HAKOL - October 2012

HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY The Voice of the Lehigh Valley Jewish Community

OCTOBER 2012 | TISHREI/CHESHVAN 5773

Major Gifts set to meet community needs The Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley hosted its annual major gifts reception at the DaVinci Center in Allentown on September 20.

It often happens that those involved with allocating Federation funds find the needs in the Jewish community here and elsewhere are so great that the annual allocations seem to be “never enough” and, not surprisingly, that happened again this year.

But one of the most compelling aspects of the evening was that the donors themselves, in speaking of what they donate to the Federation and, through it, to the Jewish community, also used these words. Many made clear that they feel their own contributions are “never enough.”

They spoke warmly of what it means to them to share what they have and of how much they themselves have received in so many ways from the community – of longtime friendships and involvement in the community, of building something for future generations.

Some spoke of the hardship their parents faced, but that their parents started giving as soon as they were able, building up the vibrant Lehigh Valley Jewish community of today.

Vicki Wax recalled how she at first cried when she came to the Lehigh Valley and now after years of meaningful involvement, said, “I would cry ten times more if I ever had to leave.”

The individuals who gathered from the Jewish community were among those committed to making large

ART SPIEGELMAN The Pulitzer Prize- winning creator of “Maus” visits the Lehigh Valley in November.

See page 15.

JEWISH SOUTH AFRICA Gordon and Rose Lee Goldberg provide a glimpse of this vibrant destination.

See pages 28-29.

BRONZE MEDAL WINNER Israeli-born local swimmer Noga Nir-Kistler medals in the 2012 Paralympics in London. See page 32.

No. 349 com.UNITY with Mark Goldstein 2 Women’s Division

4

LVJF Tributes

8

Jewish Family Service

21

Jewish Day School

22-23

Jewish Community Center

24-25

Community Calendar

34-35

Members of the Lehigh Valley Jewish community gathered at the DaVinci Center on September 20 for a Major Gifts reception.

Major Gifts Continues on page 3

Sukkah stirs memories Whether homemade or pre-fabricated, most sukkahs can be assembled within an hour. However, the decorations, the memories, the nefesh -- spirit -- take much longer to develop.

The Garber family of Allentown started out with a homemade wooden sukkah. “We actually built it ourselves when Todd was an intern in Rochester,” Laura Garber said. “It had a lot of sentimental value, but it also had beams of wood on top.”

After 10 years, it got so the slightest wind could make the whole thing feel like it was going to collapse. The year that a beam fell and hit Laura’s shoulder was the last for that sukkah.

“Now we have a prefabricated sukkah,” she said.

“It’s forest green, easy to assemble and feels safer.”

That was just for starters.

“Last year, we put lights up and every year we add something new. We have friends over – it’s a beautiful experience,” Garber said.

The sukkah structure itself can evolve over time as well.

Cheryl Figlin-Brenner said of the Brenner family sukkah, “After the bar mitzvah of our

son Benjamin, who is now almost 17, we got more panels and expanded the sukkah so we’d have room for whatever family members wanted to stay.”

Now the Brenners get to invite more than the usual number of guests during Sukkot and the Garber sukkah is one of several stops on Temple Beth El’s annual sukkah-hop. At each stop, Shari Spark offers programming.

“It’s fun to see the different sukkahs,” Garber said. “Everyone’s got different ideas of how to decorate.

It’s personal in the same way that your house is personal.”

Mikaela Garber in the family sukkah

Israel’s Six Day War

702 North 22nd Street Allentown, PA 18104

U.S. POSTAGE PAID Lehigh Valley, PA Permit No. 64

This year marks the 45th anniversary of Israel’s Six Day War. This photo shows Defense Minister Moshe Dayan (right) and O.C. Central Command Aluf Uzi Narkis at the entrance to Bethlehem in the West Bank.

See iconic photos direct from Israel to HAKOL and learn what the Lehigh Valley community did to support Israel in its war effort in our special four-page pullout section, beginning on page 17.

Photo by MOSHE MILNER & courtesy of the Government Press Office of Israel

Non-Profit Organization

com.UNITY True then, and true today

FROM THE DESK OF MARK L. GOLDSTEIN

Executive Director | Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley markg@jflv.org

A lot can happen in six days.

God created the heavens and the earth, man and women, insects and animals, light and darkness; and then, God rested. In six days in 1967, Israel fought a defensive war, one that an Israeli general framed in a hopeful light as ‘Israel’s war to end all wars;’ but unlike God’s masterful creation, Israel has not rested since.

In this issue of Hakol, our editor Jennifer Lader has put together a four-page supplement to commemorate the Six Day War, recognizing its 45th anniversary this year. But it is impossible for us to dedicate ample space to expound on the full implications of the war and how many have misconstrued and revised history. Certainly, the Six Day War was a watershed moment for American Jewry.

It forever changed Jewish philanthropy, redefined many Jewish communities, began the restructuring of Israel advocacy and lobbying, and impacted tremendously Jewish identities which were suffering from Holocaust victimology and institutional anti-Semitism. But its impact on Israel, and on people’s perceptions and

mispinterpretations of Israel, is immeasurable.

Forty-five years ago this past June, Israel re-united Jerusalem and Jews celebrated in song and prayer. But few recall that on the eve of the War most of the brigades of the Jordanian army were deployed along the Green Line and surrounded Jerusalem on three sides. Or that a large Iraqi force had gathered in Jordan to reinforce the Jordanian army. Or that Egypt had repositioned its air force to bases closer to Israel.

Or that Syria had moved most of its army to the Golan Heights corresponding to Egypt’s naval blockade of the Israeli port city of Eilat.

Or that cross border terrorist attacks were frequent from Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt. Or that Israel twice warned Jordan to refrain from belligerency, lest Israel be forced to retaliate. Or that Israel was living in a constant state of fear with Egypt’s President Nasser and Syria’s Defense Minister soon-to-be-President, Hafez Assad, publically calling for Israel’s annihilation. Or that continuous shelling from the Syrian Golan Heights onto Israeli towns and villages was a regular occurrence.

Or that Egypt cleared the Sinai of all UN observers and ‘peacekeepers.’

On the eve of the Six Day War, Israel’s Arab neighbors undeniably made clear their intentions to attack Israel.

Their stated goal had nothing to do with a border dispute, but rather the destruction of the State of Israel.

Revisionists with short memories wrongly claim that the ills of the IsraeliPalestinian conflict stem from Israel’s occupation of the West Bank -- as if there were peaceful relations between Israel and her Arab neighbors prior to those fateful six days in June, 1967. It is true that the overwhelming majority of Israelis do not desire sovereignty over the West Bank and its Palestinian majority. But the roadblock to peace and a two-state solution has never been the settlements or Israel’s ‘occupation’ of the West Bank. It has been the Arabs’ and Palestinians’ rejection of repeated offers (some in the months after the Six Day War when Israel first offered land for peace, and others as recent as 2000 and 2008) that would have given the Palestinians sovereignty and independence. Unfortunately,

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR Dear Readers, Like the our many students returning to school, I did some homework in September. Mine was in preparation for interviewing Art Spiegelman, creator of “Maus.” By the time we spoke, I had formed a pretty clear idea how he feels about war -- not good.

So when, in the course of our conversation, he asked me about the content of this month’s center spread, alluded to in a previous email, I answered reluctantly, “Israel’s Six Day War.” A few days later, when these lyrics jumped out at me from NPR’s Sing Out Radio, “I ain’t gonna study war no more,” it wasn’t the grammar that bothered me.

Our reason for observing in

HAKOL the 45th anniversary of Israel’s war had to do with better understanding today’s situation between Israel and her neighbors. But now, I had to figure out how a spread about war could co-exist -back-to-back -- with a spread about Spiegelman and comics.

This month’s edition of HAKOL seems, on the surface, to offer up many pairings that we don’t normally associate with one another: Sukkot and hunger, the Jews of France and of Easton and Democrats and Republicans. Yet, on the pages that follow, we find their common ground. Local harvests are being made available to those in need, Bob Weiner shows us what the French and Eastonian communities share and an upcoming polling event

HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY Hakol is published for the Jewish communities of Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton and vicinity by the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley.

COMMUNITY SUBMISSIONS Submissions to Hakol must be of interest to the entire Jewish community. Hakol reserves all editorial rights including, but not limited to, the decision to print any submitted materials, the editing of submissions to conform to style and length requirements, and the placement of any printed material. Articles should be submitted by e-mail or presented as typed copy; “Community Calendar” listings must be submitted in writing or by e-mail to hakol@jflv.org. Please include your name and a daytime telephone number where you can be contacted in the event questions arise. We cannot guarantee publication or placement of submissions.

Mail, fax, or e-mail to: JFLV ATTN: HAKOL 702 N. 22nd St. Allentown, PA 18104 Phone: (610) 821-5500 Fax: (610) 821-8946 E-mail: hakol@jflv.org

will benefit from diverse opinions. After all, “Maus” documents the experiences of Spiegelman’s parents during another war against Jews.

I finally concluded that artists and historians may very well guide our look into the past, but we must all reflect on past experiences, our own or those of others, to make sense of who we are today.

Shalom, Jennifer Lader

JEWISH FEDERATION OF THE LEHIGH VALLEY We gratefully acknowledge those individuals who have offered expressions of friendship by requesting that trees be planted in the Yoav--Lehigh Valley Partnership Park.

IN MEMORY Alan Raisman’s Grandmother Nan Ronis and the Easton Leadership Council

TO ORDER TREES, call the JFLV at 610-821-5500 or visit www.jewishlehighvalley.org.

2 OCTOBER 2012 | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY

without the Palestinians in direct negotiation with Israel, there is no channel to peace.

As a noted journalist commented: “In the absence of a sea change in Palestinian political culture that would allow them to live in peace alongside a Jewish state, peace is impossible … So long as the goal of Israel’s foes is its destruction and not merely withdrawal from the West Bank or parts of Jerusalem, the only way to look at the Six Day War or the current impasse is through the prism of survival, not the world’s perceptions … In the wake of that war, Israel got the strategic depth as well as the confidence to survive even while it was besieged by hostile neighbors while

the world looked on with indifference [before the war].”

Former Philadelphia Jewish Exponent editor, Jonathon Tobin, writes that “what Israel must and can do is what it has been doing for 45 years: waiting for the Arabs to come to their senses and give up a notion of Palestinian nationalism that is rooted in negation of Zionism.”

That was just as true 45 years ago as it is today.

HAKOL STAFF Jennifer Lader Editor

Allison Meyers

Graphic Designer

Diane McKee

Advertising Representative TEL: 610-515-1391 hakolads@jflv.org

JFLV STAFF

Mark L. Goldstein Executive Director

Judy Diamondstein

Assistant Executive Director

Temple Coldren

Director of Finance and Administration

Stephanie Smartschan Director of Marketing

Taffi Ney

Donor Development Officer

Joan Brody

Executive Assistant/Office Manager

Eileen Assed Wendy Edwards

Administrative Staff

Barry halper

President, JFLV

Monica Friess

Acting Chair, HAKOL Editorial Board

Member American Jewish Press Association All advertising is subject to review and approval by The Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley (JFLV). JFLV reserves the right to decline, withdraw and/ or edit any ad. The appearance of any advertising in Hakol does not represent an endorsement or kashrut certification. Paid political advertisements that appear in Hakol do not represent an endorsement of any candidate by the JFLV.

JEWISH FEDERATION OF THE LEHIGH VALLEY MISSION STATEMENT In order to unite, sustain, and enhance the Lehigh Valley Jewish community, and support Jewish communities in Israel and around the world, the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley is dedicated to the following core values:

• Supporting Jews in need wherever they may be.

• Supporting Israel as a Jewish homeland.

• Supporting and encouraging Jewish education in the Lehigh Valley as a means of strengthening Jewish life for individuals and families.

• Supporting programs and services of organizations whose values and mission meet local Jewish needs.

To accomplish this mission the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley is committed to the following operating guidelines: • Raising and distributing funds to support the core values.

• Developing Jewish leaders.

• Building endowments to support implementation of core values.

Committing to ongoing Jewish community strategic planning.

• Fostering cooperation among organizations and community building.

• Evaluating all decisions with respect to fiscal responsibility.

• Identifying unmet needs and investing in community initiatives to help get them started.

• Coordinating and convening a community response as an issue or need arises.

• Setting priorities for allocation and distribution of funds.

• Acting as a central address for communication about events, programs and services of the Jewish community as a whole.

Approved by the JFLV Board of Directors on November 15, 2000

Major Gifts Continues from page 1

Federation past president Arnan and Marlene Finkelstein

Dr. Jonathan Adelman spoke about the growing security threats to Israel and the vital role of American Jews.

financial gifts for the benefit of the Jewish community that would, as one donor said, “project out from here” -- reaching Jews and non-Jews beyond the walls of the science center, beyond the boundaries of the Lehigh Valley, reaching even around the globe. So on this night, all were there for a reason: The event was part of Federation’s annual campaign.

The 2013 campaign chair, Dr. Bob Wilson, graciously acknowledged the major donors, children of major donors and new donors there to “continue to fund essential elements of a caring community.”

A short video expressed the tone of the entire evening and of other such gatherings happening at the same time across the country: “Federation responds.” From feeding the hungry in our community, Israel and Europe to sending young people on Taglit-Birthright trips, from funding Joint Distribution Committee work to the Jewish Day School, the message was clear: “Together we do extraordinary things.”

Iris Epstein and Lisa Block then introduced Middle East expert, Dr. Jonathan Adelman, who added an element of urgency to the clear need to support the Jewish community.

“There’s a sense in Israel,” Adelman said, “that we have done so much to get here.” Now the tide is turning with recent events in Iran, Syria and throughout the Middle East.

Adelman pointed out that, of Jews in the U.S., “60 percent of us came from tsarist Russia to a country in which we have thrived in the diaspora.”

Israel is a country in which, as former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin said, “every Israeli is a soldier who is on leave 11 months of the year,” living just 700 miles from Iran, with the highest tax rate and the highest rate of spending on the military.

For support under these circumstances, Israelis rely on the American Jewish community “to know why they [in Israel] are doing what they are doing, living under these conditions.”

The connection between Israel and the American Jewish community is vital one for all.

Looking at the assembled group, Adelman

asked, “What are we going to do?”

One by one, individuals stood up and spoke about the importance of their Jewish philanthropy and their support for the Lehigh Valley Jewish community and what they were going to do financially. Some spoke about how their contributions support important local agencies like the Jewish Day School, the Jewish Community Center and the Jewish Family Service and they also spoke of plans for further involvement. And they spoke of the real and tangible good the Jewish community had done for themselves personally in so many ways.

“When we came here,” Sam Bub said, “it was largely because there was a Jewish Day School. I always felt that the people before us did that for us and we should do that for the next generation.”

“I travel all over the world,” Jay Scherline said, “and people ask me what kind of place (the Lehigh Valley) is -- Do they give? Is it hamish? Do they light menorrahs? “Yes,” I tell them, “and we do it from our heart! We’re as strong as any other community.”

Perhaps stronger. One individual spoke of recently being in the presence of donors of millions of dollars, yet in many cases the dollars were going to communities with deep problems, such that good management has helped the Lehigh Valley avoid.

The main worry that plagues many here, Justin Corsa said, is what will happen among the next generation. Corsa and his wife, Erin, are this year’s co-chairs of Federation’s Young Adult Division and have been so moved by what they have seen in the Jewish community of the Valley that they made a pact with one another.

“We are getting more involved in the Jewish community. All the other younger people we know are doing the same thing -- more involved with the community, the temple, teaching our children the importance of being Jewish. Our goal is to reach out to everyone [in the under-45 crowd].”

To the older generation, Corsa said, “We’ve got your back.”

It seemed that Corsa’s closing words spoke for all of the donors in that intense gathering when he said, “Somebody said it’s expensive to be a Jew. After the last few years of our increasing involvement, I don’t look at it as expensive, I look at it as priceless.”

Campaign chair Bob Wilson, Dr. Jonathan Adelman, Women’s Division President Eva Levitt, and JFLV President Barry Halper

THE 2012 GENERAL ASSEMBLY: WHERE THE JEWISH COMMUNITY

Gary Fromer, Nate Braunstein, and Justin and Erin Corsa

baltimore General Assembly 2012 N OV E M B E R 1 1 - 1 3

At the GA, the Jewish community shares innovations and celebrates achievements, comes together and gets inspired.

Join us in Baltimore to tackle the crucial issues of the day at the most important annual event of the Jewish Federations.

