about the strike against the convoy headed to Hezbollah bases before it was carried out.

Threats There was nothing said about the facility in Syria, but Damascus and Tehran continued issuing threats of retaliation against Israel for its alleged strike on the chemical weapons center.

Asked to clarify the situation, Israeli Vice-Prime Minister Silvan Shalom was non-committal. “We have been monitoring for a long time the possibility that chemical weapons will fall into the hands of extremist rebels, or, worse, into the hands of Hezbollah.

This is a very disturbing and dangerous situation, and there is consensus and cooperation among all countries in the Free World that this should be prevented,” he said.

But if Israel was less than forthcoming, especially about whether the Jewish state had attacked the chemical weapons center, Iran, Syria, Hezbollah, and Lebanon no longer said anything about the convoy.

However, they did escalate their complaints about the alleged attack on the facility.

Classified Installation According to a report in the Iraqi newspaper Azzaman, which appears in London, an unnamed Western diplomat who is allegedly close to Mr. Assad, said the classified installation “struck by Israel” was guarded by a large contingent of Iranian Revolutionary Guards, “many of whom died in the attack.”

The “diplomatic source” said

the attack took place 48 hours before it was first reported. He said the initial reports regarding a convoy that was supposedly hit “were meant to disguise the true target of the attack.”

However, the newspaper said, some trucks were also destroyed in the attack on the facility.

The diplomatic source said that Israeli F-16 jets carried out two sorties over the installation, firing at least eight guided missiles at it, as well as at least one bunkerbusting bomb. The installation, he said, was badly damaged and there were numerous casualties. He said that about 3,000 Iranian Revolutionary Guards were stationed at the installation as well as several Russian “experts.”

He added that the operation must have relied on good intelligence “obtained

by Israel within Iran.”

“Brutal Aggression” In Iran, the governmentrun Press TV quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian as saying the raid on Syria would have significant implications for Israel. He called on the UN to take steps against the Jewish state and warned Israeli leadership “not to place too much trust in the Patriot batteries that are stationed in the area.”

Iran’s Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Saleh condemned what he termed Israel’s “brutal

February 2013/Adar 5773

aggression” against Syria.

Syria and Iran suggested that there was an “alignment” between the “terrorist groups” (Mr. Assad’s government’s term for the Sunni rebels) and the “Zionists’ objectives.”

Ali Abdul-Karim Ali, Syria’s Ambassador to Lebanon, told Hezbollah’s website that Damascus “has the option and capacity to surprise in retaliation.” He would not predict when the response might occur.

“The Israelis and the US behind them, along with their Arab and regional accomplices, realize that Syria, which defends its sovereignty and territory, may decide to respond by surprise to this aggression,” he said.

Russia Russia, which has supported the Assad government against the Sunni rebels, weighed in on the side of Syria. In a prepared statement, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said that if the information concerning the strike is confirmed, “we have a case of unprovoked attacks on targets in the territory of a sovereign state, which grossly violates the UN Charter and is unacceptable.”

“Whatever the motives, this is not justified,” said the statement.

The White House responded by warning Syria

continued on page 16

The Jewish Voice and Opinion

Page - 15

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Syria

February 2013/Adar 5773

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continued from page 15

not to destabilize the region further by transferring weapons to Hezbollah.

Turkish Skeptics The one country that did not seem to buy the version of the story being told by Syria and Iran was Turkey, where Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu criticized the Syrian government for failing to respond to the alleged attack by Israel inside the country.

Turkey, whose NATO partners recently deployed US-made Patriot missiles along its border with Syria for protection, and Mr. Assad have been at odds politically and religiously. Turkey is mostly Sunni, like the rebels.

“Why has the Syrian army, which has been attacking its own people with warplanes and tanks for 22 months, not responded to this Israeli operation? Why doesn’t Assad throw a stone at the Israeli planes when they fly over his palace and insult his nation’s honor? Why doesn’t he do anything against Israel while he drops bombs on the innocent people of his own country? Is there a secret agreement between Israel and Assad?” said Mr. Davutoglu.

He suggested the Israeli air strikes might serve the interests of the Syrian government, implying that Mr. Assad is “exploiting” the attack “to bolster support for his regime among Muslim countries.”

Perhaps shaken by Turkey’s sentiments, Mr. Assad went on the offensive, declaring that Israel’s purpose in attacking Syria was not self-defense, but “an attempt to shake the stability of Syria.”

Mr. Assad stuck to his story that Israel had blown up a “sensitive Syrian military installation” rather than the convoy of advanced weapons being transferred from Syria to Hezbollah.

“Proof”

By Sunday, February 3, Israel began issuing oblique hints about the incident. At a conference in Germany, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak told international diplomats and military officials that the strike (whether against the convoy or the facility) is “proof that when we say something we mean it.”

“We say we don’t think Syria should be allowed to bring advanced weapon systems into Lebanon,” he said.

The same day, Israeli Maj-Gen (res) Amos Yadlin, former head of Military Intelligence, explained what he thought actually happened in Syria and why Mr. Assad gave a false version of it.

According to Mr. Yadlin, the true story was published by McClatchy News, which had quoted “two Israeli intelligence officials familiar with the air assault.”

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Israel’s MO The two told McClatchy that the anti-aircraft missiles targeted by the Israeli airstrike “were on a military base outside Damascus and had yet to reach the highway that leads to Lebanon when they were destroyed.”

One of the officials told the news service that “waiting until the missiles had reached the highway, the main link between Syria’s capital and Lebanon’s Beirut, would have made it more difficult for Israeli aircraft to target them without risking civilian casualties.”

Mr. Yadlin said the operation as described fit Israel’s policy of preventive strikes. Mr. Yadlin was one of Israel’s eight F-16 pilots who led the raid against Saddam Hussein’s nuclear reactor at Osirak, Iraq, in 1981.

He suggested the reason the Syrians emphasized the story of the facility and not the SA-17 convoy was that Syria had promised Russia that the SA-17s, which are an advanced Russian weapons system, would remain in Syria and not be transferred to Hezbollah.

“By dispatching the convoy, Syria was about to violate this commitment, and it, therefore, did not want to admit the convoy’s existence,” he said.

Civil War Israel’s incident last month occurred against the backdrop of the civil war that has been raging since March 2011 in Syria. More than 60,000 men, women, and children have died, and, according to the UN, another 2.5 million are literally starving in the devastation.

The violence was triggered by a teenager’s scrawled bit of graffiti on a wall celebrating the so-called Arab spring which had swept the region. Government forces arrested the boy and tortured him, igniting protests which the government tried to suppress.

At the end of January, the watchdog organization Human Rights Watch said the burning and looting of religious sites belonging to the groups at war with one another (as well as those belonging to helpless minority groups) has intensified, making it impossible for Western nations to offer assistance to Syrians caught in the crossfire.

In an interview with the New Republic, Mr. Obama described his dilemma: “Would

http://jewishvoiceandopinion.com a military intervention have an impact?

How would it affect our ability to support troops who are still in Afghanistan? What would be the aftermath of our involvement on the ground? Could it trigger even worse violence or the use of chemical weapons?

What offers the best prospect of a stable post-Assad regime? And how do I weigh tens of thousands who’ve been killed in Syria versus the tens of thousands who are currently being killed in Congo?”

In the end, the US gave $365 million in aid to Syria last month. Mr. Obama went on You Tube to tell the Syrians that the funds are for “more warm clothing for children and medicine for the elderly, flour and wheat for your families, and blankets, boots, and stoves for those huddled in damaged buildings.”

Seeking Safe Haven Almost 600,000 Syrian refugees have sought safe havens in neighboring Turkey, Lebanon, Iraq, and Jordan, where many are living in camps. Last month, Hamas chief Khaled Mashaal visited King Abdullah II in Jordan. The Hamas-terrorist leader, who had been based in Damascus, ostensibly came to discuss his group’s reconciliation with the PA’s Fatah in Judea and Samaria.

Rapprochement with Jordan is in Hamas’s interest. In the wake of the Syrian civil war, there has been a rift between the organization and Mr. Assad. Hamas’s parent group, the Muslim Brotherhood, is Sunni, and, thus, supports the Syrian rebels against Mr. Assad.

Thus far, King Abdullah will not allow Hamas to reopen its offices in Amman, but the terror group keeps trying.

No Refugees Two places where the fleeing PalestinianSyrians are not welcome are Gaza and the Palestinian Authority in Judea and Samaria, where tens of thousands of Palestinian-Syrians have sought refuge and been turned away. In 1948 and 1967, these Palestinians were encouraged by invading Arab nations to flee. Seduced by promises that they would soon own the land and homes of their Jewish neighbors, the Palestinians who fled Israel eagerly awaited the “conquering Arab heroes” who would drive the Jews “into the sea.”

When the wars ended in Arab defeats, the refugees were left homeless in their new countries and often herded—for generations—into makeshift refugee camps, denied the right to become citizens,

February 2013/Adar 5773

The Jewish Voice and Opinion

and thus remained “Palestinians.”

Hamas’s Prime Minister Ismael Haniyeh and PA President Mahmoud Abbas said they thought granting refuge to Palestinians trapped in Syria might somehow undermine their argument for a “Palestinian right of return.”

No “Right of Return” Just as Israelis were going to the polls to elect a new Knesset last month, Mr. Abbas, in an effort to discredit Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, gave an interview in which he claimed the PA had filed a futile request with Israel to allow 150,000 Syrian refugees who had once lived in Israel and fled during prior wars—and their descendants—to enter

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the PA on humanitarian grounds.

In fact, Israel had already offered to allow a number of Syrian refugees to enter the PA-controlled territories several weeks earlier, on condition that they formally relinquished their so-called “right-ofreturn” to Israel proper.

Mr. Abbas said he rejected the conditions set by Israel, and turned instead to the UN, hoping he could force the Jewish state to accept the tens of thousands of refugees into her borders. The UN has no such power, leaving Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon with no other choice but to repeat Mr. Netanyahu’s condition for agreement, which Mr. Abbas rejected.

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Page - 18

February 2013/Adar 5773

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In Defense of Public Service: Dovi Meles Has No Regrets On what he calls “a random day in the

summer of 2012,” Dovi Meles, then a member of the Modern Orthodox singles scene on the Upper West Side, received a call from the Department of the Army’s Office of Public Affairs to serve the United States as an Army civilian intern. The program trains recent graduates to become Army Public Affairs specialists.

Mr. Meles says that the opportunity presented “all the perks that any young professional could dream of: on the job training, continuing education, mentorship, and apprenticeship, in addition to job stability and security with lifelong benefits and opportunity for job growth with the federal government.”

Headquartered in Washington, DC, the Office of the Chief of Public Affairs, known in the Army as OCPA, is responsible for explaining and justifying the intricacies of the army to the public while, at the same time, protecting national security interests.

“OCPA fulfills the army’s obligation to keep the American people and the army informed,” Mr. Meles says.

As he began learning more about the position he had just been offered and its responsibilities, he began to appreciate the opportunity.

“I began to realize what an honor and privilege it would be to join a group of unique individuals who undertake such a complex mandate with integrity and pride. Who was I to turn down such an offer?” he says.

Possible Downsides While he knew that most young professionals in his position, fresh out of graduate school and with limited job experience, would jump at this opportunity, he as an Orthodox Jew had to think more than twice before accepting. For one thing, it meant he would have to commit to giving two years of public service to the US military, and he could be sent anywhere in the world.

With his undergraduate degree in Psychology from Yeshiva University and his Master’s in Social Work from Temple University, he was working for a Jewish notfor-profit organization, gaining valuable work skills and living in an area in which all the amenities for a comfortable observantJewish life were readily at hand.

Accepting the position with OCPA would mean giving up a stable job in New York City for employment that could potentially move him to places where there is little or no Jewish community or chance for identity. Kosher food, finding a minyan, and dating could all be potentially problematic.

Dream of Public Service On the other hand, despite the convenience of his Upper West Side lifestyle, Mr. Meles had been yearning for a position that would offer higher job growth than he felt he could look forward to with the non-profit. But he also knew that if he looked harder, he could have found another Jewish organization or opportunity to serve the Jewish community.

But Mr. Meles, a committed political conservative, had another consideration.

He had long harbored a lifelong dream of performing public service for his country.

“The United States has given so much to me, my family, and my community. I saw OCPA’s internship as a unique career opportunity and a way of representing my Jewish roots outside the Jewish community.

I gratefully accepted the Army’s offer, a decision I will never regret,” he says.

Exploring Other Cities Upon his acceptance of their offer, he was told by OCPA officials his first assignment would be in Philadelphia with later assignments in Maryland and Washington, DC. When his training is completed, he will be assigned wherever the US Army determines he is needed.

Upon completion of the internship program, Mr. Meles will be the first Orthodox Jew whose job is to explain the complexities of the US Army to the world at large.

Leaving New York did not especially bother him, and he is pleased to be stationed in Philadelphia, where he was born and raised. He views the prospect of having to move several times over the next two years as the opportunity to live in and explore other cities “while serving the needs of our country.”

He is currently working out of Philadelphia’s District Office of the Army Corps of Engineers, a branch of the military responsible for construction, research, and engineering. Known for building bridges, dams, and other projects for military and civilian infrastructures, the Army Corps of Engineers is currently working with FEMA as the federal government’s primary relief agency for New Jersey’s beaches.

Training for a Career He sees his two-year fellowship as the opportunity for unique training, and as a stepping stone to a lifelong career in public service.

“The government is vast, and there are so many chances to learn, to grow, and to lead,” he says.

As soon as he began serving with the Army, however, he realized just how few Orthodox Jews actually work for the federal government, especially, in national security agencies like Defense, Homeland Security, and State.

http://jewishvoiceandopinion.com As a student at YU, he remembers being encouraged to work with dozens of Jewish organizations in an effort to understand political developments and realities, but he says neither he nor his classmates were urged to consider helping to shape policy decisions directly from inside the government.

“Why is there such apathy within our community toward participating and working within our government?” he says.

Groundless Fear He believes there is “an unspoken fear by many Orthodox Jews that leaving their communities means risking the loss of Jewish identity and, perhaps, even religious observance.”

From his personal experience, thus far, he says, these fears are groundless. In fact, he says, he has found public service life, “in a country that allows freedom of religion,” to offer just the opposite.

“My Jewish identity has been, if anything, strengthened in my new career, and I have not changed who I am and what I believe, nor have I been swayed by anyone,” he says. “There hasn’t been any issue at all with Shabbos or kashrus.”

A Novelty The non-Jewish community, particularly in the military, he says, “has treated me as an equal and welcomed me into their ranks.”

“I am respected for who I am and what I believe in,” he says.

He does not deny that for many of his co-workers who have never worked with Orthodox Jews in the past, he is seen as something of a “curiosity.”

“I am asked many questions about my practices simply because most people are unaware of what we believe and why we practice the way we do,” he says.

Serving Proudly Mr. Meles says that being in new places has helped him learn more about networking, leading to interesting opportunities. He says he would strongly encourage more Orthodox Jews to consider moving out of their comfort zone in New York to experience the rest of the country, especially in public service.

“I find it sad that many members of our community have isolated themselves to the point where we are aware of our secular neighbors, yet they know nothing

February 2013/Adar 5773

The Jewish Voice and Opinion

about us. How can we create unity and religious tolerance in this country if we refuse to show proudly who we are?” he says.

He insists that working for the US Army “is much more than just a paycheck.” In addition to affording him an exciting and fulfilling career, his work is also a chance to open new inroads for the Orthodox community into what is now a “real void for us.”

“The federal government invests a significant amount of money into training individuals for fellowships and internships in all branches of the government with the promise for enriching and rewarding

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careers. But, by and large, the government does not go to Orthodox-Jewish colleges such as Touro and YU to recruit new talent, largely because our community does not show an active interest in partaking in public service. It is vital for religious Jews of all ages to be involved in public service in some form or another,” he says.

Embarrassingly Low Numbers Mr. Meles says that so far, the number of those opting to pursue professional paths in public service is “embarrassingly low.”

“My passion and commitment to public service makes it all the more disappointing that most of my Orthodox friends would

continued on page 20

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February 2013/Adar 5773

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Holy Name Medical Center Helps Haiti On Wednesday, February

13, Holy Name Medical Center in Teaneck will present the premier showing of the documentary, “Make a Difference: Have a Heart, Help Haiti.”

Shown in the hospital’s Marian Hall Conference Center, the film will document Holy Name’s 20-year relationship with Haiti, which began when one of the hospital’s physicians undertook a humanitarian trip to the country. That endeavor has grown into an organized effort to craft a hospital model in Hôpital Sacré Coeur, located in the northern city of Milot, which can be replicated throughout the country. After years of visits by a dedicated core of Holy Name’s physicians and nurses, both before and after the devastating 2010

Public Service not consider it for a career. I firmly believe and hope that by educating my peers in the Orthodox community, I can show them we are capable of working in government positions while maintaining our religions practices.”

He is convinced that once Orthodox Jews show an active interest in such careers, government recruiters will take a more active role in hiring people from within the

earthquake, the hospital’s management team has now embraced this challenge.

Working with professionals in the US to understand Haitian culture and socioeconomics, Holy Name is joining with its Haitian counterparts to design, implement, and fund a viable, sustainable, and quality-driven healthcare system in the Milot region.

“We are starting small, gaining momentum, trust, and performance,” said Michael Maron, president and CEO of Holy Name Medical Center. “Now we are taking our commitment to the next level, inviting our community to learn more about how we will create a better tomorrow for the people of Milot.”

Beacon of Hope Since 2010, Hôpital Sacré

Coeur—one of the few principal hospitals for the people of Haiti—has already tripled in size. It is the largest hospital in the North of Haiti, with 120 beds and a history of uninterrupted service for more than 25 years.

According to Dr. David Butler, a Holy Name obstetrician and gynecologist as well as a 20-year volunteer at Hôpital Sacré Coeur, this premier healthcare facility has been a “beacon of hope for the people of Northern Haiti.

“It is creating a healthier Haiti, one dignified life at a time,” said Dr. Butler, who also serves as president of the Crudem Foundation. An acronym for Center for the Rural Development of Milot, the Crudem Foundation assumed operating control of the hospital in 1993.

“Once you go down there, you get hooked,” said Dr. Butler.

Dr. Steve Adubato The staff at Holy Name is hoping the community will join them on Feb 13th to celebrate their progress in Haiti and share their plans for the future.

The evening will feature Dr. Steve Adubato, a university lecturer, journalist, and Emmy Award-winning television news anchor. In the mid-1980s, when he was just 26, he served in the New Jersey General Assembly.

For more information, call Holy Name Medical Center at 201-833-3000.

The evening will be filmed and shown on the following Public Broadcasting stations: WHYY, Feb 14, 5:30pm; NJTV, Feb 14, 7pm; WNET, Feb 15, 12:30pm; and WLIW, Feb 24, 11:30pm.

S.L.R.

to use that time to become actively involved in policy and political campaigns.

“Working with Senators and Congressmen and engaging in other volunteer policy work builds relationships and can give students who want to make a difference a taste of what it’s like,” he says.

Although he is technically working for the Obama administration, he is adamant that even those—perhaps,

especially those—who did not support the President in the last election should feel motivated to become involved to make a difference.

“At the end of the day, if you’re to the right of the President, you have all the more reason to make a difference,” he says. “If something you don’t like happens, it should bring you to get involved for your country and yourself.” S.L.R.

continued from page 19 Orthodox-Jewish community.

“We should be proud not only to serve our community, but our country as well. I encourage everyone in our community to get involved,” he says.

He is available to speak to those who want to consider this career path and can be reached at admeles@gmail. com.

Getting Involved He encourages OrthodoxJewish students still in school

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The Jewish Voice and Opinion

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Zionism 101: New Website Teaches Zionist History through Film to the YouTube Generation David Isaac is convinced

most people don’t know the first thing about Zionism.

“Even people supportive of Israel, who describe themselves as ‘Zionists’—Jews and Christians— are fuzzy on the details. Most don’t have even a rudimentary knowledge of the modern Zionist movement,” he says.

A journalist who has written on topics related to Israel and Zionism for many years, he has long been vexed by this problem, and recently decided to do something about it. He has created an educational website, Zionism101.org, which is dedicated to teaching about the history of Zionism through a series of short films.

“If there’s one thing educators have learned, it’s that

students would rather watch a movie than read a book, so Zionism101 is filled with YouTube-style videos that make it easy to understand what the movement is all about,” he says.

Easy to Navigate In fact, the site is impressive and easy-to-navigate. The 20 courses currently available contain films which average five to six minutes in length and cover aspects of the Zionist enterprise from its earliest beginnings (“Founding Fathers,” “Origins of Zionism,” and “Rivals to Zionism”) to the present day (“The Search for Peace” and “Attackers and Defenders”). In between there are videos on “The Rebirth of Hebrew,” “The British Mandate Period,” “USIsrael Relations,” and “American

Zionism.” Course 17 is entitled “Israel’s Geography.”

Although the site was originally conceived for those interested in an elementary education in Zionism, Mr. Isaac says it will also be useful for those whose knowledge is more extensive.

“While Zionism101 is primarily for those who want to learn the basics, more knowledgeable students will also find the site valuable as there are many details to the Zionist struggle known only by a few,” he says.

Anti-Propaganda He insists Zionism101 is about education, not propaganda. If anything, he says, the education to be gained at the site about Zionist history will serve to negate the explo-

sively increasing anti-Zionist propaganda to which so many people are subjected.

“You can’t learn about Zionist history and accept that Zionism is racism or that Jews dispossessed the Arabs. Yet, this sort of thing is widely accepted as fact, and too often by young Jews who are exposed to all sorts of anti-Israel propaganda in college for which they are totally unprepared,” he says.

He is convinced that equipping young Jews with knowledge of Zionist history will enable them to withstand the propaganda, and, he says, he is pleased to see many college students registering at his site.

Little-Known Facts According to Mr. Isaac, Zi-

continued on page 22

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Zionism 101

February 2013/Adar 5773

Tell Our Advertisers “I Saw It in The Jewish Voice and Opinion”

continued from page 21

onism101 is about one-third complete. He is currently working on “Christian Zionism,” the importance of which, he says, has been glossed over by too many historians.

“The movement gave important help to the Jewish Zionists. Without Christian Zionism, the Jews would not have gotten the foothold they did in the 19th century in the Land of Israel. And without the long tradition of Christian Zionism in Britain, Chaim Weizmann would not have succeeded in his efforts to bring about the Balfour Declaration,” says Mr. Isaac.

Mr. Isaac says Zionism 101 has two main goals: to present the information in a format that makes learning easy and won’t overwhelm the viewer, and, at the same time, to cover Zionist history comprehensively.

Finding Footage Perhaps his greatest challenge has been finding footage for the films.

“We were quite concerned about our four-part series on Theodor Herzl. No footage exists of him as far as anyone knows, although his life intersected with the emergence of film as a medium. Fortunately, we found a film about his life made in 1921.

