HAKOL - May 2015

HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY The Voice of the Lehigh Valley Jewish Community

MAY 2015 | IYYAR/SIVAN 5775

COMMUNITY GEARS UP FOR 2ND ANNUAL

Jewish Heritage Night at the IronPigs

By Stephanie Smartschan JFLV Director of Marketing Get ready to show your pride!

Following on the success of last year’s firstever Jewish Heritage Night, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs will bring back the event for a second go-round on Thursday, June 4, at 7:05 p.m.

Kosher food will be available, and attendees who purchase tickets as part of a group will receive a brand-news IronPigs Hebrew hat.

For the younger Pigs fans, PJ Library will sponsor an event for ticket holders before the game at 6 p.m. on the lawn inside the stadium.

The kids will hear about Baxter, the pig who wanted to be kosher, and get their pictures taken with one of the pork racers.

“Just being together at the ball park with friends and family having a fun time provides such a positive sense of community,” said Barry Halper, who threw one of the first pitches at last year’s game and was integral to bringing the event to the Valley. “The evening epitomizes that we can publicly exhibit our Jewishness

UKRAINIAN AMBASSADOR comes to Allentown. See page 3.

Local documentary producer to receive prejudice reduction award

Jaccii Farris YOM HASHOAH Commemorating 70 years since iberation. See page 5.

By Stephanie Smartschan JFLV Director of Marketing

SHAVUOT Let them eat cheese!

See pages 26-27.

No. 376 com.UNITY with Mark Goldstein 2 LVJF Tributes

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Jewish Family Service

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Jewish Community Center

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Jewish Day School

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Jewish Senior Life Connection 28-29 Community Calendar

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As a Jew serving in the American armed forces during World War II, Julian Stern was given a particularly gruesome assignment: to clean up the Ohrdruf concentration camp so that General Eisenhower and General Patton could walk through.

“He saw things that were so unimaginable,” his stepdaughter, Jaccii Farris, said. “I remember growing up as a little girl hearing that story and how he lost his faith and over time he kind of reconnected because he realized that faith is something that gets you through these tough times.”

It was this personal connection to the Holocaust that drew Farris to the story of Michelle Levy of Allentown, who, as a baby in hiding with her mother during the Holocaust, was separated from her grandparents and could only communicate through letters.

That story became “Letters to Frieda,” which aired on WFMZ this winter. It recently won the award Non-Profit Organization

702 North 22nd Street Allentown, PA 18104

in the most classic American venue.”

New this year, the event will be sponsored by the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley.

“It seemed like a natural partnership,” said Mark L Goldstein, executive director of the Federation. “As a sponsor, we are able to bring more visibility to the entire local Jewish community.”

Many Jewish organizations have purchased group tickets to allow community members to take advantage of two exciting ticket packages. $20 tickets include a Hebrew IronPigs hat plus a voucher for the kosher food stand including a kosher hot dog or knish, chips, and soda or bottled water, all LVKC supervised. $15 tickets include the hat and $2 in ballpark credit.

To purchase tickets, contact Bnai Abraham Synagogue, Chabad of the Lehigh Valley, Congregation Brith Sholom, Congregation Keneseth Israel, Congregation Sons of Israel, the Jewish Community Center, the Jewish Day School, Temple Beth El or Temple Shirat Shalom or visit www.jewishlehighvalley.org/ ironpigs.

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

for “Outstanding Documentary” from the Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters and is in the running for an Emmy. Funds generated by the film have benefited the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley’s Holocaust Resource Center.

Farris is now working with her team, in collaboration with the Holocaust Resource Center, to bring the documentary and an accompanying curriculum into local public schools. She wants to show students that if you see somebody bullying somebody, “why it’s important that you stand up and say that’s not right.”

Because of her efforts, Farris will be honored by the Jewish Federation this year with the Mortimer S. Schiff Award for Prejudice Reduction. The award will be acknowledged at the golf tournament also named Schiff on Monday, June 15, at Lehigh Country Club. It will be formally presented the next evening, Tuesday, June 16, at the Federation’s Community Celebration and Annual Meeting.

Established in 1999 by Vera Schiff to honor her husband Mortimer’s memory, the Schiff award is given to members of the Lehigh Valley community who are com-

mitted to spreading and teaching tolerance by both word and action.

Past recipients have included Holocaust survivor Julius Jacobs, the Rev. Dr. Peter Pettit and Ilene and Bob Wood.

“I was blown away really honestly because we just wanted to make a film to highlight the last generation of Holocaust survivors and how important it is,” Farris said upon hearing about the award. “We were focused on that, so this was a big surprise definitely.”

As a senior reporter and docujournalist for WFMZ-TV and president and founder of Julian Farris Films – named for her stepfather, of blessed memory – Farris had a long list of suggestions for topics to tackle, but “this one just stood out,” she said. “This is probably the most important thing that our film company has done.”

Farris and her team spent about eight months interviewing Levy and working on the film before it aired, and that work is still ongoing.

Levy was born in 1938, just weeks after Kristallnacht. With her mother Frieda, Levy escaped from her family’s home in Paris just before the city fell to the Nazis and

went into hiding. Frieda’s parents in Germany could only connect with their daughter and yet unmet granddaughter through letters, which spoke of optimism and the hope of one day being reunited. But that would never happen.

Levy found Farris to be very sympathetic to her story and the plight of anti-Semitism and said the award for her is well-deserved.

“She’s just a lovely, lovely person and we became friends,” Levy said. “I kind of think of her as my other daughter.”

Farris hopes that students will connect with Levy’s story and understand the perils that discrimination can inflict.

“That’s really what this award is all about,” said Richard Schiff, Mortimer’s son and co-chair of the golf tournament. “It’s about honoring the people who are making these extraordinary efforts to combat hate and Jaccii truly exemplifies that.”

The Schiff Award will be presented at the Jewish Federation’s Community Celebration and Annual Meeting on Tuesday, June 16, at 6:30 p.m. at the JCC of Allentown. It is free and open to the public. To learn more, visit www.jewishlehighvalley.org.

YOM HA'ATZMAUT PHOTOS Celebrating Israel's Independence Day. See photos on page 17.

com.UNITY

FROM THE DESK OF MARK L. GOLDSTEIN

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

Describing the elephant is not the challenge You may know the story of the six blindfolded men who are asked to touch different parts of an elephant. The one who touches the leg declares it a pillar; the one who touches the tail calls it a rope, the one who touches the trunk thinks it’s a snake and so on.

For most people, the part of Jewish Federation that’s most visible is fundraising. True, Federation is an extremely efficient and effective fundraising organization – mobilizing as much as $3 million annually for Jewish needs. But fundraising isn’t our mission, and that’s not all we do. And focusing on our fundraising loses sight of the programs we fund.

Federation is committed to the ongoing development and enhancement of a thriving Jewish community, locally and abroad. We achieve that in many ways - primarily through the funding of high quality services provided by an international network of Jewish organizations; so if you’re a JCC member and send a child to day camp or day care, or if your child is enrolled at the JDS, or if you seek counseling and case management at JFS, you are a beneficiary of Federation funds. Even if you pay membership dues, activity fees and tuition, your participation is made more affordable because of Federation grants to these agencies. Even reading this column in HAKOL is made possible for you by the Federation and its annual campaign.

Most people will acknowledge that Federation does “good work.” Yet many still have trouble answering the question, “What’s in it for

me? Why should I care?”

If your child or grandchild participates at a synagogue family life education program in the Lehigh Valley, we’ll take some credit.

If your teen seeks a scholarship to go to a Jewish youth group leadership program or to compete in the Maccabi “Jewish Olympics” program, they come to us.

If your granddaughter, nephew, or son traveled to Israel on Birthright Israel, Federation funds played a big part.

If you just moved to the Lehigh Valley and you attended a Young Adult Division mixer, you’ve met the Federation.

If you’re a young parent and a volunteer stopped by with a wonderful “Shalom Baby” gift bag, Federation funds are at work.

If you’re deepening your own Jewish knowledge through the Yachad University adult education programs on Tuesday and Thursday mornings at the JCC, we’re helping you learn.

If you want to send your child to a Jewish resident camp but find the costs prohibitive, chances are you encountered a Federation camp scholarship program.

If you found yourself in a precarious financial situation and visited Jewish Family Service for emergency financial assistance and help from the food pantry, that’s also Federation dollars at work.

If your child faced antiSemitism in public school and you sought out assistance to work with the school and the school district, we were able to assist because of our Annual Campaign.

But the Jewish world doesn’t end at the Lehigh or Delaware rivers. Federation is your agent – meeting Jewish needs in Israel and around the world. We are bringing Ethiopian Jews to Israel, feeding destitute seniors in Belarus and Lithuania, and getting Jews out of Tunisia and Yemen. This year our system, made possible by this and other Jewish Federations, has devoted millions of dollars of services to aid Jews in wartorn Ukraine. And as you are reading this, our supported activities continue in the midst of that continued conflict.

And through our Community Relations Council and partners like ADL, we are advocating for Israel, fighting boycotts and de-legitimization, and countering bias. We are lobbying in Harrisburg and Washington for stronger senior services funding and the protection of the tax-favored status of charitable donations and non-profit organizations.

Nor do we serve only Jews. Most Federation funded agencies are open to all. The Holocaust Resource Center helps public and private school teachers develop curricula on the Holocaust and delivers custom programs which this past year engaged over 1500 students at their schools. The IJCU’s Prejudice Reduction Workshop uses lessons of the Shoah to promote tolerance and fight racism to nearly 1,000 middle and high school students each year.

Federation does this and more by bringing people together, shaping a communal vision, assessing needs, devising programs to meet those needs and raising the funds to implement them.

HAKOL wins Keystone Press Award The ballots are in and the first place 2015 Keystone Press Award for niche publication goes to HAKOL! Close to 4,200 entries were received in 27 categories across seven circulation divisions recognized by the Pennsylvania News Media Association, which recognizes excellence in the state’s newspapers each year through the

Keystone Press Awards. For the niche category, a panel of out-of-state journalists considered how well each entry meets the needs and interests of its target audience, in this case the Lehigh Valley Jewish community. Congratulations to former editor Jennifer Lader and designer Allison Meyers for this achievement!

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 HONOR ESTHER AND IRA KRAWITZ Birth of their grandson, Gabriel Joshua Levine Neil and Linda Dicker MIRIAM AND ADAM LEVINE Birth of their son, Gabriel Joshua Levine Neil and Linda Dicker IN MEMORY JOSEPH COPONI (Father of Karyn Goldner)

Rona Eagle and Bruce Leeb ISAAC HELLER (Husband of Helaine Heller) Robie and Don Barga JEROME SALINGER (Father of Alan Salinger) Partnership2Gether Committee MAURICE SCHNEIGEIGER (Father of Aliette Abo) Lisa and Barnet Fraenkel ITIC ZIGHELBOIM (Father of Israel Zighelboim) Roberto and Eileen Fischmann

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

2 MAY 2015 | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY

Whether it’s services to seniors, Jewish education, Federation’s leadership and collaborative approach makes us more effective by working together.

So, like an elephant – it may be hard to get your arms around Federation, and describing just the piece that you might come across simply does not do justice to the totality of your Jewish Federation.

But accurately describing the elephant is not the challenge. We will be closing our current Annual Campaign in less than 60 days. However, we can’t accomplish the items listed, and more that are not listed, unless we raise sufficient funds. Without sufficient funds, the challenge is not describing what we do, but deciding what we do

HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY HAKOL is published 11 times per year for the Jewish communities of Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton and vicinity by the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley.

without.

Please call us at 610821-5500 or go to www.

JewishLehighValley.org and make your increased commitment to our Annual Campaign. Making your contribution or pledge now will enable our Allocations Committee to best fund the programs and needs of our community.

HAKOL STAFF Laura Rigge

HAKOL Editor

Stephanie Smartschan

JFLV Director of Marketing

Allison Meyers

Graphic Designer

Diane McKee

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

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 by e-mail to hakol@jflv.org or online at www. jewishlehighvalley.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

JFLV EXECUTIVE STAFF Mark L. Goldstein Executive Director

Judy Diamondstein

Assistant Executive Director

Temple Coldren

Director of Finance & Administration

Jim Mueth

Director of Planned Giving & Endowments

Aaron Gorodzinsky

Director of Outreach & Community Relations

Mark H. Scoblionko JFLV President

EDITORIAL BOARD

Monica Friess, Acting Chair Barbara Reisner Judith Rodwin Sara Vigneri

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

Ukrainian ambassador speaks to Federation about conflict, solutions

NOT A GOLFER? THAT’S OK!

Join us for a fabulous dinner at Lehigh Country Club and bid on GREAT ITEMS like these!

MONDAY, JUNE 15 5:15 p.m. – Cocktails 6:00 p.m. – Dinner

By Laura Rigge HAKOL Editor On March 27, Yuri Sergeyev, the Ukrainian ambassador to the United Nations, addressed a small group of Federation representatives about the state of his country as the conflict between Russia and Ukraine continues to smolder.

Sergeyev’s main goal was to underline the potentially disastrous consequences of the ongoing fighting in Ukraine, beginning in March of 2014, when Russia entered Ukraine and annexed Crimea under the guise of protecting Russian-speaking Ukrainians. Eastern Ukraine continues to experience violent exchanges between Ukrainians and Russianbacked rebel groups.

Now thanks to Russia, “the global order is in danger,” Sergeyev said. Rather than blame Russian President Vladimir Putin, he insisted that the crisis in Ukraine had more to do with the growing power of fascist groups across Europe, and that the events of the past year were “not about a person, but about a system.”

Attendee Patty Carlis said she was “surprised by Sergeyev’s willingness to discuss how Ukraine’s internal turmoil contributed to the crisis.” He cited a corrupt government and an economy dependent on Russian oil as two major contributors to the current state of his country, and although he believed they had made great progress toward a better-functioning government, the ambassador warned that “instead of dreaming, we should work.”