Register now at www.generalassembly.org

Uploads Shares Gathers Learns Speaks Acts Recharges Downloads Uploads Celebrates Gathers Learns Speaks Shares Happens Acts Recharges Uploads Celebrates Happens Downloads Uploads Shares Gathers Learns Speaks Acts Recharges Downloads Uploads Celebrates Gathers Learns Speaks SHARES Shares Happens Acts Recharges Uploads Celebrates Happens Uploads Downloads Uploads Shares Gathers Learns Speaks Acts Recharges Downloads Uploads Celebrates Gathers Learns Speaks Shares Happens Acts Recharges

Eileen Ufberg and JFLV Honorary Vice President Marty Zippel HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | OCTOBER 2012 3

WOMEN’S DIVISION OF THE JEWISH FEDERATION OF THE LEHIGH VALLEY

Every handbag has a story

Federation women raise $27 million at Lion Conference

Pomegranate and Lion of Judah opening reception with Ilene Wood Exclusive first pass at Ilene’s vintage collection Opportunity to purchase one-of-a-kind vintage handbags and exotic furs

Thursday, October 4, 2012 7 p.m. at the home of Ilene Wood 2643 W. Livingston Street Allentown, PA 18104

A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley

Lunch & Learn

“VINTAGE” WITH ILENE WOOD FRIDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2012

CLOTHING SALE: 9:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. & 1 to 3 p.m.

LUNCH & LEARN: 12 to 1 p.m.

Jewish Community Center of Allentown Needlepoint handbags. Designer furs. Sixties-inspired clothing.

Ilene Wood is opening up her personal vintage collection for a oneday-only sale and telling the story behind her favorite pieces at the year’s first Lunch & Learn. Wood will talk about her passion for collecting and the eclectic pieces that she has painstakingly tracked down.

Program is $12, including lunch. Men and women welcome.

Please RSVP to 610-821-5500 or mailbox@jflv.org.

A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley. Sponsored by the Women’s Division of the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley

SPONSORED BY THE JEWISH FEDERATION OF THE LEHIGH VALLEY’S WOMEN’S DIVISION

WELCOMING NEW BABIES to the Lehigh Valley

If you’re expecting, know someone who is, or have a new baby, PLEASE LET US KNOW! Contact Abby Trachtman at JFLV 610-821-5500 | abbyt@jflv.org 4 OCTOBER 2012 | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY

Lehigh Valley Lions celebrate Kipnis Award winner Vicki Wax. L-R Judy Diamondstein, Sandra Goldfarb, Vicki Wax, Wendy Born, Eileen Fischmann, Carol Wilson, and Karen Cooper. (Not pictured, Nan Ronis)

The Jewish Federations of North America’s 2012 International Lion of Judah Conference (ILOJC) made history in New York City this week, as 1,700 women philanthropists raised more than $27 million for the Jewish Federations’ Annual Campaign, to help care for those in need at home, in Israel and in more than 70 countries around the world.

These inspiring women broke new ground as they gathered for the 40th anniversary of the ILOJC, which was held in New York for the first time, on September 10-12 at the Marriott Marquis. This year’s gifts represented an impressive increase over the last Lion Conference in New Orleans in 2010, which raised nearly $19 million.

Local Lehigh Valley Lions of Judah Wendy Born, Karen Cooper, Judy Diamondstein, Eileen Fischmann, Sandra Goldfarb, Nan Ronis, Vicki Wax and Carol Wilson attended the conference.

They learned firsthand how they as Lions feed, clothe and help Jews all over the world. Collectively, they empower people to help themselves and lead more successful, meaningful and independent lives. They create an international network of support for Jewish individuals and communities and address the challenges that all will most certainly face in the future. They came away knowing that we are stronger as a people because women today are more committed than ever to repairing and sustaining our Jewish community.

As Dr. Einat Wilf, a member of Israel’s Knesset and chair of the Independence faction, said at the conference, “We are at our best when we collectively mobilize.”

The ILOJC featured leaders in politics, business and philanthropy. Lehigh Valley Lions were treated to special time with Valerie Khaytina, Nawal Zaroura and Neil Racabi, representatives of World ORT, who told of how ORT’s investment of technology, teacher training and cutting-edge science curriculum insertion has dramatically improved the under-performing and disadvantaged students in schools on the periphery of Israel.

The ILOJC took place during the 11th anniversary of September 11 and provided hands-on service opportunities coordinated by the host community, UJA-Federation of New York and the Federation-supported Repair the World. As part of the project, Lions assembled care packages for people in need and created emergency preparedness and literacy kits, food and shelter packages and job-skills tutorials.

ILOJC speaker Larry A. Silverstein, president

and CEO of Silverstein Properties, Inc., which is developing the World Trade Center site, shared his 9/11 story. Silverstein and so many other New Yorkers received overwhelming Federation support to help heal emotional wounds in the wake of the attacks on the World Trade Center, thanks to UJA-Federation of New York’s team of social workers and trauma professionals.

“It’s hard to conjure what life would be like without Federation. Its impact is phenomenal,” Silverstein told the Lions. “Without you, people couldn’t make it. With you, we’re all going to make it, and we’re going to make it in major doses. We’re going to save the world.”

Legendary Lion Norma Kipnis-Wilson, co-founder of the Lion of Judah, was on hand to present the 2012 Kipnis-Wilson/Friedland Awards. The awards, named after Kipnis-Wilson and Lion co-founder Toby Friedland, honor extraordinary women from across the country who have set a high standard for philanthropy and volunteerism. Vicki Wax was chosen by the Jewish community of the Lehigh Valley as our "woman of valor" with a lifetime of commitment to the Jewish world.

Linda A. Hurwitz, president of NWP, said, “These awardees have demonstrated countless times how one person can multiply [her] impact. Whether chair of a Federation, committee, campaign or an event whether she led a mission, mentored a younger woman, implemented a new initiative or made the ask, each one of these women have inspired and motivated so many others exponentially.”

The ILOJC, which is the signature biennial event of NWP, brings together Lions of Judah worldwide, a diverse group of women philanthropists, each of whom has contributed $5,000 or more in her own name to her local Federation’s Annual Campaign. Last year, NWP raised nearly $170 million in annual commitments in order to rescue people in distress, support social services and build Jewish community. In the Lehigh Valley, the Lions of Judah are 38 strong and raise more than $650,000 for the Annual Campaign.

“The International Lion of Judah Conference brings together Lions of Judah who are involved in the highest echelons of leadership and philanthropy worldwide,” said Susan K. Stern, national campaign chair of JFNA and co-chair of the first Lion Conference held in 1993. “It is these Lions who are leading our communities, making sure we are strong during good times and bad, and making sure that those who fall through the cracks at home and overseas are always taken care of.”

Handmade Afghans

BY EVA LEVITT

All proceeds benefit projects in Israel:

Food Banks in Israel Neve Michael Youth Village

For prices or to place an order, call Eva 610-398-1376 All payments are made payable to the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley

WHAT’S UP, DOC?

maimonides society

Q:

DR. PAUL LEMBERG COLUMN EDITOR

How can obesity be prevented?

There is an obesity epidemic in this country and Pennsylvania ranks near the top nationwide in percentage of obese adults.

Look around. One in four of us is obese. More troubling, are the rapidly expanding waistlines of our children.

Why is it important? Obesity is associated with a host of health problems including cardiovascular diseases (high blood pressure, heart attack and stroke), diabetes, cancer (breast, uterine in women), degenerative arthritis, obstructive sleep apnea, depression and reduced life expectancy.

Below I have compiled a list of 10 “do’s and don’ts” which many of my patients who have been successful at achieving weight loss have shared with me, or which I have observed or researched as important in achieving weight loss: 1. Know your BMI. A BMI, or Body Mass Index, is a measure of your weight when compared to your height. You can find BMI calculators on the Internet simply by searching “BMI calculator.” It’s very easy. A normal BMI is 25 or less. If your BMI is 26 to 30, you are considered overweight.

Obesity is defined as a BMI greater than 30.

2. Make a list. Write down four to five lifestyle and dietary habits which are preventing you from losing weight and make a plan for change. For example, if you have a sedentary job, such as sitting at a desk for eight hours, you need to walk during your lunch break. Or if food options at work are limited to fast food, you need to pack your lunch.

3. Don’t skip breakfast. Studies have shown that those who skip

A:

BY DR. HARVEY HAKIM, INTERNAL MEDICINE

breakfast are less likely to lose weight. You will get hungry and set yourself up for failure.

Have a bowl of high-fiber cereal -- oatmeal is a good choice -and some fruit or consider two eggs and toast.

4. Limit your portions. Sorry, but you can’t get around this physical certainty. You got fat for a reason. You eat too much!

Stick to one serving at dinner time. Try to fill up on vegetables and salad and skip that second, or third slice of pizza or serving of spaghetti.

5. Limit sugar. It’s true what our dentists and our mothers told us. Sugar is bad for you.

Refined sugars added to foods promote weight gain by hyper-stimulating insulin production and our appetite.

The food processing industry tries to camouflage sugar on food packages with various monikers, such as corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, maltose, sucrose, maltodextrin, dextrose, etc. Look out for these ingredients and avoid them.

6. Snack smarter. It’s important to realize that we humans don’t eat only when we are hungry.

We eat when we are bored, stressed, anxious or simply out of habit (“I always have a bowl of ice cream while watching TV”). And we tend to reach for calorie-dense foods. Once you recognize these pitfalls and change your eating habits, you will improve your chances for success. Snack on fruit or a handful of nuts.

7. Drink water. Many of us do not drink enough water. When we reach for a handful of salty chips it may be because we are thirsty. Next time, drink a glass of cold water! Try to drink four to five glasses a day, more if

you are exercising.

8. Take a walk. Advice I read from a renowned cardiologist was that you should exercise on any day that you eat! That is, every day (except for Yom Kippur). Many would-be weight losers become frustrated when they have reduced their calories but can’t seem to lose much weight. The reason is that they are sitting all day.

If you want to lose weight and feel better, take a brisk walk for at least 30 minutes, preferably 60 minutes, daily.

Exercise has other amazing benefits including improved cardiovascular fitness, cognitive function and sleep quality.

Exercise can also elevate your mood and lengthen longevity.

9. Make it a family affair. If you are overweight, chances are your spouse and children are too. If not, they may be at risk for becoming overweight.

Getting family involved will increase your chances for success and present an opportunity to introduce healthy eating and lifestyle habits to your children.

10. Take baby steps. Gradual weight loss usually equals lasting weight loss. Weigh yourself weekly and aim for one pound per week. It doesn’t sound like a lot, but over six months you will have lost about 25 pounds! Have your doctor schedule regular weighins to keep you motivated.

Chances are you will suffer short-term setbacks, but if you try to remain focused on the long-term benefits of improved health and wellbeing that eating smarter and regular exercise afford, you can overcome the setbacks and reach your goals. Good luck!

2012 maimonides society directory CORRECTIONS Past Maimonides Society president Stewart Shwartz was omitted from the alphabetical listing.

Ophthalmology

Psychology

HOWARD J. KUSHNICK 610-433-0450 Lehigh Valley Eye Center, P.C. 400 N. 17th St., Ste. 100-106 Allentown, PA 18104

LISA B. ELLIS 610-402-5900 The Guidance Program 1255 S. Cedar Crest Blvd., Ste 3800 Allentown, PA 18103

MAIMONIDES BAGEL BRUNCH Taking Care of Yourself:The Manly Thing to Do SUNDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2012

10:15-11:45 a.m. at the JCC of Allentown Preventative care for men is essential to a long and healthy life. Join in the discussion with Dr. David Bub, colon and rectal surgery, Dr. Frank Tamarkin, urology, and Dr. Michael Zager, internal medicine, at the first Maimonides brunch of the year.

How Can I Be Sure that I Have a Healthy Heart ?

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2012 10:15-11:45 a.m. at the JCC of Allentown

Join us in welcoming Israeli Dr. Shaul Atar to the Lehigh Valley. Dr. Atar, chief of cardiology at Western Galilee Hospital in Israel, will be the featured speaker at a brunch open to the community.

Free for Maimonides members and spouses, $10 for community members Visit www.jewishlehighvalley.org to learn more.

Contact Judy Diamondstein at 610-821-5500 or judy@jflv.org for information.

HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | OCTOBER 2012 5

This Sukkot: share thanks, stop hunger

By Monica Friess Special to HAKOL

Sukkot is a holiday of thanksgiving. We recall our days of wandering in the desert; of living in flimsy booths, wholly dependent on G-d for sustenance and safety, and we count our blessings that we live in structures protected from the elements with solid walls and food on our tables.

Dwelling in huts during Sukkot connects us with our ancestral roots, but also makes us aware that there are many in our community who do not enjoy such basic necessities as a permanent home and the promise of food. This is why the holiday is also marked as a time for families to reach out and help

those less fortunate.

Bob Wood, of blessed memory, was a man who took this mission to heart, not just on Sukkot, but throughout his life.

“Bob would have been 68 this past May,” said his wife, Ilene Wood. “To commemorate his birthday, his friends and family chose to do something that spoke to the message closest to his heart -- eliminating hunger in the Lehigh Valley.” Ilene, along with Bob’s sisters, Pat Beldon and Judy Sheftel, and some friends organized several events to promote awareness of this cause and to do something tangible on its behalf.

Their first project was a “birthday party” in late spring at the Allentown Arts

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Park. Instead of an opulent meal, guests received a brown bag lunch consisting of items such as a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, an apple and bottled water -- the kinds of items given to children in need through a program administered by the Boys and Girls Club called “backpack buddies.” Also in the bag was a card from the Bob Wood Stop Hunger Project encouraging guests to make a donation to an organization associated with this cause.

The second undertaking is an ongoing effort to encourage people to keep working to end hunger.

Entitled “Bob Sent Me,” it’s an idea that originated with Bob’s sister, Pat, who requested that people not let Bob’s work end in his absence. She asked his friends to continue his work by volunteering in his name with charitable organizations that work to alleviate hunger or to donate to causes that do this work. Ilene suggests that people get involved in a hands-on manner. Prepare foods for a pantry or serve at a soup kitchen, she said, and when you do, tell other volunteers that Bob sent you and explain why.

The third endeavor is one that truly incorporates

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the spirit of Sukkot, because it celebrates the harvest and makes available fresh, locally grown produce to the underprivileged in the Lehigh Valley -- a population that can rarely afford the “luxury” of non-canned or frozen fruits and vegetables.

Bob’s sisters and Ilene collaborated with Pastor Jimie Rivera of the City Limits Assembly of God in downtown Allentown for this project. Using seed money donated to her from the Bob Wood project, Pastor Rivera initiated a once-aweek subsidized farmers market opportunity for her community. For the first two weeks, fruits and vegetables were distributed free of charge to garner awareness and participation. Rivera has since formed an alliance with several local farmers to acquire their produce at lower cost or through donations and will sell it at substantially lower prices at her weekly markets.

The fourth project is the Bob Wood Stop Hunger Project’s Food Stamp Challenge. Many of you received an email from the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley in September, asking you to participate in a nation-wide challenge, championed in the Lehigh

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Valley through the Bob Wood project, asking people to consider living on a typical food stamp allowance budget of about $1.50 per meal per person. That’s $4.50 per day - the price many of us pay for our morning latte.

Ilene said that, for her, accepting this challenge “really made tangible what hunger feels like. I became more conscious of the fact that not everyone enjoys what we often take for granted.”

This Sukkot, as you celebrate freedom and rejoice in the bounties of the harvest, consider making a donation of money or of services in Bob Wood’s memory so that others may also have a reason to celebrate.

Designated gifts for the Bob Wood Stop Hunger Project may be made directly to the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley.

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6 OCTOBER 2012 | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY

JFS FOOD PANTRY: ‘take what you need now’

Barry Siegel, Interim Director of Jewish Family Service speaks about hunger in the Lehigh Valley

Barry Siegel places contributed food on the pantry shelves.

By Jennifer Lader Editor, HAKOL

Q. Are there many more people now who are just a step away from disaster in terms of hunger, what is now being called ‘food insecure’?

That's been the situation for the last six months or so. For many, all the unemployment is exhausted. Jobs are scarce.

Some have part-time jobs and can't make ends meet. With the heating season coming, whatever money they might have will be used for heat.

Q. First heat, then food?

If you have little of both, some would rather be warm.

Also, there are food banks, but the problem with heat is that there aren't other sources.