The actor does a convincing job as Herzl,” he says.

Mr. Isaac has been able to secure footage from sources

such as the Library of Congress in Washington, DC, and the National Archives and Records Administration in College Park, Maryland.

“Their film collections have never been looked at with the eyes of a Zionist,” he says.

Despite the difficulties, Mr. Isaac is certain that film was the proper choice for the site on Zionism. For proof, he points to statistics showing that reading in general is on the decline.

“Every ten years, the National Endowment for the Arts does a survey. In their last report, they found that reading is down across the board. Couple that with the fact that no one wants to read on a computer screen, and you can see why we went with film,” he says.

Ze’ev Jabotinsky, z”l The archive he found most cooperative in Israel has been the Jabotinsky Institute in Tel Aviv. According to Mr. Isaac, the institute was generous in making its images available.

“The Jabotinsky Institute has its materials organized better than our Library of Congress,” he says.

Zionism101 includes a fivepart series on Vladimir “Ze’ev” Jabotinsky, the leader of the Revisionist wing of Zionism in the years before the state was established.

Mr. Isaac considers Mr. Jabotinsky an excellent example to illustrate the crisis in Zionist education.

“Here you have a leader who founded the Jewish Legion in World War I, founded the Haganah, inspired the creation of the Irgun, created an alternative Zionist organization which actually drew more participants than the original Zionist organization, and I bet that if you pulled a Jew randomly off the street and asked him who Jabotinsky was, it would be the first time he ever heard the name. Yet, during his lifetime, Jabotinsky was a towering figure who could keep thousands spellbound for hours with his oratory, and was so beloved by the Jewish masses that there were cases of Jews dying in World War II clutching his picture,” says Mr. Isaac.

Herb Zweibon, z”l It is fitting that Mr. Isaacs speaks so glowingly of Mr. Jabotinsky. Zionism101 was the brain child of the late Herbert Zweibon who, before his death in 2011, was the long-time chairman of Americans for a Safe Israel (AFSI). In that position, Mr. Zweibon not only lobbied tirelessly for Israel’s security, but also worked to keep Mr. Jabotinsky’s legacy alive.

Mr. Zweibon spearheaded a highly successful national high school essay contest in Israel on the subject of Mr. Jabotinsky, with prizes to the winners presented in 2010 by Education Minister Gideon Sa’ar and Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin. AFSI still sponsors an annual Jabotinsky Memorial evening in Manhattan.

“AFSI’s guiding principles as outlined by Jabotinsky in his prolific writings and speeches are the belief in the Jewish biblical, legal, and historic rights of ownership of the entire land of Israel,” says AFSI’s current executive director Helen Freedman.

Vast Wasteland Before his death, Mr. Zweibon asked Mr. Isaac, who was then AFSI’s executive director, to become involved in a project to use the Internet to teach Zionist history. Before agreeing, Mr. Isaac engaged in some research to see what, if anything, was already available.

What he learned startled him. Zionism lacked anything resembling a strong presence on the web. The pro-Zionist sites that did exist were unattractive, dense with text, and mixed current events with history.

Worse, the Internet was crammed with anti-Zionist sites that came up as soon as the word “Zionism” was entered into a search engine.

“There were sites with names like ZionismExplained.org and JewsAgainstZionism.com, and many others, which attacked Zionism. Because they used the word ‘Zionism’ in their names, they featured prominently on any search engine,” he says.

His research convinced Mr. Isaac that Mr. Zweibon was onto something important. Sadly, Mr. Zweibon died before Zionism101 was up and running.

“It was his last project. He was on his deathbed when I last saw him, the day before he died, and all he wanted to talk about to me was the website,” says Mr. Isaac. “Let’s just say it left me highly motivated.”

Costs But film footage is expensive, as are musical scores, voice actors, and professional editing necessary for this project.

Funding, therefore, has been one of Mr. Isaac’s chief concerns.

“While doing this project, I’ve gained an appreciation for the importance of voice-over artists,” he says.

He feels fortunate to have found his very talented narrator, Dennis Kleinman, who

http://jewishvoiceandopinion.com “has more than a passing interest in the topic,” Mr. Isaac says.

In addition, Mr. Isaac was able to enlist the help of his brother Rafi, who studied film in college and does all the editing for Zionism101.

“He’s got the gift. I’ve been asked more than once who edits our films.

Actually, he does more than edit. He’s a jack-of-all-trades and comes up with lots of ideas for the site. If I need something fixed, he’ll find a solution. He’s like the MacGyver of Zionism,” says Mr. Isaac.

Zionist Parents It is quite fitting that the Isaac brothers have teamed up to work on a project to promote Zionism. Their parents, Drs. Rael Jean and Erich Isaac, are longtime proIsrael writers and AFSI leaders. In 1977, AFSI published its first pamphlet, Dr. Rael Jean Isaac’s “Breira-Council for Judaism,” which exposed the radical roots and agenda of the first American-Jewish anti-Israel organization. Widely credited with debunking and eventually dismantling that organization, the pamphlet noted that New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman, who had claimed to be a longtime pro-nationalist Zionist before covering the first Lebanon War and turning against the Jewish state, was actually a member of Breira during his college days at Brandeis.

In 1980, the Drs. Isaac co-authored “The Americanization of Peace Now.” Published by AFSI, it described how Breira had morphed into Peace Now. In addition to other works published

by AFSI, Dr. Rael Jean Isaac authored or co-authored more than a dozen books, many of them concerned with a vision of tyranny exercised by leftists. Her 1990 “Madness in the Streets: How Psychiatry and the Law Abandoned the Mentally Ill,” co-authored with Virginia Armat, is gaining new interest in the wake of recent tragedies in the United States.

Shmuel Katz, z”l Zionism101 is not David Isaac’s first venture on the Internet. After the 2008 death of Shmuel “Mooki” Katz, an Israel writer, historian, and journalist, Mr. Isaac became the editor of www.shmuelkatz.com, a website dedicated to Mr. Katz’s memory.

An Israeli writer, historian, and journalist, who was a member of Israel’s first Knesset and served as advisor to Prime Minister Menachem Begin, Mr. Katz was known for is extensive research on Mr. Jabotinsky. In

February 2013/Adar 5773

The Jewish Voice and Opinion

a memorial tribute to Mr. Katz, who died at the age of 93, Mr. Zweibon credited him with inspiring the founding of AFSI in 1971.

While the website dedicated to Mr. Katz has some videos, Zionism101 expects to release a new film every few weeks.

Free Website Taking advantage of Zionism101 is free, but visitors are asked to register. Mr. Isaac says that information is not shared with anyone.

“The only purpose for registration is to gauge how we’re doing and to learn something about our audience, such as where they are from, their ages, and their level of education,” he says.

Once registered, subscribers to the site will receive an email notifying them

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when a new film goes up.

“We want to make life as easy as possible for our members. Once you sign up, you don’t need to check the site for new material. We let you know,” says Mr. Isaac.

For more information, Mr. Isaac can be reached through the contact page on the website, www.zionism101.org, or by email at david_isaac@zionism101.org.

“The Jews struggled for 1,800 years to reestablish their sovereignty in the Land of Israel. They made repeated attempts to return through the centuries. They finally succeed. They pull off a feat unique in human history. What happens next?

No one talks about it. It’s time we started talking about it,” he says.

S.L.R.

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February 2013/Adar 5773

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Achieving Change Through Torah: In Raritan Valley, ACTT Is Personal, Communal, and Global Since its founding in 2006, the Raritan

Valley-based organization Achieving Change Through Torah (ACTT) has devoted itself to a monumentally ambitious goal: facilitating meaningful and lasting character improvement.

Its methodology is equally impressive.

The group encourages Torah learning, performance of mitzvoth, making commitments, and sharing motivational material.

To avoid frustration and lack of confidence, ACTT’s secret is to focus on incremental changes, encouraging its members to do what is possible without expecting complete character make-overs in a limited amount of time.

To do this, ACTT focuses on a single midah, or positive character trait, at a time, usually for a period of two-to-six months.

Employing modules, ACTT has encouraged members to become involved in issues such as loving kindness (ahavas chesed); judging others favorably; concentration during prayer (kavanah during davening); gratitude and recognizing when we have received a good turn (hakaras hatov); anger management for positive results; guarding one’s tongue (shmiras haloshon); telling the truth (emes); recognizing the “six constant mitzvoth” (know there is a G-d, not believing in any other power, recognizing G-d is one, love G-d, fear G-d, and not being misled by hearts and/or eyes); happiness; forgiveness; and acting with zeal and alacrity (zerizus).

Dealing with the issue addressed by

the module, members of ACTT attend a kick-off event to discuss the subject and then engage in a daily personal learning program (typically for as little as five minutes a day), leading to a commitment to implementation. Members receive an ACTT module packet which contains the goal, the duration, a suggested to-do list, resources, a commitment form, and a daily activity log focusing on the module’s topic.

Bitachon Starting on February 17th, the group will focus on the value of trusting in G-d, or bitachon, in Hebrew. The source book for this module is “Chizuk: A Primer on Bitachon, Coping, and Hope” by Rabbi Eliezer Parkoff.

The kick-off event will be held on motzei Shabbat, February 16, at Congregation Ahavas Achim in Highland Park at 9pm. Rabbi Sam Ash, a fellow of the Wexner Smicha Honors Program at Yeshiva University and the rabbinic intern at Congregation Ohr Torah in Edison, will deliver the kickoff lecture, entitled “When the Going Gets Tough, How Do We Respond to Adversity?”

The February 16th evening is ACTT’s 28th event. There has been either a kickoff or a “booster” event for each of its modules since 2006. Membership and admission to ACTT events is free. All ACTT-developed materials are freely available on the group’s website, http://www.actt613.org.

Online Members While the group’s membership has consisted primarily of members of the

Orthodox community in Highland Park, Edison, New Brunswick, and East Brunswick, ACTT’s presence on the Internet has netted the organization members across the country and abroad. There are ACTT members in 11 towns in New Jersey as well as in California, Illinois, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Wisconsin, Ottawa and Toronto, Jerusalem, Johannesburg, and Montevideo, Uruguay.

According to ACTT founder and Edison resident Phil Rosen, members represent Jewish adults of all ages and backgrounds as well as high school and college.

Long-distance members can participate in ACTT’s programs by listening to the various speakers on the website’s audio pages, accessing the materials on ACTT’s module pages. Source books can be purchased from local bookstores or online.

Adapting Methodology ACTT members who attend events in person or online receive emails that provide chizuk (positive encouragement), website update notifications, and eventrelated information.

“We seek to provide a Torah-based approach and create an environment that supports an individual’s efforts by assisting with challenges and celebrating successes,” said Mr. Rosen, who is Leadership Committee coordinator and current chairman of ACTT’s Programs and Events Department.

ACTT was born in the summer of 2005 as the result of a discussion between Mr. Rosen and his rabbi, Rav Yaakov Luban, spiritual leader of Cong Ohr Torah. According to Rabbi Luban, Mr. Rosen was looking to do something meaningful to help his own spiritual needs and growth as well as that of the local community.

Rabbi Luban was familiar with programs run by the Chofetz Chaim Heritage Foundation dealing with ending gossip, and he thought that the ideas and methodology of that group could form the basis to help Mr. Rosen realize his goals.

“People make all sorts of commitments before and immediately after Yom Kippur, but, all too often, these good intentions dissipate quickly. We needed something that would help us focus to achieve lon-

http://jewishvoiceandopinion.com ger lasting results,” said Rabbi Luban.

Keeping Records One of ACTT’s major tools is its daily log. Rabbi Luban noted the example of the American colonial leader Benjamin Franklin: in 1730, while still in his twenties, Franklin suggested keeping a record of one’s goals, noting how well or poorly the goals were met. Franklin believed that over time, the record would help to change one’s character.

Seventy years after Mr. Franklin listed his thirteen personal and social character traits, Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Satanov (better known by the title of his chief work, Cheshbon Ha-Nefesh) mentioned the same idea.

“I don’t know if the Cheshbon HaNefesh was familiar with Franklin’s writing, or if he came up with it on his own, but the point is, a personal log is an effective tool. It promotes awareness and is motivating,” said Rabbi Luban.

Mr. Rosen agreed. “Our philosophy is to take baby steps that will lead to gradual change that will be lasting,” he said.

Raising Awareness Rabbi Luban said he has noticed an improvement in himself since becoming involved with ACTT. “When you focus for three months on the same midah, reading about it and keeping track of what you have accomplished, it sensitizes you to the quality and prompts you to think about it,” he said.

Mr. Rosen recalled that when the module was based on “loving kindness,” for example, members were encouraged to commit to reading a short amount of Torah-oriented material, perhaps for only five minutes a day, and then to perform at least one act of kindness every day.

“Some people ran errands for friends, others greeted people cheerfully, or remembered a birthday, or simply called someone going through a difficult time,” said Mr. Rosen.

Overcoming “Inertia” According to Rabbi Luban, such actions are often taken for granted in the Orthodox-Jewish community; however, “inertia” often takes over, and the halachically mandated behavior is forgotten.

“ACTT helps us utilize the power of Torah to overcome inertia in our behavior.

If a person makes a small commitment every day, it may not change the world, but the individual will be learning something powerful,” he said.

Mr. Rosen believes the “beauty of ACTT

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The Jewish Voice and Opinion

Is that it creates a continuous awareness for those wanting to work on middosimprovement and there is something in ACTT for everyone.”

“One person might choose to come to an event or download the audio from the website to hear an inspiring speaker talk about a topic that interests him or her. Someone else might read a source book that is used for one of the modules because it is very engaging and helpful.

Others might find that actively participating in the entire program on a consistent basis is what helps them the most. The key is that a person can pick and choose what is best for him or her,” he said.

On its website, ACTT emphasizes two

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main goals. In addition to providing tools and a support system to foster success for those who want to make “meaningful and lasting changes in their lives,” another impetus for the program is to “serve as a merit for those who are sick or are experiencing other hardships in our families and communities, and as a merit for Klal Yisrael in the face of the current crisis in Israel and world-wide antisemitism.”

Unity By encouraging all members to work on improving the same character trait at the same time, the program has also helped to achieve another of ACTT’s goals: to promote community unity.

continued on page 26

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February 2013/Adar 5773

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Video Shows How to Escape Mass Murder: Run, Hide, Fight Just after the tragic mass shooting

in Newtown, Connecticut last month, in which twenty young children and six adults were murdered by a crazed gunman, Arutz Sheva in Israel publicized a video to prepare citizens to take action if confronted by a mass murderer.

The free 15-minute video, entitled “Run. Hide. Fight: Surviving an Active Shooter Event,” was produced by a Houston city government agency, and is available at http://tinyurl.com/RunHideFight.

The video is a Department of Homeland Security grant-funded project of the Regional Catastrophic Planning Initiative. It was produced by the City of Houston Mayor’s Office of Public Safety and Homeland Security.

“The Houston Region is the kind of place where big ideas typically become larger-than-life realities. Throw any challenge our way and we meet it head on. But are we really ready for anything?” asks the site.

Start with a Plan: Run The video opens with scenes of

ACTT

everyday activity in a normal office, while the voice-over narrator explains that “occasionally life feels more like an action movie than reality.”

All of a sudden, an armed intruder bursts into the building, rips a rifle out of his bag, and starts shooting, killing the building’s guard and then a woman standing next to him. The gunman then starts wildly shooting at random.

The video’s first suggestion to survive this active-shooter event is to have a plan.

“The plan doesn’t have to be complicated,” says the narrator.

First and foremost, those confronted with the reality of such an event should run.

“If you can get out, do,” says the narrator.

“Always try to escape or evacuate, even when others insist on staying. Encourage others to leave with you, but don’t let them slow you down with indecision.

Remember what’s important: you, not your stuff. Leave your belongings behind and try to find a way to get out to safety.

Trying to get yourself out of harm’s way needs to be your number one priority.

Once you’re out of the line of fire, try to prevent others from walking into the danger zone, and call 911,” says the narrator.

Hide If escape is impossible, the video suggests those inside the building try to find a place to hide. The video shows people in the building’s lunchroom who have heard the shots and realize they are under attack. They shut the lunchroom door and put a table against it. In another room, a woman hides and drags the copy machine in front of the door to secure it.

“Act quickly and quietly. Try to secure your hiding place the best you can. Turn out lights, and, if possible, remember to lock doors. Silence your ringer and vibration mode on your cell phone. If you can’t find a safe room or closet, try to conceal yourself behind large objects that may protect you. Do your best to remain quiet and calm,” says the narrator, adding that the hiding place should be out of the shooter’s view, provide protection if shots are fired in your direction, and not be a

gation Etz Ahaim; Gedaliah Jaffe, Congregation Ahavas Yisrael; Eliyahu Kaufman, Congregation Ohav Emeth; Steven Miodownik, Congregation Ahavas Achim; Abraham Mykoff, Congregation Poile Zedek; and Jay Weinstein, Young Israel of East Brunswick. All encourage membership and active participation in ACTT.

A Major Organization Despite the organization’s success, Mr. Rosen harbors hopes that ACTT’s goals and methodology will be adopted by one of the major Jewish organizations whose mission would be to take the program to the next step.

“We would like to see ACTT brought to the next level, which can happen if a major Jewish organization with the resources to develop the program further from both content and audience perspectives can take over,” said Mr. Rosen, making it clear that ACTT’s leadership would gladly contribute all its materials to such a group.

He said he would be happy to discuss any ideas to broaden ACTT’s reach.

He can be reached at info@actt613.org.

“ACTT is similar to a Broadway revival, a modern-day Jewish character-improvement program with the flavor of the Mussar Chaburah of yesteryear,” he said.

Theoretically, he said, ACTT could be compared to the Daf Yomi program.

“In the right hands, ACTT would be to meaningful and lasting changes in Jewish lives as Daf Yomi is to the widespread learning of Talmud,” he said.

S.L.R.

continued on page 54

continued from page 25

The spiritual leaders of seven Orthodox synagogues in Highland Park, Edison, and New and East Brunswick comprise ACTT’s Rabbinic Advisory Committee. In addition, six members of the community have served on ACTT’s Leadership Committee since the group’s inception.

In addition to Rabbi Luban, the rabbis and their shuls are: David Bassous, Congre-

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Toasting Purim with a Glass of Israeli Red Wine Is Heart-Healthy

By Anna Harwood This Purim, if your glass at your festive meal contains an Israeli red wine, you may be ensuring yourself a clean bill of health.

According to Professor Michael Aviram, director of Rambam Hospital’s Clinical Research Institute, one of the most cardio-protective foods he has discovered in his 32 years of investigation into “bad cholesterol” (LDL) and its formation to cause atherosclerosis, or thickening and hardening of the arteries, which can lead to heart attacks and strokes, is red wine.

Dr. Aviram, who is credited with revolutionizing cardiovascular medicine at Rambam and its affiliated Technion American Medical School faculty, discovered that, in addition to excessive levels of LDL cholesterol in the blood, oxidation of cholesterol molecules by exposure to harmful entities, such as smoke, pollution, and even viruses, can be just as dangerous.

Antioxidants The solution, he said, is antioxidants which can block the oxidation of cholesterol and other fats.

“In the last 25 years I have studied over 100 different fruits, vegetables, beverages, and wines to find out the health benefit of these magical molecules,” he said. “Most of the antioxidants I found were present in the skin of the fruit. The most cardio-protective foods I discovered were pomegranates, red wine, and olive oil.”

Dr. Aviram and his team first published their findings on the unique properties of red wine in 1995 and, since then, their paper has been cited over 600 times in further research.

It is well-recognized that the skins of the grape, left in the juice during fermentation, cause the red color of the wine and give it its powerful antioxidant qualities.

According to Dr. Aviram, a glass of red wine at meals times has been demonstrated to reduce the levels of oxidized bad cholesterol in the bloodstream and, thus, the potential for developing atherosclerosis.

Israeli Sun Just recently, it was discovered that Israeli wine has five times the amount of a potent antioxidant than the relative wine studied, which was produced in the United Kingdom. The study suggests that it may be the high levels of sunlight which

aids antioxidant production in the grapes grown in Israel.

“We are incredibly lucky here in Israel,” explained Yael Gai of the Golan Heights Winery. “Our vineyards are spread across the Golan at varying altitudes and geographical conditions. We have perfected the latest technology to allow us to exploit the fantastic sunshine and variety of temperatures available to us.”

There are now more Israeli wines on the market than ever before, and there has been a host of Israeli red wines wining international prizes this year, including the Yarden Cabernet Sauvignon and the Galil Mountain Yiron, (both from 2008).

Wide Selection This year, American-Jewish families have a wide selection of budgetary choices

when it comes to the latest vintage of the Mount Hermon Red, which is due to hit the shelves before Purim, bursting with flavor at an attractively affordable price.

Smooth and fruity, it has convinced critics that it will please wine connoisseurs and novices alike.

Those looking for something special might be interested in another newly released wine, the Yarden Cabernet Sauvignon El Rom, 2009. Released to the US market with a limited number of bottles for sale, it is a full-bodied wine, aged to perfection with the special magic of a single-vineyard wine.

Whichever Israeli red wine is served at the seudah this Purim, it is reassuring to know that, drunk in moderation, this treat may be keeping Jewish hearts healthy in addition to tantalizing their taste buds.

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“My Name Is Asher Lev” on Stage: It’s Still Chassidic Judaism vs. Western Art Some 15 years before he died

in 2002, the Jewish author Chaim Potok visited Teaneck and took some time to elaborate on the passionate exploration that informs virtually all his books: the impact of one culture on another when they come into conflict. More often than not in Mr. Potok’s works, the struggle ensues when secularism— whether in art, science, or politics—and the sacred sphere of Judaism confront each other.

This certainly is the focus of “My Name is Asher Lev,” Mr. Potok’s semi-autobiographical book, in which traditional Judaism and the world of classical Western art meet, in the person of a teenage chassidic boy born with an artistic gift that cannot be denied.

First published in 1972, “My Name is Asher Lev” is now an Off-Broadway play, adapted from the book by Aaron Posner with strong input from Mr. Potok’s widow, Adena.

“Chaim was interested not so much in the clash between good and evil, but, rather, in the conflict between two sets of ‘goods,’” she said.

“My Name is Asher Lev,” which has received outstanding reviews and is remarkably true to the novel, will play at least through May at the Westside Theater in Manhattan.

Lassie When he spoke in Teaneck, Mr. Potok recalled an incident that occurred when he and his wife were visiting his motherin-law in Boro Park, Brooklyn.

Taking their big collie dog for a walk, the Potoks found themselves facing a chassidic family: a father and several of his sons, including a little boy about five years old. As the chassidic family approached the Potoks,

the five-year-old tugged on his father’s sleeve and, in Yiddish, said, “Look, Daddy. It’s Lassie.”