Sergeyev made sure to highlight the role of the United States in imposing sanctions

$75 PER PERSON Register now or learn more about the full tournament experience at www.jewishlehighvalley.org/golf.

on Russia, although he cautioned that both Europe and the United States would have to toughen those sanctions to deter rather than appease Russia.

Meanwhile, the so-called frozen conflict continues to paralyze Eastern Ukraine. While many caught in the cross hairs were forced to flee their homes, others, mostly the poor and elderly, are unable to relocate and still live in the midst of the violence. The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, an overseas partner of the Federation, has continued to serve these groups, both Jewish and non-Jewish, and has been vital to the survival of the Jewish community in Eastern Ukraine.

For more information about the crisis in Ukraine and what the Federation is doing about it, visit www.jewishlehighvalley.org/ukraine.

The Godfather Cast Movie Poster

All 6 James Bonds Cast Photo

Frozen Cast Animation Art

Arnold Palmer Photo

Bruce Springsteen Record Album

Billy Joel Signed Photo

Phil Mickelson Photo

Muhammad Ali Signed Boxing Glove

HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | MAY 2015 3

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

Jane Weitzman will walk the talk at Women’s Division Spring Event Lion of Judah & Pomegranate Women trip to new york city monday, june

1, 2015

8:00 am departure from the JCC | 5:30 pm expected return Take a guided tour of the special exhibition “Revolution of the Eye: Modern Art and the Birth of American Television” and explore all that the Jewish Museum has to offer.

Transportation, museum admission, breakfast and snacks included.

Group lunch at an NYC kosher restaurant available for purchase.

Space limited to first 40 registrants. Cost: $75 RSVP by Monday, May 18 | 610-821-5500 or www.jewishlehighvalley.org Women who make Pomegranate Level ($1,800+) or Lion of Judah Level ($5,000+) commitments to the 2015 Campaign for Jewish Needs.

Women’s Division Dollar-A-Day Spring Event

open to

Walking The Talk with Jane Weitzman

By Laura Rigge HAKOL Editor Jane Weitzman understands the value of a good shoe. “They can make an outfit. You can wear a plain black dress and change the shoes and the whole look is different.”

It’s not surprising that Weitzman knows her shoes: for decades, she was the executive vice president at the company founded by her husband, famed shoe designer Stuart Weitzman.

Weitzman is coming to the Lehigh Valley to speak at the Women’s Division Dollar-a-Day Spring Event on Thursday, May 21, bringing her philanthropic wisdom as well as her shoe savvy. Weitzman pioneered creative charitable efforts, such as the Celebrity Breast Cancer Shoe Auction and her book, “Art and Sole,” a collection of fantasy art shoes that she displayed in Stuart Weitzman’s New York storefront. The book will be available for purchase at the event and all proceeds will go to the Federation’s Annual Campaign.

For Weitzman, it was a project that was years in the making. When

she was the vice president of Stuart Weitzman’s retail space, her duties included finding the art shoes to display in the storefront, a practice that made the company unique among its competitors. “I was going to craft shows to look for things for the stores, and I saw some artists who I thought could do shoes.” The shoes garnered attention even after they no longer appeared in the storefront.

“After we sold the business, people kept saying to me, ‘What happened to those shoes?’ I thought it might be a good thing to do a book and all the profits could go to charity.”

When asked if she has a favorite from the book, Weitzman said it would be impossible to choose.

“You know, to me it’s like children.

How can you pick your favorite?

These are the ones that were culled from over 1,000 shoes we had. I really don’t have a favorite – they’re all my favorites.”

While Weitzman’s remarkable success in the business world has helped her to make an impact with her charitable work, including her work for the Jewish Federations of North America and other Jewish organizations, she believes that

money isn’t necessary to be philanthropic. “Start with whatever you can do, and try to build on it, and as you become successful, you can always do more.”

The annual Women’s Division Spring Event on Thursday, May 21, at 6:30 p.m. at Congregation Keneseth Israel is open to women who have pledged a minimum of $365 to the 2015 Campaign for Jewish Needs. $40 for dinner and program. Learn more or register now at www.jewishlehighvalley.org/ womens-division.

Artist Lazlo Matulay rediscovered at Women's Division Lunch and Learn

Thursday, May 21, 2015 6:30 pm | Congregation Keneseth Israel $40 per person for dinner and program Dietary laws observed

“Art and Sole” will be available to purchase for $25 Please RSVP by Thursday, May 7, 2015 Register online at www.jewishlehighvalley.org

Above, Patty Carlis, Carol Wilson, Rabbi Seth Phillips, Lisa Fraenkel and speaker Lindsey Jancay were instrumental in organizing this event. Below left, Matulay’s works are now being housed and cataglogued at KI. Below right, Lois Lipson, Carole Langsam, Ethel Melamut, Eva Levitt, Audrey Sosis and Beth Kozinn.

Minimum gift of $365 to the 2015 Campaign for Jewish Needs required to attend.

Merry Landis, Spring Event Chair | Carol Wilson, Women’s Division President

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, 610-821-5500 | abbyt@jflv.org 4 MAY 2015 | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY

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

Community honors Holocaust victims at Yom Hashoah commemoration 1

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PHOTO CAPTIONS 1. Maia Gould leads everyone in singing the Israeli National Anthem, Hatikvah.

2. Holocaust survivor Regina Brenner leads the ceremony.

3. Local teens read the names of Holocaust victims.

4. Julie Kohner, founder and CEO of Voices of the Generations, shows the script of her mother’s appearance on “This Is Your Life.”

5. Hanna Block Kohner appeared on “This Is Your Life” in 1953. She was the first non-famous person to be profiled on the show a mere eight years after the end of World War II. 6. Attendees lit candles in remembrance of those lost.

7. Dr. Harvey Hakim lights a candle in memory of his relatives who were victims of Hitler’s campaign in Bulgaria.

8. Sharon Goren lights a candle for family members who perished.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF EDWIN DAVIS PHOTOGRAPHY

HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | MAY 2015 5

Get ready to ride for fitness

By Sandy Newman Special to HAKOL

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www.jcehrlich.com 610-433-2231

6 MAY 2015 | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY

On Sunday, May 31, the JCC will hold its Ride for Fitness, a special event promoting outdoor health and wellness for the entire family.

Now in its third year, the event, which will take place at Rodale Park, has expanded its reach and ride lengths to accommodate all levels of fitness and engage the whole family. Participants will choose from routes of nine, 18, 36 and 54 miles, and each will be led by experienced riders. This year an in-thepark inner loop ride will be added and is ideally suited for children.

Each rider will receive a water bottle and a T-shirt and will have the opportunity to have his or her bike checked out before the ride by a cycling technician from Fitness Central, a sponsor of the event. After the ride, families will enjoy bagels, fruit and other activities including activities for kids, yoga, and massage. As in the past there will be a raffle, which will

include a high-end bicycle donated by Fitness Central.

Bill Markson, the chairman of the event, says that all riders, from novices to the most experienced road warriors, will be able to take part. “We love the fact that it’s fitness, it’s the spring, and there’s a lot of camaraderie,” he says.

A cardiologist, Markson stresses the positive health benefits of physical fitness.

“The best way to get involved in fitness,” he says,” is to do something you like doing and stick with it. I know plenty of people who started riding relatively later in life, loved it, and took it on as a hobby.”

Andrew Pestcoe, a physician in the Lehigh Valley and event committee member, says, “patients have asked

me for non-medical ways to relieve stress. Cycling is always my first recommendation.” Pestcoe used to be a runner but found cycling to be much easier on the joints.

“It’s an activity you can take well into your later years.”

This event is the largest annual program the Fitness Department presents each year, and it helps the JCC continue to provide varied fitness programs and wellness opportunities for all ages.

The cost of the event for riders is $30. Children under 13 and spectators are $10.

For more information, please contact Sandy Newman: 610435-3571, snewman@lvjcc.org, and look for our ad on page 18.

IJCU conference teaches middle schoolers about the Holocaust

By Laura Rigge HAKOL Editor On March 29 and 30 the Institute for Jewish-Christian Un-

derstanding at Muhlenberg College held its biannual conference encouraging young people to take a stand against prejudice using the example of the Holocaust. Seven hundred middle schoolers from area schools joined together on Muhlenberg’s campus to learn about the Holocaust and how to apply prejudice reducing strategies in their own lives.

The day began with “The Library,” a one act play written by Muhlenberg students based on the life of Inga Heiman Karo, whose family left Germany for Philadelphia in 1939. The play chronicles the slow infiltration of antiSemitism in the life of a young Jewish girl named Rachel who experiences the harsh realities of prejudice in Hitler’s Germany. After the play, students were given the opportunity to ask the actors and the play’s director questions.

After lunch, the students broke up into smaller groups and were given the opportunity to hear the testimony of either a Holocaust survivor or one of their descendents, like Dr. Abe Ross, a Lehigh Valley resident whose parents survived the Holocaust by throwing their lot in with the Russian partisans who fought a guerilla campaign against the Nazis in the forests of Belarus. Ross has participated in the IJCU conference for over a decade, because he

“felt it was important to share my parents’ story.” He is currently writing a book based on his mother’s memoirs and diaries.

From there, a facilitator led the group through a series of exercises that encouraged the students to share experiences in which they had been victims of prejudice, and showed them new ways to combat bullying in their own lives. Students were assigned roles as victims, perpetrators, rescuers, collaborators and bystanders, allowing them to role-play scenarios that reflected their own experiences of bullying and prejudice. “It’s really important for them to do this,” said Vicky Lynott, a sixth grade teacher from Catasaqua Middle School. “They’re not telling us about it, but it happens a lot.”

At the conference’s end, the conference coordinator Marcie Lightwod encouraged the students to take the lessons they learned about the Holocaust and take a stand against prejudice in their everyday lives. Carol Wilson, a social worker at JFS and a first-time facilitator at the conference, expressed her hope that after attending the conference, the students, “will think differently about prejudice, and help somebody.

“We want to turn bystanders into rescuers,” she said.

Strengthening my Judaism in the most unlikely of places

By Sam Waldorf Special to HAKOL Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared in the Jewish Journal.

Before leaving for my semester abroad in Germany, I was worried. It seemed like anti-Semitism was rampant in Europe again and new incidents were on the news constantly.

Cautious friends and family were telling me to be careful and always be on high alert. I was also curious if I would feel comfortable outwardly showing my Judaism in public. After living in Europe for almost two months, I can say with certainty that I was wrong to be anxious at all.

My Jewish journey in Europe began when I decided to attend Shabbat services at a local synagogue in Berlin. I emailed one of the staff members at the congregation about attending services and her keen response welcomed me into the community. I will not soon forget my first Shabbat in Germany because of the unique spiritual connection to the service.

I arrived to services early and initially I sat alone in the sanctuary. But as other congregants entered into room, they greeted me and made me feel welcome. The only problem was the language barrier. I had taken four years of German in high school but took a hiatus until college. The conversations quickly turned to English in order to sustain the dialogue.

However, once the congregation began to welcome the Sabbath bride with a thunderous rendition of L’cha Dodi, the language barrier was extinguished immediately. Singing and praying in Hebrew became our common language. Unlike the services I was used to at home, the entire service was in Hebrew. It was an incredible sensation doing the same Jewish rituals in Germany as I did thousands of miles back home.

Services were sung full of joy and there was an enthusiasm that echoed throughout the room. I was surprised to find that my own congregation used similar tunes, and those that were different were very easy to pick up. After services, neighbors wished “Shabbat Shalom” to one another, and I went on a Shabbat evening stroll, in awe of how much I enjoyed the service.

The following week I went with another classmate on my program to a small Shabbat dinner hosted by a young Israeli couple in Berlin. I was able to learn more about living as a Jew in Berlin. There was a small service and probably the most nutritious meal I had eaten since I arrived in Germany. Conversations went on well into the night. The Jewish community that I had thought was declining in Europe appeared stronger than I ever expected.

With Passover on the horizon, I began looking for a seder.

Because the holiday fell on a Friday night this year, I knew I would be traveling around

Europe. Before I booked any travel, I reached out to different temples in places that I was considering going.

I received responses from everyone I contacted, which all had an invitation for me to come to their seder. While I ultimately chose to spend seder in Hamburg, Germany, this year, it was reassuring to know that there were many people who would have allowed me to join them, another example of the perseverance of the Jewish people.

Being a brother of Alpha Epsilon Pi, I was excited to be able to attend the European conclave and meet my European brethren. I feel very proud being a brother of AEPi and a part of their mission to bring Jewish brotherhood to college campus.

It was exciting to see how the fraternity had expanded to the United Kingdom, Austria, and Israel.

The services at the conclave will be one of my favorite parts of my time abroad. Singing and dancing the same songs with brothers from all over the world was an incredible experience.

Just like my services experience back in Berlin, it was amazing to be able to communicate with people through prayer.

My Jewish experiences abroad will definitely affect my Judaism upon my return to the United States. Seeing how committed the Jewish community of Berlin is to the preservation of Judaism was inspiring, and made me want to become more active in my own community

Havdalah at the AEPi European Conclave.

back home, and there are many ways for me to do so. I can become more knowledgeable about the Middle East conflict and Israeli politics, continue to study Hebrew and become a combatant of anti-Semitism.

There is always more that I can do to benefit my Jewish community.

I would like to thank DOJAS for giving me the opportunity to attend the AEPi European Conclave. The weekend allowed

me to continue to explore my Jewish identity and aided in continuing my personal development.

Hindsight is obviously 20/20, but I should never have been worried about expressing my Judaism in Europe. The European Jewish community is welcoming, alive and thriving.

Sam Waldorf is a student at Lehigh University and a past recipient of the Levy Hillel Leadership Award.

SHALOM BABY: The Reunion

COME SEE HOW WE’VE GROWN !

MOMS, DADS, BABIES

Join us for our 5th annual Shalom Baby play date event!

SUNDAY, JUNE 7, 2015

10 to Noon @ the JCC Playground Meet other Shalom Baby families Make new friends for you AND the kiddos Snacks & Drinks on us! Pictures, too.