Q. Some of the people coming in have been out of work for quite a long time?

Some call and say, "I haven't eaten in a day," or "I'm working part-time, can you help me?" Others have called Second Harvest and been referred to us. Secondarily, some are Muslims who want to eat kosher food.

Q. How many people are you seeing?

The Community Pantry, which includes the kosher and non-kosher pantries, serves between 50 and 70 families per month. The kosher pantry remains about the same in terms of usage.

We believe in community.

That means responsibility, not just that a group benefits from

it. Take the pantry: If we run out of food in the non-kosher side, we'll supplement from the kosher side. Like the rabbi was saying about the Torah reading recently: The gleaners could come and take what they needed. Don’t come with a barrel, but take what you need now.

Q. When someone comes for food, do you speak with them about other needs?

a job,” but there aren’t any jobs. Or, if they do get a job, it’s not something to live on.

You can’t live on a job that pays $7 an hour for 15 hours a week. What if you get sick or run out of food? [These are people] on the cusp.

There is generally a group of poor, in good times and in bad. Now we’re seeing more unemployed people who had jobs. It hasn’t even gotten cold yet.

Real Estate

JFS provides case management for new clients, helping with where they might be able to get additional food or health insurance or, if they have an infant, where to get help. This is not ongoing, but oriented to helping them make the right decisions.

Q. What are you seeing in the Jewish community, specifically?

In the Jewish community, we haven’t seen an increase. If it’s happening, it’s well-hidden.

People reach us through the synagogues and our outreach, although there’s been very little response from Easton.

Q. What is the outlook for the future?

At present, there is a proposal in the farm bill that would affect the amount of food stamps available in nine states and Pennsylvania is one of them. If it happens, it will be very hard. Food stamps [have already been cut] and [so has] general assistance. More cuts will mean more strain on the rest of the system, more people coming in.

You could say, “If you’re unemployed, go out and get HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | OCTOBER 2012 7

Lehigh Valley Jewish Foundation The endowment fund of the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2012 5:30 p.m.

Hillel House at Lafayette College 524 Clinton Terrace | Easton, PA

Bring your business cards!

Donations of canned goods for the JFS food pantry appreciated Hosted by Lafayette College Hillel Society and the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley Join our Lehigh Valley Jewish Professionals group on LINKEDIN WALK INS WELCOME RSVPs APPRECIATED BY WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 10 TO JUDY@JFLV.ORG

IN MEMORY ALMA PERCH FINESTONE (Mother of Audrey Kanoff) Wendy and Ross Born FLORENCE LYONS (Mother of Susan Shmookler) Laura and Bob Black MILTON MOLLICK (Husband of Ruth Mollick) Pearl and Morton Litwak Alice and Mark Notis MORTON PARMET (Husband of Dorothy Parmet) Wendy and Ross Born Merry Landis LILLIAN SPIEGEL (Mother of Joy Davis) Rita and Michael Bloom

IN HONOR MICHAEL BLOOM Milestone Birthday Laura and Bob Black WENDY BORN In appreciation for an excellent job as the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley Board President Laura and Bob Black NATE BRAUNSTEIN Special Birthday Marlene and Arnan Finkelstein Selma Roth and Family Vicki and Stan Wax

Amber, Evan, Dan and Jesse Zettlemoyer Cherie and Rick Zettlemoyer MICHAEL BROZOST Special Birthday Vicki and Stan Wax JEANETTE AND EDUARDO EICHENWALD Grandson Benjamin’s bar mitzvah Ethel and Jerry Melamut IRIS EPSTEIN Receiving the Pomerantz Award for Campaign Excellence from the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley Laura and Bob Black SUSAN AND BOB GREY Marriage of daughter, Laura Laura and Bob Black MARK HOLTZ Congratulations on becoming chief operating officer of Coordinated Health Vicki and Stan Wax KARA AND YOSSI KASTAN Birth of daughter, Lielle Maayan Kastan Vicki and Stan Wax AL MISHKIN Happy Birthday The Joltons - Judith, Bob, Steven, Lauren, Isabel and Bailey ROZ AND AL MISHKIN Thank you for a wonderful day with all of us being together The Joltons - Judith, Bob, Steven, Lauren, Isabel

and Bailey ROZ AND AL MISHKIN Mazel Tov on all the wonderful events in your lives Vicki and Stan Wax LISA AND KYLE ROTH Happy Anniversary Selma Roth and Uncle Dougie JANICE SAVITZ Special Birthday Jill and Hank Narrow FRANK TAMARKIN Special Birthday Vicki and Stan Wax EILEEN AND MICKEY UFBERG Congratulations on David being named ‘Top Doc’ by Philadelphia Magazine Vicki and Stan Wax LINDA WIMMER Special Birthday Marlene and Arnan Finkelstein

We gratefully acknowledge those individuals who have offered expressions of friendship through recent gifts to the Lehigh Valley Jewish Foundation. The minimum contribution for an Endowment Card is $10. Call 610-821-5500 or visit www.jewishlehighvalley. org to place your card requests.

Thank you for your continued support.

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Programming Partner: Jewish Community Center of Allentown

Frank Banko Alehouse Cinemas at the ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks 101 Founders Way | Bethlehem, PA FRee to ArtsQuest Members | $9.50 ($7.50 student & senior) $7.50 for JCC members (must present Jperks card)

Thomas Friedman: That Used to Be Us: How America Fell Behind in the World it Invented and How We Can Come Back October 2 | 8 pm On Julia Child at 100: An Appreciation with Judith Jones and Laura Shapiro October 28 | 7:30 pm

Anna Quindlen with Jodi Kantor November 26 | 8 pm Jon Meacham: On Jefferson December 9 | 7:30 pm

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Muhlenberg lecture series tackles two more topics

Professor Mark Stein

By Rachel Kennett Special to HAKOL Muhlenberg’s lecture series on “Jews, Money and Capitalism” will continue this month with two programs from Professors Mark Stein and Hartley Lachter.

On Wednesday, October 17, at 7 p.m. at the Jewish Day School in Allentown, Stein will address the key roles that Jews played in the early modern period in his talk entitled, “Traders, Translators and Tax Collectors: Jews and the Economic Life of the Ottoman Empire.” As the Mediterranean’s super-power of trade, the Ottoman Empire specifically relied on Jews as traders, translators and agents for foreign merchants.

Stein hopes that his presentation will allow attendees to “contextualize the place of Jews in Middle Eastern societies and the Ottoman Empire.” Much information is already known to the public about Jews in Western and Eastern Europe, he said, but the placement of Jews in

Professor Hartley Lachter the Middle East is an important aspect of Jewish and world history that warrants equal attention.

The series will move forward on Sunday, October 21, at 7 p.m. at the Third Street Bistro in Easton with Lachter’s seminar, “Supporting Jews, Transforming Judaism: Jewish Charitable Organizations in Medieval Spain.” This talk, being held in conjunction with the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley’s Easton Salon Series, will explore the communal support that was necessary to address the needs of the Jewish people.

“Informal communal organizations were transformative centers of social and intellectual changes,” Lachter said, as these groups provided mechanisms to spread new ideas. Lachter hopes to spark a conversation about difficult historical circumstances that create a need for Jewish philanthropies and can, ironically, generate favorable conditions for Jewish cultural and religious renewal.

Community members lacking a strong background in Jewish studies will still enjoy these presentations, the presenters said. Even though the discussions have a historical focus, “anyone who lives in a community thinks about how contributing philanthropically… to a community [can] be part of a reinvigoration of the community,” Lachter said.

Likewise, Stein believes that people who have an interest in world and Jewish history, economics and globalization will “find something to grab onto.”

As to the importance of Jewish studies, Stein views academic disciplines as a way to arrange knowledge, such as the experiences of the Jewish people throughout history, in order to contribute to a larger understanding. Jewish studies allows for the “recontextualization [of different areas of history] through many lenses,” he said.

Lachter also appreciates the role that Jewish studies plays in the greater knowledge of history.

A full appreciation of Western history cannot exist without considering Jewish involvement, Lachter said. There “cannot be one without the other [or] a part of the story will be missing,” he said.

These presentations, like all seminars in this series, are free and open to the public. The series is sponsored jointly by the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley, the Jewish Studies Program and the Religion Studies Departments of Muhlenberg College, and is made possible by a grant from the Legacy Heritage Jewish Studies Project and the Association for Jewish Studies.

Social-intellectual Jewish experience coming to Easton

By Alan Raisman JFLV Easton Area Outreach and Engagement Associate Something new is brewing in Easton. Beginning on Sunday, October 21, the Easton Leadership Council of the Jewish Federation will launch its year-long Easton Salon Series, a hybrid social/intellectual Jewish experience based on the “salon” concept in Europe.

The salon model dates back to the late 18th century, when people would come together in informal places, usually a home, to converse and learn from each other. Jews have often had a special relationship with the salon concept, using it as a model both for reaching out to the non-Jewish community in some cases, as well as reaching within the Jewish community across internal boundaries -- hence the idea of meeting in a neutral and open space. The first two salons will be held at the Third Street Bistro at 117 N. 3rd Street in downtown Easton.

For the first salon, Dr. Hartley Lachter will talk about medieval Jewish charitable organizations and how they raise provocative questions for contemporary Jewish communities. Lachter will facilitate the series throughout the year, but hopes that future topics will spring organically from group discussions.

The first program will be offered in conjunction with Muhlenberg College’s speaker series on “Jews, Money and Capitalism.”

Lachter is an associate professor of religion studies and director of Jewish studies at Muhlenberg College, where he has taught for the past seven years. He has also taught courses in Jewish studies at McGill University, Vassar College, New York University, Rutgers University and Lehigh University, and he has given invited lectures at universities across the United States and Israel. Lachter's research focuses on the proliferation of kabbalah in the late 13th century, and he is currently working on a book manuscript entitled “Kabbalistic Revolution: Reimagining Judaism in Medieval Spain.”

The salon series programs will be held at 7 p.m. on the third Sunday of each month through May, except in December. For more information, visit www.jewishlehighvalley.org.

The programs are free and open to the public. There will be food available for purchase, with respectful accommodation for dietary observance.

HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | OCTOBER 2012 9

Dead Sea scrolls reveal antiquity, continuity

By Cindy Zehnder JCC Adult Programming Coordinator Two thousand years ago, in the Judean desert, on the northern shores of the Dead Sea, a group of people placed their religious writings in 11 remote caves. They never returned to retrieve them.

The scrolls remained in those caves, stored in clay pots, for nearly 2,000 years. Then one day in 1947, a young goat herder attempted to lure his goat out of one of the caves by throwing rocks in at it. Instead of the goat, he heard the sound of breaking pottery.

The scrolls found in the caves have become known as the Dead Sea Scrolls.

On September 6, members of JCC's Adults To Go at the J program viewed the scrolls at the Franklin Institute in Phladelphia.

“You have set me at the source of streams in a dry land, at the spring of water in a parched land, in a garden watered by channels … hidden among all the trees … which shall make a shoot grow in everlasting plantation," reads the Hodayot Scroll.

The scrolls, ravaged by insects and the elements, but nevertheless still in their pottery “scroll jars,” had been preserved by the hot, dry climate and the darkness of the caves. Discovered predominantly in the years 1947 to 1956, the scrolls are a collection of thousands of fragments comprising some 900 scrolls dating from around 250 B.C.E. to 68 C.E. Almost 1,000 years older than the next oldest copies of the Bible to have been discovered, the Dead Sea Scrolls include about 207 biblical manuscripts that give us a glimpse into the lives of certain ancient devout believers in Is-

rael. These 2,000-year-old parchments and scraps of parchments demonstrate that, in the days of Hellenic and Roman control of Judea and the land of Israel, the Hebrew Bible was already a highly regarded collection of writings upon which the people of Israel relied to understand their history and their relationship with God. “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth,” (Genesis 1:1 Scroll Number: 4Q7; Type: Biblical Text; Date: 50-68 CE; Language: Hebrew; Discovered: Cave 4, 1952.)

Approximately 20 manuscripts of Genesis were discovered in the caves.

All of the scrolls have been fully catalogued as to content and provenance.

A majority of the scrolls are nonbiblical and represent a variety of literary genres: commentary, religious legal writings, liturgical (prayer) texts and compositions that predict a coming apocalypse. They illustrate some of the rituals and practices of a unique community and reflect the profound concerns of the authors, who apparently sought to address questions such as: Where do we fit in God’s plan?

How should we live our lives? How and when will the world end? What then will happen to us?

“Long ago you laid the foundations of the earth” (Psalms Scroll Number: 4Q84; Type: Biblical Text; Date: 25-68 CE; Language: Hebrew; Discovered: Cave 4, 1952.)

The book of which the largest number of copies were found in the caves near the city of Qumran is the book of Psalms, the biblical anthology of Hebrew poetry, of which 36 manuscripts dating from 250 B.C.E. to 68 C.E. were discovered.

Qumran was destroyed in 68 C.E. The first Dead Sea Scrolls were found

1,879 years later. The scrolls provide a spiritual map of ancient Israel. They enable us to learn about the priesthood at the Temple in Jerusalem, find insights into community views, study religious practices at the time and assess the importance of these writings to their community.

“These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts … Impress them on your children … Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads,” (Phylacteries Scroll numbers: 4Q134, 4Q136, 4Q138, 4Q143; Language: Hebrew; Discovered: Cave 4, 1952.)

Phylacteries, called tefillin in Hebrew, are small leather containers that hold miniature scrolls inscribed with ancient biblical texts. The leather pieces are worn on the head and arm, serving as a reminder of one’s unity with God and of one’s identity. It is a ritual still practiced by Jews at prayer today, so many years after the scrolls were placed in their caves.

For more information or to make reservations to see the exhibit, which runs through October 14, contact the Franklin Institute at 215-448-1200 or visit www. fi.edu/scrolls.

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WRITINGS FROM THE

CLERGY

RABBI SETH PHILLIPS

Congregation Keneseth Israel

In 20 years as a Navy chaplain, I have celebrated the High Holidays on aircraft carriers; in Okinawa; in Naples, Italy; twice at Guantanamo Bay and twice in Iraq. Though the Navy does have dedicated fulltime Jewish chapels, notably in Norfolk and Annapolis, the main worship space is shared among different congregations. Push a button, pull a cord and the cross is replaced by a magen David. For sailors

What’s nu? What’s next? and Marines far from home, for all for whom duty and obligation keeps them away, it is not the place or the space that matters, but the people.

The biblical worship space, the ohel moed or tent of meeting, captures this concept perfectly. Holiness can take place wherever people truly meet each other. This is not in an air kiss, cocktail party sense, but in what Martin Buber called the “I and Thou.”

Rather than objectifying another person or seeing him or her as a source of gain or pain, the “I” would strive to recognize an equally created being and relate on a deeper level than the externals of rank or riches allow. When this meeting happens on our human level, we have prepared ourselves and can dream of it happening on the divine level.

Now I am living in Allentown, no longer a wandering Jew in the wilderness of Sinai or on the trackless wastes of the oceans. Though having my name etched in stone on the side of the building (KeneSETH Israel) gives a sense of security and permanence, I still need that portable tent of meeting. The ties that bind,

the relationships formed, nurtured and repaired are the key indications of the sense of community that I need to be truly alive.

When I am well met, I have the strength to confess my sins and shortcomings and to express my hopes for the New Year. Unlike the solitary January 1 regrets

congregation. How fortunate are we that after long hours of sitting inside, our tradition forces us outside for Sukkot. There in the Sukkah amidst the stars and the rain, the children’s drawings and harvest bounty, we see the bones of the tent of meeting as we crowd our family in with the

How fortunate are we that after long hours of sitting inside, our tradition forces us outside for Sukkot. and resolutions, I stand in concert with my community and would find the ultimate “Thou” that true meetings symbolize.

Formal worship in this month of Tishrei with its eight days of solemn and joyous assembly takes places in buildings, historic or hired. The solid nature of our surroundings can be an echo chamber that magnifies the volume of the distractions therein.

The need to maintain the structure can disguise the tent of meeting that must be at the heart of every

Ushpizin, the ever-present biblical guests. There in the Sukkah we must feel the truth of “Unless the Lord builds the house, in vain do the builders labor.” (Ps 127.1). The shift in focus from the stationary (building) to the impermanent (Sukkah), so counter to our normal tendencies, must focus us on other Sources of strength and meaning.

May you find your own ohel moed, tent of meeting, within the fixed walls of your life and there meet your highest self and Good.

HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | OCTOBER 2012 11

In campaign for Jewish votes, GOP has the money, Dems have the history

By Ron Kampeas Jewish Telegraphic Agency In the battle for Jewish votes this November, both parties acknowledge the other’s advantage: Republicans have the money and Democrats have the history.

The funding disparity was evident when the Republican Jewish Coalition rolled out major voter outreach bids in three major Jewish population centers: the suburbs of Cleveland and Philadelphia, and in Broward and Palm Beach counties in South Florida.

The operations included expensive mechanisms unheard of in any Jewish outreach operation for years, if ever.

Banks of volunteers phoning voters identified beforehand by researchers through “microtargeting,” a system that uses market research and other factors to narrow respondents to those likeliest to switch their vote.

Democrats, slightly slackjawed, said they could never match the effort, which is part of an overall push estimated to cost $6.5 million.

The National Jewish Democratic Council is canvassing the same areas with volunteers handing out postcards calling the Obama-Biden ticket “the

choice of American Jews.”

Obama is believed to have earned between 74 and 78 percent of the Jewish vote in 2008; Gallup tracking polls had him at 68 percent in July.

In its outreach literature, the RJC stresses Israel and the threat of a nuclear Iran. The leaflet distributed to suburban homes this week is mostly about the Middle East, with the economy relegated to less than a third of the content.

By contrast, the NJDC handout is split evenly between the Middle East and other issues: the economy, health care reform and social issues, such as abortion and gay marriage.

The emphasis on the economy and social issues makes sense for the Democrats because the gaps between many Jews and the Republican party are wider on domestic issues -something that phone canvassers at the Radisson Valley Forge Hotel outside of Philadelphia discovered.

Dara Fox, 46, a homemaker from Manassas, Va., who awoke at 4:30 a.m. to ride a bus in for the day, said she got nothing but answering machines and hang-ups after an hour of calls. She said she also encountered the economic argument against voting for Romney

Where Is She Now?

among her liberal Jewish friends in northern Virginia -- another swing state where a shift in the Jewish vote could conceivably make the difference.

“I am at a complete loss as to how liberal Jews have taken Israel and put it in a separate bubble,” she said.

Democrats, however, are not sanguine about the prospect of Jewish voters compartmentalizing any concerns they have about Israel and focusing instead on areas of domestic agreement with Obama.

Echoing a common complaint among Obama’s closest Jewish backers, Robert Wexler, speaking Monday to the B’nai B’rith International policy conference, said the question he hears from Jewish audiences that vexes him most is the “kishkes” question, "Does Obama 'get' Israel in his gut?"

“I get done with the litany of 30 things the president has done for Israel, and then I get asked, ‘Yeah, Wexler, I know about all that, but in his kishkes does he really feel it?’ ” Wexler recounted, his voice rising in frustration. “Short of joining the IDF itself, I’m curious as to what President Obama could do to convince some in our community.”

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Along the way, she developed a secure sense of identity, with a respect for a great spectrum of beliefs and attitudes, and graduated eager to embrace the world.

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Cooling the rhetoric in your sukkah

By Edmon J. Rodman Jewish Telegraphic Agency In an election year, a sukkah divided against itself cannot stand. Looking for advice about how to prepare for a politically divided sukkah, I contacted an expert on political issues and American Jewish affairs -- Steven Windmueller, emeritus professor at Hebrew Union College in Los Angeles.

A sukkah filled with Jews of divergent opinions was no surprise to Windmueller.

Going against the commonly held view, he already had written that the “Jewish vote” was actually a “series of voting constituencies.”

Windmueller said the more recent division among Jews is not a result of turning Republican or flocking to the Democrats as much as becoming Independents. He sees younger Jews especially as being tied less to the political orientation of their families.

As to whether Jewish voters are turning away from President Obama, “The amount of movement we are seeing is actually small,” said Windmueller, which he estimated this

election cycle at between nine and 12 percent.

Windmueller adds that the issue of Israel, which has been receiving much partisan coverage in the Jewish media and has the most potential to cause a Sukkah conflagration -- is “not a top priority for many Jewish voters."

"Not even in the top five,” he said, listing the economy, health care, Social Security and international terrorism as among the priorities of Jewish voters.

As to how to help keep the holiday peace in this charged-up season, Windmueller suggested coming to the table “prepared” with more than just the usual political slogans.

“People are scared to have their minds changed,” said Windmueller.

For a more congenial evening, he suggested sticking close to issues on which many Jews can still come together -- the Iranian threat, the concern over civil order and the health of our society.

Shaking those subjects together in each political direction might not bring an evening of peace, but at least we’ll still be talking.

ELECTION 2012

Borick to speak on the elections Are you intrigued by the current presidential and congressional elections? Do you want to know more about the impact of the Tea Party or what issues will have the greatest impact and what pollsters are predicting?

Chris Borick, director of the Institute of Public Opinion at Muhlenberg College, political scientist and leading pollster, will share his insights about the upcoming election on Thursday, November 1, at 7:30 p.m. at Congregation Brith Sholom in Bethlehem.

Gordon Goldberg, professor emeritus of history at Kutztown University and

Learning to decode the electoral polls

author of “Meyer London: A Biography of the New York Socialist Congressman, 18711926,” will conduct a poll of the audience. Similar polls in 2006, 2008 and 2010 proved accurate in predicting results.

This polling event is sponsored by the Adult Education Committee of Congregation Brith Sholom and the Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley. For more information, contact the synagogue office at 610-866-8009.

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By Alan Raisman JFLV Easton Area Outreach and Engagement Associate Ever wonder what “margin of error” really means? Bnai Abraham Synagogue will offer a primer on polling at its next Men’s Club brunch on Sunday, October 14.

Dexter Neadle, a communications and polling expert, will be the featured speaker at the brunch, which will begin at 10 a.m.

Neadle has testified before the Federal Trade Commission on various cases involving survey research. He is a past president of the Council of American Survey Research Organization (CASRO). During his tenure as its president in the 1980s, CASRO represented over 135 companies and market research operations. Today, CASRO has grown to represent over 300 companies and market research operations in the United States and abroad.

Neadle will explain the various terms used when discussing election polls and help provide a better understanding of what the 2012 presidential polls mean. Attendees will learn the terminology and be able to clearly understand how to read and interpret election polls.

Held monthly, Bnai Abraham’s men’s club brunches feature unique speakers and presentations. Past brunches have included talks on extreme couponing and investing in a down economy. The cost for brunch is $6. Please RSVP by emailing Irwin Lewis at ihlewismd@yahoo.com.

The Wescoe School of Muhlenberg College offers informative, interactive workshops on a variety of timely, interesting topics. Presentations can be held at your site or on the beautiful Muhlenberg College campus in Allentown, PA. This could be your organization’s answer to providing free training or a meeting activity for your school, business, club, or team.

Choose from a wide variety of topics including: • Tips for Coping with Stress • The 5 Steps of Making Effective Decisions • Cut the Fear Factor in Public Speaking • Data Security for Your Organization • Leadership Strategies • Creating a Motivational Climate • Social Media + Your Business = Turning a Profit • Or request a topic of relevance to your organization’s needs.

Presenters are members of The Wescoe School faculty and/or active community leaders.

Campus to Conference Room programs traditionally include a 40-minute presentation followed by a 20-minute question-and-answer period.

For more information, contact Samantha Anglestein at 484-664-3029 or sanglestein@muhlenberg.edu.

muhlenberg.edu/wescoe HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | OCTOBER 2012 13

Jewish cartoonists make world safe for comics Ever notice that Superman’s cape, draped around him and then turned back over each shoulder, looks a little bit like a tallis? That may be because the creators of Superman were two Jewish boys, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.

The parallels continue: In “From Krakow to Krypton: Jews and Comic Books,” Arie Kaplan writes of Superman, “... he came to America to escape the extinction of his people … “ Superman was only one of many super heroes with Jewish connections. Bob Kane and Jerry Robinson, both Jewish, created Batman.

Gil Kane, born Eli Kane, created the Green Lantern.

In the 1960s, Stan Lee, born Lieber, created Spiderman and the Fantastic Four.

Kaplan writes, “those in the know realize that Jews almost single-handedly built the comic book industry from the ground up … Early Jewish cartoonists, street kids with no formal artistic training, wrote and drew comic books to feed their families.”

Speaking from his studio in Manhattan, comic creator

Art Spiegelman described comics as an incredibly Jewish invention.

“It was an extension of the rag trade, the lowest form of art, sub-art,” he said, “a collision between high culture and low.”

This collision was a reflection of the times, when there were tensions between long-established German Jews and the newer, often impoverished, Eastern European Jews.

In the early 1930s, Maxwell Charles “Charlie” Gaines -- born Ginsburg -- was one of the first to realize there was additional business potential in turning comic strips into comic books, such as his “A Century of Comics.”

Comics creator Will Eisner took the medium a step further in 1940 with his 16-page comic book, “The Spirit,” also about a crimefighter.

With the advent of World War II, comics dealt with heavy topics, as did Eisner’s later book length collection of four comic stories, “A Contract with God.” These books illuminated life; in the title story, the main

They almost look real.

What do you think of my comic?

Illustration by Stacey Goldberg

character confronts God, shouting in anger and frustration.

Even the super heroes expressed the lives and frustrations of their creators.

Most did not rely on braun, but rather on their smarts to solve problems. In this way, they carry on the themes set forth in Jewish folktales and the works of great Jewish writers like Isaac Beshevis Singer.

The tension is often

that of good versus evil; however, sometimes the heroes have to battle their own weaknesses. Superman has his kryptonite. The modern movie Spiderman succumbs temporarily to his yetzer hara, his own bad character.

By 1986, Art Spiegelman did something that no one else had succeeded in doing: With the publication of “Maus I,” he put into comics the story of his parents’ survival of the Holocaust and his own struggle in living with these two survivors. He continued the story and published “Maus II” in 1991.

Spiegelman opened the door for memoir writers to such an extent that a quick search of the online Jewish magazine Tablet results in a dozen or more memoirs in comic form under review at any given time. Spiegelman also credits the magazine RAW that he co-founded with wife Françoise Mouly with making “the world safe for comics as a form of self-

expression.”

The characters in and subjects of comics, both early and recent, confirm that struggle goes on in the world. They allow us to envision that struggle and ways to triumph over adveristy. In portraying Jews as mice in “Maus,” for which he won a Pulitzer prize, Spiegelman actually makes it easier and more inviting for the reader to identify with the characters.

He makes it safe.

A hugely compelling aspect of Maus is the subplot of Spiegelman’s relationship with his father. In an early scene, friends call Spiegelman to the phone, saying that his father has had a heart attack. This isn’t true.

Instead, it is his father’s ploy to make sure that Spiegelman takes the call.

Spiegelman and other comic artists portray a struggle that, sooner or later, takes place within each of us. All unexpectedly, comics show us what is real.

Do you love to write?

If so, we're looking for you! Hakol is seeking VOLUNTEER WRITERS to cover stories of interest to the Lehigh Valley Jewish community. Prior writing or journalism experience preferred.

If interested, send an e-mail to hakol@jflv.org.

14 OCTOBER 2012 | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY

Art Spiegelman to visit Lehigh University

By Jennifer Lader Editor, HAKOL Pulitzer prize-winning artist and author Art Spiegelman will give a lecture sponsored by the Philip and Muriel Berman Center for Jewish Studies at Lehigh University in November.

Spiegelman is best known for his comic book narratives, “Maus” and “Maus II,” which portray Jews as mice and Nazis as cats and examine his parents’ survival of the Holocaust. His book, “MetaMaus,” published in 2011, answers many of the most frequently asked questions about “Maus,” which won a Pulitzer Prize in 1992.

“Freud once said, ‘The first joke is the jack-in-the-box.’ It pops out and scares the kid,” Spiegelman said during a recent phone interview from his Manhattan studio. “We master our fear by having it come out of the box again and again.”

If the cartoon frame is Spiegelman’s own jack-in-thebox, he has shown incredible tenacity at mastering it.

In addition to creating the “Maus” books and thereby becoming the virtual father of the modern comic book, Spiegelman published “In the Shadow of No Towers,” which was selected by The New York Times Book Review as one of the 100 Notable Books of 2004.

With his wife, Françoise Mouly, Spiegelman founded the comics magazine RAW and edited several volumes of cartoons for children, including “A Toon Treasury of Classic Children’s Comics,” published in 2009.

Spiegelman said that “Toon Treasury” is meant to show the richness of this vein of comics. Meanwhile, the first chapter of “Maus” is entitled, “My Father Bleeds History.” Comics are in Spiegelman’s blood.

“That’s how I learned to read,” he said. “I had to figure out whether Batman was a good guy or bad guy because he scared the [expletive] out of me. My children, and specifically Dash, my son, learned to read this way and now he’s a lit major -- English major -- at Brown.”

Spiegelman started cartooning as a child, partly because it was an area of his life that his parents could not control, but also as a response to their trauma.

In “MetaMaus,” Spiegelman recalls a time when his mother, Anja, needed to reach a bathroom quickly during a trip to the grocery and told the then pre-adolescent Spiegelman what would happen “during the War” if anyone dared to urinate at the wrong time. “’If the kapos [the

prisoner-supervisors] found out, they could beat you and kill you,’” Spiegelman recalled his mother saying. “’And I didn’t know what to do and some friends stood in a circle around me so that I couldn’t be seen ...’” She was speaking to her son about her experiences in Birkenau – an extension of Auschwitz.

Like his mother, Spiegelman would have had to figure out what to do, but for him what needed to be expressed was the combined traumatic life experiences of his mother, his father and himself as their only surviving child.

It should come as no surprise that fear -identifying it, expressing it and overcoming it -- laces Spiegelman’s work. Even his compilation of others’ work plays with the theme: In “It Was a Dark and Silly Night,” a number of artists have each created comic book tales around the book’s title.

In one, the family lives in an upside down house and the main character discovers he has been wearing a mask all along and is really a dog.

In the very last chapter, by Patrick McDonnell, the moon is afraid to come out.

Yet, Spiegelman said, “I don’t do messages.”

Neither does he lay claim to choosing his subjects.

“They have to choose me,” he said. “It has to be a tower falling down in my backyard, I’m so selfabsorbed. Otherwise, it’s too directed by super-ego rather than by id … I find something has to happen where I have no choice.

Sometimes, it’s something much more narcissistic. As Mel Brooks said, ‘It’s comedy when somebody falls off a cliff; it’s tragedy when I have a hangnail.’”

Comics as a place for

either self-expression or exploration of the world were already fraught. A photograph appears in the beginning of Spiegelman’s book, “Toon Treasury” showing a group of smiling adults dumping comic books into a bonfire. Behind them stands a crowd of laughing, engaged children. It was was 1949, the year after Spiegelman’s birth.

“Comics were seen as genuinely dangerous,” Spiegelman said. “They were drawn to death. There was a witch hunt in the early 50s when [they were] called the ‘marijuana of the nursery.’”

Largely because of Spiegelman, the medium has come far, although perhaps too far for his liking: Spiegelman will speak on “What the %@&*! Happened to Comics?” on Thursday, November 8, at 7 p.m. in Zoellner Arts Center’s Baker Hall at Lehigh University.

Spiegelman said that, in the past, comics were seen as corrupting children’s reading habits and tastes.”

A man named [Dr. Frederic] Worthem talked about it.

There were congressional hearings. Cartoonists were the witches,” Spiegelman said,

referring to the anti-comic books campaigns of the 1950s led by Worthem, a Germanborn Jewish psychiatrist. “But nothing is simple … Worthem

was trying to deal with how does one process things that are dangerous.”

And so, it turns out, was Spiegelman.

HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | OCTOBER 2012 15

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Israel’s Six Day War 45th Anniversary

Surrounded, Israel makes preemptive strike This year marks the 45th anniversary of Israel’s Six Day War. Those days still loom vividly in the minds of those who were there. They also explain how Israel came to control the West Bank and the Golan Heights.

“Moshe Dayan: Story of My Life,” he says, “I sensed with my entire being the tension that gripped the country …these seemed to be political-military problems.

But I knew in my bones that there were basically historical Jewish problems which were rooted in our past. How we tackled them would determine our future.”

Assessing a growing threat

Pre-empting military strikes

By Jennifer Lader Editor, HAKOL

After Israel’s war for Independence in 1948 and in Sinai in 1956, the nation experienced several years of relative peace.

Military leaders like Chief of Staff Moshe Dayan settled down with their families.

However, beginning in 1966, terrorist attacks from outside Israel increased, with dozens occurring in early 1967. On March 5, 1967, for example, an Israeli tractor plowing near Kibbutz Shamir, close to the Syrian border, ran over a mine, and the farmer was seriously injured.