Mr. Potok said he was astounded. “Here was a little boy who doesn’t go to movies, doesn’t watch TV, doesn’t read comic books, and yet he knew the big collie was ‘Lassie.’ How did that happen?” he wondered.

He concluded that, in every dominant culture, there are elements that leak out and become known even to those parts of the population that are generally insulated from that culture.

“That little boy was at the heart of his own culture— chassidic Judaism—but he was aware of an element of American culture, such as Lassie, which is, after all, not the ‘heart’ of the dominant culture, but, rather, something that exists on the periphery of it. Knowing who and what Lassie is will not influence that little boy to modify his own culture. Lassie does not cause a conflict,” he said.

However, he said, there are elements which exist at the heart of the separate cultures, and when those elements butt up against each other, conflict will ensue.

Not a Melodrama In “Asher Lev,” the conflict starts early and grows into a fullfledged cultural struggle. As a small child growing up in the Ladoverchassidic community (a group invented by Mr. Potok as literary stand-ins for Lubavitch) in the 1950s, Asher receives approbation from his parents for his ability to draw—until he starts school, when he is expected to spend his time pursuing Torah.

A father’s disappointment would not necessarily blossom into clash of civilizations, but Mr. Potok was not writing merely a family melodrama. Asher may

have the gift of artistic genius, but his parents cannot be dismissed as ignorant, unworldly lowbrows. His father works as a chief emissary of the Rebbe, setting up yeshivas throughout Europe for the remnant of Jews not swallowed up by the Holocaust.

His mother earns advanced degrees in Russian, chiefly to be able to help her husband in his work for Soviet Jewry.

When Asher’s talent is recognized by the Rebbe, the community’s spiritual leader decides the best path is to send him to an older, cynical master artist who, while totally secular, is, at least, Jewish.

Jacob Kahn’s own relationship with traditional Judaism is as problematic to himself as it is to the Rebbe, but when his young protégé declares a sense of responsibility to the Jewish people, the art teacher will have none of it: “As an artist, you are responsible to no one and nothing except to yourself and to the truth as you see it! An artist is responsible to his art! To his art! Just that.

Anything else is propaganda.”

A Crucifixion Given that the artistic language Asher is taught by Kahn is that of Western (read Christian) culture, when the artist as a young man wants to capture the loneliness and pain of his mother, waiting by

the window for her husband to return from his European sojourns or her son to return home from a day drawing on the streets of New York, he feels compelled to paint her crucified, tied to the window blinds. Instead of a thief on either side, Asher Lev’s crucifixion has the mother flanked by her son, the artist, and her husband, the chassidic emissary, whose association with Christianity began when his own father was murdered at the hands of a drunken axe-wielding Christian who believed he was upholding his faith.

Asked if she thinks there might have been another metaphor that Asher (and her husband) might have used, for example the gnawing, haunting elements of the akeida— the binding of Isaac—or the devastation of the Holocaust, Mrs. Potok said no.

“In the Western tradition, the ultimate syntax of aloneness is the crucifixion. The akeida is not about loneliness. The Shoah is about destruction, not loneliness. Western art created the image of the crucifixion to represent unresolved loneliness, and that is the language that Asher was taught and that he used. If he had been schooled in Eastern art, this would have been a different story,” she said.

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The Log: Thurs., Feb 7

“How to Talk so Kids Will Listen and Listen so Kids Will Talk: Deal with Your Child’s Negative Feelings—Frustration, Disappointment, Anger,” Emily Shapiro, at Kidaroo, Riverdale, 10am, 347-560-1027 Film: “Keeping the Kibbutz: Challenges Faced by a Community in Transition,” with Rabbi Avrohom Rapoport, includes brunch, JCC, Margate, 10:30am, 609-822-1167 ext 138 “When Worlds Meet,” for women, Israeli actor Efi Bibi and Chassidic woman Tippi Reifer, spons by Aish Israel, private home in Teaneck, 11:30am, 201-836-0820 National Council of Synagogue Youth, Milburn High School, 2:30pm, 201-862-0250 Mishmor Program, for boys and girls in grades 2-5, Rabbi Yisroel Rosenblum, includes help with homework, stores, raffles, refreshments, prizes, and sports, at Cong Ahawas Achim Bnai Jacob and David, West Orange, 6:30pm, 973-251-0205 Israeli TV Show: “Srugim/Knitted Kippahs,” with Rotem Nahum JCC Rockland, West Nyack, 7pm, 845-362-4400 “McCarthy Witch Hunt: A Not-So-Funny Reminiscence of the Fearful Menace of McCarthyism Which, to a Large Measure, Singled Out Jews Whether or Not They Were Involved Politically,” Dick Burnon, Cresskill Public Library, 7pm, 201-567-3521 “Shabbos in One Hour: Learn How to Do It,” Chef Jack Silverstein, spons by Chabad Open Motzei Shabbos

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Women’s Circle, Chabad House, Teaneck, 8pm, 201-344-1211

Fri., Feb 8

Israel Bonds Shabbat, Cong Rinat Yisrael, Teaneck, through Shabbat, Feb 9, 212644-2663 Jewish Film Festival: “Rosenstrasse,” with Dr. Harriet Sepinwall, JCC, West Orange, 10am, 973-530-3417 “Torah Studies into the Soul of the Torah: What Makes Us Jewish? The Significance of the Conversion Process,” Rabbi Avrohom Rapoport, spons by Chabad at the Shore, at Linwood Library, 12:15pm, 609-822-8500 Carlebach-Style Davening, Rabbi Lawrence Zierler, Jewish Center of Teaneck, 5pm, 201-833-0515 “Torah Tips and Ideas to Sweeten Our Marriages during These Tumultuous Times,” Rabbi Moshe Meir Weiss, scholar-in-residence, Cong Ohav Emeth, Highland Park, dinner, 6:30pm; lecture, 8:15pm, forsang@juno.com or 732-247-3038 Community Shabbaton, with Rabbi Yossi Paltiel, spons by Chabad Center of Northwest NJ, includes Friday night dinner, Shabbat luncheon, and home hospitality, Rockaway, through Shabbat, Feb 9, 973-625-1525 Englishtown NCSY Hosted by Highland Park-Edison NCSY, through Shabbat, Feb 9, 732-672-5214 Carlebach Community of Teaneck Shabbaton with Rabbi Mordechai “Big Mo” Siev of Sfat, private home in Teaneck, through Shabbat, Feb 9, 201-862-0087 or 201-862-0083 “Does Strict Observance Make for a Better Jew? Exploring the Modern World of Chumrah,” Rabbi Aaron Adler, Cong Ahavas Achim, Highland Park, 7pm, 732-247-0532 Friday Night with Rebbetzin Dr. Ruth Glasser, spons by the Young Israel of PassaicClifton, private home in Passaic, 8pm, 973-330-2285

Shabbat, Feb 9

Carlebach Minyan, Cong Darchei Noam, Fair Lawn, 8:45am, rabbidonath@gmail.com Tefilat Shlomo: The Carlebach Tefila of Riverdale, Rabbi Yehoshua Engelman and Chazzan Noah Solomon, includes light and healthy Kiddush, at the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, 9am, 718-796-4730 Rabbi Moshe Meir Weiss, scholarin-residence, Cong Ohav Emeth, Highland Park, “Upgrading Our Spirituality in Shul, at Home, in the Office, and with Our Children, 10:45am; “How to Celebrate Purim the Right Way and Benefit from Its Many Messages,” seudah shlishit, 5:30pm, forsang@juno.com or 732-247-3038 Rabbi Aaron Adler, scholar-in-residence, Cong Ahavas Achim, Highland Park, “The Chief Rabbinate, the Knesset, and Facing Israel’s

Future,” 11am; “Shekalim and Kilayim: Opposites Attract,” 4pm, 732-247-0532 Dr. Yael Ziegler, scholar-in-residence, Cong Keter Torah, Teaneck, “Creating Am Yisrael: Exiting Gan Eden and Exiting Egypt,” 11am; Matan Keter Torah Al HaPerek Shiur on “Elijah: Prophet of Doom or Consolation,” 3:50pm; “The Beautiful Family of Rachel: Joseph and Esther,” 4:45pm, 201-907-0180 “The Green Torah: Judaism and the Environment,” discussion led by Rabbi Lawrence Zierler, Jewish Center of Teaneck, noon, 201-833-0515 Hachnasat Orchim Shabbat, Cong Beth Aaron, Teaneck be a guest or host a guest for lunch, noon; dessert reception at shul, 2:30pm, 201-836-6210 Shabbat Mevorchim Shalosh Seudos, for women, spons by Cong Ahavat Shalom of the Teaneck Apartments, private apartment in Teaneck, 4pm, sisterhood@teaneckapartments.com Bnei Akiva Snif, for grades 3-6, Cong Netivot Shalom, Teaneck, 4:50pm, 201-801-9022

Motzei Shabbat, Feb 9

Melave Malka: Yehoshua Engelman, in concert, Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, 6:30pm, 718-796-4730 Rosh Chodesh Adar Ball, all young maidens ages 4-8, are invited to come dressed as princesses so that King Achashveirosh can crown a new queen, spons by Cong Darchei Noam, private home in Fair Lawn, 7pm, RebeccaBelizon@gmail.com Kids’ Night Out, for ages 5-12, divided by age, so that parents can have a night out, Riverdale YMHA, 7-10pm, 718-548-8200 ext 261 Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, Roosevelt Middle School, West Orange, 7pm, 800-838-3006 “Sip, See, Shop: Wine and Cheese Fundraiser,” Chabad of Greater Somerset County, Basking Ridge, 7pm, 908-604-8844 Yeshivat Beis Hillel Purim Costume Store, Passaic, 7:30-10pm, 973-777-0735 Hakoah Junior Sports Clubs: Super Bowl Fever, for grades 2-5 and K-1, JCC, West Orange, 7:30pm, 973-530-3425 Jewish-Themed Play Competition, three finalists’ plays will be presented and the audience decides the winner, JCC, West Orange, 8pm, 973-530-3421 Frisch Yeshiva High School Dinner: “Frisch at Forty,” honoring Marvin Eiseman; Dr. Charles Feldman, z”l; Arthur Goldberg; Jerry Milch; David Rauch; Stanley Turitz, and Rabbi Joshua Wald, at the school in Paramus, 8pm, 201-267-9100 ext 290 Ice Skating Event, for children in grade 2 and up, spons by Cong Ohr Torah, West Or-

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February 2013/Adar 5773

The Jewish Voice and Opinion

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“Separate Yourself Not from the Community” ange, includes Dunkin Donuts, at the West Orange Arena, 8pm, youth@congregationohrtorah.org “Black and White Night,” black-and-white costumes, games, cocktails, snacks, and movies, spons

by L’Dor v’Dor Young Women’s Hadassah, private home in East Brunswick, 8pm, 908-227-4869 Musical Melave Malka, with Benny Berlin, spons by the Carlebach Community of Teaneck, private home in Teaneck, 8pm, 201-862-0087 or 201-862-0083 Spiritual Kumsitz and Melave Malka with Rabbi Aaron Adler, includes music, divrei Torah, and refreshments, Cong Ahavas Achim, Highland Park, 8pm, 732-247-0532 “Art, Ideas, and Scholarship: ‘Black Is a Color’—A Powerful New Approach to the Holocaust, G-d Role in Our Daily Lives, and Jewish Identity,” Stan Lebovic, Cong Beth Aaron, Teaneck, 8:15pm, 201-836-6210 “Positive Parenting: Instilling Religious Values in our Children,” Rabbi Steven Pruzansky, private home in Teaneck, 8:30pm, 201-836-0429 or 201-928-4053

Rosh Chodesh Adar PrePurim Singles Event: Sephardi Panopoly Multimedia Team Trivia Game, for Modern-Orthodox single men and women 23-32, includes buffet of Middle Eastern appetizers, spons by YU Connections, at Sephardic Cong Shaare Orah, Teaneck, 8:30pm, 212-9605499 ext 6163 or 516-603-8141 “The Coming Crisis for Modern Orthodoxy: Successes and Challenges, including Institutional Health, Demographics, Philosophy, Identity, Values, and Encounter with Modernity,” Dr. Steven Bayme, spons by the Orthodox Forum of Edison-Highland Park, at Cong Ohr Torah, Edison, 8:30pm, Joshua.Fine@ chartisinsurance.com Yeshiva Ohr Reuven Melave Malka, at Yeshiva Darchei Noam Dining Room, Suffern, 8:45pm, 845-362-8362

Sun., Feb 10

Last Day for College Students to Apply to the Steiner Summer Yiddish Program, a tuition-free seven-week internship program to learn Yiddish in Amherst, Mass, 413-256-4900

Last Day to Enter the Machon Chana Women’s Institute Photography Contest, for women of all ages who wish to honor Rebbetzin Chana Schnnerson; to enter, upload a photograph representing one or more of the following themes: Jewish spirit of modern life, Shabbat, Spiritual journey, Crown Heights, Jerusalem, Jewish family, Jewish education, The Rebbe, Rebbetzin Chana, Hiskashrus, Mitzvot, Emunah, Chassidus, Chasid, Chassidiste, Davening, Hisbonenus, Torah learning, Moshiach, Geulah, Machon Chana, Motherhood, Marriage, Jewish women, Shabbos candles, or Nigunim, to http:// machonchana.org/art-contest/ Study Tour to the US Holocaust Museum in Washington, for educators, grades 5-12, spons

by Atlantic Cape Community College and Richard Stockton College of NJ, leave Kensington Square, Northfield, 7:45am, 609-652-4699 IHouse Gymbo, in Hebrew, for Israeli families, includes blow-up bounce castle and other gym equipment and Sunday brunch, Riverdale YMHA, 10:30am, 718-435-0362

“Women Unchained: Civil Remedies to Resolving the Agunah Problem,” spons by the Organization for the Resolution of Agunot, at Cong Anshe Chesed, Linden, registration, 9:15am; film: “Women Unchained,” 9:30am; “Agunah Advocacy and Pre-Nups According to Jewish Law,” Rabbi Jeremy Sterm, 10:30am; “The Role of US Courts in Facilitating Jewish Divorce,” Justice Virginia Long, 11am; “Reports from the Trenches,” Keshet Starr, Esq, 11:30am; Q and A, moderated by Rabbi Joshua Hess, noon, 908-486-8616 “Living with Integrity: Navigating Everyday Ethical Dilemmas: Charity,” Rabbi Levi Shemtov, Chabad of Riverdale, 9:45am, 718-549-1100; Rabbi Dov Drizen, Valley Chabad, Park Ridge High, 10am, 201-476-0157 “Living with Integrity: Navigating Everyday Ethical Dilemmas: Parents,” Rabbi Avrohom Bergstein, Congregation Anshei Lubavitch, Fair Lawn, 10am, 718-839-5296 Giant Playdate, spons by Riverdale Israelis and Friends, River-

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February 2013/Adar 5773

The Log

Tell Our Advertisers “I Saw It in The Jewish Voice and Opinion”

continued from page 31

dale YMHA, 10am, 718-548-8200 Purim Costume Gemach, gently-used costumes to be donated or picked up, Cong Ohav Emeth, Highland Park, 10am-2pm, 732-572-9192 Snow Tubing, for children in grades 2-6, leave Cong Rinat Yisrael, Teaneck 10am, youth@rinat.org “How to Respond to AntiIsrael Rhetoric on College Campuses,” for Jewish high school juniors and seniors, boys and girls, includes lunch, Ma’ayanot Yeshiva High for Girls, 10:15am, 201-8203921 or www.jfnnj.org/jcrc Yeshivat Beis Hillel Purim Costume Store, Passaic, 11am5pm, 973-777-0735 “How to Combat Depression

by Embracing Joy: When Adar Enters, We Increase in Joy,” for men and women, Rabbi Yaakov Mendel Zirkind, includes lunch, Chabad House, Passaic, 12:30pm, 973-246-5251 Purim Carnival, JCC Rockland, West Nyack, 1-3:30pm, 845362-4400 Purim Carnival, includes food inflatable mountain climber, baseball speed pitch, pony rides, DJ, “Sparkee” and the Rutgers Scarlet Knight, games, face-painting, hair-braiding, XBOX gaming, car racetrack, and more, come in costume and bring a non-perishable food item to be donated to a local food bank, JCC, Bridgewater, 1-4pm; indoor gaga tournament, for grades K-6 2:30pm; Purim costume parade, 2:30pm, 908-725-6994 ext 201 Purim on Parade, Madison Community House, Madison, 2pm, 973-377-0244 Joseph and the Amazing

Technicolor Dreamcoat, by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, Roosevelt Middle School, West Orange, 2pm, 800-838-3006 Uncle Moishy and His Mitzvah Men Concert, to benefit Jewish Education Program of Rockland, at Ramapo Senior High School, Spring Valley, 3pm, 845-222-6436 Purim Puppet Show, Small Wonder Puppet Theater, for children and families, Cong Ohr HaTorah, Bergenfield, 3pm, 201-338-8375 “Planning a Secure Retirement,” Daniel Lazarus, Finkelstein Memorial Library, Spring Valley, 3:45pm, 845-499-8224 Lego ‘n’ Eggo, Lego competition for boys in grades 1-5, followed

by Eggo’s with assortment of toppings, Cong Ohav Emeth, Highland Park, 4pm, eochildren@gmail.com SINAI Special Needs Institute Dinner, honoring Lisa and Lowell Baron, Rachel and Michael Dube, Rabbi Dr. Wallace Greene, Debbie and Neil Kaplan, Marriott Glenpointe Hotel, Teaneck, 4:45pm, 201-833-1134 ext 105 Bikur Cholim of Raritan Valley Dinner, featuring Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Hersh Weinreb, Pines Manor, Edison, 6pm, 732-572-7181 Film: “One Day after Peace: Can the Means Used to Resolve the Conflict in South Africa Be Applied to the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict?” Robi Damelin and a panel including Rabbi Steve Golden, Avinoam Elad-Segal, and Dr. Jonathan Golden, JCC, Tenafly, 7pm, 201-408-1429 Jewish Women’s Circle: Baking Hamentaschen and Discussion on the Holiday of

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Purim, Rebbetzin Tova Rapoport, Chabad House, Ventnor, 7pm, 609-992-5522 Rockland and Bergen County Adoptive Families Meet-Up and Support Group, for those who have already adopted or are in the process of adopting, internationally and domestically, private home, 7:30pm, www. meetup.com/Rockland-and-Bergen-Adoptive-Families Rosh Chodesh Women’s Dinner: “A Practical Guide to Emotional Mastery,” Chabad Center, West Orange, 7:30pm, 973-486-2362 New Yeshiva at the Jersey Shore Nursery and Kindgarten, Rabbi Elie Tuchman, at the Young Israel of East Brunswick, 8pm, 732613-9393 “Simplifying the Mikvah Experience,” for women, Rabbi Eliezer Zwickler, Cong Ahawas Achim Bnai Jacob and David, West Orange, 8pm, 973-736-1407 Taharas Mishpacha Shiur, for men, Rabbi Dovid Baum, Passaic Torah Institute, 8:30pm, 973594-4774

Cong Bnai Yeshurun, Teaneck, 8pm, goldblatt@optonline.net or 201-836-8916 Women’s Empowerment Workshop: Women in Transition, in Hebrew, Noa Ronen, includes kosher wine and cheese, Riverdale YMHA, 8pm, 917-435-0362 Workshop Exclusively for Rabbis: “Addressing Sexual Abuse in Your Community,” Dr. David Pelcovitz, includes prevention, helping victims, managing perpetrators in the community, working with lay leadership in formulating appropriate policies, and communicating effectively with the community, spons by Project SARAH and the Rachel Coalition, at the Jewish Center of Teaneck, 8pm, 973-777-7638 “Eating Attitudes through the Lens of Judaism: Our Bodies and Our Children’s Bodies—Developing and Fostering Healthy Body Image, Self-Esteem, and Sense of Self,” Dr. Sarah Roer, Riverdale Jewish Center, 8pm, 718-548-1850 Tefilah Shiur, Rabbi Leon Glaser, Cong Ohav Emeth, Highland Park, 8pm, 732-247-3038

“Living with Integrity: Navigating Everyday Ethical Dilemmas: Forgiveness,” Rabbi Chanoch Kaplan, private law office, Oakland, 9am, 201-848-0449 “Insights into Purim,” for women, Rebbetzin Leah Kohn, private home in Teaneck, 9:45am, 201-692-3757 or shadlynn@aol.com Film: “Shanghai Ghetto,” Riverdale YMHA, 1pm, 718-548-8200 “From Memory to History,” Steven Bayme, spons by the Holocaust Council of Greater MetroWest, Aidekman JCC, Whippany, 7pm, 973-929-3067 “Living with Integrity: Navigating Everyday Ethical Dilemmas: Charity,” Rabbi M Kasowitz, Lubavitch Center, West Orange, 7:30pm, 973-486-2362 “Torah Studies into the Soul of the Torah: Jewish Idol: Giving in to the Urge for Idolatry,” Rabbi Asher Herson, Chabad of Northwest NJ, Rockaway, 7:30pm, 973-625-1525 ext 202 Simcha Dancing, for women ages 9-99, Dassie Schuster,

Netivot Montessori Yeshiva Open House, for parents of infants (6 weeks) through children in middle school (12-14 years), Highland Park, tours begin at 9:15am, 732-985-4626 Caregivers Support Group, JCC, Tenafly, 10:30am, 201-569-7900 Nationwide Parnassah Expo and Networking Event, for those looking for parnassah-related resources for the Jewish community, includes business service, job fair and recruitment, community recruitment, education and training opportunities, and business start-ups with consultations, career advice, and tools, at the Meadowlands Exposition Center, Secaucus, 12-8pm, info@parnassahexpo.com Mini-Chefs Purim Cooking, for children ages 2-6, Chabad Center, Wayne, 4:30pm, 973-694-6274 “The Sounds of Israel: A Look at Israel through Current Israeli Music,” with Rotem Nahum, JCC Rockland, West Nyack, 7:30pm, 845-362-4400 Matisyahu, in concert, Bergen Performing Arts Center, En-

Mon., Feb 11

Tues., Feb 12

http://jewishvoiceandopinion.com glewood, 7:30pm, 201-816-8160 “Living with Integrity: Navigating Everyday Ethical Dilemmas: Charity,” Rabbi Levi Azimov, North Brunswick Chabad, 7:45pm, 732-3989492; Rabbi Dov Drizen, Woodcliff Lake Chabad, 8pm, 201-476-0157 “An Introduction to the Study of Medrash and Aggada: Fact or Fiction,” Rabbi Jeremy Donath, Cong Darchei Noam, Fair Lawn, 8pm, 201-773-4080 “Our Community, Our Children—Our Questions Answered: What We can Do as Mothers: Understanding Our Children’s Struggle with Tznius,” for women, Ohel Rivka Hall, Passaic, 8pm, 973-778-6648 or 973-365-0100 “What Men Can Do about Simplifying the Mikvah Experience,” for men, Rabbi Eliezer Zwickler, Cong Ahawas Achim Bnai Jacob and David, West Orange, 8pm, 973-736-1407 Birthright Info Session, for a free trip to Israel, Rutgers Hillel, New Brunswick, 8:30pm, 732-545-2407 “Halachot of the Workplace: The Purely Business Relationship—Clients, Patients, and CoWorkers of the Opposite Sex,” Rabbi Beni Krohn, Cong Rinat Yisrael, Teaneck, 8:30pm, 201-837-2795, Ext 101 “Digging Deeper: Exploring the Philosophical Foundations of Judaism: Can We Ever Be Rejected?” for men and women, Rabbi Netanel Wiederblank, Cong Bnai Yeshurun, Teaneck, 9:15pm, 201836-8916