Please respond by June 5 to Abby Trachtman abbyt@jflv.org | 610-821-5500 The event is open to families whose babies were welcomed through the Shalom Baby project.

This event is FREE for the entire family.

Shalom Baby is a project of the Women’s Division of the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley

HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | MAY 2015 7

Hillel students honored with leadership award Four exemplary Hillel student leaders were honored on April 19 at the Jewish Federation's annual Levy Hillel Leadership Awards brunch.

The award was established more than two decades ago by Mort and Myra Levy, of blessed memory, through the Lehigh Valley Jewish Foundation, the community endowment fund of the Jewish Federation.

Mort and Myra's daughter and chairperson of the award, Judi Cohen-Roberts, was on hand to present the certificates to the winners.

Top: Professor Jason Radine with Emily Mudd of Moravian College and CohenRoberts.

Middle: Jonathan Cohen of Lehigh University with Rabbi Danielle Stillman and Cohen-Roberts.

Bottom: Cohen-Roberts with Ethan Weg of Muhlenberg College and Rabbi Melissa Simon.

Not pictured: Alyssa Braver of Lafayette College.

8 MAY 2015 | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY

IN MEMORY EDWARD COLEMAN (Husband of Natalie Coleman) Richard and Cherie Zettlemoyer JOSEPH COPONI (Father of Karyn Goldner) Sandra and Harold Goldfarb ARNOLD DELIN (Husband of Dolores Delin) Lenny Abrams (Father of Scott Delin) Lenny Abrams Ross and Wendy Born Suzanne Lapiduss Norman Moses Donald and Randi Senderowitz DICK DICKERMAN (Husband of Bunny Dickerman) Sandra and Harold Goldfarb ROSE GOLDSTONE (Sister of Robert Malenovsky) Adam and Penny Roth Selma Roth (Aunt of Rance Block) Ross and Wendy Born SIDNEY GOLOB (Father of Wendy Rapoport) Ross and Wendy Born BENNETT GRANT (Father of David Grant) Adam and Penny Roth HENRY KURLANSIK (Husband of Nancy Kurlansik) Sandra and Harold Goldfarb Beth and Wes Kozinn Merry Landis STANLEY LANDAU (Father of Aimee Stewart) Rita and Mike Bloom DAVID MARVI (Husband of Chahine Marvi) Lenny Abrams Sandra and Harold Goldfarb Adam and Penny Roth Selma Roth and Family Donald and Randi Senderowitz Stan and Vicki Wax BUNNY NEPON (Wife of Jerry Nepon) Ross and Wendy Born

JEROME SALINGER (Father of Alan Salinger) Jeff and Jill Blinder Vicki and Larry Glaser MAURICE SCHNEIGEIGER (Father of Aliette Abo) Wendy and Ross Born John and Ingelise Brown JOEL SPIRA (Husband of Ruth Spira) Ross and Wendy Born Iris, Jon, Harry, and Charlie Epstein GERTRUDE DAVISON WEISBROD (Mother of Leonard Davison) Donald and Randi Senderowitz Sonya Weiler ITIC ZIGHELBOIM (Father of Israel Zighelboim) Ross and Wendy Born Sam and Sylvia Bub Marc and Judy Diamondstein Jeanette and Eduardo Eichenwald Iris, Jon, Harry, and Charlie Epstein Brian, Emily, Al, and Sam Ford The Fromer Family Sandra and Harold Goldfarb Phyllis and Jay Kaufman Beth and Wes Kozinn Doron, Lauren, Aron, and Golda Rabin Darren and Stefanie Traub Stan and Vicki Wax MILDRED ZULICK (Mother of Martina Obenski) Pamela and Greg Silverberg IN HONOR AUDREY CYLINDER Happy Birthday Selma Roth LYNN AND SAM FELDMAN Marriage of their son, Peter Carol and Stewart Furmansky CAROL AND STEWART FURMANSKY Birth of granddaughter, Adina Rita and Mike Bloom HAROLD GOLDFARB Happy 80th Birthday Robie and Don Barga Sam and Sylvia Bub and Family

Don and Dianne Detwiler Roberta and Jeff Epstein Samuel and Maxine Friedman Daniel and Ada Goldfarb Allan and Mary Goodman Lisa and Bruce Grossman Elsbeth and Steve Haymon Suzanne Lapiduss Beth and Bruce Levy Mary Beth and David Weinstein FAYE GORDON Happy Birthday Selma Roth BOB AND SUSAN GREY Birth of grandchild Ross and Wendy Born BOBBY HAMMEL Speedy recovery Karen and Peter Cooper Marc Nissenbaum BETH KUSHNICK Happy ‘Special’ Birthday Stan and Vicki Wax SUZANNE LAPIDUSS Birth of her granddaughter, Madison Rita and Mike Bloom Jeanette and Eduardo Eichenwald Beth and Wes Kozinn Merry Landis Elaine and Leon Papir Stan and Vicki Wax MARC AND SUSAN LEVIN Engagement of their daughter Jeanette and Eduardo Eichenwald RICHARD AND AMY MORSE Engagement of their daughter Jeanette and Eduardo Eichenwald HELEN & SOL KRAWITZ HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL FUND IN MEMORY ADELE LESAVOY GORELICK (Mother of Fred Lesavoy and Paige Bluth) Joani Lesavoy and Sid Greenberg HENRY KURLANSIK (Husband of Nancy Kurlansik) Joani Lesavoy and Sid Greenberg

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 610-8215500 or visit www.jewishlehighvalley. org to place your card requests. Thank you for your continued support.

Shalom from your Yoav shlichim

Faith leaders pray, fast for more than Wolf's $400M proposed increase for schools

By Jan Murphy Reprinted with permission from PennLive.com

Or-El Marom-Shemesh

Noa Slama

Itay Eshel

Summer 2015 will be the 13th year the Lehigh Valley will be hosting teens from Yoav, our sister community in Israel. We are excited to welcome them to our community.

In addition to four teens, we also have a summer camp shlicha, Dor Ben Ham, who will serve as the advisor to the Yoav teens and will work with them at camp. Dor will be coordinating the Israel component at Camp JCC. The teens are here as part of the Partnership2Gether program.

This is a joint initiative of the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley and the Yoav Regional Council in Israel to create a people-topeople connection between our Jewish communities. The partnership program is administered by the Jewish Agency for Israel.

Tamir Shecory

Dor Ben Ham

two sisters Naom and Shay. As a 10th grader, Itay is majoring in biology and chemistry. His hobbies include football, basketball, volleyball, listening to music and communicating with people to learn new things. Itay is a youth counselor with the Ihud Hahaklai movement for the 6th grade.

selor at Ihud Hahaklai movement with 4th and 5th graders.

OR-EL MAROM-SHEMESH Or-El Marom Shemesh lives with her parents Hagit and Dubi, and her younger brother Elroi, in Moshav Kfar Harif in the Yoav region. She is 16 years old and attends Zafit High School where she majors in social science and theater, and goes to the boarding school three nights a week. Or-El has participated in many of the school’s performances and shows, and loves to dance, act, sing and play piano. She is also a counselor for the Ihud Hahaklai movement, and loves working with kids.

TAMIR SHECORY Tamir Shecory was born in Portland, Oregon, but now lives in Moshav Kfar Harif with his father, mother, and two older sisters Shani and Adi. Tamir is a junior at Zafit High School where he is studying art, math and chemistry.

Since fourth grade, Tamir has been playing volleyball but he also enjoys other sports, drawing, sculpting and photography. Tamir started his second year as a coun-

DOR BEN HAM Dor Ben Ham is originally from Moshav Shomera, which is north of Israel next to the Lebanese border. As a communication Sergeant, Dor was stationed in the north and commanded four soldiers. Previously, Dor has been a counselor at Noah’s Ark in Baltimore. She finished her army service about 16 months ago, and moved to Haifa about a year ago.

For more information about Partnership2Gether and the itinerary for our visitors from Yoav, contact Aaron Gorodzinsky at 610-821-5500 or aaron@jflv.org or visit www.jewishlehighvalley.org/partnership2gether.

Despite Gov. Tom Wolf's proposal to inject $400 million more into direct support for school districts next year to a historic high of $6.1 billion, faith leaders from across Pennsylvania say that is not enough to erase the racial inequities that exist in the way public schools are funded.

Gathering in March in the Capitol Rotunda, they prayed and launched a fast.

Rabbi Melody Davis of Temple Covenant of Peace in Easton blew a shofar to serve as a wake-up call for legislators and Wolf about the need for a more equitable and robust funding system to ensure that children across the state have access to a quality education.

Following the sounding of the horn that disrupted a House budget hearing in an adjacent room, The Rev. Gregory Edwards of Allentown called for an end to "the promotion of practice of educational apartheid" in Pennsylvania that results in racial and economic inequities in school funding.

Standing before the assembly of about 50 people mostly from Philadelphia and the Lehigh Valley, he said Pennsylvania's politicians have priori-

tized tax cuts for the wealthy and permitted corporations to "shirk their reasonable responsibilities" while children's education, particularly in its urban schools, have suffered.

"We gather here in this place ... to push back so our children can push forward," Edwards said.

Lawmakers of both parties have indicated a general willingness to consider an increase in school funding and are interested in establishing a fairer funding distribution formula. But most Republicans, who hold majority control in the House and Senate, insist that reforming pensions, which is a major cost driver for school districts, takes priority before considering a school funding increase and the tax hikes needed to support it.

A spokesman for Gov. Tom Wolf said in an emailed statement that the governor has proposed increasing basic education funding by $400 million and a plan to ensure that this money will be used in the classroom to benefit children.

Additionally, spokesman Jeff Sheridan said the governor is committed to working with the basic education funding commission and the legislature

Tom Wolf Continues on page 19

NOA SLAMA Noa Slama lives with her mother, Dafna, her father, Gidi, her older sister, Roni, her little sister, Shira, and her younger brother in Kibbutz Bet Nir. Noa is 16 years old and attends Zafit High School, and stays at the boarding school three nights a week. As a gymnast, Noa practices twice a week as well as sings, cooks, plays the guitar, and draws. Noa is a youth counselor for Hashomer Hatzair movement for the 6th grade.

ITAY ESHEL Itay Eshel lives in moshav Kfar Harif with his father, mother, and

HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | MAY 2015 9

Israeli answers to California’s drought

MEET THE PRESIDENTS

By Monica Friess Special to HAKOL When Bruce Reich moved to Pennsylvania from Wisconsin in 1986 and joined Temple Beth El, he never imagined he would one day be president of the congregation. Now in his first year of a threeyear term, Reich says he’s honored to be able to give a little back to the synagogue.

Immediate past treasurer of Beth El, Reich was approached about taking on the role of president and felt he couldn’t just sit back and let someone else do it.

Though it’s demanding of his time, he finds it quite rewarding and is able to balance this job with his career as an engineer and owner of URI Compressors in Allentown. “It helps enormously,” says Reich, “that I’ve followed great people, and I have a strong board for backup.”

He says the job would be very hard to do without the support of Rabbi Moshe Re’em and Cantor Kevin Wartell. “We’re fortunate to have such experienced clergy who know what has to be done,” says Reich. “I look to them for advice.”

“In the world of lay leadership there is a vast difference between those who lead out of a desire to be a macher and those who lead because they are a mensch and aspire to do good," Re'em said. "For one it is the title 'president' – the name and fame – that is important; for the other it is the desire to do a some good that motivates them. In the spectrum between, Bruce Reich is well situated on the mensch side.”

Reich says the challenge faced by many synagogues today is declining membership, and Beth El is not immune. Though increasing the numbers is certainly a goal, his focus is on retaining the current membership, keeping the synagogue financially healthy and maintaining a positive congregational feeling. He will focus on addressing the needs of young couples, working with them to ensure they can afford their memberships, and he will see to it that the standards of education at the religious school remain high.

Reich and his wife Enid have three grown children – one son and two daughters

By Ben Sales Jewish Telegraphic Agency

– and three grandchildren.

His older daughter and her family are current members of Beth El. Despite being in their new building for a relatively short time, Beth El has recently paid off its mortgage. “We’re one of the few synagogues in the nation who has been able to do this in such a short time,” he says. The congregation's dinner dance in June will celebrate this achievement and also honor those who led the move from 18th Street to Springhouse Road.

Reich says he will strive to be more transparent and let members know they do have some control over what happens at the synagogue. “I’m trying hard to keep people engaged,” he says, “and to build an increased sense of community.”

For help facing its worst drought in centuries, California should look to a country that beat its own chronic water shortage: Israel.

Until a few years ago, Israel’s wells seemed like they were always running dry. TV commercials urged Israelis to conserve water. Newspapers tracked the rise and fall of Lake Kinneret, Israel’s biggest freshwater source.

Now the Israeli water shortage appears to be mostly over. California’s water supply, meanwhile, is at record lows, prompting restrictions on household use and leading farmers to deplete the state’s groundwater reserves. Here are five ways that Californians can benefit from Israel’s know-how.

1. Israeli cities recycle threequarters of their water.

Three-quarters of the water that runs through sinks, showers, washing machines and even toilets in Israeli cities is recycled, treated and sent to crops across the country through specially marked purple tubes. According to the Pacific Institute, which conducts environmental research, California recycles only 13 percent of its municipal wastewater.

Israel also encourages recycling by giving reused water to farmers tax-free.

“If you take water from the city you don’t pay a tax, but if you have a well and you take that water you pay a lot of money for every cubic meter,” said Giora Shaham, a former long-term planner at Israel’s Water Authority.

2. Israel gets much of its water from the Mediterranean Sea. Israelis now have a much bigger water source than Lake Kinneret: the Mediterranean Sea. Four plants on Israel’s coast draw water from the sea, take out the salt, purify the water and send it to the country’s pipes — a process called desalination.

When a fifth desalination plant opens this year, 75 percent of Israel’s municipal and industrial water will be desalinated, making Israelis far less reliant on the country’s fickle rainfall.