On May 20, Syrian Defense Minister Hafez Assad (father of the current president of Syria) referred to that country’s stance toward Israel when he said: “The Syrian army, with its finger on the trigger, is united …”

In response to the terrorism, Israel carried out reprisal attacks in Jordan and against Syria.

Meanwhile, the Soviets, who had for some time been involved in the region, passed false information to Syria about Israeli plans for future attacks, leading Syria to request that Egypt honor their mutual defense pact.

On May 22, Egyptian President Nasser ordered the United Nations out of the Egyptian-Israeli border and closed the Straits of Tiran, a recognized act of war, stopping the flow of oil from Israel’s main supplier, Iran. He assembled armies on the borders of Israel: Egypt had allies in Syria and Jordan, as well as Kuwait, Libya and Lebanon. “We aim at the destruction of the State of Israel,” Nasser said.

On June 4, 1967, Iraq joined the military alliance with Egypt, Jordan and Syria. Approximately 465,000 troops, more than 2,800 tanks and 800 aircraft, now ringed Israel.

The Eshkol government in Israel was reshuffled and Moshe Dayan was appointed Minister of Defense. In

At the Western Wall of Jerusalem, Rabbi Shlomo Goren blew the shofar …

Nearby, troops of the 55th Brigade, finish their song.

Jerusalem of gold, Let me be the violin for all your songs!

They could not stay to celebrate, but went on to take the Golan Heights.

Major General Mottie (Mordecai) Hod commanded the air force and had made its operations into a science. He told the Israeli cabinet, “Egypt has at least 800 planes and Israel 350.” This shook the cabinet. However, Hod went on to say, “We can destroy Egypt and any others who intervene.”

Israel decided to preempt the expected Arab attack and needed the element of surprise. Prime Minister Levi Eshkol gave the order to attack Egypt.

The entire Israeli Air Force, except for a dozen fighters assigned to defend Israeli air space, took off starting at 7:14 a.m. on June 5. They bombed Egyptian airfields while the Egyptian pilots were eating breakfast.

Israeli fighters then attacked the Jordanian and Syrian air forces, as well as one airfield in Iraq. By the end of the first day, nearly the entire Egyptian and Jordanian air forces, and half the Syrian’s, had been destroyed on the ground.

Later that day, Dayan spoke via an armed forces broadcast: “… We are a small people but a brave one, seeking peace, but ready to fight for its life and its country,” he said. “Soldiers of Israel’s Defense Forces, in you today we repose our hopes.”

Later, Army General George C. Marshall called the military operations “the greatest gamble with the largest payoff in the history of military aviation.”

Crossing the desert

Brigadier General Yisrael Tal then moved in on the ground with tanks in the south, capturing Gaza and the Sinai Peninsula.

General Abraham Joffe crossed the sand dunes to secure a continuous land link with units in Sharm el-Sheikh, near the Straits of Tiran. For two days, he and his forces had little sleep; they struggled

General Abraham Joffe crossed the sand dunes to secure a continuous land link with units in Sharm el-Sheikh [near the Straits of Tiran]. For two days, few slept and vehicles foundered in the sand. Finally, Joffe ordered a two hour rest. He lay down and gazed at Mount Sinai.

Suddenly, came a voice [from the radio] …

Abraham, Abraham, where are you?

[Thinks: It’s Moshe Dayan.]

Abraham is here.

How are your camels?

OK. Then drive faster!

Joffe and his men arose and continued.

on even as their vehicles foundered in the sand. Finally, Joffe ordered a two-hour rest. He lay down and gazed at Mount Sinai.

Suddenly, came a voice from the radio: “Abraham, Abraham, where are you?”

“Abraham is here,” Joffe answered.

He recognized the voice as belonging to Moshe Dayan.

The voice from the radio asked, “How are your camels?”

“OK,” Joffe said.

“Then drive faster!”

Joffe and his men arose and continued.

Meanwhile, Ariel Sharon and his men aimed to break through the central axis.

However, on the way, they lost their artillery battery in the sand.

“Leave the men, but take the bulldozer,” Sharon said.

The Israeli soldiers met fierce fighting.

Fifteen hundred yards from their target area, Sharon ordered a 15-minute break.

Suddenly, out of the swift-falling dark, came the lost artillery battery. It placed its guns in five minutes and opened fire.

Eventually, the Sinai was secured and the Straits of Tiran reopened for international navigation.

Reclaiming the Old City

In the first days of the war, teacher Mattan Gur had gone to school as usual.

When he came home, a staff car awaited.

He returned to school and gave his students assignments for the homefront, and then joined his men at the 55th Paratroop Brigade.

Gur’s brigade of Jordan was assigned to take from King Hussein the Old City of Jerusalem. On the hot and crowded bus to Jerusalem, the soldiers sang, “Your name burns my lips like a seraphim’s kiss, Let me not forget thee, O Jerusalem of gold … ” Once off the bus, they had to attack the Jordanian Police School compound. The fighting was fierce on the streets of Jerusalem.

The Israelis were victorious. Access to the Wall had been denied to Jews for the previous 19 years. When the soldiers entered the Old City, someone cried, “No longer will the Western Wall be known as

the Wailing Wall!”

Dayan reported that the Israelis pulled the bars and barricades down and reunited the two halves of Jerusalem and that there was a festive air. “Arabs crowded Zion Square in the heart of the New City and Jews went into the Old City bazaars,” he writes in “The Story of My Life.”

At the Western Wall of Jerusalem, Rabbi Shlomo Goren blew the shofar.

Nearby, troops of the 55th Brigade sang once again, “Jerusalem of gold, Let me be the violin for all your songs!” However, they could not stay to celebrate, but went on to take the Golan Heights.

Scaling the Golan Heights

Dayan writes: “The battle for the Golan turned out … to be a one-phase operation, the breakthrough phase.” The Syrian troops retreated and Israeli troops moved into Syria, near Damascus.

U.S. Secretary of State Dean Rusk advised the Israelis to accept a ceasefire out of concern for awakening active Russian participation. On June 10, Israel agreed.

The war was over by that evening.

Laying down their swords

Later, speaking before the United Nations, Israeli Foreign Minister Abba Eban said, “It was the only war in history where the victor sued for peace and the vanquished demanded unconditional surrender!”

The troops had unified Jerusalem and captured the Sinai, Golan Heights, Gaza Strip the and West Bank. In the process, Israel had tripled the size of the area it controlled, from 8,000 to 26,000 square miles. Israel now had jurisdiciton over three-quarters of a million Palestinians.

As the Israeli Defense Forces returned to civilian life, Dayan spoke to them in a radio address. “The battle is over,” Dayan said, “but there is no end to our struggle.

Return your swords to their scabbards, but keep them ready, for the time has not yet come when you may beat them into plowshares.”

Illustrations by Stacey Goldberg HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | OCTOBER 2012 17

Photo courtesy of the Government Press Office of Israel

Photo by MICHA HAN & courtesy of the Government Press Office of Israel

Israel’s Six In early June, 1967, neighboring nations surround Israel with 465,000 troops. The Egyptian leader speaks of pushing Israel into the sea. On June 6, 1967, the Israeli Air Force uses most of its 300 fighter planes to begin a preemptive strike that destroys most of Egypt’s 800 fighter planes while they were on the ground at Egyptian air bases and while Egyptian pilots are at their breakfast.

Photo by RUBINGER DAVID & courtesy of the Government Press Office of Israel

Photo courtesy of the Government Press Office of Israel

LEFT, Army Chief Chaplain Rabbi Shlomo Goren, flanked

by IDF soldiers, blows the shofar in front of the Western Wall in Jerusalem.

ABOVE, Israel succeeded in opening the straits of Tiran. Here, an Israeli gun boat passes through the straits.

RIGHT, Brigade General Ariel (Arik) Sharon and Brigade General Gavish Yeshayahu and field commanders confer with other field commanders in Sinai.

Photo courtesy of the Government Press Office of Israel

Photo by YAACOV AGOR & courtesy of the Government Press Office of Israel

Prior to the Six Day War, Jordan controlled the Old City of Jerusalem. Here, Commander Motta Gur and his brigade observe the Temple Mount from their command post on Mount Olive just prior to their attack of the Old City.

RIGHT, Shortly after the IDF wrested control of the Old City from Jordan, Defense Minister Moshe Dayan (center), Chief of Staff Yitzhak Rabin (right) and Jerusalem Commander Uzi Narkis enter through the Lion’s Gate into the Old City.

THIS 4-PAGE SUPPLEMENT ON ISRAEL’S SIX DAY WAR IS UNDERWRITTEN BY:

CHARLES KLINE B’NAI B’RITH LODGE Allentown, Pennsylvania

Israeli tanks advance on the Golan Heights.

18 OCTOBER 2012 | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY

Photo courtesy of the Government Press Office of Israel

Photo by TAL SHABTAI & courtesy of the Government Press Office of Israel

Day War LEFT, Israeli armored units prepare for ground action on the outskirts of Rafa, located at the southern end of the Gaza Strip, to reinforce the air strikes.

Members of the Army Medical Corps evacuate wounded soldiers by air from El Arish Airport.

An Israeli gun boat at Sharem El Sheikh near the straits of Tiran.

LEFT, By the end of the Six Day War, Israel had jurisdiction over threequarters of a million Palestinians. Here, Defense Minister Moshe Dayan (right) talks with a local Arab at King Solomon’s pool south of Bethlehem.

BELOW, One of the paratroopers who took part in the battle for the Old City of Jerusalem celebrates his wedding in front of the Western Wall.

Photo by AHARON TZUKERMAN & courtesy of the Government Press Office of Israel

Photo by ARYEH KANPER & courtesy of the Government Press Office of Israel

Photo by ASSAF KUTIN & courtesy of the Government Press Office of Israel

Photo by MOSHE MILNER & courtesy of the Government Press Office of Israel

Egypt had closed the straits of Tiran, critical to Israel’s oil supply, to international shipping in the days leading up to the Six Day War. This photo shows an Israeli communications unit at Sharem El Sheikh, near the straits of Tiran.

Photo by YAACOV AGOR & courtesy of the Government Press Office of Israel

Photo by YAACOV AGOR & courtesy of the Government Press Office of Israel

Photo by ILAN BRUNER & courtesy of the Government Press Office of Israel

ABOVE, An Israeli armored unit enters Gaza.

Two Israeli soldiers hoist the Israeli flag on top of the entrance to the police fortress in Jenin.

HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | OCTOBER 2012 19

Israel’s Six Day War For Valley residents, crisis leads to connection

By Kathleen Mory Interim Marketing Associate In early June of 1967, Israel became entangled in a war with Egypt, Jordan and Syria and their allies. The Israeli forces immediately took the offensive stance, using a preemptive and critical air strike against the Egyptian Air Force and bold military action on the ground. Because of this strategy and the ability to take action quickly, Israel was able to defeat their opponents in six days, despite the odds stacked against them. It was a true testament to Israel’s perseverance as a nation.

American newspapers, including the precursor of The Morning Call covered the story that unfolded over the following days. Every morning, concerned Lehigh Valley readers looked to their local newspaper to learn the advancements in the rapid-paced war. The war progressed as quickly as the minutes passed and printing that information was vital to the papers’ readership. Jews and non-Jews worried about what was happening in Israel, shocked at the odds against Israel.

“It was an emotional time,” remembers “Natalie” who preferred to not have her real name be used. She and others recalled that the Lehigh Valley Jewish community at the time extended their heartfelt and charitable sympathies by offering up donations to help support loved ones and fellow Israeli community members in their time of need.

Over the course of June 5 through 11, community members obtained $400,000 in pledges, $175,000 of it in cash. The Jewish Federation of Allentown held a rally to collect the donations, as did other cities and towns in the Lehigh Valley and across the country.

“I gave $1,000,” recalled “Eli,” who asked that his real name not be used. “I was scared because it was the first time I had given anything.” He said that other people wanted to give more than they had and mortgaged their homes, concluding: “They were scared too.”

This charitable outpouring was a visceral reaction to the risks that the Israeli army was taking to defend Israel, a risk that would cost some their lives.

Although unfounded, there were worries that funds would not be used for their designated purpose.

SEPTEMBER 12, 1967 The Six-Day War has resulted in profound changes in the relationships between American Jews and the Israeli people and, particularly, between the youth of the two countries, the North American Jewish Youth Council was told here yesterday.

Addressing the three-day conference of the council at Surprise Lake Camp, Yaacov Morris, Israeli diplomat and representative of the Jewish Agency, said that the war had “not only brought Western Jews back to Judaism but also brought many Israelis back to the Jewish people as well. In terms of the future,” he added, “this means that the two-way bridge between the Jews of Israel and the United States has been strengthened and in some ways rebuilt. There is now a two-way bridge between equals.”

Haber says diversion of funds following war have hurt programs throughout world “That wouldn’t have been fair,” Eli said. Because rumors abounded that the money may be used locally, the community found itself in a state of unrest. However, the donations were delivered to Israel to help pay for food, supplies and all other necessities that the cost of the war would diminish.

The real issue, as it transpired, was that charitable giving requires an element of trust. Since this was many donors’ first time giving money, the experience was new and at first discomfiting.

The aftermath and reaction of the Six-Day War in the Allentown area were notable in what they accomplished. Israel won the war and found itself with new, more defensible borders.

In the Lehigh Valley, the crisis created a greater sense of connection with Israel.

Both Jewish and non-Jewish citizens of the area celebrated with a sense of relief and accomplishment once the announcement came that the war was over. “Everyone was overjoyed,” said Natalie.

The shared sense of purpose established within the Allentown Jewish community a bond that could not be matched or shaken.

It is a bond that is still evident today and has grown to include the entire Lehigh Valley.

The Six-Day War was a time of not only Israel’s military success, but also of the unification of the Jewish community in the United States and Israel.

THIS 4-PAGE SUPPLEMENT ON ISRAEL’S SIX DAY WAR IS UNDERWRITTEN BY:

CHARLES KLINE B’NAI B’RITH LODGE

Allentown, Pennsylvania 20 OCTOBER 2012 | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY

Six-Day War rebuilt bridge between US Jews and Israelis, diplomat says

NOVEMBER 6, 1968 The Executive Vice Chairman of the Joint Distribution Committee reported here that thousands of Jews throughout the world went without needed help in 1968 as a result of the SixDay War in Israel. According to Samuel Haber, emergencies such as the migration of over 2,000 Jews from Poland following a renewed outbreak of anti-Semitism and the flight of 4,000 Jews from Czechoslovakia after the Soviet invasion forced the relief agency to divert funds from on-going programs. The JDC, which aids 350,000 Jews in 27 countries, is a major beneficiary of the United Jewish Appeal.

Mr. Haber listed specific groups of people hurt by the diversion of funds and lack of funds. In North Africa and Iran, he said, 2,000 aged, sick and handicapped Jews received cash relief grants that were inadequate to maintain a minimum standard of health and decency; an additional $144,000 is needed.

In France, according to Mr. Haber, 5,000 Jews, half of them newcomers from North Africa, receive only 60 cents a day toward food. The 65,000 Jews of Marseilles, France's second largest city, have no old age home or adequate Jewish schools and the 20,000 Jews in Lyons also lack a Jewish day school.

In Israel, Mr. Hber said, many thousands of non-aged, chronically ill patients have suffered from deferment of an outlay of $85,000 for a rehabilitation program. A geriatric unit in a Jerusalem hospital for the chronically ill costing $85,000 had to be deferred and a day care center for mentally retarded children in a district north of Beersheba cannot be built for the lack of $25,000, Mr. Haber reported.

Round-up of the news ... in 1969 FEBRUARY 10, 1969 “Prime Minister Levi Eshkol was quoted today as declaring that Israel was willing to negotiate with the Arabs over most of the areas occupied in the Six-Day War but he made it clear that Israel would never give up Jerusalem and would insist on continued control of the Golan Heights. He described the Israeli position on the future of the occupied territories as “flexible” but avowed that “there will be no return to the situation preceding the June (1967) war.” Mr. Eshkol’s statements were made to News week magazine which said that the Israeli leader rejected proposals made by President Nasser of Egypt last week. Mr. Eshkol told the magazine, “I am ready to meet him (Nasser) anywhere, anytime, and I won’t quarrel about procedure, agenda or the shape of the table.”

HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | OCTOBER 2012 21

22 OCTOBER 2012 | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY

HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | OCTOBER 2012 23

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24 OCTOBER 2012 | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY

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JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER OF ALLENTOWN 702 N. 22nd Street • Allentown, PA 18104 610.435.3571 • www.allentownjcc.org

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LIVING WITH TWO HEARTS CHALLENGES COMMUNITIES:

A history of the Jews of Dijon, France and of Easton, Pa.

Dr. Robert Weiner, professor of history at Lafayette College, described similarities between the Jewish communities of Easton and of Dijon, France.

By Jennifer Lader Editor, HAKOL The Jewish community of Dijon, near Paris, has existed for hundreds of years in its ancient city. Dijon lost nearly a third of its largely Ashkenazi Jewish population during World War II and now faces rising anti-Semitism by Muslim extremists.

The Jewish community of Easton got its start in 1752, as did the city itself. It reflects the waves of immigration, first Sephardi Jews, then German Jews and finally Eastern Europeans. Anti-Semitic incidents happened occasionally, but less

and less often as time passed.

On September 12, Professor Robert Weiner, professor of history at Lafayette College, spoke at Jewish Family Service about the two communities because he knows them both: Since 1969, Weiner has been a leader in the Easton Jewish community and of Lafayette College’s Hillel organization.

Weiner has also led many groups of Lafayette students to Dijon and interviewed members of the community while he was there. With Professor Emeritus Richard Sharpless, Weiner coauthored “An Uncertain Future: Voices of

a French Jewish Community, 1940-2012.”

Weiner’s talk revealed what the two communities of Dijon and Easton have in common is that they each has two “hearts.”

For the Jews of Dijon, whose ancestors survived anti-Jewish street riots in 1899 and the French semi-fascist regime of World War II, the heart of the community had always been the Orthodox synagogue. However, its congregation split in recent years over what Weiner called “the small stuff.”

“Don’t sweat the small stuff,” he said.

“And the medium stuff? It’s usually small stuff, too.”

In the case of Dijon, the rabbi had gradually allowed women more rights.

And when the synagogue was being renovated, he held services in a church, stirring unhappiness among some congregants.

Then, Weiner said, a “beautiful Lubavitch couple came to town.”

“On the first day, when the [Lubavitch rabbi] came to services,” Weiner said, “I whispered in his ear, ‘You must not divide the community’ [and] … he repeated those words back to me.” However, a breakaway group of congregants who did not adhere to this stipulation gathered around the new couple.

Two hearts.

In Easton, the word was spelled “Hart,” as in Meyer and Michael. They were not twins, but they were, Weiner said, “both Jewish, both immigrants and both probably were named Moshe.”

Did the two start a congregation, found a Jewish aid society, a cemetery?

“No,” Weiner said. “They fought.”

It wasn’t until around 1839 that the largely German Jewish residents of

Easton formed a synagogue – Temple Covenant of Peace, as it is known today.

New divisions arose with the influx of Eastern European Jews, who initially faced prejudices that barred entry to some Jewish organizations in this country.

However, because TCP, which had joined the Reform Movement in 1871, was facing extinction by the end of the century, the synagogue allowed the new immigrants to join. Other Eastern Europeans formed B’nai Abraham in 1889, which eventually joined the Conservative Movement.

Rabbi Joshua Trachtenburg, in his book on the Easton Jewish community in the 1940s, portrayed the two synagogues as struggling. They experienced a resurgence with the post-war baby boom. However, struggle and divisions remained in the picture. One or the other of the synagogues often lacked a rabbi and there were internal differences of opinion as well.

That may be changing now because of dynamic rabbinic and lay leadership.

Weiner has been very much involved with Lafayette College’s Hillel, which he said is the most active student organization on campus. This Hillel is endowed and Weiner’s successors already in place, providing a new artery to increase the overall vitality of the Easton Jewish community.

In addition, there is now an Easton Leadership Council of the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley, formed to pump strategic planning and support to Easton’s community. “It’s working,” Weiner said.

As to the two Easton synagogues, he said, “We have two good rabbis at the same time now. Let’s see what can happen.”

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As French community grows in Israel, baguettes join pita

By Ben Sales Jewish Telegraphic Agency On a street off Independence Square, storefronts advertise “La Creperie Galette,” “Nouvel’hair” and “Agence Immobiliere.”

Families lounging under parasols at cafe tables chat in French and enjoy a sunny afternoon, Nearby, the Mediterranean waves lap up against tranquil beaches.

But in the local language, Independence Square is called not La Place de L’Indépendance but Kikar Ha’atzmaut. And this scene takes place not in Nice or Cannes but in Netanya, a coastal Israeli city about halfway between Haifa and Tel Aviv.

The scene is not unique.

From Netanya to Jerusalem and all the way south to Eilat, Israel’s French community is growing. Some 2,000 French Jews have arrived in Israel annually since 2009, with this year’s numbers apace.

French immigration first spiked above 2,000 in 2002 and reached nearly 3,000 in 2005. The French Consulate in Tel Aviv estimates that as many as 150,000 French Jews live in Israel, although only about 70,000 are officially known to the consulate. Many split their time between Israel and France.

Avraham Doukhan, a French real estate broker who made aliyah 15 years ago, said the younger generation of French immigrants generally is integrating well.

“The kids, they aren’t French, they’re Israeli.

They know Hebrew better than French,” he said.

With 600,000 Jews, France is the world’s third largest Jewish community behind Israel and the United States. The immigration levels of the past few years mean that one of every 300 French Jews is making aliyah -- more than five times the annual rate of U.S. residents moving to Israel.

French Israelis say that anti-Semitism in France motivates Jews to come to Israel, as the growing French community here becomes increasingly attractive.

“They began to understand that they are less than one percent of the [French] population and Arabs are larger,” said Avi Zana, director of Ami, an Israeli organization that aids French immigrants. “The only option is to close ranks in the community, to express themselves less as Jews. Jews feel comfortable, safer in Israel.”

Attacks against Jews and Jewish sites have

made France’s Jewish community insecure, from the crashing of stolen cars into a synagogue in 2002 through the abduction and subsequent death of Ilan Halimi, 23, in 2006, and to the Toulouse shooting at a Jewish school in March in which four Jews were killed. The SPCJ, the French Jewish community’s protection service, documented more than 90 anti-Semitic incidents in the 10 days that followed the Toulouse shooting.

In 2004, then-Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon called for French Jews to immigrate en masse to Israel, causing controversy in France.

But Christophe Bigot, the French ambassador to Israel, praised France’s fight against anti-Semitism and said that positive feelings, rather than fear of attacks, should drive immigration to Israel.

For all its growth, though, the French community in Israel has remained insular, settling in concentrated areas and establishing centers of French culture, as in Netanya’s Independence Square. Many French citizens here speak no Hebrew.

French immigrants’ behavior, however, is not unusual among immigrant populations in Israel, as Russian and American expatriate communities also have formed.

Also, French Jews do not feel completely rooted to life here, expatriates say. France is a quick flight away, and a salary in euros rather than shekels is tempting. And unlike Russian or Ethiopian immigrants, French Jews can return to a relatively safe, democratic country.

However, a few French Jews in Netanya said they expect the majority of France’s Jews to move to Israel within the next decade. Zana said the community already here does not get enough respect from native-born Israelis.

“The Israeli people laugh at the French accent,” said Zana, who has lived here for 35 years. “They look at them as tourists.”

But Zana hopes that French Israelis, who tend to be traditionally observant and politically to the right, will become more involved in Israeli politics and society. He notes that they have already contributed much to Israel, from a solid work ethic to a democratic tradition and better taste in food.

“The boulangerie, patisserie, all of the fine food, that’s not Ethiopian or Russian influence, it’s French,” he said. “The falafel is not more Israeli than the baguette; it just got to Israel before the baguette. I don’t think in another 20 years we’ll be eating baguettes less than pita.”

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Jewish Destinations:

An exhibit of illustrator John Shapiro at the South African Jewish Museum in Capetown.

By Aaron Berger Special to HAKOL Last December, Allentown residents Gordon and Rose Lee Goldberg visited South Africa and discovered a wealth of Jewish history.

“We wanted to see a country we had heard a lot about,” Rose Lee said. Gordon reads historical fiction novels and enjoyed James Michener’s “The Covenant,” about South African history.

“Being there made Michener’s stories come alive,” Gordon said.

The Goldbergs took a 23-day guided trip, visiting places tourists do not usually go, including the resort town of Knysna and traveling the Garden Route to Cape Town.

“The Garden Route is very similar to California’s Pacific Coast Highway,” Rose

South Africa

Rose Lee Goldberg, in front of an exhibit of a shtetl home prepared for Shabbat.

Lee said, “[only we were] going along the Indian Ocean with mountains on one side, resort homes and towns on the other side.

We saw spectacular scenery.”

The couple spent only a day in Johannesburg, but saw signs for synagogues and Jewish religious schools. The tour included a visit to the city’s Apartheid Museum, which identified Jews who helped fight apartheid.

Their tour guide, Jonathan Mueller, described himself as one of only two “coloured” tour guides in South Africa. “‘Coloured’ is how South Africans categorize themselves,” Rose Lee said.

“Mueller discussed issues of yesterday and today, specifically apartheid.”

“Although he considers himself of South African Bushman descent, his grandfather was a German Jew who had a relationship with, Mueller’s grandmother,

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a maid. During that time it was illegal for them to marry; therefore, the relationship was kept secret,” Rose Lee said. “His grandfather eventually married someone else. We were so amazed that Mueller had both a Jewish and Bushman connection.

Today, there seem to be a lot of interracial couples. We felt very fortunate to have him as a guide.”

“There is a large, vibrant Jewish population, primarily in a neighborhood known as Sandton,” Rose Lee said.

“Mueller explained that many of the younger Jews are leaving the country [and heading] towards Europe and the United States, though, for better opportunities.”

A clear Jewish influence was also evident in the town of Outdshoorn, which

South Africa Continues on page 29

South African Jewry lauds university for shunning Israel boycott call Jewish Telegraphic Agency

South Africa Continues from page 28

was known as the “Jerusalem of South Africa.” During the 1890s, ostrich feathers became highly-valued across Europe and America. Many Lithuanian Jews left the persecution of their native land and settled in Outdshoorn. They became known as “feather barons” and developed a thriving Jewish community.

The town’s CP Nel Museum recreated the Outdshoorn of the earlier, ostrich industry days. It included a Jewish historical exhibit featuring the chapel of the original Jewish synagogue.

“The ostrich industry is still present,” Rose Lee said, and trades in meat, leather and feathers. Ostrich farms offer activities including ostrich riding, which Rose Lee tried, and ostrich races. “It was eye-opening that in the middle of nowhere there was this thriving Jewish community involved in ostrich farming and that the influence is still there,” she said.

“Cape Town is a beautiful city on the water. We visited a Jewish complex that had a synagogue called the Gardens Shul, the South African Jewish Museum and a Holocaust Resource Center. The synagogue had an amazing neo-Egyptian style architecture and the Jewish Museum was an old synagogue. The were required security checks before entering. It was fascinating to see how many Jews came from Lithuania. The museum created a Lithuanian shtetl, a Jewish village.”

As a result of their trip, the Goldbergs became aware of renowned South African Jews. Helen Suzman was a human rights activist and, for 13 years, the lone member of South Africa’s parliament who opposed the apartheid regime. She visited Nelson Mandela during his prison term. There is a prominent street in the city named for her. Also, Nadine Gordimer was a Jewish Nobel laureate, Rose Lee said, and Barney Barnato started the South African diamond rush.

The hotel in which the Goldbergs stayed in Cape Town -- Protea Hotel President -- had many South African Jewish guests, is known for catering to Jews and is owned by a Jewish family. The hotel bulletin board encouraged guests to make their reservations for Passover and kept a separate dining area for kosher meals. Within Cape Town, Bantry Bay is a Jewish neighborhood where it was commonplace to see men wearing kipas.

Everyone the Goldbergs met in South Africa was very warm and welcoming. While visiting Kruger National Park, they even met an Israeli tour group and discovered that South Africa is a popular destination for such groups.

Regarding apartheid, the sentiment that many South Africans, whether Jewish or non-Jewish, expressed is that they want to make the anti-apartheid movement fully succeed, but it is going to continue to take time.

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TOP LEFT, Gordon, left, in the Jewish synagogue (The Garden Shul) in Cape Town with the moderator Solly Berger TOP RIGHT, Helen Suzman Boulevard ABOVE, The recreated synagogue in the Outdshoorn Museum

The South African Jewish Board of Deputies applauded Witwatersrand University institutions for standing against the resolution by the university’s Student Representative Council for a cultural and academic boycott of Israel. ‘’In separate statements the University itself, its acting vice-chancellor and principal, and the Wits Convocation have all strongly distanced themselves from the SRC’s action,” the Board of Deputies said in a September 6 statement on its website. “All three statements affirm the importance of diversity of views of staff, students and alumni, regardless of religion, gender, culture, language, ideology or otherwise.’’

Mary Kluk, the board’s chairwoman, in referring to the statement by the Wits University Convocation distancing itself from the boycott resolution, wrote that “This forthright declaration reveals that at the leadership level, proponents of academic boycotts at this prestigious institution remain no more than a fringe element. We hope that the Wits example will be followed by all our academic institutions countrywide.”

In the statement, Kluk also hailed positive developments in South Africa-Israel relations, despite the boycott resolution and a call recently by Ebrahim Ebrahim, South Africa’s deputy minister of international relations and cooperation, not to visit Israel.

She wrote that a meeting last week between Israeli Science and Technology Minister Daniel Hershkowitz and South African Deputy Science Minister Derek Hanekom proved to be successful.

Wendy Kahn of the Board of Deputies told JTA that it will continue to create and encourage dialogue frameworks in which to further discuss Israel-South Africa relations.

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Lone Soldier writes home Editor’s note: Sami Meir-Levi graduated from high school in the Lehigh Valley in the spring of 2012, then headed for Israel. She writes to us each month of her experiences as a lone soldier -- an Israeli soldier without family living in Israel.

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Great news, I finally moved to my new home, Kibbutz Maoz Chaim! It’s a beautiful kibbutz located up north, right next to Jordan. Everyone in the garin (my group) really likes it here.

It’s weird to think that this is the point we’ve all been waiting for. In the seminars we’ve talked a lot about “When we get to Israel …”, “When we are living in the kibbutz together … ”, “When we start army things together ...” Now we are actually here.

We live in rooms with two to three people each. I live with my friend, Oneg, who, like me, loves to live in a clean room. And yes, we do have air conditioning!

At this stage of our army process we are focusing on a few things: improving our Hebrew, becoming familiar with the kibbutz, growing stronger as a garin and starting tests and medical exams for the army.

To improve our Hebrew and supplement the usual morning Ulpan class, we all try to speak it throughout the day.

We’ve been adjusting fairly quickly as to how the kibbutz is laid out -- where the laundry is or the cheder ochel (cafeteria) or the alonit (small kibbutz market).

Also, we all have adopted Israeli families. My family has two sons, ages 17 and 11, a mom and a dad. They can speak English well, but I try to speak Hebrew with them as much as possible. They are very nice and welcoming people, plus they gave me a bike! I love it

–- everything seems very “old school.”

Everyone in the kibbutz has a bike or a scooter to get from place to place faster. The kibbutz is large, so this definitely came in handy. Along with all the families, we also have two soldiers assigned to help our group, called mashakitash (social worker). They plan a lot of activities dealing with the army or bonding as a group. They also schedule our tests, interviews and exams. For example they scheduled our tzav rishon (first steps in the army process).

The tzav rishon lasted an entire day, from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and incuded a Hebrew exam and interview, waiting,

an IQ test, waiting, a medical exam and waiting. There were so many people that the process took a very long time. However, I have been improving a lot with Hebrew so, luckily, I was able to understand something of what was happening and to respond. I am thankful that the tzav rishon is over and we can move on to the next steps.

Looking forward to writing to you next time,

Sami Meir-Levi The Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley and other Federations in North America fund the Lone Soldier program.

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INGREDIENTS: 2 bags broccoli slaw ½ cup chopped red pepper 1 cup Hellman’s mayonnaise 4 tbsp. sugar

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GIVE A MITZVAH, DO A MITZVAH

Bat Mitzvah sings music to heal by Ise Oberlender loves to sing. She will put her beautiful voice to good use at her Bat Mitzvah on October 6, 2012. The eighth grade student at Southern Lehigh Middle School has been singing for five years, to the delight of Cantor Jennifer Duretz Peled at Congregation Keneseth Israel.