Wed., Feb 13

Last Day to Enter Sweepstakes to Win a Round-Trip to Israel, open to North American residents over the age of 18 who have participated in Taglit-Birthright Israel and want to refer eligible applicants, www.BirthrightIsrael.com “Living with Integrity: Navigating Everyday Ethical Dilemmas: Charity,” Rabbi Levi Azimov, Chabad of North Brunswick, 11am, 732-398-9492; Rabbi Mendel Mangel, Cherry Hill Chabad, 7:30pm, 856-8741500; Rabbi Ephraim Simon, Teaneck Chabad House, 8pm, 201-907-0686; Rabbi Chanoch Kaplan, Franklin Lakes Chabad, 8pm, 201-848-0449 “Living with Integrity: Navigating Everyday Ethical Dilemmas: Privacy and For-

February 2013/Adar 5773

giveness,” Rabbi M Kasowitz, private law office in Roseland, noon, 973-486-2362 “Planning a Secure Retirement,” Daniel Lazarus, Suffern Public Library, 3pm, 845-499-8224 Author and Holocaust Survivor Jasha Levi, Mercer County Holocaust-Genocide Resource Center, Mercer County Community College, West Windsor, 4:30pm, mcholgen@gmail.com “Holocaust Memory Practices around the World,” Bildner Center for the Study of Jewish Life, Rutgers, New Brunswick, 4:30pm, 732-932-4165 Abused Women’s Confidential Support Group, Jewish Family Service, Teaneck, 7:15pm, 201-837-9090 Mom’s Support Group, for mothers of children with special needs, Amy Brunswick, LSW, spons

by Jewish Family Service of MetroWest, JCC, West Orange, 7:30pm, 973-765-9050 or 973-929-3129 Women’s Mitzvah Series: Head Coverings: Interactive Discussion on the Meaning Behind the Mitzvah and Different Approaches to It, spons by L’Dor V’Dor Hadassah, private home in Highland Park, 7:30pm, 908-227-4869 “Living with Integrity: Navigating Everyday Ethical Dilemmas: Charity,” Rabbi Asher Herson, Chabad Center of Northwest NJ. Rockaway, 7:45pm, 973-625-1525 “Alternative Kashrut in Jerusalem,” Rabbi Aaron Leibowitz, Jewish Center of Teaneck, 7:45pm, 201-833-0515 “About Parenting,” Dr. Wendy Pollock, Riverdale YMHA, 8pm, 718-548-8200 “How to Talk so Kids Will Listen and Listen so Kids Will Talk: Use Alternatives to Punishment That Promote Self-Discipline,” Emily Shapiro, private location in Riverdale, 8pm, 347-560-1027 Kolech: Religious Women’s Forum: “Challenges of Orthodox Feminism in Israel,” Dr. Hannah Kehat, Cong Netivot Shalom, Teaneck, 8pm, netivotshalomwebsite@gmail.com or 201-801-9022 Tehillim Group, Cong Shaare Tefillah, Teaneck, 8:15pm, 201-2895474, 917-902-9303, or 201-836-3431 Hamantashen-Making, Rutgers Hillel, New Brunswick,

The Jewish Voice and Opinion

8:30pm, 732-545-2407 Parenting Tele-Conference: “Fortifying Our Children for Trying Times,” Rabbi Shmuel Zimmerman, spons by the National Association of Support and Outreach, 9:30pm, call 712-4321001, Access Code: 431-701-747#; to playback the shiur anytime, call 712-432-1011, Playback Access Code: 412-184-214#; am@ NASOamerica.org

Thurs., Feb 14

Jewish Business Network for Jewish Professionals, Russian Art Museum at the CASE Museum, Jersey City, 8:30am, info@ HudsonJewish.org Mishmor Program, for boys and girls in grades 2-5, Rabbi Yisroel Rosenblum, includes help with homework, stores, raffles, refreshments, prizes, and sports, at Cong Ahawas Achim Bnai Jacob and David, West Orange, 6:30pm, 973-251-0205 Matisyahu, in concert, Paramount Theatre, Asbury Park, doors open, 7pm; concert, 8pm, 732897-6500 “Tolkien on Torah,” Rabbi Akiva Weiss, Rutgers Hillel, New Brunswick, 10:30pm, nataly@rutgershillel.com

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Fri., Feb 15

Last Day to Donate to “Pack It Up for Purim,” donate wholegrain cereal or oatmeal, box of pasta, can of vegetables, bag of rice, fruit juice, dried fruit, granola bars, canned tuna, dried or canned beans or peas, jar of peanut butter, non-perishable dessert, to create mishloach manot food packages for the most vulnerable New Yorkers, at the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, 718-796-4730 Film: “Portrait of Wally,” with Deborah Zafman, PhD, art historian, JCC, West Orange, 10am, 973-530-3417 “Torah Studies into the Soul of the Torah: Jewish Idol: Giving in to the Urge for Idolatry,” Rabbi Avrohom Rapoport, spons

by Chabad at the Shore, at Linwood Library, 12:15pm, 609-822-8500 Documentary: “They Came for Good: Jewish Immigrants in the US during the 19th Century, Riverdale YMHA, 1pm, 718-548-8200 “Finding the Light in the Darkest of Times: Understanding the Jewish View of Dealing with Adversity,” Rabbi Shmuel Silber, scholar-in-residence for Jeffrey

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Berger/Stephanie Shatkin Memorial Lectures, includes dinner, at Cong Ohr Torah, West Orange, 5pm, 732-718-6811 West Orange Encounters Presents Home Hospitality Shabbat, through Shabbat, Feb 16, mmbleicher@gmail.com, Rutgers Jewish Experience Shabbaton, New Brunswick, through Shabbat, Feb 16, to participate or open homes to students, 732-674-0806 Kids of Courage Shabbaton, Cong Etz Chaim, Livingston, through Shabbat, Feb 16, 973597-1655 Unlimited Jewish Possibilities at Limmud: Celebration of the Rich Diversity of Jewish Life and Learning, through art, music, text study, film, hands-on workshops, performances, at the Hilton East Brunswick Hotel, through Mon., Feb 18, 646-807-9464

Shabbat, Feb 16

Rabbi Shmuel Silber, scholarin-residence for Jeffrey Berger/ Stephanie Shatkin Memorial Lectures, Cong Ohr Torah, West Orange, “Temporary Home, Eternal Lessons: Appreciating the Mishkan,” 10:30am; “Drunk with Happiness: Understanding the Mitzvah of Celebration on Purim,” seudah shlishit, 4:30pm, 732-718-6811 Rabbi Nathaniel Helfgot, at Cong Ahavat Shalom of the Teaneck Apartments, at Torah Academy of Bergen County, Teaneck, 9am, board@teaneckapartments.com or 347-443-2199, or 551-574-1867

Motzei Shabbat, Feb 16

Parent-Child Learning, Rabbi Aharon Ciment, includes stories and a review of the midrashim on

the Parsha, Cong Arzei Darom, Teaneck, 7pm, 201-530-0043 Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, Roosevelt Middle School, West Orange, 7pm, 800-838-3006 Mother-Daughter Melave Malka, Cong Ahavas Achim, Passaic, 7:30pm, 973-777-5929 Mother-Daughter Simcha Dancing, Tova Halpern, Cong Ohav Emeth, Highland Park, 7:30pm, oechildren@gmail.com Yeshivat Beis Hillel Purim Costume Store, Passaic, 7:3010pm, 973-777-0735 “The Role of the Community in Child Safety,” Rabbi Yakov Horowitz, Cong Bais Torah, Suffern, 8pm, 845-352-1343 Chassidic Stories Melave Malka, Rabbi Naftali Citron, spons by the Carlebach Community of Teaneck, private home in Teaneck, 8pm, 201-862-0087 or 201-862-0083 “The Role of the Community in Child Safety,” Rabbi Yakov Horowitz, Cong Bais Torah, Suffern, 8pm, 845-352-1343 Siyyum Mishnayot for Zayin Adar Melave Malka, featuring “Moshe Rabeinu: The Self-Effacing and Unassuming Leader,” Rabbi Dovid Cohen, at Cong Ahawas Achim Bnai Jacob and David, West Orange, 8:30pm, 973-736-1407 “When the Going Gets Tough: How Do We Respond to Adversity?” Module: “Bitachon: Trust in Hashem,” Rabbi Sam Ash, spons by Achieving Change through Torah (ACTT), source book is “Chizuk: A Primer on Bitachon, Coping, and Hope”

by Rabbi Eliezer Parkoff, at Cong

Tell Our Advertisers “I Saw It in The Jewish Voice and Opinion” Ahavas Achim, Highland Park, 9pm, 732-572-8762 or 732-572-4408

Sun., Feb 17

The National Project for Volunteers for Israel Trip, open to those over 18 who have a doctor’s clearance to participate in physical work, assigned to an IDF base to perform non-combat civilian support duties, to help Israel shoulder its defense burden. Volunteers are housed in barracks, three kosher meals daily, cultural programs, and optional touring, 862-252-9186 or shaya@israeltravelproviders.com Eye Glasses Collection, including used, broken frames, broken lenses, can be recycled for the needy, Riverdale YMHA, through Sun, Feb 24 (Purim), 718548-8200 Chevra Kaddisha and Siyum Mishnayot Breakfast, Riverdale Jewish Center, 9:30am, 718-548-1850, Purim Carnival, Riverdale YMHA, Early Childhood Gym Play Stations and Ringling Bros and Barnum & Baily Clowns, 9:30am; Bead-forLife sale, 10am; crafts and games, 10:30am; lunch, 11:30am; costume parade and music, 12:30pm, 718548-8200 ext 218 “Living with Integrity: Navigating Everyday Ethical Dilemmas: Parents,” Rabbi Levi Shemtov, Chabad of Riverdale, 9:45am, 718-549-1100; Rabbi Dov Drizen, Valley Chabad, Park Ridge High, 10am, 201-476-0157 “Living with Integrity: Navigating Everyday Ethical Dilemmas: Honesty,” Rabbi Avrohom Bergstein, Congregation Anshei Lubavitch, Fair Lawn, 10am, 718-839-5296 Purim Costume Gemach, gently-used costumes to be donated or picked up, Cong Ohav Emeth, Highland Park, 10am-2pm, 732-572-9192 Baking Love for Purim, for parents and children ages 4-6, in Hebrew, Ayelet Nathaniel, JCC, Tenafly, 10am, 201-569-7900 Purim Play: “Shushan Strikes Again—A Persian Palace Intrigue,” designed for families, by Benny Berlin, spons by the Jewish Center of Teaneck, the Teaneck Chabad House, and Cong Shaarei Tefillah, at the Jewish Center of Teaneck, 10am, 201-

833-0515 ext 200 Defensive Driving Course, spons by Yeshiva Zichron Yaakov, Spring Valley, 10am, 845-362-4990 Pre-Purim Extravaganza, includes moon bounces, obstacle courses, slides, games, spin art, magician, clown, hair-dressing and make-up, snacks and lunch, in memory of Josh Bender, z”l, Cong Shomrei Torah, Fair Lawn, 10:30am-1pm, 201-791-7676 Yeshivat Beis Hillel Purim Costume Store, Passaic, 11am5pm, 973-777-0735 Purim Carnival, Cong Ahawas Achim Bnai Jacob and David, West Orange, 2pm, 973-736-1407 Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, Roosevelt Middle School, West Orange, 2pm, 800-838-3006 Yeshiva Gedola of Passaic Dinner, honoring Mr. and Mrs. Moishe Wolf, Mr. and Mrs. Shuky Katz, Dr. and Mrs. David Berkovitz, Rabbi and Mrs. Ezriel Munk, Rabbi and Mrs. Mechie Blau, Rabbi and Mrs. Ariel Feldhamer, Rabbi and Mrs. Aaron Gobioff, Mr. and Mrs. Michoel Klugmann, Mr. and Mrs. Elly Krieger, Rabbi and Mrs. Yehoshua Rubanowitz, Mr. and Mrs. Yossie Schonkopf, and Rabbi and Mrs. Dovi Zilber, at the Empire Meadowlands Hotel, Secaucus, 5pm, www.passaicdinner.org or 973-472-6100 Zayin Adar Chevra Kadisha Dinner, Rabbi Dr. Aaron Glatt, Cong Beth Aaron, Teaneck, mincha with laining, 5:05pm; Ma’ariv, 6pm; fast is over, 6:03pm, 201-723-6540 Wine and Cheese Event: “How to Pair and Select Wines and Cheeses,” Zvi Bornstein, Cong Etz Ahaim, Highland Park, 7pm, 732-247-3839

Mon., Feb 18, Presidents’ Day

“Living with Integrity: Navigating Everyday Ethical Dilemmas: Charity,” Rabbi Chanoch Kaplan, private law office, Oakland, 9am, 201-848-0449 Pre-Purim PJ Library Program, for young children, includes Purim projects, music, and snacks, Helene Lockspeiser, Rabbi Pesach Raymon Yeshiva, Edison, 10am, 732-572-5052 ext 215 Yeshivat Beis Hillel Purim

http://jewishvoiceandopinion.com Costume Store, Passaic, 10:30am12:30pm, 973-777-0735 Judaism and Homosexuality, Rabbi Ely Allen, Ramapo College Hillel, Mahwah, 1pm, 201-820-3905 Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, Roosevelt Middle School, West Orange, 3pm, 800-838-3006 Cong Beth Aaron Dinner, honoring Rabbi Larry and Rebbetzin Chaviva Rothwachs, at Cong Keter Torah, Teaneck, 6:30pm, 201-836-6210 Agudas Yisroel Bircas Yaakov Dinner, Passaic, 6:30pm, 973472-5332 “Living with Integrity: Navigating Everyday Ethical Dilemmas: Parents,” Rabbi M Kasowitz, Lubavitch Center, West Orange, 7:30pm, 973-486-2362 “Torah Studies into the Soul of the Torah: The Art of Attraction: Understanding Esther’s Beauty,” Rabbi Asher Herson, Chabad of Northwest NJ, Rockaway, 7:30pm, 973-625-1525 ext 202 Beit Midrash in Motion: Queen Vashti: Villain or Visionary?” for women, spons by EMUNAH, Highland Park Recreation Center, 7:30pm, 732-777-0642 Simcha Dancing, for women ages 9-99, Dassie Schuster, Cong Bnai Yeshurun, Teaneck, 8pm, goldblatt@optonline.net or 201-836-8916 Matisyahu, in concert, Mayo Performing Arts Center, Morristown, 8pm, 973-539-8008 “Chicks with Sticks Knitting Circle,” hats for preemies, children with cancer, and IDF soldiers in Israel, private home in Highland Park, 8pm, 732-339-8492

Tues., Feb 19

Pre-Purim Program, spons

by New Beginnings for Mature and Retired Adults, Jewish Center of Teaneck, 10am, 201-837-3791 Women’s Club for Widows, Jewish Federation and Vocational Services, Concordia Shopping Center, Monroe, 10:30am, 732-7771940 or 609-395-7979 Judaism and Homosexuality, Rabbi Ely Allen, William Paterson University Hillel, Wayne, 12:45pm, 201-820-3905 “Aromatherapy and Herbs of the Bible,” Nanette Cohen,

February 2013/Adar 5773

spons by Raritan Valley Hadassah, at the Highland Park Senior Center, 1:30pm, 732-492-1911 Yeshivat Beis Hillel Purim Costume Store, Passaic, 7-10pm, 973-777-0735 Meeting with Yachad Officials to Discuss Forming a Jewish Summer Day Camp for HighFunctioning Children with Special Needs, includes mild learning disabilities with social skills challenges, Cong Ahavas Yisrael, Edison, 7pm, daycampmiddlesex@yahoo.com “Living with Integrity: Navigating Everyday Ethical Dilemmas: Parents,” Rabbi Levi Azimov, North Brunswick Chabad, 7:45pm, 732-398-9492; Rabbi Dov Drizen, Woodcliff Lake Chabad, 8pm, 201-476-0157 ECHO Jewish Physician Referral Service Tea, private home in Clifton, 8pm, 973-471-0482 “Halachot of the Workplace: Do I Have to Cover That? Coffee Machines and Microwaves at Work,” Rabbi Beni Krohn, Cong Rinat Yisrael, Teaneck, 8:30pm, 201-837-2795, Ext 101 Cong Ahavas Achim Book Club: “The Kitchen House” by Kathleen Grissom, private home in Highland Park, 8:30pm, 732-572-8925 “Digging Deeper: Exploring the Philosophical Foundations of Judaism: The Power of Sevara, the Divine Law in Human Hands,” for men and women, Rabbi Netanel Wiederblank, Cong Bnai Yeshurun, Teaneck, 9:15pm, 201-836-8916

Wed., Feb 20

“Living with Integrity: Navigating Everyday Ethical Dilemmas: Parents,” Rabbi Levi Azimov, Chabad of North Brunswick, 11am, 732-398-9492; Rabbi Mendel Mangel, Cherry Hill Chabad, 7:30pm, 856-874-1500; Rabbi Ephraim Simon, Teaneck Chabad House, 8pm, 201-907-0686; Rabbi Chanoch Kaplan, Franklin Lakes Chabad, 8pm, 201-848-0449 “Living with Integrity: Navigating Everyday Ethical Dilemmas: Charity and Parents,” Rabbi M Kasowitz, private law office in Roseland, noon, 973-486-2362 “Judaism and Homosexuality,” Rabbi Ely Allen, Fairleigh Dickinson University Hillel, University Chapel, 1pm, 201-820-3905 Yeshivat Beis Hillel Purim

The Jewish Voice and Opinion

Costume Store, Passaic, 7-10pm, 973-777-0735 Documentary: “America and the Holocaust: Deceit and Indifference,” spons by the Holocaust Council of Greater MetroWest, includes refreshments, Aidekman JCC, Whippany, 7pm, 973-929-3067 “Healthy Kosher Cooking,” Susie Fishbein, CareOne, Teaneck, 7pm, amarkowitz@care-one.com Strength-to-Strength Support Group for Parents Whose Children, Ages 15-25, Are Dealing with Chemical Dependency, Psychological Disorders, or CoOccurring Issues, JCC, Tenafly, 7pm, 201-408-1403 “Living with Integrity: Navigating Everyday Ethical Dilemmas: Parents,” Rabbi Asher Herson, Chabad Center of Northwest NJ. Rockaway, 7:45pm, 973-625-1525 Panel Discussion: “To Tell or Not to Tell: Related to Family Health and Genetics: Halachic, Psychological, and Practical Issues That Arise When Considering the Moral Obligation to Disclose Medical and/or Genetic Issues in the

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Family to Potential Shidduchim,” Rabbi Yaakov Neuburger, Dr. Naomi Greenblatt, and Mindy Eisenman, Cong Keter Torah, Teaneck, 8pm, 201-907-0180 Shomer Shabbos Boy Scout Meeting, for boys in 6th grade or 11 years old and up, Bais Medrash L’Torah, Rabbi Davis’s shul, Passaic, 8pm, HFishman@rafterpllc.com

Thurs., Feb 21, Ta’anis Esther

La Leche League of Bronx/ Riverdale, Mia Damond Padwa, pregnant women, babies and small children welcome, healthy snacks, Riverdale YMHA, 9:30am, 718-543-0314 Yeshivat Beis Hillel Purim Costume Store, Passaic, 10:30am12:30pm, 973-777-0735 National Council of Synagogue Youth, Milburn High School, 2:30pm, 201-862-0250 Israeli TV Show: “Srugim/ Knitted Kippahs,” with Rotem Nahum, JCC Rockland, West Nyack, 7pm, 845-362-4400 Nefesh HaChaim Shiur: In-

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The Log

February 2013/Adar 5773

Tell Our Advertisers “I Saw It in The Jewish Voice and Opinion”

continued from page 35

termediate Level Class on Jewish Mysticism and Spirituality,” Rabbi Akiva Weiss, Rutgers Hillel, New Brunswick, 10:30pm, nataly@ rutgershillel.com

Fri., Feb 22

Film: “Au Revoir Les Enfants,” with Gerard Amsellem, JCC, West Orange, 10am, 973-530-3417 “Torah Studies into the Soul of the Torah: The Art of Attraction: Understanding Esther’s Beauty,” Rabbi Avrohom Rapoport, spons by Chabad at the Shore, at Linwood Library, 12:15pm, 609-822-8500 Purim Celebration, for seniors, sing-a-long with Carol Frank, Riverdale YMHA, 10:30am; grab bag, 12:45pm, 718-548-8200 Shabbat Shalem, organized by the Inclusion Committee of Cong Ahawas Achim Bnai Jacob and David, to highlight issues faced by shul members, their family and guests, that might prevent them from fully participating in synagogue activities, West Orange, through Shabbat, Feb 23, 973-736-1407 Bergen County Hillel Shabbat Weekend, Rabbi Ely Allen, private home in Bergenfield, through Shabbat, Feb 23, 201820-3905

Motzei Shabbat, Feb 23, Purim

Purim Celebration, Cong Sons of Israel, Jersey City, 7pm, 201-344-5575 Purim Chagiga, Cong Darchei Noam, Fair Lawn, 8pm, fsamuel715@aol.com Cong Ahavat Shalom of the Teaneck Apartments Purim Chagiga, includes food and

“Minute-to-Win-It” game challenge, private home in Teaneck, 8pm, board@teaneckapartments.com or 212-909-6951, 347-443-2199, or 551-574-1867 Explanatory Megillah Reading, Rabbi David Pietruszka, spons by the Jewish Learning Experience, at Cong Beth Aaron, Teaneck, 8pm, 201-966-4498 King and Queen’s Royal Bash, after Megillah Reading, come in royal costumes, includes Middle Eastern buffet, live entertainer, tzedakah-box making, music, Cong Ohav Emeth, Highland Park, 10:30pm, 732-247-3038