Desalination costs money, uses energy and concerns environmental activists who want to protect California’s coast and the Pacific Ocean. Despite the costs, San Diego County is investing in desalination. IDE Technologies, which operates three of Israel’s four plants, is building another near San Diego, slated to open as soon as November. Once operational, it will provide the San Diego Water Authority, which serves the San Diego area, with 50 million gallons of water per day.

“It’s a carbon footprint, but the technology is advanced enough that the cost of the process is lower than it used to be,” said Fredi Lokiec, IDE’s former executive vice president of special projects.

“The environmental damage done because of a lack of ability to provide water to residents and agriculture because of the drought, because of overdrawing of groundwater, also has a price.”

California Continues on page 11

10 MAY 2015 | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY

California Continues from page 10

3. Israelis irrigate through pinpricks in hoses, not by flooding.

No innovation has been more important for Israel’s desert farms than drip irrigation. Most of the world’s farmers water their crops by flooding their fields with sprinklers or hoses, often wasting water as they go.

With drip irrigation, a process pioneered in Israel 50 years ago, water seeps directly into the ground through tiny pinpricks in hoses, avoiding water loss through evaporation.

Four-fifths of all water used in California goes to agriculture, but as of 2010, less than 40 percent of California’s farms used drip irrigation, according to the Sacramento Bee. Netafim, a leading Israeli drip-irrigation company, says the practice cuts water use by up to half. A Netafim representative told JTA that 80 percent of Israeli farms use drip irrigation.

4. Israel’s government owns all of the country’s water.

Israel treats water as a scarce national resource. The government controls the country’s entire water supply, charging citizens, factories and farmers for water use. Residents pay about one cent per gallon, while farmers pay about a quarter of that.

In California, many farms drill from private wells on their property. Some have even begun selling water to the

Is this freedom?

state. State regulations to limit groundwater use, signed last year, won’t be formulated until 2020.

“Technology is not good enough,” said Eilon Adar, director of Ben-Gurion University’s Zuckerberg Institute for Water Research.

“You have to change some of the regulation.”

Adar and Israeli, however, both noted that adopting Israelistyle regulations in California would be near impossible, as some of California’s water rights holdings are more than a century old.

5. Water conservation is drilled into Israeli culture.

Kids are taught to turn off faucets and limit shower time.

Israelis celebrate rain — at least at first — rather than lamenting it. Lake Kinneret’s daily surface level shows up alongside weather reports in the paper.

In 2008, at the height of a decade-long drought, Avraham Israeli, the Israel Water Association president, dried out his lawn and replaced it with a porch to save water.

Israelis’ close attention to rainfall and drought comes from an education and culture that teaches them the importance of every drop in an arid region.

With no end in sight for California’s drought, Adar said Californians would do well to adopt a similar attitude.

“You take an 8-year-old boy, you pump into their head that they have to save water as a scarce national resource,” he said. “In 10 years’ time, they’re 18 years old and they get it. It’s in their blood.”

- From “The Rooster and the Pearl,” one of Aesop’s Fables.

RABBI YAACOV HALPERIN Chabad of the Lehigh Valley

A father once bought his daughter a pair of pearl earrings for her birthday. She adored them, so much so that she refused to take them out. One day as she was walking, one of the pearls fell off, and when she noticed it was missing she began to search frantically for her treasured pearl.

Close by a rooster was strutting up and down the farmyard among the hens looking for barleycorn, when suddenly he spied something shinning amid the straw.

The rooster stared at the pearl.

What sort of strange seed was this? He pecked it a couple of times and scratched at it with his claws, but it didn’t break open. He gave a cluck of disgust. No prize there, nothing but a useless rock.

Why does Judaism prevent me from doing whatever I want?

Why are there so many laws that govern every aspect of life, from the way we eat to the way we marry?

It may have been nice if the opening of the Ten Commandments would have read: “I am the Lord your G-d who has taken you out of Egypt in order to set you free. You can do whatever you want, wherever you want, however you want, as long as you don’t hurt anyone!”

But, as you know, G-d chose another script. At Sinai G-d gave the Jewish people a Torah – filled with instructions and restrictions. We are running late, the kids are hungry, and I am the only one who can’t simply order a pizza.

Is this why we left the house of bondage in Egypt – to become slaves to the Almighty?

And yet the Sages saw it otherwise. “There is no free man, but the one who occupies himself with the study of Torah” (Ethics of the Fathers, 6:2.). Really?!

If anything, it’s the other way around: as long as you don’t learn Torah, you are free, the options are open. Once you embrace Torah, there goes your freedom.

Among the great technological innovations of the

last 50 years is the development of the “laser beam.” A laser beam is confined so that the light does not spread. It is completely focused in one direction only, maintaining its strength even at great distances. The photons in a laser beam all move in the same direction, so they can be precisely focused.

It is through this that we can gain insight into the true function of Torah and mitzvot, and the objective of Jewish law.

Torah is the spiritual “laser technology” of the world.

The Jewish code of behavior is perceived as limiting. However, the very opposite is the case. As the laser beam demonstrates, it is precisely the “limitations” imposed on a force that enable its optimal performance.

When we allow ourselves no boundaries or limitations, we follow our instincts and appetites, -- our light scatters and we never realize our ultimate power or potential.

When we “restrict” the light, and don’t allow it to flow just anywhere, we cultivate our power, and we access all of our potential.

The Baal Shem Tov teaches that Halacha is the acronym of “Hareoo L’Hashem Kal Haaretz,” “let the whole earth sing to G-d.” For one what may be nothing but a useless rock is for another a beautiful pearl to treasure.

Glenn Miller Orchestra May 2 Madeleine Peyroux Trio June 18

Dirty Dozen Brass Band May 15 Complete schedule available at steelstacks.org Sponsored by Concannon Miller, 69-WFMZ-TV, Adams Outdoor, The Express-Times, WDIY 88.1 and WNTI 91.9

This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts

T.J. Miller June 22

steelstacks.org | 610-332-3378 HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | MAY 2015 11

Shalshelet goes to Washington

By Isabelle Weiman Special to HAKOL The alarm clock sounded at 4:30 a.m. exactly on that Sunday morning. Not many students would submit to this kind of torture, but Allentown Shalshelet attracts a special kind of student.

We got up two hours before the crack of dawn to travel to Washington, D.C., and learn to lead our Jewish community with greater political skill.

Shalshelet is the Jewish enrichment program for all Lehigh Valley Jewish teens. We spend two evenings a month discussing issues that we feel are important such as Jewish identity, Israel, body image, ethical decision making and many more topics that are important to us as Jews and as teenagers. Our group is comprised of teens with varied backgrounds and beliefs, which makes for lively discussions covering many perspectives.

Recently, we were given the opportunity to participate in a three-day Panim el Panim seminar in Washington which required us to rouse ourselves so early on a Sunday morning.

When I decided to sign up for the Panim El Panim seminar, I never thought I’d find myself traipsing along the sidewalks of Washington, searching for a homeless person I could exchange pleasantries with. Street Torah was the action aspect of the seminar, where we focused on dealing with problems from political and philanthropic perspectives, learning that efficiency thrives on thoroughness.

I had feared this particular part of the trip, and had seriously considered waiting around the hotel until the next speaker arrived and staying behind altogether. I was scared about being vulnerable in a different environment, and I thought to myself that the experience cannot possibly be worth it, but I was wrong. Something inside me – Jewish guilt, fear of judgment, my mother’s voice to get myself together and just do it already – pushed me out onto Capitol Street.

It was windy and getting cooler as we walked, determined to find, interrogate, and bequeath a meager pair of socks to one of Washington’s many homeless people. Finally, we saw a man across the street sitting by a tree.

He was quite young and wore a U.S. Army cap.

I have wanted to be a veterans’

12 MAY 2015 | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY

Lehigh Valley Shalshelet teens at Panim el Panim in Washington, D.C.

doctor for four years. It is a passion I owe to my parents (who are both physicians) and my grandfather who fought in World War II for the Americans as a translator for Hideki Tojo during his war trials. This young man who I saw across the road was exactly the kind of person I have always dreamed of being able to help, and now was my chance.

Strangely, I wasn’t afraid at all anymore, because I felt like I knew this man; he was a veteran, just like my grandfather. I volunteered to walk over to him with Coral, another student, and slowly the others followed, since we were advised to approach the homeless in small groups so as to not make them feel threatened.

No longer burdened by apprehension, I walked over to the young veteran, stopped just a few feet from where he was sitting and read the cardboard sign that said “Fought combat in Iraq and recently homeless. Thank you, will pay it forward.” Suddenly, it became a little hard to speak. Now was the moment – I had to say something otherwise he’d think I was just some crazy girl staring at him from an awkwardly close distance.

“Hello.” It was the best I could come up with.

“Hello.”

“What is your name?” Maybe I had asked for too much, why should he tell me anything?

“Jonathan,” he said, looking me in the eye and smiling.

“Hi,” I said, “I’m Isabelle and this is Coral.”

“Do you want some socks?”

Coral asked him. He looked a bit confused and then saw the cloth bag in my hand full of socks, gloves and a Kind bar.

He ran his hand through his hair and glanced behind him at

his pile of possessions.

“Sure,” he said after a pause, “you can never have too many.”

Coral handed him one pair and I the other, and then, feeling so disgustingly inadequate, I found the one granola bar I had decided to bring and placed it in his hand. I have never seen a person so pleased to see a granola bar, and I will never forget it.

“I’m really grateful,” he said looking at Coral and I. “Oh no,” I interrupted, “we are the ones who are grateful, sir.” He involuntarily inclined his head in thanks, his face serious.

“Thank you for your service,” I said not wanting to leave this deserving man with a superfluous pair of socks and a melting Kind bar. Coral and I walked back to the group and out of the corner of my eye I saw another young man pass Jonathan and give him some money from his pocket. I still worry about Jonathan.

The Panim El Panim seminar taught me to call on a special kind of compassion I didn’t know I would be able to summon. It inspired all of us to grow not just as students, but also to mature as empathetic and capable humans.

When faced with a problem, we were encouraged to come to our conclusions built on the fundamentals that we uphold as Jewish American teenagers.

On Monday, March 30, we acted on those ideas in the streets of Washington, and not only did it enrich our experience of Washington, but I believe it enriched our experience of ourselves.

If you are a teen who would like more information about Shalshelet, or you know a teen who might be interested, please contact Arnon Gavish or Alicia Zahn at 610-435-3521.

Nisman complaint against Argentine government dismissed on last appeal

Jewish Telegraphic Agency An Argentine federal prosecutor dismissed accusations by the late special prosecutor Alberto Nisman that Argentina’s government covered up Iran’s role in the 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish center.

On April 20, a day after Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner linked Jewish leaders to an international conspiracy against the government and railed against Nisman on social media, prosecutor Javier De Luca of the Court of Cassation refused to take on the criminal complaint filed in January

by Nisman days before his shooting death.

De Luca said “it is not possible to move forward with the evidence-gathering measures proposed because those events do not constitute a crime.”

The appeals court is the

highest avenue for appeals in criminal cases in Argentina, meaning that legal proceedings in the accusations against Kirchner and Foreign Minister Hector Timerman, who is Jewish, have reached an end.

A federal judge and a federal appeals court had previously dismissed the accusations.

Seeking an extraordinary ruling, Nisman’s mother, Sara Garfunkel, filed a writ with the country’s Supreme Court asking it to maintain her son’s accusations, as well as the investigation into her son’s unsolved death.

Nisman was found dead in his Buenos Aires apartment on Jan. 16, hours before he was to present his allegations to Congress.

On April 20, a march to the court was the second gathering of planned monthly rallies calling for justice in the Nisman case. Information was disseminated using the Twitter account @MemorialNisman

and the hashtag #Memorial Nisman.

Meanwhile, Kirchner tweeted her accusations to her more than 3.7 million followers that Nisman had said during meetings with Jewish community leaders that Paul Singer, who heads a U.S. hedge fund, would provide billions of dollars to prevent Argentina from signing a memorandum of understanding with Iran on jointly investigating the AMIA bombing, which killed 85 and injured 300.

The memorandum, which has received international criticism, was signed in January 2013.

“If necessary, Paul Singer will help us,” Kirchner tweeted, quoting Nisman, adding, “To the uninformed or unaware reader, Paul Singer is the Vulture Lord and owner of the decisions of Judge Griesa against Argentina.”

Singer is part of a lawsuit to collect on Argentina’s national debt, in arrears since 2001.

Kirchner made the link between Nisman and the so-called vulture fund in a series of tweets in Spanish and in English, as well as on her personal blog, which rail against Nisman and the DAIA, the Jewish political umbrella.

DAIA denied any relationship linking local Jewish leaders and Singer.

“We feel dismay and concern about allegations made by the highest authority in the country, full of falsehoods and lies about an international conspiracy against Argentina,” DAIA Vice President Waldo Wolff told JTA.

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Senate panel approves congressional review of Iran deal Jewish Telegraphic Agency A key Senate committee approved a bill mandating congressional review of any Iran nuclear deal, and the White House said it would not block the measure.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted 19-0 to approve the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act. Intensive negotiations between the committee chairman, Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), who authored the bill, and its top Democrat, Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), stripped elements that the White House found objectionable, including linking sanctions relief to Iranian actions on terrorism, and shortened the review time from 60 days to 30 days.

Obama had threatened to veto earlier versions of the bill, but Josh Earnest, White House spokesman, said before the vote that if reports on the compromise legislation bore out, that would no longer be the case.

“That would be the kind of compromise the president would be willing to sign,”

Earnest said.

The major powers and Iran announced in April the outline of a nuclear deal that would swap sanctions relief for restrictions aimed at keeping Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.

Israel and a number of Republican senators have strongly opposed the deal, saying it would leave Iran a nuclear weapons threshold state.

The deadline for a final deal is June 30.

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee praised the Senate committee for reporting the bill to the full body, where it is guaranteed passage.

“Congress should review any agreement to ensure it meets U.S. objectives and object if it fails to do so,” AIPAC said in a statement.

