HAKOL - November 2013

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HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY The Voice of the Lehigh Valley Jewish Community

NOVEMBER 2013 | CHESHVAN/KISLEV 5774

Bloomberg awarded ‘Jewish Nobel Prize’

Comedian rabbi promises wide appeal

MATTHEW STOCKMAN/GETTY IMAGES

KRISTALLNACHT 75 years since tragic Night of Broken Glass. See page 13.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, shown here at the National Tennis Center on Aug. 26, 2013, was named the first winner of the Genesis Prize. By Julie Wiener Jewish Telegraphic Agency WHAT ‘WE’ CAN DO Major donors get inspired at annual reception. See pages 16-17.

LEO FRANK WAS LYNCHED One hundred years later, the case that launched the ADL. See page 23.

No. 361 com.UNITY with Mark Goldstein 2 Women’s Division

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LVJF Tributes

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Jewish Family Service

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Jewish Community Center

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Jewish Day School 20 Community Calendar

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In August, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg told New York magazine, “Wouldn’t it be great if we could get all the Russian billionaires to move here?” Two months later, the Russian billionaires -- or at least some Jewish ones -- returned the compliment, naming Bloomberg the first winner of the Genesis Prize. The new $1 million prize, administered by a partnership that includes the Genesis Philanthropy Group and the Israeli government, is intended to show “the importance of Jewish values to the fulfillment of human potential and to the betterment of the world,” and to highlight that importance to strengthen Jewish identity and combat assimilation. At a news conference scheduled to announce the consolidation of New York City vehicles, Bloomberg said he was “flattered” to have received what is being called the “Jewish Nobel Prize” but acknowledged, “I don’t need the money.” Bloomberg, who reportedly is worth $31 billion, said he would probably donate the money to a cause in the Middle East. Non-Profit Organization

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“I want it to go for something unconventional that my foundation hasn’t supported in the past,” he said. Bloomberg has supported Jewish causes in the past, including the dedication of a women and child center at Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem in honor of his late mother, and Magen David Adom, the emergency medical service. But the bulk of his philanthropy has been to non-Jewish causes, most notably his alma mater, Johns Hopkins University, to which he has donated more than $1 billion. Wayne Firestone, the former Hillel International president who now runs the Genesis Prize Foundation, told JTA that Bloomberg is a “very sophisticated philanthropist who has made a huge impact globally and an outspoken friend of Israel.” Asked how the 71-year-old outgoing mayor will inspire young Jews, Firestone said Genesis will be embarking on a “process to introduce him to younger Jews” and arrange forums for him to interact with young Jews, although he acknowledged Bloomberg

Rabbi Bob Alper is putting his Jewish upbringing and 14 years on the pulpit to good use: His experiences make great fodder for the stand-up comedy act that he performs across the country and on SiriusXM satellite radio daily. People really connect with his material, said Alper, who will perform his act at the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley’s campaign event on Nov. 9. “My great good fortune is I have so much material that’s unique. I don’t have to worry about doing the same material that every other comedian is doing because my life has been different,” Alper said. Growing up a Jew in Vermont in the ‘50s, one of Alper’s favorite pastimes was memorizing the lines of comedians like Bob Newhart and reciting them to his youth groups. After a brief tour in Bethlehem, where he graduated from Lehigh University in 1966, he went on to receive a doctorate from the Princeton Theological Seminary. But being a comedian is very much “a continuation of my rabbinate,” he said. “There [are] all kinds of ways to be a rabbi,” said Alper. “For me, making people laugh is one of the ways that I function -- I think very effectively -- as a rabbi because it brings healing, it brings good health, it displays rabbis as being affable and warm, which is important. The bottom line is humor is not just a distraction, it’s a very important element of good health.” From jokes about his cat, Dracula, who he instructs to “fane indifference” before the cat looks away, to bits about making his way in Israel, performing weddings and bouncing from

Bloomberg Continues on page 5

Rabbi Bob Alper Continues on page 25

Thanksgivukah See the Chanukah Special Section for thoughts, craft ideas, recipes and more. Special thanks to the JCC’s ECE kindergarten class for coloring the turkey and the chanukkiah!


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