Sun., Feb 24, Purim

Last Day to see “Judaism: A Contemporary Conversation,” six artists use varied media to address different aspects of the Jewish experience, Gaelen Gallery, JCC, West Orange, 973-530-3413 NYPD Operation ID for Cell Phones and Android Devices, Riverdale YMHA, 9am-2pm, 718-548-8200 Minyan Tiferet Purim Megillah Reading, modeled after Shira Hadasha in Israel, private home in Englewood, 10am, minyantiferet@gmail.com, 201-5672820, or 201-567-3323 Women’s Megillah Reading, Jewish Center of Teaneck, 10am, 201-833-0515 Purim at the Farm and Megillah Reading, at The Chabad House, Passaic, child-friendship Megillah reading, 10am; Purim Petting Farm (cow, lamb, goat, chickens, ducks, rabbits, and pony rides; the king’s horse for children dressed as Mordechai, 10:45am, 973-246-5251 East Brunswick Community

PurimFest, spons in part by the Young Israel of East Brunswick, includes rides, games, crafts, and food, at the East Brunswick Jewish Center, 11am-3pm, 732-257-7070 Magical Purim, featuring a magic show, costume parade, multi-media Megillah presentation, “Bake Your Own Hamentashen” Booth, and a Purim brunch, spons

by Chabad of Northern Monmouth County, private location in Colts Neck, 11am, 732-858-1770 Israeli-Style Purim Party, Riverdale YMHA, 5:30pm, 718548-8200 Explanatory Megillah Reading and Purim Feast, Rabbi David Pietruszka, spons by the Jewish Learning Experience, at Cong Rinat Yisrael, Teaneck, Megillah Reading, noon; feast, 1pm, 201-966-4498 Purim Carnival, includes snacks, characters, rides, and collection of non-perishable food item to be donated to the Center for Food Action, JCC, Tenafly, for families with special-needs children, 12-4pm; regular hours, 1-4pm, 201-408-1484 Bergen County Mitzvah Clown Program: Purim, spons

by Areyvut, at CareOne, Teaneck, 12:30pm, 201-244-6702 Purim Concert: Beth Aaron Boys Choir, Yehiel Levy and Dr. Benjy Rosenbluth, at CareOne, Teaneck, 2pm, bethaaronboyschoir@ gmail.com Paterson Day in Florida, for former Jewish Patersonians who now reside in Florida, Deerfield Beach Hilton Hotel, 2pm, www. patersonday.com Purim Seudah, Rabbi Akiva and Nataly Weiss, spons by Rutgers Hillel, private home in New Brunswick, 4pm, nataly@rutgershillel.com Purim in Outer Space, Chabad of Suffern, 4pm, 845368-1889 Purim in Hawaii: Tropical Smoothies, Kosher Tiki Bar, Island Buffet, Drum Circle, Chabad of Ventnor, 5pm, 609-822-8500 JACS Meeting, 12-steps meeting for Jews in recovery, Rabbi Steven Bayar, Cong B’nai Israel, Millburn, 6pm, 973-379-3811

Mon., Feb 25, Shushan Purim

Bowling Shoe-Shine-a-Thon, to benefit Cong Ohav Emeth, Highland Park, at Majestic Lanes, Perth Amboy, 2-4, 732-247-3038 Café Europa Holocaust Survivor Group, Jacob Weiland, MSW, Riverdale YMHA, 1pm, 718548-8200 ext 303 On Campus Matza Bakery, Rabbi Ely Allen, Ramapo College Hillel, Mahwah, 1pm, 201-820-3905 Current Events, Stan Goldberg, Buddy Tell, and Keren Glick, JCC, Tenafly, 1:30pm, 201-408-1457 Purim Party, JCC, West Orange, 2pm, 973-530-3400 “Living with Integrity: Navigating Everyday Ethical Dilemmas: Honesty,” Rabbi M Kasowitz, Lubavitch Center, West Orange, 7:30pm, 973-486-2362 “Torah Studies into the Soul of the Torah: Why We Sleep: An Exploration of Life’s Nightly Reset Button,” Rabbi Asher Herson, Chabad of Northwest NJ, Rockaway, 7:30pm, 973-625-1525 ext 202

Tues., Feb 26

Last Day to Enter “Tribute to the Rescuers High School Essay Contest,” for students in grades 9-12, a 750-1,000-word essay on an individual or group who has shown moral courage, http://ihene. org/tribute-to-the-rescuers-essay Last Day to Enter Writing and Art Contest, for middle and high school students, based on the book, “A Lesson before Dying” by Ernest Gaines. No required length.

The themes are: “Responding to Injustice,” “Respect for Human Dignity and How One Recovers Human Dignity in the Face of Dehumanization, Racism, and Discrimination,” and “Lessons Learned in Response to the Hardships of Others,” spons by the Brookdale Community College Center for Holocaust, Human Rights, and Genocide Education, holo-center@brookdalecc.edu “Bagels and Business: Business Lending: How to Prepare a Loan Package and the 5 C’s of Credit,” Mark Larsen, Bergen Community College, Paramus, registration and continental breakfast, 7-8am; presentation, 8am, 201-612-5300 “The Jewish Calendar,” Rabbi Menachem Leibtag, Cong Keter Torah, Teaneck, 11am, 201-907-0180

http://jewishvoiceandopinion.com On Campus Matza Bakery, Rabbi Ely Allen, William Paterson University Hillel, Wayne, 12:45pm, 201-820-3905 Yeshiva Noam Dinner, honoring Daniela and Laurence Schreiber, Rebecca and Jeremy Kurz, Amy Kagedan, and Rivki Slepoy, at the school in Paramus, 5:30pm, 201-261-1919 or 646-321-9253 “Living with Integrity: Navigating Everyday Ethical Dilemmas: Honesty,” Rabbi Levi Azimov, North Brunswick Chabad, 7:45pm, 732-398-9492; Rabbi Dov Drizen, Woodcliff Lake Chabad, 8pm, 201-476-0157 “Digging Deeper: Exploring the Philosophical Foundations of Judaism: Who Were Pharaoh’s Magicians?” for men and women, Rabbi Netanel Wiederblank, Cong Bnai Yeshurun, Teaneck, 9:15pm, 201-836-8916

Wed., Feb 27

“Living with Integrity: Navigating Everyday Ethical Dilemmas: Honesty,” Rabbi Levi Azimov, Chabad of North Brunswick, 11am, 732-398-9492; Rabbi Mendel Mangel, Cherry Hill Chabad, 7:30pm, 856-874-1500; Rabbi Ephraim Simon, Teaneck Chabad House, 8pm, 201-907-0686; Rabbi Chanoch Kaplan, Franklin Lakes Chabad, 8pm, 201-848-0449 “Living with Integrity: Navigating Everyday Ethical Dilemmas: Honesty and Commitments,” Rabbi M Kasowitz, private law office in Roseland, noon, 973-486-2362 On Campus Matza Bakery, Rabbi Ely Allen, Fairleigh Dickinson University Hillel, University Chapel, 1pm, 201-820-3905 Sisterhood Aishet Chayil Dinner, honoring Bernice Chefitz, Cong Ahavas Achim, Highland Park, 5:30pm, 732-247-0532 Pre-Pesach Boutique, Cong Ahavas Achim, Highland Park, 6:309pm, 732-745-9655 Abused Women’s Confidential Support Group, Jewish Family Service, Teaneck, 7:15pm, 201-837-9090 Support Group for Fathers of Special-Needs Children, JCC, West Orange, 7:30pm, 973-530-3400 Book Discussion: “The Zookeepers Wife” by Diane Ackerman, led by Ruthann Eckstein,

February 2013/Adar 5773

JCC, Tenafly, 7:30pm, 201-408-1429 “Living with Integrity: Navigating Everyday Ethical Dilemmas: Honesty,” Rabbi Asher Herson, Chabad Center of Northwest NJ. Rockaway, 7:45pm, 973-625-1525 “An In-Depth Analysis of One of the Sugyos That Comes Up in the Daf Yomi Studies,” Rav Tanchum Cohen, Cong Beth Abraham, Bergenfield, 8pm, 201-384-0434 “How to Talk so Kids Will Listen and Listen so Kids Will Talk: Encourage Positive Relationships between Your Children,” Emily Shapiro, private location in Riverdale, 8pm, 347-560-1027 Israeli Film, Rutgers Hillel, 8pm, 732 545 2407 Tehillim Group, Cong Shaare Tefillah, Teaneck, 8:15pm, 201-2895474, 917-902-9303, or 201-836-3431 Webinar for Singles: “Are You Ready: Road to the Chuppah,” Rabbi Doniel Frank, 9:30pm, www.mapseminars.com

Thurs., Feb 28

JCC University, JCC, Tenafly, coffee and conversation, 10:15am; “Arthur Miller’s Willy Loman: Relevant Then, Relevant Now,” Prof Ben Nelson, 10:30am; lunch, noon; “A Crash Course on Beethoven’s Symphonies,” Michael Reingold, 1pm, 201-408-1454 Caregivers Support Group, JCC, Tenafly, 11am, 201-569-7900 “On Campus Matza Bakery,” Rabbi Ely Allen, Bergen Community College Hillel, Paramus, 12:30pm, 201-820-3905 Workshop for Middle and High School Educators: “Using South Jersey Holocaust Survivor Memoirs,” Gail Rosenthal, Prof Michael Hayse, and Maryann McLoughlin, Holocaust Resource Center, Richard Stockton College of NJ, Galloway, 4pm, 609-652-1776 Bread for Hunger: A Family Education and Social Action Program, parent and child (ages 10 and up) bake three loaves of bread, one to take home, one for senior adults, and a third for the Center for Food Action, includes discussion on Jewish values and new bread recipes, at the JCC, Tenafly, 6pm, 201-408-1429 “Tolkien on Torah,” Rabbi Akiva Weiss, Rutgers Hillel, New Brunswick, 10:30pm, nataly@rutgershillel.com

The Jewish Voice and Opinion Fri., March 1

Passover Food Drive Begins, bring all non-kosher-for-Pesach food, canned or dry non-expired items, Riverdale YMHA, 718-5488200, through Mon., March 18 Last Day to Nominate a Burlington, Somerset, or Mercer County Educator for a Jack Zaifman Humanitarian Award. Nominees must have demonstrated at least three years of excellent instruction in the field of Holocaust/genocide and/or prejudicereduction education and achieved an outstanding accomplishment with students, staff, and/or community in that field, for more information, holocaust@doe.state.nj.us Last Day to Enter the Sister Rose Thering Fund for Education in Jewish-Christian Studies Student Essay Contest, after viewing the documentary, “Sister Rose’s Passion,” write a 500word essay on “How does the film, ‘Sister Rose’s Passion,’ Relate to an Experience in Your Life.” For more information, http://www. state.nj.us/education/holocaust/ stawards/030113Thering.pdf Video Conference to Celebrate the Birthday of Dr. Seuss, spons by the NJ Commission on Ho-

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locaust Education, at the Goodwin Holocaust Museum, Cherry Hill, 9am and 10am, 856-751-9500 ext 1249 Film: “Walk on Water,” with Prof Andrew Kaye, JCC, West Orange, 10am, 973-530-3417 “Torah Studies into the Soul of the Torah: Why We Sleep: An Exploration of Life’s Nightly Reset Button,” Rabbi Avrohom Rapoport, spons by Chabad at the Shore, at Linwood Library, 12:15pm, 609-822-8500 Lunch and Learn: “Jewish Life and Culture in Post-War Germany,” Dr. Poland Dollinger, JCC Rockland, West Nyack, 12:30m, 845-362-4400 First Friday Shabbat Services and Dinner, Rabbi Mendy Herson, Chabad of Greater Somerset County, Bridgewater, 5pm, 908-604-8844 Shabbat Daven-and-Dine, Rabbi Shlomo Marks, Cong Mt. Sinai, Jersey City Heights, 6:30pm, RavShlomo.MtSinai@gmail.com Shabbat across America Friday Night Dinner, Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, 7pm, 718-796-4730

Shabbat, March 2

Cong Beth Abraham Joins Cong Ahavat Shalom of the Te-

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MISSION TO WASHINGTON Wednesday May 8, 2013 Join us to advocate for a strong U.S.-Israel relationship!

Features:

• Meet in Small Groups With Members of Congress (No Previous Experience Needed) • Roundtrip Transportation to Washington, DC • Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner (All Meals Glatt Kosher) Register now for the Early Bird special rates at www.norpac.net or call (201) 788-5133 Adult - $125 Student - $75 Paid for by NORPAC

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The Log

February 2013/Adar 5773

Tell Our Advertisers “I Saw It in The Jewish Voice and Opinion”

continued from page 37

aneck Apartments, at the Torah Academy of Bergen County, Teaneck, Rabbi Yaakov Neuberger, for Shacharit, 8:45; Rabbi Tanchum Cohen, for Shalosh Seudos, 5pm, board@teaneckapartments.com or 212-909-6951, 347-443-2199, or 551-574-1867 Bnei Akiva Snif, for grades 3-6, Cong Netivot Shalom, Teaneck, 5:15pm, 201-801-9022

Motzei Shabbat March 2

Parent-Child Learning, Rabbi Aharon Ciment, includes stories and a review of the midrashim on the Parsha, Cong Arzei Darom, Teaneck, 7:30pm, 201-530-0043 Wine Tasting and Sale, Cong Ahawas Achim Bnai Jacob and David, West Orange, 8pm, 973-736-1407 Wine Tasting, Cong Shaare Tefillah, Teaneck, 8pm, 201-357-0613 Moriah School Dinner, honoring Shevy and Edward Solomon, Stacy Maza, Rabbi Jonathan Schachter, and Carol Iuzzolino, at Cong Keter Torah, Teaneck, 8:30pm, 201-567-0208 ext 373 Tiferes: A Chofetz Chaim Heritage Foundation Program for Women, private home in Edison, 8:30pm, 732-572-4713

Sun., March 3

Cong Ahavas Yisrael Journal Breakfast, honoring Jeff and Cindy Borell and Josh Kaplan, at Cong Ahavas Achim, Highland Park, 9:30am, breakfast@ayedison.org Hebrew Free Burial Association Riverdale Community Breakfast, Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, 9:30am, administrator@ hebrewfreeburial.org Project SARAH (Stop Abusive Relationships at Home) Breakfast, honoring Elke Stein, Ari Erdfarb, Yonatan Wolk, and the Mikvahs of Paramus (Rochelle Gans), Englewood (Medinah Popper), Fair Lawn (Doris Brandstatter), Fort Lee (Ra-

chel Bouskila), Tenafly (Nechama Shutyak), and Teaneck (Bryna Malitzky), at Cong Rinat Yisrael, Teaneck, 9:30am, 973-777-7638 “Living with Integrity: Navigating Everyday Ethical Dilemmas: Honesty,” Rabbi Levi Shemtov, Chabad of Riverdale, 9:45am, 718-549-1100; Rabbi Dov Drizen, Valley Chabad, Park Ridge High, 10am, 201-476-0157 “Living with Integrity: Navigating Everyday Ethical Dilemmas: Commitments,” Rabbi Avrohom Bergstein, Congregation Anshei Lubavitch, Fair Lawn, 10am, 718-839-5296 Creative Maturity Expo: Redefining Life’s Potential, for adults over 50, includes seminars, exhibits, health screenings, refreshments, and prizes, at the Aidekman Family Campus, Whippany, “Baby Boomer Boot Camp,” 10am; “Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything,” Joshua Foer, 11am, 973-674-6330 ext 311 Theatre: Freedom Song Show, for teens, life story of 18 addicts sharing a Passover night different from all others, spons by the Bergen County High School for Jewish Studies, at the Ma’ayanot Yeshiva High School for Girls, Teaneck, 10:45am, 201-488-0834 Purim Carnival, includes inflatables, balloon artistry, food, costumes, and rides, JCC, Bayonne, 12-3pm, 201-436-6900 Blood Drive, at the Ma’ayanot Yeshiva High School for Girls, Teaneck, 12:45-6:45pm, 201-833-4307 Theater Trip: To “My Name Is Asher Lev,” includes talk-back with actors and producer, spons by Jewish Federation of Greater Middlesex County, at the Westside Theater, New York, 3pm, 732-588-1800 Cong Rinat Yisrael Dinner,

The Log is a free service provided to the Jewish community in northern and central New Jersey, Rockland County and Riverdale. Events that we list include special and guest lectures, concerts, boutiques, dinners, open houses, club meetings, and new classes.

Announcements are requested by the 25th of the month prior to the month of the event. Due to space and editorial constraints, we cannot guarantee publication of any announcement. Please email them to : susan@jewishvoiceandopinion.com

honoring Debbie and Orin Golubtchik, Josh Sultanik, and Felicia Grossman, at Cong Keter Torah, in Teaneck, 5pm, 201-801-0284 Cong Ohr Torah of Edison Dinner, honoring Rabbi and Mrs Yaakov Luban, at Hotel Somerset, Bridgewater, 5pm, aandlkaye@aol.com Cong Beth Aaron, Men’s Club Pre-Pesach Wine Tasting and Sale, shul, Teaneck, 7pm, 201-836-6210 Pesach Recipe Exchange, for women who will bring their yummiest family secret recipe and receive a cookbook filled with the evening’s recipes, private home in Bergenfield, 8pm, pninafessel@gmail.com

Mon., March 4

“Living with Integrity: Navigating Everyday Ethical Dilemmas: Parents,” Rabbi Chanoch Kaplan, private law office, Oakland, 9am, 201-848-0449 “Torah as the Blueprint for Creation,” for women, Rebbetzin Leah Kohn, private home in Teaneck, 9:45am, 201-692-3757 or shadlynn@aol.com Israel Program, Rabbi Ely Allen, Ramapo College Hillel, Mahwah, 1pm, 201-820-3905 Israeli Film, with Rotem Nahum, JCC Rockland, West Nyack, 7pm, 845-361-4400 Emergency Preparedness: Flood Response and Safety Training, World Cares Center, at the Jewish Federation of Northern NJ, Paramus, 7pm, 201-820-3944 Kosher Fat Sandwich Night, Rutgers Hillel, New Brunswick, 7pm, 732-545-2407 “Living with Integrity: Navigating Everyday Ethical Dilemmas: Commitments,” Rabbi M Kasowitz, Lubavitch Center, West Orange, 7:30pm, 973-486-2362 “Torah Studies into the Soul of the Torah: Making a Difference: Understanding the Impact of Our Actions,” Rabbi Asher Herson, Chabad of Northwest NJ, Rockaway, 7:30pm, 973-625-1525 ext 202

Tues., March 5

“How to Include Holocaust Education in the Overall Subject of Jewish History, for Hebrew and Religious Day and Af-

ter-School Educations, presented

by Yad Vashem and the NJ Commission on Holocaust Education, includes lunch and materials, at the Institute for Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Raritan Valley Community College, Branchburg, 9am-2pm, 609-292-9274 La Leche League: “All You Ever Wanted to Know about Breast Feeding,” Elly Gail Egenberg, JCC Rockland, West Nyack, 10:15am, 845-362-4400 Women’s Club for Widows, Jewish Federation and Vocational Services, Concordia Shopping Center, Monroe, 10:30am, 732-7771940 or 609-395-7979 “Reb Zelmele’s Courtyard: Mock Ethnography and the Soviet Jewish Imagination,” Sasha Senderovich, Bildner Center, Rutgers, New Brunswick, 11:15am, 732-932-2033 Israel Program, Rabbi Ely Allen, William Paterson University Hillel, Wayne, 12:45pm, 201-820-3905 “Living with Integrity: Navigating Everyday Ethical Dilemmas: Commitments,” Rabbi Levi Azimov, North Brunswick Chabad, 7:45pm, 732-398-9492; Rabbi Dov Drizen, Woodcliff Lake Chabad, 8pm, 201-476-0157 “Digging Deeper: Exploring the Philosophical Foundations of Judaism: Is It Ever Too Late to Turn Around: The Hardening of Pharaoh’s Heart,” for men and women, Rabbi Netanel Wiederblank, Cong Bnai Yeshurun, Teaneck, 9:15pm, 201-836-8916

Wed., March 6

“How to Include Holocaust Education in the Overall Subject of Jewish History, for Hebrew and Religious Day and After-School Educations, presented by Yad Vashem and the NJ Commission on Holocaust Education, includes lunch and materials, at the Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest, Whippany, 9am-2pm, 609-292-9274 “Living with Integrity: Navigating Everyday Ethical Dilemmas: Commitments,” Rabbi Levi Azimov, Chabad of North Brunswick, 11am, 732-398-9492; Rabbi Mendel Mangel, Cherry Hill Chabad, 7:30pm, 856-874-1500; Rabbi Ephraim Simon, Teaneck

http://jewishvoiceandopinion.com Chabad House, 8pm, 201-907-0686; Rabbi Chanoch Kaplan, Franklin Lakes Chabad, 8pm, 201-848-0449 Israel Program, Rabbi Ely Allen, Fairleigh Dickinson University Hillel, University Chapel, 1pm, 201-820-3905 Using the Documentary “Only a Number” in the Classroom,” Josh Besserman, Mercer County Holocaust-Genocide Resource Center, Mercer County Community College, West Windsor, 4:30pm, mcholgen@gmail.com Jewish Federation of Northern NJ Commerce and Professional Division Dinner, honoring Leon Sokol, at Temple Emanu-El, Closter, 6:30pm, 201-820-3951 Contemporary Israeli Poetry Group, in the original with English translation and discussion, Atara Fobar, Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, 7pm, 718-796-4730 Strength-to-Strength Support Group for Parents Whose Children, Ages 15-25, Are Dealing with Chemical Dependency, Psychological Disorders, or CoOccurring Issues, JCC, Tenafly, 7pm, 201-408-1403 Jewish 12-Step Meeting, JACS—Jewish Alcoholics, Chemically Dependent Persons, and Significant Others, Jewish Family Service, Teaneck, 7:30pm, 201837-9090, ask for IRA (Information and Referral) or 201-981-1071 “Art in the Public Space,” Shimon Attie, Trayes Hall, Douglass Campus Center, New Brunswick, 7:30pm, 732-932-2033 “Living with Integrity: Navigating Everyday Ethical Dilemmas: Commitments,” Rabbi Asher Herson, Chabad Center of Northwest NJ. Rockaway, 7:45pm, 973-625-1525 Shomer Shabbos Boy Scout Meeting, for boys in 6th grade or 11 years old and up, Bais Medrash L’Torah, Rabbi Davis’s shul, Passaic, 8pm, HFishman@rafterpllc.com Webinar for Singles: “Are You Ready Webinar: Road to the Chuppah,” Rabbi Doniel Frank, 9:30pm, www.mapseminars.com

Thurs., March 7

“How to Include Holocaust Education in the Overall Subject of Jewish History, for Hebrew and Religious Day and After-School Educations, presented by Yad Vashem