“Serious concerns have been raised over the framework understanding. A final deal, with its immense national security implications, must be subjected to the constitutional system of checks and balances that is the bedrock of our democracy.”

HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | MAY 2015 13

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When El Al flew to Tehran — and 9 other things you may not know about Israel’s past

By Uriel Heilman Jewish Telegraphic Agency Yom Ha’atzmaut, Israel’s Independence Day, was celebrated on April 23. In honor of the Jewish state’s 67th birthday, we present, in no particular order, 10 little-known aspects of its history.

1. El Al used to fly to Tehran.

Iran and Israel enjoyed mostly good relations up until the Islamic revolution that overthrew the shah in 1979. Iran recognized Israel in 1950, becoming the second Muslim-majority country to do so (after Turkey). Iran supplied Israel with oil during the OPEC oil embargo, Israel sold Iran weapons, there was brisk trade between the countries, and El Al flew regular flights between Tel Aviv and Tehran. All that ended a week after the shah’s ouster, when Iran’s new rulers cut ties with Israel and transferred its embassy in Tehran to the Palestine Liberation Organization. Even after 35 years of hostilities, however, Iranians have less antipathy toward Jews than any other Middle Eastern nation. A 2014 global anti-Semitism survey by the Anti-Defamation League found that 56 percent of Iranians hold anti-Semitic views — compared to 80 percent of Moroccans and 93 percent of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza.For more on Israelis in Iran, check out the 2014 documentary, “Before the Revolution.”

2. Israel is home to hundreds of Nazi descendants.

At least 400 descendants of Nazis have converted to Judaism and moved to Israel, according tofilmmakers who made a documentary about the phenomenon several years ago. In addition, others converted to Judaism or married Israelis but do not live in the Jewish state – such as Heinrich Himmler’s great-niece, who married an Israeli Jew and lives overseas. In Israel’s early years, the state was roiled by a debate over whether to accept German reparations for the Holocaust (it did), and Germany remained a controversial subject: From 1956 until 1967, Israel had a ban on all German-produced films.

3. Ben-Gurion invented Israeli couscous (sort of).

The tiny pasta balls known as Israeli couscous – called ptitim in Hebrew – were invented in the 1950s at the behest of Israel’s first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, who asked the Osem food company to come up with a wheat-based substitute for rice during a period of austerity in Israel. The invention, which Israelis dubbed “Ben-Gurion’s rice,” was an instant hit.

4. Israel had no TV service till the late ‘60s.

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she had expressed before her death. The Mount of Olives is home to the world’s oldest continuously used cemetery.

6. Alaska Airlines airlifted thousands of Yemenite Jews to Israel.

When anti-Jewish riots broke out in Yemen after Israel’s victory in the 1948 War of Independence, Yemen’s Jewish community decided to move en masse to the Jewish homeland. James Wooten, president of Alaska Airlines, was among those moved by their plight. Between June 1949 and September 1950, Alaska Airlines made approximately 430 flights in twin-engine C-46 and DC-4 aircrafts as part of Operation Magic Carpet, the secret mission that transported nearly 50,000 Jews from Yemen to Israel. Pilots had to contend with fuel shortages, sandstorms and enemy fire, and one plane crash-landed after losing an engine, but not a single life was lost aboard the flights.

7. Golda Meir was the world’s third female prime minister.

Meir (née Myerson), who became Israeli prime minister in 1969, was preceded only by Sirimavo Bandaranaike of Sri Lanka (1960-65) and Indira Ghandi of India (1966-77). Born in Kiev and raised in Milwaukee, Meir moved to an Israeli kibbutz in her early 20s and quickly became active in Labor politics. Though popular with American Jews, Meir remains a subject of some derision in Israel for her perceived failures during the 1973 Yom Kippur War, when she opted not to attack preemptively Arab forces massing on Israel’s border with Syria.

Though the Agranat Commission that investigated the war cleared Meir of direct responsibility, she resigned shortly afterward and was succeeded as prime minister by Yitzhak Rabin in 1974 (who served until 1977, but again became prime minister in 1992).

8. Israeli law began requiring solar water heaters in all new homes in 1980.

The law was passed following the energy crisis of the late ‘70s and made Israel the world’s leader in the use of solar energy per capita. Today, an estimated 85 percent of Israeli households use solar systems for hot water, amounting to some 3 percent of the nation’s energy consumption.

However, today Israel lags behind other countries in implementing other solar energy solutions, and a growing number of new buildings in Israel utilize legal loopholes that provide exemptions to the solar heater law.

9. Jerusalem’s Mount Scopus is not technically part of the West Bank.

The first Israeli TV transmission did not take place until 1966, and at first was intended only for schools for educational use. Regular public broadcasts began on Israeli Independence Day in May 1968. For almost two decades more, Israel had only one channel, and broadcasts were limited to specific hours of the day. A second channel debuted in 1986, and cable was introduced in 1990. Today, Israeli TV is a popular source for Hollywood scriptwriters: “Homeland” (Showtime), “In Treatment” (HBO), “Your Family or Mine” (TBS), “Allegiance” (NBC), “Deal With It” (TBS), “Tyrant” and “Boom” (Showtime) all are remakes of Israeli shows.

Though situated in eastern Jerusalem, Mount Scopus, where Hebrew University and Hadassah Hospital have campuses, has been in Israeli hands since the state’s founding. After the conclusion of the War of Independence in 1949, the hilltop was controlled by Jews but surrounded by Jordaniancontrolled eastern Jerusalem. Israel maintained its Mount Scopus exclave by ferrying in troops and supplies every two weeks under United Nations guard. The convoys were frequently subject to Arab enemy fire, and an attack in 1958 killed four Israelis and one U.N. soldier. Mount Scopus was reunited with the rest of Jewish Jerusalem in the 1967 Six-Day War.

5. Queen Elizabeth II’s mother-in-law is buried in Jerusalem.

10. Albert Einstein was offered Israel’s presidency

Prince Philip’s mother, born in 1885 as Princess Alice of Battenberg and congenitally deaf, spent much of her life in Greece after marrying Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark (yes, he was simultaneously prince of two different European countries). During the Nazi occupation of Greece, Alice hid a Jewish woman and two of her children from the Nazis, earning her eventual recognition

by Israel’s Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial as a “Righteous Among the Nations” and by the British government as a “Hero of the Holocaust.” She moved to London in 1967 to live in Buckingham Palace with her son and daughter-in-law, Queen Elizabeth II. After the princess died two years later, her body was interred in a crypt at Windsor Castle. In 1988, she was transferred to a crypt at the Convent of Saint Mary Magdalene in Gethsemane on Jerusalem’s Mount of Olives – honoring a wish

The offer came from David Ben-Gurion in November 1952, in the days after the death of Israel’s first president, Chaim Weizmann. “I am anxious for you to feel that the Prime Minister’s question embodies the deepest respect which the Jewish people can repose in any of its sons,” Israeli Ambassador Abba Eban wrote to the famed scientist. Einstein turned down the invitation, citing his advanced age and inaptitude at dealing with people. “I am deeply moved by the offer from our state of Israel, and at once saddened and ashamed that I cannot accept it,” Einstein replied, noting, “my relationship to the Jewish people has become my strongest human bond, ever since I became aware of our precarious situation among the nations of the world.” Interestingly, Ben-Gurion initially denied press reports about the invitation. Einstein died less than three years later.

Happy 67th Birthday Israel!

On April 23, the Lehigh Valley celebrated Yom Ha'atzmaut at the JCC with food, fun, and song.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF EDWIN A. DAVIS PHOTOGRAPHY

HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | MAY 2015 17

THE JCC OF ALLENTOWN 702 N. 22ND STREET, ALLENTOWN PA 610.435.3571 WWW.ALLENTOWNJCC.ORG

18 MAY 2015 | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY

State Rep. Schlossberg to share social media wisdom with LVJP of social media to connect with our constituents. However, then I watched multiple careers get ruined because of social media disasters. This made me concerned – and the book was my effort to get people to realize how to avoid making a career-ending mistake.

What do you think is the most important thing about social media that people don't understand?

By Laura Rigge HAKOL Editor In a world of social media-fueled scandals, state Rep. Mike Schlossberg had no shortage of material for his new book “Tweets and Consequnces: 60 Social Media Disasters in Politics and How You Can Avert a Career-Ending Mistake.” Schlossberg is bringing his social media acumen to the next Lehigh Valley Jewish Professionals event sponsored by the Federation on May 28 at Menchies Frozen Yogurt. In anticipation of the event, Schlossberg answered some of our questions about the good, bad and ugly of Twitter.

How did you first become interested in social media gaffes and missteps?

At first, I was – and remain – very interested in the incredible power

Its permanence and lack of privacy. Social media is forever – even if you delete a post, someone else could have grabbed a screen shot, and then the content belongs to the world. I also don’t think people understand that no matter what your privacy settings are, you are always one angry friend or scorned ex away from having "private" content sent to the world.

There is no such thing as privacy in the digital realm.

Who do you think utilizes social media effectively?

There are quite a few businesses and politicians who are very effective at it. The top two that come to mind are the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber (full disclosure, I used to work for them), and Discover Lehigh Valley. They are good because they do NOT selfpromote – instead, they use social media to promote their members and the region as a whole. Social media should be about a conversation and listening, not just self promotion.

How do you think politics as a

Holocaust commemoration in Harrisburg

whole has been affected by the rise of sites like Twitter and Facebook, and do you think it's been largely positive or negative?

Both. From a positive perspective, it's allowed elected officials like me to remain closer to our constituents, and for our constituents to have easier access to elected officials than ever before. On the other hand, it's also polarized politics. People can self-select their news sources and their friends, and debates behind a computer screen are more radicalized and turn nastier quicker. There is no nuance in a Facebook debate, generally speaking – only nastiness. That worries me greatly – no one is every 100 percent right – and social media encourages people to act like they are.

Governor Tom Wolf addresses members of the state Legislature, Holocaust survivors and guests at the 215 Civic Commemoration of the Holocaust.

The program was sponsored by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania Jewish Coalition.

thirtieth anniversary

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Have you ever had an embarrassing moment on Twitter?

Absolutely – everyone has! My worst have been unfortunate typos – for example, I once tried to type something about the shirt I was wearing – unfortunately, let's just say I forgot a letter in ‘shirt’ and wound up spelling an expletive.

Whoops. I deleted the tweet and apologized for the unfortunate typo, which is, I think, the best way to handle things like that. Accidents and typos will always happen – it's how you handle the aftermath that counts.

To learn more, join the Lehigh Valley Jewish Professionals on Thursday, May 28, at 5:30 p.m. at Menchies Frozen Yogurt in Allentown. Free. RSVP to aaron@jflv.org.

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Tom Wolf Continues from page 9

to come up with a fair funding formula.

The faith leaders claimed that children are being asked to accept insufficient resources and point to a Washington Post analysis that showed Pennsylvania lays claim to having the widest gap in per-pupil spending of all the state's in the nation.

The analysis shows the poorest school district's per-pupil spending in Pennsylvania is 33 percent lower than in the state's wealthiest districts.

"It is far time for this commonwealth to provide an equitable education for every child in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania," said The Rev. Micah Sims, pastor of Bethel AME in Harrisburg. "We come not because this is a political issue. We come today because it is a moral issue."

As part of their effort to raise awareness of their concerns about education funding, Bishop Dwayne Roster, executive director of faith-based group POWER Philadelphia, said faith leaders and supporters are beginning a 100-day "Fast for Family Values" to "demand justice for our children when it comes to receiving the funding that they need."

They brought with them lunch bags with the names of children, schools and school districts written on them to represent those for whom they are fasting. Roster invited congregations and others from around the state to learn more about the cause and join in the fast by visiting Faith in Pa.'s website.

HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | MAY 2015 19

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20 MAY 2015 | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY

HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | MAY 2015 21

Allentown psychologist has become a leading expert about school shooters

Dr. Peter Langman’s latest book profiles 48 shooters

By Elliot Grossman Special to HAKOL Sixteen years ago, Peter Langman was working at KidsPeace Hospital, a psychiatric facility for children and adolescents in Orefield, when two students went on a shooting rampage at Columbine High School in Colorado. Although it was not the first incident of its kind, Columbine focused the nation’s attention on school shootings unlike any other.

Only 10 days later, a teenage boy was admitted to KidsPeace because he was considered a potential school shooter. Langman’s role was to assess the boy’s risk for mass murder. Not long afterward, another potential school shooter came to the hospital, and for more than 10 years Langman met with at-risk teenagers.

His years of experience led him to study what they had in common and how they differed. Out of necessity, he became a

researcher of mass murderers so he could do the best job possible in working with his patients, recommending appropriate treatment in an effort to keep them – and their communities – safe.

In doing so, Langman, a member of Congregation Am Haskalah, has become one of the nation’s leading experts about school shooters.

His second book on the subject – “School Shooters: Understanding High School, College, and Adult Perpetrators” – has just been published.

The book challenges widespread stereotypes about school shooters and offers warning signs to help prevent shooting rampages.

The book also profiles 48 killers – from Charles Whitman, who killed 16 people at the University of Texas in 1966, to Adam Lanza, who killed 27 at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut in 2012.

As part of his work,

Langman has trained thousands of educators, mental health professionals and law enforcement experts to identify and stop potential school shooters before they pick up guns.

His research offers hope that more school shootings can be prevented if schools use threat-assessment procedures to detect potential perpetrators. Threat assessment involves having teams of school personnel who are trained to evaluate threats of violence.

“If we are to be more successful in preventing these attacks,” Langman says, “we need to understand who these shooters are, what drives them to kill, and how we can spot them before it’s too late.”

Langman offers these warning signs: • Potential shooters often leak their plans to other people, sometimes by attempting to recruit peers to join the attack.

• Parents of potential shoot-

ers sometimes are aware of their children’s disturbing behavior but fail to follow through effectively.

• Potential shooters sometimes make firearm purchases while engaged in significant conflicts with their schools.

Langman also maintains an online collection of documents relating to school shooters at www.schoolshooters.info, with thousands of pages of searchable documents. He believes it’s the largest online collection of such documents in the world, larger than even those maintained by law enforcement agencies.