“Cantor Jen has been very supportive and inspirational about putting a spin on the prayers so that I could sing as much as possible,” Ise said after singing to the staff in the JFLV office.

Ise also loves volunteering: “In the summer of 2011, I volunteered at Camp Camelot and fell in love with volunteering. There were so many wonderful moments, but I’ll never forget the last day of camp when one boy hugged me and thanked me. It made me feel so good that I could make a difference in someone’s life. Ever

since, I have worked at Camelot. This year, I [also] started volunteering at the Pediatric Cancer Foundation of the Lehigh Valley, where my mom is the executive director.”

Camelot for Children is a gathering place for seriously, chronically and terminally ill, handicapped or disabled children providing opportunities for these special children to interact with each other in a home-like setting.

When deciding on a Mitzvah Project, Ise and her mom, Carrie Gofberg agreed that a project with music was a must. They decided that Ise would make a CD of inspirational songs.

When completed, the CD will be sold at events around the Lehigh Valley. The proceeds will go to Camelot for Children and the Pediatric Cancer Foundation of the Lehigh Valley.

“My mom’s friend is a producer and he loved the idea of making this CD to help children. I’m giving myself one year to complete the project. I’m very excited about it.”

Pediatric Cancer Foundation of the Lehigh Valley is a non-profit organization that supports the entire family in fighting pediatric cancer and organizing parties and events to provide opportunities for families to participate in fun and engaging activities, free of charge. These events create a place for parents to find support within the pediatric cancer community.

Music therapy is very important to children who are recovering; the songs on the CD will be hopeful and about being a survivor.

“I’m very fortunate to have such wonderful daughters,” Gofberg said. “My girls are good students, but more importantly, they are good people. I’m very proud of Ise.” “We could not be prouder of our daughter Isabel as she prepares to become a Bat Mitzvah,” said Steven and Nancy Oberlender.

“We have no doubt that her mitzvah project will generate proceeds that will benefit the children in need of the Lehigh Valley and also bring much enjoyment to those who contribute.”

In addition to her mitzvah project, Ise has made her first adult gift of tzedakah to the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley Annual Campaign for Jewish Needs.

For help developing your mitzvah project, contact Abby Trachtman, program coordinator at abbyt@jflv.org, or call her at 610-821-5500.

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HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | OCTOBER 2012 31

Teen filmmakers explore Jewish values

Videographer, director and writer Rachel Gordon (left) speaks with jFilm students on the set. The class met throughout the summer and covered screenplay writing, directing and filming – all while keeping the focus on Jewish values. The course was the brainchild of Yossi Kastan, head of the Jewish Day School, and Yehoshua Mizrachi, assistant rabbi of Congregation Beth Avraham.

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Local Israel native wins bronze in Paralympics Noga Nir-Kistler attributes her successes in life to willpower, something she said she’s always had.

The Allentown resident swam for the U.S. team in the 2012 London Paralympics and won a bronze medal in the 100-meter breaststroke.

“When I do something,” Nir-Kistler said in a telephone interview, “I do it to the best of my ability.”

This is not to say that she expected to win.

“I was very surprised,” she said. “I kept telling myself I wouldn’t win, so that I wouldn’t be disappointed.”

Nir-Kistler was born in Nazareth -- Israel, not Pennsylvania. She started swimming at age 12 and competed in high school. At the time, she had the full use of her arms and legs.

When she was 17, Nir-Kistler moved to the U.S. because her father was working for Lehigh University. At age 20, she was diagnosed with reflex sympathetic dystrophy, or RSD, which is characterized by pain, swelling and dysfunction in the limbs. It began with problems in her arms and then went into her legs.

“When I was paralyzed, I stopped swimming,” Nir-Kistler said. Instead, she took up a new sport.

“I taught her table tennis,” said her husband, Fred Kistler. “I’m a certified coach.”

The couple eventually enlisted a more advanced coach, but Fred didn’t mind.

“I relished it,” he said. “She was in a tournament playing all able-bodied competitors. [A well-known coach] saw her and said she should try out for the U.S. Paralympics team in table tennis. She did and ended up competing in the Beijing Paralympics in 2008.”

Nir-Kistler did not medal, but continued to do well in table tennis until she grew tired of it. Knowing her background, her husband said, “Why don’t you try out in swimming?”

“They’re too good,” Nir-Kistler said, referring to the other swimmers.

“Who would have thought you’d be number one in the U.S. and number eight in the world in table tennis?” her husband countered. So, a year and a half ago, Nir-

Kistler participated in a swim meet.

“It blew my mind, what the other swimmers could do,” she said. “They could dive off blocks, and do the butterfly and the breaststroke.”

Witnessing their abilities, her own selfconfidence waned. “I was disgusted,” she said.

“But on the ride from the hotel to the airport, I thought, ‘What if I really put hard work into this? I could try.’ It took some new thinking, a new philosophy.”

That strategy took her all the way to the London games. Nir-Kistler recently returned home to the Lehigh Valley, where she works for PENNDOT and the Lehigh Valley Network call center. The rest of her family lives in Israel and she has been invited to the Maccabiah Games next July.

“I’m thinking about it,” she said.

For now, she’s got a number one fan in husband Fred. “She made the Paralympics in two different sports in back-to-back Paralympics,” he said. “It’s unheard of.”

Want to share stories of other Jewish athletes?

HAKOL is seeking a volunteer sports writer.

At home or away, from Little League to the Olympics, if you can write and use your “Jewish geography” to find the stories, you can bring our community profiles of Jewish athletes or sports news through a Jewish lens. To apply, contact the editor at jenniferlader@jflv.org or call 610-8215500, ext. 326.

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All have a blast with shofar factory

By Angela Goldstein Chabad Special Projects Coordinator Although no one took a rocket ship to the moon, as preparation for the High Holidays, many Jewish children in the Lehigh Valley did have fun blowing the shofar at the Shofar Factory hosted by Chabad of the Lehigh Valley on September 9.

The shofar is a horn of a kosher animal with the marrow removed. Once the marrow is removed and the horn is clean, you have a kosher shofar. Blow into the shofar -- called a “blast” -- the correct number of times at the right time of year, and you have yourself a great mitzvah.

The week before Rosh Hashanah, Chabad in conjunction with the Living Legacy project brought the Shofar Factory to the Lehigh Valley. It was a place for children and parents to gain insight into the significance of the shofar in celebration of Rosh Hashanah.

Children got to craft their own genuine shofar from the raw horn of a ram and heard a demonstration of the traditional blasts. They then got to test their own shofar-blowing skills.

The Shofar Factory also visited the Jewish Day School and the Chabad Hebrew School.

“The Shofar Factory is a one-of-a-kind program that creates excitement for the holidays,” said Rabbi Yaacov Halperin,

executive director of Chabad of the Lehigh Valley. “It teaches them the tradition and meaning behind the shofar.”

The many smiles at the workshops were proof that people, young and old, can learn something and still have fun. Perhaps one of the best aspects of the program was that each participant got to take a little piece of Jewish mysticism and tradition home with them -their very own shofar.

The Shofar Factory is only one of a long list of holiday-themed events presented by Chabad of the Lehigh Valley. Other upcoming events include menorah-making at Home Depot on December 9; community menorah lightings in Easton (December 10), Bethlehem (December 11) and Allentown (December 12); a community Shabbat dinner on December 14; and a real olive oil press and menorah-making workshop at Bricks 4 Kidz on December 16.

In addition to other offerings, there will be a new women’s series in November entitled Kabbalistic Insights for Taking Charge of Your Life. The course will cover using the wisdom of the ages to master current aspects of your personal life with specific classes that deal with Sleep and Renewal, Emotional Mastery, and Food and Dieting, among others. Please visit us at www.chabadlehighvalley.com or www. facebook.com/chabadofthelehighvalley for the most current information.

CELEBRATING OUR THIRD YEAR

CELEBRATE CHANUKAH with Barnes & Noble and PJ Library!

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2012

10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Barnes & Noble at The Promenade Shops

Hear stories of Chanukah from a mystery guest reader while enjoying a scavenger hunt, coloring table and dreidel making.

Shop at Barnes & Noble stores nationwide from November 18 – 20 or online at www.barnesandnoble.com from November 18 – 23 using the Book fair ID #10817963 and a percentage of sales will go to support the Jewish Community Center of Allentown and PJ Library.

For more information, contact Brenda Finberg at bfinberg@lvjcc.org.

Please sign up at the JCC of Allentown front desk by Monday, November 12, 2012.

702 N. 22nd St., Allentown, PA 18104 610.435.3571 To learn more about PJ Library and register to receive free Jewish-themed books for children from 6 months through 8 years, visit www.pjlibrary.org.

HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | OCTOBER 2012 33

Community Calendar To list an event in the Community Calendar, submit your information on our website, www.jewishlehighvalley.org, under the “Upcoming Events” menu.

All events listed in the Community Calendar are open to the public and free of charge, unless otherwise noted. Programs listed in HAKOL are provided as a service to the community. They do not necessarily reflect the endorsement of the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley. The JFLV reserves the right to accept, reject or modify listings.

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 4 Temple Beth El Healing Service

7 p.m., Temple Beth El. We will be creating a safe space to bring our pain, our questions and our yearning. This one-hour service will be held in the Hammel Family Chapel. The service will include music, silent meditation, traditional prayers and Torah study. The entire community is invited to participate.

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 4 LOJ/POM Reception with Ilene Wood

7 p.m., home of Ilene Wood. Every handbag has a story. Pomegranate and Lion of Judah women are invited to a special reception at the home of Ilene Wood. Receive an exclusive first pass at Ilene’s vintage collection, including needlepoint handbags and exotic furs. Hear the story behind some of Ilene’s favorite pieces. Please RSVP to 610-8215500 or judy@jflv.org.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 5 JFLV Vintage Clothing Sale and Lunch & Learn

Sale 9:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1 to 3 p.m. Lunch & Learn 12 to 1 p.m., JCC of Allentown. Needlepoint handbags. Designer furs. Sixties-inspired clothing.

Ilene Wood is opening up her personal vintage collection for a One-Day Only sale and telling the story behind her favorite pieces at a Lunch & Learn. Ilene will talk about her passion for collecting and the eclectic pieces that she has painstakingly tracked down. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley.

Program is $12, including lunch. Men and women welcome. RSVP, 610-821-5500, mailbox@jflv.org.

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 7 Temple Beth El Blood Drive

9:30 a.m., Temple Beth El. Blood donors have reported feeling a sense of great satisfaction after making their donations. Why? Because helping others in need just feels good. For information, please contact the temple office at 610-435-3521.

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 7 Maimonides Society Bagel Brunch

10:15 to 11:45 a.m., JCC of Allentown. Preventative care for men is essential to a long and healthy life. Join in the discussion with Dr. David Bub, colon and rectal surgery, Dr. Frank Tamarkin, urology, and Dr. Michael Zager, internal medicine, at the first Maimonides brunch of the year, “Taking Care of Yourself: The Manly Thing to Do.” Brunch and program are free for Maimonides Society members and spouses, $10 for community members. Please RSVP to Judy Diamondstein at 610-821-5500 or judy@jflv.org.

Want to see your joyous news announced here?

Visit our website, www.jewishlehighvalley.org, to submit your wedding, birth and anniversary announcements, as well as news of your accomplishments—FOR FREE!

Questions?

hakol@jflv.org or 610-821-5500

34 OCTOBER 2012 | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 11 Bethlehem Easton Hadassah Book/Film Club

1 p.m., home of Amy Cohen. Please join us and bring your friends to discuss “The Midwife of Venice”

by Roberta Rich. Call 610-867-5501for information.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 12 Temple Shirat Shalom Wandering Jews Shabbat

7 p.m., Swain School, 1100 South 24th St., Allentown. The Temple Shirat Shalom “house band,” the Wandering Jews, will accompany the cantor at Shabbat services. The Wandering Jews consists of guitars, piano and vocals, and provide a beautiful and melodic backdrop for Shabbat worship. “Shirat Shalom” means “song of peace” and this is exemplified by our Wandering Jews Shabbat services.

Contact Cantor Sussman, 610-820-7666, contactus@templeshiratshalom.org.

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 14 Bike in Jim Thorpe with Temple Shirat Shalom

10 a.m., Jim Thorpe. Come ride bikes with us, socialize and enjoy the fall foliage. We will meet in Jim Thorpe at the parking lot next to the train station, then RIDE! We’ll have an early dinner together at a local restaurant. Contact: Andrea Bastian, ab1219@ptd.net, 610-398-7917.

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 14 CBS “Healthy U” series targeting issues for the over 55 age group

10 a.m., Congregation Brith Sholom. CBS is pleased to present a four-part series called HEALTHY U. This series will focus on important issues for the 55 and over age group. The first offering, HEALTHY U #1-MEDICAL ISSUES, will feature Dr, Jay Fisher, vascular surgeon, St. Luke’s University Hospital. He will discuss “The Importance of Vascular Screening.” A continental breakfast will be served. The program is open to everyone. CBS members-no charge, nonCBS members $3. Please call Tammy at 610-8668009 to reserve your spot.

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 14 Temple Beth El Golf Tournament

12:30 p.m. registration, 1:30 p.m. shotgun start, Berkleigh Golf Club. The Golf Tournament is one of the temple’s annual fundraising events. It is a great time to golf with your friends and support the temple. Cost of event: $125 per person. If you need a registration form, please call the temple office at 610-435-3521 or check on the temple website under “Get Involved - Fundraising - Golf Outing.”

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 14 Temple Beth El Satori

2 p.m., Temple Beth El. SATORI will kick off the 2012-13 Cultural Arts Committee season with the annual Daniel Pearl Memorial Concert. The Daniel Pearl Foundation was formed in memory of journalist Daniel Pearl to further the ideals that inspired his life and work. Pearl, a reporter with the Wall Street Journal, was kidnapped and murdered by terrorists in 2002.The foundation’s mission is to promote cross-cultural understanding through journalism, music and innovative communications. Daniel Pearl was a violinist as well as a journalist, and recognized the ability of music to bridge differences among people. SATORI is a professional chamber music ensemble based here in the Lehigh Valley. Its mission is to foster growth in chamber music appreciation and to maintain a high standard of musical excellence. Tickets are available through the synagogue office or at the door. Tickets are $12.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 17 Business & Professional Networking Event

5:30 p.m., Hillel House at Lafayette College, Easton.

Enjoy refreshments and network with other Jewish professionals at this B&P mixer. Bring your business card and your friends. Event is free and open to anyone looking to connect with the Jewish community. Please RSVP to judy@jflv.org.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 17 Traders, Translators and Tax Collectors: Jews and the Economic Life of the Ottoman Empire

7 p.m., Jewish Day School. Dr. Mark Stein will be the featured speaker in the next free community lecture in the Muhlenberg Speaker Series. Stein is an associate professor and chair of the Muhlenberg College Department of History. He has taught and lectured on Islamic, Middle East, Balkan and Mediterranean history at numerous institutions.

Muhlenberg’s series is sponsored by a grant from the Legacy Heritage Jewish Studies Project and the Association for Jewish Studies. All of the programs in Muhlenberg’s series are co-sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Lehigh Valley and the Center for Jewish-Christian Understanding, as well as a host of other Muhlenberg College departments and other local institutions. Free and open to the community.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 20 Temple Beth El Youth Service

10 a.m., Temple Beth El. KinderShul (Pre-K to second grade). Shabbat and age-appropriate activities, including prayers, songs, stories, drama, games and more for readers and non-readers alike. Junior Congregation (third through sixth grade). This positive and energetic Shabbat experience encourages participation with a spirited camp-like service full of ruach and song.

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 21 Supporting Jews Transforming Judaism: Jewish Charitable Organizations in Medieval Spain

7 to 9 p.m., Third Street Bistro, Easton. Join us for a crossover event of the Easton Salon Series and Muhlenberg Speaker Series. The talk will be facilitated by Professor Hartley Lachter, Muhlenberg College. There is no cost to participate. Food will be available for purchase. Respectful accommodation for dietary observance.

MONDAY, OCTOBER 22 Temple Beth El Sisterhood Mah Jongg

6:30 p.m., Temple Beth El. We will begin to play promptly at 6:45 p.m. Please be there by 6:30 p.m. to register. We play for about three hours. If you are a mah jongg player, please come and join us for sisterhood, laughter and a great bunch of fun! $10 per player donation to TBE Sisterhood. New faces are always welcome to play! Looking forward to playing mah jongg with you. To RSVP or learn more, contact Ilene Rubel, 610-776-1577, IRUBEL@aol.com.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26 Temple Beth El Shira Chadasha

7:30 p.m., Temple Beth El. Temple Beth El invites you to share in our Shira Chadasha service. Come celebrate a musical Shabbat Service with contemporary American and Israeli music.