February 2013/Adar 5773

and the NJ Commission on Holocaust Education, includes lunch and materials, Goodwin Holocaust Museum and Education Center, Cherry Hill, 9am-2pm, 609-292-9274 JCC University, JCC, Tenafly, coffee and conversation, 10:15am; “Past Epidemics, Emerging Infectious Diseases,” Dr. Richard Roberts, 10:30am; lunch, noon; “Chocolate Nation,” Grace Lissauer, 1pm, 201-408-1454 “Israel Program and Shwarma,” Rabbi Ely Allen, Bergen Community College Hillel, Paramus, 12:30pm, 201-820-3905 National Council of Synagogue Youth, Milburn High School, 2:30pm, 201-862-0250 “How to Talk so Kids Will Listen and Listen so Kids Will Talk: Express Your Anger without Being Hurtful,” Emily Shapiro, at Kidaroo, Riverdale, 10am, 347-560-1027 Israeli TV Show: “Srugim/ Knitted Kippahs,” with Rotem Nahum, JCC Rockland, West Nyack, 7pm, 845-362-4400 Nefesh HaChaim Shiur: Intermediate Level Class on Jewish Mysticism and Spirituality,” Rabbi Akiva Weiss, Rutgers Hillel, New Brunswick, 10:30pm, nataly@ rutgershillel.com

Fri., March 8

“Torah Studies into the Soul of the Torah: Making a Difference: Understanding the Impact of Our Actions,” Rabbi Avrohom Rapoport, spons by Chabad at the Shore, at Linwood Library, 12:15pm, 609-822-8500 Carlebach-Style Davening, Rabbi Lawrence Zierler, Jewish Center of Teaneck, 5:30pm, 201833-0515 Rabbi Sammy Intrator, scholar-in-residence, Carlebach Community of Teaneck, private home in Teaneck, through Shabbat, March 9, 201-862-0087 or 201-862-0083

Shabbat, March 9

Carlebach Minyan, Cong Darchei Noam, Fair Lawn, 8:45am, rabbidonath@gmail.com Belz Chazzan Moshe Rubee, Cong Ohav Emeth, Highland Park, 8:45am, 732-247-3038 Tefilat Shlomo: The Carlebach Tefila of Riverdale, includes light and healthy Kiddush, at the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, 9am, 718-796-4730 “Losing Faith: Fewer Jews

The Jewish Voice and Opinion

(and Otherwise) in the Pews,” discussion led by Rabbi Lawrence Zierler, Jewish Center of Teaneck, 11:45am, 201-833-0515 Shabbat Mevorchim Shalosh Seudos, for women, spons

by Cong Ahavat Shalom of the Teaneck Apartments, private apartment in Teaneck, 4pm, sisterhood@ teaneckapartments.com

Motzei Shabbat, March 9

Kids’ Night Out, for ages 5-12, divided by age, so that parents can have a night out, Riverdale YMHA, 7-10pm, 718-548-8200 ext 261 Cong Netivot Shalom Dinner, honoring Ilene and Mark Pollack, Galit and Jeffrey Cohen, and Teaneck Mayor Mohammed Hameeduddin, at Cong Beth Shalom, Teaneck, 8pm, netivotshalomwebsite@gmail.com or 201-801-9022 Cong Ahawas Achim Bnai Jacob and David Dinner, honoring Shari and David Cherna, Rose and Gary Scharlat, Rachel and Joel Segal, and Mickey Weiss, at the Wilshire Grand Hotel, West Orange, 8:30pm, 973-736-1407 Ma’ayanot Yeshiva High School for Girls Scholarship Dinner, honoring Esti and Binyamin Kaminetzky, Sara and Ira Olshin, Gila Stein, and Art Carpenter, at the Fair Lawn Jewish Center, 8:30pm, 201-833-4307 Mentalist Ronnie Baras, spons by EMUNAH, private home in Teaneck, 8:30pm, 201-359-5245

Sun., March 10

Jewish Federation of Northern NJ Good Deeds Day, community-wide food drive to benefit local food pantries, drop off in Paramus, 201-820-3911 Meet Rep Rodney P. Frelinghuysen (R-NJ), includes Q&A, Cong Ahawas Achim Bnai Jacob

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and David, West Orange, 9:30am, 973-736-1407 “Living with Integrity: Navigating Everyday Ethical Dilemmas: Commitments,” Rabbi Levi Shemtov, Chabad of Riverdale, 9:45am, 718-549-1100; Rabbi Dov Drizen, Valley Chabad, Park Ridge High, 10am, 201-476-0157 Hachnasat Sefer Torah, Cong Shaare Tefillah, Teaneck, 10am, 201-357-0613 Pay It Forward: Matzah Bakery, bring one kosher-for-Passover item for less-fortunate families, for children ages 6 and up, Chabad Center, Wayne, 12:45pm, 973-694-6274 “Jews and Firearms: Are They For You? Introductory Class on Everything You Need to Make an Informed Decision,” spons by the Golani Rifle & Pistol Club of North Jersey, private range and classroom, North Bergen, 5pm, golanirpc@yahoo.com Pre-Pesach Boutique, Cong Bnai Yeshurun, Teaneck, 5-9pm, mkopel35@gmail.com Ladies Got Talent: All Women Talent Show, for girls and women only, spons by EMUNAH to raise awareness of the plight of families in Southern Israel following Operation Pillar of Defense, at Cong Mt. Sinai, Washington Heights, 7pm, ladiesgottalent@gmail.com Rockland and Bergen County Adoptive Families Meet-Up and Support Group, for those who have already adopted or are in the process of adopting, internationally and domestically, private home, 7:30pm, www.meetup.com/Rockland-andBergen-Adoptive-Families Rosh Chodesh Women’s Dinner: “The Kabbalah of Spiritual Dieting,” Chabad Center, West Orange, 7:30pm, 973-486-2362 Y

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February 2013/Adar 5773

Tell Our Advertisers “I Saw It in The Jewish Voice and Opinion”

New Classes This Month Sundays

Talmud Class: Tractate Tamid, Rabbi Asher Herson, Chabad Center of Northwest NJ, Rockaway, 9am, 973-625-1525 Chabad Hebrew School, for children in grades 1-Bar and Bat Mitzvah, Ventnor, 10am, 609-992-5522 Issues from the Weekly Parsha, spons by the Kiruv Committee of Cong Beth Abraham, at the Teaneck General Store, 10:30am, 201-385-2491 Prayer Book Hebrew, Rabbi Mordechai Baumgarten, Chabad Center of Northwest NJ, Rockaway, 11:30am, 973-625-1525

Mondays

Mommy and Me, for children ages 12-24 months and a parent, Morah Rhea Levart, Cong Netivot Shalom, Teaneck, 9:30am, 201-951-7458 Understanding the Hebrew of the Torah: Book of Genesis from Joseph, Etia Segall, JCC, Tenafly, 9:30am, 201-569-7900 Advanced Beginners Hebrew Reading: Pirket Avot and The Book of Proverbs, Etia Segall, JCC, Tenafly, 11:30am, 201-569-7900 “Jake Talks,” Internet radio show spons by JCC Rockland and run

by JCC teens, join the broadcast, listen at www.rocklandworldradio. com, call in by dialing 845-353-2910, at Rockland World Radio, Nyack, 5pm, 845-362-4400 ext 103 Dube Zone Cheerleading Camp, for girls in grades 1-4, Cong Ahawas Achim Bnai Jacob and David, West Orange, 5pm, www.DubeZone.com Beit Midrash Program, for boys in grades 7 and 8, the opportunity to learn with a high school student at the Torah Academy of Bergen County, Teaneck, Rabbi Sariel Malitzky, 7pm, sariel.malitzky@tabc.org “Judaism’s Relevance in Modern Life,” Rabbi Michel Gurkov, Chabad Center, Wayne, 7pm, 973-694-6274 Matan Bat Mitzvah Program: Jewish Women through the Ages,” for new and upcoming bat mitzvah girls and their mothers, facilitated by Rebbetzin Gila Miodownik, includes music, theater, art, and guided imagery to prepare a project on the subject of “Aishet Chayil,” Cong Ahavas Achim, Highland Park, 7pm, 732-565-0744 “Book of Kings,” Rabbi Avi Weiss, Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, 7:30pm, 718-796-4730, begins March 4 Torah Studies: “A Weekly Journey into the Soul of the Torah Portion,” Rabbi Asher Herson, Chabad Center of Northwest NJ,

Mazal Tov

Mazal Tov to the Bar Mitzvah Boys: Noam Aharon, Avrami Diament, Reuven Sytner, Evan Zauderer, Izzy Klavan, Rafi Kreitman, Aryeh Mischel, Noam Putterman, Yaakov Moshe Sneet, Eliyahu Tzvi Steinhart, Yonaton Sturm, and Eitan Zoldan; and the Bat Mitzvah Girls: Allison Gellerstein, Miriam Cohen, Madison Rachel Wortman, Bailey Hartman, Kaylie Jacobs, Shira Knapp, Batsheva Ohayon, and Maya Wind Mazal Tov to the Teaneck Volunteer Ambulance Corps, especially TVAC Capt Kevie Feit and Lt Adam Baer, on being recognized for their role in a lengthy rescue following a highway crash in January. Mazal Tov to Marcela Alzate, Mr. Baer, William E. Beavers IV, Julian Botta, Arielle Cheifetz, Amanda Davis, Corey Fuchs, Moshe Dulitz, Benjamin Hutt, Israel Infield, Brian Kim, Naftali Levenbrown, Charles Levin, Binyamin Rosen, Capt. Andrew Rosler, Michael Rothschild, Adina Rudin, Andy Rudin, Natan Safran, Baruch Silberstein, and Lt. Eli Weingast on being presented the TVAC’s CPR Save Award, recognizing members who had “a positive outcome” in performing CPR on a patient in cardiac arrest.

Rockaway, 7:30pm, 973-625-1525 Shomer Shabbat Boy Scout Troop, for grades 6-12, Scoutmaster Daniel Chazin, Jewish Center of Teaneck, 7:30pm, DChazin@aol.com Megillah Shiur, Rabbi Yaakov Neuburger, Cong Beth Abraham, Bergenfield, 8pm, 201-384-0434 Gemara Shiur on Brachot, Rabbi A. Erlanger, in Hebrew, Cong Ohav Emeth, Highland Park, 8pm, 732-247-3038 Navi Shiur: Melachim Aleph, for women, Aviva Orlian, private home in Monsey, 8:15pm, 845-300-4880 Parshat Hashavua Guided Study Shiur, Rabbi Yaakov Blau, Cong Rinat Yisrael, 8:15pm, 201-837-2795 ext 101 Night Seder at Yeshivas Bais Mordechai: Mesechta Succah, Rabbi Pinny Roth, Teaneck, 8:30pm, 917-991-7985 Gemara Masechet Chagigah, Rabbi Steven Miodownik, private home in Highland Park, 9pm, 732-565-0744

Tuesdays

Torah Gems, for men, Rabbi Moshe Goldberger, Cong Ahavas Achim, Highland Park, 8:30am, 732-247-0532 Eema and Me, for infants and toddlers with a parent, Helene Lockspeiser, Rabbi Pesach Raymon Yeshiva, Edison, 9am, 732-5725052 ext 215 Mishnah, for men, Rabbi Avigdor Weitzner, Cong Ahavas Achim, Highland Park, 9:30am, 732-247-0532 Gemara Ketubot: Chapter 2, Rabbi Menahem Meier, Cong Keter Torah, Teaneck 9:45am, 201-907-0180 “Book of Genesis,” Rabbi Avi Weiss, Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, 10am, 718-796-4730, begins March 5 Shiur on Tefilla, Rabbi Shalom Baum, Cong Keter Torah, Teaneck, 11am, 201-907-0180 Intermediate Yiddish, Rebecca Levy, JCC, Whippany, 12:30pm, 973-530-3536 or 3519, begins March 5 Parsha, Rabbi M Kasowitz, JCC, West Orange, 12:30pm, 973486-2362 Dube Zone, sports class for boys 4-5 years old, Cong Rinat Yisrael, Teaneck, 4:20pm, 201-837-2795 ext 101 Hebrew Immersion, for beginning adults who want to learn conversational Hebrew, Tamar Matza, YMHA, Washington Heights, 7pm, 212-569-6200 Shalom Yoga, for women, Monica Gordon, in memory of Jonathan Roth, z”l, Cong Bnai Yeshurun, Teaneck, 8pm, 201-836-8916 or 201-687-YOGA Gemara Shiur on Pesachim, for men, Rabbi Eliyahu Kaufman, Cong Ohav Emeth, Highland Park, 8pm, 732-247-3038 “Safrut 101: The Ins and Outs of Purchasing Mezuzot and Tefilin,” Rabbi Yaakov Hoffman, Cong Ahavas Achim, Highland Park, 8pm, 732-247-0532

Wednesdays

Timely Classes for Timeless Classics, Rabbi Boruch Klar, Lubavitch Chabad Judaica, West Orange, 10am, 973-486-2362

http://jewishvoiceandopinion.com

February 2013/Adar 5773

Women’s Torah Studies, Rebbetzin Tova Rapoport, Chabad House, Margate, 11am, 609-992-4900 Yiddish Vinkel, JCC Rockland, West Nyack, 11am, 845-362-4400 Pay-It-Forward Homework Assistance Program, for children in grades 1-5, help provided by students at the Ma’ayanot Yeshiva High School for Girls, at Ma’ayanot, Teaneck, 4:40pm, weineri@maayanot.org Hebrew Reading, for those who know the letters but want to read the siddur or chumash on their own, Rabbi David Pietruszka, spons by the Jewish Learning Experience, at Cong Beth Aaron, Teaneck, 7pm, 201-966-4498 Hebrew Institute of Riverdale Community Choir, Jonathan Dzik, four-part harmony for songs in Hebrew, Yiddish, Ladino, and English, Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, 7:30pm, 718-549-8520 Hebrew Crash Course, Rabbi Asher Herson, Chabad Center of Northwest NJ, Rockaway, 7:30pm, 973-625-1525 Confidential Support Group for Women Affected by Intimate Partner Violence, professionally facilitated, Jewish Family Service, Teaneck, 8pm, 201-837-9090 Gemara Shiur on Succos, for men, Rabbi Shlomo Ziegler, Cong Ohav Emeth, Highland Park, 8pm, 732-247-3038

Thursdays

Gemara, for men, Rabbi Shlomo Nussbaum, Cong Ahavas Achim, Highland Park, 8:30am, 732-247-0532 “Topics in Comparative Law,” Rabbi Daniel Besser, Ma’ayanot Yeshiva High School for Girls, Teaneck, 9:15am, isolshin@msn.com or ennisrp@optonline.net Gemara Ketubot: Chapter 2, Rabbi Menahem Meier, Cong Keter Torah, Teaneck 9:45am, 201-907-0180 Sefer Ezra, Rabbi Menahem Meier, Cong Keter Torah, Teaneck, 10:45am, 201-907-0180 “Establishing Financial Freedom Support Group,” for those interested in exploring avenues to achieve financial freedom, Jewish Family Service, Teaneck, 1pm, 201-837-9090 Advanced Yiddish, Rebecca Levine, JCC, Whippany, 7pm, 973530-3536 or 3519, begins March 7 National Council of Synagogue Youth Latte ‘n’ Learning, Starbucks, Livingston, 7:30pm, 201-862-0250 Yiddish for Beginners, for those 15 and older, Rebecca Levy, JCC, Whippany, 8:10pm, 973-530-3536 or 3519, begins March 7 Night Seder at Yeshivas Bais Mordechai: Mesechta Succah, Rabbi Pinny Roth, Teaneck, 8:30pm, 917-991-7985 Gemara Shiur on Taanis, Dr. Chaim Presby, Cong Ohav Emeth, Highland Park, 8:30pm, 732-247-3038 Chumash Shiur, Rabbi Yissocher Frand, via satellite, Cong K’Hal Zichron Mordechai, Monsey (845-356-7188);Young Israel of Fair Lawn (201-797-1800); Cong Keter Torah, Teaneck (201-907-0180); Cong Ohr Torah, West Orange (973-669-7320); Cong Tifereth Israel, Passaic (973773-2552); Cong Ahavas Achim, Highland Park (732-247-0532); Kehillas Bais Yehudah, Wesley Hills, (917-623-4711), 9pm Shiur on Halacha L’Ma’aseh Issues, Rabbi Tanchum Cohen, private homes in Bergenfield, 9:15pm, david.m@drape.com

Shabbat

“100 Brachot: Discussion of Rabbi Moshe Goldberger’s Commentary on the 100 Brachot We Are Required to Recite Daily,” Josh Fine, Cong Ahavas Achim, Highland Park, 8:30am, 732-247-0532 Megilas Esther, Rabbi Yaakov Glasser, to explore the underlying conflicts and events, followed by shalosh seudos, spons by the Young Israel of Passaic-Clifton, at the Yeshiva Ketana, 4:15pm, 973-330-2285

Motzei Shabbat

Navi Shiur, Rabbi Yisroel Reisman, live via satellite, Young Israel of Fair Lawn (201-797-1800); Cong Ahavas Achim, Highland Park (732247-0532); Cong Tifereth Israel, Passaic; JEC, Elizabeth (908-591-5929); Cong Khal Zichron Mordechai, Monsey (845-356-7188); Cong Keter Torah, Teaneck; Cong Ohr Torah, West Orange (973-669-7320), 8pm

The Jewish Voice and Opinion

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Specials

Jewish Radio, Al Gordon can be heard in Highland Park and parts of Edison and Piscataway on 1640 AM; everyone else can hear his programs online at 1640WJPR.com. Monday through Friday: Daf Yomi, Rabbi Moshe Elefant, 5am; Gordon-in-the-Morning, music, news, and sports, 6-10am; Music all day, 10am-7pm. Zev Brenner, Talkline, Mon-Thurs, 7-9pm; Motzei Shabbat, 10pm-3am. jewishdj@aol.com WISE: Women, Independent, Strong, Enriched, confidential program providing integrated employment and counseling services for domestic violence victims, meets twice a week, Sheila Steinbach, LPC, Jewish Family Service, Teaneck, 201-837-9090

New Minyanim

Shacharit, Cong Shaare Tefillah, Rabbi Kenneth Schiowitz, Teaneck Mon-Fri, 6:05am (Mon and Thurs); 6:15am (Tues, Wed, Fri), 201-357-0613 Mincha Minyan, Cong Ahawas Achim Bnai Jacob and David, West Orange, Mon-Fri, 12:40pm, 973-736-1407 Mincha Minyan, Cong Bnai Yershurun, Teaneck, 1:45pm, 201836-8916 Ma’ariv Minyan, Cong Rinat Yisrael, Teaneck, Mon-Thurs, 7:30pm, 201-837-2795 Mincha-Ma’ariv Minyan, Cong Ahawas Achim Bnai Jacob and David (Sephardic Wing), West Orange, 7:45pm, 973-736-1407

Chesed Ops

Free Costume Gemach lends out hundreds of costumes all year round for plays, presentations, mock weddings, and Purim.

Donors include people from many different communities; borrowers include schools, special-ed programs, camps, children, and adults, by appointment, drleahadams@gmail.com or crunchy22@aol.com The Teaneck Office of Emergency Management is recruiting volunteers to help township officials with the establishment of the Rodda Center as a Temporary Transition Facility during emergencies, such as floods, fires, and other disasters. Volunteers will not be asked to enter emergency scenes or perform hazardous duties. Training at no cost provided by the Red Cross. Call 201-837-1600 ext 1651 After a simcha, donate leftover food to She’arit ha-Plate of Bergen County to be distributed to local families in need. Caterers call 225-DON8-FUD. Also looking for people to help repack food rescued from local kosher restaurants, stores, and simchas. For immediate pick-up, call 201-835-5338 Volunteers needed by Project Ezrah to deliver mishloach manot packages on Purim, Sunday, Feb 24, 201-569-9047 Join Chaverim, volunteers who enjoy helping others and are handy offer free roadside service, chaverim.teaneck@gmail.com or 201-800-HELP (4357) OHEL Children’s home is experiencing a shortage of foster parents for Jewish children, often from abusive or neglectful surroundings; all need a family to provide structure, stability, kindness, safety, and love, 718-851-6300 Y

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February 2013/Adar 5773

Tell Our Advertisers “I Saw It in The Jewish Voice and Opinion”

Contests and Scholarships Submissions Accepted for the Abe Oster Holocaust Remembrance Awards, for high school students who reside or go to public or private school in Bergen County; create an original multi-media presentation, with an accompanying written explanation, that communicates the relevance of the Holocaust in the 21st century. Deadline is March 15. For information, Rabbi Steve Golden, 201-408-1426 or http://www.state.nj.us/education/holocaust/stawards/031513Oster.pdf Nominations Are Open for the Axelrod Family Award to honor and support educators or community members who have demonstrated exemplary work in the field of Holocaust/genocide education and prejudice reduction. To nominate a potential awardee, before April 1, go to www.state.nj.us/education/holocaust/awards/axelrod.pdf Nominations Are Open for the Hela Young Award, presented to individuals, a group, or an organization in recognition of outstanding work for the improvement of human relations among diverse peoples specifically related to prejudice reduction. Before the April 1 deadline, go to www.state.nj.us/education/holocaust/awards/young.pdf Nominations Are Open for the Sister Rose Thering Award, given to an educator or individual contributing to the field of high education, specifically in teacher-training related to the reduction of bias, prejudice, and discrimination. Before April 1, nominations will be accepted by private citizens as well as community and religious groups. Go to www.state.nj.us/education/holocaust/awards/thering.pdf Nominations Are Open for the Maud Dahme Award, awarded to a student or educator who has demonstrated the moral courage of someone who stands up for humanity and decrease in prejudice and discrimination. Nominees should assist students (and adults) to learn right from wrong; demonstrate qualities of moral courage, moral responsibility, and respect for humanity; has learned or taught the lessons of the Holocaust. To make a nomination, before April 1, go to www.state.nj.us/education/holocaust/awards/dahme.pdf Members of the Community Can Nominate a Student in Grades 4-12 Who Has Demonstrated an Altruistic Act of Gener-

ating Awareness, Empathy, and Action for Holocaust and/or Genocide Education, spons by the Mercer County Holocaust/Genocide Resource Center. Possible topics include: anti-bullying, bystander behavior, name-calling, sensitivity to the disabled. In 250 words or less, describe the action or education event(s) you believe warrant special recognition. Deadline is April 15. Call 609-581-0239 Apply for a Josiah DuBois Scholarship, for juniors or seniors in high school; applicants must supply a two-page typed essay reflecting the ways he or she has worked to carry out the moral and ethical principles of Josiah DuBois, a NJ resident and attorney who, during World War II, served as Assistant General Counsel in the US Treasury Dept, working with the Foreign Funds Control, which worked, in turn with the US State Department and was involved in funding for refugee relief. DuBois discovered information about the Nazis’ mass murder of European Jews and was outraged that State Department officials were obstructing opportunities to rescue the Jews. Despite threats, he continued to expose State’s inaction, leading to the creation of the War Refugee Board, which sent Raoul Wallenberg to Hungary, encouraged Pope John XXIII to rescue Jewish children, and created a safe haven for 1,000 Jews at Fort Ontario in Oswego, NY. After the war, DuBois prosecuted chemical giant, I.G. Farben, for exploiting slave labor. The message of DuBois’s life: Do not be a bystander, but, rather be active and speak out when people are being hurt and persecuted. For more information about the scholarship: Goodwin Holocaust Museum, Cherry Hill, 856-751-9500 ext 1249 or hkirschbaum@ jfedsnj.org. Deadline is April 15 Besserman Family Student Literary Writing Contest, based on the documentary “Only a Number,” two pages on the experience of the film’s Holocaust-victim protagonist as it relates to issues of today regarding prejudice, intolerance, stereotyping, and bullying and what the student feels people can do to reduce these evils, spons by the NJ Holocaust Education Commission. Deadline is April 25. For a copy of the documentary or more information, holocaust@doe.state.nj.us

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February 2013/Adar 5773

Israeli Elections

continued from page 1

Arabs who fled Israel in 1948 and 1967—and their millions of descendants—have the right to flood back into Israel proper, demographically destroying the possibility of a Jewish state.