Langman’s first book on school shooters, which appeared in 2009, was titled “Why Kids Kill: Inside the Minds of School Shooters.” It was named an outstanding academic title by the American Library Association and was translated into German, Dutch and Finnish. He has been interviewed more than

200 times by news media outlets in 16 countries.

His recommendations on school safety have been presented to President Obama by the American Psychological Association.

Langman also served on a Pennsylvania state advisory committee, which was created to help reduce violence after the Sandy Hook attack.

Langman practices psychotherapy in Allentown at Langman Psychological Associates, a practice he shares with his wife, Madeleine.

Elliot Grossman is a former Lehigh Valley resident. He is currently a public relations and marketing consultant in Cincinnati.

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22 MAY 2015 | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY

The Jerusalem Post Crossword Puzzle

By David Benkof Special to HAKOL

Designing puzzles with the knowledgeable but not necessarily bilingual Jew in mind, David Benkof says, “No more than a very few clues per puzzle expect the

solver to simply translate between Hebrew and English.” Note that some answers may actually be two words written as one, without a space between them.

For answers to the crossword puzzle, visit the Federation website at www.jewishleighvalley.org/hakol.

Woody Allen-town ACROSS 1. Dangerous feature of a Lebanon border fence wire 5. Norwegian site of early 1990s peace talks 9. Kind of hit Julie Taymor’s “Lion King” is on Broadway 14. Haman quality 15. The Central Bus Station in Jerusalem might be the last one 16. “___ Speaks” (autobiography of a Marx Brother) 17. Ingredient in many pareve entrees 18. Downton Abbey character whose father was a wealthy Jew 19. Tool for making a sukkah, perhaps 20. Woody’s 1999 romantic comedy about a jazz guitarist 23. Alan Dershowitz’s audience, sometimes 24. Put it in a fine stein 25. Carl Sagan’s book about them came out just before Halley’s in 1986 28. Kitchen items at Tein Li Chow kosher eatery outside Chicago 30. Congressman Jared Polis (D-Colo.), e.g.

33. “Changing Lives ___ a Time” (Jewish Family Service slogan) 34. A break-the-fast tries to do this to people’s hunger 35. Fish species of StarKist’s Charlie, voiced by Herschel Bernardi 36. Woody’s 2011 romantic comedy about a screenwriter 39. “Father of American Anthropology” Franz 40. Ingredient in gluten-free matzah 41. 1970s Linda Lavin sitcom character 42. TV show created by a Canadian Jew born Lorne Lipowitz 43. Reactions to a Houdini escape 44. Sivan season 45. He might call a foul against Northwestern’s Aaron Liberman on the court 46. Spock colleague 47. Woody’s 1995 romantic comedy about a sports journalist 55. Don Rickles comedy forte 56. Robert whose name is synonymous with synthesizer 57. Something for Abram to destroy 58. “How to ___ Shiva” (essay at shiva.com) 59. Psychoanalyst’s line 60. “Skies of Parchment, ___ of Ink” (book on illuminated manuscripts) 61. Place to take a dip (or two)?

62. Suffix for Jewish or clueless 63. “A Yiddishe ___” (Song about a Jewish father)

3. Like anti-Semitism in the Muslim world 4. Levi Strauss was the first to manufacture them 5. The subject of this puzzle has four 6. Like many a 57-Across 7. Hashem 8. Blueish-whitish shade 9. Tallitot 10. 1970s Bea Arthur sitcom character 11. Escape-from-the-Ayatollah 2012 movie 12. Spout, as with hate 13. Shofar, e.g.

21. ___ Frutti (Bazooka gum flavor for Passover) 22. Not exactly made of gopher wood 25. They’re useful for Jewfros 26. Cholent ingredient 27. Something gold on Mark Spitz’s chest 28. Liev Schreiber’s actress wife Naomi (“Birdman”) 29. Oregon city with an “elevator” name where B’nai B’rith Camp is located 30. Perfect day to dress like a Megillah Gorilla 31. “Frozen ___” (chilly show where kids go to sing Idina Menzel songs) 32. Beam in Kenny G’s eye surgery 34. “Pygmalion” playwright who told Jews to “stop beng Jews and start being human beings” 35. Adin Steinsaltz of the Koren Bavli, e.g.

37. Disney character created by Art Babbitt 38. Canadian actor Costanzo (“Royal Pains”) 43. Place for some Manischewitz 44. Leaps forward in the polls for

Knesset 45. Lillian Hellman’s “Watch on the ___” 46. Tevas, e.g.

47. Essential supplies for a tourist in Israel

48. They say one’s car should be this way on Shabbat 49. “Rejoice and be ___, O daughter of Edom” (Lamentations 4:21) 50. Idi of Entebbe

51. Recite a Four Questions question, perhaps 52 Monotheism, or social justice 53 How a custom-made kittel might fit 54 “So what ___ is new?”

DOWN 1. Visits a Sheldon Adelson-owned casino 2. Appear before a beit din, perhaps

HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | MAY 2015 23

PJ Library Family of the Month:

THE PINSLEYS

“We have loved getting the PJ Library books. My son often picks one for his bedtime reading. I find that they are often the warm and fuzzy feeling books that I like to read to him and I’ve learned a few things myself from them. My husband (still) can’t get his head around the fact that we get these wonderful books for free. It was his idea to make a donation to PJ Library in memory of Marty. Marty was the husband of my mother-inlaw’s cousin. He was an English professor and an avid reader.

Although he wasn’t Jewish, his wife is and she was touched by the thoughtfulness of the donation in his memory.”

- NINA PINSLEY

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.

“Our parents are soul mates.

How could we move them apart?”

GIVE A MITZVAH, DO A MITZVAH

One bar mitzvah, two mitzvah projects for Murdoch twins Marcus and Jonathan Murdoch are twins, but are very different boys. Jonathan likes math and reading and rocket club at Stewartsville Middle School while Marcus likes soccer and building Lego constructions. They are both Boy Scouts, participate in their school band, and they will be called to the Torah together as B’nai Mitzvah on June 27, 2015, at Temple Covenant of Peace in Easton.

When planning their Mitzvah projects, Marcus knew what he wanted to do right away. “Our religious school teacher wanted us to pick out a book from the synagogue library and do a project based on that book.

There were hardly any books that a middle school kid would want to read, so I decided to collect books for middle school kids that have Jewish characters or Jewish themes or have stereotypes about Jewish people. I’ll donate the books to the Temple Covenant of Peace library so that kids in the congregation will have them to read,” Marcus said.

If you have any books that are appropriate for middle school students and have Jewish themes that you would like to donate, please drop them off at Temple Covenant of Peace.

If you would like to contact Marcus regarding his suggested book list, you can reach him at marcusmitzvahproject@gmail.com. If you would like to make a monetary donation to be used to purchase books for Marcus’s mitzvah project, please send a check to the Temple Covenant of Peace office at 1451 Northampton St. Easton, PA 18042. Please make a note that the money is to support Marcus’s mitzvah project.

Jonathan didn’t know what kind of mitzvah project he was interested in. After meeting with Abby Trachtman, mitzvah coordinator, Jonathan decided to volunteer at the Pediatric Cancer Foundation of the Lehigh Valley.

PCFLV is a local non-profit organization that supports the entire family battling pediatric cancer. They provide individual assistance based on the needs of the families. They host events and special get-togethers for families to participate in fun and engaging activities free of charge. These gatherings create a place for parents and kids to find nurturing support

Rob and Sue always marveled at how close their parents were throughout their marriage. So when their father’s early-stage memory loss threatened to separate him from their mother, they feared what it would do to each of them.

They visited us, and we discussed our shared living options, allowing spouses with different care needs to stay together. Now, their parents are still together, and Rob and Sue are still admiring their strong union.

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within the pediatric cancer community. PCFLV also makes visits to both the outpatient pediatric oncology clinic and inpatient pediatric floor at Lehigh Valley Health Network, armed with an array of arts and crafts, gifts, entertainment and food to distract children during their treatment. “I am volunteering at a bowling event to help a family from the Pediatric Cancer Foundation raise money to support a child who is recovering from cancer. I think this will be pretty fun” Jonathan said. “And, I’ll get to help someone while having fun, that’s the best kind of project I can think of.”

Sharon and Jeff Murdoch are very proud of their boys. “We are proud of the young men they are becoming and the way they are following their heritage and helping others,” Sharon said.

In addition to their mitzvah projects, Marcus and Jonathan have made their first adult gifts of tzedakah to the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley Annual Campaign for Jewish Needs.

PMS 3435

Fun, games and books at PJ PASSOVER On March 29, PJ Library celebrated Passover as children and adults visited interactive story stations for "All of Me: A Book of Thanks" by Molly Bang and enjoyed snacks and crafts. The event was co-sponsored by Bnai Abraham Synagogue, Congregation Sons of Israel, Congregation Keneseth Israel, Temple Beth El and Temple Shirat Shalom.

PHOTOS BY RUSSELL SHNITSER

PJ LIBRARY SHAVUOT SUNDAY, MAY 17

10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m.

JCC of Allentown

702. North 22nd St., Allentown, PA Join PJ Library for a special reading of “Bagels from Benny” to celebrate Shavuot.

Benny loves to help out at his grandpa’s bakery in the morning, and the customers love the crusty bagels with their soft insides. When Grandpa explains to Benny that God, not him, should be thanked for the wonderful bagels, Benny sets out to do just that. He decides to leave God a bagful of bagels in the synagogue at the end of each week. And each week God eats the bagels -- or so Benny thinks?

Lovingly told, Bagels from Benny explores the values of caring and sharing, building a strong sense of community and finding joy in giving thanks.

After the story, kids can show that they care by creating get-well cards for people in the hospital and using bagels to make bird feeders. $5.00 per child. This event is open to everyone. Families are asked to please bring a canned good for the Jewish Family Service food pantry.

Please RSVP to abbyt@jflv.org.

‘MEAT ’ THE MASCOTS PJ LIBRARY AT THE IRONPIGS THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 2015

6:00 p.m. PJ event 7:05 p.m. gametime Coca-Cola Park Bring the kids to Jewish Heritage Night at the Lehigh Valley IronPigs and enjoy a special pre-game opportunity for PJ families on the stadium lawn!

Hear the story of Baxter, the pig who wanted to be kosher, with special guest reader Cantor Kevin Wartell and have your photo taken with one of the pork racers. RSVP to Abby Trachtman, abbyt@jflv.org.

To purchase discounted ticket packages, call the Jewish Federation at 610-821-5500 or visit www.jewishlehighvalley.org/ironpigs and select PJ Library under seating preferences. 2 and under are free.

PJ Library is brought to you by the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley, the Jewish Community Center of Allentown and the Jewish Day School of the Lehigh Valley, in partnership with the Harold Grinspoon Foundation.

HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | MAY 2015 25

SLEEPLESS IN ISRAEL:

Shavuot all-nighter comes to life in the Jewish state

By Deborah Fineblum JNS.org Regarding Shavuot—when Jews from around the world celebrate the receiving of the Torah at Mount Sinai—Rabbi Chayim Vital wrote on behalf of his master Rabbi Isaac Ben Solomon Luria (“Ha’Ari), “Know that one who does not sleep at all on this night, even for one moment, but rather immerses himself in [the waters of] Torah the entire night, can be assured that he will live out his year; no injury will befall him during this year.”

That level of protection is certainly a draw, but those who have experienced allnight Shavuot learning in Israel will testify that the experience brings with it other, less tangible rewards.

Less than a week after making aliyah to Ma’ale Adumim, Tanya Gusovsky was handed a list of the local all-night Shavuot learning “ops” by her new landlady, who also offered to act as her guide for the night.

Gusovsky says she will never forget the sight she beheld when, coming around the corner from her home, she spied “a river of people flowing in every direction, traveling from one shiur (lecture) to another.” Two years later, despite the late hour, she can still recall the take-away messages of many of the teachers she heard that night.

In a way, the ancient tradition of allnight learning on Shavuot is designed to make up for some of our sleepy ancestors.

The Midrash reports that, more than 3,000 years ago, our Israelite forebears slept in that morning when they were to receive the Torah. So in staying up all night learning Torah, we are trying to demonstrate their descendants’ level of excitement about— and gratitude for—the gift of Torah.

The cheesecake, it seems, came much later.

Also known as the Festival of Weeks, the Festival of Reaping and Day of the First Fruits, Shavuot is celebrated for just one day in Israel, as opposed to two in the Diaspora.

The holiday numbers among the Shalosh Regalim, the three pilgrimage festivals when Jews everywhere finish up their seven weeks of Omer counting, which begins on the second day of Passover. Tradition also teaches that on Shavuot, the Jews would bring their bikkurim (first fruits of Israel’s Seven Species: wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives, and dates) to the Temple in Jerusalem.

The custom of all-night Torah study goes back, it appears, to 1533, when Rabbi Joseph Caro, author of the “Shulchan Aruch,” a guidebook to Jewish law, invited many of his Kabbalistically minded colleagues to learn with him at a Shavuot all-nighter.

Besides Torah, Talmud, and Mishnah, many also learn the Tikkun Leil Shavuot (Rectification for Shavuot Night) with its excerpts from the 24 books of Tanakh.

Legend has it that Rabbi Caro and others living in the Ottoman Empire at the time were able to keep awake thanks to the region’s fine—and potent—Turkish coffee.

But although the Torah decreed it and the ancients pioneered its observance, Shavuot has made another mark on the Jewish psyche far more recently than the 16th century. In 1948, one month after the birth of the State of Israel, Jews were still banned from visiting the Kotel (Western Wall) by the Jordanians who were in charge of that part of the city. For 19 years, Jews would gaze across barbed

wire fences at the Old City and Temple Mount they could not approach. But on Shavuot of 1967—just six days after the Israelis took back the Old City in the Six Day War—the Kotel was officially opened to the Israeli public. For the first time in nearly 2,000 years, Jews could visit the Western Wall and walk the ancient streets of the Old City. And some 200,000 of them poured in that day: religious and secular, Ashkenazi and Sephardi, all celebrating their newfound freedom to worship by those ancient stones.