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 1 Election 2012: Time for a Change?

7:30 p.m., Congregation Brith Sholom. Are you excited about the current presidential election and the campaigns for the House and Senate? Congregation Brith Sholom’s Adult Education Committee and the JFLV Community Relations Council are pleased to host a conversation on the upcoming elections with Dr. Chris Borick, director of the Institute of Public Opinion at Muhlenberg College, and Dr. Gordon Goldberg, professor emeritus of history at Kutztown University. Free and open to the community.

Community Calendar Ongoing Events

IN-DEPTH GEMARRAH CLASS

7 p.m., Congregation Sons of Israel Instructor Rabbi Wilensky. You don’t need to know Hebrew or Aramaic, as we don’t read much directly from the text.

MONDAYS

PRAYERBOOK HEBREW MORE THAN JUST A LANGUAGE EXPLORING THE MESSAGE!

INTRODUCTION TO JUDAISM

10 a.m. to 12 p.m., Temple Covenant of Peace The purpose of the course is to provide a forum to acquire a more complete understanding of the history, practices and ideas of the Jewish people. Cost: $120. Checks made payable to: TCP. Fee includes text and materials. (There is no additional fee for spouses, fiancees, partners or other family members.)

Contact the temple office at tcp@rcn.com.

7 DIMENSIONS OF THE FEMININE MYSTIQUE

7 p.m., Chabad In this course, uncover the soul, spirit and mystical dynamism of being a woman, discovering a pragmatic approach to implementing these feminine strengths in practice. Guided by classical Jewish and kabbalistic texts, examine issues such as beauty, love, relationships, career, family, education and spirituality — tying together the various facets of womanhood in synchronized harmony. $36 for the series.

Instructor: Mrs. Devorah Halperin.

THE RHYTHM OF JEWISH LIVING

8 to 9 p.m., Temple Beth El Beginning October 15 Taught by: Rabbi Moshe Re’em. This course will examine the ideas, beliefs and practices that define and shape Jewish life through daily, weekly, annual and life cycle observances.

The course is designed as a year-long course for those wishing to learn more about the religious observances of Judaism, theology of the holidays and ritual practices. The course is organized around the Jewish calendar, but includes other daily Jewish rituals.

REQUIRED TEXTS: “Entering Jewish Prayer” by Reuven Hammer “The Jewish Holidays” by Michael Strassfeld “The Observant Life: The Wisdom of Conservative Judaism for Contemporary Jews” with Senior Editor Martin S. Cohen

TUESDAYS

7 to 7:50 p.m., Temple Beth El Oct. 16, 23, 30, Nov. 13, 20, 27 & Dec. 4 Taught by: Cantor Kevin Wartell. For those who have beginner’s Hebrew under their belt, we will continue to develop our Hebrew prayer skills, and explore the meanings and the message of the Siddur.

AFTERLIFE AND JEWISH BELIEF...

A COMMUNAL BOOK EXPLORATION

8 to 9 p.m., Temple Beth El Oct. 16, 23, 30, Nov. 13, 20, 27 & Dec. 4 Taught by: Cantor Kevin Wartell. Together, we will read and discuss the new book written by Rabbi Ellie Kaplan Spitz concerning Jewish beliefs about afterlife. With a blend of candor, personal questioning and sharp-eyed scholarship, Spitz relates his own observations and first-hand accounts shared with him by others.

These experiences helped propel his journey from skeptic to believer that there is life after life.

From near-death experiences to reincarnation and past-life memory to the work of mediums, Rabbi Spitz explores what we are able to know about the afterlife and draws on Jewish texts to share that belief in these concepts.

11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Temple Beth El Beginning October 16 Taught by Rabbi Moshe Re’em. The notion that humans have difficulty praying is not new.

The ancient rabbis already grappled with the problem. In this course, we will explore some of the difficulties that arose and were presented as barriers to prayer. We will study chapter five of the Tractate of Berachot. We will use the new Koren Talmud Bavli translation of the Tractate of Berakhot. Students are encouraged to purchase the text in advance of the course.

TORAH ON TUESDAYS

12 to 1 p.m., Temple Covenant of Peace Join Rabbi Melody to delve into the heart and soul of the Torah. This group is for busy people who want to go deep into the Jewish bible, but only have an hour during lunchtime. Bring your lunch and curiosity as we delve into the wisdom, history and joy of the Torah. All welcome!

PROJECT YACHAD’S TORAH STUDY GROUP

THE RISE AND FALL OF SPANISH JEWRY

1 to 2:15 p.m., Temple Beth El October 11 & 18 Taught by Susan Hyman, retired history instructor at Northampton Community College This course will describe the myths and reality of a thousand years of history. It will discuss the development of the Inquisition, its real purpose and long-term impact on Jewry and Spanish culture.

FRIDAYS CURRENT EVENTS DISCUSSION GROUP 10 a.m., JCC of Allentown Everyone is welcome. Exercise your mind.

INTRODUCTION TO TALMUD

1 to 4 p.m., JCC of Allentown For those who love to play mah jong, Scrabble or bridge. Call Betty at 610-395-6282 or Steecia at 610-965-7136 for more information.

8:15 a.m., Congregation Sons of Israel On Shabbat mornings, come to an Introduction to Talmud class with Dr. Henry Grossbard.

This class is free and open to the public.

HOW TO READ THE BIBLE

CHAVURAT TORAH STUDY

11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Congregation Brith Sholom Rabbi Jonathan Gerard leads a weekly class centered around Harvard professor James Kugel’s book, “How to Read the Bible.” The class listens to the recorded book, which presents both ancient and modern explanations of biblical texts and discusses the issues. Because it is possible to enter the text at any place, new participants are welcome at any time.

Each Shabbat following kiddush lunch; length of each class will vary.

No sign-up needed for this class taught by Shari Spark. Enrich your Shabbat experience by studying the parashat hashavua, the weekly Torah portion, with other congregants, each Shabbat in the library at approximately 12:45 p.m. No previous know-ledge or long-term commitments are required to participate as we discuss Torah together. This is an ongoing class.

Congregations BNAI ABRAHAM SYNAGOGUE

1545 Bushkill St., Easton – 610.258.5343 Rabbi Daniel Stein, Conservative MORNING MINYAN services are Thursday mornings at 7:25 a.m., SHABBAT EVENING services are Fridays at 8 p.m., SHABBAT MORNING services are Saturdays at 9:30 a.m., RELIGIOUS SCHOOL classes are Wednesdays at 4:15 p.m. and Sundays at 9:30 a.m..

CHABAD OF THE LEHIGH VALLEY

4457 Crackersport Rd., Allentown – 610.336.6603 Rabbi Yaacov Halperin, Chabad Lubavitch SHABBAT EVENING services are held once a month seasonally, SHABBAT MORNING services are held Saturdays at 10 a.m., RELIGIOUS SCHOOL classes are held Wednesdays at 4:30 p.m. and Sundays at 10 a.m.

CONGREGATION AM HASKALAH

Bethlehem – 610.435.3775 Weekly Shabbat services and a monthly family service with potluck dinner. Religious school meets Sunday mornings. Email am.haskalah.office@gmail.com to be added to list for exact times and locations.

CONGREGATION BETH AVRAHAM

439 South Nulton Ave., Palmer Township – 610.905.2166 | Rabbi Yitzchok Yagod, Orthodox SHABBAT EVENING starts half an hour after candle lighting. SHABBAT MORNING starts at 9:30 a.m., followed by a hot kiddish. We are in the process of moving so please contact Rabbi Yehoshua Mizrachi at 207-404-0474 for service location information.

CONGREGATION BRITH SHOLOM

1190 W. Macada Rd., Bethlehem – 610.866.8009 Rabbi Allen Juda, Conservative MINYAN is at 7:45 a.m. on Mondays and Thursdays, 9 a.m. on Saturdays and holidays. RELIGIOUS SCHOOL classes every Tuesday/Thursday at 4:15 p.m.

CONGREGATION KENESETH ISRAEL

7 p.m., Congregation Beth Avraham Torah: It is the common heritage that binds all Jews together. It belongs to you! We will explore the ancient healing wisdom of Torah together. All are welcome. Who knows? It might even be fun! RSVP to Rabbi Yehoshua Mizrachi at 207-404-0474 or congregationbethavraham@gmail.com.

BNEI AKIVA

SUNDAYS

2227 Chew St., Allentown – 610.435.9074 Rabbi Seth D. Phillips | Cantor Jennifer Duretz Peled, Reform SERVICES begin at 7:30 p.m. three Fridays a month, with one Friday a month devoted to a FAMILY SERVICE. SERVICES also offered at 10:30 a.m. most Saturday mornings. RELIGIOUS SCHOOL classes are held Wednesdays at 4 p.m. and Sundays at 9:30 a.m.

THE BOOK OF EZRA WITH JUDY SLYPER

JEWISH WAR VETERANS POST 239 LEHIGH VALLEY MONTHLY MEETING

CONGREGATION SONS OF ISRAEL

7 p.m., Congregation Sons of Israel Come to Sons of Israel for a discussion-oriented class on the Book of Ezra with accomplished teacher Mrs. Judy Slyper. This class is free, on-going and open to the public.

TORAH STUDIES: A WEEKLY JOURNEY INTO THE SOUL OF TORAH

7:30 p.m., Chabad Torah Studies by JLI presents, “Season Four: A 12-part series.” Fee: $36 for the complete 12-week series (textbook included). For more information contact: 610-351-6511 or Rabbi@ chabadlehighvalley.com.

JFS-LV’S YIDDISH CLUB

JEWISH CHANTING AND MEDITATION

8 to 9 p.m., Congregation Beth Avraham of Bethlehem-Easton For information, please contact Assistant Rabbi Yehoshua Mizrachi at 207-404-0474.

12:15 p.m., Allentown Wegmans Cantor Sussman of Temple Shirat Shalom leads a lunch and learn on the Torah. Shopping is optional! RSVP to contactus@templeshiratshalom.com or 610-820-7666.

FRIENDSHIP CIRCLE

HADASSAH STUDY GROUP

KASHRUTH 101 AND 102

TORAH ON TILGHMAN

SHABBAT

12:15 to 1:15 p.m., JCC of Allentown It doesn’t matter how much you know, it matters how much you want to know. Bring your curiosity to Project Yachad’s Torah study group and discover the wonders, adventures and meaning of the Torah. Each FREE session is taught by one of our dedicated clergy members or a respected Jewish educator.

Held in the Teachers’ Learning Center/Holocaust Resource Room (lower level, JCC). Call 610-435-3571 for information about individual sessions.

1:30 p.m., Jewish Family Service Kibbitz in the mama loshen! You don’t need to be fluent — just come and enjoy! Call 610821-8722 for more information.

10:30 to 11:15 a.m., Chabad Led by Morah Devorah Halperin and Mrs. Alli Lipson, Mommy & Me is an innovative program for babies and toddlers to experience Jewish traditions in a stimulating, fun and creative atmosphere. Cost is $10 per class, $40 for full session. For more information and to register, email morahdevorah@chabadlehighvalley.com.

WEDNESDAYS

BETH AVRAHAM TORAH STUDY

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I CANNOT PRAY?

MOMMY & ME

Every other Wednesday, 1:30 p.m., Temple Beth El Allentown Hadassah presents a stimulating series of short story seminars. All are welcome to attend these free sessions in the Temple Beth El library. The group will be reading selections from anthologies available from Amazon.com.

For dates and stories, e-mail Lolly Siegel at spscomm@aol.com or call 610-439-1851.

THURSDAYS Every 1st and 3rd Thursday of the month, 10 a.m., Temple Covenant of Peace Chanting is a traditional Jewish art form which is now being recognized outside the Hasidic tradition. It may be used as a vehicle for healing, prayer and emotional expression. Using music, breathing and simple, easily learned words and melodies, one can enter Jewish prayer on a whole new level. Bring your soul yearning for connection, your sense of adventure and any pillows, back-jacks or yoga mats that make you comfortable.

FRIDAYS 8 - 9:30 AM WMUH 91.7 Featuring Cantor Wartell muhlenberg.edu/wmuh

5:45 p.m., Congregation Sons of Israel On Shabbat afternoons, Bnei Akiva, an Israelcentered fun program for kids ages eight to 14.

This program is free and open to the public. For information and to RSVP, call 610-433-6089.

2nd Sunday of the month, 10 a.m., JCC of Allentown A brunch follows each meeting – bagels, cream cheese, lox, herring, pastry and coffee.

The veteran and significant other are invited as the guest of the Ladies Auxiliary. Come and enjoy camaraderie, and we will even listen to your “war story.” Questions? Call Commander Maur Levan at 610-437-4561.

TEMPLE SHIRAT SHALOM HEBREW & ADULT EDUCATION CLASSES

10 to 11 a.m., JCC of Allentown Interested in learning Hebrew for the first time or brushing up your skills? Every Sunday, Marcia Berkow teaches adult Hebrew beginning at 10 a.m., followed at 11 a.m. by David Vaida, who will you take you through the great moments across all 5,773 years of Jewish history. Free and open to all. RSVP at learnwithus@templeshiratshalom.org or 610-820-7666.

ADULT HEBREW SCHOOL

10 to 11 a.m., Chabad An opportunity for you to learn about your heritage and expand your Jewish knowledge so that you can keep up with your child. Class is led by Rabbi Yaacov Halperin. There is no fee.

TALMUD CLASS FOR BEGINNERS!

10 to 11 a.m., Congregation Beth Avraham of Bethlehem-Easton For information,contact Rabbi Yehoshua Mizrachi at 207-404-0474.

TEMPLE SHIRAT SHALOM ADULT EDUCATION CLASSES

10 a.m., JCC of Allentown Join Marcia Berkow as she teaches adult Hebrew.

Celebrate the beauty of Shabbat Shabbat & Yom Tov Candlelighting Times Friday, Oct. 5

6:19 pm

Friday, Oct. 26

5:48 pm

Friday, Oct. 12

6:08 pm

Friday, Nov. 2

5:39 pm

Friday, Oct. 19

5:58 pm

Friday, Nov. 9

4:32 pm

2715 Tilghman St., Allentown – 610.433.6089 Rabbi David Wilensky, Orthodox SHACHARIT: Sundays at 8:30 a.m., Mondays and Thursdays at 6:30 a.m., Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 6:45 a.m. MINCHA, MAARIV.

TEMPLE BETH EL

1305 Springhouse Rd., Allentown – 610.435.3521 Rabbi Moshe Re’em | Cantor Kevin Wartell Conservative Weekday morning minyan services at 7:45 a.m. and Sunday at 9 a.m. Shabbat evening services at 7:30 p.m. with the last Friday evening of the month featuring our Shira Chadasha Service .

Shabbat morning services at 9 a.m. followed by Kiddush. Religious school classes every Tuesday/ Thursday at 4 p.m. and Sunday at 10 a.m. Midrasha school classes Monday at 7 p.m. Shalshelet — Temple Beth El’s new innovative high school program — meets bi-monthly on Monday evenings from 7 to 9 p.m. Shalshelet (the chain) is open to ALL 10th-, 11th- and 12th-grade students in the Lehigh Valley. For more information contact Alicia Zahn, religlious school director, at school at bethelallentown.org.

TEMPLE COVENANT OF PEACE

1451 Northampton St., Easton – 610.253.2031 Tcp@rcn.com; tcopeace.org Rabbi Melody Davis | Cantor Jill Pakman Reform TCP holds Shabbat evening services every Friday night at 7:30 p.m. with occasional Saturday morning services throughout the year. A Family Shabbat Service is held on the second Friday night of each month. Our services reflect a diverse culture of traditional, innovative and musical experiences within a Reform Judaism context. Religious school meets on Sunday mornings from 9:15 to 12:15. Our Youth Choir meets afterwards from 12:30 to 1:30 pm. We have family potluck dinners, 6:30 p.m., on the fourth Friday of the month.

For more information about our Temple and our activities, contact the TCP office, send us an email, see our website or look us up on Facebook.

TEMPLE SHIRAT SHALOM

Cantor Ellen Sussman Friday night SHABBAT WORSHIP SERVICES held at 7 p.m. at The Swain School, 1100 South 24th St., Allentown. For more information, Contact Us at templeshiratshalom.org or 610-820-7666.

HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | OCTOBER 2012 35