“The Palestinian refugees’ issue will be settled within the boundaries of a future Palestinian state,” said Mr. Lapid.

It is unclear whether he will accept Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s demand that in any final agreement, the Palestinians must accept Israel as “the Jewish state.” The Yesh Atid platform focuses instead on the rabid incitement against Israel and Jews within the Palestinian education system and the PA-controlled media. Mr. Lapid said that such incitement must end completely.

Catbird Seat Until just before elections, most polls showed Mr. Lapid winning between 9 and

12 seats. But when the results were tallied, Yesh Atid had won 19 mandates, making it the second largest party in the new Knesset. Only Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud-Yisrael Beiteinu, with 31 seats, did better.

This puts Mr. Lapid in a choice position. Yesh Atid could be Mr. Netanyahu’s senior partner in the new government, or Mr. Lapid could stay out of the government and become the leader of the opposition.

While his father Tommy (who was also a former journalist) led the virulently antireligious Shinui Party, Yair Lapid is somewhat more tolerant. In his speeches to hareidi audiences, he concedes that, despite all the odds, the ultraOrthodox have “won.”

“We can’t make any major political decisions without your input,” he has told them.

On the other hand, Mr.

The Jewish Voice and Opinion

Lapid said that the secularists have also won, in creating a modern state with a thriving Hebrew culture. The sides, he said, must choose whether to continue their “culture war,” or to take joint responsibility for the state they share.

Success in the Middle Many pundits say Mr. Lapid’s success was the result of Mr. Netanyahu’s bitter fight with Naftali Bennett and his Bayit Yehudi (Jewish Home) party. Jewish Home is an amalgam of the various factions that formerly comprised the National Religious Party. Likud and the proudly conservative Jewish Home both sought to attract the same segment of religious and secular Israelis who shared their goals. Mr. Netanyahu aggressively attacked Jewish Home and Mr. Bennett as his party’s chief opponents.

Many said Likud’s ads

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against Jewish Home hit below the belt. Among these ads was one claiming that Yigal Amir (the convicted murderer of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin) supported Mr. Bennett. Another ad suggested that “Half the Bayit Yehudi list was chosen by extremist rabbis and is committed to listen only to them.”

According to a Tzemach poll, 50 percent of Mr. Lapid’s votes were from right-wing secularists. Many observers to suggest that voters were frightened away from Mr. Bennett and repulsed by the Likud, driving them into the arms of Yesh Atid.

When the campaign first began, some polls showed Mr. Netanyahu winning at least ten seats more than his final tally.

Just before the election, polls showed Mr. Bennett win-

continued on page 44

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February 2013/Adar 5773

Israeli Elections

continued from page 43

ning about 14 or 15 seats, although some polls showed him as high as 18. In the end, Jewish Home won 12 seats, making it the fourth largest party in the Knesset, behind Likud, Yesh Atid, and Labor.

A Government As soon as elections were completed, attention in Israel turned to the complicated matter of forming a government. By law, the President of Israel—currently Shimon Peres—selects the leader of the party most likely to put together at least 61 seats in the 120-seat Knesset.

Usually the individual tasked with forming a new government is the leader of the party that won the most seats.

Four years ago, Kadima won one more seat than Likud (28 as opposed to 27), and Kadima’s leader, Ms. Livni, was asked to form a government.

When she could not bring 61 seats together, the President

turned to the leader of the party with the next-highest number of seats—Mr. Netanyahu of Likud—who then formed one of the most stable governments Israel had enjoyed in decades.

For a very brief period after this year’s elections, Shelly Yachimovich, leader of the Labor Party, and Zahava Galon, chairwoman of the farleft Meretz Party, suggested the Israeli left would be able to put together a coalition that could block Mr. Netanyahu. Ms. Galon envisioned a government with Mr. Lapid at the head and nearly all other parties, except Likud and Jewish Home, coming together to equal more than 70 seats.

According to this plan, the three Israeli-Arab parties, which together had won 11 seats, would become part of the government for the first time. It was assumed that the hareidi parties (the Sephardic

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Shas with 11 seats and Ashkenazic United Torah Judaism with 7) would join the government and agree to make concessions to the Palestinian Authority. In fact, Aryeh Deri, leader of Shas, has made it clear he favors a two-state solution.

Doomed Plan But the plan was doomed from its inception. Mr. Lapid rejected it outright.

Interviewed by phone two days after the election, Mr. Lapid said he had heard the talk about a left-wing bloc to thwart Mr. Netanyahu, but he wanted “to take this thing off the table right now.”

“We’re not going to form a bloc with Hanin Zoabi,” he said.

The first Arab woman to be elected to the Knesset on an Arab party’s list, Ms. Zoabi, a member of Balad, rejects the concept of Israel as Jewish state.

Calling it “inherently racist,” she walks out of the Knesset whenever the national anthem, Hatikva, is sung.

Most offensive to Mr. Lapid was her participation in the May 2010 Gaza Flotilla, an effort to break Israel’s naval blockade of the Gaza Strip, which was established to prevent the terrorist Hamas movement from importing weapons. Ms. Zoabi was on the Turkish ship Mavi Mamara when Israeli security officials were attacked as they boarded it to redirect it to the Israeli port of Ashdod.

No one was more pleased

by Mr. Lapid’s statement than Mr. Bennett, who congratulated Yesh Atid for “not going along with the destructiveness of the left.”

Mr. Lapid said that whether or not he eventually joins the government, he intends to support Mr. Netanyahu for Prime Minister.

Drafting Hareidi Students He seems likely to join Mr. Netanyahu’s coalition only if it can

be accomplished on his terms.

While the Israeli left hoped those terms included insisting on an immediate return to negotiations with the Palestinians, Mr. Lapid has his own priorities.

First and foremost, he wants to put an end to the special permission for hareidi students to remain in yeshivas instead of serving in the Israeli Defense Forces or National Service. In Israel, this is often referred to as “sharing the burden.” It is fiercely opposed by the hareidi parties, which is why they and Mr. Lapid may not be able to sit together in the same government.

Mr. Lapid also wants a government with no “ministers without portfolio.” He has termed these positions “a corruption” and a waste of money.

In fact, they are usually used

by Prime Ministers to balance the power of coalition members, prompting more of them to remain in the government, rather than toppling it when they or their parties do not get their way.

“A minister-without-portfolio is like a professional who comes to your home and says ‘Let’s do the job without an invoice.’ At that moment, he thinks only of himself, just like a minister-without-portfolio.

He thinks only about his own personal gain,” he said.

Middle Class One of the key planks in Mr. Lapid’s platform is taking care of the Israeli middle class, especially with regard to affordable housing. The housing issue once again puts him at odds with the hareidi parties, which prefer to direct benefits to their own constituents, who are often poorer than average and have large families.

During the campaign, Mr. Lapid used the economic argument against residents of

http://jewishvoiceandopinion.com Judea and Samaria. This confused many observers because these residents are also part of the middle class.

“Are the billions of shekels that are spent building roads in isolated settlements outside the settlement blocs not part of the problem? Is a reserve battalion guarding three families at an illegal outpost not a political exploitation of state resources?” he said.

February 2013/Adar 5773

He said this was not the core of the debate over the future of the Israeli-Arab conflict, but rather that “the settlements in Judea and Samaria have been turned into another extortionate sector that takes the money from the middle class just because it can.”

“I think that the settlers are Israeli patriots,” he said, “but it’s precisely because of this that they need to un-

The Jewish Voice and Opinion

derstand that the budget cuts will not skip over them. They should bear the burden like the entire Israeli middle class.

If we’re brothers, then we’re also brothers when it comes to the economy.”

Helping All Mr. Bennett responded by making it clear that he was not interested in helping any one sector of society, but rather doing what was best for all Israelis.

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“I do not know what all the ‘isms’ are,” he said. “I do not care about socialism or capitalism.

We have a 3,000-year-old Jewish economy which teaches us to be concerned for the weak, to love the stranger, and build community life and engage in mutual assistance. In Israel, there is a tendency to blame someone else—‘the settlements are to blame,’ ‘it’s all because

continued on page 46

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February 2013/Adar 5773

Israeli Elections

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continued from page 45

of the hareidim,’ ‘the secular-leftists are to blame.’ In Jewish Home, there are no camps, we are home to everyone. We don’t know what Sephardi, Ashkenazi, secular, traditional means. The way to solve problems is together, to stop the hate speeches in Israel, There should be no hatred between brothers—not in Likud, not in Labor, not in Yesh Atid, not in any party in Israel.”

Benny Katzover, head of the Samaria Residents’ Committee, insisted that residents of Judea and Samaria were part of the middle class that Mr. Lapid had sworn to defend.

“The residents of Revava, Peduel, or

Itamar deserve investment in their infrastructure just as residents of Holon, Carmiel or Kibbutz Grofit do,” he said. “We do our part. We pay taxes, work for a living, enlist in combat units in high numbers.”

So far, Mr. Lapid has not responded to that argument, making some observers believe his remarks in opposition to the residents of Judea and Samaria were simply campaign rhetoric.

PA Invitation While he does not consider himself a leftist, his endorsement of the two-state solution prompted the PA leadership to invite him into “a new dialogue.”

“We extend a political invitation to Israeli parties, particularly the new ones among them, to open a dialogue before the formation of a new government,” said PA official Yasir Abed Rabbo, adding that the PA had watched the Israeli elections “with great interest.”

Mr. Rabbo gave no indication that the PA was prepared to alter its demands which, in addition to the “right of return,” include a retreat by Israel to the pre-1967 borders, including relinquishing half of Jerusalem and all of Judea and Samaria, which would have to be delivered judenrein.

Mr. Lapid does not intend to acqiesce to any of those demands.

United Jerusalem He has no intention of relinquishing or dividing Jerusalem in any way as part of a peace agreement.

“There is no compromise on Jerusalem.

It is Israel’s eternal capital and its unity is a national symbol of the first degree. Jerusalem will remain united under Israeli sovereignty, for Jerusalem is not merely a location or a city, but the center of the Jewish-Israeli ethos and the holy place that the Jews yearned for throughout the ages. We have no existence without Jerusalem,” he said in a phone interview.

Additionally, Mr. Lapid insists that during negotiations with the PA, construction in the major settlement blocs—which his platform insists will be retained by Israel—will not be frozen. PA President Mahmoud Abbas has insisted he will not even sit down with Israel until the Jewish state stops building new homes everywhere in Judea and Samaria, blocs included.

PA Will Blink?

Asked what he thought the PA leadership’s reaction would be to his positions, Mr. Lapid said, “If Israel does not compromise on the unity of Jerusalem or the settlement blocs or on the so-called ‘right of return,’ the PA will give up on them.”

He based his optimism on an incident that seems to point to the opposite conclusion. Last November, Mr. Abbas was asked by Israeli television if he would like to go back to Safed, the city in northern Israel in which he was born in 1935.

Mr. Abbas said he would like to visit Safed but not live there, a remark that was interpreted by most Palestinians to mean that Mr. Abbas was relinquishing the

http://jewishvoiceandopinion.com right of return. Throughout Arab areas of Judea and Samaria and Gaza there were angry protests during which pictures of Mr. Abbas were burned.

Mr. Abbas was widely denounced as a traitor, despite insisting during the interview on a Palestinian state along the 1967 borders, with its capital in the eastern neighborhoods of Jerusalem.

“A Sacred Matter” A few days later, he tried to redeem himself, telling a Palestinian newspaper that he had been talking only about his own personal aspirations, not about giving up anyone else’s rights. He called the “right of return” a “sacred matter” that had to be resolved.

It did little good. The demonstrations continued. The editor of Al Quds Al Arabi, Abdel Bari Atwan, wrote “Please Do Not Speak on Our Behalf.”

“How can we expect President Abbas to defend the right to return seriously and faithfully while he himself disbelieves it and has no intention to achieve it for himself and for his children and grandchildren? This is our land and this is our right; and, thus, we demand he not speak on our behalf if he does not wish to be one of us,” he wrote.

Did Anyone Back Down?

Nevertheless, Mr. Lapid was convinced Mr. Abbas has given up on the “right of return” because “the Palestinians recognized that there was complete consensus among the Israeli public on this matter, so they moved onto the next matter.”

“There will be no compromise on Jerusalem. If the Palestinians understand that without giving in on Jerusalem they will not get a state, they will step down from this demand, too,” said Mr. Lapid.

On the telephone, it was impossible to know if Mr. Lapid was serious about this position; or if he had tongue firmly in cheek, was winking and nodding, or had a smirk instead of the smile for which he is becoming known.

Two Different Ideas On the surface, it would seem that Messrs Lapid and Bennett could never sit in the same government. Rather than a two-state solution, Mr. Bennett’s plan is to annex Area C of Judea and Samaria, the sector that is under complete Israeli control. More than 350,000 Jews reside in Area C and only about 50,000 Arabs.

Mr. Lapid said his plan to hold onto all

February 2013/Adar 5773

The Jewish Voice and Opinion

of Jerusalem would mean granting Israeli citizenship to the city’s Arab population.

Mr. Bennett said he was also prepared to offer Israeli citizenship to the Arabs living in Area C. But while Mr. Lapid expects the Arabs to accept the offer, Mr. Bennett said he would be surprised if they did. Mr. Bennett believes the Arabs would probably opt for “permanent residency.”

“Area C forms a contiguous Israeli land mass and includes the Jordan Valley, the Dead Sea, Ben Gurion airport, and surrounding area, Maaleh Adumim and all the Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria. Residents of Tel Aviv, the coastal plain, and the entire country will

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live in security and be protected from the threats from the east,” said Mr. Bennett, adding that when the Arabs of Area C are offered full citizenship “it will pull the rug out from the Apartheid accusation.”

“Delusional” Area A, which is under Palestinian administration and control, contains 59 percent of the Arabs in Judea and Samaria.

Area B, which is under Israeli control and PA administration, is home to 41 percent of the Palestinians. According to Mr. Bennett’s plan, in Areas A and B, which take up 41 percent of the land, the PA will have full autonomy.

continued on page 49

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February 2013/Adar 5773

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Ess Gezint: Purim by “Kosher by Design Cooking Coach”

By Elana Rosenbluth Susie Fishbein has done it again! In addition to 120 new recipes, “Kosher by Design Cooking Coach” includes many of the tips and techniques Ms. Fishbein has taught in her demonstrations and classes. The recipes are distinctive and are of the caliber one expects from Susie Fishbein. Each chapter of the book (e.g., “appetizers,” “soup,” “salad”) includes a “Game Plan” section, in which clear directions are given and illustrations are used to help everyone become a more confident and independent cook.

In honor of Purim, here are two “disguised” dishes that are sure to enhance the Seudah. Both have met great approval in our household, with no leftovers. They should be tried. Chag Sameach!

Y Faux Crab Cakes (Parve) Sweet Spaghetti Squash Kugel (Parve) 1 pkg (300 gms) surimi 1 lemon, divided 1 (15 oz) can diced peaches, syrup Nonstick cooking spray imitation crab seafood ½ tsp hot sauce drained and discarded 1 large spaghetti squash, 4-5 lbs flakes or sticks, defrosted ½ cup fresh pars1 tsp ground cinnamon 4 large eggs 3 large eggs ley leaves, finely 2 Tbs margarine ⅓ cup sugar 1 cup panko breadcrumbs chopped ½ cup packed dark brown sugar 1 large Granny Smith apple, 2½ tsp Old Bay Seasoning Canola oil peeled, cored, cut into ¾ cup cornflake crumbs Spice blend ⅛ tsp cayenne ¼-inch dice ½ cup chopped pecans ¾ cup mayonnaise, divided ¼ tsp dried dill Preheat oven to 350ºF. Spray a 9x13-inch casserole or ovenPlace the imitation crab in a food processor fitted with a metal to-table dish with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside. Place the “S” blade. Using a few on-off pulses, pulse until evenly chopped but whole spaghetti squash on a cookie sheet or directly on the grate not ground. If using the sticks, cut each in half before processing. You of the oven. Bake for about 1 hour, until slightly darker in color will need a few extra pulses to get these to the right consistency so and a little bit soft when you gently squeeze the sides. You are that the fish is almost ground, not shredded in appearance. Transfer looking for obvious depressions, but be careful not to puncture to medium bowl. Mix in the eggs, breadcrumbs, spice blend, ¼ the skin, as the flesh will be really hot. The time may vary based cup mayonnaise, juice of ½ lemon, hot sauce, and parsley. With on the size and weight of the squash; it may need an extra few wet hands, form into 12 small cakes. Heat a thin layer of canola minutes but don’t overcook the squash or it will come out mushy. oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the cakes, a few at a time; Do not turn off the oven. Remove from oven and allow to cool do not crowd the pan. Cook for 1-2 minutes per side until golden until it is easy enough to handle. Once the squash is cool, cut it brown. Remove to a plate or platter. Repeat with remaining cakes. in half lengthwise. Scoop out and discard the seeds. Use a fork to In a small bowl, whisk the remaining ½ cup mayonnaise, cayenne, scrape the flesh into spaghetti -like strands and place them into dill, and juice from remaining lemon half. Serve with the “crab” continued on page 49 cakes. Yields 10-12 “crab” cakes.

http://jewishvoiceandopinion.com

Israeli Elections Rabbi Shai Piron, who has the number two position on the Yesh Atid list, has attacked Mr. Bennett for what he called his “delusional” plan. A prominent rabbi and educator, Rabbi Piron is dean of the Petach Tikvah Yeshiva and resides with his wife and six children in Oranit, a small Samarian community.

Rabbi Piron supports Yesh Atid’s vision of a two-state solution, leading some pundits to suggest that the reason Messrs Lapid and Bennett feel they can work together is that neither plan is likely to be acted on.

Mr. Bennett has said he does not object to negotiations as long as no concessions are made.

Former IDF Chief of Staff and Likud-Beiteinu MK Moshe Yaalon suggested that, in light of the fact that the PA has refused all Israeli overtures, a political struggle over the views of Messrs Lapid and Bennett is senseless.

“I suggest that we not fight between ourselves over something that is imaginary at this point, because there is no partner on the other side

Kugel

cont. fr. p 44

a large mixing bowl. Whisk the eggs with the sugar and add to the squash. Pick out any loose seeds and discard. Mix in the apple, peaches and cinnamon.

Transfer to prepared baking dish. In a medium pot, heat the margarine and brown sugar, stirring often. When they are melted and smooth, remove from heat. Add the cornflake crumbs and pecans. Mix well.

Sprinkle over the squash. With a sweeping motion, spray the top of the kugel lightly with nonstick cooking spray. Bake, uncovered, for 45 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the kugel does not jiggle when shaken. Yields 15 servings.

February 2013/Adar 5773

The Jewish Voice and Opinion

Page - 49

continued from page 47 that is even willing to come to the table,” he said.

Domestic Concerns In fact, with Syria and Egypt imploding on Israel’s borders, the conflict with the Palestinians will not be the new government’s primary concern.

Although placating the US will always be an issue, Mr. Netanyahu will likely form his govern-

ment based on the domestic concerns of Israeli voters.

The Prime Minister has indicated he intends to support the concept of “equal sharing of the burden” of military duty and National Service, a principle endorsed by both Messrs.

Lapid and Bennett.

Mr. Lapid said he was “glad that the Prime Minister

has been talking about all the things we’ve talked about in the past year: equal sharing of the burden, the middle class, and what really matters to people who live here and love this place.”

Mr. Bennett agreed. “The public has spoken in favor of ‘equal burden,’ a just economy,

continued on page 50

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February 2013/Adar 5773

Israeli Elections

continued from page 49

and a strong society. The Jewish Home committed to these principles during the elections and we will use all our strength to work for that,” he said.

The difference between Jewish Home and Yesh Atid on drafting hareidi yeshiva students is nuanced. Mr. Bennett believes in working cooperatively with the hareidim, establishing conditions that can smooth their way into the service; Mr. Lapid wants to pass a law forcing the hareidim to comply.

Messrs Lapid and Bennett also agree that other state-versus-religion issues should be explored, such as extending the weekend to include Sundays.

By the Numbers For many reasons, it, therefore, seems on the surface, it would seem that Messrs Lapid and Bennett could probably sit comfortably in a 62-seat government with Likud-Beiteinu.

Theoretically, Mr. Netan-

yahu could invite a few other centrist parties such as Kadima to join. With two seats, Kadima barely survived the elections. While Labor’s Ms. Yachimovich and Meretz’s Ms. Galon said they would not sit in a Netanyahu government, Kadima leader Shaul Mofaz has indicated he would like very much to join the coalition and serve as its defense minister.

This coalition would be able to pass legislation calling for hareidim to serve in the IDF. But however comfortable a Likud-Yesh Atid-Jewish HomeKadima coalition looks on paper, it might not work. Given the rightward tilt of much of the Likud-Beiteinu list, it would seem that Mr. Bennett would be Mr. Netanyahu’s obvious natural partner. But strained personal relations between the two men may make that difficult.

Mr. Bennett used to be the Prime Minister’s chief of

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staff. But journalist Ben Caspit, a virulent critic of Mr. Netanyahu’s policies, claims that Mr. Bennett left his position because he did not get along with Sarah Netanyahu, the Prime Minister’s wife. Mr. Caspit has implied that it is Mrs. Netanyahu who often makes government decisions.

However, Mr. Bennett has said he left his position with Mr. Netanyahu when the Prime Minister acquiesced to pressure from US President Barak Obama and instituted a total ten-month freeze on all communities in Judea and Samaria.

Bowing to Pressure Some observers say that personal history notwithstanding, Mr. Netanyahu is considering forming his government without Mr. Bennett, because Jewish Home’s hardline on retaining all of Judea and Samaria and lack of interest in the two-state solution would make relations with Mr. Obama more difficult.

Most observers say that no matter what he personally prefers, Mr. Netanyahu will have to invite Mr. Bennett into the coalition.