These days, tens of thousands of Jews reenact that return when they make their way to the Kotel in time for morning prayers, feet barely touching the ground after a full night of Torah learning and no REM sleep.

Among them will be the students at Orayta, a yeshiva located just up the steps from the Kotel.

“At dawn, we dance down to the Kotel to join upwards of 50,000 Jews for the morning prayers,” says Orayta Rosh Yeshiva (dean) Rabbi Binny Freedman.

“The intensity of Jewish unity as Jews of all shapes and sizes put aside their differences and come together is simply one of the most beautiful moments of the year.”

They may not have the Kotel, but other communities around Israel also share in the tradition of all-night learning.

“There is an aura here around that night that’s unlike any other night of the year,” says Gabie Sykora of Ra’anana.

“Women and men, teens and older people, religious and secular, everyone out all night learning in groups and chevrutas (pairs), in synagogues and in homes, like all Israel is learning Torah together. You know you are part of something bigger than yourself, and something in the air that night tells you that it’s time to take

your own spiritual growth up a notch.”

Now, Sykora says, she can’t imagine spending Shavuot anywhere but Israel.

“In Israel, where our history took place, we are also participating in creating our people’s destiny because we’re still growing and learning. And where else in the world could you go to a shul for learning on Shavuot on a street named Har Sinai?” she says, referring to the Ra’anana street on which the Kehillat Shivtei Yisrael synagogue is located.

In the weeks leading up to their first Shavuot in Israel, the Sykoras witnessed a unique phenomenon: every imaginable variety of cheesecake blossoming in bakeries and supermarkets around town.

Dairy foods such as cheesecake and blintzes among Ashkenazis, and other cheesy treats such as kelsonnes (cheese ravioli) among many Sephardis, are an integral part of the celebration—often washed down with the coffee in hopes of keeping the all-night learners conscious.

Rabbi Avraham Sutton, author of “Spiritual Technology: On the Transition from Profane Technology to Sacred Technology in Preparation for the Great Shabbat” and many other books, says staying focused on the learning and skirting any off-topic chats helps keep him awake.

Tanya Gusovsky’s first Shavuot in Israel two years ago served as a potent reminder of why she had left the U.S. and made the Jewish state her home.

“There I was, just days into my life here, and to be treated with this amazing feast of learning… It was such a feeling to be one of the people who felt strongly about where they belong, and thankful for that sense of unity and utter trust in our mission here,” she says.

Genetics and Cancer What do your genes say about you?

The study of genetics has led to some of the most significant breakthroughs in cancer research, diagnosis and treatment. Through sophisticated genetic testing, specialists can identify the presence of genetic markers that indicate an increased risk of developing certain types of cancer.

Israel Zighelboim, MD, FACOG, FACS

Individuals who know they are at greater risk can take steps to significantly increase their chance of survival. They can be screened more frequently to catch cancer when it first appears and is most treatable. They can take medications and have surgical procedures to reduce their risk. For example, a woman not interested in future fertility might opt to have her reproductive organs removed.

oncologist Dr. Israel Zighelboim of

Should cancer develop, an oncologist may use information from genetic testing to design a highly effective course of targeted molecular therapy to interfere with specific molecules involved in the growth and spread of cancer.

malignancies.

Individuals with a high prevalence of cancer within their family – one or more immediate family members or several extended family members diagnosed with cancer – should consider genetic counseling. This is especially true if the family members were young when diagnosed. Also, certain ethnic groups have a greater risk of developing cancer. For example, Ashkenazi Jews have a 1 in 40 chance of carrying a BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutation, 10 times greater risk than the non-Jewish population. Individuals with these mutations have a significantly increased chance of developing breast, ovarian and other cancers.

Each individual should be aware of his or her family’s cancer history. If concerned, seek out genetic counseling from a certified genetic counselor who can provide the individual the information needed to make the right decision to pursue testing in order to reduce their cancer risk.

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Board certified in Obstetrics and Gynecology and Gynecologic Oncology, he completed his medical degree from Universidad Central de Venezuela; residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Baylor College of Medicine; and research and clinical fellowship in Gynecologic Oncology at Washington University School of Medicine.

For information, call St. Luke’s Hope Line at 484-503-HOPE (4673).

Israel Zighelboim, MD, FACOG, FACS

Ask the Rabbi Q: Why do we eat dairy on Shavuot? to the birth of the Jewish people, Shavuot (or sh’vu’us as my Bubbie would have said) is like a marriage. God is the bridegroom, the people of Israel are the bride and the Torah is the ketubah (marriage contract).

Many Jews partake of blintzes and cheesecake on Shavuot. There are many different reasons given for this delectable custom:

RABBI MELODY DAVIS When Jacob went down to Egypt with 70 households, we were a family. When God took us out of Egypt, we became a people. If Passover is likened

1. Until we received the Torah at Sinai, we didn’t know how to do kosher slaughter, nor did we separate meat from dairy so none of our vessels were kosher.

The simple solution was to eat dairy.

2. Torah is compared to milk in the Song of Songs 4:11 – Like honey and milk [the Torah] lies under your tongue. Just as a nursing baby is sustained by mother’s milk, the Torah provides spiri-

tual nourishment for our souls.

Furthermore, at Sinai we were considered to be as innocent as newborns, whose food is milk.

3. The numerical value of milk – chalav – is 40. We eat dairy foods on Shavuot to remember the 40 days that Moses spent on Mount Sinai receiving the Torah.

4. One of Mount Sinai’s alternative names is Har Gav’nunim – the majestic mountain. The Hebrew word for cheese is g’vina – so there is an etymological connection. The numerical value of the word cheese is 70 which we can relate to the expression Shivim panim la-Torah – each verse of Torah has 70 different faces. This concept allows for the multiplicity of interpretations of Torah.

FOR SHAVUOT

BY SANDI TEPLITZ 1 onion 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 2 tablespoons vegetable bouillon powder 1 pint whole milk Greek yogurt Worcestershire sauce Finely chop an onion and sauté it in extra virgin olive oil for about ten minutes. Add two T. vegetable bouillon powder.

Cool, then stir in one pint of whole milk Greek yogurt, plain variety. Add a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce.

Serve with homemade potato chips, pita crisps or fresh vegetables.

To paraphrase Marie Antoinette: Let us eat (cheese)cake! Chag Same’ach!

KI participates in chili cook-off for a good cause

By Matan Peled Director of Youth Engagement Congregation Keneseth Israel On March 14, Congregation Keneseth Israel and our youth group, KITY, were part of a great interfaith community effort. The Barn, a wonderful non-profit organization that cares about the needs of the wider interfaith community, had its annual chili cook-off with more than 60 chili stands from representatives of all faiths throughout the Lehigh Valley. All the proceeds from the event went toward building a new playground for the students at Ramos Elementary School in Allentown. The school’s current playground was built decades ago with capacity to support 100 children, but the school today has 900 students who need to share this one piece of equipment.

Sharon Land, KI social action chair led this effort “With a mighty hand and outstretched arm…….”

(Deuteronomy 26:8). She exemplifies the giving spirit that our Jewish community is committed to.

Eric Rappaport, Keneseth Israel’s house chef, and Joshua, his son

and chef-in-training, won The Judges’ Choice Best Salsa Award out of the over 60 teams that were competing.

“It was great to be part of this interfaith community

fundraising effort, and to be able to represent Keneseth Israel throughout the Lehigh Valley. I loved sharing time with my son and doing something good for the betterment of our community. This, I think, brings up the real value of Tikkun Olam – repairing the world,” Rappaport said.

Through the generosity of the over 550 people who came to share in the seventh annual chili cook-off, gross proceeds of $7,600 from the event went toward the renovation and expansion of the Ramos playground.

If you feel that you also want to be part of this great effort and efforts like this in the future, please call the Keneseth Israel office at 610-435-9074. Donations can also be made to the Barn via KI.

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28 MAY 2015 | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY

HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | MAY 2015 29

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.

SATURDAY, MAY 2 Bethlehem Federation Shabbat: Argentina and Latin American Jewry 9 a.m., Congregation Brith Sholom. The community is invited to join the Jewish Federation for a special Shabbat. The service will feature a talk on current affairs in Argentina and Latin American Jewry by Daniel Chejfec. Free and open to everyone. Contact Tammy@ brithsholom.net for more information.

SATURDAY, MAY 2 JFLV Young Adult Division Karaoke Night 8 p.m., private residence. Sing your heart out with the Young Adult Division with the karaoke stylings of DJ Brad Finberg. Bring your own beverages and a dairy or vegetarian potluck dish. Generously hosted by Jessica and Nick Volchko. RSVP to aaron@jflv.org.

SUNDAY, MAY 3 Phyllis Ringel Memorial Lecture: How to Successfully Age in the Lehigh Valley 3 p.m., Kassych Pavillion, Room 6, Lehigh Valley Hospital. Dr. Scott Berman will lead a discussion about local resources that can help people age in place with safety and comfort. For more information, contact Jewish Family Service, 610-821-8722.

MONDAY, MAY 4 TBE 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 always welcome to play. For questions or to RSVP, contact Ilene Rubel, 610-776-1577 or IRUBEL@aol.com.

Honorable MENSCHens Justin Corsa and Jon Schaeffer Justin Corsa and Jon Schaeffer are being celebrated among the top 40 Under 40 business executives by Lehigh Valley Business this year. They were recognized for their commitment to business growth, professional excellence and impact on the community. They will be honored at a ceremony on June 10 at the Hotel Bethlehem.

Corsa, a member of the Jewish Day School Board of Directors, co-chair of the Federation’s Young Adult Division and a member of Temple Beth El, was honored for his company Enter.net, a Pennsylvania-based internet service provider. Enter.net focuses on the sales and service of internet connectivity, web design and marketing. The company is best known for its innovative web technologies which bring together consumers, business owners and the internet. Enter.net has been owned by the Corsa family since 1995.

Schaeffer, who has been instrumental in bringing Jewish Heritage Night to the IronPigs, was honored for his work as a TV and radio broadcaster. Since 2012, Schaeffer has been the director of new media/radio broadcasting for the IronPigs. He develops and maintains social media goals and develops future new media initiatives. Schaeffer continues to do on air play-byplays for the IronPigs and the Big East Digital Network.

Want to see your accomplishments in the pages of HAKOL? E-mail them to hakol@jflv.org.

30 MAY 2015 | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY

TUESDAY, MAY 5 CRC Mission to Harrisburg 8 a.m. depart from the JCC. Join the Jewish Federation’s Community Relations Council for its first-ever mission to Harrisburg. Meet with representatives from the governor’s office and with Lehigh Valley legislators on both sides of the aisle. Talk about the issues that are important to us, like Holocaust education, non-profit taxation and the memorandum of understanding between Pennsylvania and Israel. Contact Aaron Gorodzinsky at 610-821-5500 or aaron@jflv.org for more information.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 6 JCC Film Festival: ‘Ida’ 7 p.m., JCC of Allentown. Linda and Jim Wimmer are co-sponsoring the presentation of “Ida.” A 2015 Oscar winner for Best Foreign Film and Achievement in Cinematography, this movie tells the story of a woman who learns she is Jewish as she prepares to take her vows as a nun. Tickets: $9 general community/$6 JCC members.

THURSDAY, MAY 7 Thirsty Thursdays 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., JCC of Allentown TV Lounge (outside the board room). Happy Hour at the JCC! Stop by the J at the end of the day. Join other adults, sit back, relax and chat with others. Enjoy light refreshments including adult beverages. FREE for JCC members, $5 for community members. Reserve your space by calling 610435-3571 or stopping by the JCC Welcome Desk or register online at www.allentownjcc.org. Contact Amy Sams at asams@lvjcc.org to learn more about Adults at the J events and programs.

THURSDAY, MAY 7 ‘Essential Geometry’ Exhibit Opening Reception 6:30 to 8 p.m., Gallery at the JCC. “Essential Geometry,” an exhibit featuring Nancy Bossert, artist, and Deborah Slahta, potter, will be on display at the Gallery at the JCC through June 18. Nancy’s painting technique is to paint outside the box, using materials in a unique way, and always combining the unusual.

Nancy creates fine art by a well-balanced composition, the use of texture, harmonious palette and unity of elements. Deborah Slahta’s work includes raku and stoneware wheel-thrown pottery and each reflexes the artist’s passion for working with clay. Deborah’s quest to create something of beauty includes an element of surprise, the “happy” accident, and even sometimes failure becomes success. The reception is free and open to the public.

THURSDAY, MAY 7 TBE 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.

TUESDAY, MAY 12 Sects and the Single Jew: The Judaism of the Dead Sea Scrolls 6 p.m., JCC of Allentown. The third in a free three-part lecture series presented by the Berman Center for Jewish Studies at Lehigh University. Facilitated by Professor Ben Wright. Co-sponsored by the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley.

SUNDAY, MAY 17 PJ Library Shavuot 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m., JCC of Allentown. Join PJ Library for a special reading of “Bagels from Benny” to celebrate Shavuot. Benny loves to help out at his grandpa’s bakery in the morning, and the customers love the crusty bagels with their soft insides. When Grandpa explains to Benny that God, not him, should be thanked for the wonderful bagels, Benny sets out to do just that.

He decides to leave God a bagful of bagels in the

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

synagogue at the end of each week. And each week God eats the bagels – or so Benny thinks ? Lovingly told, “Bagels from Benny” explores the values of caring and sharing, building a strong sense of community and finding joy in giving thanks. After the story, kids can show that they care by creating get-well cards for people in the hospital and using bagels to make bird feeders. $5 per child. Families are asked to please bring a canned good for the Jewish Family Service food pantry. Please RSVP to abbyt@jflv.org.