“Jewish Home currently represents the knitted kippah generation, the salt of the earth, who have contributed and continue to contribute to the country, far beyond what ‘equality in burden’ demands. There is no room for personal score-

settling. The supporters of religious Zionism, who include many secular people, deserve to be included in running the country and setting its priorities,” said Avraham “Buma” Barhad, a veteran activist in the National Religious Party and a lieutenant-colonel in the reserves.

Mr. Barhad made his remarks in a letter to Mr. Lapid in which he asked Yesh Atid to “prevent Netanyahu from establishing a government without a respectable representation from Jewish Home in the coalition, in accordance with its strength.”

There is also the issue of ministries. Some say that given his interest in the Middle Class and budgets, Mr. Lapid should be made Minister of Finance. Others say with his good looks, smooth English, and quick delivery, he would be a fine Foreign Minister.

Mr. Bennett is reportedly being considered for Minister of Religion.

Lapid and Hareidim Without Mr. Bennett, Mr. Netanyahu would have to consider forming a government with Mr. Lapid and the hareidi parties, a combination that would be very difficult given Yesh Atid’s insistence on forcing hareidi students into the IDF and National Service.

continued on page 52

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February 2013/Adar 5773

Israeli Elections

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continued from page 50

In fact, the two hareidi parties, Shas and United Torah Judaism, may work together to prevent Mr. Lapid from joining the government. Historically, the hareidi parties have considered themselves the “natural coalition partners” of the Likud.

“Yesh Atid may have received 19 seats, but UTJ and Shas together won 18,” said UTJ MK Moshe Gafni.

Hareidim and Bennett By the end of January, the two hareidi parties were talking about asking Mr. Bennett to join them.

“There is no doubt that UTJ and Jewish Home, just like UTJ and Shas, have things in common, like the sanctity of Shabbat and halachic conversion,” said UTJ’s MK Rabbi Meir Porush. “I am certain there are many Jewish Home voters who see Torah study as important. If we pray Mincha and Arvit together in the synagogue in the Knesset, then there is reason for cooperating on the issues that are important to all of us.”

A coalition without Mr. Lapid might give Mr. Netanyahu a 61- to 63-seat government by including Jewish Home, the two hareidi parties, and possibly Kadima.

Mr. Netanyahu may convince Ms. Livni to bring her six seats from Hatnua into the government, giving him a more stable 69.

Ms. Livni’s chief concern is the “peace process,” to which Mr. Netanyahu is at least verbally committed. Mr. Bennett thinks the peace process is futile, but it would not keep him from joining the government.

Increasing Numbers But Mr. Netanyahu was not yet ready to give up on Mr. Lapid and hoped a plan devised by Mr. Yaalon could smooth the way for the hareidi parties and Yesh Atid to come into the coalition. The plan allows hareidi yeshiva students to defer their service until age 26, rather than 28.

In addition, the plan raises the target goal for increased hareidi draft numbers.

Mr. Yaalon pointed out that in 1999, there were 90 hareidim in the IDF; by 2007, there were 300. Today, 6,000 hareidim serve in the IDF and National Service, as do 2,400 Arabs.

“If we open more service tracks, we would be able to open up more positions for more people to serve,” said Mr. Yaalon. “This is why I believe it is proper to set growing goals from year to year, rather than saying how many Torah stu-

dents will remain exempt. There is an obligation to do things gradually. After 64 years, you cannot solve the problem with the thrust of a sword. The military and the work market [have] to prepare [themselves] for a growing civilian service.”

In order to ensure that all deferred students are actually learning in yeshivas, Mr. Yaalon’s plan calls for the schools to install biometric devices which would identify students when they enter or leave the building. Hareidi leaders do not especially like the plan, but said they “could live with it.”

Flexibility Yesh Atid, on the other hand, cannot.

According to Mr. Lapid, his party has its own plan which its members expect to be “considered and accepted by the Prime Minister during coalition negotiations.”

“We do not intend to negotiate with the hareidi parties. Our negotiations are with the Prime Minister,” said Mr. Lapid, adding that Yesh Atid will not compromise on its position.

One of the biggest problems with Mr. Lapid’s demand that all yeshiva students be immediately drafted into the IDF is that

continued on page 54

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The Jewish Voice and Opinion

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Index of Advertisers Ads with Coupons

5/8: NORPAC Mission to Washington. . 37

Musicians

Chopstix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Sammy’s N.Y. Bagels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Teaneck Road Hot Bagels . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Graphic Artists & Editorial Services

Photography/Video

Burial Services

Rivkie.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Aldine Publications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Home Products & Services

Real Estate

Eden Memorial Chapels . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Gutterman and Musicant/Wien & Wien..58

Camps and Summer Programs Camp Kaylie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Gan Israel Day Camp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Hotshots Sports Camp . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Camp Regesh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

21 52 42 45

American General Windows . . . . . . . . 55 Classic Tile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Goldman & Goldman Construction . . . 55 L&N Cabinets & Furniture . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Shalom Plumbing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Starr Carpets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 World Carpentry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Kosher Groceries

Car Service

Sherut-Galut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Teaneck Taxi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Catering Hall/Event Planning

Congr. Shomrei Emunah . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Charities

Donate Your Car . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Umbrella Tzedaka . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Education

Achieving Change Through Torah . . . . . 41 JEC Masmidim Track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Entertainment & Events

Space Odyssey USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 2/9: Comedy Night at Chai Ko Tapas . . 30 2/12: Parna$$ah Networking Event . . 28 2/28: Networking for Attorneys . . . . . 33 3/10: Jews and Guns? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Butterflake Bakery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Cake & Co. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Sammy’s N.Y. Bagels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Teaneck Road Hot Bagels . . . . . . . . . . .

27 48 22 36

Kosher Restaurant, Take-Out

Chai KO Tapas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Chopstix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Grampa’s Gourmet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Ma’adan Take Home Foods . . . . . . . . . 46

Medical Services

Holy Name Medical Center . . . . . . . . . . 3 OHEL Geriatric Care Management. . . 15 Psychotherapy, Chana Simmonds . . 55

Miscellaneous

Adoption Alternatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 NARTH/JONAH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Purim Costume Superstore . . . . . . . . . 49

Jeff Wilks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Mendel Meyers Studios . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Highland Park, NJ Buy or Rent . . . . . .

Jerusalem Rental . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Livingston, NJ Rental . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Ruby Kaplan, Real Estate . . . . . . . . . . .

Teaneck Luxury Apts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Toby Goldstein, Real Estate . . . . . . . . .

Zimuki Property in Jerusalem . . . . . . .

Travel & Vacations

59 59 59 59 59 59 29

Costa Rica Kosher Adventures . . . . . . 44 Elite Dimensions Passover Tours . . . . 14 “Flakey” Jake Passover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Hudson Valley Resorts Passover . . . . 24 Judys 3rd Trip to China . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Kosherica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 Kutsher’s Pesach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Lasko Passover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Leisure Time Tours . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Marco Polo Pesach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 MatzaFUN Tours Passover . . . . . . . . . . 47 Orlando Passover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Quality Hotel, Montreal . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Passover Resorts Valencia, CA . . . . . . 43 Pesach Time Tours . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Torah in Motion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Walking Israel Tour Guide . . . . . . . . . . 18 ZviLapian Kosher Vacations . . . . . . . . . 17

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Asher Lev

February 2013/Adar 5773

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continued from page 29

Marc Chagall In the book, Asher Lev uses the crucifixion because “there was no aesthetic mold in his own religious tradition into which he could pour a painting of ultimate anguish and torment.”

Some critics have compared Asher Lev, the character, to the Jewish artist Marc Chagall. Mr. Potok made references to Mr. Chagall in both “My Name Is Asher Lev” as well as its sequel, “The Gift of Asher Lev,” published in 1990.

Like Asher in the book, Mr. Chagall also painted several crucifixions, for an entirely different motive.

In several interviews, Mr. Chagall explained he used the scene to portray the anguish of the suffering Jew, especially during the Holocaust.

The chief difference between Asher Lev and Mr. Chagall is that despite his passion for art and his determination

Israeli Elections

the army has no provision for that many new soldiers.

Mr. Yaalon said that for the hareidim to be integrated successfully, both Mr. Lapid and the hareidi parties would need to show flexibility.

The Next Prime Minister According to reports, Mr. Netanyahu is “losing patience” with Mr. Lapid. A source in the Prime Minister’s office said he believes Mr. Lapid is making impossible demands because he is already working toward becoming Prime Minister himself.

“This is not how a person who wants to be the senior coalition partner behaves. Lapid wants to be the one to determine the government’s basic principles and the number of ministers that will be appointed. Those are the prerogatives of the Prime Minister’s party,” said the source.

That may be a cardinal point. According to Israeli

to be true to his talent, Asher never stops identifying as a fully observant Jew, loyal and sincere to the faith, if not to its cultural conventions. As an adult, Mr. Chagall expressed fondness for the tradition, but was not personally observant.

No Villains Mrs. Potok agreed that, unlike so many popular novels in which Jewish protagonists are raised in Orthodox homes only to leave when they are attracted to the siren song and pull of assimilation into American culture, “My Name Is Asher Lev” is a work of art. There are no villains in either the book or the play. Each character’s point of view is lovingly explored.

“It is a book about the growth of the soul of the artist. If the father were a heavy, it would be a cartoon. It presents life with all its beauty and ugliness,

continued from p. 52 Channel 2’s political correspondent, Rina Matzliach, Mr. Lapid told her he was no longer certain he would join the government, but might instead opt to become the leader of the Opposition.

“Netanyahu will carry out financial reforms that will hurt the middle class, and, in 18 months, I will replace him,” he said, telling Ms. Matzliach that was the prediction of some of his advisers.

According to some reports, his chief adviser is a politician who was his father’s closest friend, Ehud Olmert.

Several Israelis said Mr. Lapid’s plan to lie in wait or even orchestrate Mr. Netanyahu’s downfall is evidence of the Yesh Atid leader’s lack of political experience coupled with brazen ambition.

In any case, it may save the hareidi parties from being banished to the Opposition. S.L.R.

its pain and its joy,” she said.

As her husband’s first reader and editor, Mrs. Potok admitted she found it hard to watch parts of the novel discarded from the play. “The story had to be reduced. You can’t put the entire novel into a film or a theatrical piece,” she acknowledged.

One of the more painful omissions for her was the character of Reb Yudel Krinsky, a Russian Jew rescued by Asher’s father after spending years as a prisoner in Siberia. Listening to Krinsky’s stories of privation leaves Asher wondering: “How do I paint the cold?”

In the book, Krinsky owns the shop in which Asher buys art supplies. Although he befriends the boy, Krinsky is bothered that Asher’s activities cause his father such pain.

“Aaron mentioned Krinsky in the play, but the character is missing,” she sighed.

Young Adult Literature She is convinced that her husband’s interest in the individual caught between

two conflicting cultures is what makes his work so endearing, especially to young people, for whom his books are often an introduction to Judaism.

She recalled an incident from the early 1990s, when her husband was asked to speak at the Mormon-operated Brigham Young University in Utah and then was taken to a nearby public high school. During the question-andanswer period at the high school, a young, dark-complexioned young man stood up and told Mr. Potok that, before reading “The Chosen,” Mr. Potok’s 1967 novel, he did not think anyone could understand what it was like “to live in two cultures at the same time.”

“I’m Navajo,” the young man explained.

“The trick is learning to meld the two without destroying either one,” said Mrs. Potok.

Family Stories Like Asher, Mr. Potok was also drawn to art as a child, but his family’s disapproval prompted him to turn to

continued on page 58

Run Hide Fight

continued from page 26

trap that would restrict your options for movement.

Fight As a last resort, with no other options and one’s life at risk, the video suggests, whether working alone or with others as a group, a potential victim should “fight, act with aggression.”

“Improvise weapons, disarm him, and commit to taking the shooter down, no matter what,” says the narrator.

In the video, two men in the lunchroom pick up chairs which they prepare to throw at the gunman while another picks up a fire extinguisher which he is prepared to throw if the gunman enters the room. When he does, they charge at him.

Waiting for Help The video then discusses what to do when first responders arrive on the scene. The first thing to remember, the video says, is that the police are not there to evacuate or tend to the injured. “They are welltrained and are there to stop the shooter,” says the video.

When law enforcement arrives, those inside the building are advised to remain calm and follow instructions, keep their hands visible at all times, avoid pointing or yelling, and recognize that help for the injured is on its way.

“Your actions can make a difference for your safety.

Be aware and be prepared,” says the narrator.

S.L.R.

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February 2013/Adar 5773

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Letters to the Editor The “Typical Pulpit Rabbi” of Our Time When the famous initiator of the Daf Yomi, Rav Meir Shapiro, became a candidate for his first position as a Rav, he was confronted with a trial, which included his having to deliver a two-fold “drasha”—a halachic discourse and a homiletic sermon. The first one was well accepted by the scholars of the community. The second was welcomed by the entire community who had never heard a speaker of that caliber before. He was unanimously crowned “Rav of the City.”

Cleverly, the Rav commented, “Now I understand the last verse of the Megillas Esther, which is the summation of Mordechai’s multifaceted qualities,” which the rabbi then applied to himself. It says: “Mordechai the ‘great’ of Jewry, desirable to the majority of his brethren.”

All generations for the past 150 years did their best to have a “Mordechai-like” Rav in their midst. He first and most importantly had to be a “gadol”—an outstanding lamdan. Being a good speaker was of secondary importance. It was a plus but not crucial because a Rav spoke in public only four times during the year. And let us understand that the greatest leader, Moshe Rabbeinu, was not a speaker at all!

But times have changed. The major qualification for a contemporary rabbi is to be a speaker who keeps his audience in stitches with the latest jokes and to be able to announce the weekly social calendar to his flock. This was unheard of in the past.

May we be blessed by Hashem with the speedy arrival of a “Mordechai-type” leader for which we pray three times a day—the restoration of judges and advisors of the past, Amen.

Rabbi Jacob Eisemann Elizabeth, NJ Hagel Is the Wrong Man for the Job I am profoundly concerned and disappointed by President Obama’s nomination of former Senator Chuck Hagel to be Secretary of Defense. Recent reporting has made clear that Senator Hagel’s views and inflammatory statements about Israel are well outside the mainstream and raise well-founded doubts that he can be trusted to manage the special relationship the United States shares with our greatest Middle East ally.

Senator Hagel’s incendiary views of Israel are only the tip of the iceberg. On Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Iran, and defense spending, Hagel’s reported views call into question his judgment about the most important matters facing our national security. Taken together, Hagel’s views represent a call for a broad retreat from the preeminent role America has played, and must continue to play, in the world during a period of profound tumult and instability.

Hagel opted for political expediency in opposing the surge in Iraq, and supported a retreat that would have ceded victory to al Qaeda and Iran. The nomination of a man known primarily for opposing sanctions and military action against Iran strongly suggests that all options are not on the table.

Hagel’s nomination telegraphs weakness in the Middle East and defeatism in Afghanistan, where our Afghan partners will surely be concerned, and our Taliban and Iranian adversaries will surely be emboldened.

There has been widespread and bipartisan opposition to this potential nomination, and the President’s willingness to move forward despite these concerns only reinforces the signal that he agrees with Hagel’s extreme positions. Senator Chuck Hagel is the wrong man for the job at such a pivotal time.

Rep Eric Cantor (R-VA) Majority Leader Washington, DC Protecting Yourself without a Gun I read with interest your article on gun control in the January issue of the Jewish Voice and Opinion [“After Newtown Shooting, Israel Feels America’s Pain, America Seeks to Adopt Israel’s Security Measures,” and “A Mother’s Plea: An Armed Guard for My Child,” Jan 2013]. Once again, you have tackled an issue with grace and clarity in a way not seen in the mainstream media, Jewish or otherwise.

I would like to add one more thought to this discussion.

As mentioned in your article, our Second Amendment rights to defend ourselves and our families are under attack. If the dovish Left has its way, our homes and schools will be left open to a repeat of the recent tragedies in Newtown and Toulouse, France.

But, as you quote in your article, “A gun is a tool,” and the reality is that even if the socialist Obama regime and the “Republocrats” in congress have their way and take away the legally purchased guns of law-abiding citizens, our ability to exert our Constitutional right to arm and defend ourselves need not be stripped away. There are many common items found in schools that, with training and courage, can be used to defend our children from those who seek to do them and our community harm.

Sports equipment such as baseball bats or hockey sticks, art supplies such as spray paint or turpentine, and even school supplies such as staplers or letter openers can, in the right and trained hands, be used to defend our Constitutional and G-d-given rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

And, this is not to mention the many household items that teachers, administrators, and carefully selected older students can bring to school with them such as kitchen knives or gardening equipment. Even something as simple as a spray can of deodorant and a lighter can be used together to fend off an attacker until the authorities arrive.

In conclusion, whether those on the Left have their way or not regarding guns, our right to arm and defend ourselves will remain enshrined in both the Constitution and the Torah.

May we be blessed with the training and courage to live up to the responsibilities that comes with that right.

Thank you again for all that you do for our community.

Keep up the great work.

M.C. Shiur Brooklyn, NY SLR Responds: First, thank you for your kind words. The “Houston Ready” website, funded by the US Department of Homeland Security, has a 15-minute video on how to protect yourself if confronted by a mass murderer. (See page 26.) The producers do not

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“Thought Is the World of Freedom” (R’ Dov Ber of Mazeritch) expect ordinary folks to be armed, and their suggestions are very similar to yours—but we’d be careful about sending children to school with kitchen knives, lighters, or anything else the school frowns on. Education first, then action.

Ghetto Stories Project Witness—www.projectwitness.org—is collecting stories of those in the Warsaw Ghetto to continue documenting this vital history.

Project Witness is a Holocaust Educational Center. We also wish to interview residents of Aleppo who were alive during the Holocaust.

If you are or know of a son or daughter of a Warsaw Ghetto Survivor or have any information regarding a resident of Aleppo during the Holocaust, please contact rsteinmetz@projectwitness.org or call 718-305-5284 Barry Mase Monsey, NY Write to Us Anytime We enjoy reading your publication very much. Thank you for sending it and continued success. Keep up the good work.

Eugene Brotsky Elizabeth, NJ SLR Responds: Thank you so much for your kind words.

To the Community: No Segulos That Guarantee There has been a proliferation of ads, promoting different segulos for people in difficult situations, usually requiring a financial contribution in order to bring about good fortune.

In particular, recent ads target people with specific problems and offering yeshuos in exchange for a donation.

These claims are not true.

Ads which “guarantee” or “promise” yeshuos should be ignored. These ads take advantage of people who are suffering. We urge you to consult your Rav before responding to these ads.

Supporting known Mosdos HaTorah and helping aniyim and Chesed organizations are the best segulah for your tzedakah money.

May Hakodosh Boruch Hu bring us a year of yeshuos, through

Torah, avodah and gemilus chassaddim.

Rabbi Avrohom Schorr Rabbi Moshe Tuvia Lieff Rabbi Yisroel Reisman Brooklyn, NY Working for School Choice We have completed the third celebration of National School Choice Week. Most important, for every New Yorker, is the tax credit bill (A. 1826). Every concerned New Yorker needs to call his or her member of the Assembly (518-455-4218) in support of this bill. It will provide for educational scholarships by allowing donors a 100 percent tax credit for money contributed to educational scholarship organizations.

New Jerseyans can do even better. New Jersey is the first to have a universal school choice bill—the NJ Parental Rights Program Act (S504/A1050)—that will have the educational funds follow the child to the school chosen by the parents, whether public or nonpublic, while protecting the religious integrity of nonpublic schools.

Passage of this bill will serve as a trailblazer for other states to follow, especially our neighboring state of New York. However, the only way this bill will pass is by concerned individuals throughout New Jersey calling their three district representatives (800-792-8630), two in the Assembly and one in the Senate.

Alliance for Free Choice in Education is also working with individuals and groups all across New Jersey to elect those who support this bill. Those who would like to help with this important effort are invited to call the Alliance at 973-820-6121.

Rabbi Israel Teitelbaum Secretary, Alliance for Free Choice in Education Morristown, NJ

The Jewish Voice and Opinion welcomes letters, especially if they are typed, double-spaced, and legible. We reserve the right to edit letters for length and style.

Please send all mail to POB 8097, Englewood, NJ 07631.

The phone number is (201) 569-2845.

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February 2013/Adar 5773

Asher Lev

continued from page 54

literature as his artistic outlet.

But his literary aspirations were also discouraged. In his Teaneck talk, he recalled that when he told his mother of his intention to become a writer, she replied, “You want to write stories, darling? That’s very nice.

You’ll be a brain surgeon, and, on the side, you’ll write stories.”

It’s a family story, one which his daughter, Naama (who is the understudy for the role of Asher’s mother Rivkeh in the play) was familiar with. “My father understood that all artists feel compelled to express themselves in the medium in which their gifts lie,” she said.

As a teenager already committed to a life in the arts, Ms. Potok said she was “deeply moved” by Asher Lev when she first read the book. Now, more than 20 years later, she said she still used the novel to prepare for her role.

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Life-Changing Ari Brand, the 28-year-old actor who portrays Asher from the age of six through young adulthood, confessed that he did not read the book until he won the leading role in the play’s early production in New Haven in March 2012. He said he understands why so many people tell him that the book changed their lives.

“It speaks to the person who does not fit the mold.

People who have no connection whatsoever to chassidism connect with the story,” he said.

But at first reading, Mr. Brand was not one of them. He grew up in Greenwich Village in a family full of artists. His mother was an actress and singer; his father, who died when Mr. Brand was a young child, had been a gifted pianist. As a youngster, Ari Brand thought he would be a musician, too, although he was not sure if

he would devote himself to piano, guitar, or drums.

“It was a very supportive environment,” he said.

Familiar Story But, while performing in the play, he realized that his family also had a history with which Asher Lev would have been familiar: His Israeli-born father, Natan, had to struggle with his own Polish-born father, an Orthodox-Jewish surgeon, who did not appreciate the route his pianist son was determined to follow.

“The play speaks to the discovery of who you are and the decision to be who you are. When you do that, people can get hurt,” said Mr. Brand.

He said he found it particularly moving that Asher Lev does not relinquish his faith even if he must leave his neighborhood. “We are all products of nature and nurture, born with certain

talents that are nurtured or not depending on the culture surrounding us,” he said.

The Painting And while the culture that nurtured Mr. Potok and Asher Lev discouragedgraphicart,Mr.Potok returnedtoitasanadult.Hisdaughter saidbeingpartoftheOff-Broadway production of her father’s work offered her a nostalgic reminder of her father’s paintings.

“I remember his paintings on the walls of all the homes we lived in,” she said.

Mrs. Potok said her home is still filled with his paintings, pastels, and charcoals.

One of his paintings—a sharply angled abstract of a wildeyed woman surrounded by slats which could be window blinds—is called The Brooklyn Crucifixion, the work that scandalized Asher Lev’s family and community and made the artist an outcast in the neighborhood he loved. S.L.R.

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