SUNDAY, MAY 17 Congregation Brith Sholom Gala Auction III 5:30 p.m., Congregation Brith Sholom. Join us for the most exciting event of the spring – our Gala Auction III, featuring a live auction under the high-energy gavel of everyone’s favorite auctioneer, Tom Hall of Tom Hall Auctions, and a silent auction brimming with bundled baskets of irresistible items. Plus, online viewing and bidding thru Bidding For Good. Fabulous hors d’oeuvres and a wine bar. Open to the entire community. The more the merrier so come with friends and neighbors.

Admission: $25 per person. Contact tammy@brithsholom.net or 610-866-8009 for more information.

THURSDAY, MAY 21 Walking the Talk: Women’s Division Dollar-A-Day Spring Event 6:30 p.m., Congregation Keneseth Israel. Jane Weitzman, former executive vice president of Stuart Weitzman and the founding vice president of Stuart Weitzman retail, will be the featured speaker at the Jewish Federation’s Women’s Division Dollar-A-Day Spring Event. Jane is the author of “Art and Sole,” which will be available for purchase at the event. At Stuart Weitzman, Jane spearheaded philanthropy for the company by generating funds to support breast and ovarian cancer research and awareness. Her efforts were brought to life through innovative charity events in the brand’s stores and on its website such as the Stuart Weitzman Celebrity Breast Cancer Auction. $40 for dinner and program. Please register by May 7, 2015.

Program is open to women who have pledged a minimum of $365 to the 2015 Campaign for Jewish Needs.

THURSDAY, MAY 28 Lehigh Valley Jewish Professionals: Handling Social Media 5:30 p.m., Menchies Frozen Yogurt, 333 S. Cedar Crest Blvd., Allentown. Join the Lehigh Valley Jewish Professionals for some tasty frozen yogurt and a talk about handling social media with State Rep. Mike Schlossberg. Program is free, but the yogurt’s on you. Scoop.

Schmooze. Connect.

FRIDAY, MAY 29 TBE Shira Chadasha Service 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.

MONDAY, JUNE 1 Pomegranate & Lion of Judah Trip to NYC 8 a.m., bus leaves from the JCC. Pomegranate and Lion of Judah women are invited to join the Jewish Federation for a bus trip to the Jewish Museum in New York City. Trip includes a guided tour of the special exhibit “Revolution of the Eye: Modern Art and the Birth of American Television.” It is the first exhibition to explore how avant-garde art influenced and shaped the look and content of network television in its formative years, from the late 1940s to the mid-1970s. Cost is $75, including transportation, museum admission, breakfast, snacks and beverages. Group lunch at an NYC kosher restaurant available for purchase. Limited to first 40 registrants. Register by May 18. Open to women who have pledged a minimum $1,800 to the 2015 Campaign for Jewish Needs. Call 610-821-5500 or register online at www.jewishlehighvalley.org/womens-division.

Celebrate the beauty of Shabbat

Shabbat & Yom Tov Candlelighting Times Friday, May 1

7:40 pm

Friday, May 22

8:00 pm

Friday, May 8

7:47 pm

Friday, May 29

8:06 pm

Friday, May 15

7:54 pm

Friday, June 5

8:11 pm

Community Calendar WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3 JCC Film Festival: ‘Beneath the Helmet’ 7 p.m., JCC of Allentown. Co-sponsored by the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley’s Community Relations Council. It is a moving documentary which follows five young Israeli high school graduates as they begin their service in the army. Tickets: $9 general community/$6 JCC members.

THURSDAY, JUNE 4 ‘Meat’ the Mascots: PJ Library at the IronPigs 6 p.m., Coca-Cola Park Stadium Lawn.

Bring the family to Jewish Heritage Night at the IronPigs and enjoy a free PJ Library program before the game!

Have your photo taken with one of the pork racers and hear the story of Baxter, the pig who wanted to be kosher, from special guest reader Cantor Kevin Wartell. The game begins at 7:05 p.m.

RSVP to Abby Trachtman, abbyt@jflv. org. Purchase discounted tickets to the game at www.jewishlehighvalley.org/ ironpigs. To be seated with other PJ Library families at the game, select PJ Library from the seating options.

THURSDAY, JUNE 4 Jewish Heritage Night at the IronPigs 7:05 p.m., Coca-Cola Park. Join the Jewish community for the second annual Jewish Heritage Night at the IronPigs. The game against the Indians will begin at 7:05 p.m. $20 tickets include a Hebrew IronPigs hat and a kosher food voucher (kosher hot dog or knish, chips, soda or bottled water, LVKC supervised). $15 tickets include a Hebrew IronPigs hat and $2 ballpark credit. A free PJ Library event for ticket holders will take place at 6 p.m. on the

stadium lawn. Transportation available for seniors 65+, $5 per person, must register for transportation by May 22 by calling the Jewish Federation at 610821-5500 or indicating your interest on the Federation ticket form. Purchase discounted ticket packages or find out where you can buy tickets at www.jewishlehighvalley.org/ironpigs or by calling 610-821-5500. Jewish Heritage Night is sponsored by the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley.

THURSDAY, JUNE 4 TBE Healing Service 7 p.m., Temple Beth El. We will be creating a safe space to bring our pain, our questions and our yearning. The one-hour service will include music, silent meditation, traditional prayers and Torah study. The entire community is invited to participate.

SUNDAY, JUNE 7 Shalom Baby Reunion 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., JCC of Allentown.

Join us for our annual reunion for families who have been visited by Shalom Baby, a program of the Women’s Division of the Jewish Federation. Snacks and playtime for moms, dads and kids of all ages. Meet old friends and make some new ones. Free for the whole family.

SUNDAY, JUNE 14 JBrews: Weyerbacher Brewery Tour & Tasting 1 to 3 p.m., Weyerbacher Brewing Company Visitors Center, 905 Line St., Easton. Group tour and beer sampling (maximum of six 2.5 oz samples per person) at Weyberbacher Brewing Company. Learn about the history of

the brewery, the brewing and packaging process, as well as great beer trivia and history! A special prize will be raffled off to participants who register

by June 8. Adults 21+ are welcome.

Price: $12 per person, $8 JCC members. Call or stop by the JCC Welcome Desk, 610-435-3571, or visit www.allentownjcc.org.

MONDAY, JUNE 15 4th Annual Mortimer S. Schiff Memorial Golf Tournament 10 a.m., Lehigh Country Club. Join the Jewish Federation for a full-day affair at Lehigh Country Club. To learn more or register as a player or a sponsor, visit www.jewishlehighvalley.org/golf or call 610-821-5500.

TUESDAY, JUNE 16 JFLV Community Celebration & Annual Meeting 6:30 p.m., JCC of Allentown. Please join us in honoring outgoing leadership, presenting special awards and celebrating the end of the 2015 campaign year. This year, we will pay special tribute to our Silver Circle Society members for 25+ years of giving.

Heavy hors d’oeuvres and open bar.

Free and open to the community.

FRIDAY, JUNE 19 Mizmor Shir Musical Shabbat Experience 7:30 p.m., Temple Covenant of Peace Our Mizmor Shir band will be joined by special guest musicians Bob Cisik on the clarinet and Gene Gelfenson on the piano. A special Oneg Shabbat is planned. All are welcome! Contact TCP at 610-253-2031 for information.

Sponsored by the Jewish Federation’s Easton Leadership Council.

Ongoing Events For more information about these events, visit www.jewishlehighvalley. org/hakol/ongoing-events.

SUNDAY to FRIDAY DAF YOMI 7:30 a.m., Congregation Sons of Israel SUNDAYS JEWISH WAR VETERANS POST 239 2nd Sunday of the month, 10 a.m., JCC of Allentown TEFILLIN CLUB & ADULT HEBREW SCHOOL 9:30 a.m. Tefillin; 10 to 11 a.m. Adult Hebrew, Chabad TSS HEBREW & ADULT EDUCATION CLASSES 10 a.m., JCC of Allentown TALMUD CLASS FOR BEGINNERS! 10 to 11 a.m., Congregation Beth Avraham of Bethlehem-Easton

TUESDAYS TORAH STUDY 12 p.m., Temple Covenant of Peace PIRKEI AVOT (THE ETHICS OF THE FATHERS) 1:15 p.m., Temple Covenant of Peace

THURSDAYS ADULT EDUCATION CLASS 10:15 to 11:15 a.m., Bnai Abraham Synagogue

YACHAD TORAH STUDY GROUP 1:30 to 2:30 p.m., JCC of Allentown

MOMMY & ME 10:30 to 11:15 a.m., Chabad

100,000 MILES/YR FOR KOSHER! First Tuesday of the month, 7 p.m., Congregation Beth Avraham

TORAH ON TILGHMAN 12:15 p.m., Allentown Wegmans

LATTE & LEARN 8 to 9 p.m., Starbucks, Schoenersville Road, Bethlehem WEDNESDAYS 101 JUDAISM CLASS 10 a.m., Temple Covenant of Peace

MONDAYS

THE BEGINNINGS OF JUDAISM 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Congregation Brith Sholom

FRIENDSHIP CIRCLE 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., JCC of Allentown

HADASSAH STUDY GROUP Every other Wednesday, 1:30 p.m., Temple Beth El

SOUL MATES: JEWISH SECRETS TO MEANINGFUL RELATIONSHIPS Once a month, 7 p.m., Chabad of the Lehigh Valley

BETH AVRAHAM TORAH STUDY 7 p.m., Congregation Beth Avraham

THE RHYTHM OF JEWISH LIVING 8 to 9 p.m., Temple Beth El

ORTHODOX JEWISH LIVING: WHAT IS IT & HOW? 8 p.m.

HUSBANDS ANONYMOUS First Wednesday of the month, 7:30 p.m., location upon signup TORAH STUDIES: A WEEKLY JOURNEY INTO THE SOUL OF TORAH 7:30 p.m., Chabad

FRIDAYS KINDERLIGHTS 2:45 p.m., Jewish Day School and Congregation Sons of Israel SIMCHA SHABBAT 1st Friday of the month, 6:30 p.m., Bnai Abraham Synagogue SHABBAT BEGINNER’S GEMARA 8 a.m., Congregation Sons of Israel JAVA AND JEANS 4th Saturday of the month, 10 a.m., Bnai Abraham Synagogue CHAVURAT TORAH STUDY Each Shabbat following kiddush lunch, Temple Beth El ISSUES IN CONTEMPORARY HALACHAH 12 p.m., Congregation Sons of Israel BNEI AKIVA 5:45 p.m., Congregation Sons of Israel

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 1190 W. Macada Rd., Bethlehem – 610.435.3775 Student Rabbi Leiah Moser, Reconstructionist Weekly Shabbat services and a monthly family service with potluck dinner. Religious school meets Sunday mornings. Email am.haskalah.office@gmail.com to learn more.

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.

CONGREGATION BRITH SHOLOM 1190 W. Macada Rd., Bethlehem – 610.866.8009 Rabbi Michael Singer, Conservative MINYAN is at 7:45 a.m. on Mondays and Thursdays, 9 a.m. on Saturdays and holidays. RELIGIOUS SCHOOL classes every Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. at Brith Sholom and Sundays at 9:30 a.m. at Bnai Abraham Synagogue.

CONGREGATION KENESETH ISRAEL 2227 Chew St., Allentown – 610.435.9074 Rabbi Seth D. Phillips Cantor Jennifer Duretz Peled, Reform Services begin at 7:30 p.m. every Friday night.

The first Friday of the month is a FAMILY SERVICE and celebration of birthdays and anniversaries.

RELIGIOUS SCHOOL classes are held Tuesdays at 4 p.m. and Sundays at 9:30 a.m.

CONGREGATION SONS OF ISRAEL 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. MINCHAH/MAARIV: 20 minutes before sunset. FRIDAY EVENING: 20 minutes before sunset, 7 p.m. in the summer. SHABBAT MORNING: 9 a.m. SHABBAT AFTERNOON: 90 minutes before dark.

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 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. and a Renewal Style Shabbat morning service on the 4th Saturday of the month at 10:30 a.m. A family Shabbat service is held on the second Friday night of each month at 6:30 p.m. Our services reflect a diverse culture of traditional, innovative and musical experiences with a Reform Jewish context. Religious school meets on Sunday mornings from 9:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.

We have a Family Game / Movie night on the first Saturday of every month at 6 p.m. For more information about our Temple and activities, see our website at www.tcopeace.org or look us up on Facebook.

TEMPLE SHIRAT SHALOM 610.820.7666 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 | MAY 2015 31

Register Now MONDAY, JUNE 15 at Lehigh Country Club 2319 S. Cedar Crest Boulevard Allentown, PA

ALL INCLUSIVE

Decadent dairy brunch, on-course refreshments, cocktails & scrumptious dinner buffet

$10,000 PUTTING PURSE!

Entry into putting contest with speciality package | Special prizes for runners up

$5,000 GRAND RAFFLE PRIZE!

Every player takes something home in our reverse raffle

BID ON A ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME TRIP!

Play at the Lexus National Championship at Pebble Beach in December 2015, an $8,000 value!

GET A HOLE IN ONE ‌ AND WIN A LEXUS! Two-year lease on a current model

REGISTRATION DEADLINE: MAY 22, 2015 SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE 610.821.5500 | www.jewishlehighvalley.org

Thursday, June 4, 2015 7:05 PM $20 Tickets Include:

- IronPigs Hebrew hat - Food voucher good for kosher food stand (LVKC supervised), includes kosher hot dog or knish, chips, soda or bottled water

$15 Tickets Include:

- IronPigs Hebrew hat - $2 ballpark credit

Free PJ Library event

for ticket holders at 6 p.m. on the stadium lawn

transportation available for seniors 65+

Central pick-up points, $5 per person

to purchase discounted ticket packages, contact the following institutions:

Bnai Abraham Synagogue Chabad of the Lehigh Valley Congregation Brith Sholom Congregation Keneseth Israel Congregation Sons of Israel Jewish Community Center of Allentown Jewish Day School of the Lehigh Valley Temple Beth El Temple Shirat Shalom

or call the Jewish Federation at 610-821-5500 or visit www.jewishlehighvalley.org/ironpigs